Ramblings

So I'm back from a great vacation, haven't written anything here for awhile and tonight I still don't have much of a plan for what to write tonight.

...and when did the lack of a plan ever stop me?

During my trip up to New Hampshire I got in a couple of decent runs and discovered another cool aspect of being a runner.  The network that appears just by being out there and running.

About a year or so ago now, I was doing a group run in the Outer Banks with some of my fellow Outer Banks Running Club members and we had someone join us while she was on vacation.  Sharon had found the through facebook and put in a dozen or so miles with us if I remember that right.  I learned that she was from New Hampshire and had done all sorts of tri's, marathons and ultras including a 200 mile relay race.  My wife and I had gone to New Hampshire for our honeymoon so I mentioned our trip up Mt. Washington and how amazing the wind and weather was up there.  Sharon said they have a road race there every year that's about 8 miles in length with an elevation gain of about 4000 feet.  The t-shirts say, "There's only one hill."

New England understatement.

Well, Sharon and I friended on facebook, so when this trip came up I got some great tips on a place to run while I was up in Attitash.  Very cool of her.  And I met her because of running.

And as for running in New England:  The first morning there I did an 8 mile run and it was only 36 degrees out.  Four days later I got up to run and it was 82.  Yeesh.... Glad I packed a bunch of stuff.

Plus I guess you have to carry bear repellent if you're ever going to run trails.  We went out for a walk and weren't 100 feet away from the condos and I saw this

 

And in case you can't see it, my footprint is in the top left corner of that picture.  Apparently the bear was heavier than me by a good bit.  What do you do if you came across a 250 pound bear while running?  Keep running?  I don't want to find out what works and what doesn't.

 

 At any rate the week allowed me some rest and recovery by taking 7 days off from intense stuff and I'm ready to get back to it.  I read almost all of Greg McMillan's new book, You (Only Faster), and it's really motivated me.  I've got my first of three track meets coming up on June 22nd where I'll be running the 1500 and the 800, with the focus on the 1500.  The third meet is on August 4th not too far from Bob's neck of the woods, in Hershey, PA and I'm really looking forward to that one since it's supposed to be a pretty big event.

 

With the extra inspiration running through my head I started looking at the indoor meets I could and put on my schedule the Indoor Nationals which are in Boston in March, and the Outdoor Nationals that will be in Winston-Salem, NC next July.  Those will be my target times to peak and we'll see if I can find a little more speed.  Speaking of that while looking for meets to run I came across the facebook page for last year's Indoor Nationals and they had thousands of pictures!  It only took 11 hours of digging, but I found a few of me.  I jest, they were in order by the day so it was easy to find the M45 800, but I would have dug none the less.

 

Here's the start with me scared to death and standing next to Khalid Mulazim and a dozen other ridiculously fast people:

 



So cool that my daughter was there to yell, "yay dad!" when the stadium went silent after they announced my name and where I was from.  That's her with the two phones taking pictures!

And then there's this one of me actually running.

It was a total rush to be out there running as fast as I could, and I can't wait to get back to it!

A little lesson in humility

The problem with having a blog is that you have to write stuff on it.  Otherwise, you probably should not have a blog.  I should not imply that there is a problem with having a blog.  The problem lies in the fact that if you have one, you should write on it.  Even if people totally ignore it.  With all that being said, what happens if you actually have nothing to say or write, yet you still feel obligated to write or say something.  Well, I guess we are about to find out.  I get tired of talking about myself.  Nobody may believe that, but it is true.  Me, me, me.  Look at me run.  Listen to me run.  Read about me running.  I think I will try to take the focus off me for today and talk about others. 

I have lost 14 pounds in the last couple months.  7 in the last month.  I am still eating well but just cut out most of the junk.  All of the junk.  I miss salt the most.  I have found that I used so much salt in the past that going cold turkey made everything taste like nothing.  A steak tasted like a shoe.  I've never eaten a shoe but I can imagine it would be fairly tasteless.  I used to love cold, leftover steak.  Pull it out of the fridge, pour salt on it, take a bite, pour more salt on it.  Etc, etc...ad infinitum.  <<<< I like using Latin phrases and words when I can.  It makes me look more smarter, I do believe.  As in, I used to eat steak fat, pork rinds, a carton of Ding Dongs, et al.  Et al is one of favorite Latin situations.  Now, I think I remember an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies where Jethro was speaking Latin.  Here's what I remember.  Granny, "Jethro, where did all the vittles git to."  Jethro, "Dang Granny, I et em all."  I learned a lot from the shows of the sixties. 

My running seems to be getting better.  I am definitely feeling more motivated again and started setting realistic goals.  For a pretty long time, I was eating lots of food, et al, and not running in a focused manner, ad infinitum, and sitting around wondering why I wasn't getting faster and/or losing weight.  Ibid.  Goals do not reach themselves.  Motivation mostly comes from yourself.  Something has to click.  I feel that something finally clicked.  I know that when I push myself, all aspects of my life seem to get a bit better.  Under acheiving makes one feel like crap. 

I will leave everyone with this.  Oofum, Daglus, Mootanufus.  This in Latin means, You do not get stronger without getting stronger, hard work pays off over time.  The people who made up the Latin language had a way of condensing  many thoughts and words into little, concise phrases.  For example, when Caesar said, "Et tu, Brutus?", I would have said, "What the hell Brutus?  Your stabbing of me is not only leaving me in physical pain but my feelings are hurt as well.  If you really did not like me, maybe we could have sat down and had a talk.  Now, please stop stabbing me because I feel as though I could die soon."  Instead, Caesar just said, "Et tu, Brutus?"  Short, to the point, remembered for centures.  If I could do that, my posts would be about three lines of verbiage.    So, to sum and conclude, I say again,"Oofum, Daglus, Mootanufus."

"Running keeps me sane."  House Vandeweghe

Race day report

Well, today was race day.  I am going to give a full and detailed report of my run.  But first, I'm gonna need to talk about what happened after the run.  Most of our running group went out for lunch afterwards.  I have spent this week eating much healthier and I actually lost about 4 pounds.  In the long run, this is going to be great.  Not sure if it sapped some of my energy for the run, but that is an excuse for another story.  The point of what I'm trying to get across now is that I ate way less food this week.  Then today, I ran a half marathon and went out to lunch.  In my mind, the eating healthy and the 13.1 miles meant that I could eat whatever the hell I wanted today.  In the olden days, people would go fairly long periods without eating much.  Then finally, they would catch a bison or an elk or maybe a huge tuna and they would eat the heck out of all that.  This is where the words feast or famine came from.  People were hungry and they were famished and then they caught a warthog and really ate it.  The stories of this always made me hungry.  Stories of roasting a warthog over an open fire on a spit.  Reading of our forefathers and mothers chewing on a greasy leg of an albatross made me really hungry.    Anyway, if we can flash forward to today, I ordered a pierogi casserole.  I think the recipe for this was as follows.  Take 100 pierogies.  Add copious amounts of cheese and onions.  Stuff them in a casserole dish and serve to the masses.  I think what the recipe was calling the masses, were my love handles.  Let's just say they were happy.  My love handles are saddle bag-like remoras of skin and lard.  In times of strife they feed off the potato chips and gravy drippings that don't make it into my mouth.  I think they call this a symbiotic relationship.  I don't know because I haven't taken science since 1956.  All I know is that my love handles need me to drop food to them and I need them for this particular post.  In all actuality, I would like to get rid of them but due to the pierogie pie thing, that won't happen for awhile.  I'm going to try and upload a picture of the casserole, but if you can just imagine a throw pillow of cheese, potatoes and pierogie, that is what you have.

