Over on Daily Mile, I changed my goals at the beginning of the month to state that a wanted to hit 5 miles in a long run this month. I hit that today very comfortably. I felt like I could have kept going for another mile. It was a very great feeling that I haven’t had in a while. It’s almost hard to believe that this was my longest non-marathon run in more than four months.
Now all I need to do is sign up for a 10k that I’ve had my eye on for a while …
I’m nowhere close to saying “I’m back,” but for the first time since my ITB issues started three months ago I have some confidence with my running. I said the same thing in my “It’s a long tunnel” post a week ago, but after looking at my Daily Mile stats this weekend I realized how long of a journey this has been. It hasn’t felt all that long — I guess with my son’s birthday, Thanksgiving and Christmas all mixed in, I was pretty distracted for a while. Plus I was relatively content to take a running break after not having one for a while.
I have no idea where things are headed the second half of this winter and early spring. I don’t need to have plans or a come back race planned right now. I just want to keep doing what I’m doing and see how I feel week to week before I decide anything.
Above are my miles from my peak week in marathon training when my problems began to what I did this week. As you can see, I had three weeks of steady decline until the marathon — much more than I wanted — then a spike on marathon week and then some extremely low mileage as I kept doing a little bit to get to 1,000 miles for the year.
It’s very refreshing to see things starting to go back up in the past few weeks. This week I hit 13.1 miles — completely unintentional to hit the half marathon distance, but still cool nonetheless.
Meet Mike, a relatively new runner who has come a long way in a very short time. On his blog, Mike says he has gone from “an overweight nearly sedentary lifestyle to 1 year later running a half marathon, then a marathon.” I first met Mike on Daily Mile at some point last year and enjoy reading his tweets (@MichaelRunner) and his new blog (michaelrunner.blogspot.com). Last week he asked if I’d be interested in doing a guest post about injuries, so click here to check that out. Meanwhile, here’s a Q&A I’ve done with him. I hope you enjoy!
Q. In a relatively short time you’ve gone from losing weight to your first marathon. What was the motivation to get off your butt?
A couple friends invited me to play pickup games of basketball at the YMCA during the winter and even though I was terrible at it I had a lot of fun. It was great to do something competitive again after such a long time since playing organized sports in high school. I was overweight and not too “street ball” savvy, and after the first few games I suffered horrible soreness and blisters, but I kept going back.
Then I noticed I felt better after playing and my pants felt just a little bit looser. Just as I was really getting into it the summer was approaching and the YMCA’s hours would change to an early closing time. Those of us with kids wouldn’t be able to play after the kids went to bed so my friend Corey suggested we run some stairs at the parking garage and try to get in better shape. We did that once or twice then the idea of running the 5k portion of a local team triathlon came up.
We switched to running to get ready for that race and the rest was history, though it did take a few months for running to become a habit. Now its something I actually crave.
Q. Unfortunately you’re also dealing with a first, an ITB issue. Welcome to the club. What has that been like for you?
It’s been good and bad. In some ways I think my body was probably ready for a rest. I have also been working on different methods of cross training and strengthening my core and non running muscles, something a lot of runners, including me, neglect. It can also be a pretty big bummer during those times when a run would just help to clear my head.
I get a little stir crazy and sometimes depressed. It’s really tough when you can’t do the one thing that has made such an impact on your life. I’ve been distracting myself by doing some blogging and I’m busy with an accelerated Economics class right now that’s pretty intense. So to sum up, being injured sucks when the only thing you really want to do is go for a run.
Q. For anyone just starting off, what’s the first piece of advice you’d give to others?
I’m no expert, but the first thing I’d recommend to a new runner would be to go to a running shoe store and get properly fitted for a good pair of running shoes. Everything else you can figure out later.
