Putting Purpose in your Run

I have really come to love my training schedule.

I love reading it over to plan ahead.  I love going through the workouts in advance and calculating my splits then writing them out.  I love keying in my results into my spreadsheet and comparing them to past results then processing exactly how I felt physically during them and tweek the plan to adjust for something I feel I'm missing.  On top of all that I love reading about coaches and athletes; how they approach the same workouts I'm using, how they overcome the same challenges I face, why they do what they do, and of course I love reading about their results.  Incredible endurance, amazing kicks and blazing top end speed.

That paragraph was awful, but I'm gushing.

I just love this!

I also love that every single workout and run has a purpose.  There is some specific focus or objective, because it is one more step in the right direction on my path.  I'm sure some people wouldn't like having that sort of mind set, and I get that.  Depends on what you want out of running.  But when there is a specific goal in mind, then everything should be aimed at reaching that goal.  Otherwise, you're just wasting time.  Everything I read from great coaches and athletes, as well as great businessmen or anyone else at the top of their field, repeats this point.

There has to be Purpose.  A reason to do what you're doing.

What started out as a sort of fantasy and tangible example of some things I always say about getting the most out of life, has turned into a real passion.  And that passion is delivering all the things I had hoped it would in the beginning.  It's become my Purpose.

First of all is the fact it's made me stronger and faster.  I still flash back on a regular basis to when I was sick.  I know that can get kind of old to hear, but I'm not going to forget it.  I'm reminded of various aspects of that time of my life almost daily.  When I ache I'm reminded of how whatever I feel right now is nothing compared to the pain I felt the first days after surgery and the months around the end of my radiation treatments.  I was triple dosing on the pain meds and still not getting relief.  Whenever I lean in and drive through a turn on the track I'm reminded of how exhausted I would get just walking up a flight of stairs.  And, of course, every time I hear of someone else who's been diagnosed with cancer I'm reminded of how lucky I've been and that I need to be there in some way for them like people were for me.

Those memories are always placed against where I am now, and where I am now is someplace I had only hoped to be.  5:01 in the 1500 and sure of myself that I can break five minutes.  Ranked 30th in the country last year in my age group for the 800 was a total shock.  That part I hadn't even dreamed about.  Racing in a national championship had never crossed my mind, but I've gotten to do it.  My running has given me strength and speed that surprises and thrills me all the time.

Secondly, because I've seeing such gains from my focus and planning on training, I'm doing the same things in work and in life.  I'm looking at something that I want to accomplish, and then working backwards with a plan.  Then, each and every day, I'm working that plan.  Some things have been in place for awhile, and others I've just embarked on.  Either way I know that I have a far better chance of reaching my goals by approaching them with purpose.

Lastly, and probably most important of all of this, is what I hear from various people I've crossed paths with since I set out on this mini-quest.  People are inspired by it.  They tell me about how they've begun running, or have decided they want to see how fast they can get.  A few have asked for help and I'm having a blast working with them to set new PR's.  I get excited knowing that, if we plan right, and the work gets done, they're going to experience the same thrilling emotions I have when they finish that race and look at they're watch.  It's so incredible.

Yesterday I read something in an article in Running Times about the best advice elite athletes have gotten from coaches over the years, and one of them was by Aaron Braun.  This guy ran 10,000 meters in 27:41.  Wow, that's fast.  His college coach told him to "run for something greater than yourself."  His point being that if you're only running for yourself, you may back off in that final lap because you know you'll just race again another time.  But if there's something outside of you that is your focus, you're more likely to push on.

I've found that to be so true.  And not just for an individual race.  It's the same for every single workout.  I push hard the last rep, the last hill, or the last mile and sometimes do "just one more" because there's something greater than me at stake.

People are watching and wanting to see good results.  It inspires them, motivates them to do better as well.

I've had Purpose in my running from the beginning of all this, but it's transformed into something else.  Other people are trying harder, exercising more, living better and smiling more often.  I want to help them along even if it's just a little thing like a random post on facebook that makes them say, "wow, that's fast" and wonder if they could do something like that.

Put Purpose in your running and you will.

Relay For Life and One More Birthday

What a great birthday week for me.

Spent the weekend of my 50th birthday down in Manteo with just about my whole family and a bunch of friends.  I also got to spend a good bit of time on Saturday and then again Sunday morning helping out at Dare County's Relay For Life event.  And what an incredible event it is.  It's kind of surprising how much positive feeling can be generated by hearing about, and seeing, such terrible life experiences.  But that's exactly what happens.

It seems to me that we tend to find the greatest strength and hope in the face of adversity.  Of course it's easier to push back against the weight of the world when there are others facing something so similar to yourself.  The whole "strength in numbers" thing.  And events like this leave me feeling humbled and empowered at the same time.

I remember the first one I attended here.

