Monthly Archives: November 2010
Back to basics
I’m not even sure what this title means … I need to type it out. Rarely do a write a title before writing a blog post, but that the line that’s stuck in my head. I have been thinking for a week now about a lot of running-related things, even though I can’t run much. I ran a mile on my recent 5-day trip to my in-laws’ house in Ohio, but that was it. It wasn’t even a good mile.
Through all the ups and downs that running has brought me over the past seven years, there’s no doubt that this year has been the second best running year of my life. The best will always be 2004, the year that it started. Had it not been for that year, I wouldn’t be doing this today.
Despite such an awesome 2010, it’s ending on what many people would think is a sour note. Oddly though, I was only mad and sad about my knee problems for a couple of days. Now I just have to take it for what it is – an opportunity. It is an opportunity to get back to the basic things of working out that I should have been doing all along. Lifting weights, push-ups, sit-ups, walking. Just not much running.
I have been paranoid in the past few weeks that not running very much will mess up what I have done on the scale this year. This morning I was exactly 183, which is actually about a half-pound from what I was marathon week. I couldn’t have been more pleased. While Thanksgiving wasn’t the best of eating holidays, I did something unimaginable, and I’m not sure if anyone at the table even noticed: I had only one helping of food for dinner. I’ve been trying to eat slower and chew my food more, and so far it’s working. It’s back to basics. It’s what worked years ago and with taking most of my running away for a little while, it’s what I have to do. My goal for December is to maintain – if I stay at 14 pounds lost for the year, I’ll be completely satisfied. If another pound goes away, then that’s an even bigger victory.
As far as running goes, I’m so close to 1,000 miles that I can taste it. Only 4.6 to go. The odd thing is, I’m not overly excited about it. Yes, it’s going to be nice to get there, but I’m not getting there at 100 percent. I’ll get there in half-mile or mile increments sometime in the next couple of weeks. A couple of months ago I was ready to party when I hit the mark, but now it’s very anticlimactic. It’s like a really good movie with the plot line falling completely apart in the last 5 minutes. The mileage just isn’t important to me right now; getting healthy is. All I want for Christmas (besides my annual Christmas wish-list post coming soon) is a knee that can go for more than a mile without hurting.
So … it’s back to basics. And when I can run normally again, it’ll be back to basics with that too.
A break
It’s been a while since I’ve had intentional down time. With the exception of a couple of weeks this year when I was sick and my knee injury, things have been on fast forward for a while.
So I’m taking a bit of a break — both physical and mental. I’m not setting a timetable or any rules — I’m doing less blogging and tweeting and spending less time on Daily Mile. I’ve stayed fairly quiet for a few days already and will probably stay that way for a little while. I’m not completely going away … just backing off the peddle a little bit. It’s time to regroup and get to 2011 in a good state of mind.
The 1st mile
I ran a mile last night. Nothing more, nothing less … well, technically it was 1.1. So I ran 1.1 mile(s) last night. It wasn’t too bad; it wasn’t all that great either. It was a mile, much sooner than I expected after my marathon. A mile is a mile. I’m not sure when the next mile will come. It could be tomorrow; it could come on a turkey trot; it could be December before it happens again. Just like much of this year has gone, I will continue to do this by feel.
I do have a consultation appointment with a chiropractor in a couple of weeks. My wife’s chiropractor is doing a patient appreciation event and is offering free appointments in exchange for toys for a Toys for Tots drive. It’s one of those things I shouldn’t pass up. When I was running Saturday, I was thinking about my issues of lack of core training, and if something is out of whack now would be a good time to address it. I’ve been reading a lot this week about chiropractors and runners who use them … some good, some bad, some neutral. So, we’ll see.
So speaking of core training, this week I have busted out my dumbbells twice, done the plank a couple of times and done several sit-ups. It’s not unusual to do something like this, but in the past few months I lost sight of how important these types of cross training things are. When it comes to the core, cross training might not even be the right words — it’s necessary training that I haven’t done regularly in a very long time.
With the holidays approaching and doing less running, I can’t have too much out-of-control eating. A week before the marathon I was 183, so I’ve done a decent job of maintaining. But when I saw my marathon photos this week, I know that I have a ways to go. I need to burn more fat … what the end result is on the scale, I don’t care. I just want to feel better about myself.
So this has become a very random post … but that’s what happens with no running. I’ve got a variety things on my mind and I need a good 3-4 miles a few times a week so those thoughts don’t make it to the blog.
What’s next? Check back later
7.2 miles … that’s all I have to get to 1,000 running miles for the year. Sure, some of those miles are power hikes up a mountain or walk breaks during the marathon, but it’s all grueling time on my feet. I won’t let a few miles ruin the celebration of hitting this milestone. For the record, I’m well over 1,000 exercising miles anyway if I still counted walking miles, which I haven’t done in a couple of years.
The question is, when will I run again? A few days after the Richmond Marathon, I actually feel really, really good. There’s some soreness remaining, but I can handle steps just fine and walking provides a lot of relief. It’s kind of crazy to think that I’m so close to 1,000 miles and it all comes down to literally taking it a mile at a time until I get there.