Now for the race.  I felt pretty good for the start of it.  Then for the next 13.1 miles I felt like shit.  When I crossed the line and stopped, I felt good again. 

I have felt like I have been overly sappy lately, but here is the reality of today.  I saw people do incredible things.  Lots of people getting pr's.  People busting their butts to get across the finish line.  People doing whatever it takes to get over the line.  People helping other people to get to the line or get medical attention.  People running that should not have been running.  Gutting it out.  Friends coming out to cheer us on.  The moments of silence for Boston before the race brought tears to many people's eyes.  When I say silence.  I mean there was not a sound.  It was really something.  You could just feel the emotions the crowd was feeling.  I have incredible running friends.  This is one of the few times that I didn't care that much about my time.  Not that I didn't try, I was spent, but just finishing was enough.  To sum it all up, it was one of those days that will leave an impression on me.

In conclusion, it was a good day.  The bad news for my love handles is that their remora days are over. Their days of wine and pierogie pie is done.  I'm on a mission to do some serious stuff.  

I think I should be one of People Magazine's most beautiful women and not Gweneth Paltrow

As I start obsessing over what will be my 8th official half marathon, I had a thought.  It is well documented by whoever listens to me that I keep swearing off anything with the word thon in it.  I actually swore off them after my first half marathon.  My first half marathon came after my first marathon.  My first marathon was the worst experience of my life.  It took forever.  I think my time was three and a half days.  As we all know, the crowds for these events are incredible.  It seemed that all of New York was out that day in 2007.  They were all cheering for me.  At least I'm pretty sure they were.    This cheering went on for the first part of the first day.  By day two, people had kind of forgotten about me.  Day three of my marathon came and the people were getting hostile.  They wanted me out of their city.  They finally said take your medal and get out.  I did, and I swore off thons.

There is an old saying that goes something like this, "If one cannot lie to oneself, then who can one lie to?"  It is old and someone said it.  No one knows who and no one really cares.  It is one of those things that someone said around a fire or beside a river and the scribes wrote it down and it got lost in the translation over time until I found it again and put it here.  I'm bringing it back because it applies to me. I lie to myself all the time.  I keep telling myself that I am not going to run this stuff anymore and then I do.  Right now I'm mad at myself because I don't feel that I am well enough prepared to do what I want to do.  Every race I run, I want it to be faster than the last.  I'm pretty sure that isn't going to happen this time.  I try and tell myself that I don't care.  That I can just run and be satisfied that I did it.  But that isn't me.  In addition, I'm just never that happy running 13.1 miles.  I am the happiest guy in the world when I'm done.  Well, about 20 minutes after I'm done, but not when I'm running.  I have moments, for sure, but it ain't every mile.  I've done enough half marathons, that I know when I'm at the starting line on Sunday, I am going to say, "what am I doing here?"  I also realize that I'm lying to myself again because I know why I do it.  Because I like a challenge.  I like to push myself.  I love the feeling when I'm done.  I say this to anyone...just running 13.1 miles is an accomplishment.  There was a time that I could barely run from telephone pole to telephone pole.  I know there are many people who can relate to that and I appreciate all the work that runners put into running.  I appreciate all the work people put into life.  It is not easy.

I have set a new goal for myself and that is to try to eat healthier.  I've rationalized long enough that I can eat what I want because I exercise a lot.  At my age, that is not the case.  It is hard to keep the weight off.  I have a goal weight in mind.  I want to make sure that I'm getting proper nutrition to ensure I keep muscle on while losing the weight I want.  I really want to see how fast this old body can go.  I do not feel I am at a plateau yet and I feel the need to really push.  I hope I have the will power to push it where I want it to go.  I would like to know, just once, that I reached some sort of potential that I have.  I love the quote by Steve Prefontaine.  "To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift."  We all have gifts, very few really appreciate them or use them to their potential.  I know I haven't.  I don't think it matters whether you are faster, stronger or smarter than someone else.  What matters is that you are as fast, strong or smart as you can be.  Wasted potential is a sad thing.  As you get older, it becomes more profound.   The feeling of lost potential.  You cannot get that time back, but, if you are lucky, you do have tomorrow.  I have tomorrow and there are some things that I want to do.

In conclusion, my concentration has been ruined by Jeopardy.  It is on, and I am trying to finish this and answer questions to Trebek.  If I were on that show, the realization has hit me that he would say, "Nourse, stick to running and lifting weights."  I'm okay with that.

The Song of Gilligan

It is exactly three weeks from the half marathon.  Three weeks.  This will be the fifth time I have done this particular one.  I remember when I did it the first time.  I said it will be my last one...ever.  So, five of these and a couple of other ones later and I'm still at it.  I keep saying that I'm not going to anything with the word thon in it again.  But, I keep signing up.  As the pain goes away from my last marathon, I am even considering doing another one of those.  I kind of feel like the last one beat me.  I'm trying to decide if I can live with that.  My biggest realization in the last few weeks is that I am pretty much full of shit.  I don't mean to be.  I fully intend to concentrate on shorter races, like 5k's, but then something happens and I get the urge to do something else.  I've done three Tough Mudders.  I thought the first one would be my last.  The second one definitely was my last.  Until the third one.  The third is probably my last.  The cost is getting prohibitive.  That is my main reason.  The cost is crazy high.  I have also gotten to the point where I don't just sign up for lots of stuff anymore.  The costs of numerous races is just a lot of money.  I'm trying to pick and choose the ones I really want to do and the ones that are for a good cause.  I would like to do something Tough Mudderish, because I like to climb over stuff and I like mud.  I like the upper body challenge.  Blah, blah...blah.  This is really boring.  I am boring myself to tears writing this.  Do I stop?  Have I gone too far to delete?  It is sort of like an out and back run.  Once you go too far, you have too far to go back.  All the sudden you are running a crap ton of miles, or in this case, writing a crap ton of words.  I'm like the Gilligan of blog post.  Go out for what you think is a three hour tour and then I'm stuck on a island for years.  This post is my island.

Let's regroup here.  Due to the fact that this is a running blog, I'm going to say something about running.  Today, while running through the woods with my friends, I made the statement that I could run forever if my legs didn't get tired.  They laughed, because the legs always get tired, but what if they were so well conditioned that they didn't?  At least for a long time.  When I was coming off my plantar's issue a few years back, I experienced a moment of zen.  I had such a bad case, that I could not do regular runs for months.  That is when I started doing the step workout, switched to training in Vibram's, running in Kinvaras and fully embraced the minimalist thing.  Taught myself to run on my forefoot again, like I did when I was a sprinter in high school and college.  Got my stride back, and stopped being a plodder.  Anyway, I strengthened my feet and my calves by doing lots of step work.  Also, did lots of kettlebell work.  When I started running again on the road and the trails, I made sure that I did a quality run.  Quantity did not matter at the time.  I just wanted to run and finish strong and with a positive attitude.  If that was two miles or three miles, it was fine...as long as I finished strong.  The kettlebells and the steps worked my legs in a way that was just incredible.  Flash foreward to my first 5k after my comeback and my legs never died.  They felt strong the whole way.  I was actually surprised to see the finish line.  It was awesome.