I had just finished up my radiation treatments, gotten over "the plague", and had worked my way up to walking three miles in a row.  I'd also gained back about 20 of the 40 some pounds I had lost.  I was driving in between contracting jobs and heard an ad for Relay on the radio.  "That's perfect!" I said out loud to myself and jotted down the website address so I could sign up when I got home which is exactly what I did.  I didn't join a team, or create one, or anything.  I just signed up.

Because somehow I thought it was a 5K.  And I could walk a 5K and maybe even jog some!

The next Saturday I heard another ad and heard the words "24 hours."  WTH?  Seriously?  Who the hell does any running or walking for 24 hours?  That's when I decided to actually read the website.

"Oh," I thought.  "I'm going to need a team."

So Sunday morning I stood up in church during the prayers and concerns, admitted to everyone that I was an idiot and needed help forming a team and raising money.  A dozen or so people joined up just about immediately.  It was great.

One of those folks was my Cancer Compadre, Shane.  He and I co-captained the team and did a pretty decent job of fundraising bringing in almost $ 1500.  We also had a good time camping out together that night and talking about ways to do a better job the following year, now that we understood what the hell it was we were supposed to do.  Shane and I walked a lot, too.  Hours and hours together and taking turns.  I don't know what got into me, but I started walking at the noon kickoff and just didn't stop.

While Shane and I talked about things I had mentioned that I wanted to get back to running because the past six months had given me all I ever wanted of feeling helpless and weak.  I talked about what I used to do in high school and Shane even said that he could never really be a runner because his knees always hurt and he just knew he'd hate it.  Well, as we walked a thought sort of got in my head and I wanted to see what would happen if . . . I just didn't stop walking.  How far could I go beyond the three miles I had done a few times that past week?

Turns out that was 105 laps around the track.  26 and a quarter miles.  A marathon.

I was so exhausted and limping, but I made myself do it.  Then was in agony for the next several days, but hey.  I walked a marathon.  Having done that I decided it was time to train and do something even better.  That's another story, but six months later I ran my first and only marathon. 

One year and one day after being diagnosed with cancer.  3:48 and change.

Shane started running after that day, too.  He said he was inspired by me and my efforts and since then the guy has just blown me and himself away.  He's done marathons, Half's, ultras, and even a 200 mile relay!  Had an article written about him in Endurance Magazine.  Totally cool.  He also created the Cupcake 5K as the team's fundraising tool for each year's Relay For Life.  Now it's also become the "big finish" for the weekend.  He and his wife's efforts, along with a long list of others, has taken something as rough as cancer and created a shining diamond of a moment for many, many people.

This year we sold out weeks before the event with 400 runners.  Next year we'll have to go even bigger!

So this entry doesn't go on forever, here's some pictures from the weekend.

There's Shane with the mic getting the volunteers together.

 

 

 

 

Happy Faces at the Starting Line

 

 

The fast guys take off.  Blue shorts up there, Chad, won it.  Second was Millar the guy in black there, and third went to my motivation/inspiration, 48 year old Keith in the white with black shorts.

 

 

 

On the far right edge of the picture is the Mile 1 sign.  Missed it by that much.

 

 

It's an "out and back" course, so here's heading out...

 

 

...and heading back.

 

 

The course finishes on the track with all the attendees hanging around and walkers still on the track, too.  The runners move out to the outside lanes and through the finish line by the main stage.

 

 

In my last post I talked about coming in last on purpose to encourage the folks that were struggling to finish and take the pressure off anyone who was worried about that stigma.  Well at the Cupcake 5K, the last place finisher gets the biggest applause and is accompanied by almost all of the other people who have all ready finished the race!  Another of Shane's brilliant ideas.  The race has always had people in it that were currently going through some serious cancer treatments, so there has always been people using that event, that moment, as a way of showing they were still there and still fighting.

 

This year was no different.

 

The last place finisher went the whole way using a walker and hauling her oxygen tank along with her.

 

 



 

When she finished she took the mic from Shane and encouraged all of us to take advantage of our lives and live them to the fullest.

 

 

 

That wonderful experience was enhanced because I had another friend who came down from Maryland to run the 5K and support me and the team.  My fraternity Little Brother, Blake.  If you've read my book he played a significant part in a turning point for me during my treatments.  He and I walked together behind this woman and chuckled at each other because we were both crying behind our sunglasses.

 

 

 

And heeeeerrrreee's Blake!

 

 

 

All in all I couldn't have asked for a nicer way to spend my birthday weekend.  I even was able to win my age group.  Of course it helped that I wasn't lumped in with Keith anymore.  ; )

 

 









2013 Monument Avenue 10K Results

There.  That title should help with some web searches out there...

What a terrific weekend!

As I approached this year's Monument Avenue 10K I felt sure I could beat my time from last year, which was a 44:04, because I knew I'd been training with more distance and tempo runs.  Optimism.  Then I looked at that pace, 7:04 per mile, and how in my last three tempo runs I couldn't hold a sub 7 minute mile for more than 3 miles.  Hell, my last one I only made two miles!  7:04 for over six miles seemed a little out of reach.  Anxiety.