As for “what’s next” with running, there’s a part of me that wants to sign up for a 2011 marathon and do it all over again. Honestly, though, I don’t want to go through that commitment again right now. If I could heal up quickly and have no problems running in a few weeks, I would consider upgrading my Shamrock race, but those chances are slim. If you’re in Vegas, don’t bet on those odds. And I would say right now that there’s a small chance the Shamrock Half won’t happen.
Whatever I do next comes down to how my body reacts to running again. I was hoping I could do a 2-mile turkey trot next week and the Christmas Classic in Bedford on Dec. 4, but I really can’t say either way what I’ll do. Racing isn’t important right now — getting healthy is. All year I have recovered very well after each race and after most of my long runs, so I just have to listen to what my body says.
So go ahead and ask me “what’s next?” All I can say is I don’t know, and I’m fine with that. For a few days anyway.
“Thanks” isn’t enough
There’s a lot of my mind from Saturday’s Richmond Marathon, but it’s going to take some time to find all the right words for what I’m thinking and feeling. Before I move on to those thoughts or what might happen next, I wanted to give a big “thank you” to a lot of people for all the support over the past few months and year in making this happen. Saying “thanks” isn’t enough, but it’s the best that I can do:
* To my wife
My wife was a trooper on Saturday venturing around Richmond to all the party zones and then walking her way to find me on the course near the end. In addition to all the support on Saturday, my wife never had any issues with my evening runs or early morning weekend long runs over the summer (or my sweaty clothes I liked to leave on the bathroom floor).
* To my mom
From the comments on my blog to some extra babysitting a few nights so I could run, my mom has always been one of my biggest fans.
* To my Daily Mile friends
I almost lumped social networking into one, but Daily Mile deserves its own shout-out. Without the support on there from others going through the same things, or offer advice from there own experiences, I wouldn’t have been able to do this.
* To my Twitter followers
For those who don’t “get” Twitter, you need to find your niche. The support on Twitter is unbelievable and helped carry me through many of my long runs as I took my phone along with me.
* To my friend Travis
Earlier this year Travis and I strung together some awesome runs as we prepared for the Shamrock Half in March. We didn’t run together quite as much in the summer as our training took us in different directions, but his support along the way and the mileage we shared together went a long way in making the marathon happen.
* To my dog Duke
I may get annoyed with his antics on a leash sometimes, but Duke is an awesome running partner. I should write about him more than I do. I have no idea how many miles he’s gone with me this year, but every weekend he was up and out the door at 5:30 or to run several miles of my long runs. He survived the crazy cold earlier in the year and made it through some intense heat this summer.
* To the spectators
The Richmond Marathon has some great support along the entire course (minus the Lee Bridge), along with some good bands and DJs. Even when I was walking, people were able to give me a boost. It’s tough to acknowledge those things while they’re happening, but please, keep lining the course!
* To all my commenters
There’s some overlap here, but for anyone not following me on anything not listed above, thank you for commenting and reading my blog. I’ll never meet many of you, but every comment means the world to me. Thank you.
I am a marathoner, again
I took my phone with me today for a few images -- this is crossing over the Huguenot Bridge overlooking the James River.
I could be mad. I could be sad. I could feel sorry for myself.
But this isn’t the time for any of that. If I’m hard on myself or upset about how today went, I would be doing a disservice to myself.
Another view of the James River. This is along River Road.
Today I overcame some crazy challenges that life has thrown at me in the past month and finished the Richmond Marathon in 4:45. In what was easily the worst race when it comes to pace, I can’t be disappointed with pushing through it.
I left whatever was remaining in me after all this training and knee problems and recent illness on that course today. Sure my knee gave me hell — it started bothering me about 3 miles in, and I was oh-so close to just packing it in a few miles later. But when I saw my wife at the first party zone, I just kept going.
I started walking through the water stops very early on and after those first stops through the halfway point I would feel pretty good. Through mile 16 or so, I took a walk break for about 30 seconds or so at some point in every mile up until about mile 19.
The Lee Bridge. Easily the worst stretch of the race.
For the last several miles I did a run-walk as best I could: I would run until my back and legs would tighten up. Then I’d walk for a quarter mile or so. I was pleasantly surprised that my mile times were staying between 13-14 minutes.
Just before mile 25 I saw a familiar face as my wife had walked from the finish line to meet me. I had sent her a text near mile 23 saying I’d probably be close to 45 minutes before I got to the finish. Then for about 3/4 of a mile she stuck with me during my run-walk. It was truly a special moment in this tough day.
You can tell a lot from my splits. Things were actually rolling along just fine until halfway, but at mile 20 it pretty much unraveled: 9:09, 8:57, 9:29, 9:59, 9:44, 9:36, 9:28, 9:15, 9:20, 9:22, 10:08, 9:54, 10:09, 9:45, 9:41, 10:16, 10:50, 11:47, 11:45, 13:50, 14:02, 14:01, 13:18, 12:52, 12:59 and 15:36 (final 1.2).
After I decided to stick with it, I made a big mental shift to do whatever I had to do to make myself not suffer too much pain and to prevent too much damage to my body. Seven hours after the fact, my lower part of my body is feeling like it should after a marathon and my knee hurts like everything else does. I hope that’s a good thing.
There are a lot of other things on my mind with how today went, but I am a marathoner for the second time. And nobody can take that away from me.
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