Knowing that my long runs have not been real good leading up to this half, I have been beating my legs up in other ways.  They are sore and tired.  I am hoping to pull all this together in the next few weeks and have a decent performance in the half.  In a way, this is like my first one again.  I just do not know what to expect.  I know I can finish.  I know that I can do okay, but I'm just not sure what okay means. Last year I knew that I could do a sub 1:50 if I was on my game.  This year, I'm not sure.  I'm getting excited to find out.  Then on to bigger and other things.

I believe this is one of the reasons I still love running.  I'm still surprised and amazed to see what my body will do on any given day.  I have to stop writing now and find a way off this island.

Training for Fun Running

Since the Indoor Masters meet a couple of weeks ago I'm now back in my groove and training again for the meets coming up in the summer.  I'm using the pattern I laid out in my last post: one long run, one tempo run, one speed workout and one sprint workout combined with weight training.  That leaves me two days of rest, or a day or two of easy running, each week.  It's very apparent that I haven't done my long run in three weeks now and it shows most in my tempo runs.

I can't hold what should be only 85% pace for more than two miles.  That's a little disappointing, but I've got time and it'll come to me if I keep at it all.

The sprint workout this week was better than last week and I wasn't nearly as sore.  I felt completely recovered just two days after that even though my tempo run was a little weak.  We'll see how the 400's go tomorrow and my 10 mile run on Sunday morning.

I'm really psyched about the schedule and the variety of workouts I've found over the past year and now I get to put them into action.  That 800 race has really bolstered my confidence in my plan and I can't wait to see where it takes me this summer.

I always feel better when I'm running.  I feel strong, free and a long way away from where I was just four and half years ago.  Makes me smile.

Being in shape, being able to push through some discomfort and getting faster is just a fun, fun feeling.

As awesome as that is, it's not quite as fun as hearing my oldest step-daughter telling stories about how she's screwed up the Tooth Fairy a bunch of times.

For some reason that little transaction keeps slipping her mind in the middle of the night.  One time she woke up and realized she didn't swap the tooth out so she runs into Ava's bedroom yelling, "Ava!  Get up!  I need your help!  I can't wake your father up and he's going to be late for work!"  Ava sort of stumbled out of bed looking at Amy like she was nuts, walked into her parents' bedroom only to find her dad was up and in the shower.  Meanwhile, Amy was grabbing the tooth and shoving a dollar back in it's place.

Another time she walked into Ava's room as she was waking up with an armful of folded laundry and pretended to trip and threw it all over Ava.  As she tried to dig herself out of the pile of clothes, Amy made the exchange again.

The best one, though, was when both parents realized they had blown it again when Ava came walking into the kitchen fighting back tears.  You see Ava tends to take things very seriously and she holds onto information forever.

A couple of years ago to get Ava to brush her teeth better, and answer the question "what does the Tooth Fairy do with the teeth?" they told her that the Tooth Fairy used the teeth to pave the roads in it's home town.  And to build beautiful, white buildings.  The Tooth Fairy only gave money for the best, cleanest, well cared for teeth, so brush well!

Fast forward to that moment in the kitchen.  Amy's having coffee and trying to wake up as she hears Ava.  ..sniff....sniff....."I.....didn't......" she opens her hand slowly showing her tooth "...brush...well enough!"...SOB!!!

Amy hugs Ava and starts to yell, so Sean can hear upstairs. "Oh no honey!  You brushed fine!"  (getting louder)  "The Tooth Fairy didn't ignore your tooth!  We just had the house painted and the windows must be stuck!  I'll be the Tooth Fairy TAPED YOUR DOLLAR TO THE FRONT DOOR!!  Meanwhile Sean is tearing down the stairs with tape and a dollar yelling, "I'll check the door you guys stay in the kitchen!"

He barely got outside the door before Ava came running out of the kitchen hoping for all she's worth the Tooth Fairy really did get locked out.

I don't think Sean actually put the dollar on the door he just held it up for her to see.

Tragedy averted.

I can't wait till the next tooth comes out!

Running in Manteo

Despite having to take an unplanned rest day for sudden shin splints, I had a great Tempo Run this morning putting 3 miles behind me in 20:54 after a mile run at 8:30 pace then followed those miles with almost 3 and a half more at below 8:30 pace.  That part of my training, speed with some distance, is going well.  However, after my 10 x 200 workout on Sunday, I know that my lactate turn stuff needs improvement.  Especially since I have the 800 to run in Maryland on the 24th.

I have those workouts on the schedule so I'm confident it will come together.

But for today's blog I wanted to give y'all a look at my long run on my "original" training route in Manteo, NC.

I start and finish at my house (duh) right at the rose arbor I built a few years back.

 

Crepe Myrtles are pruned and ready for spring.

 

 

I head up the street, right to left in the picture above, and around the corner to head up to the North end of the island.

 

After rounding the corner, I run along the sidewalk where I blew up my ankle by stepping on a pine cone in the dark, and then past the high school and my church then come up to the next corner where I turn right to head towards the sound.  Right at the half mile point and at that corner is a house where I've done a bunch of work.  I transformed an unfinished garage with a dirt floor into a two room efficiency with a kitchen, laundry room, and bathroom with one of the coolest decorative ceilings I think I've ever designed.  I also created the paint scheme and selected the colors for the house which was nothing but peeling white paint before I got ahold of it.  We actually used 3/8 paint brushes to do the railings.  But even now almost 6 years later it looks fantastic.

 

 

There are 8 different colors on the front door alone.

 

 

From there I chug down Scuppernong (a street name), past mile marker one and turn left to run along Mother Vineyard that parallels the Sound.  Along there is a couple of my favorite spots.  A tunnel cut out of cedar trees,

 

 

and the 1.5 mile mark where I can look out across the Sound to Nags Head.  Many mornings I've seen the sunrise from this corner, and the view is always something that makes me smile.

 





 

 

The road bends back around to the left here and I have almost a half mile exactly before turning right and heading North on the bike path.  This is a long stretch, about 3 miles, but full of niceties along the way.  Mainly there are always people out here and more than half of them I'll know.  Along with their dogs.  It's always fun to hear, "Hey Ed!  In town this weekend?"  Of course sometimes I'll yell back, "Nope," and watch their faces crinkle up then laugh.

 

One of the neat places I pass is Island Farm.  It's a place set up to show what things were like on the island back in the 1800's.  Complete with cows and native horses.

 

 

They ignored me when I called them today.

 

 

Further up the path, at about the 4 mile mark is Fort Raleigh Park.  That's where the first English colony was established on this continent back in 1587.  And, yes, it's the famous "Lost Colony" which vanished without a trace before supply ships returned to them after being away during the war with Spain.  When I want to go 11 or 12 miles I'll duck down into the park here and run through the trails in the woods around the Fort.

