Running blahs...

My running hasn't been stellar. Sure, I'm still in recovery from my injury, but I also have been cleared to run for 2 weeks now. How much have I put in? Twice. I could give a list of reasons, but fact is I haven't really been motivated. The weather has been cold and snowy and I just haven't felt any desire to go to the track.

I went last night and it felt really good. I still have some stiffness and the muscles are a little tender, but I was able to get up to a speed where I was able to hold my own with the little old ladies speed walking. I pushed it a little for the last 1/2 mile enough so that I could actually feel a bit of sweat breaking out...it was a nice change.

I am planning on one more day this week and then we're off to sunny California until Christmas. I doubt I'll get much running in, but walking all over will be good for me. I am also looking toward 2010 for the many races I would like to do. I'm definitely planning on the Salt Lake City Half-Marathon and the Top of Utah Marathon. In between those two there are a bunch of options for me. I'd like to tack on another marathon and half, but I also get to play it smart.

If I'm not back on until after the holidays, have a Merry Christmas.

On the Road Again

YES! I hit the track last night with a little trepidation. Part of me was very excited to have the green light to run again and another part of me was saying "what if it still hurts? Then what are you going to do?" I am happy to report that other than a little tightness there was no pain and I was able to put in a 30 minute run. It was slow and I was working on implementing some of the changes the doc said, but overall it was good. A few minutes before I was finished I starting feeling that "sweet spot" again. The point where your mind shuts off, your body gets into a natural rhythm and the run becomes like a meditation.

Anyway, a day of rest, a day of cross training and then I'll be able to run again. It's nowhere near the pace I was at, but the doctor reassured me that if I take it easy it will only be a month before I am back to my pace.

I'll leave you with my video tribute of the day.

Thanksgiving 2009-The Agony, The Pain Pills and The Follow Up

My plan for the holiday weekend was as follows:
• Avoid work Wed-Sun
• Make a couple pies for Thanksgiving Dinner with my parents
• Volunteer at the 5K
• See a movie as a family, see a movie with my wife
• Paint the basement
• Relax and enjoy the weekend

Here's the recap. Wednesday my son and I got the pie dough made and in the refrigerator. My wife had some books to get from the library and we picked up a few dvds also. Things were looking pretty good. While we were out we picked up the race packets for the 5K. The shirt is a sweatshirt and since we ran last year we opted out of the shirt. When I went to pick up the packets, they had upgraded the sweatshirts this year to a hoodie...bummer.

Thursday morning I woke a little sore and achey. It felt like the muscles all around my thigh/grown/back area were all just stiff and sore. I stretched out a little, took some ibuprofen and took my kids to the 5K. Since I was volunteering, I directed the runners where mile 1 1/2 and 3.0 cross. It was fun to see my son running and having a good time. We hung out at the race until they had given out most of the prizes and done the raffles. There were about 400 runners this year and the winner of the race ran with a sport stroller (he passed it on to his wife at about mile 2.5) in a 16 minute finish....WITH A STROLLER!

My achey side didn't improve and instead decided to get worse. I stretched and tugged and grimaced and nothing worked. I headed back to the van thinking maybe if I reclined the seat it would relax...nothing. The kids arrived back at the van to see their dad debating whether he should just drive home or just drive to the ER. I opted for the first, the wife jumped in, I moved over and she drove with fury to the ER. I've been to the ER a few times in my life and I have to say that I found the perfect window of opportunity for the ER. We arrived, I was writhing in pain, there was one person already being evaluated and the nurse quickly went and got someone to attend to the man who looked like he was in labor (that would be me). They took me to the back of the ER got me on the bed, took some information, blood pressure, etc. and then pulled out the pain meds. It was nice to hear the nurse tell me that if the pain didn't subside in the next 3 or 4 minutes to hit the button... 2 buttons later and things were much, much better.

The diagnosis...kidney stones. WHAT?! I'm too young for this stuff. Kidney stones are supposed to happen to overweight men in their mid-50s who drink way too much soda and have no sense of exercise. I'm the water poster child, my soda consumption is minimal and up until a month ago I was a pretty active in the exercise arena. They verified with a CT scan, doped me up, gave me some more meds and wished me well. They also mentioned that a lot of people passing Kidney stones end up back not too long after the first visit. I went home and slept until 8 pm, woke up, ate a little turkey dinner that my parents sent, sat down and started watching a movie with my wife...10:30 pm and I was paying the ER a visit. I have broken a bone, had a herniated disc, suffered from seizures, but this topped the charts.

After being re-drugged and pumped full of fluids I returned home and slept until Friday afternoon. We finished the movie Friday night that we started on Thursday.

Saturday we bought paint for the basement and went to a sis-in-laws birthday party. The holiday weekend was a blur.

