Posts Tagged ‘running’

I wanted to bring attention to a couple of bloggers in the Lynchburg, Va., area who are doing some amazing running — they’re running every day for a year.

• Project Three Six Five
  Heather, who local residents may know from Riverside Runners, has a simple goal — run at least 1 mile every day for 365 straight days this calendar year.
• Runningitis
  Margaret, who local residents may know from a local TV station, also has a simple goal of running at least 1 mile for an entire year. Her streak started in November and she plans to cap it off with a marathon.

Check out those blogs, add them to your blogroll or Google Reader or however you keep up with posts. It’s pretty inspirational … which has me thinking, can I put together a streak? At this point in time in my life, I don’t want to run every day for 365 straight days. Only until recently have I actually regularly run three days in a row. But I also know that a lone mile can be a good rest day.

So this being said, I’m making plans now to run at least a mile every day for April. Since I’m in the middle of training for the Shamrock Half, I don’t want to set this goal for March. I want to do it in a month that I usually struggle. Every year for the past three years I do Shamrock and then get lazy. I know I have the Richmond Marathon in November, so focusing on something completely different in April will help me continue to build my base and give me something to look forward to this spring.

If all goes well in April, who knows what kind of streaking I might do …

I love running in the snow … but prolonged cold temperatures? I’m over it. It’s certainly been one of the most bizarre winters I’ve experienced in Virginia. While snow isn’t uncommon, the fact that it’s been around for so long is. While most of the December snow melted before the second big one a few weeks ago, I’ve seen some kind of snow on the ground — from covering the ground to completely to ugly parking lot snow — since Dec. 18. That’s just too long.

There’s been some pretty good melting in the past few days — I actually saw some grass yesterday — there’s the potential for up to 3 inches of snow tomorrow. All this snow just keeps things cold — the long-range forecast keeps temperatures in the mid- to upper 30s, with a hint of 40 degrees a week from now. So when I run in the evenings, that means it’ll still be in the low 30s, which pretty much means long sleeves and long pants. I haven’t wore shorts much at all.

I know it’s winter and I shouldn’t complain, but it hasn’t bothered me much until this week. Today I was just tired of it. I think I’m just tired in general, but the cold air is not motivating.

On the good news side of things, this week marked my fourth straight week with 20 or more running miles, a very nice streak indeed. This week also marked my third 10 miler three weeks in a row — I’m pretty sure that’s something I haven’t done in nearly three years when I trained for my first (and only so far) marathon. For my half marathons, I have generally tried to get it only two double-digit runs before the race, but my strategy this time around is obviously different.

So far this month I’ve run 45-plus miles, and like January, these have mostly been high quality miles. I’ve gotten in a few runs that are just for the sake of getting in a couple of miles, but to me those are just as important. To have a mix of great runs, so-so runs and flat-out bad runs is what keeps things interesting for me.

Last week I got into a brief argument on Twitter that this is not the end of the decade, so why are news stories saying such things? Well, debate all you want – maybe there was no year “0,” but that was 2,000-plus years ago. I didn’t celebrate the end of the 1980s at the end of 1990 or the end of the ’90s at the end of 2000. So this decade, to me, is ending. If you want to celebrate it next year, then go for it. Just don’t invite me to your party at the end of 2020 to celebrate the end of the ’10s. To me this decade began Jan. 1, 2000, and ends in about two weeks. A decade is a period 10 years – you can’t deny the definition of the word.

Anyway, enough of that rant. It’s time to reflect. When looking back on this past decade of my life, it’s easy to say that my adventure into adulthood has been full of changes. I’ve graduated college, gotten married, changed cities a few times, had a son, bought a couple of houses and started running after a long layoff. To have a “Top 5 Running-related Moments of the 2000s” is kind of weird since I’ve only been running since 2004, but running helps define who I am today. It’s important to me to highlight the top events since this adventure began. It’ll help lead me into the next 10 years.

#5 – My first race
After getting married in 2004, I had to do something to keep me motivated so I signed up for the four-miler in Lynchburg that was part of the Virginia Ten Miler event. I’ll never forget standing at that starting line being so nervous. I had those weird thoughts of finishing last or falling down or something crazy like that. What happened, though, was this amazing feeling of accomplishment at the end of the race. It was almost overwhelming. Most importantly, it kept me going. Forty races later, I’m still running.