 

 

 

After that it's just a mile to the end of the island and the Mann's Harbor Bridge.  That's where over 300,000 purple martins roost every summer.  Watching them come in at night is something everyone should see.  It'll take your breath away.







 

 

 

 

What's totally cool is that I took that video after running 5 miles in under 40 minutes and I'm barely breathing.  Love it.

 

From here it's back down the path passing all the same stuff, but from the other direction.  (Captain Obvious strikes again.)  Including "the Hill."  Every time we come to this point we yell, "Hill!!" and charge up it.  All three strides....

 

 

Hey, It's a flat island.

 

 

And here's a shot of the bike path I took on the run.  It's sort of the same view a dozen other times along this route...

 

 

A little farther down the path is one of the several horses people own.  This one decided to at least look at me.  I guess it knew I hadn't brought any baby carrots with me because he didn't come over to the fence to see me.

 

 

 

Just before I make that last turn onto my street there are three little houses called the Toy Boat Houses and they're a great place for folks to stay when you come here for Relay for Life in May! 

 

 

Note the totally cool tree house!

 

Just google "Roanoke Island Accomodations" and the first link is to a friend of mine's website.  It's an amazing site that will give you all you need to find in the Outer Banks.  I'd put the link up but telling you to just google that proves that this guy owns Search Engine Optimization.

 

 

 

And when you come visit I'll be right on this front porch to welcome you.  I probably won't be sweaty and have the red eyes from running in the freezing cold...unless of course we go for a run!

 





A Running Addiction

I'm having a good couple of weeks here training-wise.

I've been following my schedule tightly and it seems to be working really well.  To review:  Each week I have a variety of runs and exercises designed to develop a different group of muscles, a different system in my body, or some different discipline that will help me race faster.  I have one long, moderate run of 10 miles.  A Tempo or Steady State Run where I go about 85 to 90% of 5k race pace for anywhere between 20 and 40 minutes.  Then there's a Speed or Hill workout of intervals from 200 meters to 800 meters, and finally a Sprint workout where I'll do 50 meter or shorter full out sprints and plyometrics.  I had gotten away from doing the heavy leg lifting, but my coaches admonished me enough so that I went straight to the gym after practice last Sunday and did my squats like a good boy.

I say "admonished" and by that I mean they were saying, "That's okay.  Just be slow," or "what are you some sort of baby?  Is it too hard for you?"  That sort of thing.

Bitches.

 

Here's a heat in practice.  I'm the white guy....getting beat by everyone including the 14 year old girl.  Sure she's a prodigy, but still.

I showed them.  I did my squats and threw in some deep squat jump ups in between each set under the bar.  Which is why I had to move my week around on Tuesday.  My butt cheeks, hammies and quads still made me flinch every time I moved, so I wasn't going near a hill workout in that condition.

To fill in the rest of my week I either rest or run 5 to 7 miles at a very easy pace.  I've found that running a very relaxed paced 5 miles the day after a hard workout doesn't seem to stress my body all that much and it's enabled me to move my weekly mileage up nicely.  I shouild get to about 40 miles a week by next month.

My last Tempo Run was a beauty for me and I think is a great indicator of how well things are going.  Based on my last couple of months and I had scheduled my Steady State and Tempo Runs to stair step up in distance and stair step down in times in hopes that I could get myself to the paces that the McMillan Calculator says I should be using for those runs.  (I hadn't been within 20 seconds of those paces for runs of 2 miles or more)  So this last Tempo Run was supposed to be a set of 2 two mile intervals; each one being 7:15 pace.  The Calculator said I should be doing these at 6:50 to 7:10, but I hadn't gone that fast yet and didn't think I could.

I ran my first mile warm up in about 8:30 and took off into the first of the two intervals.  Mile one went by easily in 7:13 so I picked it up just a hair and did the next one in 7:08.  Before that 2nd mile was done, though, I felt so good I decided to keep going.  Mile three felt good again and was still a little faster at 7:03.  Time to go...  I pushed into the 4th mile feeling very good and could even talk.  Yes, I talk to myself when I run sometimes.  I'm pretty sure I even use my hands when I do it...

Mile four was my best at 6:53.  Negative splits just like I'm supposed to and right in the wheelhouse.  I finished the last two miles of warmdown at just under 8:30 and was not even breathing hard at the end.  My legs were drained and tired but I swear I was just over my resting heartrate.

Sweet.

Today I took my scheduled day of rest to give my legs some extra time to get ready for tomorrow's Short Hills.  I'm planning on doing 8 reps this time; two more than a couple of weeks ago, and we'll see if I feel as comfortable as I did then.  I'm not bumping my planned times down just because last week was so fast.  I'm still aiming at 1:20 or less for each rep, but I'm adding two more reps to the stack.  I'm also putting a full one mile warm up and cool down in as well to increase my mileage for the day.

Topping things off each day I make sure to get my pull ups, push ups and sit ups in as well.  I'm now doing 15 pull ups, 40 push ups, and 40 sit ups with 10 twists on the last one.

And of course at night I'm tiling still.  Well grouting now.  Here's the living room tonight:

You can see the wet grout I just did

 

 

There's still a little bit of tile cuts to make for the corner under the TV, but I'll do that Saturday after a quick trip down to Manteo to get the chop saw, stand, compressor and nail guns to do all the baseboard work.  My wife has also come up with an idea for a mantle which I will be building in the coming weeks.  The magazine picture she found is taped to the wall where I'll be doing the construction.

 

All in all I'm a happy boy.  Even if I'm a Running Addict.

 

 



The trail run

Yesterday I did a trail race through the woods of New Jersey.  It was a beautiful trail.  Up and down hills and through woods and there were waterfalls and other things of nature that many people can appreciate.  The problem was that the trails were full of ice, snow, rocks and mud.  All things that I normally like.  However, yesterday was not my day.

I felt kind of miserable from the start.  I had a sort of "what am I doing here" attitude.  It was a 10 mile run.  I have not done 10 miles since the marathon.  In fact, the most I have done is 8 since I had my knee and eating issues.  Whenever I find myself feeling like the first mile is endless, I know that it will not be my day.  I walked a fair amount.  There is nothing wrong with walking, but I just don't like when I have to.  I have found through exhaustive research that walking makes the whole experience take longer.  In other words, running makes the run go faster and be over sooner.  Here is the other thing...I am a slow walker.  I am a relatively fast runner.  I am a very slow walker.  My family all make fun of me in normal day to day life, because they say I walk so slow. "How can you just have run that fast in a half marathon and you are three aisles behind us in the grocery store?"

When I walk, I feel every ache and pain that life has thrown at me.  I am like the Quasimodo of walking.  Hunched over, depressed, people throwing things at me.  I remember being in high school, my teachers would mock me and throw books at me.  That is one reason I became a sprinter.  To get away from flying books, but that is a story for another day.  The point here is that I did not enjoy much of my run yesterday.  At a few points I told myself just to relax and appreciate the scenery and revel in the fact that I am alive, healthy, running and amongst nature's beauty.  That attitude lasted about a half a mile and then I said to myself, "so what?  You're 52.  You've seen lots of trees and rocks.  This sucks."

