Category: life

Yay! Rest day! and another 3 miles

Still on schedule. It was a relief not to run on Wednesday and not feel guilty about it (all in the plan, y’know).

Today was supposed to be a twilight run, but there was a wreck on the Newport Bridge, so it took about 15 minutes to make it from the top of the bridge to Jamestown. Stupid rubberneckers. But, I stopped and ran anyway. 3.4 miles, 27 minutes. Not too shabby.

The small victory for today was in not walking any of the run. Well, that and actually running again.

Here’s to Saturday and Sunday.

Get Well Plan

So, ladies and gents (I can say that, as I’m pretty sure there’s still 4 readers out there in Internet Land). I’ve worked myself into quite the pickle. Between this, that, and the other, I’ve gotten out of shape, relatively speaking.

Out of shape in the way that I cannot just head out and run and run and run as I could earlier this year. The 2 weeks with the Colombians pretty much sealed that deal, though there’s no way I would have traded that ride for a sub-3 hour marathon.

OK, maybe I’d trade it for a sub-3 hour marathon. I might even trade one of the kids for sub-3, if you catch them on a bad day. Let’s say a sub-4 hour marathon…

Anyway, I’m in the position where, in my line of work, we say that there’s a “Get Well Plan” needed. (The irony being that “Get Well Plan” is usually the precedent to the “Realignment” in which goals are completely dropped. But not here, baby). And here’s my plan:

GOAL: I want to be able to put in 20 mile weeks starting 1 January.
ANALYSIS: If I really, really wanted to suffer, I could likely do that starting tomorrow. But I don’t want to suffer – I want to build solid base and continue my current love affair with running.
PLAN: I dug out my trusty copy of “The Runner’s Training Diary”, and flipped to the 10 mile per week to 20 mile per week buildup program for intermediate runners/beginning competitors. Then, worked backwards for the roughly 8 weeks remaining between now and New Year’s. So, this week is a modest 13 miles, increasing through the end of the year. Think it’s achievable.

GOAL: Another Marathon Next Fall
ANALYSIS: Time heals all wounds, I suppose.
PLAN: NYC, Hartford or Mystic Places. In that order. This time with gusto.

After the New Year, I’m going to hold the 20 mile per week average for between 6 and 10 weeks, depending on which marathon I target. Likely for about 6 weeks, to hit 30 miles/week in time to hold it for about 10 weeks until I start training for Hartford. Then, I’ll follow the NYC Road Runner’s 16 week Marathon Plan building from a 20 mile/week base.

Why switch to a 20 mile per week base for the buildup? Two reasons: First, I want to have energy to devote to speed, and cutting mileage should help me with that. Second, I want to pretty aggressively cross train, and cutting 10 miles/week should free up 2 hours per week to devote to the bike. I’m planning on picking up swimming again in the 6 weeks between the New Year and the buildup to 30 miles/week, and continuing the calestenics I’ve been doing lately.

GOAL: Austin or Oklahoma (OOOOOOOOKlahoma, where the wind comes sweeping ‘cross the plains) City Marathon in early 2008.
ANALYSIS/PLAN: Plenty of time to recover and do an abbreviated marathon buildup. If I handle the first half of 2007 properly, I should be in shape to knock this out.

So, that’s pretty much it. Frankly, I’m psyched. I’ve worked through the mental issues, I’m reasonably fit, only about 3 lbs heavier than I was going into 2006, and think I can make this work with work and family.

Catchup Post 1 – 29 October

One Week

One week underway on anything is about all I can take any more.

One week on a submarine, however, especially a non-US sub is, in some ways unbearable. No TV, no Internet, no Phone.

NADA.

For the first time since, well, like 1996 or 1997 when we got email on good ship ANNAPOLIS, I am completely and totally unwired. OK, not completely – the MacBook is still with me (somehow, I still prefer ‘iBook’ to ‘MacBook’), the iPod is with me, and I’ve been swapping songs with a couple of the guys on the boat – Colombian ‘rancheros’ (think country music, ‘cept from South America) from them, grunge from me.

Which I guess doesn’t count as “Wired”, as wired kind of implies that it’s connected to something. And, as I think about the 3 or 4 times max each month I actually plug my computer into Ethernet, or the like zero times per month I use a hardwired phone in my personal life, ‘wired’ connotes an actual, physical wire fewer and fewer times.

