I went out Monday, did about 3.6 miles at a little over a 9 minute pace. The run went well, except I had some terrible experiences with snot rockets. I mean, I totally whiffed them. Disappointing, on so many levels.
Tuesday, ol' St. Patty's Day.. I wound up having to work pretty late, and it just didn't happen. No runs. There was much sadness.
However, the day wasn't a complete waste! Julianne mentioned she was starting the 100 pushups challenge. I tweeted that I should really try that again too, and she twisted my arm to join her in doing it. So, W1D1, all complete!
I'm so liking the spring weather. Apparently, we're cooling off over the next few days, dropping back down into the 30s and 40s. Sigh.
There's a chance (a strong chance, too), that I'll be absent the next few days. College basketball, a nearby watering hole, a lack of desire to be at work. It adds up to the 'perfect storm', if you will. Here's hoping the picks of your choosing do well....
In case I don't talk to you, keep on rockin', everyone!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
A run, a walk
Saturday, I busted out of Funky Town, and went for a run. It was not stellar, by any means. I didn't even make 3.5 miles before pulling up lame. But, I went out, at least.
The dishes in the sink were emptied (but the thing filled up again by this morning.. what's up with that?). Some of the Christmas decor was taken down (rest assured, the tree is still up..)
Let's see.. what else? Oh yes, I watched some basketball. The local college made it to the big dance. I'm a total bandwagon fan with them. I admit it.
Sunday.. I did some painting. Yours truly didn't buy enough paint, so I get to do it again in the near future. Whee
Also, since my ITB/knee was acting wonky, I didn't run on Sunday. I did go for a walk/hike, though. No idea how long of a walk it was, but it was nice. For visual blog interest, here's some pics:
There's some nice paths to walk nearby. Before the local area went in the toilet years ago, a golf course had some paved paths for golf carts to drive through the woods and the like. The golf course was sold off, went out of business, etc. Now, a nature group owns at least part of the preserve. Either way, it's still nice to walk through it. This is some of what it looks like.
A good 15 minutes into the walk, you can come across this bench. I do like sitting down here. It's very peaceful. There's a small stream that you can watch and listen to. These woods generally have very few people visiting them, as well. On Sunday I parked my can here for quite a while just to reflect and such. Since I can't run long right now, this has to serve as a substitute. :)
Looking around, I saw this "sign":
It basically says.. "The vine growing around this tree is poison ivy." (along with a description of what poison ivy looks like). Cracked me up, for some reason. Interesting tidbit.. when I was younger, I was immune to poison ivy. I always tried to be careful, but that fact got me out of a few scrapes. :) I don't know if I still have that, but I'm not about to go find out.
That's about all I've got for the weekend.. It's supposed to be around 60 today, so I'm going to try to get out and do a couple of miles.
Keep on rockin'...
The dishes in the sink were emptied (but the thing filled up again by this morning.. what's up with that?). Some of the Christmas decor was taken down (rest assured, the tree is still up..)
Let's see.. what else? Oh yes, I watched some basketball. The local college made it to the big dance. I'm a total bandwagon fan with them. I admit it.
Sunday.. I did some painting. Yours truly didn't buy enough paint, so I get to do it again in the near future. Whee
Also, since my ITB/knee was acting wonky, I didn't run on Sunday. I did go for a walk/hike, though. No idea how long of a walk it was, but it was nice. For visual blog interest, here's some pics:
There's some nice paths to walk nearby. Before the local area went in the toilet years ago, a golf course had some paved paths for golf carts to drive through the woods and the like. The golf course was sold off, went out of business, etc. Now, a nature group owns at least part of the preserve. Either way, it's still nice to walk through it. This is some of what it looks like.
A good 15 minutes into the walk, you can come across this bench. I do like sitting down here. It's very peaceful. There's a small stream that you can watch and listen to. These woods generally have very few people visiting them, as well. On Sunday I parked my can here for quite a while just to reflect and such. Since I can't run long right now, this has to serve as a substitute. :)
Looking around, I saw this "sign":
It basically says.. "The vine growing around this tree is poison ivy." (along with a description of what poison ivy looks like). Cracked me up, for some reason. Interesting tidbit.. when I was younger, I was immune to poison ivy. I always tried to be careful, but that fact got me out of a few scrapes. :) I don't know if I still have that, but I'm not about to go find out.