For a while, I was running with a group of people who I did not know.  There were a couple women, probably in their early twenties, that I was behind in a pretty narrow stretch of trail.  It was not an area that was easy to pass someone, so I was kind of close behind.  One of them said, "would you like to pass us, sir?"  They were being polite and were using some running etiquette that many runners do not have, but I was thinking, "how do they know I'm a sir without having turned around and looking at me."  I wondered if I had old sounding feet.  If my breathing sounded like a man in the latter stages of life.  Or maybe I just smelled grandfatherly.  You know that smell of Old Spice, shaving cream and old skin that comes with being old.  I don't use Old Spice, but as we age, we take on smells that we aren't even exposed to.  My father smells like pine.  He isn't a woodworker and is mostly indoors, but he smells like pine.  Anyhow, they knew I was elderly and I responded, "no thank you, I am in no hurry, but thank you."  From that point on, we became sort of friends.  The cool thing about running in the woods is there is a bond that comes from not wanting to get lost and the comfort of knowing others are around to find the right path.  I had my Garmin and they would ask me on occasion how far we had gone.  At about mile 8, they took off.

The other cool thing about runners is that we will help each other if absolutely necessary, but we all would rather not stop and interrupt our run if we don't have to.  I think they sensed the potential of me falling, dying or crying and took off.  I appreciated that, and figured I would do the same if it were them.  On trails, you see a lot of people fall and you kind of step over them and/or do a little reach out for them and ask them if they are okay as you step on their leg for traction.  You truly hope they are okay, but you don't really want to know if they aren't, because that means stopping.  I was behind one guy for a while who kept falling on the larger patches of ice.  Like three or four times.  I am not the brightest guy in the world, but in those areas I would find alternate ways to get over the ice.  This guy kept falling.  In my brain I named him Falling Waters.  It seemed funny at the time.

I'm going to have to end this, because I'm getting terribly bored.  I've come way to far to delete or edit, so it is going to print this way.  Suffice it to say, that I lived, I did ten miles, I spent a good part of the day with good friends and I am left with the knowledge that I got through a rather difficult run and am ready for my next one.  Just not today.

What a bunch of crap

My running is getting better.  I am able to go longer distances at a faster pace and I am able to talk for a good bit of it.  I partially judge my fitness on how much I can talk on a training run.  I actually can't believe that I have become a running talker.  Or a talking runner.  I think it comes from my inherent hatred of long distances.  I need something to take my mind off the miles.  When running with people I am comfortable with, that means talking.  When running by myself, that means I need music.  Trail running provides all kinds of distractions.  Squirrels, bears, twigs, roots, rocks, cliffs, etc.  The miles go so much faster when I am distracted.  We ran yesterday in the aftermath of a "snowstorm".  In our area, we got about 5 or 6 inches of snow, which wasn't bad, but it was windy.  Very windy and cold.  The wind was blowing right in our faces for much of the time.  We also run in a fairly hilly area.  I found that the concentration it took to not let the wind blow my face off, took my mind off the hills.  My friend said that the hills took his mind off the wind.  It is all in the perspective.  My point being, I like stuff taking my mind off the run.  I may have said this before, but I don't think that I am a runner who goes out to run to clear my mind.  I don't find joy in the run.  I find joy in the effects of the run.  In other words, especially when I run by myself, I just want the run to be over.  Once it is over, I think back to how wonderful it was and I can't wait for the next one.  I think part of the euphoria is that I didn't die.  My runner's high comes at the end.  I'm in my car, I have a Dunkin Donuts coffee, and I am alive and thinking about what I just did.  Time spent with good friends sharing in the run is also incredible.  During a race, I am totally different.  I don't want to talk.  I can't talk.  I shouldn't be able to talk.  For those running purists out there who say you should just be in touch with your body and listen to your pace or your feet and shouldn't talk or listen to music or communicate with squirrels...well, fuck you.  I am a middle aged, average looking, middle of the pack amateur runner who is just trying to stay in shape and die in a healthy manner.  Speaking of music, I have had disagreements with people over whether to listen to music or not when we run.  My opinion is that if I am too stupid to see or hear a car coming, or a bear attacking me, then I deserve to be run over and/or eaten.  There are runners out there that take themselves far too seriously.  As important as it is to me, I have to rein it in every once in awhile and say it is just running.  I am a decent recreational runner with some goals I want to achieve.  Therefore, I train with the intent to perform at a certain level.  That level kicks me out of the run for joy club.  The joy I get is seeing my body respond to the miles and the surprise I still have when I am able to get certain results.  I am on a quest to see what my body can do at a semi-advanced age.

I just read an article about what aging does to performance.  Everything falls apart, basically, as we age.   I don't really need to read this to know it, but it when you read about it, it is kind of scary. Testosterone levels, heart rate, muscle tone, bone structure, fat loss, brain cells, rate of recovery...pretty much everything.  What gets stronger as we age, at least in some of us, is the resistance to quitting.  When we are younger it is just easier to quit.  We think we have plenty of time to make up for things.  Well, time catches up with us.  We get older.  Life beats us down.  At least it thinks it does.  But we make it to a certain point and we make it through certain things and we kind of beat time and life.  It pounds us and pounds us some more, until it just doesn't hurt that much anymore.  And something like running, while painful, is really nothing.  It is just running.  I personally feel that I am still in my twenties.  I am an old, kind of wrinkly, gray and sore twenty year old, but mentally I don't feel like maybe a 52 year old should feel.  However, I realize every day that I may hit a plateau physically at any time and I'm not ready for that yet.  I want to try to pull every bit of performance out of myself so I can start the slide down the other side knowing I did everything I could to see what I could do.  I can't go back to high school and do things again.  Back then I half assed everything, never really pushing too hard.  I can't get that back, but I can do what I can right now.  I would like to see what I can do.  All I really know, is at this age, pain just doesn't hurt that much.  I'm gonna leave it at that.

