The Next Step?

So here I am enough Graston sessions into the summer that I need to get fit again. I still have pain but I can run more comfortably than I have in a long time. I've done some fartlek stuff but I have zero endurance at this point. I keep pushing forward when I will race again...soon it will be July! Maybe that will be an advantage for me since I love the heat. Sure I get hot, but I don't mind running in it at all. I actually look forward to it. A repressed memory just surfaced: In high school when other runners were drinking water and stretching out in the shade, I had my shirt off and trying to get some sun. It probably slowed me down but I still loved it. Speaking of the heat and sun, I have figured out that a big part of why this Achilles injury has taken so long to heal is because of nutrition! Anyone who knows me knows that I have acid reflux and as a result I have a sore throat much of the time. Long, boring story short, I don't eat lots of meat or any food that is difficult to swallow. I do eat eggs and peanut butter but now I have added two protein shakes a day. I already feel stronger and I hope this will speed the healing of my tendon issues. I'm also doing more eccentric exercises for my Achilles on the stairs. Down to one Graston session a week but it is time to get serious about running. Not sure I will be 100% soon but if I can race again this year I will be happy be 90%. I have been doing most of my runs on Clear Creek trail. One, it is flat and less aggravating to the Achilles. Two, on the rare 90 degree days that may require a drink of water I can get that there too. I even choke on water while standing still! Explain that to me. Three, I see other runners and that motivates me. So I guess I will keep following the current plan and see what happens next. I miss racing so much and I am not sure I will race well even when I start again. Wish I could be more patient and have less ego.

The Light

Hey guys I know, I know. When I started this blog I enjoyed it. I was running well for an old guy and I was even secretly proud that I was sponsored and represented the Indiana Running Company. Free gear is awesome, especially bright yellow singlets. More than I could have hoped after my third year back from my quarter century of not running. At the time the weather was great, the sun actually shined for more than one day in a row and I held my own in workouts with the young guys. I knew I wasn't an elite athlete but I have always wondered if I could be a master's elite or close? Life was not perfect, but good, and running was my escape and the one thing I might actually be good at. Blogging presented a challenge for me. I am tech challenged but with the help of Scott B. I got this thing going. I enjoy rambling. That seems to be my style and in some weird way my thoughts are all connected. In person I have always been shy and a bit aloof until I get to know others and feel more at ease. As my luck would have it the guys I run with are all younger and splitting atoms in their free time I think. As awkward as that sounds I enjoy their company and training with them last year made me better. I miss Nick's though. However the young guy training coupled with my love for racing EVERY weekend resulted in all my aches and of course my Mammoth Tendonitis. Lessons learned.

Here it is  almost June and my fitness is lacking. My race times are horrible and I have honestly had 1 good workout this year and that was over a month ago. I am not focusing on Mag 7 points this year. Don't get me wrong, I want to. I mean 3 years in a row Mag 7 champ would be awesome. But I can't do the training I need to to be top 3 in most races and age group winner is not enough for me. Also some new competition showed up this year, which is great but now I need to work harder. I started Graston yesterday for my achilles and lower leg issues. It did hurt REALLY bad. I did have tears and I was sweating so bad I was embarrassed. Tim R if you read this please don't remind me that this is what you recommended at end of last year. I hope this treatment will get me back to myself again soon. When I run now it always hurts, never feels comfortable and it feels like I am running in someone else body. I remember on some days last year where it felt like I was floating when I ran fast and I miss that a lot. I didn't feel that way everyday but enough that I knew I could be fast and maybe even faster. One particular day we were running back to the stadium and I felt so incredible. I was running 5:20-5:25 pace, slight wind behind and I think I could have ran even faster that day. If I could feel that way more often I think my goals of sub 17 for most 5k's, 35 for 10k and sub 1:18 for a half could happen! Right now what I desperately need is to be able to see some progress, to see The Light at the end of the tunnel. The doubts have taken over, yet I feel like I am the same runner I was and hope to be again. Hang with me guys and I will get back as soon as I can.

I'm Still Here

Okay I know I have neglected this blog for quite some time. My only excuse is that after the Mag 7 season ended I have tried to rest my achilles. I have never had an injury so for the entire last season I just kept running with the pain every day. Some good, some bad. I tried icing it, tried ibuprofen. But apparently trying to run through the injury wasn't such a good idea. So for the past 3 months I have been running very little and doing no cross training. Weights suck, I can't swim and I have no access to a gym. I have been getting treatment for the Tendonitis and I think I am slowly getting better. I am running more too but I feel like I am starting over. I've had 3 good days in the past 3 weeks. I hope to have more good than bad soon. I hate that I cannot do any track workouts right now but I guess I should try to be more patient. March is fast approaching and another road race season with it. I am guessing unlike last spring I will not be ready.My ego has taken quite a bruising lately. Trying to stay positive and keep looking ahead. The two new pair of shoes helped.