That's about all I've got for the weekend.. It's supposed to be around 60 today, so I'm going to try to get out and do a couple of miles.
Keep on rockin'...
Friday, March 13, 2009
Won't you take me to Funky Town?
I'm in a funk. Big funk. And, you're like, big funkin' deal. Not a good George Clinton style funk, either.
Blah. Yeah, I haven't run since Saturday, and I see I haven't blogged since Monday. I could say I've been good about stretching, but well, no. I haven't been. I have been resting the ITB, at least. I can say that with great confidence, even.
The homestead is a mess. Dishes piled in the sink. The Christmas tree is still up. (At least I'm not the only one).
The weather is supposed to warm back up, so my goal is to go out this weekend, hopefully for 3 or 4 miles each day. We'll see..
Keep on rockin'. I'm going to do my best to run my way out of here.
I'll leave you with an alternate version of the tune.. Another groovy video for your enjoyment..
Monday, March 9, 2009
Saturday's run
Beautiful day on Saturday. It was cloudy, and slightly above 50 degrees. I strapped on my iPod and my phone, and headed on out the door.
I opted to take a countryside route. The interesting part about where I live is that about 5 miles from each other, you have two opposite ends of the spectrum. On one hand, you have lots of farms, hills, woods, all that. On the other end, you have the abandoned factories, warehouses, and the like. You'll get a few pics from the former today.
So, my goal was to do 8-10, depending on how my leg felt. I brought the iPod so that I'd have some distraction from myself, and not have to worry about every little thing ("Oh, did it just act up on that step?" and all that). I tried out my first taste of the 'Dump Runners Club' podcast, as well as being entertained by the crew of the Runner's Lounge podcast.
My pace was mighty slow, as I was playing it safe from the monster that is ITBS..
I ran part of a normal route, but decided to take a different side road, just to see what was out there.. It was the usual for that neck of the woods, but it was nice to see something slightly different.
Around mile 4, I started seeing these in the sandy shoulder of the road:
My phone doesn't take terribly good pictures, but it's a horseshoe print..
I saw those for the next mile, until I turned around.
Here's a couple of pics from nearby the turnaround point (hey, why not stop and stretch?)
So, I felt good at the halfway mark (I was not so subconsciously looking to go 10).
I turned around and headed back...
Around 6.5 miles, I was starting to get worried.. I had a little nagging feeling in the knee, but I was on some slight uphills. I stopped and stretched, and continued onward.
Around mile 7, I got chased by a few dogs while the owner stood by and scolded them (not moving, of course). So, I got a little speedwork in.
At mile 7.6 I knew I was pretty much done. It started to sprinkle, so I called my wife to come get me.
I managed to log about 7.8 miles. When I got out of the car, she did make some comment about it being a mercy pickup, and it wasn't all about the rain, was it?
Sigh.
So, to answer Friday's question to myself, Pocono is out. Not going to happen this year.
I sat on the couch pondering that and wondering if it could magically happen still. Sunday morning came, and my knee was all tender.. so, that finished answering that question. Yeah, it's not happening.
Today, it's not terrible.. not perfect, but I may be able to do some shorter runs later on this week. I'll cap myself out at 3 or 4 miles.
Soo.... now comes the evaluation.. first order of business is to heal up. Second order is to figure out what the hell I'm going to do this year. Possibly a fall marathon (Wineglass (10/4) and Steamtown (10/11) are pretty nearby.. ). Philly (11/22) and Harrisburg (11/8) aren't that much further.
So, if I can get healthy (and stay healthy), maybe I'll shoot for one of those.. In the meantime, I need to find some shorter races to keep my attention from wandering and give me something to work toward.
Welcome to Monday everyone. Keep on rockin' it.
I opted to take a countryside route. The interesting part about where I live is that about 5 miles from each other, you have two opposite ends of the spectrum. On one hand, you have lots of farms, hills, woods, all that. On the other end, you have the abandoned factories, warehouses, and the like. You'll get a few pics from the former today.
