5 more miles

First group run attended by the missing runner on Wednesday this week. Lots of Hi's and High 5's when I showed up after an extended absence. Some thought I had just decided to give it all up. No getting rid of me that easy.

This was a 5 mile run and it actually felt good to be running again. I wasn't sure after mostly walking in Va. how much running I would be able to do. I started out slowly and continued slowly but most of the distance was running. I made the first half in 32+ minutes and the return in 35+ minutes for about 67 minutes for all 5 miles. For the mathematically challenged, that is a 13:24 pace. Not bad considering we did not break 14 in California.

I wore my new belly band support and that reminded me to engage my abs and use my QL's as I ran. My Piriformis and my Psoas reaped the benefits of better posture and form but yesterday I was feeling new Hamstring tightness that was not previously apparent. Continuing to see improvement even with an extended lay off.

Special thanks to two people in my company for an assist this week. I cornered Doris JamalDin while she was in the office and told her about my training and fund raising. Next thing you know, she was flashing money and saying that she wanted to contribute as well. Thanks so much to her. Another Hero!

Also, I have to be oncall every 4 weeks for the after hours duty. This Wednesday, Harriet Ngum, was kind enough to wait until I had just returned from my running before she called me with a possible run to Hawthorn FL. We learned that this was more in the area of our Ocala rep and he ultimately took the call. Thanks to Harriet for her excellent timing.

Long run scheduled for Saturday AM

Go Team

What? No blog for 3 weeks?

There was a terrible mixup and these two aliens banged on the door in the middle of the night on Nov 5 and dragged me off kicking and screaming (not loud enough to wake Judy) and took me to the Mother ship where I was examined for 3 weeks. They had left a shape shifting alien in my place so that no one would notice. They had been very careful to study me before they took me, so they had all the Buppa information down well and Miranda did not guess that this was a ruse during her visit. Fortunately, the replacement was a grandfather alien and knew all about granddaughters so he fell into the role quickly.

When they found out that I had no government secrets or answers to the major questions of the universe they just agreed that though I am fun, I would probably do better back on Earth and they would reassign my double elsewhere. You may see him at a Republican Candidates debate in the near future but you won't be able to distinguish him from the orginal. They are that good.

Well, before they brought me back, I got to see the video of what my alter-ego had done over the last 3 weeks. He did try the Lotus Room for Yoga on Tuesday and found that to be great for stretching and psychological enhancement. He told everyone that I enjoyed it a bunch. He made arrangements to do it again when Lisa came to visit the next week.

That Saturday was a group run that was missed because Lisa, Frank, and Miranda came to visit on the nite before and since they were still on West Coast time and she and the alien caught training later in the day.

The alien took her to the yoga on Tuesday. Additional training went on through the week. A trip to Disney on Weds, Thurs and Friday included treadmill time in the exercise room. The next Saturday was still too early with West Coasters going home the next day. Then after some training over the weekend, I was returned. The return was just in time to make the Thanksgiving trip to Charlottesville to visit with Jenn at her place. Two training activities for 3 milers each using a 1/2 mile to the soccer field, several trips around the track for 2 miles and the 1/2 mile back to the house. Thursday included a lot of walking around the Natural Bridge where George Washington did his training apparently. After a great meal at the Hotel we walked down to the bridge and saw a great light show after sundown ( the show was cool but the weather was getting cold). By Saturday, we did a 7.5 miler in Charlottesville and started in mid 20 degree weather. Coach Steve said try anything new during training so there would be no surprises and nothing new on race day. Well, I got a chance to try out exercise with gloves, several layers of shirts, and "woosh-woosh" pants over my shorts. It does not seem likely that Flagstaff will be any colder than that and I survived. What seemed like a really adverse weather start turned out to be a good training opportunity.

Thanks to the Charlottesville Running Store, I am in a second pair of running shoes. Great help by the staff that assisted with a video assessment of my running while on a treadmill. Big help with the Saturday training and now we're ready for the longer runs that will be in store over the next 8 weeks.

Thanks to Lisa for keeping the alien in shape and to Jenn for keeping me going.

