Quote of the Day

"Overtraining is the biggest problem incurred by runners who lack the experience or discipline to cope with their own enthusiasm. "

Marty Liquori

Quote of the Day

Like the martyr, I’m embracing pain.

- "Saint Ralph"

Quote of the Day

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

- Theodore Roosevelt

IT Band Pain

The Final Sprint points to the effectiveness of foam rollers on IT Band discomfort.

Don't Spend All Your Time Swatting the Gnats

From TMST this morning:

"Well, what would you say? Life moves ever forward, grows and stretches, bends, breaks, and finishes. All the significance of it gets sidelined by unfinished projects, cluttered desktops, worldly distractions, and the ever-present minutiae of a seemingly endless line of mild disappointments which build on each other if we let them. Like walking into a cloud of gnats at the mountaintop, we get too busy swatting to see the view, but in our own small ways we lift each other above it."

Oops, I Did It Again

I may be the only person alive who knows next to nothing about the lady pictured above. The title of the post came to me as it will make perfect sense once I get to the actual subject matter (below).

I thought it would be funny to post her picture as this is probably the last place on earth you would expect to see it. I initially did a google search for "Britney Houston" and ended up with a variety of results. I was also reminded that it is "Whitney Houston" and "Britney Speares" and they are two totally different people. I knew that. Really.

I don't know what has been going on with this gal, but judging from the photos that popped up in google images, there has been some troubled waters - something about a guy named Kevin, a baby, a bad haircut and some truly sleazy outfits. I actually had to crop the photo above to make it a little more family-dawg friendly.

Now that I think about it, I hope the quote in my blog title refers to something relatively innocent and isn't lifted from the middle of a song that encourages all sorts of personal and societal destruction. It's the only line of hers I know . . .

But I digress . . . .

The wife and I were watching a movie last night and I heaved my carcass out of the chair by the fireplace, stepped on the dawg's bed and went DOWN! Like a ton of bricks - my right ankle swelling up to a truly impressive size.

That's when the shivers hit. Uncontrollable, body-wrenching, spasms. To a lessor degree, the same thing happened on Halloween when I rolled the same ankle. I asked someone about it and they said it was a form of shock. Your body freaks out to deal with the sudden rush of pain.

So there I lay, uncontrollably convulsing in agony. The wife got the ice pack and spent the rest of the night playing wet-nurse. It is totally infuriating (for me) I can only imagine how frustrating it is for the wife.

Oops, I did it again.

It's no wonder I find running so difficult I can't even navigate my own home at walking speed . . . .

On The "Run" - 12/29/07

3.45 Miles / 68 min / 19:46 mpm

What do you call a runner that does a 19:46 mile? A walker.

That's right. It has been so long since my last run and I am seemingly so prone to injuries that we decided to walk Florida canyon today.

You are supposed to leash your dawg but I never do, of course, unless we are crossing the road or something.

Today, we passed by another dawg owner who's pooch was a-runnin' free. He warned us that a park ranger was "on the prowl" and handing out warnings to people with unleashed dawgs.

I harnessed the dawg as we headed into the militarized zone. About 30 seconds up the hill we ran into the MAN.

"Morning" I said.

He saw that the pooch was properly restrained, smiled and said, "Good morning".

I took the picture above just as the ranger was moving out of sight. Seconds later the dawg was runnin' free again.

Later on, we passed by an older woman with two unleashed dawgs and gave her the same warning. She was very grateful and leashed her dawgs as she went on down the trail.

So often, when I am driving on the freeway, all the traffic inexplicably slows to 55 or 60 and then I see the police cruiser who is the cause of it all. It is like there is this bubble of a 1/4 mile around him doing the speed limit and I wonder, "Do they have any idea what the real world is like?"

Of course they do. They have their own civilian cars that they drive on their own time. It must really burn some of them up to see the difference between traffic when they are on duty and traffic when they are off duty.

I wonder if the ranger we met today has a dawg . . .