So I pulled up my training log from last year and found I hadn't run crap over 7 miles back then, and I've been getting in at least one 7+ mile run or workout in every week since January.  Optimism.  I also have been able to negative split my 10 mile runs finishing them at about 7:30 pace overall and even got a couple of sub 7 final miles in there.  More Optimism.

Then on Thursday night something weird happened I still can't explain.  I came home from having dessert with my grand kids and their parents, walked upstairs and almost couldn't get back down!  I had this very sharp, stabbing pain in my left heel where my Achilles tendon connects to my heel.  I tried stretching it some and that was horrible.  I hadn't twisted it, strained it or anything and yet it was if I had a very bad case of tendinitis.  Anxiety.

I took a handful of ibuprofen, and put a bag of Brussels sprouts (I couldn't find any ice packs) on my heel and watched some TV.

It felt a little better.

Before I got in bed I smeared a glob of Blue Emu cream on it and went to sleep.

It still hurt the next day, but only when I tried to stretch it out or walk down stairs.  Walking and even hopping a little didn't bother it too much but it felt hot.  I decided that after work and hitting the expo for packet pickup I would buy some ice and soak this piece-of-shit-old-ankle-that-got-injured-for-no-damned-reason when I got home at night.

During the day my leg didn't feel too bad, but I was careful not to stress it and just limped whenever I had to go down some stairs.  Fortunately, the expo was all on one floor and I was able to move around that with no problem.

I love running expos.  All the people (read that "all the cute running girls"), the energy, and the stuff!  I love stuff.  Especially buying it.  And I found one piece of stuff that I had hoped to find and picked it up pronto.  It's called The Stick.

The Stick is a massage tool that looked to be a very effective piece of plastic and fiberglass.  And all the cool kids at Indoor Nationals had them, so I knew I should have one, too.

The sales people they had at the booth were actually very knowledgeable about physiology and massage therapy.  I told the lady about my Achilles and she said, "you're going to roll this up and down the back and both sides of your upper calf."

"Ummm. OK."

"When you do that you're going to find a trigger point (sharp pain) in one of these three spots," as she pointed to the back of my calf muscle under my knee and off to the outside about three inches below my knee.  "Those spots are where knots form that tighten up your calf and restrict blood flow to your tendon."

Damn if she didn't nail it.

That spot on the outside of my calf made me jump when I hit it.  I went more gently and after a few rubs it worked out a little.

I bought The Stick.

Now I look like the cool kids when I stretch after a run.

On my way out of the expo I met a guy named Daniel Komen.  He was manning a booth with a sign "Train With the Kenyans."  Google Daniel Komen.  Holy cow.

I was standing there chatting with the only human ever to put two sub 4 minute miles back to back.  The world record he set in the two mile back in the 90's still stands, along with his world record in the 3000.

He was super nice and he and his booth-mate David Cheromei run a running camp that is put together as part of a mission trip experience to raise money for the school that Komen started for orphans in Kenya.  My wife and I, along with some friends of ours in our church in Manteo, sponsor a child through Heart for Africa and he was familiar with that and spoke highly of it.  He asked me to come and support his school and said the kids get a lot out of seeing people there to help them and run with them.  He smiled and said, "Kenya make you fastman!"  I've got all their info for doing a trip to Kenya for the camp and then working with the kids at the school or doing grounds/building work while there in hopes I could actually do that some day.

Daniel told me he would autograph my bib number and I got a picture with him.

So cool!

 

So it was home to use The Stick and ice both ankles since I discovered bad knots in both of them.

In high school I had a nice case of tendinitis in the same area and the Trainer had me do a little icing routine using a big bucket and the jacuzzi.  I shoved my leg down into a bucket of 1/3 ice and 2/3 water for two minutes, then immediately shove that leg into the jacuzzi where the water temperature was about 100 degrees.  Sounds painful doesn't it?  It is.  Ridiculously painful.  But I only had to do it twice in two days and the inflammation was gone and I raced on it like nothing had ever happened.

I don't have a jacuzzi and I remembered how much moving into that hot water felt.  I figured I'd do without all that this time and just do the ice part.  So I dumped about half a large bag of ice into a paint bucket and filled it with water.  Then I grabbed a beer and used my phone as a stop watch.  Three times in and out and that should do it.

 

 

I soaked for two minutes in and five minutes out, then just kept them in there for a full five minutes the last time.  Geez, that was something.  Brrrrrr.

 

Then I massaged with The Stick, popped a couple more ibuprofen, rubbed on some more Blue Emu then went to bed.

 

When I woke up I felt fine.

 

Moved around the room.  Stretched.  My calves felt sort of tight and sore liked I'd worked them out hard, but there wasn't any sharp pain, even when I walked downstairs.

 

Sweet!

 

The race itself went about perfect.  Just like the weather.  55 degrees, sunny and a very light breeze.