Today was my weekly doctor appointment for my leg. I told him that I was finished with this whole "no running plan" and asked how soon I could begin to get back on the road. After he poked and prodded, he told me I could start on some slow smooth surface running for a few weeks. He put me on the treadmill and worked with me on some of my gait and stride positions to show me what I get to change. It looks like part of the problem has been that my stride has been too long and combined with heel striking it is actually putting a lot of strain on my hips and thighs. The good news is that I can actually run again. I'll hit the gym tomorrow. I get to take it really easy and do 1 day run, 1 day complete rest, 1 day bike or cross train and then repeat. After 2 weeks if things are still well then I can increase the tempo. I am so excited to go run tomorrow.

Turkey Trot 5K

As I sat in the doctor's office on Monday going over my recovery progress I mentioned this little 5K that I signed up for this Thursday. The doctor gave me two options. Option 1: I run the race and try to keep it easy, but tack on another 3-4 weeks in my recovery or bow out and be back to running in 2. Despite the blow to my ego, I am going to sit this race out. I anticipated blowing my last 5K PR out of the water, but that will have to wait.

On Monday I was able to do some easy running on the treadmill for the doctor and get some advice on why this occurred. According to the doc, my running form was causing all the strain to be on my hamstrings and abductor muscles rather than it being balanced. The good news is that this is off season. It's my opportunity to build my core, work on some speed and be more efficient for the spring.

Instead of running in the race, I will be volunteering and cheering on my son and father.

Adversity to Working After Lunch

Since my running has bit the dust for now (cross my fingers for a Saturday or Monday run), I'd like to discuss a few things that have made me wonder. Since bullets seem to be the new trend and I don't want to be left behind, I'll add mine.

• Combo Meals. One of my favorite burger places sells the homemade type fries. The ones where you can see the skin of the fry (or it is a really good fake). I hate cold fries. I hate cold hamburgers. If I get back to my desk, I have to go for the fries first. By the time I finish the fries, the burger is either cold or luke warm. Someone should really invent a way of keeping everything warm while I finish my fries. 
• My Productivity Levels. It seems that my productivity levels are high between 8:30 am and 1:00 p.m. From 1:01p.m. (about the time I am having lunch) until the end of the day, my levels drop about as fast as my burger gets cold.
• Running Points. With all the talk and hype about the health-care plan that is moving through the government right now, why isn't there a running amendment to the plan. It's a simple solution. Everyone signs up for the plan and buys the government approved GPS watch that records their mileage. Points are accumulated for the distance run and add up. I then can log on to a website and renew my subscription to Runners World, get some new shoes, order pizza, etc. It's a win/win for the everyone. Those who start running, get healthier, they see the doctors less, end up taking less medications thus saving the cost of health care. 
• Twitter/Facebook/MySpace/LinkedIn. Back in the day, there was this thing called networking. You got involved with a group, went to some meetings, handed out your business card with the expectation that eventually you'd be able to get something financially rewarding out of it. Where did that go? I am signed up on everything but MySpace and I'm still waiting to see the benefits. A friend got me hooked on LinkedIn and told me if I joined this one group that I could download like 5000 names and everyone who was on the list would agree to be in my group. I did that. I've yet to get anything from it. I went back to the friend and he said for me now to start calling them and getting referred to other friends. On Facebook, I've been hit by so many pillows, been kidnapped, been sent joyful enlightened messages and been asked to join at least 20 farms. I have yet to see the value. I joined Twitter (horizon_design) as my company to see if it will yield other results. If this doesn't work, I'm going to go find a meeting and start handing out my business card.
• Home Improvements. Want to know what i've been doing since my running injury? My family room remodel. Before the injury, we tore apart the family room because the previous owners were smoking something and thought that only having one plug in the whole room and a hardwired light connection (with no switch) was a good idea. I ripped it out, re-wired it with plugs all over, put in 12 recessed lights and added insulation to every wall. I started the sheetrock, then got hurt so I hired out the hanging and mudding. Who ever said home ownership was cheaper than renting? I am now seeing the value of retirement communities.

There you go...end of my deep pondering. Once I finish the family room (we're going carpet shopping this weekend because Costco hasn't called us back) I'll post pictures.

Have a great weekend, I hope to be back on the road this weekend or first of next week. I am signed up for the Thanksgiving 5K and I am defending my age group title.

Epitaph

I bought this book called Caffeine for the Creative Mind. It has 250 different exercises to "wake up the brain." Today's exercise was all about creating my own tombstone message. The only catch was that it had to be relatively short and rhyme. I took it a step further and put it on an actual tombstone.

I'm also in less pain today. Sleeping last night was easier than it had been in 2 weeks so maybe I am on the mend.

Letting Go and Picking Up

It's been a frustrating past week with my running. The fact that I haven't been able to get out and do any running (even a light jogging hurts) has made me a bit down and grouchy. I think of all the things I am supposed to be doing with my training. My goal is to build my base miles and get my body used to running longer distances without fatigue. I came across this post by Ryan Hall. Even the elite's have bad days and I just get to keep it in perspective.

http://blog.mastertheshift.com/Ryan-Hall/index.php/2009/11/ing-nyc-marathon-part-ii-letting-go-and-getting-up/