Anyway, the walk went fine. My ankle started to hurt towards the end as did my right IT band.

c'est la vie

New Year's Resolutions

I am a big believer in New Year's Resolutions. Actually, I am a big believer in making resolutions whenever the need arises. But there is something about a new year that brings the need for resolutions into focus.

Much of 2007 felt like being "drug through a knothole backwards" as my father-in-law would say and I spent most of last year rope-a-doping.

Many of the things that made last year difficult have not changed but I get the sense that the forces of darkness have reached the bottom of their bag of tricks and are out of surprises for now.

Time to shake it off, regroup and take stock.

Resolution #1: Physical Health

Seeing as how I can't afford to buy all new pants and the grocery bill keeps climbing - it's time to lose some weight.

I figure 10-15 lbs ought to do it although I am more concerned with my appearance and the way my pants fit than the actual number on the scale. Which is a good thing since I don't trust the old-busted scale we bought ten years ago for about $5. I suppose my first resolution should be to buy a scale just to try and track some progress . . .

Resolution #2: Physical, Mental and Emotional Health

Ruuuuun! The Great Upheaval put a kink in my get-along and then I rolled my ankle on Halloween. Well, it's time to get after it again.

Seeing as how I am now entering into year three of my 6-month marathon training program, here's hoping that I will be running my first marathon next fall. . . .

Resolution #3: Mental and Spiritual Health

Read more betterer books. I have been posting a list of must-read books over the past few weeks and number one on the list is THE BOOK itself - the Bible.

I have actually intentionally read through the Bible cover to cover three or four times. If you add up all the reading of pieces here and there, I have probably read it five or six times. I haven't read it cover to cover in a while and its time to do it again.

Regardless of your persuasion, I think we can all agree that the Bible is the most influential piece of writing in history. For that reason alone, we all should read it at least once. For "believers" its not just a good idea - its basically mandatory.

So . . . to try and stay on track, I will be posting progress reports.

"On The Run" postings will return as soon as I - well - start running.

The Bible thing can be handled by reading 15 minutes a day - everyday. In an effort to encourage all of you to read along, I will post my "Weakly Sherpa" reading schedule once a week and post some "Soul Food" - a verse or two from my daily reading each day.

On the skinny-down front, I may even post the dreaded "Weight and See" numbers once a week (provided I pick up a scale that I trust).

So you are probably sitting there in your PJ's hitting the bottom of that first cup of coffee and saying, "Yeah, right - when will you find the time?"

Well, I don't feel like I have a choice.

We all need to watch our weight - it's not really optional. Some of us have it easier than others but we all need to mind our bodies.

We all need regular exercise and goodness knows the dawg needs it too. Again - not optional.

For me, I fall into the reading-the-Bible-is-mandatory category - once again, not optional.

And the postings? I don't see how I will carry it all through without some accountability - so that may be optional but I feel it is very very necessary.

So that's the plan. We are going to get off the ropes and come out swinging in 2008.

Nana-korohi, ya-oki !

Quote of the Day

If you run 100 miles a week, you can eat anything you want -- Why?

Because:

(a) you'll burn all the calories you consume,
(b) you deserve it, and
(c) you'll be injured soon and back on a restricted diet anyway.

- Don Kardong

On the "Run" - 12/10/07

It has been almost 12 weeks since my last run. The details are here if you are interested.

I went to the doctor last week for x-rays. The doc confirmed that nothing was broken, suggested I get an MRI and gave me the most complicated ankle brace I have ever seen.

It has laces up the front, one strap that goes from right to left, down and around, a strap that goes left to right, down and around and a strap at the top that just goes around. And it totally helps.

The Doc says I can do what I want - pain permitting. So this morning - we get back after it.

My plan is to take things slowly as I am now two years, two stress fractures, two rolled ankles and two wasted race-entry-fees into what was supposed to be a six-month training for a marathon. This is beginning to take on a truly Sisyphian quality.

