Rest and Recovery?

As some of you may know, I’ve taken the last 4 days off from running in order to let my body heal from the rigors of summer training so far.  This has also been a good time to evaluate my progress so far.  Here’s what i’ve learned over this short rest.

1. I love running and hate to miss too many days
2. My injury is a groin injury…I was running so much that I couldn’t pinpoint my injury until I finally took a few days off and paid attention.
3. I’m nowhere near my weightloss goals–My bad eating habits have reared it’s ugly head again.

I will begin running again on Monday.  Although, i’ve learned through internet searching that I will need to run primarily straight forward and not take sharp right and left turns.  My sprint work on the track and stair work at the stadium will need to be on hold for awhile as well.

Working out twice a day will need to cease.  My re focus will be on having one good workout and eating right the rest of the day.  I was guilty of overworking out to compensate for my eating choices.   The fact is I love food..somehow I made running as a lifestyle rather than a fad and things have stuck.   I guess at this point, I need to find a way to make good eating choices a lifestyle as well.  

Due up….Midnight streak and the Route 66 1/4 marathon in Tulsa. 

On a side note…went to a women’s roller derby match last night and I had a blast.  I am convinced that every single woman on that Oklahoma team could have beat my rear thoroughly.  Thats is all.

Resting

Today I have decided to take a step back and rest my body for 4 days.  Over the last month i’ve fought through fatigue, bronchitis, and some mystery injury and now it’s time to listen to my body and allow it to heal.

The final straw came last night when I was running.  The familiar discomfort in my upper quad appears to be present in both legs at this point.  I cannot quite figure out what is wrong with me.  I suspect it is a groin pull but perhaps its an ITB problem in my upper thigh.  I’m not in horrible pain but it lets me know that it’s there constantly.  I’m actually having a hard time pinpointing where the pain is too.  Sometimes I thin it’s on the inside of my leg (groin) but here lately it seems to be present on the front of the quad towards the top.  One thing I do know is that it’s not getting any better as I continue to push myself.   I’m open to any suggestions on what it could be. 

Looking ahead, I realize it’s time to lose the battle in order to win the war.  I hope to resume normal running activities on Mondnay. 

Hope you’re week is going better.

Bethany Freedom Run–4th of July

 

Brenda, Me, and Melissa

The Return of Melissa

Today I got up bright and early to run the Bethany Freedom Run 8K.  Not sure what the deal is with this rash of 8K races in the heat of the summer but I was game for it.  I met up with Brenda (little running buddy) and Melissa.  This was Melissa’s big return back into the running world. 

Lets take a quick step back about 7 weeks ago…Melissa was pregnant and soon gave birth.  Shortly after the birthing process, she has began working out with Brenda and I.  We circled this particular run several weeks ago as her big comeback date.  She made it and is quickly returning to her old body form.  Great job.  She gets embarrassed if I talk about her too much.  Have big plans for that girl in the running world.  If I can talk her into following my lead.

Lets get into the photos.

Brenda and Melissa before race

Brenda and Melissa after race

Okay, they have smiles on their faces after the race.  Both of them ran together and had a very nice time under an hour. 

Me and Melissa

I ended up running a 47 something time which is alright for me.  I lost some time when I went into a coughing fit at the beginning  (bronchitis).  Also, forgot to tie my shoes properly and had to stop and tie them during the race.  Urgh.

Special thanks to the fella right behind me that made me sprint the final part of the race.  I could hear him coming up on me quickly and something good triggered in me that made me sprint to the finish.  Just didn’t want someone to pass me the last few feet before the finish line.  In the grand scheme of things, not that big of a deal.  On a personal scale, that would have bothered me for awhile. 

Also, thanks for those runners who finish before I do and cheer on people like me.  When I turned the corner for the home stretch I heard several runners cheering me on and even heard my name used a few times.  That really does make a difference and makes me push faster and harder.  Thanks for that.   Oh and thanks to the weather for remaining overcast during the race.

Smiling or Hurting?

Girls finsihing together...Ahh.

Photos from http://okcrunning.org

What’s on deck?  Eye appointment on Monday…hopefully know when I will have my surgery.  Begin marathon training in mid July.  What marathon?  Looking heavily into the Kansas City Marathon in October.  Would like to use that as a warm up for the Route 66 in November.  Will be running the Midnight Streak in  OKC on July 25th.  My camera crew aka my wife will be with me.  Try to get some cool video. 

