B.D.J. Runs

The old running guys

2012-01-23T12:02:00.000-05:00

This has been a week to think about growing old. I'm not talking about myself, at present anyway, despite an aching knee and limited mobility. Considering that I won't have a "real" job for about a year and a half, I feel young and ready to get started. That aching knee will be healed in another few months, if I play my cards right now. What I mean is that a series of coincidences in reading and observing have made really think about aging, both in terms of the future and in terms of how those thoughts might change my present actions.

In my neigborhood there are a group of men -- old men -- who seem to be out running constantly. One is so thin and his skin so slack that he is nearly cadaveric. He runs every day, shirtless in the summer, wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt at other times. I see him walking with his wife and dog at other times, and he seems to be enjoying himself although I've never seen him smile. Another lives only a few houses down, not so thin, but is even more dedicated. He shuffles, hunched over, for hours at a time. He often runs with his son, who slows his pace to allow the father to keep up. He's not so old, perhaps, but he runs like it, so in this context it counts. There is a white-bearded man whom I see less frequently, because he lives in a different part of the neighborhood. He seems really old, and although his gait is steadier and stronger than the other two, his muscles hang from the bones. You can see traces of what must have been a strong frame. There is the still-very-fit but aging man who runs bolt upright with a dog tag on. His flesh is in no way slack, and I would like to have him on my side in a fight, if the idea of me in a fight weren't so patently ridiculous. Finally, there are dozens of other old men who run in and around my neighborhood, whom I don't know but I'm sure have running stories just the same.

I read a fantastic article in the New Yorker (the link is not to the article but to a poorly written "abstract" of it), an essay by the poet Donald Hall, as he considered his own aging from his armchair looking out of his window. I also came across a great how-to-live-your-life-from-the-perspective-of-the-deathbed essay by way of a Facebook posting. The subject is trite but I was touched. It wasn't about aging, per se, but was about the regrets that people have before they die. Aging is a bit of a foreign territory for me; although I am a physician and have helped people through the processes of aging and dying, the vast majority of my training and experience are with children. I suppose as anyone's parents age this becomes a little more familiar, but for me it is only just starting to really seep into my everyday consciousness.

Where does this leave me? Certainly not thinking about mortality yet, but thinking a little bit more acutely about how I want to live life. As my faithful readers will know, creating and inhabiting a home has been at the forefront of my mind, especially as we (my wife and I) are still recovering from too many moves in too short a period, and as our children grow into personhood and develop their own sense of home. I realized today in the car that up until now I have been framing this as a question of living in the present -- i.e. if I could only live in the present more fully, none of the moving around and uncertainty about the future would matter so much. But perhaps I should frame it in the opposite way: I am focusing so much about living in the present that I lose sight of thinking about the future in a meaningful way. Watching the old men run brings the future back into focus, for a time.

Life from the couch

2012-01-11T22:24:00.002-05:00

It has been a week since my knee surgery. The operation went pretty much as planned (I will scan and post photos sometime soon), with some degeneration but no actual tear of my meniscus. The whole problem was that the meniscus was abnormally shaped to begin with ("discoid" - a flat disk rather than a wedge or saucer shape), leaving it more susceptible to injury and more biomechanically abnormal than most. Could this explain the longstanding pattern of right-sided injuries in my past?

In any case, I have progressed from spending most of the day on my couch with occasional crutch forays about the house, to spending most of the day at work with plenty of couch time at home and occasional walking without crutches. It is a bit of a struggle to keep the knee rested when not doing PT, but frequent icing and elevation have helped. It is satisfying to have tangible and daily progress in how much I am able to do and tolerate, although the slow and incremental nature of the progress makes it very hard to picture a return to "normal" activity. As a friend said to me yesterday, though, I do have the rest of my life...

The side benefit of being less active at home is twofold. First, I have had some of the most pleasurable reading time in recent years, including a bicycle repair manual, journal articles for work, and luxuriously long New Yorker articles on random topics. I have to grudgingly admit that there has been some attenuation of my attention span due to Facebook, Twitter, the iPhone, and other information streams; so now it is nice to be able to (or really, to be unable to do anything but) read. Second, the current situation has opened up new ways of interacting with my children. Today we spent some truly fun time just lounging on the couch and watching a movie together. Less fun is when the three of them squeal as they run off with my crutches, brace, ace bandages, ice packs, etc.; even so I secretly revel in being able to watch them have so much fun.

Finally, I have to point out how generous, caring, and wonderful my wife has been through the process. The first few days after surgery I could do almost nothing, so I got to be there for whole days to watch and listen to Jess as a mother: a patient, creative, effective, and energetic parent. This, in addition to taking care of a fourth "child" who just happens to be her poor postoperative husband.

Not exercising is a challenge, but the longer I am able to make peace with limitations now, the sooner I will be back out there.

Retrospective and Resolutions

2012-01-01T20:04:00.000-05:00

I conceived of this post as a 2011 retrospective, with some 2012 resolutions thrown in. Having looked back on the year through iPhoto, Facebook timeline, and this blog, I came away with a few surprises and a few memories. Current state probably influences memory more than the past events themselves, so I will say that after a wonderful few days at home, a great afternoon, and a cold beer in the backyard while the kids played, the year's memories seem pretty darn good. I don't think that's far from the truth.

As far as fitness goes, this was an odd year. My knee has been "acting up" since October 2010 (and was probably injured about a year before that), so my running has been just weird. I had a good training cycle through the fall of 2010 despite the knee, and this paid off big time in February 2011 with a P.R. marathon here in town. Running since then has been spotty, and I am in fact having surgery on my right lateral meniscus in three days. I do think there is a good chance it will help, and look forward the the post-rehab "Don't call it a comeback..." The beauty of an injury, in truth, is that it helps you focus on other things. In no particular order, I have spent a lot of time on yoga, lifting, and road biking. A highlight of the year was traveling to Georgia with my good friend Gary and riding the Three Gap Fifty, the mini-version of the Six Gap Century. Yoga has acted as a semi-spiritual bridge between working out and meditation (a need previously fulfilled by running). Lifting continues to feel good. Currently, I have also sprained my right wrist, so all my activities are limited, but that, too, has its place and time.

Food has been another focus of the year. As with most of us, I have been trying to get ride of that "last" 5 or 10 pounds for quite a while -- don't worry, I don't think I'm fat, but I know my weight and body shape when I've been really fit. After some unsuccessful and perhaps fairly insincere attempts to eat better or less, I finally gave the "Paleo" concept a try, and holy shit, it worked. For six weeks, six days a week, I ate only meat, vegetables, fruit, beans, and nuts/seeds. Beer was allowed. The seventh day was "cheat day." By the end of the six weeks I had lost 7-8 pounds, was fitting into pants I haven't worn since 2004, and definitely noticed an improvement in energy level. I try very hard to avoid proselytizing diets (or anything, for that matter), and I am still working to integrate this into my everyday, permanent life -- perhaps cycling the diet for six weeks on and two weeks off -- but it has been quite a good thing for me at this time.

Although this has been primarily a "fitness" blog - a little more varied than in 2010 since I haven't been able to run much, there are more important things in life than fitness. What else has happened this year? I continue to enjoy and treasure my family - my wife and our three children - as we grow and develop a sense of internal home-ness. Slowly but surely we are moving forward from the utter shock (and awe) of raising young children after a fairly active and free single and early married life. We are fortunate to be living near my parents, and to be involved in a wonderful church (not coincidentally, the church I grew up in). It has been challenging to continue moving around while I complete (slog through?) medical training: challenging to develop a true feeling of home, challenging to nurture friendships and relationships, andchallenging to feel settled. We do have wonderful friends here, wonderful friends elsewhere, and a large and loving extended family.

Our major vacation this summer was a long road trip to visit old friends and see family, and it was a true highlight of the year. This was actually an awakening to what adventures we are capable of in this (still) new phase of life. While the road trip may have been a crystallizing event, gardening has been the slow-burn, everyday reminder of family togetherness, growth, creativity, and fun. We are fortunate in Florida to have two growing seasons per year, and although the productivity may not have been high, it has been a tonic to prepare the earth and plant with the children, to eat fresh herbs every night with dinner, and to go and inspect the rows every evening.

Looking forward by first looking backward: how did the resolutions for 2011 hold up (the first list was of general goals, the second list was fitness-related goals)?
1) Presence.
--> sometimes2) Develop the less cynical, humbler, and less judgmental self.
--> still needs to come out3) Meet Jess's needs and wants before my own.
--> I hope this happened enough, but I want to make it happen much more.4) Garden and eat the food!
--> Yes!!

1) Maintain consistently healthful diet - devise a sustainable way to deal with temptations, convenience, etc.

--> Finally, yes.

- This includes reducing caffeine intake to a reasonable level.

--> A cruel joke.
2) Regular yoga to lead to meditation alone.

--> Not yet, but working on it.
3) Real periodization of training. (i.e. approach it like real training!)

--> Some success

3) Regular cycling and leg strength training to begin after February marathon, to prevent recurrence of knee injury

--> Happening

4) Regular speed/tempo training (running).

--> For the future.

6) Repeat p90x with Jess!! (Start date: mid-March)

--> Not interested for now.

7) Plan +/- train for ultramarathons to progress to 100 mile run.

--> For the future

8) Less drama about getting up for pre-dawn workouts - just do it.

--> Unsuccessful.

So what about 2012 resolutions? Here is what I had come up with as of New Year's Eve:
1. Bike to work consistently.
2. Less caffeine.
3. Regular time of day for exercise.
4. Focus on injury prevention
5. Tolerate more "chaos" at home -- a combination of being present and controlling anxiety!
6. Continue cycled paleo diet.
7. Make a career decision (i.e. get a job versus further training) and don't look back.