I thought I was gonna save some money so I bought my first pair of Reebok running shoes at Marshalls for $35. After a few runs I was having terrible calf pain and it wouldn’t go away, in fact, it got worse with every run. Then I decided I’d better get a more expensive pair so I went to Famous Footwear or some such store and tried on every pair of running shoes, determined to find the perfect pair. I ended up with a nice looking, supportive feeling pair of Adidas for about $80. These were some sweet shoes and my calves were felling a little better, but now my feet were hurting worse with each run.
By that time I’d run my first race and knew I was serious so I told my wife, I’m going to Fleet Feet and paying any amount of money they ask for to get the right footwear. They did a video gait analysis on the treadmill — for free — and told me I need a stability shoe so I got New Balance MR760ST’s and EUREEKA! No more pain. I ran more 750 miles in those babys (yes, I keep track of everything) and I still have them. Oh, and the proper shoes for me were a size and a half SMALLER and EE width.
Q. How has the online community helped your journey so far?
Has it helped? Corey and I ran together for a few months in the beginning until both of us were consistent enough that we’d just go out and get it done. I’ve only run with anyone else locally a handful of times. The online community is where I have learned EVERYTHING I know about running. I started off listening to running podcasts and learned a ton from Run Run Live, Dirtdawg’s Rambling Diatribe, Run Digger Run, and many more. Then I started using Twitter and realized I could have questions answered as they came to me.
These two outlets got me where I am today and that’s no exaggeration. Chris Russell (Run Run Live) gave me advice for my first half marathon on Jan. 1, 2010, and drove from the Boston area to pace me in the Wineglass marathon in Corning, N.Y., on Oct. 3, 2010. Not only did he pace me, but he made a 10 minute video of before, during, and after the race. What a gift!
I’ve also run on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., with Ted from You Don’t have to Run Alone and Matt from Run Digger Run, both great guys with great podcasts. Mike from Dirtdawg’s Rambling Diatribe allowed me to stay at his house in Michigan when I drove out for the Lose the Turkey Fatass 50k that he put on. I DNF’d, but I had a great time. There are a lot of amazing and supportive people taking advantage of social media including David and this great blog!
Q. Have you developed any rituals or superstitions yet?
I am about the least superstitious person you will ever meet and I don’t think I really have any rituals to speak of. I try not to change things that work. When I try something new I do it during a training run so I don’t have problems during a race.
When I first started running it took me forever to get out the door. I had to have my mp3 player loaded up with the right podcasts and all the right clothes and gear ready to go. Now I run with an mp3 player less than 50 percent of the time. The only thing I always have is my Garmin 305 and heart rate strap. I LOVE data and looking at my stats from each run and comparing them to other similar runs. Perhaps a little insight into why I’m a Public Accounting major.
Q. Do you have any destination races in mind?
I’m not sure if these counts as destination races, but I wanted to run the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinatti, the Vermont City Marathon in Vermont and the Marine Corps Marathon in D.C. this year and they’re all about 6ish hours away. I’ve thought it would be pretty cool to do the Ironman Kona, but that may be a little ambitious for a runner who’s still pretty new. I’m back in school full time right now and I don’t have the budget available for real destination races so I haven’t thought much about it. Of course I live in driving distance of two of the biggies, Boston and New York City.
Q. Dead or alive, who’s someone you’d like go on a long run with, and why?
This is a really tough question. I don’t really know many of the most “famous” figures in running. I’ve read a few good books that mentioned some of them, but the runners I admire most are the ones I actually know. Running the marathon with Chris Russell was like running with a celebrity. And its not that far off. The guy knows half the running community and has interviewed many icons of the running world. He interviews the race director of the Boston Marathon every year!
I guess Emil Zatopek stands out in my mind as someone I’d like to spend some time with and learn from. He won the gold in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters and decided to run his first marathon AT THE OLYMPICS. He was also known for training in work boots and gave a gold medal to another runner because making him happy was more important than having a medal.
If you’re interested in being a guest blogger or doing a Q&A, please contact me by filling out the form on the Contact page.
