Category: Run

Wow

Thursday, I got running again – outside, in real weather (mid 30’s and it felt warm). Towards the end of the run, though, I was winded something fierce.

If I’d done my usual and really pushed, I might have been concerned, but it was 2 miles at an 8:45 pace – shorter and slower than the 4 at 8:20 I’d been averaging before taking February off to deal with PF.

Note to the wise – rest appears to work with PF – now we’ll see if building slowly works to prevent it in the future. Oh, that and staying off of f’n treadmills.

Friday morning, I woke up feeling fine, except for some real soreness in my thighs. Figured it was only small tissue damage from running on real ground, testing the fine motor-control muscles that I haven’t exercised since December, as every step I took on a treadmill was exactly the same as the one before and after.

Boy, was I wrong.

About halfway into a conference call Friday morning, I started getting chilly. The lab runs cold sometimes, so I pulled on my jacket.

Then, the cold sweats and shakes started, and I knew I was screwed.

Made it through the call, and put out a fire (Oh, boy was it a fire – I will discuss over soda/beer if given the chance), and headed home to crawl into bed.

The drive sucked – the heated seats were cranked up to full the whole time, and the heat was on to the point it started to dry out my mouth. I stopped for one nap. Got home around 2 and crawled into bed.

Slept/shivered/sweated for 16 hours straight, getting up to pee and drink more water.

This morning, I felt nearly human again, enough to go drill. Drill was fine – starting a new job there that looks like I’ll fit perfectly. Made it home, and Jake, my oldest boy, says “Hey, daddy. Why don’t we go ride bikes?”

Hmmm, sunny, 50 degrees, I’m no longer feeling near death? Sure, I can keep up with a 6 year old on a singlespeed bike with 12″ wheels.

The ride was all that and a bag of chips. I rode my wife’s bike with the jumpseat for the little brother on the back. We tooled around the neighborhood, and even went a little bit on the farm road outside the ‘hood. Jake only walked one or two hills, and that’s more because his coat catching on his seat stopped him from standing up in the pedals.

Absolutely wonderful – there’s nothing more I can ask for than a boy who wants to ride with me. Now, to keep that enthusiasm alive.

And there’s plans laid – his birthday is at the end of the month, and there’s a bike on hold for him at Mystic Cycle Center.

Oh, and I’ve picked up a new mountain bike. I’m kind of ashamed to admit it, ’cause technically, it’s a department store bike, but I got a Forge Sawback 5XX from Target. Why did I go with the department store bike?

Mainly ’cause it’s got a complete Shimano Deore gruppo, disc brakes, and it’s less than $300. The exact same parts layout (likely with a lesser fork) would be $600 anywhere else. If the frame is a total wash, I can hang the parts on another frame, and come out ahead.

I don’t know that I’d recommend the Forge to someone who wasn’t already a decent wrench, though. The one that was shipped to me was pretty well built, with the following exceptions:
– Front disc rotor and calipers weren’t installed
– Bottom bracket was installed by f’n Godzilla
– Front derailleur needed adjustment.

The brake – not a huge deal. Discs rock – so much easier to adjust and install than anything else I’ve ever wrenched on. The front derailleur – again, not a big deal as they included documentation on EVERYTHING that came with the bike.

The bottom bracket, though? I’m a bit miffed about that one, as I had an LX BB and crankset that I was going to slap on the bike. I pulled the stock crankset (Truvativ, not a complete piece of crap, but slightly heavier than the LX), but could not, for the love of Pete, get the bottom bracket shell to move. AND I even read Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance before starting, so I remembered that the right side shell was left-hand threaded, so it’s leftie-tightie; righty-loosey.

I haven’t been riding other than down the street Thursday night after putting it together, but the bike seems to rock. It’s lighter than my 15 year old steel hardtail/hard fork bike, though not quite as sexy, and goes forward when I pedal.

The top tube seems a little shorter than I’m used to, but I’ve got about an inch I can move the seat back, so that’ll help. And, it might just be that I’ve been riding road bikes for the better part of the last decade, so I’m not used to the proper geometry. I do think that my original MTB was a skosh too big for me, too.

Other than that, it’s been a while since I’ve really ridden a MTB, so we’ll see how it goes.

So that’s it – sickness, love, and new wheels. Got to love spring. Really love the boys.

One More Week/Lent

So, the legs are feeling much, much better after a week with a total of 2 miles run.

My natural inclination, of course, is to strap on the sneakers and resume 20 miles/week, ’cause I’m dumb that way.

The weather is conspiring against me, too, with today through Thursday expected to be in the mid-40’s F (high-single digits Metric) after a long, long time of cold weather. Man, it’s nice out.

Instead – I’m holding firm and I’ve decided to give myself another  week of rest. This morning, woke up, forgot to stretch while getting out of bed, and was doing the morning business before I realized that I’d gotten up without discomfort. Again, this would be an indication that I should go do something dumb, like 10 miles on Jamestown on the ride home, but I’m fighting them urges.