Also thanks to Uncle Bob and Aunt Betty for their very generous financial support and words of encouragement. You two make great heroes in many ways.

Go Team

Back in the routine

I took Saturday off since I could not go to the group run because I had another appointment for the morning. Went to the Home Show later that day and bought some orthotics for my shoes. After wearing them for about 4 hours my leg issue had completely resolved despite walking around on concrete for several hours at the home show and then later at the mall.

Thought I would try them tonight in my run. Daughter Jenn warned that the muscles that had not been worked by my misaligned posture might complain mightily if I tried to run a long ways with the orthotics as now I would be calling on the proper muscles to do the work.

Ran 3 miles just to try out the new feet and it went pretty well. I ran the whole thing, no walk run combo and finished the 3 miles in 45:45. I was 1 mile shorter than last time but about a half a minute faster. I feel good and will try for a longer distance the next time to see if the new feet continue to work well.

It was chilly tonight and I went back to regular cotton rather than a wicking shirt and I worked up a good sweat. Trying to see what I will want to wear when we start the race in Flagstaff.

Oh well, I keep on experimenting. That's all for tonight.

Go Team.

Wow! What a long layoff!!!

I am back. The groin is all recovered. I spent most of the afternoon in the car today travelling to Port Charlotte and back. Lots of clutch work and no problem walking. Decided that this would be the time to try distance again. I felt that maybe walking 3 miles would be a good idea so as to get some miles under my feet without straining the muscles. I started out but felt a little tight in the left leg more, I think, because I was trying to find an issue than noticing one that was there. After the first 1/8 mile or so, I tried a little jogging. My pace was only slightly faster than a walk. Mostly saying that I was off one foot before being on another. I started around the 1/2 mile mark and noticed that my breathing was well under control and a check of the watch showed the heart rate in line. Before I knew it, I had run the whole rest of the mile. I continued running until I passed the mailbox for a second time. I got a water out for hydrating and completed my third. About halfway through the third, I got a call from daughter, Jenn, and talked my way around the rest of mile 4. I finished in just over 1 hour 4 minutes. That is just over a 16 minute mile. (Good enough for the half marathon in under 4 hours...actually about 3 and 1/2). It was very comfortable, no wind issues, no heart rate issues, great fat burn and I completed feeling GOOD!!!

I guess speed will not be part of my training. I will start slow and continue slow and complete whatever I need to do that day. (Sounds simple)

For those of you who have not heard me say, the Daniel Family, John, Lisa, and Jenn, will be raising over $10,000 with our fund raising campaigns. That is a very cool result from my offhanded comment about wanting to lose weight made in from of my daughter, Lisa. Special thanks to my wife Judy for her efforts to both make personal contributions to all three of us, but also for her efforts to get the people in her office to make contributions as well. She is using the power of gift matching to multiply the value of those contributions. She is also providing great moral support as I try to find the time to do my training and fund raising. This is truly a family event.

Speaking of donations from her office, three cheers to Rocky, Rah Rah Rah. Thanks so much for your very generous donation.

Also special thanks to Dick and Ron from my office. They made generous contributions during my down time which added further support for getting back to running. If they are going to do their part by contributing, I know what I need to do in regard to running.

Thanks also to Karen, my neighbor on the next street. We traded donations and helped each other. Her claim to fame is the 3 day walk for Breast Cancer. Wow!! She is terrific!

Got some great fund raising down when I wasn't running. Setting up for a Silent Auction to auction off the wonderful dinner certificate donations received from many of the local eateries. It was far easier than I thought to get these. These people are very quick to respond to this type of fund raising and it was a fun day spent meeting these wonderful people who depend on all the local folks that regularly visit their restaurants and keep them in business to be able to help for our cause. More will be added as the auction comes to fruition. I am working out the details for the location of the auction thanks to a very cool donation of space which will be announced shortly when the plans are finalized. Stay in touch as this looks to be a lot of fun.