So, my goal was to do 8-10, depending on how my leg felt. I brought the iPod so that I'd have some distraction from myself, and not have to worry about every little thing ("Oh, did it just act up on that step?" and all that). I tried out my first taste of the 'Dump Runners Club' podcast, as well as being entertained by the crew of the Runner's Lounge podcast.
My pace was mighty slow, as I was playing it safe from the monster that is ITBS..
I ran part of a normal route, but decided to take a different side road, just to see what was out there.. It was the usual for that neck of the woods, but it was nice to see something slightly different.
Around mile 4, I started seeing these in the sandy shoulder of the road:
My phone doesn't take terribly good pictures, but it's a horseshoe print..
I saw those for the next mile, until I turned around.
Here's a couple of pics from nearby the turnaround point (hey, why not stop and stretch?)
So, I felt good at the halfway mark (I was not so subconsciously looking to go 10).
I turned around and headed back...
Around 6.5 miles, I was starting to get worried.. I had a little nagging feeling in the knee, but I was on some slight uphills. I stopped and stretched, and continued onward.
Around mile 7, I got chased by a few dogs while the owner stood by and scolded them (not moving, of course). So, I got a little speedwork in.
At mile 7.6 I knew I was pretty much done. It started to sprinkle, so I called my wife to come get me.
I managed to log about 7.8 miles. When I got out of the car, she did make some comment about it being a mercy pickup, and it wasn't all about the rain, was it?
Sigh.
So, to answer Friday's question to myself, Pocono is out. Not going to happen this year.
I sat on the couch pondering that and wondering if it could magically happen still. Sunday morning came, and my knee was all tender.. so, that finished answering that question. Yeah, it's not happening.
Today, it's not terrible.. not perfect, but I may be able to do some shorter runs later on this week. I'll cap myself out at 3 or 4 miles.
Soo.... now comes the evaluation.. first order of business is to heal up. Second order is to figure out what the hell I'm going to do this year. Possibly a fall marathon (Wineglass (10/4) and Steamtown (10/11) are pretty nearby.. ). Philly (11/22) and Harrisburg (11/8) aren't that much further.
So, if I can get healthy (and stay healthy), maybe I'll shoot for one of those.. In the meantime, I need to find some shorter races to keep my attention from wandering and give me something to work toward.
Welcome to Monday everyone. Keep on rockin' it.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Another week, coming to a close
I don't know what's been going on lately, but I've been really busy at work. I guess that's really a good thing, though.
Last night I got out to do a run outside. The temperature was around 40 degrees, so it really wasn't too bad. I started out a bit cold, but as the run went on, I was just right (which is idea, I suppose). I wound up doing about 4.25 miles at a 9:30 pace. The knees/ITB felt reasonably OK, so I was pleased there. Probably sitting about 85% good. My calves felt like they lacked some power that they had a month ago, unfortunately. My two weeks of really light running must have made me lose a bit.
My foam rolling has been going well.. My left ITB can be rolled with no issues.. I still have a few tender spots on my right ITB, but it's a lot better than it was.
This weekend, I'm hoping to do an 8 or a 10. I was checking the calendar and thinking about the Pocono marathon this morning. The marathon is on 5/17, and I think there's still an outside shot that I can get there and do reasonably well (for me. I'm not going win the thing, after all). So, I'm going to do my 8 to 10 this weekend and see how it goes. Provided it's OK, and I keep my ITBs all limber, maybe I can make it. If not, I guess the plan goes up in the air..
I was really bummed when my knee started bothering me, because I was right on track to do Pocono, and be adequately prepared.
I guess, worst case, I just run for fitness for a while and see if I can do a fall marathon. We've got some stuff going on in the summer which will take a chunk right out of my training, I suspect, so I really wanted to do a spring one. Oh well. It was really nice having a goal and something to work toward.
So, let's see.. what else do I have? Oh yeah.. My wife was looking at my ShoeWallet the other day. She says to me (with that look) "Why do you have a piece of paper in here with your name and phone number and such on it?" I guess that really freaked her out. I tried to tell her that she'd much rather have me identified immediately after getting hit by a car, rather than waiting for hours or days with me being "John Doe", but that explanation didn't fly very well.