As always, i’ll continue to push myself limits and hopefully lose a few more pounds and make my running a little bit easier.  If you are ever in the Norman area, contact me and we can do some runs.  Until then…enjoy.

XBionic Video..A must see for Runners

I have finally found this video.  Take the time to watch it, may just change the way you dress for a run. 

http://www.sportscience-laboratories.com/

Love to know what you think.

Update and Looking Forward

The summer is in full force.  The temperatures are high and the winds are low.  I continue to work hard with my running.  I’ve run into several snags over the last few weeks though.  I continue to have a groin strain that is limiting  my stride and speed.  I go easy on it for a few days and things feel fine and then i’ll take off too fast and back to square one.

Another issue right now is my bronchitis.  I just went off of a Z pack and I do feel like my infection is gone but my allergies remain and I continue to heavily cough.  No doubt, my lung capacity is lacking right now.  Once again, I continue to push through this problem.  I do goto my next eye appointment next week.  If my eyesight has remained the same, then i’ll be doing my 2nd part of eye surgery.  I’m hoping to get it down around the 10th of July. 

I do plan to run the Bethany Freedom run but I other than that, i’m still trying to lose weight before I start my big fall marathon training push.  I’m hoping to officially start in mid July.  That is the reason for my eye surgery being on the 10th (give or take a day or two).  Right now my body is really banged up but I am having a blast with things.  I am having great workouts with wonderful people.  Get past my strained groin and constant coughing and you’ll find a pretty happy runner right now.

Ah I love summer.

Runner 1 and Runner 2 Wear Blue

“How do you do,”  said runner 1 to runner 2. 

“I want to run a race with you, runner 2.”

“I want to run a race with you too” said runner 2.

I know, lets wear blue.

And run this race.

Keep happy a expressions on our face, not blue.

Or perhaps, we can go to Hefner park and catch that running spark.

“Oh wow, there is some much to do,” said runner 2

We can sit on a blue park bench

Runner 1

 

Runner 2

Or go “wee” down a blue slide.

Runner 2 Slide

 

Runner 1 Slide

Eww “whats that stench?”

Perhaps even being haughty outside the  blue porta potty.

Runner 1 Porta Potty

 

Runner 2 Porta Potty

You could go either runner 1 or runner 2.

I know, lets hug a blue pole.

Runner 2 Hugging a Pole

 

Runner 1 Hugging a Pole

Oops, I hear the starting gun,  time to roll.

Oh, the sounds they make. 

Huffin and puffin and feet pounding by the lake.

Lake Hefner

What is this weird substance, liquidy, salty all over me?

I see, it’s on you and it’s on me

Look at all these runners passing thee.

8K later

Sun and heat has become greater

Finally,

Just under an hour later, runner 1 and runner 2 see the finish line

Now things start to feel fine.

Wow, this SuperSummer race kicked our behinds.

But don’t we look good in blue?

Runner 2 Tying a Shoe

Runner 1 Looking Good...Yeah, Right!!!

I’m Still Here

It’s been a week or so since I last blogged and so I wanted to touch base real quick.  Last Saturday was a busy day for me.  My wife volunteered me for Saturday Vacation Bible School at my church.  Unlike most VBS’s, this was a one day, all day event.  My role was to be a team leader for 5 kids.   By the end of the day, I was pretty tired.  I thought long and hard about attending the Downtown Dash in OKC later that day.  In the end, I didn’t feel properly prepared to run that night.  I had little to eat the entire day and almost no fluid intake. 

I will be running in the Super Summer 8K on Saturday.  I’m having trouble finding information about this race but i’ll show up early at Stars and Stripes park with plenty of money to enter.  This will be a medium run for me because of the heavy toll my body goes through the entire week.  My next run for a decent time will be on July 4th.

I continue to work hard with my running and cross training.  I’m running frequently throughout the week but distances vary and speeds vary.  I’ve started running sprints and then stairs at the stadium.  If you’ve ever been in the Memorial Stadium, you’d know that running them is quite a feat.  168 stairs per set that go straight up. 