 

I decided to do this race differently than I usually do, which is out fast and see how long I can hang on, and do the negative split thing I'd been doing on my long runs.  According to the things I've been reading it's best to go out for the first quarter of whatever your running at a pace that is slower than what you actually want to average for the race.  Then you steadily speed up, but just barely.  It makes it seem easier and it feels like I always have something in the tank along with speed if I want it.  I was surprised as I got to mile 2 at 7:10 pace and had been telling myself to take it easy.  Hold back.

 

At the 5k mark and the turnaround point I was at 7:04 and felt very strong.  It was also the only point where I got a good picture.  I took about five during the run and they all looked like crap.  But this one looks cool:

 



 

Hitting the turn hard

 

 

I pressed the first half mile after the turn and didn't get passed again the whole way.  I would look at my Garmin and watch as the average time dropped steadily.  At mile 5 I was dead on 35 minutes and a 7 flat pace.  I was going to PR this bitch.

 

I reminded myself of how dead I felt last year at this point and how hard I was fighting just to hang on.  "Completely different," I said out loud.  A guy next to me glanced over and I continued, "compared to last year.  I feel great this year!"  He smiled and grunted, and slowly faded off behind me.

 

I was grinning as I looked ahead and started pumping.  My hands were relaxed (except for holding my phone), my legs were driving along, and I kept on accelerating.

 

I covered that last mile in 6:26 and was smiling ear to ear when I came across the finish line.

 

I swear there are very few feelings in this world like the one I get when I run fast.  I don't even know how to describe it except that I always remember that day I was laying at the top of my stairs exhausted, sick and weak, then compare it to what I was doing in the last strides of that race.

 

And I just smile.

 

Exercise and Cancer

Bob and I got an email from someone who came across our blog and wanted to share one of her articles about how exercise can impact someone going through cancer treatments.  Having been through all of that myself, I know that my job as a contractor kept me physically active throughout the process and it made a positive difference in not only my energy levels, but in my emotional state.

So here's a little something from Melanie Bowen who writes for www.mesothelioma.com:

Fitness Can Help Cancer Patients Heal Faster and Feel Better!

When people are diagnosed with any form of cancer, including rare forms such as mesothelioma, many become depressed, and most often are in shock. At first, many don’t know what to do or where to start. Exercise may be the last thing on a cancer patient’s mind, but it is one of the first lines of defense in cancer treatment. Exercise helps to remove toxins and free radicals from the body to help the immune system fight foreign bodies such as cancer. People who don’t exercise will have a higher risk of complications in terms of healing from the surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.

Cancer and fitness go hand-in-hand as long as there are no extenuating circumstances such as anemia. Anemia may inhibit some cancer patients from exercising. Check with your doctor to confirm that there are no extenuating circumstances so you may receive the following benefits from exercising.

1. Build Your Immune System With Exercise
Physical activity can make immune systems stronger by fighting free radicals in the body. The body will heal faster when the immune system is strong. When patients receive radiation and chemotherapy, the body will become weaker so therefore even the smallest amount of exercise could help a patient bounce back quicker. Patients with strong immune systems also have a higher chance of fighting the return of cancer. Sedentary patients typically have a higher risk of recurrence because their immune systems tend to be weaker.

 

2. A Patient’s Prognosis Can Improve With Exercise
Studies have shown that patients who engage in physical activity for 30 minutes or more on a regular basis will improve their prognosis significantly. Research shows that exercise decreases not only the risk for recurrence of cancer, but also the risk of developing another life threatening disease such as diabetes or heart disease.

 

3. Energy Balance is Achieved Through Physical Activity
Energy balance is necessary for cancer patients to function throughout the day. Many cancer patients often become fatigued during treatment, and exercise is one way to make them feel more energized. Exercise also releases endorphins that keep the mood elevated, which is necessary in the proper healing of cancer patients. The emotional benefits of exercising are an essential piece of the healing process, and the endorphins from working out will help throughout your battle.

 

Engage in Physical Activity as Much as Possible
Because of the studies done on cancer treatment and fitness, many people are improving their health and living longer after cancer treatment is complete. Many physicians are recommending exercise for other health conditions and are obtaining favorable outcomes.  If you are not feeling motivated, talk to your doctor or a support group to help find your way. Some patients even set a goal such as a cancer walk or attending a number of group fitness classes to keep moving forward. No matter what your exercise choices are, they will make you feel better and more energetic!

A post not about running, training, P90X, cross-training or any other super searchable words

So let me tell you how things work in my house.

My wife told me the tank on our toilet seemed to be sloping backwards.  I took a quick look at it and tell her it's because it's an old style toilet with only two bolts.  These things sit up straight because the rubber seal between the tank and the bowl has four little feet on them and after awhile they get squishy and it slopes forward or back.  "I just need to replace it," I say, "Only take fifteen minutes."

"We'll stop by Lowe's after church," she said while brushing her teeth.

We get into Lowe's and walk around to the plumbing supply area and I can't find the part I want.  I start describing it to the guy (there's always 'the guy' at Lowe's) and he says, "Yeah, that's an old toilet. We'd need to order that."

Debbie pipes up and says, "Let's just get a new toilet."