Previous Q&As and guest posts
* A Q&A with Steena, October 2010
* A Q&A with Steve Spiers, June 2010
* A Q&A with Half of Jess, June 2010
* A Q&A with 265andfalling’s Steve, April 2010
* Chrohn’s doesn’t mean can’t, December 2009
* But I did it anyway, September 2009
* Are we really born to run?, August 2009
Fresh off another great #runchat (by fresh, I mean I’m typing this 5 minutes after the chat ended), I wanted to take some time to answer the questions that others answered tonight on Twitter. Scott and I had a great time tonight and are so happy to have so many people join us to talk about running. We’re laying low on answering the questions during the chat — that’s your job — and instead answering the questions later. Just like on Twitter, I’m keeping my responses to 140 characters or less.
Q1: Thanks to @RoadID for sponsoring tonight. What’s your No. 1 way to assure your safety while running?
I usually wear light-colored clothes, take a flashlight and take my phone and/or ID with me.
Q2: How do you manage to run in harsh conditions when training for a spring race/marathon?
I just do it. Layer up. Protect the face.
Q3: During winter if you are injured what do you do to stay sane and occupied?
Like right now … trying to do P90X, walk my dog, read a book.
Q4: How do you log your run? Distance/time? Do you log route, elevation, weather, calories etc.?
I love Daily Mile to keep track of all that. Usually distance, sometimes time, sometimes all of the above.
Q5: Why do you run? How does it make you feel?
These days I sometimes question “why.” I’ll have to avoid an answer for now.
Q6: Play a game: If you were an animal what type would you be and why?
A dog: seeing my dog, Duke, running so carefree and happy is motivating. He makes it look easy, and it should be.
I ran 2.1 miles this morning in my brother-in-law’s neighborhood in North Carolina to kick of 2011. While not much, it’s a much better start to the year than last year.
While on the run I captured the above photo — maybe it’s a sign that I’ll be OK for the Shamrock Half. Maybe. I’m trying not to think about that much right now. My focus is getting this ITB injury taken care of and be able to get back to 4-5 miles comfortably in the next few weeks before making any decisions. Things felt good today. The biggest issue seems to be my legs not wanting to go. I feel refreshed, but I also have that starting over feeling. Maybe that’s a good thing.
I have one final shout-out to 2010. I closed out the year with a short 1.1-mile run on Dec. 30 to finish with 1,009.1 running miles for the year. Thanks to Daily Mile for making the mileage so easy to track.
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.
This is my final pre-marathon post. It’s almost hard to believe that it’s been a year since I made this commitment and now it all comes down to a surviving a bum knee. Whether I finish in less than 4 hours or more than 5 hours, I’m determined to do this. I’ve come close to backing out a few times in the past couple of weeks, but there’s no stopping me now.
With just a day or so to go, here are some other thoughts:
* To Tweet or not to Tweet — I’ve taken my phone with me on most of my long runs since July and captured some cool photos along the way and documented some thoughts on Twitter. It’s been fun doing that. I’m undecided whether or not to take my phone with me on the marathon. I’ve thought about taking my phone with me too to listen to music on the stretches of the race that get a little quiet. As friendly as the Richmond Marathon says it is (or Runner’s World says it is), there are a few parts of the course after the halfway point that might need something. I’m not one to get motivated by music, but who knows how a Dave Matthews Band song might pick me up if I’m feeling down.
* The weather continues to look awesome: high 30s/low 40s at the start; temperature around 60 mid-day. You can’t beat that.
* I’ve been very impressed with the marathon folks and how they’ve communicated on Facebook in the past couple of weeks. I hope other big races out there are taking note. Answering other people’s questions, posting contests, providing links to important marathon information … they’ve been doing it all. Now comes the challenge of not being so quiet the 11 other months of the year.
* I have no idea which shoes to wear. I have two Brooks Ravenna that I’m wearing with totally different mileage: one pair is just under 250 miles and still have a good 100 miles left in them. The other pair has less than 50 miles. The newer pair was going to be the marathon pair, but cutting back on mileage has drastically reduced how many miles I hoped to have in them, and the type of running has been totally different. It’s been the slower, injured miles in those shoes, complete with no run longer than 8 miles. I think I’d be fine with either choice, but I’ll probably pack both pairs tonight. Maybe I’ll just flip a coin Saturday morning to make that decision.