Addendum to the story that should not be told

Bob

I went back and read my last post and I have decided that I sound like a big, whiny baby.  Boo hoo baby pants.  While I was angry at the time, I want to make it clear that I was not crying.  I was having a tantrum, but there were no tears.  If there were tears, and I am not saying there were, they were extremely manly ones.  Like hail they would have been.  Killer hail shooting out of my eyes.  But, it did not happen.  It bothered me that I did not run in an event that I really looked forward to.  I also want to make it clear that I do not blame running for my problems.  I had some knee issues before and particularly doing some of the tasks of my job.  If I were to eliminate anything out of my life it would be work.  Particularly the part of my work that entails kneeling down and fighting to put a lazy susan into a cabinet.  Other kneeling things hurt, but that was the one that got me good.  Shooting pain in the side of my knee.  Like a hot knife.  Felt like I could not get up.  My first thought was I was not going to be able to do the marathon.  Then it happened again and again.  Each time it happened I got up and it felt better.  It got to the point where I would kneel with my left leg sticking straight out.  If my customer would see that action I would typically get, "and you are going to run a marathon soon?  Like that?"  And I would be all like, "well, I ain't gonna be putting in a lazy susan when I'm running, so I should be fine.  And by the way, shaddup!"  My philosophy on running is this.  Running does not hurt runners.  Runners hurt themselves.  Usually by doing something dumb.  Going too far, too fast.  Going too far and too fast.  Or just plain going too fast or too far.  There are times when we step on something, or fall down a hill or get eaten by a bear, or some other thing that is beyond our control, but typically it is from doing something we should not be doing.  Running has been some of my best therapy, physically and mentally.  I was in way more pain before I started running regularly.  The time I hurt myself the worst while running was when I made the mistake of feeling too good.  I was 49 and I felt like I was 20 that day.  I was cruising up and down some hills.  One more, and then one more.  This is great, I said.  The next day I woke up with the worst pain I have maybe ever had.  Could barely walk.  I have told that story before and it could be told again another day, but I said to myself to be careful when you feel too good.  Don't overdo it.  One reason I believe I still have all my fingers is that everytime I turn on a saw I make sure to think where my fingers are.  To concentrate and respect what can happen if I let my mind wander when I am cutting something.  I try to do the same thing when I run.  Not that I don't give it my all.  I do.  Especially in a race.  But I don't do some of the speedwork I would like to do and I don't jump over some stuff that I really want to jump over.  In summation and conclusion, running is my go to therapy.  As much of the other stuff I do, this is what I set my mark to.  The goals I have in running keep me sane.  Life is tough, running makes it better.

The story that should not be told

Bob

Okay.  Here is the thing.  My knee hurts.  It has since the marathon.  I have been running since then, but it has not been the same.  It will get better.  It does when I rest it, but what exactly is rest?   Here is my philosophy.  I have an active job and am on my feet all day, so I can't really rest.  Therefore, if I can't really rest, I may as well run.  This has worked in the past, but not so much recently.  Frustrating.  I did not run in an event on Saturday in order to rest it and not aggravate it more.  Guess what, it felt better.  But...and this is a big ole but.  I am totally aggravated.  Not running, even for a few days makes me mad.  I'm like an angry bear that got his salmon taken away.  The salmon is right there, I can taste it almost, but it got away.  Or the bear can taste it.  I get all mixed up in these analogies, or metaphors, or whatever they are.  Am I the bear?  Or am I like the bear?  Or, am I the salmon.  Or, since I am toxic, am I salmonella?  It reminds me of the old story, Salmonella and the Seven Dwarfs.  Salmonella's evil stepsisters would not let her run with her seven dwarf running buddies and she turned into a pumpkin at midnight.  Right in front of a prince.  So close to marrying a prince and she turned into a pumpkin.  Come to think of it, I could be the seven dwarfs.  When I can't run, I turn into the Sybill of dwarfs.  7 personalities of non running fairy tale dwarfs.  Wimpy, Grumpy, Gimpy, Tubby, Sobby, Ingy and Rex.  In addition, I start to get mad at other runners.  I typically love all runners.  So much fun.  So happy.  Improving.  Running. Running, etc.  But when I am not running, I think, "why are they running?  Where do they think they are going?  They are going to hurt their knee.  Running is bad for you."  I feel, in my case anyway, that the whole being smart and listening to my body thing is not my deal.  Remember Woody Hayes and his three yards and a cloud of dust philosophy?  Mine is close to that, except it is "put your head down, stupid, and run straight."  The point of the whole thing is that I will tell you and anyone else that rest is good.  And it is.  In all seriousness, I am actually kind of careful when I run.  I have been injured before to the point of not being able to run.  I made that better.  I have figured out what works for me and how to work around certain pains.  I said I would not let that happen again.  This one kind of snuck up on me.  I don't consider it an injury, but rather something that is slowing me down to a degree.  I am at the point in my life that I do not want to slow down.  I want to keep getting faster.  I got away from some of my core workouts.  My strengthening workouts.  I gained weight.  None of this is good for someone with some pre-existing problems.  I'm fixing it.  Getting stronger, watching what I eat and concentrating on my form.  The bottom line is that this pumpkin wants to be a princess again.   I really need some new slippers too, but that is a story for another day.

Coffee Maker's Busy Weekend

Man, what a weekend.

After a whole week of sitting around unplugged and doing nothing but air out my owners showed back up on Friday along with all the grand babies and their parents.

And do these guys like coffee.

The lady of the house kicked things off nicely by filling my reservoir and brewing a large cup of Caribou Decaf before anyone else showed up.  I love having my reservoir filled.  It's just the best.

When I heard the hoards arrive, though, I knew the next morning was going to be wild.  The grand babies love to "make coffee" in the morning for the adults.  Sure I'm a Kuerig and it's pretty easy, but these guys man handle me!  Especially the boy.  He's crazy.

"Button? Coffee?"  presspresspresspress

I swear I don't know what I'm supposed to do after about the fourth whack.

And, oh, how he loves to open and close my lid.   Up, down, up, down, up, down.  Sheesh!  Doesn't he have something else he can jerk around?

It's not all bad, though.  I mean I know I'm bringing pleasure and consciousness to the adults, and the kidlets like it when I make hot chocolate, but if I have to brew one more batch of that Bayou Bold I'm gonna slap Emeril across the back of his head.  BAM!!  Kick that up a notch.

These weekends are tough on me.  I think I do about 50 cups in two days, but then again I get the rest of the week off.  My cousin handles things for the grands up in Richmond while they're there.  It's all Newman's Own, Jet Fuel and Black Tiger.  Nice and dark, baby.

Just the way we like to brew it.

Planning to run . . . or not

Ed -

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!

A day when I live the motto: Everything in moderation; especially moderation.

This is a day where I eat way too much for too long, then sit around and watch the Lions get crushed by some other football team, and pass out with some child or grandchild playing tonka toys and treating me like a jungle gym.

Can't wait.

But this sort of day doesn't just happen.  It takes planning, dedication and attention to detail.  Otherwise you're full after the first plate and there's bound to be more stuff there than I even want to try to eat, but I don't want to be rude so I've got to at least try everything.

This is why I don't drink beer before eating.  Nope.  Beer can come later after the second plate of pie or cookies.  Actually it's best to stay away from anything carbonated to avoid feeling all bloated artificially.  The real bloat comes later after two or three servings of ham, turkey and mashed potatoes.  So I switch to wine. 

I prefer red, but will start with something light like a pinot grigio to have with salad and fruit, then move onto a Cabernet or Shiraz with dinner.  Once I hit the couch, though it's all Budweiser.

So let's talk about running.  (Who needs segue?)

I had mapped out the next 8 weeks of training with three runs of 8 miles or more, one flamboyant workout, one kettlebell class, and two upper body workouts included in each week.

Then I went to track practice on Sunday with my track team The Pony Express.

It was an extra day where I would've rested so I wanted to do something easy and just hang out with everybody.  So I did a short pyramid of 100, 200, 400, 200, 100 with 60 seconds between each one.  It's always fun running fast on an indoor track because you feel like you're just flying.  In reality my times weren't bad at all.  I ran a 16 second first hundred, then 33, then 1:20, 33 and finally a 15 second for my last 100.

I felt winded and had the lactosis going pretty well, but knew I could do that again with a few minutes rest.  But a couple of the coaches had other plans.

"You have plenty of endurance," Kessner said, "but you need speed."