I spoke with Jenn tonight and told her how I ran the whole 4 miles and liked it and it felt good. She then pointed out that, in fact, I have learned to like running which is what was my goal when we started all of this in July. She is right, I do. I may not be fast and I may never be a great speedster but I have learned to enjoy something that I know a lot of people would say "Wow 4 miles, I can't even run 4 blocks." It has been a fun journey so far and now the big stuff lays just at my feet. The 8, 9 mile runs are coming now and the even longer ones are in place for December and then the big 13.1 in January. I am very confident now that I have started again.

Oh yeah, maybe we will need a new picture soon. I saw 229 on the scale today. That is more than 20 pounds since we started in late July (3 months). That is in comparison with the 25 that my doctor said I could lose in a year if I just walked 3 times a week for a 1/2 hour at a brisk pace.

What a great day!
Go Team!

Recovery week

I took the name Recovery Week seriously. I have been doing a lot of stretching, Ibuprofening, resting and another massage. It has been slow but I have had some good results from this program. Most of the issues have resolved and it is now Monday and time to get back to my training. I will stretch carefully before running tonight and then again after. The distance is 3 and 4 miles alternated during the week and 8 on the weekend. If my running goes well during the week, the 8 should be doable by Saturday (pace slow distance long). My running shoes think I deserted them. Spirits and feet up tonight!

Go Team

Trade offs

By Friday, I was starting to feel better but still had the spasm in my groin and left hip. I noticed that as I looked in the mirror, I was in poor alignment...left hip raised and left shoulder dropped as I went to protect all my soreness. I was enough improvement and realized that I did not die on Wednesday that I thought maybe I should give myself a try on the Saturday long run.

4:30 came early but I got out of bed and readied for the trip to Fort DeSoto near South St. Pete. This is the first group training I had made involving the Hillsborough and Pinellas county runners and walkers. It was still dark as I drove into the parking lot and made my way to the pavilion where everyone was signing in. I stood in a line over 8 people long to sign in and needed to use a citronella candle to see what I was writing. Once signed in, I made my way to the area where they were starting to do the group stretching. Things were still tight and tender but not sore and spasmed. The length to the end of the run is 2.5 miles so down and back is 5.0. The full Marathoners were scheduled to do 10 miles so they would run the down and back on one direction and the down and back on the other direction for their 10. To get 7, you could do the first 5 and then go 1 mile to the flag pole and 1 mile back.

It stayed dark for most of the first 2 miles. At that point I left the paved trail and had been directed to run to the end of the parking lot and then turn around for the return. Wow, this is easy. I was unable to read my watch in the darkness so I had just maintained a slow and steady pace with more running than walking and felt this was far easier than I had expected. That however, was because the first parking lot led to another and then another and I think at least one more. Boy can they ever accommodate a lot of cars there!

I had seen most of the runners on their way back as I was bringing up the rear but I had maintained my speed to stay ahead of the walkers. (Some of them have a pretty solid pace). My leg was feeling pretty good at that point and so the return was not bad. I completed the 5 in about 80 minutes. I had done no fast running since I did not want to further do in my left leg but felt great about making the 5 at all. I stopped at the water stop and saw my fund raising partner just completing her 7 miles. She had told me about how many races she had been in and how she had gotten to the 17 mile mark when they called the Marathon in Chicago just 2 weeks ago. She gave me what I needed to convince myself that I had come here to do 7 miles and 7 I would do. I made that first step for the flagpole and knew this was doable.

I don't remember anytime before that this fat old body has even gone 7 consecutive miles without a car, a bike, or inline skates. Wow, what an accomplishment!!! Another personal best.

I then made my way to the pavilion and got some snacks at the pot luck we were having. This was also the send off for the Marine Marathon runners and the Nike Marathon runners. Lots of pep and cheering as we went over the fundraising to date. So far, Suncoast Chapter of TNT has raised over $360,000 this year. We heard from three cancer survivors. One said that the treatment that she received led to near elimination of the type of lymphoma she had. That was a great testament to the efforts of the TNT program. One of the other honored teammates is an Iraq War Vet who was diagnosed with Lymphoma and sent back home for his treatment. He is the honored teammate for both Nike and the Marine Marathons. Since the Marine Marathon starts directly in front of the Pentagon, this was particularly appropriate that we have this man on our team.