Fine.

So we cruise around two aisles and pick out a new one.  On sale!

"Hey," Debbie says, "We've talked about remodeling the bathroom anyways.  I hate that shower unit."

The Old Shower

"Sure," I chime in.  "We can tile the walls, get a nice tub and new fixtures. Let's see if we can find a tub that will match the toilet."

So we walk around the corner and immediately find a great one on sale because it's a display model and they were discontinuing the model.  There were only two left and we grabbed the left hand drain one and put it on one of those big ol' trolleys, leaving the toilet on it's own little one.  Fortunately, the designs of the two looked remarkably similar so we were really pleased with our luck.

From there we hit the flooring department to look for tile, and went to the piles of them they had on clearance.  There were several different kinds and I had figured we only needed about 60 tiles.  We narrowed it down based on color wanting to keep it fairly neutral in case we decide to sell or rent the place in the future.  The tiles we settled on were only 58 cents a piece which is just ridiculously cheap, so we decided we'd bump up the design a little bit with some sort of accents.

Normally in showers where I'm doing 12 x 12 tiles I'll go about 5 feet (tiles) then rotate the tiles at 45 degrees.  Makes a nice look.  In this case we also picked up some cool glass accents that I'll use to create a 3" divide between the first 5 tiles and the angled ones at the top.  It's going to be really nice.

So we haul everything home after miraculously getting it into the Equinox I'm driving right now.  Then from there I got it all upstairs.

We decided to just set it all in the guest room because it was going to take me a bit to get all this work done since I was only going to be able to work at nights and on weekends.

Notice how that one box of tiles is opened?  Bottom right of the picture there.  Well Debbie pulled some out and carried them downstairs.  I get down there and she's laying them out on the foyer floor.

"I really hate this old slate in here."

"Only because it's hideous," I reply, "So what are you thinking?"

"How much would it cost to tile the downstairs?"

"I figure we've got just under 790 square feet down here, so not even $500!  I'll call Lowe's and see if they've got enough of those tiles left."

They did and delivered them two days later.  41 boxes of 'em.

While waiting for the tiles to get there I made some attempts to get the slate up.  No dice.  They were installed into a bed of wet cement as opposed to be glued down to a slab.  The kitchen has tile that would pop right up, but then I'd have to level that floor with the foyer.  Same was true about the ugly laminate we have in the dining and living room areas. The laminate was glued down, so it wasn't going anywhere and was a nice flat surface. I checked the bottoms of doors and measured the dishwasher and decided I could just go right over the top of everything.  Not the best way to go about things, but sometimes the most cost-effective.

From there we talked about the layout and snapped some lines to follow to ensure the pattern matched up perfectly from the foyer and around the hall and kitchen.  Then I started removing doors and hauling stuff out of the kitchen, like the big hutch full of dishes, cookbooks and glassware.

Now our house looks like Oscar Madison's place.

 

Dishes on every flat surface

 

Tools on the table and floor

 

 

 

Everything shoved out of the way for the layout work

 

Doors and tile all over

 

Well, since I didn't have any of my tile saws up here I decided to get started doing all I could without cutting anything or putting myself in a tough spot to get a tile under a door jamb when I go to put those pieces in.  I've done that before and it's a big mess and pain in the butt because those pieces have to slide under the cuts I make in the jambs so I've got to leave room to slide the tiles.  And this way I could get that critical layout work done as well as get the dishwasher out of the way.

 

I got a long way prior to going to Manteo for the weekend and coming back with a saw which I needed to use to get things finished under the dishwasher.  Once that was wrapped up and put back together I got to get all the dirty dishes out of the sink and cleaned up at last.

 

So here's where I am right now:

 

Kitchen Floor

 

Foyer Floor

 

Connecting the two in the Dining Area

 



And here's where the toilet is that started it all:

 

... sigh.

 

"It'll take about fifteen minutes."



Still Sick

There’s a ton of stuff written about how regular exercise helps your overall health.  A consistent regimen keeps all of your systems moving along well right down to the cellular level, so not only is your circulatory system clicking efficiently along, your immune system is, too.  However, that doesn’t mean one can’t get sick.

And this One did.

I’ve heard for years about “cold and flu” season, but never taken it seriously.  It’s not like I don’t get sick now and then, but I have a short memory when it comes to that sort of thing.  So when the news is talking about some new strain of flu or the number of states that are seeing widespread outbreaks, it’s like I’m watching a documentary about whale migration patterns.  Interesting, but it’s not something I’m ever going to deal with directly.

So the combination of my personal demeanor and the fact that I keep myself in good shape pretty much leads me to ignore a lot of really good information and habits that could’ve helped me avoid this past week.  Things like washing my hands regularly throughout the day, keeping them out of my mouth and not doing things like biting my nails, and taking advantage of immunizations like the flu shot.  You’d think I’d be better at that stuff because of my recent experience.  Hell, I think I’d be better at it.  But I’m not.

