I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that I'm now a part of Team Nebraska Brooks' website. For those of you who have been reading this blog from the start, back in January 2008, at the Chiller Challenge, I was asked to become a part of Team Nebraska Brooks. I accepted, and have been a member for the past 7 months. I haven't really been that active within the club, but they have provided support for a couple of races I have done over the past several months. Anyway, there is a new website up for our team, TeamNebraskaBrooks. Check me out, midway down the page.
I heard from my friend Dave this morning. He's doing well, already back at home recovering! THAT'S a strong man--just two days ago he was in surgery!
I also wanted to let you guys know that yesterday, when I said I was going to run, man did I ever! I ran at lunch, like usual, and after I started out with 15 minutes on the arc trainer, I ran the following:
1/2 mile @ 8:34 pace
1/2 mile @ 8:27
1/2 mile @ 8:20
1/2 mile @ 8:13
1/2 mile @ 8:06
1/2 mile @ 8:00
1/2 mile @ 7:54
1/2 mile @ 7:48
1/2 mile @ 7:42
1/2 mile @ 7:36
1/2 mile @ 7:30
1/2 mile @ 7:24
1/2 mile @ 7:19
1/2 mile @ 7:14
1/2 mile @ 7:09
1/2 mile @ 7:04
.39 mile @ 6:59
Total - 8.39 miles, 65:00, 7:44 average pace
I have to tell you, it ROCKED! But, How in the world, Who in the world, was forcing me to run that 6:59 pace in the Boston Marathon? I mean, seriously, that is not just a little jaunt in the park. However, there was a guy I knew that came into the fitness center just as I was finishing up, and I had no problem speaking to him. So I know my lungs are okay. I was running at that speed with no problem. I just don't remember being able to run that fast for 26.2 miles.
I finished up my day, after work, by doing the arc trainer for an hour.
Needless to say, after my Jaunt at lunch yesterday, plus an hour of arc trainer after work, plus the past 7 consecutive days of 2 hour+ workouts, including 7 days of arc trainer, 4 of those days including running, 3 of which were 8+ miles, and one which was 11+ miles, I'd say today consists of nada for me. Going to lunch with a coworker, but I will resume the workout that is my life tomorrow.
If any of you (if anyone reads this) would like to see my run/arc/elliptical/bike schedule, you can view it over on the left-hand side of the page under the title "Addiction." That box shown there with my workout totals in it should lead you directly to a calendar.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
News and more...
Okay, so I know it has been quite some time since I logged anything. There are a few reasons for that, as I will divulge into further in a moment. Right now I want to say that I've got my mind on my dear friend Dave, who is currently recovering from Degenerative Disk surgery in Chicago. I also want to point out that yesterday was my mother's birthday, and she would have been only 50.
So, on to other things.
On Mother's Day, Phillip and I went to his mother's house in Austin. I was still recovering (slightly) from the Boston Marathon, but there was a 5k that his little (9-year-old) sister wanted us to run with her. We knew she wouldn't be able to run the entire thing, so we weren't really concerned about a time.
We arrived in Austin on Friday, ran the 5k Saturday morning, and then made our way out to to a trail near his mom's house for some real running. The race was at 8:00 that morning and the sky was overcast, so by the time we made it to the trail it was just after 10:00 and it was already nearing 90 degrees. And HUMID.
Anyway, I ran 8 miles that day, and it was all I could do to get back in the car. Despite running the 8 at my normal pace, I was worn out from the heat (I don't know how people run in Austin, blech).
Needless to say, the next day (Sunday) I opted for the World Tennis Center that is mere blocks from my mother-in-law's house. Awesome. It was nice to run in air-conditioning--I ran another 8.
Here's the kicker, and I do mean kicker. We got ready to leave the next morning (Monday), and as I was approaching the railing to go downstairs, I stubbed my left pinky toe. Arrggghhh. It felt like I had broken it. Seriously. It turned black almost immediately, and the next few days the bruise seeped down into my foot. Ha! I wasn't about to let that keep me from running, however. The next day (Tuesday) at work I taped my pinky toe to the next toe and decided that would do it. It hurt for a little while, but wasn't really that bad. I thought it would be a simple little thing.