"Top end speed," chimed in Spoon.

Kessner said, "If you want to run four 80 second 400's back to back then you need to be able to run one in 65 or less."

I can't argue with the logic.  Especially since both of these guys are always ranked in the top 20 in the U.S. and are experienced coaches as well.

We talked about what I had planned for myself over the next 6 months or so, and they basically overruled some of it, so we added one day a week of sprints.

On Sunday after my pyramid workout I ran 5 more 50 sprints against all the sprinters in the group.  The object is to run in control, but at about 90 to 95% of full speed.  Focus on form and foot speed.  Kessner, who's over 55 and still runs the hundred in 12 seconds, was in the lane next to me.

I know he was holding back because I beat him every time.  Actually, I won 4 of the 5 sprints.

Ego had everything to do with that.  I knew these guys were holding back so I kept them in the corner of my eye and then pushed all out the last 20 meters or so to move ahead.

At any rate it was a real confidence booster and so we stretched while they debriefed me on what I needed to do from here.

Once a week find 50 meters or so of flat pavement or a track.  Run a full out sprint and time it.  Wait 5 minutes before doing another.  The idea is to be fully recovered.  The second sprint should be a little faster than the first.  Wait another 5 minutes.  I should get a little bored, but don't rush.  Fully recover.  This isn't interval training.  After about four or five of these sprints my time should begin to slip slower.  When I do one that is about a half second slower than the last it's time to quit.  I'm done.

This will build my top end speed and I will still be doing my three long runs per week to keep my endurance where it needs to be.

When it's time to start the interval training again, my leg speed will be faster than it has been which will make my intervals faster.  And my races faster.

The thing I learned after the first day that I thought seemed sort of easy because I was never breathing hard is that it ISN'T easy.  My butt, inner thighs, and calves still feel sore.  Which caused me to miss one day of running as I rested it to avoid hurting myself right out of the gate.

I may need to take a couple of weeks to move back up to those three long runs with these sprints worked into it all.

So back to Thanksgiving.  Have a Great One!!

Shut up and run

Bob -

It is 6 a.m. on Sunday morning.  It is cold.  I have had a busy and hard few weeks at work.  I have run three days in a row.  I have busted my abs with my son this week.  My knee is better, but still somewhat sore.  I am tired.  I can't find my running socks.  How can running socks disappear?  Not just one, but whole pair.  I am old.  I ate too much last night.  I ate too much for the last few months.  I don't feel like getting dressed.  The house is warm.  No one is home.  I can lay on the couch and watch anything I want.  I can eat peanut butter toast and throw some to the dog.  I can drink lots of coffee.  I can stay warm and dry. I can do the crossword puzzle.  I can try to do the crossword puzzle.  I used to be smarter and could do the crossword puzzle.  Or I just had a better attention span.  Or, I had an attention span.  Where did that go?  The attention span of a gnat is what I have.  Although, when you think about it, a gnat has a pretty good attention span, I guess, because they are always very intent on biting me and they don't seem to give up.  I have the attention span of a rock.  They don't really have one is the point I am trying to make here.  Rocks have zero attention span.  I have taken one geology course about 30 years ago, so I have the credentials to make that statement.  Rocks have zero attention span.  That would be the extent of my seminar on that subject and then everyone could have a lunch break for the rest of the day.  The dogs are warm and snoring nearby.  The frost is on the ground and on the windshield.  I will have to scrape the windshield or at least make a big enough hole in the frosty windshield to see until the rest melted.  I love watching the ice melt on the windshield.  I always wonder if I could get pulled over by the police for driving with just a small peephole to see the road.  "But officer, I could not find my ice scraper and I like to watch it melt."  I'm sure I would get a ticket.  Where are my running gloves?  I've had them for about 8 years, and never lost them.  Until now.

Time to get off here and go for a run through the woods.

Running and Fashion Faux Pas

Ed -

Ran twice this week.  8.6 miles at 7:35 pace then 12.6 today at 8:07.  It's post Half Marathon week so I'm not disappointed or anything.

I did get a Flamboyant Workout in on Monday with some upper body and squats thrown in.  Wednesday I did my little pull up, push up, sit up cycle, and of course on Friday I did the Kettlebells class.

 

Happy Running Face

Tomorrow is the first day our track club has access to the indoor track so I'm going up to do a little sprint pyramid workout just to have something a little extra in there.  I'm thinking two sets of 100, 200, 400, 200, 100 with 60 seconds between each rep and 4 minutes between the sets.  Nothing brutal, but since the sprinters will take turns jumping in on one of my reps it should be fun and force me to push at least a little.

The schedule per week going forward is one Flamboyant workout moving up to 5 or 6 sets during that, one Kettlebell class, heavy squats adding lunges and step ups with the bar, upper body basics (pull ups, push ups, sit ups) once a week, and three runs.  The runs will be about 8 miles twice and 12 miles once.  This should have me building a little muscle mass while increasing my stamina for the more intense stuff starting in January/February.

So a week or so ago I wrote about the human scenery at road races and how guys sometimes wear some just bad stuff.  I mentioned that I wasn't really sure what I might have done, but didn't doubt I dressed badly at times.  Well, this morning I was layered up for the cold and noticed something that would qualify as "bad" in my book.

Our track team got new uniforms last winter for the 2012 indoor and outdoor seasons.  They were those Nike superman type uniforms that the U.S. Track team wears only they're red with a little white trim.

The guys reading this that have ever worn spandex know where this is going.

Well, I was a little self conscious about the way the shorts showed off "stuff" as it were but found that wearing those Under Armor shorts helped provide better support as well as reduce the "definition" that was so prominent.  It didn't seem embarrassingly bad at the time and in the first meet so many teams were wearing the same sorts of uniforms so I didn't think much about it after that.

When I was getting undressed from my run in the cold this morning, I took off the long winter Asics leggings I was wearing and then actually looked at myself in those racing shorts in the mirror.

Really?  Ed, you wore those in public?  In front of tons of people?

Do these make my ass look fat?

 

 

Looks like I just painted the lower half of my body.

 

...and of course I just published a picture of it.

 

Oh, I get the irony.  I do.

 

I think I'll stick to the racing shorts from our old uniforms from  here out.