But, just today I saw that a friend had posted Woody Guthrie's 1942 New Years Resolutions, which summarize the heart of the matter far better. So, I leave you with that.

Ephemera

2011-11-30T21:53:00.001-05:00

There have been some very memorable moments in the last few weeks, and I even jotted (or the modern equivalent) a few of them down.

Two weekends ago, when the weather was a bit hot, I took a nice long bike ride, added too much powder to my Gatorade, and had to drink a syrupy concoction for nearly three hours. On the plus side, I ran afterwards, making that my first brick in at least five years! I'm not planning a triumphant return to triathlon anytime soon, but it felt pretty good. On same bike ride I had a long burst of unexpected energy - not from a tailwind as is the usual cause.

A more exquisite and ephemeral moment was the first bite of a porcini and truffle oil risotto at a local restaurant (Sabore) in the midst of a very fun dinner with Jess and my parents. In my reality, a slow dinner talking with friends and family ranks right up there with a great run as one of life's true pleasures.

Somewhere in the last two weeks, Max was tired and sat still in my arms while I sang to him. He is rarely still, so just as the other day when he fell asleep across my chest it was sublime. The irony is that we have seen many different sides of Max after an accident/incident one week ago. He had his little toe partially amputated in a recliner, and after a few days of staying calm, the gruesomeness and fear started to sink in for me. It is too easy to brush it off as something minor that will have no lasting impact (which it won't), but really I think this was a big deal for us. No coincidence that for the few days he couldn't walk, his language development went crazy.

Otherwise, life has been good. Work is more stressful than I like, but I am finding much joy at home. Jess and I are both being reasonably good with the paleo-esque diet we are practicing. I've been enjoying workouts but frustrated by a mystery wrist sprain. I am looking forward to run again (more than my current 20-30 minutes), but also enjoy being motivated to cycle more by my friend Gary.

All for now.

Back to borrowed basics

2011-11-15T20:52:00.000-05:00

Tonight's workout was simple and old-school: 50 pull-ups, 100 push-ups, one-arm single-leg deadlifts, and a running form exercise. The fun part, I realized as I finished, is that each part is borrowed. Here's how it broke down:

The pull-up / push-up section, while not an original concept, was taken almost verbatim from Dean Karnazes, in a Runner's World blog post on cross training.
15 standard pull-ups
15 behind neck pull-ups
15 chin-ups
5 standard / chin switch grip
40 standard push-ups (with bars)
20 triangle push-ups
20 wide grip push-ups (with bars)
20 standing (pike) push-ups (with bars)
These were mixed around in various sets.

The one-arm single-leg deadlift is an exercise originally given to me by a physical therapist, and then written about by Tim Ferriss in the Four Hour Body. Today I did 10 on each side with 30 pound dumbbells.

Finally, the running form exercise, call the 100-up was recently found and (re-)published by Chris McDougall in the New York Times. This one is to train my legs so I can run well when I get my knee fixed! I did the "minor" version.

All in all, a nice workout.

-----

As I wrote last time, I have been experimenting with the Paleo diet, or at least my variation thereof. For those who want to know, it has been: meats, vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, and beer. I also put a bit of soy milk into fruit and spinach smoothies. The first week went great, although I did feel a bit hungry near the end of the week. I had my first weekly "cheat" day, which I enjoyed, but starting again this week I have felt no real cravings for sweets or bread. (Well, except when my kids were enjoying those sweet Hawaiian rolls that Publix sells near the fried chicken). My compliance has been pretty darn good, if I do say. My energy level has been noticeably more even (but am I more sensitive to lack of sleep??). Finally, I have lost several pounds with minimal effort. Hmmm. The plan is to try this thing for six weeks or so and re-assess then. So far, so good.

Mojo reclamation project

2011-11-07T20:30:00.000-05:00

The longer you go without writing, the harder it is to start again. After a week goes by, it feels like you have to have something pretty good to say. After a month goes by, it feels like you have to write a deep, lengthy, moving account of your inner life (not too depressing, mind you). But of course, the way to start writing is to just start writing. I started this blog for that purpose, after years of almost no non-medical writing. Running was, and is, a convenient jumping off point. But as this blogging thing has faded a bit in the last few months, I miss the writing, however meager, and I miss the chance to share those random thoughts and ideas that pop into my head.

So, here's what is happening:

My knee surgery is scheduled for January 4th. My latest experiment with a joint injection worked wonders--for four weeks. I hope the surgery helps (not a guarantee by any means), and I hope I have a lot of good running years left in me. If not, thought, I am proud of the fact that I went down fighting, with a PR marathon, and proud of the fact that I have cultivated yoga, cycling, and even some lifting as darn good alternatives. Still, I really hope that sticking a scope and a few surgical instruments into my knee turns out to be a good thing. If I am permitted to remain awake to watch, I'll let you know how the video turns out.

Lifting and cycling in particular have been going well. I have adopted a set of core lifting maneuvers culled from friends, crossfit, and the four hour body, and so far I have been feeling good. These include Kettlebell swings, dead lifts (one and two arm), Turkish get ups, torture twists, and the aptly named cat vomit exercise, in addition to the calisthenics and dumbbell maneuvers that I already enjoy. My cycling resurgence is in full swing, kicked off by a recent mountain ride in Georgia, with some good training rides and another century race coming up soon. Yoga is on a bit of a hold as some weird virus has re-inflamed an old wrist injury.

I have started a paleo-esque diet, just today, so more on that as it succeeds, evolves, or fails.

Congratulations to brother Joe for a strong finish at the Savannah Rock'N'Roll half marathon!

Finally, my family is amazing, truly amazing, and I continue to gain more satisfaction, love, and enjoyment an I thought possible out of time spent with them. Highlight of the week, month, or year perhaps:

Nice day for a run

2011-10-02T21:30:00.000-04:00

It's been a mellow week since getting back from the bike race on Tuesday night. Took a couple of "zero days", as in zero mileage, then a short but sweet bike ride on Saturday early evening. Since the weather has turned overnight to cool(er), sunny, and dry fall days, this was an especially nice ride. I got into a groove, shifted into a big gear, and cruised.

Today I took a very pleasant run, with some pull ups and push ups at Westside Park in the middle. Did some kettlebell swings and other miscellaneous sit-up variations on returning. Again, the weather was nearly perfect. It was also nice to know that even though my knee is hurting a touch more over the last few weeks, I can still get out for a run without any problem. Not ready to go under the knife quite yet... I am still working on my pose/Chi running form, which may allow me to postpone the inevitable.

Saturday: bike 16.3 miles
Today (Sunday):
run 4.25 miles
30 pull ups
80 push ups (various)
Kettlebell swings
Swiss ball sit ups
"cat vomit" exercise
Flying dog
Bicycle crunches
Boat and variations
Plank and side plank hold

Three Gap / awash in memories

2011-09-28T21:22:00.002-04:00

One thing that makes a race really cool for me is doing it somewhere I feel connected to. Not that I wouldn't love to travel to do a randomly located exotic race, but I have tended to stay in places either closer to home or that have other meaning. As an example, the ironman I did in 2003 (Great Floridian) was the same race I had a few years earlier watched a friend of mine finish, when the seed was planted for me to do that. Most marathons and my lone ultra have been near home (Vermont City Marathon, Vermont 50, Five Points of Life in Gainesville, FL). For bike trips, I rode Ride the Rockies in 2005, days before moving away from Colorado (also the state where both of my parents grew up).

My most recent effort, the Three Gap Fifty, fit into this pattern. Gary Wimsett, a good friend and a fine upstanding citizen, came up with the idea after we had spent a few months discussing an adventure of some sort. Unfortunately, we decided to go a mere six weeks before race time, leaving minimal training time. The actual race, a road bike ride, is the "Six Gap Century," which takes place in North Georgia and has several solid climbs for a total elevation gain of 11000+ feet over 103 miles. It sounded fun but the reality of training in flat Florida for only six weeks made us realize that the short version was a better goal. A few of Gary's friends were doing it, and it was in an area I had visited before at least three times, for hikes on the southernmost section of the Appalachian Trail. In fact, the place names are so burned in my memory that I felt like I would be riding through familiar territory despite never having cycled anywhere near here. Gary and I planned to do the ride, then spend a few days hiking in the area - the makings of great road trip.

So, we trained as best we could -- in fact, as I wrote last time, I felt that the minimal but efficient training had been fruitful. The few days before the race I felt good (though Gary was battling a respiratory infection with a little help from the pharmaceutical industry). We packed up the car and left, each debating for a while whether we out to stick with the plan and do the 58 mile ride, or just go for the century. As is usual for me, I changed my mind to the 100, only to change it back the morning before the race.

We met up with Gary's friends, Isaac and Dave, and stayed in Dave's brother's cabin (I think I have that right, although the "relative of a friend of a friend" relationship is a tricky one). A fair amount of trash talking ensued as we ate a gigantic pre-race meal and watched football. Though we went to bed early, I couldn't sleep thanks to the double espresso I had earlier that day. Par for the course before a big event.

Riding partner, Gary

Race day was outstanding, with temps in the high 50s and sun. We drove to the start, and from the first few miles I knew it would be a good day. I felt strong, and the climbs were reasonable (in fact, despite being a flatlander I felt as good as I had climbing similar hills after living and training in Colorado at altitude) What I really enjoyed was the fun of riding, and the purity of climbing. This is hard to explain but I have talked to others who have had the same experience -- whether walking up a long snow climb with an ice ax, pedaling in low gear for an hour straight, or running up a mountain, the meditative quality of working hard in a repetitive way while in a beautiful place is incredible. I have never been ashamed to have and use a triple chain ring, and I used it then. The race was well supported and the cyclists were friendly. The toughest climb for me was Wolfpen Gap - a shorter but more consistently steep effort than the earlier longer climb up Neels Gap. The weather got warm later in the day, but this was after the major climbs and we finished up with a sunny ride through a pleasant valley.