So let me see--the day after that (Wednesday) may have been the greatest mistake i've made so far this year. I ran at work over lunch, my typical 8 miles. When I got home that night Phillip decided he wanted to try running a tempo at my pace, and he wanted me to pace him. Okay, no big deal. It would be a mere 5 miles. That went fine.
Well, it did until we got back to the house and realized that his dad and stepmom had locked the door, and we didn't have a key. You see, we started running from their house, as there is a lake only a mile away. The lake itself is 3 miles around, so it's pretty easy to get 5 miles in if you want to make it a scenic run. Occasionally, we would do just that. Phillip knocked on the neighbors' door to see if they might have a spare key. Nope. He asked to use their phone to call his dad. His dad and stepmom were actually at the same lake taking a walk, only they had driven over.
Great, so on top of the 13 miles I had already run for the day, I went ahead and ran 2 miles more, FAST, over to the lake and back to get the key. I think I ran something like a 6:46 average pace for the 2 miles. It was something ridiculous like that, way too fast for having been back from Boston for only 2 weeks. Again, may or may not have been my stupidest mistake thus far in 2008.
The next day (Thursday) I ran a normal 8 miles at lunch, and the day after (Friday) I took the day off. I was pretty sore from DOMS. Then something happened. Saturday, as I was running my normal 8 miles, I noticed a twinge in my left knee. My first thought was that I had been overcompensating in other parts of my leg and foot for my stupid toe. I may or may not have been right, but I kept running. Sunday I ran again, and the same thing happened. Soooooooo I didn't run the next day, Monday. I decided to let it rest and try it again on Tuesday.
Tuesday, May 19th, ran outside with Phillip, to change it up. It didn't hurt at all. Only got 2 miles in after work, but I also did the arc trainer at lunch that day. Little did I know how much that arc trainer would become my friend...
However, Wednesday, May 20th, I tried running at lunch again. 8 miles, pain after 5 miles. Thursday, May 22nd, 8 miles and still the same pain after 5 miles. Friday, no run, only the elliptical machine for an hour after work.
Phillip and I moved into a new apartment Memorial Day weekend, May 24th through May 26th. I took those days completely off. Thought it would help my knee and do it wonders with three freaking days off! Yeah. Right.
Tuesday, May 27th, ran 2 miles and it was back. The pain was intense. So I did the elliptical for an hour. Well, I thought to myself, I was crosstraining for so long and I stopped. Maybe this will get me back into the swing of doing it again. HA! Little did I know...
Wednesday, May 28th, I took the day off from activities, and Thursday I flew to Amarillo to help my dad move to Midland. That's an entirely different topic. His brother offered him a job working as a partner in his company in Midland, and my dad accepted. After 25 years of being at Coors!!! I couldn't believe it, but it was a great change for him. He needed it after my mom passing away. He needed something positive to take him away from a job that he didn't really like, but spent way too much time doing simply because he didn't want to go home to an empty house. I think he's doing well now. He's happy in Midland, working with my uncle, travelling all the time, having plenty of free time, and I think he's getting ready to build a house there. I hope he's enjoying life despite the huge void that is there for all of us. :(
Anyway, when I flew to Amarillo I worked late into the night (11:00 pm) on Thursday helping my dad, and didn't get to run...not that I needed to or wanted to. I had severe knee pain. Friday I decided to test it out. Ran my 8 miles, sure, but it was painful again after the 5th mile. Saturday I had a noon flight back to Omaha, and when I arrived, Phillip and I went on a 9 mile bike ride. Not much, but at least it was something. Knee still hurt.
Sunday I decided to try running again. This was June 1st. I decided if I was to run that day and the pain was still there, the next day I would make an appointment with a Physical Therapist and figure out if the diagnosis was, in fact, ITBS, which is what I suspected. I ran 8 miles that Sunday, and called the PT the next morning.