My plan is to start with a 5-minute walk, and add 5 minutes a day, everyday, until I am up to one hour.

Then I will be running 1 minute, walking for 4 for a week. Running for 2 minutes and walking for 3 and so on until we are back to running an hour every other day. I have no idea how long it will all take - I don't have the heart to lay it out on a calendar.

So how did it feel today?

Cold. Other than that, no big deal.

The Gear.

Quote of the Day

"To a runner, a side stich is like a car alarm. It signifies something is wrong, but you ignore it until it goes away."

Unknown

Weekend Adventures - 12/02/07 - Part 1?

I say "Part 1?" Because I intend to do a "Part 2" but my track record of posting has been *ahem* somewhat spotty lately.

Work is beginning to settle down. Our numbers are up, which is good. Our workload is levelling off, which is good. They cut my assistant to 30 hours a week, which is bad.

If she were full time, I would be back to a regular 8-5 routine. As it is now, I am still going in at 5am to make up for the three hours a day I lose when she leaves at 2pm. I do have a meeting scheduled with he boss on Monday to rectify the situation, which is good.

I began planning my weekend Friday morning and I resolved that I was absolutely going surfing Saturday morning. My inner-child needed it. Then it started raining. You would think that water falling from the sky would not interfere with surfing. Well it doesn't. Unless it falls on the highways and by-ways and washes 10 months of oil grit and grime into the ocean where it can burn your eyes and even make you sick.

As I sat in my office Friday afternoon and watched the rain pouring down I resolved that I was going surfing anyway. I was willing to trade a little physical sickness for some mental health.

I got up in the dark Saturday morning - loaded up the gear and the dawg and headed to the beach. When we got there a bitter wind was howling off the Pacific whipping the waves into an un-surfable cauldron of brine. Not a single other soul was there. Oh well.

We headed for home where I spent the day reading and watching movies with the wife before going to dinner at a friends.

As nice as it is to sit at home and read - my dawg is starting to eat the hose. I need to GET OUT and get some fresh air into me.

The swelling in my ankle has finally gone down from my last mishap but there remains a hard lump on the top-outside of my foot where there was not a hard lump before. And it still hurts. I fear that the lump and hurt are not the "take-a-few-more-days-off-and-it-will-go-away" sort of lump and hurt but instead a "you-snapped-a-bone-in-your-foot-five-weeks-ago-and-now-it-has-fused-improperly-so-we-are-going-to-have-to-rebreak-it-reset-it-and-cast-it-and-no-you-can't-have-any-pain-killer-here-bite-down-on-this-wallet-and-turn-your-head" sort of lump and hurt.

I am going to make an appointment to see the Dr. tomorrow.

So between the weather and the foot - it's time for another helping of garden hose today.

You may be asking, "Why didn't you go to the Dr. five weeks ago?" And to that I can only say, "Because I'm Evel Kinevel!"

Runner Breaks Leg - Crawls to the Finish Line

The Final Sprint Points to this article - read it yourself.

Key Graphs:

"Ask Markwardt to tell you her memories from the meet, and the first thing she mentions is how perfect the entire day was supposed to be. She was to run the biggest race of her life in the morning. As soon as it finished, she was to drive with her dad from Columbus to Warren, where she would be the maid of honor in her big sister Anna's wedding that night.

"At the 1- and 2-mile markers, Markwardt was on a personal-best pace. Then, as she entered the stadium at Columbus' Scioto Downs, with about 400 meters to go, she heard her left leg crack. . .

"When she heard the crack, Markwardt thought it was a muscle pull or tear. She thought she could gut it out to the finish line.

"'There was a runner from one of our rival schools right in front of me,' she said. 'I kept staring at the back of her jersey and pushing myself to catch her.'

"But some 200 meters later, Markwardt heard the leg crack again. And again. Then there was a louder crack, and her entire leg gave out. She fell to the ground as onlookers winced at the sound and the sight of what happened.