Recovery meal.

We finished our portion in just over 5 hours, enjoyed the post-race festivites, and went to Gary's father's house (also in the same area), where our post-race recovery "meal" spanned 48 hours. A sampler: spaghetti and meatballs, steak with homemade potato salad, biscuits and ham with grits and eggs, Bavarian sausage and pretzels with beer, fried chicken and potatoes, pancakes and ham. A particularly gluttonous episode was eating and drinking the aforementioned Bavarian "snack" in Helen, GA at 3 pm knowing that friend chicken dinner awaiting us at 6 pm! We did hike that day, enough to loosen up our legs and enjoy the scenery (as well as make me recall, quite fondly, the 800+ mile hike I took with Jess the summer before we got married).

View from hike

Feeling good afterward

All in all, this was a great event and a great road trip. I plan to return next year for the big boy version, and I think having that goal will provide a nice motivation to cycle more (as well as a nice distraction from not running, depending on how my knee does). All for now.

Training - Proof of Concept // Roadkill

2011-09-23T21:26:00.000-04:00

First, the roadkill: on the bike this morning conditions were perfect for the ripest collection of roadkill I have ever seen and smelled. I'm not sure what made all of the animals run out onto the pavement last night but the humidity was perfect for transmitting the odor of armadillo, possum, and other creatures. Yuck.

Now for the meat of the post: for years, I trained without a particularly scientific approach, except for trying to run, bike, or swim frequently and for nearly as long a distance as I would need to travel in the upcoming event. I would even say I was stubborn in this approach, since I read and spoke with many people using better and more scientific training methods. I think I accomplished a few neat things, but it wasn't until 9 months ago that I really applied some novel (to me) training techniques. Specifically, in December I got a fancy new GPS watch with a heart rate monitor. In testing out its features, I did a bunch of interval workouts, though certainly not an intentionally designed interval training program. The marathon I ran in February was a personal best, by quite a bit, beating an 8 year record for me. Not much else was different in my training, other than an injured knee and less overall training mileage. I was able to start at and maintain a faster pace and had a great race.

About six weeks ago a good friend suggested we ride an upcoming hilly road bike race in North Georgia (no, not the Tour de Georgia, but the Six Gap Century--really we haven't decided between that and the kiddie version, the "Three Gap Fifty", but I have a feeling we may say fuck it and just go for the gold). So, with little training time and few substantial hills around here, not to mention a busy work schedule, I decided upon a simple training schedule: one longer ride weekly, and one interval ride weekly, as well as some lifting, yoga, and light running. The interval rides were either a short Tabata protocol, longer power intervals on the indoor bike, or, once, 10 repeats on one of the better hills in town (Chestnut Hill). The amazing part is that today, on a short shakedown ride two days before the race, I can feel the difference in a big way. My average speed is faster, I want to ride in a higher gear, and I felt great--not really the result of tapering as I haven't been training "hard" enough for the concept to have meaning.

To some of my faithful readers this will come as no surprise, but to me it was almost a revelation: the last two training cycles produced good results with the introduction of a minimal amount of interval training. So yes, I may be the last convert, but here I am. We'll see how the ride goes, in the beautiful mountains of north Georgia and through the very mountains and gaps that loom large in my memory after many great hiking trips in that area. One in particular I remember because Jess and I had stopped there to rest and watched a sheet of driving rain pour down the mountainside, pass over us, and recede up the other side.

Finally, my knee has been quite good for the last three weeks. I have run once weekly and haven't felt pain during or afterward. It is getting stiff lately in the mornings, though, so if there is no lasting improvement after the steroid wears off, I guess I'll talk to the surgeon again...

More after the ride.

A Blog in 3 Acts: Knee, Superdad, Workouts

2011-09-02T17:51:00.001-04:00

A blog in three parts (a la This American Life)

Act I: a knee, a needle, and running.

This morning I got my knee injected with a mixture of lidocaine (a nearly immediate-onset and short-acting anesthetic), Marcaine (longer acting anesthetic), and triamcinilone (cortisocosteroid). I did this primarily as a diagnostic step to make sure I really want/need to have surgery on the knee. Sure enough, after watching contrast fill my joint space on a fluoro (real-time X-ray) screen, and after having the medications injected, I drove home and took a run. Since running is the surest way to get my knee to hurt, I figured if this injection let me run without pain, I would know the problem is in the joint space and feel more confident about pursuing surgery.

The run was probably the most comfortable run I've had in six to eight months. Certainly it was the only one in the last five months that didn't just plain hurt. Sure, I had a few creaks that lasted the first two minutes (expected) and sure, my knee joint felt fuller (well, I had just had a teaspoon or two of extra fluid injected into the space), but man, it was so nice not feeling a deep, vague pain and a sensation of instability in that knee. I tried to play it very safe so I ran for 22 minutes around the neighborhood and stopped, despite feeling like I could have gone 15 miles. I got back and did some pushups, pull ups and kettle bell swings, iced my knee, and called it a day. At this point, the anesthetic has worn off, and the steroids have not fully kicked in, so it aches but still feels better than "usual" after a run like this. I am hopeful that in a few days it will feel good and remain that way for at least six weeks. After that, probably surgery.

So I have to sit back and wonder how I have come to this place of planning completely elective knee surgery for a problem that really only has (strong) circumstantial evidence to show that it is there. The best direct evidence I have is on MRI: a congenitally abnormal right lateral meniscus (discoid), but we have seen no tear. Why then, when six months ago I swore repeatedly that there was no way I was letting a surgeon touch my knee etc. etc., does this seem so reasonable? I'll tell you: I love running, and I can't do it. I've tried two rounds of physical therapy, four physicians in three specialties, changing my running form, resting, and cross training, and the fucker still hurts. The last straw was when, a few days before my appointment with the surgeon--a great guy, by the way--I went running and had fun for 40 minutes but my knee hurt for four days. If it doesn't work and I can't really run anymore, at least I tried. But, damn it, I still want to have a go at a few more marathons and a hundred miler, even if I only get another decade of running in.

Act II: Superdad rides again

Jess (my wife) was away for five days recently. It was planned for four days but because of a certain hurricane Irene, she was detained in Portland Maine for an extra day. I had never had all three kids for such a long time before, and certainly had a lot of help from my parents but as we ultimately settled into a rhythm I realized that this was a milestone for me: it was a positive and productive time that despite being challenging was not overwhelmingly stressful. I spent all of my waking non-work time with the children, got a much better sense of their daily routines, complete with ebbs and flows, and was so happy that Jess got to have a substantial trip both mourning the loss of her aunt and visiting with close family members.

So, Superdad rode again, and he's not even dreading his next ride...

Act III: Working Out and Lifestyle Modification

My garage "home gym" -- >

I read two interesting books by the same author recently: Four Hour Workweek, and Four Hour Body.

The first is a somewhat cohesive look at how to game the system, outsource time consuming tasks, and live a life of travel and leisure. I have to admit it has a certain appeal but seems limit for me - whose job depends on time with people, and who has three fairly young children. The take home message was setting firm limits on work and sticking to them without remorse. Easier said that done?

Four Hour Body is a less cohesive printed collection of blog entries on nutrition, weight loss, fitness, sleep, sex, and general approach to life. My favorite thing is that it doesn't claim to cure cancer or solve all problems, just provides some interesting ways to achieve certain goals that worked for the author. As such, I took a bunch of workout ideas and a few nutrition ideas and have been incorporating them into my workout rotation. As I am still struggling to reach "race weight" after sixteen months now, I may try out the food part as well...

In any case, here's a sampling of the last week or two:

Sunday, Aug 21: run 4.25 miles, proving my knee just ain't right.

Wednesday, Aug 24: 55 pull ups, 110 pushups. The pull ups are mostly standard grip with some chin up grip and a few wide and narrow grip, in sets of 2-7 The push ups are mixed standard, military, decline, and wide grip, in sets of 115. Done in mid afternoon in a local park after work.

Friday, Aug 26: indoor bike 12.5 mi hill intervals, yoga 45 minutes. The bike was s poor effort but the yoga was fantastic (dagmar's afternoon grounding practice on YouTube, if I remember correctly)

Sunday, Aug 28: Bike 40 miles in the hilliest section of town. Yes, I know in Gainesville that isn't saying much, but we tried. I rode this with my friend Gary. It was about 94 degrees with 70% humidity. We are going to north Georgia in a few weeks to ride the Three Gap Fifty, the junior partner of the Six Gap Century (http://www.cyclenorthgeorgia.com/). This will be challenging given the lack of available hills and mountains here, but we are counting on training in extreme heat and some intense intervals to pull us through...

