Well...I won't say "I'm back," because look what happened last time I did. However, I will say that I'm starting to test the waters of running again, and the signs are looking good...
I got out this morning for a short run. It was a bit chilly so I wore long pants and a long shirt, which made it bearable. I'd intended to only run a mile, but I felt pretty good and had a decent pace so I stretched it into two miles. I finished with a time of 17:50, which is an 8:55 pace. Considering that I did the first mile at about a 9:20ish pace, I must have been really flying the 2nd mile.
Anyway, it felt good to get out again. My mood was much better today, and I'm betting I will sleep better tonight because of the exercise and fresh air.
I want to say a special "thank you!" to those who gave me encouragement while I was down and out. It felt like forever, but really was only about 3 weeks. Thank you Rick, thank you Barb, and everyone else! A special "shout out" to Sara from Running From The Law...she had a great post about the STL marathon, and gave me a nice note of encouragement in the comments on my post from Saturday.
Seriously--all y'all rock. (C: (Special note to non-Southerners..."all y'all" is the plural of "y'all.")
Run long and strong, my friends...
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Testing the waters
Saturday, April 5, 2008
STL marathon tomorrow...
Just a quick post...my best wishes, thoughts, and prayers go out to all those who are running St Louis tomorrow. I wish I were there with you in body, but will definitely be there in spirit. Looking forward to all the post-race reports, and will be overjoyed at your success!
I'm hoping to head out for a mile or two tomorrow--let's see if the weather and my lungs cooperate. I'll be in training to get into training for Chicago, I guess...
Run well! I'm proud of you!
Monday, March 24, 2008
I'm becoming an expert...
I'm rapidly becoming an expert in an area that I never thought I'd have experience with, and definitely did NOT want to get any better at.
That's right, ladies and gentlemen...I am becoming an expert at not running marathons...
The week of my 20 mile run I had the flu, so I only got in about 5 miles. I figured I'd be strong enough based on the rest of my training to do at least a run/walk.
Flip forward to last Tuesday. Hm, chest feels a little congested and I'm coughing. Almost like an asthma attack.
OH NO.
So I went to the doctor Saturday, and again today, and the short story is I have pneumonia. That pretty much means I can kiss goodbye both this weekend's Shamrock Shuffle 8K downtown in Chicago, but also next weekend's St. Louis Marathon looks to be almost an impossibility.
Turns out the STL Marathon organizers will allow you to switch from the full to the half marathon, so there's a chance there--but that depends on me getting a LOT better in between now and then. Right now that's the only hope, but it's very slim indeed.
Let's review my training/not running marathoning history:
- 2006: Trained for the Chicago marathon, but dropped out after week 11 because of plantar fasciitis.
- 2007: Trained for and started the Chicago marathon, but couldn't finish because of the course being closed after 4 hours.
- 2008: See above.
Am I disappointed? Yes, absolutely. But I know that skipping it is the right thing to do...there's no point in causing more damage to myself, taking longer to recover, etc.
I'm signed up for Chicago this fall, and training should start around the June timeframe, so we'll see how this goes.
I'm trying to look on the bright side, though--not running marathons opens up a whole new world of possibilities! I thought that someday I could run the world majors (Chicago, Boston, New York, London, and Berlin)...then, I looked at the qualifying times for Boston and New York. Yeesh! But with little to no effort at all, I can not run all of those marathons! Think of the money and time I'll save!
I kid, I joke. Laughter has always been a defense mechanism for me, and I'm deflecting the upset and the negative emotions I feel. The good news--I ran 90% of the miles in my original plan, I ran faster than I ever have (in fact, completed 5 miles just last Monday at a 9:15 pace), and after a little rest and recouperation there's nothing that says I can't try again.
So Sara, from the excellent Running From The Law blog, I know you're running St. Louis--do well, finish strong, and make me proud! (C:
I'll be checking back in now and then, and this is an excellent time for me to catch up on posts that are more than just running reports...but for now, back to bed to let the medicines do their thing.
Run strong, y'all...
Friday, March 7, 2008
So you think you're too old?
A friend sent me a link to a story this morning that really blew me away. If you think you're too old to run a half- or full-marathon, read this...
http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=britmarathon030508&prov=reuters&type=lgnsMarathon hopeful, 101-year-old , training hard -- Reuters, March 5
LONDON - Already Britain’s oldest employee, 101-year-old Buster Martin now aims to become the world’s oldest marathon runner by completing the London Marathon and celebrating with a pint of beer and a cigarette.
Sprightly and bearded, he completed a half marathon at the weekend in five hours 13 minutes. The former Army physical training instructor works three days a week for a London plumbing firm and says he has trained for the April 13th race in his spare time.
"I've said I'll attempt it," he told Reuters by telephone from his workplace at Pimlico Plumbers. "I haven't said I’ll complete it. If I do make it, all the better. I hadn’t thought of doing it before but someone asked me and the money goes to charity so why not?"
His sponsorship money will go to the Rhys Daniels Trust, which provides temporary
accommodation for families of patients in specialist children's hospitals.
Martin, who had 17 children and returned to work at the age of 99 saying he was bored after two years of retirement, would beat the previous record for world’s oldest marathon runner by eight years.
"If I finish, I'll do what I always do and have a pint and a fag," he said. "People ask what is my secret but I haven't got one. They say fags and booze are bad for you—but I’m still here, aren’t I?"
So, my good running friends, what's stopping you?
Friday, February 22, 2008
I am SO done with winter...