You guys carry ID, don't you? My running buddy got me a Road ID which I should wear more often, come to think of it.
Ah well. Mildly amusing, at least (to me). Keep on rockin', and have a great weekend.
Last night I got out to do a run outside. The temperature was around 40 degrees, so it really wasn't too bad. I started out a bit cold, but as the run went on, I was just right (which is idea, I suppose). I wound up doing about 4.25 miles at a 9:30 pace. The knees/ITB felt reasonably OK, so I was pleased there. Probably sitting about 85% good. My calves felt like they lacked some power that they had a month ago, unfortunately. My two weeks of really light running must have made me lose a bit.
My foam rolling has been going well.. My left ITB can be rolled with no issues.. I still have a few tender spots on my right ITB, but it's a lot better than it was.
This weekend, I'm hoping to do an 8 or a 10. I was checking the calendar and thinking about the Pocono marathon this morning. The marathon is on 5/17, and I think there's still an outside shot that I can get there and do reasonably well (for me. I'm not going win the thing, after all). So, I'm going to do my 8 to 10 this weekend and see how it goes. Provided it's OK, and I keep my ITBs all limber, maybe I can make it. If not, I guess the plan goes up in the air..
I was really bummed when my knee started bothering me, because I was right on track to do Pocono, and be adequately prepared.
I guess, worst case, I just run for fitness for a while and see if I can do a fall marathon. We've got some stuff going on in the summer which will take a chunk right out of my training, I suspect, so I really wanted to do a spring one. Oh well. It was really nice having a goal and something to work toward.
So, let's see.. what else do I have? Oh yeah.. My wife was looking at my ShoeWallet the other day. She says to me (with that look) "Why do you have a piece of paper in here with your name and phone number and such on it?" I guess that really freaked her out. I tried to tell her that she'd much rather have me identified immediately after getting hit by a car, rather than waiting for hours or days with me being "John Doe", but that explanation didn't fly very well.
You guys carry ID, don't you? My running buddy got me a Road ID which I should wear more often, come to think of it.
Ah well. Mildly amusing, at least (to me). Keep on rockin', and have a great weekend.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
TIaRT: Common Mistakes and Cardinal Sins of Running
Today's TIaRT is about the common mistakes we make while running.
My most common mistake, which I still consistently make, is to do too much, too fast. Cranking up the miles without being adequately prepared. I did that a year and a half ago and wound up with a scorching case of ITBS. So, I recommend, don't do that. You may have the mental stamina to grind it out, but if your body isn't ready, you'll regret it.
Another mistake, which I've learned from, is not listening to the aches and pains of running. There are some pains which you get that you just know are bad. For a new runner, the pains all seem to blend together. As you become more experienced, you can start to detect what is just muscle fatigue versus something more serious. Of course, there are days where shit just hurts. All over. Who knows what's hiding in that mess of aches and pains.
So, one mistake I still make, one I have tried to learn from. Eh, not terrible.
As far as running and I have been doing.. Tuesday I did 4 at the gym. 2 miles, a short walk & drink, 2 more miles. ITB seemed OK. Yesterday, I just didn't want to go to the gym. I thought about hitting the elliptical, and well, it just didn't happen.
Today, I'm dog tired, but I'm going to try to get outside after work. At least do a few miles. The weather looks like it's starting to break and is going to warm up over the next few days, so I'm psyched. My gym membership is up, and I don't really want to renew it at this point, since I should be outside consistently very shortly.
Keep on rockin' everyone.
My most common mistake, which I still consistently make, is to do too much, too fast. Cranking up the miles without being adequately prepared. I did that a year and a half ago and wound up with a scorching case of ITBS. So, I recommend, don't do that. You may have the mental stamina to grind it out, but if your body isn't ready, you'll regret it.
Another mistake, which I've learned from, is not listening to the aches and pains of running. There are some pains which you get that you just know are bad. For a new runner, the pains all seem to blend together. As you become more experienced, you can start to detect what is just muscle fatigue versus something more serious. Of course, there are days where shit just hurts. All over. Who knows what's hiding in that mess of aches and pains.
So, one mistake I still make, one I have tried to learn from. Eh, not terrible.