Monday, Aug 29: Lifting for core stability, biceps, triceps, and shoulders:
Hip flexor stretch
Kettle bell swings 30 x 30 lb (my first time doing this)
Handstand pushups x 10 (with wall support!)
Swiss ball crunch x 20
Bridges x 20 and Flying Dog x 10/side (on all fours, extending opposite arm and leg)
Bicep curls max weight 6 reps
Hammer curls max weight 6 reps
Tricep overhead lift max weight 8 reps
Tricep kickback max eight 8 reps
Cat vomit exercise x 8 (this one is straight from four hour body - search for it on YouTube)
Plank hold 60sec, side plank hold 45 sec each side
Turkish getups, 20 lb dumbbell, 5/ side (again, I am a rank beginner at these)

Wednesday, Aug 31: Kettlebell swings 30 x 40 lb, torture twists 3 x 3/side (unweighted), indoor bike Tabata intervals, yoga 25 minutes (a "shiva rea" video with my own additions). Torture twists are also from the four hour body book, basically lie perpendicular to a weight bench with your butt on it and feet hooked under something solid, turning your body all the to one side then the other. These will be great when I work up to weighting them. My max instantaneous power output on the bike was 540 W. For me, this is good, and I was happy about it.

Friday, Sep 2 (today): run 22 min, kettle bell swings 35 x 40 lb, 60 pull ups and 150 push ups with bars (push ups and pull ups again a mix of styles).

Where to go from here / states

2011-08-09T21:41:00.001-04:00

It continues to be a little bit odd to write a blog that has been about running when I haven't really been able to run in nearly four months. It's not that I don't have other things that I think about or want to write about, but the format seems to have lost its glue. I debated ending the blog entirely, putting it completely on hold until I am running again (if?), or some other dramatic gesture. But the reality is that running is just a means to an end, as much as I like it, and the blog is really about staying fit and trying to capture some meaningful and interesting moments in life.

So, what has been going on with my running? I have been continuing with physical therapy, including standard and like stretching and building strength in those sneaky weak muscle groups. But I have also been working on radically changing my running for, to something like a combination of the POSE technique, chi running, and the trendy barefoot running techiques that are out there. I suppose progress is difficult to measure when you are building from the ground up, but I have felt a natural flow s times with the new form, and can see how this could work well in the long run. Not bad, I suppose for changing a decade worth of cerebellar neural connections. So, in order, my goals are simply to be able to run again for fun and fitness, to be able to run mid or long distances and return to marathons, and to pursue the long term goal of running a 100 miler in the next 5-10 years. We shall see, but I haven't given up yet by a long shot.

In the meanwhile I have been continuing to explore yoga, lifting/calisthenics, cycling, and swimming. I haven't forgotten the 100 day clean living challenge, although the first 35 days were more successful than days 36-70. Put in the context of summer vacation, though, I suppose staying reasonably fit and eating reasonably well is success after all, even if I am no closer to returning to "race weight" now than on day 1. I will tell you that reconnecting with friends and family, which was really the unifying theme of our vacation, did resonate with the spiritual / intentional living portion of the clean living challenge, so in the last 30 days I will commit to getting back on track in all three areas: food, fitness, and compassionate, intentional living.

I have been thinking a lot lately about motivation, as I find myself noticing how widely my mood can swing during the course of a day, and I change mental-emotional states. One morning I can be fired up for the day, think about how lucky I am, make all kinds of plans for projects and trips, and a few hours later can be feeling tired and overwhelmed and without motivation to do anything at all. I notice this at work a lot, but really it applies to other areas of life too. What I came up with (during a less motivated period, even) is that I/we experience life in a series of overlapping and shifting states. These aren't meant to described in words so much, but I could certainly call one of them "post-poor-sleep-but-coffee-rally-happiness", and another "unmotivated-and-down-for-no-reason", and feeling-healthy-happy-and-mellow", or "jacked-up-and-thinking-of-a-million-things I want to do.". Etc etc. So how to live within this context? Is what works bet to manage and control the states, to switch freely between, or simply recognize and accept them? Can one change the tenor of a given state over time? am tying to pay more attention to these.

That's about it for now. A some point soon I will start posting workouts again.

Clean and fun living

2011-07-14T14:52:00.000-04:00

Currently I'm on vacation at a beautiful lake in western Maine. Life is good.

On the advice of my physical therapist I am revamping my running form to a higher-cadence forefoot striking approach. This style has a name but I don't remember it. It is coming along but it will be a while before it feels natural or efficient. Still, if it enables a return to running I will be happy.

Eating well and trying to focus on local food. Dinner menu from last night: salad with almost all local produce, local sweet potatoes, local wine, and grass fed bison steaks. Tasted good too.

Summer rhythm

2011-07-04T14:06:00.000-04:00

This post will be a bit shorter than usual, since I am typing on an iPad and not as used to the keyboard. It's big enough to type in standard fashion, but does require some adjustment. Why typing on an iPad? We are on our old school summer vacation, a three week family road trip extravaganza from Florida to Maine and back.

I've lost track of how far I am into the clean living challenge--probably around day 35 or so---and it is going fine. Even after three days of car travel, I have exercised 2 of those 3 days and only had one unhealthy meal. Yoga and calisthenics are great for the road.

Clean living includes keeping connections with others healthy, and from that perspective things have been great. Because we are driving up the coast, we thought we would visit as many people as we could along the way. So far we have seen family in Savannah, an old high school friend and her family, in Richmond, whom we haven't seen since before either of us had children, and good friends in Providence, where we are now. It is wonderful to actually see people, to meet their kids or see them getting bigger, and to catch up a little bit as the river of time flows by. God I'm feeling poetic. In addition to visiting friends and family, and staying at a beautiful lake for two weeks, our own family is strengthening our connection and developing/reinforcing the rituals that are the backbone of family life.

I'll post some pictures when we get to the lake. I'm off now to do some outdoor yoga in the breeze. More is to come about running and my knee also, since I had my first session with the running physical therapist back in town, and he wants me to revamp my entire stride and form. I've changed long-term habits before, but it's not easy...

Day 28/100: A lotta variety

2011-06-27T11:09:00.001-04:00

It's been a good week+ since my last post. My "clean living" challenge is still on. The nutrition aspect has been fair. I've been successful with reduced portions and very few desserts or sweets, although I am still far from true "healthy" eating (whatever that is). Borrowed and read The Paleo Solution, which was better than expected. Jess and I may explore the Paleo eating concept more during this 100 days, although I'm not sure it's the ultimate answer in terms of balance and healthy approach. We will have the opportunity to eat a largely local/organic diet while vacationing this summer, so it might be a good time to experiment. Exercise and body work are going well also, and I've detailed these below. Finally, I think I have noticed a change in attitude, a (slightly) more relaxed and accepting approach. Have others noticed? Not sure. I do feel better, but I'm not sure whether that is due more to my intentional changes or to an easier month at work and an upcoming vacation.

The workouts:

Day 20: Mountain Bike ~45 minutes; Yoga 15 minutes (surprisingly intense vinyasa flow)

Day 21: Yoga 30 min, "Yoga 201" on iPad. This was a very nice practice, with some attention focused on balance poses including crane and sideways crow. A bit of a breakthrough for me in terms of figuring out what to relax and what to hold in tension in order to achieve balance in these poses.

Tuesday, Day 22: Rest Day. Although my intent was to do 100 days of yoga in a row, then 100 days of workouts in a row, I accepted a day of rest after 3 hours of sleep the night before and mental/physical tiredness. I think this was the right thing.

Wednesday, Day 23: Road bike, 21+ miles, 96 degree heat. Wow, I am somewhat deconditioned but very poorly heat-adapted this summer because I haven't been running. I rode a familiar course with some very mild hills and got my heart rate up much higher than usual for a short road ride! So I guess it was a good workout despite the objectively "easy" terrain. Never underestimate a heat challenge.

Thursday, Day 24: Swim 1200 yards at the good old YMCA.

Friday, Day 25: VO2 Max testing, Lifting/Calisthenics
This was a really cool day. I had the opportunity to undergo some metabolic exercise testing on an indoor bike, equipped with oxygen and carbon dioxide sensors. In addition to estimating my VO2 max (46 ml/kg/min - above average for my age but below average for a good athlete!!), I got a sense of my anaerobic threshold, heart rate response, and several other parameters. This is actually pretty cool, since I am probably the least cardiovascularly fit I've been in years. Once I get my knee in line and begin running again, I will repeat this to track progress!
Also did some pull-ups (30), core work (weighted incline situps), and bicep dumbbell sets.

Saturday, Day 26: Yoga 1:05- a fantastic practice from an iPad app ("Fire" TotalYoga TV). This was the the fastest and most sustained vinyasa progression I've done, along with some inversion and headstand work. In fact, I've added a few yoga poses to my Fitness Goals list, including headstand and a few others.

Sunday, Day 27: Rest Day. Best intentions, but long day at work.

Today (Monday), Day 28: Indoor bike power intervals 9 miles / 30 minutes; lift shoulder & triceps (dumbbell work), push-ups, swim planned for tonight.

We are preparing to spend part of the summer at Kezar Lake in Western Maine, where part of Jess's family has gone for decades and where I have had the privilege of joining them now for 10+ years! This is a relaxing, renewing spot (pictured on the top banner of this blog), and also the site of many a nice run (including a 35 miler around the lake in 2007) and a few nice rides over the years. This will not be the summer for an epic run, but I am hoping to run a few times, swim some, and generally enjoy the area.

Knee update

2011-06-18T17:52:00.000-04:00

I've put this in a separate post, so please skip it if you are not interested in my knee.

After 10 years of chronic intermittent knee pain that I attributed (incorrectly) to my IT band, about 8 months of worsening knee pain that I thought was in the joint but was very hard to pin down, and about 3 months since I've really run at all, I got an MRI after physical therapy did not help. The MRI showed the suggestion of a minor medial meniscus tear and some cartilage wear just under it. So last night I saw a PM&R doc at the orthopedic center who specializes in running medicine last night, expecting to talk about whether I need surgery for this minor tear.

