Fall is a beautiful time to run. The temperature is ideal and the scenery is picturesque. There is such a quite beauty lurking I the cool air. In a way… it is a firework exploding in color after the journey up through summer… quickly fading and tumbling from glory.
When running in Fall… runners become smokers with their breath trailing behind. When you stop… the perspiration wafts up like someone who just walked out of a fire. I am amazed at how good I can feel even when the temperature is low. Wind or rain can ruin the parade… but bring on the cold.
There are a million of excuses to keep you from running… and I have been through a lot of them. Let me list the ones I’ve used recently.
• Forgot running shorts.
• Forgot socks.
• Rainy.
• Too busy at work.
• Need to spend time with family.
• Disappointed I am no longer training for marathon.
• Too tired to get up early enough.
• Too dark.
• Don’t have gym membership.
And then of course… the run I almost missed because I dropped my shoe in the toilet. (Twice actually… I grabbed it once and there was so much water in the heal I dropped it right back) There are probably others. Give me a day… I will come up with something new. When I do get out and run… I very much enjoy it. I feel better and it takes care of stress. Time to get out there and enjoy the weather.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
My running went into the toilet
Literally. I went to change in the restroom last week for a lunchtime run and one of my running shoes fell into the toilet. It was a bad omen. It was the first of many snafus that seem to be keeping my from running lately. Oh… I just ran with a wet shoe that day… but more complicated matters arose.
First… I agreed with my wife that I’d keep my runs to one hour or less. That means… no Seattle marathon. =( Now… that definitely made my motivation take a hit… but I am still running. Sat and Sunday runs in my running heaven… and a run to work and home on Tuesday. Parent teacher conferences conflicted with yesterday’s planned runs… they I tried again today… but I couldn’t run to work because I had to pick up a baby sitter… then I planned on running at lunch… but I left my shoes at home. Hopefully not in the toilet.
I will run both days this weekend though... and it should be beautiful in the fall weather.
One thing I can work on now since I am not running long… is speed. Yeah… it seems as if I am bouncing between the two and getting nowhere… but it is a nice wish anyway.
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Just saw Run Fatboy Run. It was OK... not really much about running in there.
Gordon: Go on then, run!
Dennis: Isn't there some kind of like... special technique?
Gordon: Well... yeah... you put one leg in front of the other over and over again really really fast.
Dennis: He runs marathons...
Gordon: Why?
Dennis: Exactly!
First… I agreed with my wife that I’d keep my runs to one hour or less. That means… no Seattle marathon. =( Now… that definitely made my motivation take a hit… but I am still running. Sat and Sunday runs in my running heaven… and a run to work and home on Tuesday. Parent teacher conferences conflicted with yesterday’s planned runs… they I tried again today… but I couldn’t run to work because I had to pick up a baby sitter… then I planned on running at lunch… but I left my shoes at home. Hopefully not in the toilet.
I will run both days this weekend though... and it should be beautiful in the fall weather.
One thing I can work on now since I am not running long… is speed. Yeah… it seems as if I am bouncing between the two and getting nowhere… but it is a nice wish anyway.
------------------
Just saw Run Fatboy Run. It was OK... not really much about running in there.
Gordon: Go on then, run!
Dennis: Isn't there some kind of like... special technique?
Gordon: Well... yeah... you put one leg in front of the other over and over again really really fast.
Dennis: He runs marathons...
Gordon: Why?
Dennis: Exactly!
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
What am I trying to prove?
My wife asked me what I was trying to prove last weekend. It wasn’t in a mean way… just matter of factly. She also asked about how our last conversation where I discussed that I pondered whether running over an hour at a time had any health benefits and that I may not run marathons anymore… turned into me deciding to run the Seattle marathon next month.
That is a damn good question… and one I don’t have a good answer too. I really don’t know when I made that decision. It kinda made itself. I think I am the kind of person that needs something circled o the calendar to help me keep to a schedule… so I just circled something on the calendar.
As to what am I trying to prove… to everyone else… nothing. Nothing at all. To myself… I think there maybe something there. I know how hard it is to run a marathon. I know about being so tired you don’t have the energy for emotions. I don’t know how anyone… let along myself, can run a marathon… but they do… and I will again.
What does it prove? Nothing and everything.
A pain in the… side
It seems as though after a long run of 15+ miles, I usually have a pain in my right side… perhaps my right kidney, or some other organ that doesn’t like the jostling. I even asked the Dr about it once since I have a history of kidney stones. Since I took months off running this summer… I know this pain does indeed go away when I am not running… and come back when I run 15+ miles.
Any ideas? Does anyone else have non-muscle related pains like this after running 15+ mile long runs? Maybe I just have a stone in there that bangs around during my long run and hurts for a few weeks thereafter. I don’t really know.
Edit: I'm evaluating my supplements now... it could be the multi-vitamin, magnesium or glucosamine.
That is a damn good question… and one I don’t have a good answer too. I really don’t know when I made that decision. It kinda made itself. I think I am the kind of person that needs something circled o the calendar to help me keep to a schedule… so I just circled something on the calendar.
As to what am I trying to prove… to everyone else… nothing. Nothing at all. To myself… I think there maybe something there. I know how hard it is to run a marathon. I know about being so tired you don’t have the energy for emotions. I don’t know how anyone… let along myself, can run a marathon… but they do… and I will again.
What does it prove? Nothing and everything.
A pain in the… side
It seems as though after a long run of 15+ miles, I usually have a pain in my right side… perhaps my right kidney, or some other organ that doesn’t like the jostling. I even asked the Dr about it once since I have a history of kidney stones. Since I took months off running this summer… I know this pain does indeed go away when I am not running… and come back when I run 15+ miles.