As I mentioned to my daughter as we spoke on my ride home, I might not have stayed with this program for this long if not for the involvement in this really worthwhile cause. If it was just for my own health and well being and personal satisfaction, I could have found any number of excuses that would have justified quitting. Next week is a recovery week and I fully expect that the groin issue will be a thing of the past. After that more milestones, miles 8 and 9 for the two following long runs and mostly 4 milers for the weekday runs. I am not the least intimidated by 4 miles any more. Wow, what a change in attitude from just a couple months back!

Thanks to the nice folks that made the donations at the Macy's Shop for a Cause program where they allowed us to sell the discount coupons and keep the proceeds. It was not a huge addition but everything counts as we get near to re-commitment day where I need to have 1/4 of my funding in. Also, last but far from least, a special thanks to work buddy Bill, who was the first from my office to help me as I go forward in this great challenge.

Now the trade off, I followed the advice of Coach Steve last Wednesday with the ice bath after the run and found the process to be very invigorating. I did it again after yesterday's run and found it down right cold. I did some heavy duty shivering and stirred it all up with the jets from the tub. Yesterday, Judy and I went out to the mall and walking was tenuous but bearable especially after that first step following sitting. Today when I got up, however, though I felt the tightness that I expected from the long run, the spasm had subsided markedly. I am still careful but with some stretching while watching the Bucs this afternoon, I think I am past the groin issue.

Another benefit, as I knelt down to put the pool vacuum, affectionately know as Hayward around here, I tried to figure out how best to get up. I simply rolled back onto the balls of my feet, then into a crouch and stood up. No pushing up on one leg and pulling the other under me with a grunt. It seems that some other muscles are starting to join in on the party and balance is also benefiting. Trade offs like these make the miles shorter and easier to get beyond. Don't forget that I am working on countering a lot of couch potato practice.

Go Team

Ouch!

Well the 3rd and 4th miles seemed to have gotten warm muscles in the leg and the tenseness from Wednesday appeared to be something of the past. On Sunday, however, it had returned in spades. The first step after standing up was very tenuous and the thought was that the leg might collapse. Sudden movements counterclockwise to my left leg caused the adductor muscle in the groin to grab in spasm. Tried to stretch but could not get what I needed. By Monday, I knew I needed help. I got a massage from a very good therapist and she was able to get into my ITB muscles for a good stretch and finished with a deep massage into my psoas which I now know runs very deep below the surface. Boy did she push!

I did feel better on Tuesday but decided to give it one more day to rest. Thus I have missed 6 hours so far during the week. On Wednesday, I went to the group run and was still stiff. I started with a fast walk for the first mile and that warmed me enough for a run for the second. I ran the 4/2 pace. I was in a run cycle when I hit the 2 mile mark and turned around to come back. I got one more walk cycle and into the next run cycle when things started to get tired and stiff. After my next walk cycle I tried to run and the hip flexers were not going to allow it. I walked back in to the parking lot. I got 4 miles under my feet but it was very disappointing to have the limitations that I have never had before.

Coach Steve advised that an ice bath might help with the inflammation so I tried that. Ran the tub with just cold water. I was in as it filled so I tolerated that okay but then adding 2 ten pound bags of ice made a really sudden drop in the temp. Boy, that was invigorating. Sorta like swimming in the ocean off the Massachusetts coastline.

I gave up the Thursday run for more recovery and continued my stretching. I will do the same today as this is a rest day anyway. Tomorrow is our combined group run with all 3 counties and a pot luck after the run. We are scheduled for 7 miles so I want to be as ready as I can be.

Tonight I have a fund raiser at the Brandon Mall where I will be selling $5 coupons for 10%-20% discounts at Macy's. Hopefully that will bring in some more money. We get to keep all the proceeds and I will be working the table from 5-7 with one other teammate.

That brings us up to date except for a big thank you to Neighbor Jim for his kind donation to the effort. Your involvement brings me closer to my goal.

Go Team