"One of Markwardt's teammates, unaware of what had happened, encouraged her to get up. She tried, using her right leg. But as soon as she shifted weight to the left, the loudest crack yet came. And her leg gave out again.

"'At that point, I knew what had happened. I knew my leg was broken pretty badly. And I knew I couldn't get up again. So I started crawling,' she said.

"'I had come so far. Our team had come so far. All season, we had been working for state, and now we were there. I was almost done, and there was no way I was going to let the team down.'"

Sort of makes this seem insignificant.

Running Joke, Part 7

The last time I went running was September 19th. Since then, I have been working 13 hour days 6 days a week. Things have started to regain equilibrium at work and I found myself going in at 6am instead of 4am yesterday. Dreams of getting back out and doing some running are starting to fill my head.

Except that I rolled my right ankle on Halloween.

That's right, stepping from the kitchen to the family room, my foot buckled under and all 200 pounds of lovable me came crashing down on my right ankle. It is still swollen. Yesterday at work it hurt so bad I had to re-wrap it and pop some pain killers.

So, it's been over 8 weeks since I have run and even if I had the time now, I couldn't.

All this as a ignominious day approaches. Once we hit December, it will be TWO YEARS that I have been "training" for a marathon. TWO YEARS to do what takes the average person 6-12 months to do. I will not bore you with the details - you can click on the "Running" category to the right for that.

Suffice it to say, it's a bummer. So what should I do? Quit? After I have COME ALL THIS WAY? No siree. In the words of Van Morrision I am going to "carry on regardless".

But I must say, articles like these don't really help.

Hopefully, the Dawg and I will be back out there in a week or two . . .

Bring it.

Save Your Money for the Race-Entry Fees

The Final Sprint points to this study claiming that there is no internal difference between cheap running shoes and expensive ones.

I, personally, am enduring enough running injuries as it is without risking it. I think I will stick with the these for the time being.

Good One

Sean over at Views From Two Wheels has a great post about his latest marathon.

It's worth the t-shirt alone.

On The Run, 09/16/07 - Lead-Man Running

5.46 miles / 55:20 min / 10:07 mpm

I woke up this morning and felt like I was filled with lead.

Look! Down on the ground! It's a man-hole cover! It's a corpse! No. IT'S LEAD-MAN!

I mumbled in the dark to the wife, "I am supposed to run today." She mumbled back, "Can't you skip it? Sleep in."

"I am supposed to run today" I thought aloud. Feet on the deck - let's get it over with.

I had planned on benching the dawg today as he totally lagged on Friday but he shadowed me all morning - put his head in my lap and gazed up at me.

Ohallright - get in the car! I drove to the marina and parked at the north end.


The marina loop is about 3 miles which seems to be the point at which the wind goes out of his sails. We ran the 3 and I dropped him off at the car with a bowl of water and finished out my run solo along harbor drive.

My right IT band reminded me that it was there and I discovered a new pain in my right heel that I pray is not the dreaded plantar fasciitis.

It would figure though, I seem to be destined to run the entire gauntlet of running injuries.

So why do I rise in the dark every other day or so to run when I could be snug-as-a-bug? Because that's how stubborn and obnoxious I am

The Cause of Cramps - Theory #568,763

It seems like there are as many theories regarding cramps as there are articles written on the subject. Here is one that seems to make sense:

"The most common cause of muscle cramps in exercisers is lack of salt, according to a report from the University of Oklahoma (Sports Medicine, April-May 2007). The authors cite studies of tennis and football players showing that crampers tend to be salty sweaters, and of triathletes who cramp losing more salt during a race than peers who did not cramp. They found that intravenous saline can reverse cramping, and that more salt in the diet or in sports drinks can help to prevent heat cramping."

I seem to be prone to cramping and I am definitely a salty-sweater (I usually have to wipe the crusty white salt off my face after a run).

Maybe I will switch out the water for a sports drink - worth a try.