As far as running and I have been doing.. Tuesday I did 4 at the gym. 2 miles, a short walk & drink, 2 more miles. ITB seemed OK. Yesterday, I just didn't want to go to the gym. I thought about hitting the elliptical, and well, it just didn't happen.
Today, I'm dog tired, but I'm going to try to get outside after work. At least do a few miles. The weather looks like it's starting to break and is going to warm up over the next few days, so I'm psyched. My gym membership is up, and I don't really want to renew it at this point, since I should be outside consistently very shortly.
Keep on rockin' everyone.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Reasonably Successful
I managed to get 2 runs in this weekend. Since my training plan has been shot due to sickness 2 weeks ago, and ITB issues last week, I played it relatively safe.
Saturday I went out and did 3.5 miles on the indoor track. Pretty uneventful. I felt good, but decided to call it a day, just so I didn't aggravate my IT band. No problems, so that was good. So yeah, it wasn't the 18 that was on my old schedule. Not by a long shot.
Sunday, I decided to run outside. In driving around, I said "Wow.. it seems pretty nice out. I'll run outside".
Yeah, well, I neglected to account for the fact that the car shields you from the wind.
I made it about .1 miles from the homestead and realized, it was going to be a damn cold run. As a result of my poor preparedness for the cold, I ran 8:30 miles, just so I could be done faster. I ran about 4 miles, with a couple of walk breaks to stretch the ol IT band out. It didn't feel stellar, but it wasn't painful, either.
Today, I feel a bit creaky, so I'm taking the day off.. I was going to bike, but I think it's best just to rest and do some leg exercises & stretching.
My game plan this week is to do moderate runs of around 4 miles this week 3 or 4 times, and see how I feel for the weekend, and hopefully do something longer. We'll see...
By the way, thanks for all who commented on my previous post. Your ideas weren't totally unexpected, but they were encouraging.
On Friday, I had some of Brooklyn Brewery's Monster Ale, which is a barley wine style beer. Holy crap. Talk about packing a punch. It's listed as being 10.3% alcohol, and you sure know it when you taste it. I'm not too familiar with barley wine beers, so I can't really compare it well. Gives me something to "research".
So, another question for the runners who listen to some sort of audio while running.. what podcasts do you listen to (if any)? I listen to Phedippidations, Podruner, and the Runner's Loungecast. Of course, I'll listen to various albums and such as well.. typically something like Breaking Benjamin or Linkin Park.. How about you? Just curious..
Keep on rockin', everyone!
Saturday I went out and did 3.5 miles on the indoor track. Pretty uneventful. I felt good, but decided to call it a day, just so I didn't aggravate my IT band. No problems, so that was good. So yeah, it wasn't the 18 that was on my old schedule. Not by a long shot.
Sunday, I decided to run outside. In driving around, I said "Wow.. it seems pretty nice out. I'll run outside".
Yeah, well, I neglected to account for the fact that the car shields you from the wind.
I made it about .1 miles from the homestead and realized, it was going to be a damn cold run. As a result of my poor preparedness for the cold, I ran 8:30 miles, just so I could be done faster. I ran about 4 miles, with a couple of walk breaks to stretch the ol IT band out. It didn't feel stellar, but it wasn't painful, either.
Today, I feel a bit creaky, so I'm taking the day off.. I was going to bike, but I think it's best just to rest and do some leg exercises & stretching.
My game plan this week is to do moderate runs of around 4 miles this week 3 or 4 times, and see how I feel for the weekend, and hopefully do something longer. We'll see...
By the way, thanks for all who commented on my previous post. Your ideas weren't totally unexpected, but they were encouraging.
On Friday, I had some of Brooklyn Brewery's Monster Ale, which is a barley wine style beer. Holy crap. Talk about packing a punch. It's listed as being 10.3% alcohol, and you sure know it when you taste it. I'm not too familiar with barley wine beers, so I can't really compare it well. Gives me something to "research".
So, another question for the runners who listen to some sort of audio while running.. what podcasts do you listen to (if any)? I listen to Phedippidations, Podruner, and the Runner's Loungecast. Of course, I'll listen to various albums and such as well.. typically something like Breaking Benjamin or Linkin Park.. How about you? Just curious..
Keep on rockin', everyone!
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