Maybe I'm ready

Maybe I'm ready to start running again. Yesterday morning, I went out out the bus on my way to work (I live almost across the street from the first stop on the route, so the bus pulls in and waits a few minutes). I was about one bus-length behind the bus when the driver pulled away. Without really thinking about it, I took off after it. The next stop is about a quarter-mile away, and the driver has to go around an intersection of three roads -- a right turn, then a quick left. I was less than a hundred yards away from the stop when he went through. If he'd had a red light, I would have caught him. My back didn't give me any trouble all day after that.










Today, I'm going to get out to the bus a little earlier.

More ouch

You never really realize how much your back does until it can't anymore.

It's been a few weeks without running, and I'm frustrated. I was doing well, probably on track to have one of the better (age-weighted) years of my career, despite an ankle sprain, when my back injury sidelined me completely. I've tried to gt out and run a couple of times, but shortly after starting, I realized that it wouldn't be a good idea. I missed my favorite races--the summer cross-country series at Cobb's Hill, my high school home course.

Winter will be my base-building season again. As soon as I can, I'm back on the road.

Ouch.

Well, chalk another one up to old age. Over the weekend, I hurt my back. I was standing for several hours, and the muscles in my lower back did not like that. Now I am having a little bit of trouble with them. I'm taking it fairly easy rght now, since backs are easy to injure seriously, and I don't want that. This just isn';t my year, I guess.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Actually, how I came to have a several-month-long layoff from running.

It was over the winter, and there was just a little bit of snow falling. About an inch had already accumulated, and we were expecting a little more during the day. I had just finished my morning run and was about a quarter-mile from home. As I began my cooldown jog, I stepped on the edge of the sidewalk, with the outer half of my foot unsupported by the concrete. The ankle twisted over, hard, and I went down onto the ground. I jumped back up, quickly, to test the ankle, because it already hurt quite a bit, and this was the ankle I'd injured in College Cross-Country. It wasn't up to the task of supporting any weight at all--I had to hold on to a street sign in order to remain upright. A snowplow driver, working in the school parking lot across the street spotted me and drove over, to offer me a ride back home. I thanked him as he dropped me off and I hobbled up the driveway to my door. Later on, I wished (and I still do) that I'd done something for him, or at least offered him something--even a cup of coffee, but at the time, my ankle, in which the pain had ebbed from white-hot knives to only red-hot knives, was causing me so much difficulty, that all I could think about was getting into the house and getting some ice on it. Rest, Ice, Elevation, Ibuprofen. Well, when you work at a desk 8 to 5, 5 days a week the first three are difficult to maintain. When your wife works from 7:30 to 10:30 every night (we need her orthodontic insurance) it makes it difficult to maintain the regimen of rest, ice and elevation while you are making sure the kids are dong their homework and washing the dishes. If I had, say, a servant, who could do these things for me, I might have been back up and around in a few weeks. But as it was, I have had a great deal of difficulty healing.


On another note, I didn't run today. I got up at 4:40 and started to get dressed, and then I noticed that I was feeling a little bit lightheaded. I remembered going to see a movie with my wife the night before (date night!) and realized that we'd gotten home right around midnight. I was operating on 4 hours of sleep. Now, when I was in my 20s, I used to do that regularly, but now I'm an old man, and I hate everything but Matlock.

I couldn't get out for a run this afternoon, because Declan had a soccer game, and I had to get him to it. Only nine kids on his team made it for the beginning of the game, with a tenth showing up partway through the game. The other team had a full complement, with a couple of substitutions available. Declan's team (the Lancers) lost 2-1, but they put up a good fight. I did get in a little bit of running, as I had to be the linesman. So, maybe 4 or 5 hundred yards today, varying between a sprint and a lope.




(Obviously, I've fixed my margin problems)

Happy

I've heard lots of people disparaging running (and exercise in general for that matter) saying that they've "never seen a runner who looked happy."

Here's one:




OK, not everybody is a winner of the World Cross-Country Championships, but we can all know the feeling of triumph at the end of a particularly good run. Here's a picture of me back in college at the end of a particularly good race:




I don't think I look particularly happy, but in the immortal words of David Byrne: "People in ecstasy look stupid."

Hot weather

When I left on my run this morning, the temperature was about 68°. It was nice, not too much humidity, and the sun was shining. but not too intense.

By the time I finished, the sun was intense and the temperature was almost 75°. It took only 36 minutes for that to happen.

I'll have to get up earlier tomorrow and see if I can get out before the heat starts. Lots of people out today, including a contingent from the local high school cross-country team. About 5 or 6 of them were finishing up at the same time I was.

My ankle feels good today, no pain, even after the run. The swelling has gone down (although I've always had puffy feet).

I was almost killed out there. Well, maybe not almost killed, but there was a bit of a hazard. I was crossing an intersection, the light was green for me, and some guy turning right on red didn't bother looking right, or even coming to a complete stop, before going. I had to dodge his car and I yelled "Watch out!" at which point he slammed on the brakes and apologized.