Instead, after a thorough (and very instructive) history and exam, he told me very convincingly that my pain, both acute and chronic, is due to poor patellofemoral tracking, with the superolateral undersurface of the patella rubbing against the bottom of the tibia. This is near but not identical to the where the IT band attaches, and it explains almost all of the knee pain I've ever had in this leg, from my first run-stopping episode in 2001, to the very localized stiffness during the first few hundred yards of a run that I've been feeling for the last five years or so, even to the vague pain radiating from the back of the patella to the back of my knee. The abnormal MRI findings? Purely incidental, as no amount of directed knee grinding could actually elicit pain. What did elicit pain? Him putting his finger in a certain spot and having me flex my quads. That, my friends, elicited a lot of pain, and convinced me more than anything that he had figured out the problem.

So, basically this is a case of longstanding patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) or runner's knee. The good news is that it can be treated with physical therapy, maybe a brace, maybe a joint injection, and very unlikely to require surgery. I'm very confident that I will be back running soon enough.

Day 19/100 clean living continues

2011-06-18T16:53:00.001-04:00

The last week or so has been a good one for clean living. My nutritional habits are far from perfect, but in general they have tended towards healthier and smaller portions, with less refined sugar and late-night eating. Like I said, though, I am far from perfect, as I did enjoy a vintage cola this afternoon. I had to laugh when I was told it is healthier because it has "real" sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. If we're going to do something unhealthy but fun, let's just admit it!   I have yet to try fasting but would still like to incorporate it in some fashion. Perhaps skipping a meal to start? Finally, I am reading The Paleo Solution, a book about a dietary regimen that several of my friends are following. So far it is mildly interesting but not earth shattering. However it is not completely full of shit (yet) so I will keep reading. Reflecting back, I've read a lot of books like this: Atkins's original book, one called Breaking the Sugar Addiction (probably the best one), and many vegetarian, vegan, and live food tracts. It's interesting how they often use the same logic to reach different conclusions. I think in the end we can approach but never reach some very difficult-to-characterize truth about nutrition that incorporates moderation, healthfulness, variety, and minimizing refined sugars. Or, perhaps that opinion is uninformed because I have never committed to and tried any of these specific diet plans.

Yoga has been going well, although after about 14 straight days I realized that at this point a daily practice was not the best idea. Logic as follows: (1) in order to maintain a daily practice, I had time for very little other training, working out, etc. (2) Because of that, my daily practice had to be fairly vigorous, requiring a lot of standing poses with lunges. (3) These were irritating my knee. So, instead, I decided to follow my own nutrition philosophy in a different context, and started practicing moderation and variety. Here is what I've been up to:

Day 19 (today): Yoga (~1 hour) - "Ashtanga Primary Series" from Yoga Today.  Plenty of vinyasa with some standing poses and forward bends. Also a nice series in preparation for swinging ("floating") through from downward dog to staff pose and vice versa. The more I explore yogatoday.com the more I am impressed. These are some nice practices, and many are available for free on Youtube. I may overcome my cheap instincts and actually buy one from the website too.
Day 18: Lifting. This was like an old-school workout for me:
Repeat 4 times: 5 pullups
                         15 pushups (various types)
                         15 weighted incline situps
                         bicep dumbbells (2 sets regular, 2 sets static)
                         tricep dumbbells (2 sets bench DB raises, 2 sets kickbacks)
                         shoulder 1 (2 sets straight arm raise, 2 sets overhead press)
                         shoulder 2 (2 sets upright DB row, 2 sets DB fly)
Bonus set: 5 pullups, 15 pushups, 15 weighted incline situps
Day 17: Swim 1500 yd
Day 16: Yoga 30 minutes. "Yoga for sleep" from YogaYak

Day 15: Indoor bike 12.7 miles / 45 minutes / 106W / 17.1 mph
Dayy 14: Lift back / core / chest at O'Connell Center Gym, Swim 1250 yd. (this was a good workout with friends)

Overall it's been a great week, as I reflect back. Work is a little slower-paced, allowing some time for reflection and a few more dinners at home. The kids are all doing well and I am enjoying watching them really start to express their personalities, as well as develop genuine relationships with each other that do not depend on us. And my wife, of course, is amazing.

Today we went to the Retirement Home for Horses and fed carrots to horses with a few other families. Great fun, and I even think I am getting used to the summer heat, finally.

Day 12/100: pleasure in daily activities

2011-06-11T19:11:00.000-04:00

Today I got up and had a really nice breakfast with my family (eggs, sausage, bran muffin, watermelon). It seems like a few years ago we had more of these breakfasts, but as life has gotten more complicated and a little busier, they have become a almost noteworthy events. Lately, Jess and I both work out in the morning as well, so make mornings more hectic. Today, however, we both slept in. I'm not sure why breakfast is such a pleasant time--perhaps because everyone is in a generally good mood and not tired, because the food we eat for breakfast is usually quite tasty, or because sipping coffee provides a nice stimulant kick.

Then I mowed the lawn, something I enjoy quite a bit. In the grand scheme of things, this represents the continuation of my journey towards becoming more and more like my father (unequivocally a good thing!). Today was especially relaxing as it wasn't yet hot and I listened to some music while I mowed.

Yoga practice for today was actually surprisingly intense and novel. This was a YogaToday youtube video called Twisting Away Tension, which not only had some novel variations on both prayer twist and supine spinal twists, but had a great core section with leg and arm movements while holding boat pose. I felt great afterwards. It's still interesting to practice yoga while trying to ignore the distractions of playing and occasionally crying children nearby (somtimes next to or on top of me!).

I read with the kids for a little while, then took Cadien out for a bike lesson. She has made some really good progress in the last few days, and I think I will be able to take my hand off the seat -- such a metaphorical step! -- before too long. It's amazing to me, though, how these bike lessons are fatherhood in a microcosm: a delicate balance of coaching, encouraging, teaching, comforting, and pushing.

Finally, I came to work for the evening. So far it has been fairly low key but fun to get back to my "roots" as a pediatrician.

Day 11/100: clean living challenge

2011-06-10T14:51:00.000-04:00

The clean living challenge continues. There are three parts, if you recall: "clean" eating, yoga, and general approach to life. I will discuss each individually (though, of course, they are interconnected).

Eating:

Don't worry, I won't list my daily menu for the last five days. In general I've been doing ok, but not perfectly. Transgressions include: beer the other night, a few protein bars (heavily processed), quesadillas and a burrito (processed flour, lots of cheese). Aside from that, this has been going well. I think my appetite is more reasonable and I don't experience a sickening feeling of fullness after dinner. No desserts, and much less unhealthy snacking.

Yoga:

Yoga has been great. I can feel my alignment and control improving, as well as strength in some specific poses, like shoulder stand, crane, side plank, wheel, and a few others. Still have to watch my knee during some of the backbends and standing poses (warrior series). I have also been incorporating some upper body lifting, mostly calisthenics, and I got in the pool for the first time in 4-5 years as well. It is harder to swim 1000 m than I remember. The highlight of the yoga series so far was yesterday's practice, a 75 minute series incorporating sun salutations / vinyasa, balance, backbends, hip openers, inversions, and pranayama. One thing I have noticed more often lately is how much easier it is to engage the practice and keep my mind free from outside distractions and free from a sense of past or present.

General Approach to Life:

I can't say there have been any major breakthoughs or revelations here. Perhaps minor and incremental changes are really the goal? In that case, I have noticed a slight relaxation in my approach to the demands of work, a slight increase in my ability to be truly present at home, and some good conversations and thinking about our long term vision, as a family, of where our life is going.

In any case, 11 days of 100 puts this "challenge" in perspective, particularly with regard to yoga. It is a challenge to do somethign every day, without fail, but I think there is something worthwhile there. So, more than 10% done and hopefully the benefits will not be linear!

Day 6/100: Getting into the Flow

2011-06-05T13:55:00.000-04:00

Yesterday (Day 5) I had a great yoga practice, one of my favorite: the "Grounding Afternoon Practice" from YogaYak. This is a fairly fast-paced, moderate intensity vinyasa practice with a nice flow. I actually lost myself for the second half of the practice, only regaining awareness of the surrounding world as the practice entered the final relaxation/shavasana. That happens often in running but hasn't happened too much with yoga (or any other activity). I welcome the feeling of losing myself. Nutrition was fine yesterday though I did have a root beer when we had company over. I actually consider eating with friends to be one of the sacred rituals (and highlights) of life, so it is hard to feel bad about enjoying food or drink in that context. Breaking bread and sharing conversation is the stuff of life.

Today I haven't done yoga yet, but will later. Making plans to do some swimming before work in the coming weeks, as the city pools are open early for very cheap per-use rates.

Day 4/100 of Clean Living Challenge

2011-06-03T19:05:00.000-04:00

So far, so good.

My biggest triumph was completing my yoga practice yesterday despite a workday that didn't finish until 11:30 pm. After a short relaxation practice, I squeaked by before midnight. Otherwise I'm feeling well and enjoying (truly!) the already lessened drive to eat just one hour after finishing a meal. Have I achieved lightness of being and spiritual awakening? Well, not quite, but there are 96 days left, and after that, a lifetime.

Day 3: Yoga practice from Yoga Download - "Gentle Hatha Flow #1". Sometimes the audio sessions are nice, relieving the need to look at a screen from an odd angle and allowing focus on movement and alignment. Instead of relaxing me immediately, this lifted me from exhaustion and enabled me to fall asleep easily later rather than ruminate about the day. Food: wheat bagel, boiled egg, banana; hummus sandwich, yogurt, carrots; falafel sandwich (purchased).