Any ideas? Does anyone else have non-muscle related pains like this after running 15+ mile long runs? Maybe I just have a stone in there that bangs around during my long run and hurts for a few weeks thereafter. I don’t really know.
Edit: I'm evaluating my supplements now... it could be the multi-vitamin, magnesium or glucosamine.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Searching for the magic combination
There are only a few times that the peanut butter and butter in a sandwich mix at just the right combination to create a heavenly flavor. Likewise… there is a buzz that you can get after 1 or 2 beers that can put you on cloud nine… but it doesn’t happen very often.
When running, there are times when my legs are just humming along and I feel they are responsive and a finely tuned engine that will take me wherever I want to go. They feel good… like a wild stallion that just wants to take off running. That feeling doesn’t happen very often though. Most of the time it seems like a lot of aches… pains… and just holding on.
This training cycle I am forcing myself to run a lot slower during my long runs and my recovery runs. The theory being… I want to find that awesome feeling in my legs where I can really push it. I need that more often to be able to improve I think. It is a strange balance… a catch 22 almost (which is a great book by the way).
I think I will just try to focus on what the purpose of each run is. Is it a long run? No rush then. Recovery? Very easy. Tempo? Giddy up. Really I need to try to get that great feeling on my tempo/cruise intervals, and strides. If I am running too hard on the other things… I mess up being able to fly when I need to.
An interesting note is that I ran a lot slower when training for Eugene than Portland, but my time for the Eugene marathon was like 25 minutes FASTER. Some of that is obviously from hitting the wall in Portland (after a mental breakdown earlier), or perhaps not enough miles put in… but I think another part is that I just wore my legs out. I’m really not experienced enough to know.
Honestly I didn’t buy that running slower could actually help you improve. I drank the ‘long slow runs makes long slow runners’ Kool-Aid. I am still not sure… but I am going to finish my training for Seattle with slower long runs… and make another evaluation then.
When running, there are times when my legs are just humming along and I feel they are responsive and a finely tuned engine that will take me wherever I want to go. They feel good… like a wild stallion that just wants to take off running. That feeling doesn’t happen very often though. Most of the time it seems like a lot of aches… pains… and just holding on.
This training cycle I am forcing myself to run a lot slower during my long runs and my recovery runs. The theory being… I want to find that awesome feeling in my legs where I can really push it. I need that more often to be able to improve I think. It is a strange balance… a catch 22 almost (which is a great book by the way).
I think I will just try to focus on what the purpose of each run is. Is it a long run? No rush then. Recovery? Very easy. Tempo? Giddy up. Really I need to try to get that great feeling on my tempo/cruise intervals, and strides. If I am running too hard on the other things… I mess up being able to fly when I need to.
An interesting note is that I ran a lot slower when training for Eugene than Portland, but my time for the Eugene marathon was like 25 minutes FASTER. Some of that is obviously from hitting the wall in Portland (after a mental breakdown earlier), or perhaps not enough miles put in… but I think another part is that I just wore my legs out. I’m really not experienced enough to know.
Honestly I didn’t buy that running slower could actually help you improve. I drank the ‘long slow runs makes long slow runners’ Kool-Aid. I am still not sure… but I am going to finish my training for Seattle with slower long runs… and make another evaluation then.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Easy week
This week is a recovery week. I liked how my first marathon training schedule had 3 weeks and then a rest week. I am still running… just at reduced mileage.
Fall is here. When I was walking under a tree today the wind picked up and tiny leaves spilled to the ground like a shower turned on. The air is starting to get cool and crisp. Perfect for running. I haven’t seen the fog from my breath yet… but it will be there soon.
This weekend it is supposed to be windy at the beach where I have two runs planned. Gusts up to 55 mph. Bring it on… that is all I can say. I may regret that… but some windy rainy runs can help build character.
I am currently running on my last pair of shoes. Given a marathon is coming up in November; I need to get some more like real quick. I am currently running on Nike Air Max 360s. They have been pretty good to me so far… and I think I am on my 4th pair. No real hot spots at all and my knees ankles etc… feel pretty good. BUT… they are expensive… and with the money we just spent on the beach house… I know the look I will get from my wife when I tell her I need to buy more shoes (like 4 pair). =(
I do have friends that work at Nike (comes from living next to Nike work headquarters) so maybe they can help me out. If I don’t switch models I don’t have a problem with buying multiple pairs. If I go with something new… I will just buy one pair. I see the Saucany Pro Grid 5 has some good reviews.
Fall is here. When I was walking under a tree today the wind picked up and tiny leaves spilled to the ground like a shower turned on. The air is starting to get cool and crisp. Perfect for running. I haven’t seen the fog from my breath yet… but it will be there soon.
This weekend it is supposed to be windy at the beach where I have two runs planned. Gusts up to 55 mph. Bring it on… that is all I can say. I may regret that… but some windy rainy runs can help build character.
I am currently running on my last pair of shoes. Given a marathon is coming up in November; I need to get some more like real quick. I am currently running on Nike Air Max 360s. They have been pretty good to me so far… and I think I am on my 4th pair. No real hot spots at all and my knees ankles etc… feel pretty good. BUT… they are expensive… and with the money we just spent on the beach house… I know the look I will get from my wife when I tell her I need to buy more shoes (like 4 pair). =(
I do have friends that work at Nike (comes from living next to Nike work headquarters) so maybe they can help me out. If I don’t switch models I don’t have a problem with buying multiple pairs. If I go with something new… I will just buy one pair. I see the Saucany Pro Grid 5 has some good reviews.
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