I know stuff about myself that most people don’t know and don’t care about.  I know my weight within two pounds even though I don’t get on a scale but maybe once a month.  Sitting here I’m at about 144.  Down a little since I haven’t eaten much this past week.  My resting heart rate is around 63, but I’m sure it’s elevated these days because of all the cold medicine I’ve been taking.  I’m guessing I’m at 68 right now.  My blood pressure hovers around 100 over 68, but again it’s probably higher these days because of the meds.  My liver enzymes are probably high, too because of all the Tylenol in the stuff I’ve been taking, but that will come back down to normal when I stop.  My BUN numbers are going to be up right now, too because I’m sure my kidney’s aren’t working like they should right now, either.  They’ll be fine once I’m through this.  What’s your white blood cell count?  I know mine; it’s just below the normal range sitting around the low 4’s.  Slightly elevated above that currently because I’m sick, but like everything else they will fall back to numbers familiar to me.

I know all of this because of having cancer.  I have seen all this information over and over for the past 5 years or so, and it’s become old hat.  I’ve seen the numbers change and watched how they move when we treat certain things.  Pretty cool stuff actually, to learn how things affect your body in very specific and measurable ways.  I’ve learned that my body does much better without any vitamins or supplements and just eating right each day.  Doctors will tell you that all the time, but until you watch your blood numbers improve because you STOPPED taking vitamin C and started eating a piece of fruit or drinking a glass of juice every day, it’s hard to believe it.

The last thing I talked about, the white blood cell thing, is the factoid that I’ve ignored for the last time this year.

A short explanation (really short) of white blood cell counts: Normal is somewhere between 10.5 and 4.5.

People familiar with that will laugh right here and say, “yep” but know there’s at least another chapter explaining what those are and what they represent, but for this blog just know that bit there.

When the cancer thing started my levels were always up around the low 7’s.  “Robust” was used to describe that aspect of my immune system.  It’s why I hardly ever got sick and very rarely was an illness serious.  My colds went by faster and easier than most people.  I realize now that history has made me lazy.  After my ridiculously high levels of radiation treatment, etc my white blood cell counts are where they are now: just below the Normal range.  When I raised my concerns about that to my doctors they all said that is my “new normal” and that it won’t be a big deal.  They did tell me that I would be more susceptible to getting colds and that I should start getting the flu shot.

Brilliant.

I’m only a week into this little Personal Growth Stage, but I believe I have learned a valuable lesson and will get the shot next year.  Of course a vaccine is not a sure thing, but most proactive behavior isn’t a guarantee just way to improve our odds.

“Live and Learn,” they say.  And you know I’m all about Living.  I just need to keep Learning as well.

 

I'll be out and running again, soon but I want to get through these coughing fits first.  If I were to go out today, I'd find myself doubled over and hacking for a second and somebody would probably jump out of their car, knock me down and start trying to give me CPR.  I can do without that today, thanks very much.

Executing the Plan

So I’ve been away from the blog for about a month but I have not, however, been away from running.

I call this time of year my “Rest Phase” because I use the winter to sort of take a break from the intensity of interval and hill training and just run for maintenance and fun.   The weekend runs I get to do with my friends in the Outer Banks are great fun and have prevented me from doing close to nothing at all for a week.  Since my vacation in October I’ve been able to average just over 23 miles every week, thanks in large part to a couple of 16 mile runs with the gang at the beach.

That consistency is what I wanted to see from myself for this winter, because it would be a first.  In the past I’ve pretty much bailed on running for maybe a month or two and find myself in February unable to run more than 5 miles at a sub-8 pace.  That’s how I measure almost everything; by my Half in 2010 which I ran in 1:39:16, or about 7:33 pace.  And I did that day after running the 8k as a warm up; holding myself to an 8:00 pace.  I was in great condition then for longer distances and would like to have that again, but that’s not my ultimate goal.

Sub 5.

First I want to hit that in the 1500.

Then I want to break 5 in the mile.

I’ve been saying that was my goal for a while because I wanted the goal out there to help me be accountable to it, but I honestly felt like the mile was pretty much a pipe dream.  However, with last year’s 5:16 in the 1500 with a couple of broken ribs and three weeks of no running leading up to that race, I’m beginning to believe it’s really possible.  I KNOW Sub 5 in the 1500 is doable, so what’s another 109 meters?  18 or 20 seconds?

Looking at my training log for last year I spent the winter really only being good about a couple of things:  Plyometrics and weight training.  The idea behind that focus was to build leg strength and develop “pop” which would increase my overall speed.  I ran some every week, but my longest runs were around 5 or 6 miles, and they were slow and easy.   I picked up my interval and hill training in February, but my long runs never got long.  Still, on March 31^st I surprised myself with a 44:04 10K which was the second longest run I’d done since November the prior year.

Of course I felt it In that last mile, but the plyo and weights seemed to have worked.

So this year I’m keeping that part “religious” as well.  I believe that really worked so I’m sticking with it.