#4 – The right gear
Getting properly fitted for shoes, getting a Garmin, discovering non-cotton attire and getting an iPod – all these rolled into one at various points in the past six years – have transformed my running experience.

#3 – 13.1 as a father
I revisited this post earlier this year in my top highlights from the year, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t be on this list too. In fact, I debated whether or not it should be No. 2 or No. 3. The feeling of just doing that race so soon after my son was born is still indescribable.

#2 – 26.2 miles
Two-plus years later, I still can’t explain this feeling to you. If you haven’t read my post from that day, click here to check it out. I can’t wait to go on that journey again.

#1 – Jan. 1, 2004
A hike up to Crabtree Falls in Nelson County was the beginning of this journey. While I had a goal to lose weight for my wedding, this picture of me changed everything. It could be the most important picture of my life. I saw it and knew I had to change. Little did I know how much change it would bring, but I’m so glad it did. This photo helps remind me of where I came from and where I never want to be again.

Honorable mentions
For six years of running, it’s hard to pick a top five. I wrestled with certain things to put in here, such as starting this blog. I started as “Running in Lynchburg” in the spring of 2007 to document my Richmond Marathon training. Blogging is right up there with gear — it’s helped keep me motivated in the past few years.

This year alone has been full of memorable moments, but I didn’t want immediate hindsight to play a role in this list. It’s hard … very hard … to keep “Stung in the eye” off this list. To me, though, the decade list was more about my accomplishments rather than the negative things. Moments like the Virginia Ten Miler and my first Shamrock Half Marathon that happened before my blogging days were great, but didn’t quite make it to the top 5.

All in all my running experience since 2004 has been great. I’m looking forward to what this next decade has to offer …

It’s been a while since my last guest post, but since it’s December I thought I’d give you the gift of getting a break from me. As you may remember, earlier this summer I traveled to Birmingham for Social South, a social media conference. This post is made possible because of someone I “met” at the conference. Actually, we didn’t meet in person. She just happened to read one of my posts with the Social South tag. A few emails and a few months later, I have a guest post in hand. Meet Alison Groves, 30, the Social Princess for Raven Internet Marketing Tools located in Nashville, Tenn.

In August 2008, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. I was sick for almost a year before the diagnosis was made … seems that my symptoms weren’t the typical ones for Crohn’s sufferers, but that my colon was in such rough shape, several holes had begun to form. Crohn’s is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system literally attacks your intestines, which you can imagine leads to a not so pleasant daily experience.

I started down this path to diagnosis in early 2008 when I got a call from my GP telling me that they got some blood work back on me and were alarmed at my level of anemia. I was three full units of blood short, and no one could figure out why. Little did we know at the time that my colon was so inflamed, I was literally bleeding from the inside. On my first visit to a hematologist, he said to me, “We’ll get this figured out, but I can assure you one thing, you’ll never run a marathon.” Well, gauntlet thrown!

I’ve been an athlete my whole life; I played competitive softball from the age of 7 (one of my teammates went on to be a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the sport), and even played in college. But running was never something I was into. I could spend hours in a batting cage, but two laps around the field and I was over it. But one thing I can never back down from is someone telling me I “can’t” do something. So when that doctor told me I’d never run a marathon, I immediately began running.

I began with walking really, mixing in a minute or two of running at a time. It instantly made me sick. My body, which was already being punished with not only a chronic illness but literally being poisoned every day with a low dose of chemo to knock down my immune system along with about 10 other daily pills and a weekly injection, was not having it. I spent about a month married to a toilet, but wouldn’t give up on doing that hour or so a day of walking/running. I finally had an epiphany one day that my body was just so depleted of electrolytes, it was making me sick(er). One of the big issues of Crohn’s is that your body has a very hard time absorbing nutrients since the intestinal track is constantly inflamed. So me spending an hour working out in 90-plus degree heat and not hydrating enough lead to body meltdown. Once I got that on track, I never looked back.

Now, I’m doing anything between a 5K to 8 miles a day. A 5K seems to be my running threshold at the moment, but just a few months ago I was only running in quarter mile intervals, so I feel like this is a huge hurdle. I’m training for a half marathon in April, and quite possibly a full in April 2011 in London. Not sure I’ll actually be able to run that entire distance, but for me it is more about finishing something that someone said just a year ago I’d never be able to do.

