Emerging from taking it easy

Ok, so I'm not good at listening to doctors.  Especially when it comes to running, or exercise, or any kind of strenuous activity.  I know they're doctors and all, and have all that education and training, and blah blah blah...  But they've never run a mile in my shoes.  They've never taken my bike out on the roads.  Only one doctor I've ever seen has ever run in a marathon--and he tried to fit me with orthopedic inserts.

I don't think so.

Pain is our body's way of saying something is out of whack.  An orthopedic device artificially puts that thing back in whack and trains our muscles to accommodate the crutch.  I'd rather have my mechanics correct themselves naturally and go without the crutch, thank you very much.  That way the weak points get stronger and injuries are avoided.

Having been a runner, he should have known that.

Having been told that I prefer to go without inserts, he should have known that.

But he didn't.  "Running is bad for you, it breaks down blah blah blah".  Yea, where's the exit again?

So, anyway, I trust my doctor for the regular tinkering and knocks and pings that naturally occur in a human body.  But I don't trust my doctor for sports medicine advice.  Here's how the conversations usually go at the annual checkups:

Me:  Doc, I'm going to start training for the MS150.  I'm just checking in to make sure I'm still fit enough that it's a good idea.
Doc:  What's that?
Me:  A 200 mile bike ride across Texas.  It's totally fun.
Doc:  Motorcycle?
Me:  No, bike.
Doc: ...
Me:  Why are you looking at me like that?
Doc:  You're healthy enough, physically.  But that's not a good idea.  Do you need a referral to a psychiatrist?

I know, I need a new doctor.

But the larger truth is that eventually I end up listening, at least a little bit.  Like with my foot injury.  I twisted my ankle back in July last year about 3/4 of a mile into a speed workout.  I finished the first mile, then ran a couple of miles worth of quarter mile sprints.  

It sounded like a good idea at the time.

Ok, that's a lie.  That never sounds like a good idea.

It should go without saying that I couldn't really walk well the next day.  Or the day after.  But after 3 days the swelling had nearly gone away and after 2 weeks my ankle looked like new.  But there was a new pain, right in the back of my heel where the Achilles meets the foot.  It would go away during the day, and come back in the morning.  When I ran it would go away, then come back with a fiery, hateful vengeance, hang around for a couple of days, then go away.  Come back in the morning, go away during the day, I'd run, it would come back with a fiery, hateful vengeance, hang around for a couple of days, then go away.  This pattern repeated itself again and again and eventually sent me to the doctor (who I mostly ignored).  He said orthodics and rest.  I said thanks, I have to go now.

The thing is, for the weak points to get stronger and the mechanics to correct themselves, you have to rest.  Which I did, to an extent.  I took two weeks off, and downgraded my training to run the half marathon instead of the full.  I thought that would be enough.  But after the half, I couldn't walk for a day or two.  The pain was back.  It was excruciating.

I've since taken 4 solid months off from running and my heel feels nearly perfect.  I've also gained about 10 pounds during the layoff, eradicating the weight loss experienced when training.  I've gotten a lot done.  I've done some walking.  I did some minor repairs around the house.  I planted an orchard and failed to grow a garden.  I bought a house and landed a couple of clients.  Just no running.  I was taking it easy.

But now it's time to be finished taking it easy.  Now it's time to dust off the old 2 wheeler and get riding again.  Now it's time to give back those 10 pounds, and maybe a few more.  Now it's time to get back into running shape...  without running.

Now it's time.  Time to start looking towards a 2 hour half marathon and a 4 hour full marathon before I turn 40.  Now it's time to start thinking seriously about that 18 minute 5k and 45 minute 10k.  Now it's time to start doing something about that double century bike ride I've been talking about for 10 years.

Now it's time to silence the doubt and banish the demons.  Now it's time to claim the mental clarity that comes with a fit and clean body and the physical confidence that comes with a fit and clean mind.

Now it's time.

Recovery hiatus... ending

Ok, so there was this hiatus thing.  Deal with it.
Back in July of 2011 I twisted my ankle and my foot didn't quite heal.  I even went to a doctor.

That didn't fix it.

I got new shoes.

That didn't fix it.

I got new shoes again.

That didn't fix it.

So instead of running the full marathon in January 2012, and another one a week later, and another one a month after that, I decided to scale back A LOT and only ran the half marathon in January.

Big mistake.

The pain didn't go away.  In fact, it got worse.