A race

I entered a race this morning. I couldn't help it--the start was 200m from my house, and the finish was across the street. I strapped on the ankle brace and lined up with the others.

I had a pretty good day -- I finished in 20:39 for a 5k, which is around 6:40 pace. I still think I can take off a minute or a minute and a half this year from that 5k time. I finished 53rd overall, out of what looked to be around 250 or 300 entrants, and I was the 6th in my age group. The 5th finished just about :30 ahead of me.

At about 2 miles, I had a college flashback. I was passed by a young man whose form was identical to my friend Andy's. He was also built like Andy, tall and thin. He edged me in the last 100 meters.

The ankle felt pretty good, no paid during the race and only a little bit before and after. I think I'm on the road to recovery.

I hate indoor workouts

I'd rather be outside in subzero weather than doing what I did today. I spent 40 minutes on the elliptical trainer. My gym doesn't have any fans on the workout floor. When you're outside, you create a nice breeze blowing past you simply due to the fact that you're moving. In the gym, the air is dead calm. I was sweating like crazy --it was like the Robert Hays sweating scene in Airplane. The room is also pretty warm, probably warmer than it should be--I'd say around 70-72 degrees. It would be much more comfortable if the room was about 60-65°, with the exercise serving to warm up the execricers.

Cross Training

To take it easy on my ankle, I'm using an elliptical these days, and only running about once or twice a week. Today I went in and stayed on the elliptical for about 40 minutes.

I work up an incredible sweat on those machines. I know that you sweat a lot more on the machines than you do when running, but I sweat a lot more than most people do anyway--I prefer cool temperatures, and the temp in the gym was around 75°.

I was dripping before I'd been on for 20 minutes.

Accounts of my demise are greatly exaggerated

I haven't posted in quite some time. Several months ago, I hurt my right ankle while running. I was unable to run at all for some time. After seeing my doctor, and a few visits to an orthopedic surgeon, and spending some time on the elliptical trainer, I'm back on the road. I do spend some time on the treadmill, and a certain amount of time on the elliptical, but much prefer getting out on the road--or on the abandoned railroad beds in the area. The Erie Canal Towpath is also a nice run, as long as the sun is up.

My racing season for this summer is probably shot, but I'm looking ahead to next year. Specifically, the Cooper River Bridge Run in Charleston, SC. My younger brother (he's 12 years younger than I am) lives in Charleston, and has challenged me to race him at the Cooper River run. Loser buys a case of beer for the winner, and if I win, the winner gets to brag that at 47 he beat a 35 year old in a race.

Busy, busy, busy

The weather has been great, temps in the 40s at 5 am. I've been getting out early most mornings (later in the day on weekends) for a run, feeling pretty good while I'm out there. I'm in the long-term, base mileage phase right now, looking ahead to next summer/fall.

I've been pretty busy lately, a lot of work, lots going on at home. My wife is now working a split shift, which makes it easier for her to put in a full 8 hours, and gives her some time during the day to go to doctor's appointments, take care of her father etc. She works 9-2 and 7:30-10:30 now. She asked if she could work the split shift three days a week, but was told that it was every day, take it or leave it. So Friday nights are now shot.

My daughter's report card came home last week. Entirely Bs and As, with the comment "late work hinders performance." In other words, if she would hand in the homework on time, she would have better grades. Arrrgh. Just like her father.

My siblings and I will soon have to start "helping" my parents clean out their cellar. They've lived in the same house for 40 years, and have accumulated quite a bit of crap during that time. In the past, attempts to clean the cellar have been dismal failures which resulted only in moving the crap around. Now my mother's eyesight is failing, and she soon will be unable to drive. She wants to be able to walk to the grocery store and to Mass, both of which would be difficult, if not impossible, in their present location. In addition, at their present location, they have almost half an acre of grass which needs to be tended from April to October, and my father isn't getting any younger. A smaller lot and a smaller house would probably be best for them both. They're looking in their area and also in our neighborhood. There are some areas in our town where they would be able to walk to Mass and to the store. If they wanted to go to a Kosher grocery, there's one just around the corner from the church, about a quarter mile away.

Nice Morning

It was beautiful this morning--about 55 degrees, although a little damp. I broke out the tights last week, and I was wearing them today, but I should have been in shorts, it was so nice. There's a group run at the local Fleet Feet next Friday (the 24th) at 7 am --they're calling it the Black Friday Fun Run. It's a day off from work for me, but 7 am on a day off may be difficult, and it will be my 24th wedding anniversary. I don't know what we'll be doing that night.

Whoops, gotta go. I have to catch my bus before too long. Maybe I'll be able to get some computer time later.

been gone

I've been away quite a while—it's been almost a month since I last signed on. Between my wife's recovery, a nagging Achilles Tendon injury and several other things that have been happening over the last month, my running has tapered off, but not stopped completely. Now comes the long winter training season. This (November-December) is actually the toughest part of the year for me. The sun comes up after I get to work, the sun goes down before I get home. The darkness combined with the almost constant overcast makes me tired all the time. I'm considering running in a new year's day race this year (or next year) I've never done that, and it would be a good way to start the year.