I’ve altered the weight training a bit though, as I have followed the advice of my coaches from my track club here in Richmond and am going to build my sprinting speed.  That means different weight training.

Now last year I was doing heavy squats, lunges and step-ups but I was doing it “wrong” for building my top end speed.  I added strength and muscle to be sure, but the way I did my reps was still geared more to endurance.  I would do sets with very little rest and too many reps.  I told them I was only doing sets of 3 reps with the squats, but because I didn’t allow myself full recovery in between I wasn’t getting the full benefit of the heavy lifting.  That’s what they tell me.

Plus they want me doing dead lifts instead of squats.  Apparently that does more for the muscles I use for speed than squats do.  Both these guys are currently, and have been for years, nationally ranked in Masters Track.

I just started the dead lifts, but the plyo and sprint workouts I’ve done for over a month and I’m really pleased with the results.

Last year I maxed out my plyo routine, The Flamboyant Workout, at 4 sets.  Right now I’m doing 5 then go right out and hit the upper body work and deadlifts.

Also, my 50 meter sprints have gotten faster.  I realize my hand timing is inherently imperfect, but I am consistently hitting in the low 7 seconds where I used to be up at the top end of 7.  Another anecdotal piece is how I did against the guys this past week.  Kestner, one of the coaches and the fastest 55 year old you’ll ever see, was going full bore and could only edge me by a stride or less.  He kept beaming at me after each rep and my other coach, Spoon, was saying I looked like a sprinter in form all of a sudden.   The funniest part was how everyone else was panting after each rep and it took me about 5 seconds to get my wind back.

Next month we’re going to time me in a 200 and 400 just to see where I am, then start the interval training.  Meanwhile, I’m going to keep at the 5 to 10 mile runs three times a week and keep them around 8 minute pace or lower.

If I stay away from injuries and keep the commitment, I’ll come out of this winter in the best position I’ve ever been in to see what I can really do in the summer.

Starting To Run Again

Ed's "Starting Over" Story -

The friend of ours that asked us to write about what it was like when we started out running again just went through knee surgery and has been dealing with some serious health issues for years and wants to believe she can run again.  Of course I said, “sure you can!”  I have another friend who was told she’d never walk well, let alone run or ski again, and yet she’s doing both.  Starting over is going to go slow, be tough and at time will seem impossible, but it’s not.  Just keep at it.

I had not run regularly since 1981 and I started over at the end of April in 2009.  About six months before that I was told I had cancer.  My prognosis was good, but that the treatment was going to be tough.  And man was it.  Topping it off I caught some sort of virus, the flu and got a sinus infection at the end of that March and wound up losing 20 pounds in two and half days.  My turning point happened that first day I regained some of my faculties and drove myself to pick up several gallons of Gatorade.  I had double vision so badly from dehydration I could barely aim the truck, but I’m a stubborn idiot and wasn’t going to call anyone for help.  Besides, it was only a few blocks away and I needed it fast.

I had all ready downed one 32 ounce bottle before I got home.  Drank the second one in the kitchen, and then walked up stairs with the third to get back in bed.  The last three steps I had to put one hand down to balance.  When I reached the top I just moved forward onto my hands and knees and collapsed.  I had to rest before I could even go that last 20 feet and climb up into bed.  I remember laying there for a bit and telling myself that the worst was over and thinking, “I never want to feel this weak again.”

A couple of weeks later I started to walk for exercise.  My wife and I always walked a lot together, but it was difficult for me to go more than a couple of miles, so when she was gone working I would make sure to walk a couple of miles every other day.  At the end of that April I tried to run three miles.  Didn’t make it and had to walk at the end, but every other day or so I made sure to get out and try.  I kept a journal (a spreadsheet because I’m a geek) and I’m glad I did.  Hell, I just got to look at it so I could confirm something I thought.  I ran between three and four times a week and it wasn’t until the seventh week that I was finally able to run five miles!  I remember that first month and thinking, “I’m not getting anywhere.  This just feels harder and harder.”  Almost two months of running and I had bupkiss.  I knew then that if I didn’t set a goal and tell people about it I was going to quit.  And I did not want to quit.

The Outer Banks Half Marathon and Marathon finished right down the street from my house and was about six months away.  I could do 13 miles six months from now.  I could, if I don’t quit and keep at it.  So I went online to register and saw something pretty cool.

The date of the races.

I signed up and kept running.  I got some great help from a high school friend of mine named Robin who is an amazing distance runner and was a coach and training consultant.  She, along with the support of many friends and my family, kept me on track through the injuries and discomforts that come when running a really long way.  It wasn’t easy, but sticking with it did something wonderful.

On November 8^th of 2008 I was calling my kids to tell them I had cancer.  On November 8^th of 2009 I ran the Outer Banks Marathon.

One year and one day after being diagnosed with cancer I ran 26.2 miles.

Back when I saw the date I decided that if I could run 13.1, I could walk the other half.  Didn’t matter if I crawled; I was going to do it.  Surprisingly enough I broke 3:50.  Boinked bad the last three miles, but that ain’t a bad time at all.