Haha, even though the pain was there, I still ran 8 miles that day.
The PT said she could see me that evening, so I went by and found out the inevitable: it was ITBS. She gave me the typical strengthening exercises and basically said I could do anything at all, so long as it didn't hurt. Once the activity started to hurt, I was to stop doing it and try something else. Okay, that's fine. I would have no problem with that.
We have those machines I was talking about, the Cybex Arc Trainers, at my office. I normally use only the treadmill, balking at the people who use those Trainers. Um, yeah, not anymore. I have consistently used that Arc Trainer for weeks now, 7 weeks, to be exact, and I have never felt stronger. I have seen my hips and thighs go from being puny little runner's legs (which is GREAT, don't get me wrong--I don't mind what I had before) to these things of steel. I can't believe how strong my lower body is now. I will not say I have never been this way, as I did the elliptical machine for an hour every day for 3 years before I would run for an hour. I guess I just forgot.
I'll give you an example of how my legs have strengthened. The first week of June I did only the Arc Trainer every day, both at lunch for an hour and after work for an hour. I did that the next week, as well. The week after that, after Father's Day, I tried running. I ran Monday, June 16th, to see how my leg would feel. I ran 5.5 miles with minimal pain. I tried running Thursday, May 19th, only 5 miles. Still a little pain. Not gone, so not normal. Keep going with the crosstraining. Only a couple of runs and the pain is still there.
The next week, still doing 2 hours of crosstraining per day, I decided to try running again Thursday, June 26th. Just 5.75 miles, but nearly no pain. Decided to try again the next day, Friday, June 27th. A little pain. Not ready yet. Back to crosstraining.
More running, 5.5 miles, on July 3rd. I don't know why I thought that anything would change just because it was a holiday, haha. Still some pain there. More crosstraining. Tried running again Monday, June 7th. Same, but was able to run more miles without pain. Ran 6 miles that day. Two days later I ran 6 miles again, and two days after that 6 miles again. Two days after that was really cool--I ran 9.5 miles.
Monday, the day after the 9.5 miler, I decided I would try to see an ART therapist. ART therapy is something I have heard a lot about, but was squeemish about trying. Now I know why. I tried it two different days, a Monday and a Wednesday, and the guy wanted me to come back for two more days. It didn't really help, and I don't want someone artificially popping my back. No thanks.
The ART therapist told me to try running that first day he saw me. I ran 8 miles, but they felt as they had been for a while--probably about 90%. I ran on Thursday as well, and I ran 8 miles that day. Then Saturday I ran freaking 11.5 miles. I couldn't believe it. I just whipped it right out. That's the furthest I have run in 2 months.
That was last week. I ran 8 miles on Monday, and today I plan to run another here in a few minutes. Keep in mind that every day, whether I am running or not, I have been doing the Arc Trainer. If I run, I do an hour of running and an hour of the Arc Trainer. If I don't run I do 2 hours of the Arc Trainer. I am still the same weight as I always have been, and I feel like I'm still in the same shape. I have been running all my mileage at or just below (or just above!!) my normal pace.
Hopefully this means I'm coming back from this. Hopefully. I have a life and career changing event coming up in the next month, but I'm going to save that for another blog entry.
Thanks for reading. :)
So, on to other things.
On Mother's Day, Phillip and I went to his mother's house in Austin. I was still recovering (slightly) from the Boston Marathon, but there was a 5k that his little (9-year-old) sister wanted us to run with her. We knew she wouldn't be able to run the entire thing, so we weren't really concerned about a time.
We arrived in Austin on Friday, ran the 5k Saturday morning, and then made our way out to to a trail near his mom's house for some real running. The race was at 8:00 that morning and the sky was overcast, so by the time we made it to the trail it was just after 10:00 and it was already nearing 90 degrees. And HUMID.