OK, time for winter to be over now. Great to see you, it was fun, here's your hat and coat what's your hurry...BUH-bye now.
Or, is it just me that feels this way?
What kicked this off was watching part of the Today show this morning. They're broadcasting from Miami Beach, FL today, where it's in the 80s. Oh and it was sunny, too.
Don't get me wrong...I enjoy winter, most of the time. But this one has been unusually cold and snowy, and (to get the post back to running,), it makes it next to impossible to run outside. It's typically not light enough to run safely until about 6:30 or 7:00AM, which is too late for me to get out given the length of my mid-week runs now.
As I've mentioned before, the indoor track is an absolute Godsend. One of the neat things is I can catch the sunrise through the east-facing windows, and I get to watch as the sky lights up gradually. It makes that particular portion of each lap something I really look forward to.
And I had some good runs this week--one 5 miler that I was able to do at a sub-9:30 pace. If I can keep that pace for the Shamrock Shuffle in a few weeks, I'll set a new PR by a couple minutes and will qualify for a faster corral next year.
Tomorrow I'm flying out to California for a week-long work meeting. I'll get to do my Sunday AM long run on a path that runs alongside the San Francisco bay, and I always enjoy the scenery in that area which will be nice.
One last thing...Michelle posted a comment where she asked about what podcasts I listen to. I've been checking out a few running podcasts recently, so look for a post here soon with some reviews/links of what I like and listen to.
Happy running!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
The joys of procrastination...
I've been a procrastinator my whole life...but it's good to know that sometimes it's not a bad thing.
Today is my usual long run day. However, yesterday I spent the whole day walking around the Chicago Auto Show, and my feet and legs were tired. Add to that the fact that I wanted some quality time with my wife that wasn't impacted by gearing up for, or recovering from, a long run. I mean, come on people--it's the weekend after Valentine's Day... (C:
Our company has tomorrow off to observe President's Day. So we talked about it this morning, and, instead of getting my 16-mile schedule run in today I'm postponing it until tomorrow. That'll mean the rest of my schedule gets moved back a day, but it's cool. I can deal.
What I learned this weekend--running is my obsession and my joy, but I need to balance it against the rest of my life. So I postpone a long run...or even if I would have missed it...it's ultimately not as important as my relationships, time for me, time for resting, etc.
So look at what you're doing and decide: are my priorities in the right order? Mine are...at least for the remainder of today.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Look at how far we've all come
I had a great 4 mile run today...nice even pace, no stops for water or anything, and I was really in a groove. My pace was between 9:45 and 9:30 during the whole run, and I felt good about that also. It's runs like this when I get into a zone (you know what I mean, don't you?), and my mind kicks into high gear. I had a very interesting thought today I wanted to share with y'all... If you're struggling to complete a half marathon...remember when you could barely finish a 10K? If you're walking more than you're running...remember when you couldn't run at all? I think we as humans have an ingrained need to be better people...or "better animals," as the late Dr. George Sheehan would have said. Having said that, when we picked running, we picked a tough sport. Running isn't for wimps--and none of you who read this, or leave comments, or appear on my blogroll, are wimps at all. If you're struggling or you find it tough, good! The difficulty of running--getting faster, running longer--is what makes us better people. It helps us lose weight. It helps with the stress. It helps you sleep better. But to me, most importantly, it lets you look back on something you've accomplished with a sense of pride and satisfaction. Keep running, my friends. It is hard, but it will get easier. When it gets easier, pat yourself on the back, grab a Gatorade, and then look for the next challenge. It'll be hard at first, but do it until it becomes easy. Repeat this process as necessary. (C:
I was feeling very happy about running 4 miles with no stops, then I got to thinking about how scared I was with my first 5K, and how scary it was to start walking/running, then running/walking.
I bet all of you have gone through this. The whole defeatist self-talk that says "Heck, I can't even walk around the block, much less run it!" But my dear running and blogging friends, stop for a moment, catch your breath, and think about where you are versus where you used to be.
If you're unhappy with an 8:15 mile and striving for faster...remember when you ran a 9:00 mile?
Friday, January 25, 2008
So who went to see "Spirit of the Marathon"?
Did you see it? What did you think? The training stories climaxed with each runner's longest long run (20 miles for the amateurs), and then moved to the race itself. There's an amazing shot where they show the elites lined up at the start, and then the camera pulls up and back to show you the sea of upwards of 40,000 runners waiting for their race to start. It's staggering to see how many people participate, and it's interesting to think how each one of those runners has a story. Toward the end of the movie you see the finish of both the mens' and womens' races. I won't spoil it for you...but let me just say I knew who won but was still sitting on the edge of my seat and holding my breath. They really played up the drama in the last couple miles. After the credits, they showed a "filming of..." segment, and some deleted scenes. It seemed like they were showing you what will end up on the DVD. Who knows? All in all, a very good movie and a good time was had by the whole group of us that went. It's playing again on February 21--if you didn't catch it but have the chance to then, I highly recommend it...
Last night was the screening of the movie "Spirit of the Marathon", a documentary about 5 runners who trained for the 2005 Chicago Marathon. It was a great movie--very inspirational, some funny moments, and lots of tension at the end of the race.
One of the funnier moments--a runner named Ryan Bradley (who is trying to run a Boston Marathon qualifying run) is talking about why he likes Chicago, and he says "The weather is usually nice and cool." Most of the audience laughed at the irony--the 2007 Chicago Marathon was the hottest on record, and Chicago tied a record high for that day. So yes, it usually is nice but not last year!