I can’t say I actually miss it – I’ve actually read a couple of magazines, an entire book, cover to cover in less than three days, actually watched the second season of BattleStar Galactica (delivered, ironically enough, via iTunes prior to leaving the States), AND had enough time to keep up with the work I have been doing.

My Spanish is marginal, at best, but there’s a couple of folks on board who are fluent in english, and practically everyone on board speaks a little bit, so it’s not much of an issue, ‘cept for the constant embarassment factor.

But, all in all, I can’t complain. I miss the family, obviously, but for the first time in god knows how long, I’ve finally gotten to the bottom of my immediate “to do” list.

Now, on to the more vexing question, the one filed under “What do you want to do with your life?” Which, I guess, comes with the more vexing implication of “Am I at my potential?”, and the subsequent “If I’m not at my potential, do I really want to get there?”

(*Censored*)

10 Days

10 days, good and faithful readers. 10 Days.

10 days without running. For good reason. For reasons which I am happy to do.

Actually, 10 days will end up being actually 8 days, as I should be able to squeeze in a few miles the first day and the last day. But, other than those, it’ll be 10 days Fer Shor.

How will I cope?

By learning Spanish, teaching myself C, and weeping gently while no-one is looking.

Well, that, and I finally downloaded Season 2 of Battlestar Galactica.

Sleep? We don’t need no stinkin’ sleep

So, yesterday’s sojurn through Dulles ended up being way more painful than I’d hoped.

WAY

As in the flight that was supposed to leave between 9 and 10 in the PM left between 1 and 2 in the AM, and got into Jacksonville about 3. As luck would have it, the rental car counters were all as empty as a keg at about 12:30 AM in a frat house. And, the number of taxis at the airport was exactly zero.

So, I did what any red-blooded American man would do in this situation – I laid my butt down and tried to take a nap. Wasn’t terribly hard between 4A and 5A, but about then, folks started showing up for work and being loud. AND, one of the alarms that go off prior to the baggage claim moving started wailing, and went on for about 45 minutes. *grumble*

About 5:55, I finally got a car, and boogied on down to Naval Station Mayport for a meeting, arriving a little after 7. When I got to the Q, the guy at the counter asked me if I really wanted the room, that maybe I could save the 24 bucks. Luckily, he remembered I had been guaranteed for arrival the night before before I could say anything, and gave me the room key. I rewarded him with the classic Jank Family cemetery joke*, passed from me to my son, from my father, my father’s father, and so on. The guy behind the counter said he was going to go out and tell it to his kid.

So – it’s 7:15, and I was under the impression that I was meeting the other folks I need to work with at about 8. What do I do?

That’s right, RBF – I threw on the sneakers and went for a quick 20 minute run along Mayport’s absolutely great run of taxpayer sponsored beach. 17 minutes, 2 miles, and a load off of my shoulders.

Quick shower later, and I managed to stay awake through the meetings, etc. The folks I was meeting threw a fish fry for lunch, so about 2 I pried myself away with a full belly, used legs, and a smile. Back at JAX, I finally let my guard down for a while and closed my eyes until my flight showed up.
Continue reading Sleep? We don’t need no stinkin’ sleep

Plans, Confessions, and Apology

So – Obviously, things are afoot at Casa Jank. How can you tell? Well, there’s been only a marginal amount of running, even less posting, and absolutely no pictures of the glorious fall we’ve been having.

For which I am greatly sorry, RBF. Greatly sorry.

However, the content here going to get somewhat worse before it gets better.

Opportunity is knocking in several ways, none of which I am inclined to discuss in a public forum. One of which is requiring that I drop pretty much completely offline next week for a couple of weeks (But it’s freakin’ cool…). I also got asked the “Where do you want to be in 5 years” question by someone I totally admire and respect, and have a chance to actually think about it for a while, and hopefully provide a good answer.

Plus, there’s Cub Scouts, actually spending time with my lovely wife, etc, so on and so forth…

It is looking like things will smooth out a bit in November; I am continuing to run, and I think I’m mentally at a place where I can run either Mystic Places or NYC next fall, for which I am (A) Stunned and (B) Psyched. I think that approaching “Marathon!” with my eyes open and a much more balanced relationship with running is going to be a completely triumphant story in the way my 2005 campaign was a complete program of Hubris, Comuppance, and BitOffMoreThanHeCanChew.