I saw my doctor recently. My migraine came back three times over the summer, when I usually get one every 18 months or two years. I thought that with the sudden increase in the frequency, it might be a good thing to see a doctor about it. There's nothing unusual, probably just stress. On the other hand, I did test high for cholesterol. Just a little bit high in the LDL.

Whenever my kids have schoolwork troubles—problems doing their homework or whatever, I call my parents and apologize for what I did to them. Over the summer, when I was putting in 30 miles in a bad week, I've got high blood cholesterol. It must be hereditary. I think maybe somebody owes me an apology now.

A little bit better

A nicer morning today, temp in the high 50s and the rain stopped before I got up. It's very dark out now, a result of my not running in the city any more, I guess. I haven't been using my light, but I have been using a reflective vest--according to the manufacturer, it reflects 150x the light that a road sign does.

I passed a small herd of deer this morning while I was running past Temple B'rith Kodesh. The other day, I literally almost ran into a deer, probably from the same herd. The road I was on has a hedge that comes down to about 5 feet from the curb. I ran up onto the sidewalk to make the turn onto the busier road, and the deer was at the edge of the sidewalk, browsing on the hedge. It was dark enough that I didn't see the deer until I was about 4 feet away. It heard me coming at about the same time and leapt off into the yard, startling the other 4 deer in the yard.

Today, the deer just watched me from about 30 feet away, turning their heads slowly to follow me as I went past, and returning to their feeding as soon as I was gone.

Starting to get cold

Cold and rainy today.

The surgery went well, my wife is home and recovering. I spent the weekend doing whatever she needed me to do, but I did get out for a few miles on Sunday. Today I'm home--it's a little slow at work these days, and she has an appointment to take out the surgical drain today, so I took the day off. I got out for a few again today, and it's around 45° and rainy. It's actually pretty nice running at 10:30 am; there's almost no traffic and very few pedestrians, including other runners, out there.

I'm now heading into my winter training phase--putting in the distance and preparing for the spring.

Rainy morning

I was out at the usual hour this morning, a little bit before 5am, running a long loop. When I got to 3 miles, a point which was a minimum of 2 miles from home, the lightning started. Since my run was in flat, open former farmland, with almost no shelter (I guess could have hid under a bridge), I decided to head for home immediately, giving me a total run this morning of 5 miles. I'm thinking I'll get out again later today. Oh, we may get snow tonight or tomorrow. That'll be fun.

Early morning

It took me a few minutes to get going this morning--I had trouble finding a key and my light's batteries chose this morning to give out. I hadn't realized that they were so low. I got out on Friday with the local group at Fleet Feet for the 5.3 mile Happy Hour run--an easy, relaxing run at a "conversational" pace to end the week. I live about five minutes (running) from the store, so I have a warmup and cooldown built into the day.

I'll have to miss the run this Friday, because my wife is going in for gallbladder surgery this Friday. I'll be spending the day with her and with the kids, I think.

I'm back

I decided to run from home again, even though I have about a month left on my gym membership. It's actually more difficult to get out and run from the gym, when you factor in commute time (I ride the bus). The bus leaves at 5:45 am (I get up between 4:45 and 5:00 for my morning runs), it takes about 15 minutes to get downtown--I've already lost an hour before I even get to the gym.

It was dark this morning at 4:55 when I stepped out the door. Dark enough that I had my strobe light for the first time since winter. That was one advantage at the gym--the routes I ran were well-lit and I could see well even at 6am. The temperature was pleasant this morning, around 50°F. I passed about 10 people out running, mostly in pairs except one person who was running with a dog.

I almost recycled the Megazord.

How many people can say that?

My daughter is doing a skit for homecoming tonight (in about an hour--good thing we live across the street) and it somehow involves the Power Rangers. Apparently the Power Rangers have something called the Megazord, which my daughter and her classmates constructed out of cardboard boxes. Well, today was garbage day, and it was dark outside when I took the garbage and recycling out to the curb this morning. The Megazord just looked like cardboard boxes to me. When my wife spotted it out at the curb, she told my daughter. That must have been the fastest anyone has ever woken up a teenager.

I've been running on and off, a little stiffness in the lower legs making me sit out a day here and there.

We're still up for the race on October 14th.

With a group

I've started running with a group on Friday evenings. Everyone gathers at a running store after work and stes off for a nice, easy, 4± miles at a relaxed pace. I understand that the crowd was a bit small last week because of an upcoming race. I live about 5 minutes (jogging) from the store, so I can take the bus home, change and get over there in plenty of time.

It's been a long time since I ran with a group, and I'd forgotten what it's like. It's a nice group of people, I enjoyed the run and I'm planning on going back tomorrow.

My next race will be a benefit for a Hospice, and Oed will be running in the kids' race. We're planning on getting matching shirts to run in for the race.