Anyway, I ran 8 miles that day, and it was all I could do to get back in the car. Despite running the 8 at my normal pace, I was worn out from the heat (I don't know how people run in Austin, blech).
Needless to say, the next day (Sunday) I opted for the World Tennis Center that is mere blocks from my mother-in-law's house. Awesome. It was nice to run in air-conditioning--I ran another 8.
Here's the kicker, and I do mean kicker. We got ready to leave the next morning (Monday), and as I was approaching the railing to go downstairs, I stubbed my left pinky toe. Arrggghhh. It felt like I had broken it. Seriously. It turned black almost immediately, and the next few days the bruise seeped down into my foot. Ha! I wasn't about to let that keep me from running, however. The next day (Tuesday) at work I taped my pinky toe to the next toe and decided that would do it. It hurt for a little while, but wasn't really that bad. I thought it would be a simple little thing.
So let me see--the day after that (Wednesday) may have been the greatest mistake i've made so far this year. I ran at work over lunch, my typical 8 miles. When I got home that night Phillip decided he wanted to try running a tempo at my pace, and he wanted me to pace him. Okay, no big deal. It would be a mere 5 miles. That went fine.
Well, it did until we got back to the house and realized that his dad and stepmom had locked the door, and we didn't have a key. You see, we started running from their house, as there is a lake only a mile away. The lake itself is 3 miles around, so it's pretty easy to get 5 miles in if you want to make it a scenic run. Occasionally, we would do just that. Phillip knocked on the neighbors' door to see if they might have a spare key. Nope. He asked to use their phone to call his dad. His dad and stepmom were actually at the same lake taking a walk, only they had driven over.
Great, so on top of the 13 miles I had already run for the day, I went ahead and ran 2 miles more, FAST, over to the lake and back to get the key. I think I ran something like a 6:46 average pace for the 2 miles. It was something ridiculous like that, way too fast for having been back from Boston for only 2 weeks. Again, may or may not have been my stupidest mistake thus far in 2008.
The next day (Thursday) I ran a normal 8 miles at lunch, and the day after (Friday) I took the day off. I was pretty sore from DOMS. Then something happened. Saturday, as I was running my normal 8 miles, I noticed a twinge in my left knee. My first thought was that I had been overcompensating in other parts of my leg and foot for my stupid toe. I may or may not have been right, but I kept running. Sunday I ran again, and the same thing happened. Soooooooo I didn't run the next day, Monday. I decided to let it rest and try it again on Tuesday.
Tuesday, May 19th, ran outside with Phillip, to change it up. It didn't hurt at all. Only got 2 miles in after work, but I also did the arc trainer at lunch that day. Little did I know how much that arc trainer would become my friend...
However, Wednesday, May 20th, I tried running at lunch again. 8 miles, pain after 5 miles. Thursday, May 22nd, 8 miles and still the same pain after 5 miles. Friday, no run, only the elliptical machine for an hour after work.
Phillip and I moved into a new apartment Memorial Day weekend, May 24th through May 26th. I took those days completely off. Thought it would help my knee and do it wonders with three freaking days off! Yeah. Right.
Tuesday, May 27th, ran 2 miles and it was back. The pain was intense. So I did the elliptical for an hour. Well, I thought to myself, I was crosstraining for so long and I stopped. Maybe this will get me back into the swing of doing it again. HA! Little did I know...
Wednesday, May 28th, I took the day off from activities, and Thursday I flew to Amarillo to help my dad move to Midland. That's an entirely different topic. His brother offered him a job working as a partner in his company in Midland, and my dad accepted. After 25 years of being at Coors!!! I couldn't believe it, but it was a great change for him. He needed it after my mom passing away. He needed something positive to take him away from a job that he didn't really like, but spent way too much time doing simply because he didn't want to go home to an empty house. I think he's doing well now. He's happy in Midland, working with my uncle, travelling all the time, having plenty of free time, and I think he's getting ready to build a house there. I hope he's enjoying life despite the huge void that is there for all of us. :(
Anyway, when I flew to Amarillo I worked late into the night (11:00 pm) on Thursday helping my dad, and didn't get to run...not that I needed to or wanted to. I had severe knee pain. Friday I decided to test it out. Ran my 8 miles, sure, but it was painful again after the 5th mile. Saturday I had a noon flight back to Omaha, and when I arrived, Phillip and I went on a 9 mile bike ride. Not much, but at least it was something. Knee still hurt.