November will still be National Novel Writing Month, and I still plan on knocking that out over at sandbox.jankowskis.net – tenatively titled “Eskers Point” (the site, not the book). The first couple of days’ work won’t be up until the first Saturday in the month due to other committments (Which, as mentioned above, are absolutely freakin’ cool, and about which I will write later).

Amigos, as always, I cannot emphasize enough how much the RBF has given me aid and comfort over the last couple of years. I am a much better person than I was when I started down this road. There’s a revolution going on all across the world, and, while runners talking about running and helping each other through the tough parts and celebrating small victories might not seem like much – well, I honestly think it’s HUGE. Not to be passed aside. A foundation upon which to build a better tomorrow.

So, lace ’em up, pound ’em out, and throw someone else a thumbs-up, just ’cause.

You guys rock, to steal from someone, somewhere…

Run, Run, Run, Run, Run

Get Thee Behind Me Slacker!

New month, new fiscal year, and a new outlook on life. I’m still behind on reading the current efficiency bible, Getting Things Done, but I think I’m beginning to get the picture – Zero Inbox means “Do It Now”. (And yes, Mark, this does apply to my column on CRN).

Ran Saturday – tough, tough run for reasons which I’d rather forget. Ran Sunday – the great “back home from Family Swim” run, on a day where our pastor had been firing on all cylinders, the clouds had broken and the sun seemed to shine with the clarity that can only be found after ritual cleansing.

Today, Jake had a soccer game. I was late, as always, but not tragically so, and after the game, Jake and I stuck around and kicked the ball until it was dark. The boy’s not much of a natural athlete, but then neither was I. But something seemed to click with him tonight – he started to get the whole idea of continuing to move with the ball instead of kick – run – stop – kick. And he also started to see how it’s more key to stay between the ball and the goal than it is to run straight up to the ball and try to take it away. Awesome.

But it was fun. One of the other kids on the team played with us for a while. 7 years old and he was close to being able to beat me. Amazing what a difference a year makes in being able to handle the ball and see the field. Really, really made me want to coach again.

Oh, and the last bit – November is National Novel Writing Month. My profile is here; you can track the excitement over at my Sandbox, where i plan on posting the whole shooting match.

Now, what can I drop 50K words on???

Things I need to re-learn

  1. 30 minutes is worth heading out the door. As a matter of fact, so is 20 minutes.
  2. Not going 5 miles in any given run is a far less egregious sin against Fitness than not going out at all.
  3. <Insert bit of gear here> is not a deal breaker for a run, provided that <gear> is something other than shoes and pants/shorts.
  4. 10 PM is a GREAT bedtime. Even better is 9 PM.
  5. 5 AM is a GREAT time to wake up.
  6. “Consistency is all I ask” sayth the Run (2 Dromeas 5:14)

To those of you still reading – thanks.

I did 4 miles yesterday on the way home from the office. The catch? I did them at the North Kingstown Rail Trail, and I did them fast. Well, fast for the Fall 2006 version of Jank. The total run was 33:20 for 4 miles; but the first mile was under 7:30! It just felt good to twist the throttle a bit. No negative split, but mile 4 was faster than mile 3.

So there’s 3 runs in my log book in the last 5 days, after a long dry spell in the middle of September. I don’t think I’ve lost much in the way of fitness, but I think I need to make sure to follow the advice in Dromeas (Click here to see to what that’s referring).

Oh, and I’m looking for a tagline a la The Penguin’s “Waddle on, Folks”. Suggestions?

For Bev

He thrusts his fists against a post; he still insists he sees a ghost.

All is well here – extremely well, in fact. Had supper with an old friend with whom I’d fallen out of touch tonight; am almost above water at the job; and ran almost 8 miles Sunday night, and another 2+ tonight.

List of dragons needing slaying:

  1. Online training at work (taking)
  2. Receipt of FY07 funding
  3. Cub Scout new leader training
  4. Painting the house
  5. Annual brush cleanup, bonfire, and marshmallow roast (this will be the smoke signals…)

Oh, and another for the good column – the annual Oxford American Summer Southern Music Issue came out last week – I’d kind of written off my subscription for the year assuming they’d gone under again. But they didn’t.

Which means there’s much running to do to fully grok the new tunes. Got my skillet good and greasy all the time.

Keep the rubber down. Bev – does this count?