Turning a negative into lemonade

Bob -

I will admit that my running has been not so eventful for awhile.  Some soreness, lots of work and other issues has kept me from exercising as much as I would like.  I tend to beat myself up over this and other things in my life that disappoint me,  until I can find some rationalization for everything.  Then, I can somehow make myself feel better.  In the past, I have referred to this phenomena as going into my man cave of denial.  This is where everything is better than it seems.  My happy place.  It just isn't real, which may or may not make me crazy.  But, like Freud used to say back when he was alive, "you ain't crazy if you don't think you are."  I really don't know if I agree with that, because my personal opinion is that those of us who admit that we are a bit nuts are far more sane than those who think they aren't.  When and if I complete my time travel mechanism, I am going to go back and have a talk with Freud and  maybe have a cigar and some scotch.  What does this have to do with running?  Who knows?  The point of it all is that I haven't run enough as of late and I feel a bit out of sorts.  So, I analyzed the situation and came up with some stuff that I can feel good about.  Instead of feeling bad about not running so much, I figured that I will focus on the positives.  For example, on Thursday, I wasn't even hungry, yet I was able to eat a double cheeseburger from Wendy's.  I then pushed myself to consume all the fries as well.  All this while driving.  I got my head stuck in the bag driving 65 mph trying to get the last fry and was still able to control the car.  This takes tremendous athletic ability and cat like concentration...or reflexes.  Whatever, I did it.  What I don't like to talk about, because it makes me seem like I am bragging, is that I ate the burger without having any ketchup or salt.  Consuming the whole thing without it having its full flavor potential was tough, but I got through it.  I pushed myself like I do for the last mile of a half marathon.  Think of the finish line.  Think of the medal.  In this case, my medal was the tomato I found plastered to my sweatshirt a few hours later.  I display that tomato with my marathon and half marathon medals.  On the wall of my office.  The great thing about a tomato medal is that you don't need a hanger for it.  You just throw it on the wall and there it sticks.  I did a double workout that day as well.  Some good friends and I ran under the stars and then went to Five Guys to eat.  I had another double cheeseburger.  With everything.  As bad as my first double cheeseburger was, the second was incredibly awesome.  Because I was sitting at a table, there was no medal.  Every morsel made it into my stomach.  Good, good day of eating.  So, my running has been bad, but I am eating like a champion.  Chariots of fire filled with fries and donuts.

Today, I decided that I have had enough of riding the gravy train.  The chuck wagon of self pity is pulling off the trail and I am putting on the running shoes.  I have been running, but my diet has been pretty awful and I can feel it in my workouts.  In all seriousness, I love to eat.  I am not going to stop, but I have been going crazy for a while.  Too many calories, not enough exercise.  Up to recently, I have been able to enjoy a lot of the food I like and work it off through running and strength training.  I said to myself today that this is it.  Time to get back on track.  As Freud loved to say, "sometimes a cheeseburger is just a cheeseburger, but with the right amount of condiments, it's a meal."  He was a strange guy.

 

Ed's lunch on Friday:  Double Cheeseburger, fries, Egg Nog Shake, and a diet coke.

Running on Vacation

Ed -

I went to Disney World last week.

Yep, that's the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, with Mickey's water tower in the background, as seen from the Oceola Parkway at about 7:30 in the morning.  I was running along it and crossing the overpass so I snagged a picture real quick.

You see I was running along the parkway to go to Walmart.  I had forgotten part of my costume for trick or treating that night in the part so I had to get to the nearest Walmart to buy the right shirt.

I was "John" from Peter Pan.  I remembered my top hat, round glasses and brown shoes, but forgot the over sized white shirt at home.  So dark and early on Sunday I was up and running a little over 7 miles to get to the store.

I am an idiot.

Because traffic was heavy even at that hour and on that day I kept having to hop off the road and into the thick, lumpy grass and mud that  counted as shoulders down in Florida.  I quickly became convinced of the advantages of running on a surface like that because it was work just to stay vertical and moving.  Lot's of little muscles working to keep me stable and pushing along.

I was hoping my early start would keep traffic at a minimum and I guess it did, but Orlando is a very populated place and people are driving into Disney EARLY.

This was a quiet moment and you can see the shoulder here is about 3 feet wide.  Huge compared to most of the way.  Especially, once I left Disney property.

But the run, while a slow pace, was a good one.  I got a good workout and thought of places I could go to get some decent miles in on trails and how I was going to jump back on the plyo stuff when I got home.  (I did the flamboyant workout this morning as a matter of fact.)  I got to Walmart by going through a toll booth backwards, hopping the barrier!  There was no attendant, just the stupid basket, which is too bad because that could've been really funny.

I bought my shirt and a drink then hailed a cab so I could get back to the hotel in time to head off to the parks again with the grandkids.

As far as running goes it was a very easy week.  A total of 14.5 miles in two runs is all, but an incredible week of memories and fun just the same.

Oh.  And the phone had a button on it that said, "Pizza."  I had to press it....

Time to get back at it

Well, I believe I have suffered the aftermath of the marathon long enough.  My body has been rebelling for awhile, so now it is time for my brain to take over.  Not sure how that is going to go, because my brain has never been the strong one in the relationship.  Don't get me wrong, the brain is quick.  Always on the move.  Always thinking.  But when push comes to shove, it does some stupid stuff.  In this case my body is asking my brain to get back to basics.  Forget about the long stuff.  Go back to running shorter distances.  Rebuild the strength.  Lose some weight.  Bust my ass on strength training again.  That's part of the problem right there, though.  See what my brain just did?  It said it wants to bust my ass.  My ass is like, "no, I want to ease back into the running and stuff", but my brain is like, "no, I'm going to bust your ass, ass!"  Then my stomach chimes in and says, "please don't stop eating like a pig.  Keep pretending that you are training for a marathon and bring me boxes of HoHo's for sustenance."  Then my feet start yelling, "do not let this guy get any heavier!  We ache all the time as it is.  No Hoho's, mofo."  Then my knees are all like, "oh God, here we go again."  It is very confusing to wake up to this, and can be agitating.  Sometimes I wish my body would just shut up. 

In addition to all this, I came to the realization yesterday that I don't need a break from running.  I need a break from work.  I am on my feet all day, every day.  I have a very physical career.  I don't get opportunities to rest.  People say I should take a break from running to rest up.  I figured out that, no, I'm not going to take a break from running.  I'm taking a break from work.  With this in mind, I would like all my friends to take up a collection for me, so I can pursue this line of thinking.  Due to the fact that if I ain't working then I ain't got no money.  So, send lots of money to my PayPal account.  And some gift certificates to McDonald's would be good.

On a side note, I have kicked around getting out of my business.  Only if the right opportunity came up, which is unlikely.  I have been working very long hours for a very long time.  You remember that book, Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow?  Well, it could also be called, Do What You Love and it Could Run You Into the Ground, Plus the Money Doesn't Follow.  Not that this is always the case, but it can be very up and down and sometimes frustrating.  Very frustrating.  The other day, I was encouraged to fill out an online application for a Maintenance Manager job at a local university.  I did, and got a response the next day that they were pursuing other applicants who were more qualified.  This was my response to their response...

Dear Mr. .....,

Thank you for your reply.  While I respect your decision, I don't see how you can make one without seeing someone in person and actually speaking with them.  There is probably no one more qualified when it comes to work ethic, knowledge and skills.  It probably comes down to the fact that on paper I just look too old.  I am used to working 14 to 18 hour days, working with people of all backgrounds and problem solving on many different levels.  I have a degree in business and history, have banking and mortgage experience(15 years) and have run my own business for 14 years.  I run Tough Mudders, marathons, half marathons and other endurance events and keep myself in better shape than most 20 year olds.  I eat stress for breakfast.  You may not read this, but it feels good to say.  Good luck with your search.

Thank you,

Robert Nourse

I actually did send that and it felt good.  I also believe that I will remain in my business and keep busting my ass in my workouts.  It is what I do, plus I don't think I work well with others.  Now my stomach is saying, "get your ass and your knees and that stupid brain over to Dunkin Donuts."  I really love the way my stomach thinks.