Tonight was the first time I ran a hard one mile on a track.  I wanted to see where I stand with respect to time.  I ended up running a 7:22.  I failed to fully empty the tank during this run.  However, this is a good point of reference for me.  I do plan to run this distance again several weeks down the road to see if I can improve my time. 

As many of you know, i’m working on reducing my weight.  I’ve rebounded a little from last week.  I have had to refocus my energies toward losing more weight.  I’m having a hard time on the weekends.  End up eating out and sabotaging my diet.  Gonna take some self control.  Want to get me weight down before I begin marathon training in mid July.

I will blog Saturday after the Super Summer race.  Not sure if i’ll have pics but I sure will try to.

Weight Loss Week

It’s been quite a week for me.  Let me give you the big picture.  I have increased my workout in length and number.  I have made a concentrated effort to decrease my caloric intake.  As a result, I have lost 13 pounds in 4 days.  I do know that it  isn’t healthy or safe.  I was ignorant.  I misunderstood the caloric intake and was only eating 1,200 calories which is great…..if you are an inactive woman.  Didn’t realize that and almost paid for it this morning.  About a mile into my run I experience some big time dizziness.  Had to stop running.  This is almost unheard of for me but I could not see straight.  Luckily I had someone with me at the time.  She gave me pretty good eating vs. exercising lecture.  Will admit that I still ended up running about three miles anyway once the dizziness left.

While i’m talking about this morning, I was running when all of a sudden my “lil buddy” jumped up in the air and started doing high knees.  She screamed out the word “SNAKE!!”  This totally freaked me out, when I turned and looked back I saw a decent size snake looking at us.  I had just missed stepping on this creature.  Glad I had not been bitten.  Not positve of whether it was poisonous.

Okay, back to my weighloss.  This week has been crazy humid.  The sweat has been flying off of me.  Anyone that gets near me gets hit with sweat.  Nasty.

Here’s what i’ve been doing this week…

• Short Runs
• Long Run
• Speed Runs/Treadmill
• Stadium Stairs
• Track Sprints
• Spin Class at Y
• Wii Fit

Right now i’m at 211 and just 11 pounds away from a major goal i’ve had for over 15 years.  I do plan to continue to work hard and harder but I also plan on being smarter with my food selections.  You’ll know on this blog when I reach my goal…trust me…you will know.

Next up, Super Summer.

Adios

Sooner State Games

Greetings readers.  Ran the Sooner State Games this morning.  I woke up bright and early this morning and headed out without my camera crew (Allona and kids) and without my little running buddy (Brenda).  I was flying solo this morning.  Kinda solo, Sue and her family would be at the race.  Anyway, I knew how to get to Lake Overholser Route 66 park.  Which would have been great….if the race had been held at this park.  Instead the race was held on the other side of the lake by the dam.

Seems simple, get to the lake and drive around the lake until you see the runners.  Unfortunately this was not the case.  Several parts of the road were closed for construction.  So I joined a caravan of cars driving through neighborhoods attempting to get to the correct locale.  Finally made it and was running behind according to my standards.  People that know me know that I get to everything early, super early.  I’d rather wait than rush.

Made it to the registration line.  This line was pretty long.  Once I reached the front of the line, a pivotal moment of my day occurred.  I hadn’t really decided which race I was going to run…5K, 10K, or half marathon.

Behind Door Number One:  5K—Quick, Flat, Easy, Enjoy Festivities, Return Home in Plenty of Time, No Soreness

Behind Door Number Two:  10K–Fairly Quick, Flat, More Energy Involved, LongerTime, Slight Soreness

Behind Door Number Three: Half Marathon–Long, Time Consuming, Energy Depletion, Soreness, Fatigue

I chose just as any rational human running being would choose—Door Number Three.  The one word “half” came out of my mouth when the lady asked me which run?  My fast and hasty decision was based upon the cloud cover and a nearby rainshower.  Cooler temperatures..right?

Unfortunatly for me and others, the sun came out in full force along with a pretty steady wind.  Not good race conditions.  I had guessed wrong and was gonna pay for it.

Here are some pics shot by Sue’s husband Butch.  Thanks for taking the role of camera crew in my wife’s absence.

Huh?

Not sure what is happening in picture above.  My theory is due to the shortage of porta potties, one individual decided to use the restroom military style….by digging a hole.  Perhaps you have a better theory.