Sunday I decided to try running again. This was June 1st. I decided if I was to run that day and the pain was still there, the next day I would make an appointment with a Physical Therapist and figure out if the diagnosis was, in fact, ITBS, which is what I suspected. I ran 8 miles that Sunday, and called the PT the next morning.
Haha, even though the pain was there, I still ran 8 miles that day.
The PT said she could see me that evening, so I went by and found out the inevitable: it was ITBS. She gave me the typical strengthening exercises and basically said I could do anything at all, so long as it didn't hurt. Once the activity started to hurt, I was to stop doing it and try something else. Okay, that's fine. I would have no problem with that.
We have those machines I was talking about, the Cybex Arc Trainers, at my office. I normally use only the treadmill, balking at the people who use those Trainers. Um, yeah, not anymore. I have consistently used that Arc Trainer for weeks now, 7 weeks, to be exact, and I have never felt stronger. I have seen my hips and thighs go from being puny little runner's legs (which is GREAT, don't get me wrong--I don't mind what I had before) to these things of steel. I can't believe how strong my lower body is now. I will not say I have never been this way, as I did the elliptical machine for an hour every day for 3 years before I would run for an hour. I guess I just forgot.
I'll give you an example of how my legs have strengthened. The first week of June I did only the Arc Trainer every day, both at lunch for an hour and after work for an hour. I did that the next week, as well. The week after that, after Father's Day, I tried running. I ran Monday, June 16th, to see how my leg would feel. I ran 5.5 miles with minimal pain. I tried running Thursday, May 19th, only 5 miles. Still a little pain. Not gone, so not normal. Keep going with the crosstraining. Only a couple of runs and the pain is still there.
The next week, still doing 2 hours of crosstraining per day, I decided to try running again Thursday, June 26th. Just 5.75 miles, but nearly no pain. Decided to try again the next day, Friday, June 27th. A little pain. Not ready yet. Back to crosstraining.
More running, 5.5 miles, on July 3rd. I don't know why I thought that anything would change just because it was a holiday, haha. Still some pain there. More crosstraining. Tried running again Monday, June 7th. Same, but was able to run more miles without pain. Ran 6 miles that day. Two days later I ran 6 miles again, and two days after that 6 miles again. Two days after that was really cool--I ran 9.5 miles.
Monday, the day after the 9.5 miler, I decided I would try to see an ART therapist. ART therapy is something I have heard a lot about, but was squeemish about trying. Now I know why. I tried it two different days, a Monday and a Wednesday, and the guy wanted me to come back for two more days. It didn't really help, and I don't want someone artificially popping my back. No thanks.
The ART therapist told me to try running that first day he saw me. I ran 8 miles, but they felt as they had been for a while--probably about 90%. I ran on Thursday as well, and I ran 8 miles that day. Then Saturday I ran freaking 11.5 miles. I couldn't believe it. I just whipped it right out. That's the furthest I have run in 2 months.
That was last week. I ran 8 miles on Monday, and today I plan to run another here in a few minutes. Keep in mind that every day, whether I am running or not, I have been doing the Arc Trainer. If I run, I do an hour of running and an hour of the Arc Trainer. If I don't run I do 2 hours of the Arc Trainer. I am still the same weight as I always have been, and I feel like I'm still in the same shape. I have been running all my mileage at or just below (or just above!!) my normal pace.
Hopefully this means I'm coming back from this. Hopefully. I have a life and career changing event coming up in the next month, but I'm going to save that for another blog entry.
Thanks for reading. :)
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