Another week of rest…

Which translates to time on the stationary bike in the Gym, resuming Pilates (I hope), and hopefully getting in the pool for the first time in 2007.

Went to the church’s weekly men’s prayer breakfast this morning – good times spiritually, and also cycling-ly. Lots of bikers at St Andrew. So, keeping the running in check may not be as detrimental to overall fitness as I fear. Hopefully I can turn it into a weekly ride…

Lent: Jon’s  got me thinking again, and reviewing my past entries show that giving up fast-food for Lent is extremely effective from a weight loss perspective, and pretty effective from a deprivation perspective (I love me some Taco Bell). It’ll also make good with my lovely wife, who is continually urging me to “Take my darn lunch” on a budgetary basis.

So, fast food it is.

I’m going to make a couple of other ground-rules:

1) Fast food is defined as “crappy fast food”. Exceptions will be given, on a rare basis for:

  • Subway, provided it’s 6″, whole wheat, no cheese, no random pressed meats (salami, bologna, pepperoni)
  • Wendy’s salads, provided I get non-breaded chicken and don’t eat the tasty sprinkles

2) Included in fast food are things like:

  • Grinders, especially those from Jim’s Deli, which are the culinary equivalent of high-grade heroin – a thrill to eat, but so, so bad…
  • Any form of greasy burger from a chain resturant or “pub”.
  • Hot Wings
  • And the killer – the weekly dose of Domino’s. I will make a tasty spinach salad to accompany our weekly date with Tom Bergeron and AFV.

I think I’m pretty serious about this: I’ve been stalled, weight and fitness, since the last time I really dug down and reformed my eating habits. Plus, it’s all in support of a culture I’m viewing as increasingly toxic, not necessarily nutritionally, but socially, and I want to work on setting a better example for the boys.

Baby Steps

For David – No, I’m not doing the golf balls with toes thing (though it bears a try).

I found two bits of advice that seem to be working well for me:
1. Wear shoes with good arch support (I’m a high-arch kinda fella) ALL THE TIME; and
2. Do the foot hold that Dr. Benedict Digiovanni researched, described in the LA TIMES; oh and
3. Don’t run so f’n much.

The stretch, if you’re not inclined to click through to the LAT:
1. Sit in a chair, back straight.
2. Take off your shoes, making sure to check out your cube entrance to make sure the creepy guy’s not looking in.
3. Cross your right foot over to your left knee.
4. Grab your right toes with your right hand, and pull ’em towards your shin.
5. Lather.
6. Rinse.
7. Repeat 10 times, holding each pull for 10 seconds.
8. Uncross legs.
9. Do this again for the left foot.
10. Turn around just in time to see boss walking in.
11. Fumble to get shoes back on.

15 minutes on the ‘mill at the gym this afternoon, and another 15 minutes on the stationary bike.

Revisiting February Goals

So, my favorite running maladay, Plantar Fascitis, has reared its ugly head again. WHich means, I think, that I need to revisit my running goals for February, and ramp down to about 12-16 miles/week instead of 20. Plus stretch, stretch, stretch.

The upside is that I can then spend more time on the bike or in the pool.

(Or on the couch, but let’s not go there)

Anyway, hope everyone else is running injury free. I’ve got a good stretch I found that’s minimizing the immediate sympton (stiffness in the ankles when I wake up in the morning); the next key is going to be going short distances again so as not to re-aggrivate it.

Confused

So, going to the monthly view in Nike+ gives me 80.76 miles at a respectable but not speedy 8:43/mile pace for the entire month.

However, I’m not yet getting credit on the resolution display. Which leads me to believe that they’re STILL running light on the server side.

Believe it or not, I almost didn’t make it. Work and a sick kid interfered a bit, but I finished up tonight in the basement watching ’24’. Good stuff, and I don’t feel my mind rotting if I can’t breathe. But other than that, life is good.

Well, while backing up iTunes to DVD (stupid upwards of 7 DVDs … time to purge the collection) I finally got fed up with the SuperDrive on my MacBook. It’s way, way too hard to get disks in and out, so I went on up to the Apple Store in Providence, got the Genius to say “Hey, you’re right”, and they’re sending me shipping containers to send it in for service. Here’s crossed fingers that I’ll get a new PC instead of the old one when they ship it back… Thank goodness for backups.

Well, that’s pretty much it. I’m aiming to run 80 miles in February, which will be only about a 10% mileage increase (based on 3 fewer days in the month), and I’d like to start mixing some biking and swimming back in. I’ve been catching up on Warren’s blog, and getting the tri bug again.

Oh, and I think I’ll run outside tomorrow in celebration of new shoes.

I will wear long pants, though.

Six Miles to Go!

Another 3 on the treadmill this lunch-time, plus my attempt to follow the Jared-from-Connecticut diet and I’m feeling good: Only 4 miles to go to hit 80 on the Nike+ for the month, and 84 real miles for the month!