* There’s a Daily Mile meet-up planned tomorrow. I hope I can make it; it’ll be nice to put real faces to people I know only virtually. The support on Daily Mile has helped get me through this year and even more so in the past few weeks.
* This is non-marathon related, but #runchat returns to Twitter this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET with me and @iRunnerBlog (aka Scott). The chat includes another giveaway this week from Zensah. Scott has all the details on how you can become eligible to win this great prize on his site here.
(Speaking of giveaways, check out my post from yesterday about winning an entry to the Blue Ridge Marathon in Roanoke, Va., in April.)
In the past few months, I’ve talked way too much about me and my training. It’s time for you to hear from someone else. Meet Steena, who blogs at Freak4Fitness (“I’d like to call myself fit — or a runner”). You can also find her on Twitter and on Daily Mile. Steena recently completed her first marathon — the Chicago Marathon — and, while being too hard on herself, is looking forward to big things ahead. Be sure to visit her blog today to read a Q&A with me.
Q: On your blog you say you signed up for the Chicago Marathon on impulse. Tell me about that night. Are you usually an impulsive person?
Late one February evening I read a tweet “Word is, Chicago Marathon is filling up quick, if you want to register, you better do it now.” Prior to that tweet, I had never considered training for a marathon. At this point in time my longest run was somewhere around 7-9 miles. It was nuts, I thought out loud, “Could I run a marathon?” My husband said yes, next thing I knew I was asking him for his credit card.
Ironic enough I took too long on the online registration and my session timed out. I wailed, “If I can’t finish the registration quick enough, what makes me think I’m going to finish in less than six and a half hours??”
I’m tempted to say that being impulsive is my biggest weakness, but then again it got me training for a marathon, so being impulsive isn’t all that bad after all.
Q: What do you like most about running?
Being able to eat somewhat carefree is what I like most about running. All my life I’ve had to be very conscious of each and every calorie that goes into my mouth because of a slow metabolism. Running freed me from having to constantly worry about what goes into my mouth. Watching my pant size get smaller over time has been the coolest experience ever.
Q: What did you learn about yourself while training for Chicago?
It didn’t occur to me until recently, but what I’ve learned about myself during training is that I’m way too hard on myself. For whatever reason, I judged all my runs by the clock, which is silly. If it feels good, then darn it, it was a good run! On a more positive note, I learned that my legs are amazing for carrying me through all those long, hard, HOT and humid summer long runs.
Q: What are your goals for 2011?
My first reaction to this question is to say that I want to smash my first marathon finishing time of 5:17:33, BUT, I just want to finish a marathon with a big smile on my face. The weather conditions during Chicago Marathon drained me, I might as well have been in a coma! Next marathon there will be more smiles! (and finished in less than 5 hours!!)
Q: For anyone just starting out with running, what is one piece of advice you’d give them?
Register for a 5k run. It will be fun, inspiring, for a good cause, and will leave you hungry for more. I think registering for a race really changes a person, they become a runner. After registering you become less likely to skip the run, you’ll do things you never thought you would, like RUN IN THE RAIN (and god-forbid leave the iPod at home)!!!
Q: Lastly, what is one thing that people might find surprising about you (not related to running)?
In high school I was a band geek. I was in the marching band, the jazz band, the regular band, woodwind ensemble, etc. I played everything: trumpet, trombone, french horn, saxophone, clarinet, and flute. Oh, and I went to band camp. Twice.
If you’re interested in being a guest blogger or doing a Q&A, please contact me by filling out the form on the Contact page.