Sentimental Me

Well here it is almost Christmas. There is snow on the ground and cold outside. I am on vacation too! So much has happened it seems in the past month and since I have posted anything on this blog. I have wanted to write but just didn't know what to say. Some of it was quite depressing. Each time I post I feel some pressure to entertain or offer some tid-bit of wisdom.  I can be very preachy and even quite sentimental when the mood hits me. You have been warned.
The road race season ended with the Reindeer Romp. Love that race! This year my achilles was aching and Dr. Murer advised I not push the pace. No worries there doc. It was snowing and cold. I enjoyed the race even though the pace was so slow. Most of my enjoyment came from getting to be with Amanda. Season over. Another Mag 7 championship. I'll take it. At 47 I will gladly find my glory anywhere I can get it.
Life has a way of slapping you in the face and causing you to step back and take a good hard look. A hard look at yourself and what is important. I love running. I love Amanda. At times I am at the top of the mountain and feeling better than I thought I ever could. Then suddenly I am in the depths of despair, in pain and crying out for some small comfort. Running and relationships are similar sometimes. I cherish both and want only the best from both. But just wanting it isn't enough I have found. Along with the good is bad, with joy there is also sadness. I wish we didn't have to suffer so much in order to appreciate what we have. I will admit I have taken much for granted. Not on purpose or with any ill intent. I am ashamed and sorry when I do. I want so much more from my running and in my relationships too. I guess I have to take the good with the bad and keep forever on course and true. I am quite stubborn and do not lose faith easily. I keep learning more about life and myself the older I get. I am still learning about running too. Maybe I should have eased back into running 3 years ago. Maybe my achilles would have been spared? It is so difficult for me to ease into anything competitive. I can promise you one thing I am loyal and determined. I will get well and add miles. Miles on the road, the hills, the grass, the trails, and the track. I will also add to my character and try my best to become the person I want to be. Someone who can do for others, who can be an example, someone who has the courage to do what is best and right. Isn't life wonderful!?
I have ran 3 times in the past 2 1/2 weeks. My mind has wondered and questioned. I am tired of wondering. I will make things right and in the end I hope to be stronger and wiser. I already miss racing. But I think this is a lesson for me. A lesson in patience and perseverance. Good things come to he who waits? I guess so but maybe there is more to it than sitting idly by wishing things will get better. I believe each of us has to take some personal responsibility for our lives, for what we have become and will be. I have thoroughly enjoyed the racing the past 2 years. Now that I am resting and attempting to get well I look forward to being with the loves of my life forever. My Christmas wish: spending the rest of my life with Amanda and running my Griffy run while it is snowing. That isn't too much to ask Santa for is it?    

Tis the Season

Here it is almost the end of road race season. It is November. I have not raced for a couple of weekends. I feel weird, like I have lost my edge (if I ever had an edge). I was hopeful that a little rest would not only help my always aching achilles but also rejuvenate me so that I could finish the year strong. Instead it hurts even more and I feel sluggish. It is amazing how my dark side has caused me to now question my fitness. "Trust your fitness." How many times I have read that phrase in running magazines! I think I believe it but I cannot help having some doubt. A side note: I attended a two day conference in Atlanta on "Transforming School Culture." It was awesome and I came away from it now knowing I am not an idiot. Everything this PhD told us is exactly what I already know and believe. Now the hard part will be using this at my school. Wish me luck. Okay where was I? I have the Mag 7 locked up and I shouldn't care but I love to race so much. Tomorrow is the Y double and the race in Nashville. I think I will try one and see how it goes. The weather will soon get cold which is not my favorite but maybe in December, January and February I cannot race and just focus on easy miles. I am going to try some of the Breeden training method. We will see. To try to lift my spirits I bought another pair of racing shoes. Adizero Rockets. Pink! Have ran in them once. I like them. Usually when I find myself in a period of crappy running and low confidence one good run can bring me out of it. I am trying to be patient. It will happen. It always does. Looking to the spring half marathon in Sarasota, FL again. Maybe by then the dark cloud of despair will have given way to the energizing glow of the sun. Meanwhile I need to find support from my running friends and training partners. This rough patch won't last forever. I am very proud of Oscar and many other runners who are getting faster and setting PRs almost weekly. And my Indiana Running Company teammates are all doing quite well and I know will continue to be an inspiration to me and many others. There is a reason running is addictive.
 