I’ll be honest, I’m kind of amazed that

  1. I’m going to make it; and
  2. I’m not in the slightest burned out.

It was a bit tough the third week of the month, but I think that just proves the old “21 days and it’s a habit” saw.

One of the things that’s helped me is getting over my phobia of the gym, and having a gym available to me both near the house and another one near the office. Plus, having an unbelievably supportive wife always helps.

Looking back through my log on Nike+, I completely blew the 10%/week thing, but haven’t really suffered any physical ill-effects. So, I’m standing by my theory that the mileage increase guidelines are not at all meant for folks who aren’t currently running more than 15-20 miles/week. If you ask me (and you shouldn’t – I’m not a doctor, and this is my opinion only) Run whatever you can, folks, when you’re coming off of the couch – the health benefits of getting off of your butt far outweigh any risks.

I still need to worry much, much more about weight – it’s still inching up, despite the step increase in mileage. But, we’re looking long term – short term (3 month) goal is still to maintain 20 mile/week base with stretch goal to increase to 25 mile/week base. Mid-term (6 month) goal is to get my weight down to 155-160 (~20 to 15 lbs loss) and train for an October marathon (4 hour time goal). Long-term (1 year) goal is to begin to get faster.

Claim the small victories and continue to press onward.

Weekly Update

Hey, so I haven’t been writing much lately.

But I have been running – how great is that?

As of yesterday, I’m sitting at like 64 miles for the month on Nike+, which means upwards of 68 miles running total – completely within the range of hitting 80+ miles for the month.

The legs are feeling good, and I’ve been doing calisthenics again – got the pullup bar, and situps. Still cannot bring myself to do pushups regularly. Dunno why, guess I need Marines shouting at me to truly get me motivated to push the earth off its axis.

It’s way cold up here today. I kind of blew it this week – there were two or three GREAT, sunny, and warm(ish) days this week, but I sat on the treadmill. Shame, shame – sure, but I’m all about getting in the habit of getting in the daily run – we’ll worry about quality later in the year.

The garage is my next big project – the basement is clean, the workshop is in order, and if I can get the garage under control, things are  very, very good.

What a difference a week makes!

So, as you may recall, I had a rough run last weekend. Proving that I can’t learn from experience, I headed out on the same loop Sunday afternoon, with the temperatures somewhere in the 20s.

Actually, I didn’t head out intending to run the same loop. My general idea was to do the 5-ish mile loop down to River Road, and back via Old Mystic – out of the wind, and a kind and gentle loop. Mostly I was heading out to make sure I wasn’t falling way behind in my Nike+ New Year’s resolution.

Anyway, I crested Cow Hill coming from my house, straight over the hill, figuring that it’d be best to get the hard stuff out of the way immediately. And I felt good, even though my toes were blocks of ice, and the wind was stinging my face.

So, when I came down to Bindloss Road, I didn’t head downhill to River Road, but said “Hey, why not at least run to the next cross-road, and add another half-mile or so?” And I felt good, felt a flush on my face, and unzipped the top inch or so on my softshell.

And when I passed Starr Street, I said “Hey, why not run down to the Baptist Church, and see what’s cookin’ on Main Street?” And I wiggled my toes, and they were warm.

And, as I ran down Main Street, taking in the early evening, taking in the waning light, the air, and the view up the valley mirrored in the stillness of the river, I said “Let’s do the loop.” And I crossed the drawbridge.

On the backside, I made a conscious effort to keep the pace down, and my heart and breathing under control, and finished the 7.2 mile loop without worry.

The downer, though, was that when I stopped the iPod, Lance Armstrong said in my ears “Wow, that was an amazing workout! You really burned a lot of calories!” Which, to my ears, sounded like “Yeah, lard-butt, if you weren’t carrying all that extra weight, you might really be a runner…” Plus, it also sounded like permission for wings and beer while I watched the Pats lose.

Outside

Had a delightful run outside yesterday lunchtime – really made my day.

I’ve been avoiding the out-of-doors lately, mostly out of weenie-ness, but yesterday I sucked it up and headed outside, and was happy I did.

It was chilly, and the wind was blowing, but somehow just seeing the wind, waves, and earth made everything seem better. I ran at what seemed a slow pace, trying not to push, but Nike+ told me it was 3.25 miles of 8:11 – which is not so shabby.

The scale’s still depressing me somewhat – still well into the 170’s, but at least it’s not going up any more.

Nike+ Dissected

Hey, so the folks over at Spark Fun Electronics dissected the Nike+ sensor –

There is no MEMs accelerometer! The foot pod was designed to activate a simple piezoelectric sensor to monitor how long your weight is on the foot (the faster you run, the shorter amount of time spent on one foot).

This is interesting, especially in light of the treadmill data from the other day… need to think now..

Oh, and thanks to Mark for the link

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