And there’s good news on the health front — the hematologist says my body has made those missing three units of blood back on its own and that from a blood standpoint I’m as healthy as I can be. And he actually attributes this to the running itself. Funny how that came full circle.

At this time of the year there is a lot of reflection going on in the world. For many runners, this is a time to not only look back, but to look ahead as well. For me, this December feels a lot like many previous Decembers — I want to reflect a little bit, but I want to move forward. In fact, I want to move forward in a bad, bad way.

This year in running has actually been very good to me — as a new father a year ago at this time, I had no idea what 2009 would bring. I never imagined I would have set any PRs, but I have; I never thought I would run two half marathons and feel great about them both, but I have. It’s been awesome.

In the same breath though, I’m ready to start 2010 completely fresh. You won’t see me do a big year in review this year (I’ll still done some reflecting posts, but nothing like usual). I didn’t hit my goals like I wanted, mainly due to injuries back in the spring, but at the same time I set goals without putting meaning behind them. They were too broad — they were based on mileage. Goals need to be more specific — such as a certain time in a race, or doing some sort of streak (like a certain number of days in a row of running, not something in my birthday suit). My goals were safe and predictable. I need crazy goals that are borderline unrealistic, but achievable. I set goals not to be disappointed, but I’ve realized that it’s OK to fall a little short as long as I give it my all.

So call me crazy, but I’m ready to throw my old calendars out with my training logs. While I won’t get rid of my tab on this blog detailing my past, my old training log books aren’t helpful anymore. Since my first marathon two-plus years ago, nothing has worked like I want it to. I’m referring back to old plans that failed me. I’m doing too much comparing of a certain month of a year to the previous year, and it’s not working.

It’s time for a new approach to my running, how I train and how I track it. There’s also the part of me that wants to lose 10-15 pounds and get back to where I was when I did my very first race. I’m not sure why I don’t talk about that more, but I need to. I think it’s time to. It helps me hold myself accountable. I’m even considering changing the name of this blog — while I like “Running … Because I Can,” there’s something about it that just doesn’t feel right anymore.

I’m taking this month to figure out what to do with all this. I might have it figured out a few minutes after I posted this … it might take a few days … it might take until Dec. 31 … but I need this time to figure it out. Any suggestions, as always, are welcome.

Today was a big running day in Richmond - an 8k, a half marathon and a marathon. The same and only marathon that I ran two years ago. I was going to run the 8k, but as soon as I got my job offer I knew that I didn’t want to squeeze it in with the moving that had to be done.

Instead of running a race this weekend, I spent last night getting a workout in by climbing up and down a ladder and carrying boxes out of my attic in about an hour’s time. Today I’m feeling it — my feet and hips are sore from that up and down mess on the ladder, my elbows are bruised from hitting the sides of the attic entry and my knee hurts because I missed a step coming down one time, resulting in me banging my knee against the ladder.

But that wasn’t a PR in an 8k or a 4-hour marathon. It was life’s work. While I’m excited about my move and completely happy with my new job, it was sad not participating in a big race today with thousands of other people. But the great thing about running is there’s always next year. It’s so cliché, yet completely true. I’m actually tempted to sign up for next year’s marathon this weekend while there’s a discount rate.

I’ll give it a day, though, just to make sure I’m not going with my emotions right now. My body and I need to talk about this …

In case you’ve been living under a rock, it’s been raining in Virginia and other parts of the mid-Atlantic for three straight days. And not just any rain … crazy, late-hurricane season monsoon-type rain. Fortunately where I am we’ve been spared the worst, but we had about 4 inches total in a short time frame. Eastern parts of the state have had much more.

It’s also gone from a very nice upper 60s or so to about 40 degrees tonight. It’s been awful. That all being said, it did stop raining a bit this evening — long enough to get in a good run and get my dog out of the house for a half hour or so. To say he was going stir crazy is an understatement. He’s had that oh-so-sad depressed doggy look for a while now. It’s the “why can’t I have 5 more minutes to circle the yard to poop” look. So we both got out and got rid of the energy that’s been building up.

For the first time in two months, I hit the teens with my running miles this week. The last time this happened was about the time I decided that miles just didn’t matter; it was a time that running stopped being fun for a little while, too. So I’m here to once again say that miles do matter!