Man vs. Wild

Okay, so this past summer I am out on my favorite run. My Griffy Lake out and back 10 miler. It has everything. Running out 46 gives me a variety of experiences. I get the usual comments from drivers about how short my shorts are or how skinny i am. Sometimes on very special days i hear questions about my sexual preferences or i am told to go home and put on some clothes. It is heart-warming to know that so many people care about my well-being to let me know their thoughts and concerns without me even asking. After all I don't want to catch cold or get badly sunburned. I also do get some beeps of the horn or thumbs up which usually results in me picking up the pace and even trying to keep up with those who are encouraging me. Soon I realize that 45 mph is not possible even with the speedwork on the track. I also love running to the lake, especially when it has water. If it is snowing all the better. It is so beautiful to run to Griffy during a snowstorm. Of course coming back up Griffy hill is tough. But after doing that every week other hills seem like bumps. I need that! There are also other runners and cyclists too on this route which is always fun and encouraging. The last two miles is mostly downhill and I can let it fly. These two plus miles when I am tired is good for me. Maybe if I did more of that I would be stronger at the end of races? So I am on this run this past summer minding my own business, nearing mile 6.5 when I see an animal up ahead in the road. I think nothing of it and keep running, getting closer. I assume this thing will scamper into the bushes and cause me no worry but as I get about 20 feet away this groundhog does an about-face and stares at me. I quickly notice it's mouth is open and I can see teeth. I think to myself, why is this thing showing me teeth and standing it's ground in the road. I want to go around but I am not sure what a groundhog is capable of. I must have missed that episode on Animal Planet. So if it is a bear make yourself big and noisy? That is all I could think of. Where is a bear when you need one? But this as a football with teeth and fur. What do I do? I could maybe punt the thing but what if I miss and it bites my foot off? So I decide instead of taking a chance on being bitten and ending up with a series of painful rabie shots, the best I could come up with is to pretend I am going the other way. I am of course counting on the fact that the groundhog is smart enough to watch me getting further away and assuming I am no threat. It worked. It disappeared in the bushes and I very quickly run past. I did look about to see if anyone is seeing this or even worse taking video to quickly post on Youtube. I have not seen or heard about it so far. Obviously were it not for my superior intellect I would not have survived to be telling this story. I still love the Griffy run but I do run a bit faster on that section of road each time. You take motivation wherever you can get it to run fast.  Oh I ran the Towpath half this past weekend and I do have a funny story that goes with that and I will write about that later.

An Interesting Day

Yesterday was an interesting day. Two races on the schedule, three counting Octoberfest in Seymour. The night before I had struggled to decide what I should do. The Towpath half being a week away I was not sure I should race at all(ha ha). Once you stop laughing please read on... Got up early Saturday morning, got the gear on and drove to Bloomfield. Of course got there, weather great, got in line to register out of habit i guess. I had a flashback of winning this race last year and the door prizes were cool so why not? At the start line looked around, Tim was there along with two other guys who looked fast. Okay maybe this was not a good idea, maybe first place was not going to happen. But off we went. Start was downhill. I expected pace to be fast. I was 5:08 at mile last year. But 200 meters into the race I am watching 3 guys pulling away! Tim looks at his damn GPS and says we are slow at 5:40 pace. I have learned to ignore this by now. Tim catches them before the first turn, which by the way the cop car did not take. Instead car takes a right and goes wrong way. Luckily we knew the course and went the right way. Before first mile Tim and I together, some college guy Andrew too far ahead. Young kid volunteer yells out 4:56 which really pumped me up. Knew it was fast but that was unexpected. Don't get too excited, he was calling out mile split before the mile marker? We were actually 5:06. But then the hill, back down and the incline to the finish. Second place with a decent time. Then the standing in the rain for at least an hour! Door prizes galore. I had my eye on some apple crumb cake or maybe some apple cider. I got nothing. I am starting to think there is a conspiracy and my name is never included. I  will find out. Finally little after noon we head to get food, then down to Springville to maybe do a 10k. Super nice race director, long sleeve shirts and some of the usual Mag 7er's. I know I really should not have ran but my plan was to do the first 5k easy and then the last 5k as a tempo run. But then the horn sounds and something happened. The same something that happens instinctively I think at each race, and sometimes during "easy days." My legs were heavy and tired but first mile was 5:45. I can run this 10k at 6:00 pace and be okay the next day I thought. At the turnaround Justin is flying. I thought, "he's trying to catch me!" Shortly after I had to jump to the grass to avoid the wonderful car who would not move over. Thanks for keeping me alert jerk! At each mile I was under 6:00 pace so I put it on cruise control and finished. 10 points for Mag 7 series. Another win for team INRunCo. 16 plus miles for the day. Most ever in one day. Fast forward to now. My heel and achilles swollen again, hurts to walk. Oh well I am an idiot. One week to rest, get the swelling down and do this half, which I know I can do at 6:00 pace or better. We will see. By the way, soon I will tell the story of my altercation with a groundhog on a training run  this summer. You won't believe it.