It was a peculiar kind of pain.  The kind that went away when I started running, but would come back when I stopped.  Then get worse in the morning, but by afternoon was nearly gone.  It was mainly around the back of my heel where the Achilles tendon met the retrocalcaneal bone.  (I'll wait while you google that...  back now?  Good.)  But now we're 4 months past the half marathon (2:35, by the way), and the pain is now almost entirely gone almost all the time.  I'm getting the bug to run again, but that's probably not a very good idea.  However, I do have a bike...  now, that's a pretty good idea.

So, I'm considering maybe getting back in the saddle and gearing up for a crack at a MS150 ride.  Maybe the San Antonio ride in October.  That would be a good excuse to drop 10 or 20 pounds and get back into running shape.  There's a marathon on January 1 that could be fun.  And a series of bridge runs (culminating in a half marathon) that could be a fun challenge...  ah, but I need to not push the injury.

Anyway, we'll see how this goes.

Race Report--Brianna Becker 5k

Wow, I haven't done one of these in a long, long time.

The Brianna Becker 5k was a 2 lap course following roughly a square pattern.  The start/finish line was on the right side of the square.  It and the bottom side were mostly flat.  The left side consisted of 4 hills, while the top side of the course started at a high point that went into a slight dip in the middle to another high point at the other corner, which swept back down around the turn into the start/finish line.
When the gun went off it was a moderate pace with a small field.  Everybody stayed bunched up down the first stretch, through the right hand turn, and along the next stretch.  Then, after the second right hand turn (where I passed the eventual female winner of my age group), into the hills, the pack was tested and began to stretch out a little bit.  The first mile marker was just on the other side of the first hill, and my watch said I had completed that mile in just under 8:00--way, way too fast.  
I chugged through the next 3 hills and up the long, slow slope before the last right hand turn of the lap.  I swept over the hill and down toward the lap marker and saw the time was 12:38.  Again, way, way too fast.  I glanced over my shoulder and saw 4 guys running together about 30 or 40 feet behind me.  One of these guys ended up being the winner of my age group.
I motored down the front stretch, around the right hand turn, and into the next right hand turn.  The 4 guys were still behind me by about 20 feet or so.  Then, up the first hill, I felt my legs finally begin to weaken.  One of the 4 guys--the age group winner--passed me right on top of the hill while the other 3 hung back.  At the bottom of the second hill the next hill 2 of the next three passed me and the third caught me at the top of the third.  By the bottom of the third hill the last guy had put 20 feet between me and him.  Right about here we started passing the walkers who were at the back of the pack--that was a cool feeling.  I managed to close it to about 10 feet before the start of the 4th hill, but he dropped me on that hill and I was never able to close the distance again.
Along the back stretch and up the final sweep I glanced over my shoulder and saw the female age group leader catching up to me, but still a good 50 or 60 feet back.  I topped the hill and turned on the final burn.  As I approached the finish line the clock read 25:50...  :51, :52, :53,....  I kicked it up one more notch ... :54...  final time was 25:55.

This topped my previous best time from 2009 by nearly 4 minutes!!

The miles lately have clearly been paying off.

The next target in my sights is a 54:00 10k, and I'm taking a shot at that on April 23.

Demons

You step up to the line, and it starts.

You don't want to do this (yes I do)

You're not going to be able to finish (yes I will)

You don't have to do this (yes I do)

This is not a race (yes it is)

Nobody is competing against you here (yes they are)

Why are you doing this to yourself (because I must)

Seriously, you don't have to (yes, I do)

What are you trying to prove (it doesn't matter)

You're going to regret this (fine, that's what I'll do)

And then you begin

See, every part of your body is rebelling (calm down)

That discomfort is going to become pain (calm down)

You're not going to be able to finish (calm down)

You might as well quit (never)

Why are you doing this (because I must)

What are you trying to prove (it doesn't matter)

You're never going to be able to pull this off (the worst that can happen isn't that bad)

Oh, no, my friend... failure stings (failure to start stings more)

You remember failure... you don't wan-- (never again)

And then the finish line draws near

You're running out of gas (I have enough)

You're not going to make it (I must)

You can't (I can)

What makes you think you can (I don't think I can)

Exactly (I know I can)

You can't win (I can't lose)

Just stop (just stop)

The challenge is figuring out which is the voice in my head, and then how to silence the other.

2010 Running recap

Ok, so I haven't posted here in awhile.

Since about June something, if the record can be trusted.  Just before the big 10k up in Kingwood.