Day 4 (today): Yoga DVD: Rodney Yee's strength building yoga - an interesting and fairly slow paced set of 2 (really 3) sections focusing on vinyasa, inversions, and standing poses. Contains an intense section of handstand preparations. Food: bagel (white!) with cream cheese, turkey and cheese sandwich on wheat pita, carrots, apple, yogurt; brown rice/beans/chicken sausage, green beans, yogurt, orange.

I haven't written much about our garden here. One of my small, daily pleasures is walking into the yard and seeing how the garden is doing. Cucumbers were an early promising harvest, although the cucumbers, melon, and zucchini are mostly killed by mold now. We have corn, carrots, tomatoes (lots!), green beans, and peppers growing; the herb row has been providing daily "spice" in our lives for a couple of months now...

It's getting hot, so we'll see how everything does in the summer.

Day 2/100 of Clean Living Challenge

2011-06-01T21:14:00.000-04:00

So far it is going well.

DAY 1: Yesterday I did a very intense, vinyasa-based yoga practice with extra push-ups (I am feeling it today!) from a Shiva Rea DVD. Meals were a wheat bagel with peanut butter, an egg and grapefruit; leftover hamburger with brown rice for lunch, and an excellent stir fry for dinner

DAY 2: A shorter but surprisingly challenging pranayama (breathing) and core practice from a Yoga Today (youtube) video called "Rembering our Rhythm". Meals: granola and soy milk with fruit; leftover stir fry; beans and brown rice with fixins & little banana bread (whole wheat) for dessert.

Part of the challenge, and the "clean living" is letting go of running for now, avoiding a focus on not running, and instead focusing on presence at home and work. Doing ok in that regard for now too.

More later.

100-day clean living challenge - day one

2011-05-31T14:31:00.000-04:00

A blog about running and fitness is interesting, at least to some. A blog about injury and rehab is boring, at least to me. I've run very little since my last post, with continued knee pain when I do run. Without ignoring or minimizing how disappointing this is to me, I am going to use this space to focus on the positive aspects: what will I do? not: what can't I do?

So, in honor of several friends and acquaintances have made personal challenges or commitments recently, I start today with the "100-day clean living challenge." This is a combination of a clean-eating and daily yoga challenge, combined with an effort to be more present and spend some meditative time thinking about my path in life.

Ground rules:
1) Daily yoga practice
2) Healthy eating
      a) Eliminate / minimize processed flour
      b) Eliminate / minimize processed sugar (desserts!)
      c) Meals primarily focusing on lean protein and vegetables
      d) Eliminate / minimze processed snacks and foods
      e) Minimze alcohol consumption
3) Treat others with compassion and respect

I hope common sense can come into play as well, allowing some deviation from the nutrition "rules" without ruining the intent. As the challenge progresses I may also experiment with fasting as well, but we'll have to see.

I'll report on progress here.   If anyone is interested in joining in, let me know!

Thoughts on running, injury, and the real challenge.

2011-04-28T19:05:00.000-04:00

So it's been over two months since my most recent marathon, and I feel like my body has been betraying me. My knee is perhaps a little better than it was during the peak of training, and I've even had a (single) nearly pain-free run. But, on Saturday I was severely punished as I tried to keep up with some friends who were faster. I have no problem working hard to keep up, but after about four miles (and a water break perfect for stiffening up) I fell quite far behind and my knee hurt a lot. To top it all off, when I went over the handlebars on my mountain bike a few weeks ago, I tweaked my shoulder pretty well. Even yoga yesterday morning put too much strain on the shoulders. So, currently, not only can't I run, but I can't lift or do push-ups or pull-ups. Luckily cycling seems ok, and stadiums steps aren't too bad. That along with some core exercises and stretching (as well as non vinyasa-based yoga practices) are still within reach. Still, given that my goal a few years ago was to develop better overall fitness, I have had more injuries over the past 16 months (neck, wrist, both knees, shoulder) than in the past 7. In addition, I am about 8-10 pounds above what I consider my ideal weight, and with about half my fitness activities inaccessible due to injuries, I am having a bit of trouble trimming off the fat.

Is this a case of my body "trying to tell me something," a way of expressing that despite some really good progress in developing overall fitness I need to find a way to acknowledge and work within my physical limitations? Is this just age catching up? Is this, as my physical therapist would say, just my poor flexibility and very tight iliotibial bands making their presence known? Is this a somatic manifestation of emotional stress, which has certainly been higher recently? What does this mean......?

I take some solace in the fact that even elite ultrarunners get injured, as I discovered by chance right before starting to write this post. I've decided to take a full 30 days off running (meaning the soonest I will be "allowed" to run is May 25th, after some time concentrating on physical therapy, maintaining basic fitness, and reconnecting with my bikes. More importantly I think this will be a nice opportunity to reset and build my training from the ground up. When I start running again it will be nearly June, well into our beloved hot and humid season. So, as I start the heat will limit me as much as my true "fitness," and my hope is that I will be able to rebuild with good form, improved strength and flexibility, and the incorporation of regular speedwork.

In the larger sense, though, I have to look at this 10 year running journey and ask "what if I simply can't run long distances regularly anymore," or even "what if I can't run at all anymore?" A small thing, but the reality is that I think running saved me from a life of being overweight, out of shape, and probably less happy. In summer 2001 I was 195 pounds and unfit; over the next year I dropped to 157 and ran my first marathon. I have gotten into some cool stuff since then, and although I have had fun with triathlon, cycling, skiing, lifting, yoga, and other things, I have never forgotten my running roots (hence the title of this blog). So, if I can't run anymore, can I still maintain a healthy life? Can I still trim the fat -- both physical and metaphorical? I think so, but the nagging fear especially with a leg injury is that I won't be able to keep it up. I know this is a relatively minor injury, which will probably improve after PT (or worst case: MRI, surgery, then PT!), but the nagging fear is there to be dealt with. That is the real challenge. I can hop on the indoor bike with a DVD in as easily as going on a run, but I think some of the joy will be lost until I can put on shorts, lace up my shoes, and step out of the door and run down the road.

Heat challenge and rediscovery

2011-04-20T20:21:00.000-04:00

A good week so far:

Today (Wednesday): Started formal physical therapy for my knee. I liked the PT and his student so I think it should be helpful. We'll see how well I'm able to refrain from running, though.

Yesterday (Tuesday): Mixed ab/core workout (AM); 4 mile run (PM)
Wow - a two-a-day! The afternoon run was snuck in between my workday and my worknight, and let me tell you, when I stepped out of the hospital at 3pm it was hot. I found out later that we broke a heat record for the date. Great. After two miles I was parched and after three miles I had to stop for water and a rest. I don't mean I felt like stopping, but I really had to stop. Every season it amazes me how even a slight heat challenge is, well, such a challenge, and how the brain/body can so adeptly put the brakes on effort until acclimatized. Not a bad run, but a hard one.

Monday: rest

Sunday: Mountain bike 2 hours / 13 miles
First time on the mountain bike in about two years, on a beautiful day with a good friend. I took a bit of a tumble over the handlebars but otherwise had a great time. Spring is in the air even as the sun begins to bake overhead.

Saturday: Run 6.25 miles

Staycation week

2011-04-14T20:39:00.000-04:00

This week has been great. I took a week vacation with no plans other than to spend time with my family and get a few projects done around the house. Uncharacteristically, I did not get involved in an elaborate home improvement project, so I really have been enjoying a relaxing week. The weather has been about the best that Florida has to offer, with cool (by that I mean high 50s or low 60s) mornings with mid-80s during the afternoon. I had been feeling rather lazy and inactive over the last few weeks, but this week I got plenty done. I'm also very proud of Jess, who is getting up every morning for the p90x workouts. I join her, sometimes. Here is the week so far, in reverse chronological order.

Today: Rest day / Bike 7.5 miles with 35-75 pound load.

I took Rowan in the double bike trailer to pick up Cadien at her new school. My new mantra is cross-training, so this was a perfect way to spend a low-key day. Luckily I took the mountain bike, so there were plenty of small gears with which to haul two very substantial children up the best hills Gainesville has to offer. I have little hope of getting back into my former biking shape, for the next few years anyway, but I really do want to get back into cycling. I think my ongoing knee problems really re-surfaced as I stopped cycling regularly over the last 2-3 years. Since my knees were a big part of what caused me to take up triathlon 9 years ago, it may not be a bad idea to retrain my legs and quads. I won't have the time to slog through 120 mile training rides, but something once weekly in the 20-50 range with a quick indoor bike interval session as well should be feasible.

Wednesday: Yoga 45 minutes; Bike 7.5 miles with 0-40 pound load.

Got up with Jess and did a very free-form yoga practice next to her while she stretched. After almost two years of yoga I am able to put together a routine that progresses naturally and feels vigorous, although I'm sure my form does not justify striking out on my own. This made me feel great all day, and the ride to pick Cadien up in the bike trailer was icing on the cake. The day was also fantastic, with a very cool morning (don't worry New England friends, I won't dare use the word "crisp") and a warm afternoon. I also sanded the playground this morning - not too bad as it is only 8 months since we installed it!

Tuesday: Run 4.25 miles; Biceps / Pullups

Run 4.25 miles

6 sets of:

-5 pullups or 5 chinups (1,3,5 pullups; 2,4,6 chinups)

- one set bicep dumbbell (1&4: bicep curls; 2&5: hammer curls; 3&6: cross-body curls)

This was a good one, and I am still feeling it 48+ hours later. This workout made me feel that I was pushing through a fog of torpor and re-committing to fitness.

Monday: p90x "Core Synergistics"

I dragged myself out of bed to do this workout with Jess. It was great. A lot of plank-based moves, with some weighted lunges/squats. Would be great to add knees-to-elbows or Turkish get-ups as well but haven't done that yet.