Top of the stairs, baby.  I am never going to feel that weak again.

 

(This is actually from the next year when I ran the Half.)

Fun Run for a Good Cause

Ed -

I got to go back "home" to Manteo, NC this weekend and run in the All Out Pink Road Race.  It was two races actually: a 5K and an 8 Mile race.  I did the 8 Miler because I wanted to have a longer fast run as part of my training plan for next spring.  These runs are done as fund raisers for breast cancer research and programs around the Outer Banks and are put on by a local boot camp type fitness club along with a ton of sponsors.

The cool thing is that they worked in an extra feature by having contestants do a bench press contest when they pick up their bibs.  80% of your body weight as many times as you can up to 20.  With each rep you get to lower your time by 15 seconds.  You can opt out of that and just be a runner, like I did, but the Get Pumped For Pink shirts you get for that part are pretty nice.  Plus it adds something to the finish line party.

You hang out with people asking how many reps they got, talk about where you finished.  Everybody's got calculators out and talking about how great it would be to "really run a 55" for 8 miles.  Energy and fun.

Because I got the shingles this past week I followed my doctor's instructions, sort of, and took it easy.  The rash was very painful and uncomfortable, but not horrible.  And it didn't spread any more over the last couple of days, so I figure I didn't mess up by running.  It's only around my torso from my chest to my back, but the thought of lying a on a bench and pushing up a weighted bar was more than I wanted to put myself through.  Just running is fine by me.

Since I am a cancer survivor myself I'm always up for doing anything that helps fund research, treatment and most importantly to me, care for the patients and their families.  Plus the funds from this one stay local which means people I know as friends will benefit regardless of whether or not they're dealing with breast cancer specifically.

But Pink is the theme and I wanted to get into it some and went out looking for pink stuff to run in.  Did you know every freaking thing women run in has pink in it somewhere?  But there ain't a damn thing for guys!  I could buy ladies socks, shorts or singlets, but geez...  I figured if I were going to go the gay route I'd go full bore, as it were, and get a tutu, boa, and dye my hair bright pink.  Oh! And wear pink body glitter.  If you're gonna go, go big.

But I had a bunch of work to do at my house right after the race and my wife will see the pictures of this thing so I decided to try and avoid anything that big.  But I couldn't find crap.

Then a friend suggested hitting one of the big sportswear chains like Dick's and look in the football section.  Football on all levels it seems got with Nike and they have a whole Susan G. thing going on.  I was able to get a nice technical shirt that was black that said "Blitz For A Cure" on the front in bright pink.  I had black shorts (don't we all?) and got some cool Nike wrist bands also in pink.  What's really cool about them is that the words "Dedicated To:" is embroidered on them.  I had two people immediately come to mind and found a sharpie at the race.

Gay was a friend of mine from high school, an incredible person and also a runner.  Last year I happened to catch a reflection of her snapping a picture of her kids that she posted on facebook.  Her hair was gone.  I messaged her and just said I was butting in and asking because I cared, knowing that she and I hadn't traded but a couple of sentences over the past 30 years since high school.  She told me everything and wasn't really hiding what was happening, but wasn't all public with it either.  Over the next couple of months we traded many messages, a couple of cards and a letter along with my book.  She passed away so fast.  I put her name on wrist band number one.  

On the second one I wrote down "Kathy."  Kathy works at the Ace Hardware in Manteo and was there when I first set up my credit account with the owner himself by shaking his hand.  I love small towns.  Well Kathy is one of those folks who's huge on helping other people and was the team captain for the Ace stores for Relay for Life in Dare County along with every other cause that came along.  When I got sick she was one of the people who checked on me every time I came in the store and we became good friends during that first Relay I was involved with as I recovered from treatment.  Well now she's in a fight of her own.  Still working, still giving to others so I wanted to show my support for her.

 

 

 

So I had my outfit and I took off for the run along with a bunch of friends from The Outer Banks Running Club.

 

This run was an out and back across the old Mann's Harbor Bridge and offered a long straight line with a small bump as a hill.  Not thrilling by any stretch except for the view.  Unobstructed, out over the sound in the breeze on a beautiful Saturday morning.  One of those things that just makes you thankful to experience it.  You can't get this feeling from inside a car, and this feeling is one of the many reasons I run.  Without running consistently I'd never get to trot comfortably across this bridge and turn my face into the breeze . . . and breathe deep.  Loving the warmth, smell and strength I have right now.

 

And of course I remember not having anywhere near that strength.

 

So for that hour, out and back on that bridge, I remembered, prayed and appreciated all that everyone was doing that day for people dealing with cancer.

 

When I got to the finish line a friend of mine, Shane who call my Cancer Compadre since he had the same cancer I did just before me which led to our friendship, was at the finish line volunteering and jumped out to high five me.  Someone snapped a picture as I turned towards him and somehow caught the joy I felt by being there, donating a little money, and sending a ton of positive vibes out to the world.

 

 

 

I seriously love running.