Well, that run didn't go so well.  I missed my target time by more than 10 minutes.  I don't think the mile markers were placed very well.  I couldn't maintain pace and overheated on more than one occasion.  It was an awful run.  Awful.

After that I opted to run a few more timed runs, but then I took off the watch and ran without a clock.  It was very liberating to do that.  I ran a lot without a clock, just free as the wind.

Then September rolled around and my lovely wife enrolled in school.

Then October came and scheduling became a challenge.  I offered to my lovely wife that I'd shut down running for a month to get our schedules back in sync.

Then, in November, it was a little bit tough to get the engine to rev back up again.  The Turkey Trot came on thanksgiving day.  I ran the 10k variety in just over 1:15.  Not a spectacular time.  Not really even a good time, by my own standards.  Nearly 20 minutes behind my time last year and 5 minutes off my time from the Kingwood 10k.

That's when I decided to switch from the marathon to the half marathon at the end of January--officially.

So, then came December and I logged exactly zero miles for THAT month.

Nonetheless, for the full 2010 year I logged almost 20 more miles than the year before--213.
Not a spectacular tally.  I know people who run that much in a month.  And most "runners" I know run that much in 3 months, if they don't do so in 2.

For me, that's a high water mark.  A mark I'm almost certain to top in 2011.

On the 3rd I logged my first 5k.  No time, but the distance was there.  I think I'm going to shoot for at least a 5k each month of the year along with at least a 10k.  Neither of those goals should be particularly hard to accomplish, considering my typical run is at least 3 miles.  I can work in a 6 mile run at least once a month.  The question is not whether or not I CAN do it, the question is whether or not I WILL do it.  There's a discipline thing in there where it doesn't look terribly hard to set aside a couple of hours each month to run two measly runs during the month.  But, the fact of the matter is that I don't like running that much, and I don't like running only slightly less than I don't like the extra weight that I carry around when I don't run.  So, choosing the lesser of two dislikes is the challenge, because I like to not run a whole lot.

The greater challenge will be to once again try and work in a single half marathon each month of the year.  In 2010 I managed to squeeze out 2 half marathons.  For 2011, I think I'll shoot for a modest improvement of merely 3 half marathons for the year (but I'm still going to have an eye toward 12).

Cheers to you, and happy new year.

Running stuff...

Wow, a ton of stuff has happened in the last few weeks since I posted at the end of July.

I ran my 8:00 mile.  It was on a treadmill, it was indoors, but it was 7:51.  I'll take it because I could have run it faster.  In fact, just to prove it I may run a sub-8 mile out here at the park some time in the next few weeks.
The under 2:00 half marathon I was looking at for mid September is likely going to become just another training run because as of right now I'm less concerned with speed and more concerned with distance.  Why?  Well, that's because...

I just received notice that I was selected in the lottery for the Houston Marathon in January.  The goal for January is pretty much 40 miles, because I want the marathon distance to be well below my max extreme.  If it's below my max extreme, then running multiple marathons in the same month isn't going to be quite so hard to do.  In fact, 26.2 will be a proverbial walk in the park.  Target time:  3:59:59.99

That said, my 3 mile runs have become 6 mile runs.  My 6 mile runs have become 9 mile runs.  And my weekend runs, when I get off my ass to start doing them again, will be 11 to 14 mile runs.  For what it's worth, during the month of August 2010 I haven't run anything less than 6 miles at a stretch.  Last year during this month I only ran 6 miles once.  This is a very, very different year.

Even better, the weather is beginning to break a little.  Yes, it's still hot as blazes out there.  Yes, the humidity is ridiculous.  But it's beginning to break, and break early.  Usually we have to wait until mid September for the hottest of the hot days to be behind us, but there have been remarkably few 100 degree days this summer and the pattern appears to be holding.  There's still time for that to change, though.

My average mile so far this month is 9:45 over a 6 mile stretch.  It'll probably stay there for the remainder of the month while I start trying to stretch the distances out.  The next scheduled race is the Houston Half Marathon in October, but I may get a few 5k and 10k runs in during the interim to work on a little bit of speed work.

An interesting thing happens during my 6 mile runs, right around mile 3.5.  I smile.  Yea, I know.  It's weird.  It only lasts for about a half mile or so, then the grimacing death mask descends on my face, but that little stretch of the run is actually quite pleasant.  Not as pleasant as the nap following the run, but pleasant enough in its own rights.

Runner attacked

Has anyone heard of any incidents of runners in Houston having things thrown at them from car windows.


Things such as rocks, chunks of concrete, bricks, bottles, etc?