Sunday: Run 5 miles (in Naples, FL).

It was hot. As usual, though, a great way to explore a new place. Although I tried to run along the beach, the best I got was a view of some very expensive-looking beachfront property.

The perfect 10

2011-04-05T20:08:00.001-04:00

The other day I got it into my head to write about the sublime moments in life -- for example, sitting outside on a perfect evening sipping a beer with friends, watching the kids play together, holding hands with my wife during an unexpected moment together, enjoying a certain breeze or sensation on a pleasant run. You get the picture.

Then I got to thinking about the "perfect day," which in the pre-lottery winning era goes something like this: wake up after a good night's sleep, enjoy a hard workout, have a good breakfast and a cup of strong coffee, spend a some time with the family, and head to work or the day's activity. The great thing about that kind of day is that no matter what happens afterwards, it is hard to mess up a start like that.

But who am I really kidding? We all know that there is one thing that belongs on both of those lists but is missing because of squeamish social convention: a nice, "perfect 10" crap. You know, the kind that starts building at a time when you are both able to go immediately and relaxed enough that it comes out perfectly; the kind that is substantial and not too hard or soft; the kind that leaves no mess and barely takes one square of toilet paper. Even better is the rare but strangely beautiful footlong or thirteen-incher that you have known you are due for for days. I think the buildup is key -- the physiology of defecation is fascinating, with a complex interplay of neural stimuli that build to the "mass movement" (yes, it really is called this). We all know that you have to take advantage of the moment, when you can poop it out without straining or pushing, but well before you are crowning and have to let it sneak back up inside.

So many factors play into the perfect 10 that, for me at least, it is not an everyday experience. Maybe I'll have a few good days in a row (usually weekend or vacation days!), but a good crap on a daily basis is a goal that seems to evaporate when I come too close. Perhaps that is why it is so sublime. So I'll pause and enjoy it when I can, suffering through the strained and messy affairs of those other days so I can enjoy one of life's true pleasures.

Happy Run

2011-03-28T20:55:00.000-04:00

I can honestly say that I have never regretted a run - as far as I can remember, anyway. It is like a chemical reaction with a variable activation energy but a predictable release of energy once complete. Yesterday, after a rewarding but long weekend with the kids, with the weather hot and sticky for the first time this season, I was tired. After dinner I felt the old familiar urge, laced up my shoes, and took off. The warm up was painful and I thought about "just taking a walk", but my body responded and after half a mile I was feeling great on a trail under a canopy of trees. I read recently about the various chemicals released during a run - endogenous opioids / endorphins for pain control and the "runner's high", serotonin, catecholamines, and finally endogenous cannabinoids for the sense of well being lasting up to 48 hours. I wonder what the chemical profile in yoga is, as it is the only thing that leaves me feeling even close to a good run.

Working out with Jess over the last few weeks has been fun - she has started p90x and I have been doing some of the workouts with her. More importantly I have been getting up early before work, at least most days of the week, and really enjoying the time, exercise, and shared challenge of a tough workout. This is paradoxically important when I am busy and sleep-deprived; despite my own self-sabotagiong when the alarm goes off, the hour of exercise and reflective time is almost always worth the lost hour of sleep.

Saturday: AM: p90x "arms and shoulders" PM: indoor bike 30 min

Sunday: AM: 37 burpees PM: run 3 mi

Today: 14 burpees / rest

Tomorrow: yoga and pullups

Trail of Payne and more

2011-03-20T20:41:00.000-04:00

My March postings in this blog have been lacking, though not for lack of desire or (at least mildly) interesting thoughts to share. I've been busy, mostly with work. Here is a run down of the month's activities so far:

GARDEN
We planted our family's Spring garden, and our first garden in Florida. This is our most ambitious one yet, a 12 x 12 foot patch in a sunny part of our backyard. I tilled the soil with hand tools, took out some roots, and added topsoil, peat moss, organic fertilizer (mostly chicken shit as far as my nose could tell) and some cow manure. Our own compost will be a periodic addition once it processes a little bit more. Cadien helped me dig the soil, and both Rowan and Cadien helped plant seedlings today - many herbs, tomatoes, cucumber, beans, blueberry, strawberry, watermelon, broccoli. We'll add a few more things, and then see what grows well!

RACE
Jess and I ran a trail 10K - the "Trail of Payne" through Payne's prairie - yesterday. It was a perfect morning, about 60 degrees, and a nice trail. It was really nice to run a race with no pressure or expectations - in fact we ran together for four miles and then I split off for a couple. At the finish we ran into people from several areas of our life - work, church, running friends, and other acquaintances. Brunch afterwards was gut-busting, but fun.

TONY
Jess has started P90X and I am doing it with her, as my knee and work schedule permits. Maybe this will be the push I need to start getting up early to exercise before work! (Of course when I did P90X two years ago it was supposed to do the same thing, but I just ended up doing a lot of the workouts in the evening!) Burpee war has also started again - an Ides of March tradition.

KNEE
Still painful but recovering. Definitely improved on this recent trail race versus trail runs a few months ago but still quite painful. Hauling 50 pound bags of soil didn't help. I'll give it another month or so and perhaps see someone.

DIET?
My weight has crept up to about 10 pounds over my "race weight" - the highest it's been in a long time and probably a good signal to focus on healthful eating. A good friend of mine fasts once a week but I'm not sure this would work for me. Just more attention to both quality and quantity.

That was the scattered update. Life is good.

Back to normal (?)

2011-03-07T19:27:00.000-05:00

After a big race there is always a time lag before I really feel normal again. This has to do with some physical elements, like recovering from the race itself and letting the inflammation subside; some psychological elements, like the short-lived thrill and then the longer lived "what's next?"; and some outside elements like travel last weekend (Disney World), and working and living out of town most weekdays of the last month. Part of the out-of-town situation has been me eating poorly (meaning well, depending on your point of view!), so salt overload and large meals have been adding to the slow return of normalcy. We had a great time at Disney World, but it is no way a "normal" place!

After a great weekend at home, though, I finally think I am feeling like myself -- I got to spend a good amount of time with Jess and the kids. We spent most of Sunday afternoon digging a garden plot - a 12x12 foot area with many, many tree roots. Long after the girls lost interest in helping me dig, which they did with enthusiasm for quite a while, I was preparing for an epic battle with large root systems from two different trees. My tools were primitive: a shovel, a handsaw, and a hedge trimmer. I won the battle, I think, and I imagine the tree will be just fine as I barely scratched the surface. A colleague today asked me: "why didn't you just rent a rototiller for the day" and I am afraid I didn't have a good answer. Oh well. We put off the planting for a few more weeks, and I am looking forward to the incredibly long growing season that our new location affords. I am especially excited about the blueberry bush.

Next race: the "Trail of Payne" - a local trail 10K through Payne's Prairie. This will be coming up in a mere two weeks...

I have a lot of ideas about training that I am excited to try out; most involve regular speed/tempo work and building a more stable and permanent running base than I have had in the past. First and foremost I am going to give this knee a break, and set a deadline to see a sports medicine doc and maybe get an MRI if it is really not a lot better. I have to admit that I'm not too worried by the whole thing. All the other injuries have healed on their own, and it will be a cold day in hell before I let a surgeon touch my knee for an inflammatory problem.

Race Report - Five Points of Life Marathon 2011

2011-02-28T22:31:00.000-05:00

It is not often, at least in my running career, that a race goes so well that I am taken completely by surprise. This time, it did. This was one of the best races of my life, where I was able to push myself and sustain an effort with not only willpower but a body that cooperated and worked hard. I've had my share of "just surviving" in races, or racing to finish (first marathon, 50-miler), but this was really fun.

To set the stage, I had been training not only with my usual running partners but my brother-in-law Joe, who lives geographically close but far enough away that I don't see him all that often. We had one good run together and trained in spirit otherwise . He and his family made the trip down for the race, and in addition to enjoying their company for the weekend we had a nice dinner with friends the night before. Was I wrong to partake of a fabulous Fat Tire the night before a marathon? As it turns out, no. It was utterly the right thing to do.

Those of you who read this blog will know that my training was interrupted by a knee injury, but that I got a bit of speed training and several good long runs in -- in fact one of those long runs was nearly the best long training run I've ever had. It is kind of cool to think back to 9 or 10 years ago when I started running seriously, at how utterly daunting and exhausting a 20 or 22 mile run was. Although I run more slowly now I think I have an easier time on these runs. Anyway, the training felt a little haphazard (cobbled together from "moonbeams and flatus" as I heard a fairly crusty old anesthesiologist say today) -- a little speedwork, a few long runs, and a lot of ice and ibuprofen!

Race day dawned pleasantly cool but not chilly, with forecast mostly sunny and heating up to the mid 70's. Not ideal but not terrible either. Joe had been up for a while, eating breakfast and having coffee, and we got ready (lubed up, nipple band-aids, etc.) and drove over to the start. I had no idea what to expect from the run, hoping for anything but a repeat performance of my last marathon. I used the port-a-let, wished Joe good luck, and took my place in the starting corral, oddly enough placed in front of the much larger half-marathon group who would be running faster and overtaking us quickly. The only two pacers were 3:10 (hah!) and 3:40, neither of whom I expected to see again.