Sue and Carla

This pic is of Sue and Carla.  It almost looks like they got together to color coordinate the race.  Sue decided to run the 5K and Carla ran the half.  FYI..Sue is looking fit.  One of the toughest racing gals or people I know.  Ask her about her Memorial  Half experience if you ever see her at a race.

Start of Race

Here is the starting line shot.  I suspect there were more runners this year compared to last year.  All three races started at the same time.  If you look closely, you will see the ever secure-with-oneself, shirtless runner.  I do not have the physique to run without a shirt…wouldn’t be pretty.  People would expect fries with that shake.

My worst fear is for a fat shirtless dude to set next to me at a ballgame on a hot sunny afternoon.

About 2 Miles Away

The race started fairly normal.  Some runners jockeying for position.  I was more focused on establishing a manageable pace.  Having the lake next to the course was awesome to see.  I’m easily fascinated with lakes, etc.  The Sun was kickin’ and the winds were strong.  Another big issue for me was the course surface.  The road was beat up at times.  Perhaps i’m affected more so than others but my legs get torn up when i’m running to avoid large cracks in the road.  The road did get better about a third of the way into the race. 

A major issue that I do need to address was very serious to me.  Water.  Or lack of water.  Water stops were at mile 1.5, 3, and 6.5.  See the problem?  Yup, in the middle of the race there is a point where only one water stop is available over the course of 6.5–7.0 miles.  This is pretty serious given the fact that the half marathoners are out in the heat, humidity, and winds.  Hydration is a serious issue and I feel that this race did not H20 support the half marathoners.  Seious hydrations issues occur in races, especially when you are running 13.1 miles.  I would hear the same issue being brought up by anyone who ran the half marathon after the race.

I really would recommend a 5K or 10K next year unless you know for sure there are more water stops.  Anyway, back to the running….I kept a pretty good pace.  Ran just under 7 miles the first hour.  I was on pace to have pretty good time for myself.  However, I did lose it in the end.  The heat and dehydration became issues for me as well as the last third of the road.  This was an out and back race.  Therefore the torn up road at the beginnig was the final section of road at the end. 

I did finish the race around 2:04 which is pretty par for the course for me.  I do believe I could have ran the race faster had I prepared.  Carbing could have helped too.  Ultimately self preservation won out over time.  I did get a slight neck cramp at the very end of the race which did scare me.  Same type of cramp I got during the Tulsa Winter Fest Run which was also a really rough surface course and not properly water supported.  Hmmm. 

A special congrats to Sue.  She won her age group for the 5K.   Also, nice job to Sue’s friend Carla.  She ran the half in just over 2 hours as well.

Sue in Black Finishing

Here’s a few random photos…I do see a few landrunners in them.

Random Photos

More random

Okay….after the race I chilled out and talked to Maurice.  Appreciate him helping to get water provided at the end of the race.  Sounds like David L, had a challenging but good run, he was always ahead of me.  Jason ran for fun and looks like he’ll be back really soon.

Final thoughts….Water is a good thing.  It’s your friend. You know when it’s not there.

Final shout out to that thoughtful neighbor who decided to mow his ditch during the race.  The added dust and grass being shot onto the course as runners ran by was a nice touch.  

Super 8 is next up in a few weeks.  I will be working hard to lose weight in the meantime.  I will need to just run that race for fun and not speed.

Brief Summer Update

My first week of summer vacation has been great so far.  I was able to run and do stadium stairs with good friends a few times this week.  I’ve also ventured over to the OU track and did speedwork. 

I’ve also been really lucky this week.  With school out, I tend to stay up late at night and this led to boredom.  So to break the boredom I took 20 dollars to the casino in hopes of winning enough money to pay for one month membership to the YMCA.  Needless to say, I won just enough money and I will be attending classes in the morning at the Y.

This may not sound like a big deal to you but having the opportunity to push myself at Y classes gets me closer to one of my summer goals……lose weight and break below the 200 pound barrier.  I’ve been over 200 pounds for over 15 years and this year will mark the first time i’m within striking distance of that goal. 

Anyway, I will be running at the Sooner State Games this weekend.  Will not have my camera crew (wife) but I will manage to get a few pictures.  Will most likely run the 5K.

Hope your summer is going well.