I had the best running week I’ve had in a while — with miles and the way I felt. It’s amazing to me how running hills around Bedford in two weeks have made me feel. I have a long way to get to where I want to be, but this is a great start at a time of the year that running usually dwindles for many people. I hope that I’m setting myself up for a good Christmas Classic 5k in a few weeks. Being able to easily run the course a couple of times a week certainly helps.

I’ve also developed a great running partner recently. My dog, Duke, has been able to last much longer than I thought he could, going for three 3-plus mile runs this week. He’s usually been good for a couple of miles coupled with a mile or so walking, but he’s proven to me that he has much more energy than I thought he had. Makes me wish I was a dog sometimes …

When it comes to running, October 2009 stands out in my mind as the lowest of the low in my almost six years of running. My few injuries are an exception. I wasn’t injured in October. I was full of excuses. Sure, moving doesn’t make life easy, but in hindsight, why is my workout log completely blank from Oct. 7-12?

I also fell completely off the 100 push-ups wagon, but at the same time I’m reaping the rewards of the program. Moving boxes and furniture in the past few weeks have been much easier than a couple of years ago when I moved. But this is a program I want to finish — I just don’t know when. Tonight, for the first time in a couple of weeks, I dropped down and did 33. I guess I could say I’m 33 percent of the way there. Oddly enough, 33 is what I maxed at in week 4 (after 85 push-ups).

But what do I do? The 100 push-ups Web site actually recommends that I start on week 3 if I do more than 20 in my initial test. Although it wasn’t an “initial” test, I think going back to week 3 is a good idea. That might help me get past week 4 that I never got through after two attempts. But honestly, moving got in the way then and it may get in the way in the next few weeks, but no matter what this is making me a stronger person. I may take a lot longer than some people, but I’m determined to get to 100.

So as I get the 100 push-ups program jump started, I am also determined to get my running back in order too. Tonight I kicked the month off with a 3.6 mile run that included Bedford’s loop. My dog, who usually only runs for a couple of miles or so, joined me. I’m pretty sure it was his longest run ever. It was a nice, cold, full moon run, complete with street lights.

I need these runs and I need these runs to regain my consistency. I need these runs to do well in a couple of small races before the end of the year. I need these runs for next year. I’m starting over, somewhat. I don’t feel like I’m out of shape by any means, but like much of the way the rest of this year has been, I’m not where I want to be with anything — with speed, with weight, with just being happy with running.

It (re)starts now. I’m done with my excuses.

I think I have very few followers who have read this blog since day one, so this may mean very little to many of you. When I started this blog back in spring 2007, it was called “Running in Lynchburg.” I started the blog as a way to document my training for the Richmond Marathon, but my early posts focused on running in Lynchburg, Va.

But then I moved at the end of that summer and changed the name of the blog — I’ve been “Running … Because I Can” ever since, first on Blogger and now on WordPress. And in the two-plus years since the name change I have run in Lynchburg exactly zero times, with the exception of running in Bedford a few times when visiting family. It’s kind of weird actually because I LOVED running in that area. I loved the community races there; I loved the training groups I was a part of. I just haven’t gone back.

That’s all about to change though, as I am about to embark on a new adventure. Without getting into too much detail, I got a new job in Lynchburg. I pretty much avoid talking about work on here for many reasons, but it’s easy to say that Richmond hasn’t exactly been the best experience. I moved here for a job that didn’t work out, was unemployed for four months and have been in a job for a little more than a year that hasn’t really fit me well. With this next shift in my career, I will be working at a college (which is what I’ve always wanted to do) and will be doing what I love (editing).

So the next couple of months are going to be crazy, but in the long run this is going to be a good move. I am pretty sure this will be the last move from city to city too. I like Richmond a lot, but something about it just has never fit me right.

As far as running is concerned, I’m looking forward to Lynchburg’s hills again and the Blackwater Creek trail system. And I’m looking forward to doing the races again that got me hooked on running a few years ago.

* * *

I wanted to give a quick update on the 100 push-ups challenge. Last week I hit a bit of a snafu as I never got in day 3 of week 4. Instead of pushing everything back a day or making excuses, I went ahead and started week 4 over today. My sets were 18, 22, 16, 16 and a max of 25 — all good-form push-ups this time. It was much better than my first attempt last week. I really think my arms needed a bit of a break to help set me up for the last portion of this.

Now that I’ll be moving, I’m really glad I did this program. Boxes and furniture, here I come!