Previous Q&As and guest posts
* A Q&A with Steve Spiers, June 2010
* A Q&A with Half of Jess, June 2010
* A Q&A with 265andfalling’s Steve, April 2010
* Chrohn’s doesn’t mean can’t, December 2009
* But I did it anyway, September 2009
* Are we really born to run?, August 2009
As things continue to go well, I’ve hit a block this week with things to write about, so here are just a few things on my mind:
* Barring illness, I will hit 30 miles this week for the first time since … well, I’m not sure. I think it’s three, although I might have hit the mark two summers ago. Either way, my 14-miler planned for Saturday will get me to 30.7 for the week, the first 30-mile week in a long time. I’m looking forward to it.
* I’m in week 4 of 100 push-ups, a big make-or-break point for me in this program. In tonight’s second set, I struggled, so I dropped down a level for that set. I ended up with 89 total push-ups and felt great. Now my arms, which are starting to see some changes, are ready to fall off.
* Daily Mile has recently had some site upgrades that I think are awesome. I’m so glad I found this site to log my miles and connect with so many different types of people. There are slow runners, fast runners and everyone in between, and being a part of the site has played a huge role is this year being so successful.
* I’ve mentioned #runchat a few times on here, but we need your help in making it better. Please fill out our very short survey that will help determine the day(s) and time(s) for #runchat on Twitter.
Some of you know him as British Bull Dog; some of you know him as the 100 push-ups guy; and some of you just know him as a runner. Meet Steve Speirs, all of the above, and then some. I started reading Steve’s blog some time ago and always enjoyed his race posts and his approach to blogging. Somewhere along the way we exchanged a few messages; he’s offered tremendous support on my 100 push-ups failure; and we’ve become what I think it a pretty good virtual friendship. One of these days we’ll actually meet in person. Oh, and you can find him on Daily Mile too. Now, onto my Q&A with Steve.
Q: Your first road race was a half marathon in 1982. In 28 years of racing, what is your favorite racing memory?
So many great memories, but the easy choice is my victory at the Cayman Islands Marathon towards the end last year (video below). Totally unexpected and something I will treasure for the rest of my life. Who would have thought a regular guy like me would ever win a marathon?
2009 Cayman Islands Marathon from steve speirs on Vimeo.
Q: What is one race you’d like to do, but haven’t had the chance to?
Probably the Comrades Marathon in South Africa. Bart Yasso recently described Comrades as “The ultimate race. The best race in the world.” I’m seriously toying with the idea of entering the 2011 event.
Q: What do you like most about running?
I love to challenge myself and constantly strive to reach my full potential, but also love to run for the relaxation and pure enjoyment it offers.
Q: What’s been the worst injury you’ve experienced, and how did you over come it?
In 2009 I pushed too hard in training and got a bit greedy with my races — ended up with a second metatarsal fracture after trying to run three 5Ks in one day (2 in a run~swim~run relay with my wife, and the other at a Twilight 5K in Crystal City). Rehab went surprisingly well — I biked daily and maintained upper body/core strength by doing one-legged push-ups. All I could think about was running again, and each day of “doing the right thing” would bring me closer to the goal. I can’t really explain the joy of my first post-stress fracture run, but my wife Ally captured it nicely on video for posterity:
First Post-Stress Fracture Run from steve speirs on Vimeo.
The video was taken in early September. By the end of 2009 I’d completed numerous 5Ks and 10Ks, a 10 Miler, half marathon, two marathons and my first competitive 50K. I guess I got lucky with my recovery?
Q: Lastly, what one piece of advice would you give to someone who just started running?
Just keep it fun, and if possible find someone you can share your love of running with. Aim to make it a lifestyle and not some chore you perform to bring other aspects of your life into balance.
If you’re interested in being a guest blogger or doing a Q&A, please contact me by filling out the form on the Contact page.
Previous Q&As and guest posts
* A Q&A with Half of Jess, June 2010
* A Q&A with 265andfalling’s Steve, April 2010
* Chrohn’s doesn’t mean can’t, December 2009
* But I did it anyway, September 2009
* Are we really born to run?, August 2009
RSS
Facebook
Twitter | Web site by Matt Busse