After the usual announcements, national anthem, and start, we were off. I felt pretty good, having gotten adequate sleep and pre-hydrated for the last few days (beer excepted). The first mile I ran in 9:00 or so, probably pushing harder than I intended -- I have found in the last few years that I really do need time to warm up, a concept that I scoffed at repeatedly in earlier years -- but knowing that I would need to run a 9:00 pace average to run the race under 4 hours. I had a little conversation with myself, acknowledging the advice I got (and followed) before previous races: "do not work at all during the first half", but decided to ignore that advice and push it a little. So I ran the next several miles in increasing speed, from 8:40s down to 8:30s, passing the hilly section near my home and waving to my family on the side of the road. I was feeling better and better, and rather than get tired my body warmed up and caught up to the pace. I could almost feel my heart rate slow and efficiency improve as I ran down though downtown and the UF campus. Several times I saw friends cheering me on, which helped tremendously.

At some point between miles 7 and 8 and really got into the zone, running with people going at faster paces (8:20! 8:10!), increasing my speed until I was putting the brakes on frequently. I remember running by the bat house and smelling the guano, looping through the stadium and all of the sudden being at mile 10 and 11. It was interesting to get constant pace feedback from a watch during the race, and I think it helped me run faster. By the time I reached the half marathon finish, I was cruising, clocking about a 7:55 for mile 13. I was happy, but working, and expecting everything to fall apart soon. I told myself that if I could just hold out until mile 15 before real performance degradation set in, that I could do all right.

The race designers put a lot of though into the first half -- with 1000 people running the half marathon and only about 250 running the full, that makes sense. But turning left when most are turning right to a much more lonesome and much less scenic course is tough. The support continued to be fantastic, from the police to the water/gatorade stations. I ran out the Depot Road rail trail, clocking another sub-8 minute mile for mile 14, and started feeling the heat. We ran through the east side of town, and at mile 17 turned onto Williston

Finally I hit the last mile knowing I would finish strong, and hit the finish line with a smile on my face. Again I saw a few friends, had some food, got the car, and we headed home. Great race.

TIME: 3:44:13 (my watch) / 3:44:25 (official time) - average pace ~ 8:3e4
PLACE (mens 35-39): 3rd

Nutrition: 2 packs of Clif Shot blocks (new discovery for me!)
Water and Gatorade at almost every rest stop, with two additional bottles provided by family/friends at miles 5 & 20.

A post-race barbecue marked the end of a really nice run, and finding out later that day that I had placed made it even better.

Splits:

1-00:09:00
2-00:08:49
3-00:08:34
4-00:08:33
5-00:08:32
6-00:08:30
7-00:08:41
8-00:08:35
9-00:08:24
10-00:08:19
11-00:08:20
12-00:07:55
13-00:07:57
14-00:08:02
15-00:08:21
16-00:08:23
17-00:08:11
18-00:08:14
19-00:08:27
20-00:08:30
21-00:08:39
22-00:08:45
23-00:08:31
24-00:08:38
25-00:08:47
26-00:08:38

Taper

2011-02-17T20:49:00.000-05:00

It has been an odd taper week, with work less busy (and different) than usual, so the routine is disrupted in many ways. I can't say that I am particularly restless yet, but after tomorrow's planned 2 mile run (will I have the willpower to stop?) and a rest day Saturday I am hoping that I will feel energetic for the race on Sunday. The weather is warming up a little much for my tastes, but I will picture a 45-50 degree start without humidity.

Tomorrow (Friday) - 2 mile easy run planned

Today (Thursday) - yoga easy 20 min

Yesterday (Wed) - 4 mile run (actually kind of hot out!), 35 pullups

Tues - pushups / core workout

Mon - 3 mile run

Sun - dumbbell bicep, tricep, shoulder workout

The race approacheth

2011-02-12T10:19:00.000-05:00

Today (Saturday): 7.8 miles (on trails in San Felasco state park) ~ 10:00 pace

This was a nice comfortable run with friends on a familiar trail, in crisp weather at sunrise. Sound perfect, you say? It was not bad. As usual with a familiar run, the psychologic topology was more varied and interesting than the physical topology. In keeping with an unintentional and undesired habit in life, I will sometimes picture difficulties and problems with a race well in advance of the race itself. If I feel tired for a moment in a training run, I may picture myself feeling very tired at mile 22 of the marathon itself -- negative visualization, as it were. But, these moments are an opportunity to practice running through (vanquishing or learning to accept, depending on one's mindset) these unwanted thoughts. It is a little silly to have thoughts like this before the actual event, but that is part of what I must learn to accept!

Anyway it was a nice run, and a fitting way to begin the true "taper" week before the race. As I've mentioned, I have not trained as hard as I would have liked and so have a gentler taper than otherwise, but this is still a week of light exercise, reflection, and positive visualization. The training I've done has been good, solid training, both long runs and some speedwork, so this has the potential to be an excellent marathon.

After the run this morning I stopped at Uppercrust (excellent bakery), got coffee and pastries, and went home to a wonderful greeting from my family. Next weekend we have relatives coming to town (including my brother in law who is going to run the race too) and some good times planned with friends, many of whom are also running. Not bad at all, I think.

----

Wed - Fri: nothing at all as I was mostly flat on my back with a flu-like illness (now more or less fully recovered).

Two very nice runs

2011-02-08T20:10:00.001-05:00

Today: Run 4 miles pace on treadmill (pace step-up)

This was an unexpected run with some late afternoon found time. I started at a pace of 9:20 and finished with a pace of 7:40. Nothing like letting oneself warm up and relax into the run. I did some detective work and figured out just how I can place my right foot to protect the knee somewhat. Also listened to my itunes running playlist - each song brings back a different memory, so it is fun to use.

---

Yesterday: Indoor bike 8.6 miles / 30 minutes (107 W)
and 25 pullups, 50 pushups (various), 100 alternating leg extension crunches

Excellent and early morning. Had a good day, which I attribute to the workout, at least partially.

---

Friday: Run 55 minutes with 4 x 5 minute high effort (4/5) intervals

Here I ran from work to a park in town, and back. I ran farther than originally intended but knew a water fountain awaited. The taste of rusty water reminded me of canoing and hiking trips where I filled water from rusty pipes, and even more distantly of childhood drinks from same. Nothing like an olfactory / taste memory.

---

Thursday: Yoga 35 minutes vigorous

Curse broken?

2011-02-02T20:27:00.000-05:00

For a while (a long while!) I have had difficulty rousting myself out of bed to work out before work. Yet, every time I do anything active before work I have a much better day. Except when I am extremely sleep deprived, a brief morning workout seems to more than make up for the lost hour of sleep. (Going to bed very early doesn't seem to work for our family at this point.)

But this morning, I broke the curse, got out of bed despite a fairly fitful night's sleep, got on the indoor bike, and had a great day! Coincidence? You decide. My personal best time to work out is about 4 in the afternoon, but it sure is nice to have the morning option available...

Today (Wednesday) - indoor bike 45 minutes @ 105 W
Tuesday - rest
Monday, - calisthenics and dumbbell training
5 sets:   5 x (2 pullups and 5 pushups), + 15 incline situps (alternate center, left, right)
2 sets:   bicep curl DB, tri overhead extension DB, shoulder fly DB
2 sets:   hammer curl DB, tri kickback DB, overhead press DB
total pullups 50, total pushups 125, total incline situps 75

Unfortunately running is taking a back seat in the final weeks of marathon training, but I am staying fit and having fun with some good long runs under my belt. I will get another burst of running in next week and then "taper," although that term implies backing off from intense training. I suppose backing off from mellow training is the next best. We can't all be like Anton.  (thanks, YB for the pointer).

Mellow week

2011-01-30T20:40:00.000-05:00

This was a pretty mellow training week. Partly this is a continued and ill-advised effort at athletic schizophrenia (training and rehabbing at the same time), but partly the training is just mellowing out as the race approaches. Race date Feb 19th.

Today (Sunday): Four mile run, easy pace
Saturday: rest day, although I played a little Wii Fit
Friday: Four mile tempo run (1 warmup, 3 at tempo) - this was a good run
Thursday: rest
Wednesday: yoga
Tuesday: rest
Monday: Four mile run, recovery pace

We had a great visit this weekend with some friends in Tampa (a friend from high school and her husband whom she met in college, so I've known them for about 20 years!) who now have three children and are quite happy and nicely settled in. We enjoyed their company as well as a pirate-themed festival called Gasparilla. There is nothing like visiting old friends, sharing food and wine, and watching our kids play together to really make one appreciate life in its simplicity, good fortune, and happiness. This is far more important than any race or run.

Back in the game

2011-01-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

Today: Core, pullups, and back - calisthenic workout

Fun recovery workout in sunny 60 degree weather with a breeze!

Yesterday: 22 mile run (3:37)

This was a great run for me. The time and pace were much slower than I was targeting when I created my training plan months ago - rather than shooting for a PR in the upcoming marathon I will have to struggle to bring it in under 4 hours -- but in light of my trick knee and the painful last long run I had, it was a blazing success. (And now, ladies and gentlemen, the reprisal of "Jeremy's injury blog"). As you may know, for the last three weeks I've been trying to let my knee heal from the mysterious acute-on-chronic intraarticular injury that has ranged from annoyance to show-stopper. This has probably been my most successful such "forced rest" period ever, both in execution and in result. I limited workouts to yoga, upper body lifting, and fairly light cycling, running only once early this week to test out how things were going. So in three weeks I've run exactly once. I also took a good anti-inflammatory course of ibuprofen, and have been icing at least once daily.

So, yesterday I ran with a group of about six people whose pace was a bit slower than mine but who made great company. The weather was in the mid 40s, and as the sun rose the temperature stayed cool, making for ideal long-run conditions. I ran a mile or so to the park where we started (good old Westside park!), then about 10 miles with the group, 3 miles with a smaller subset of the group, and then 8 miles on my own. Ever since Thanksgiving I've really enjoyed the format where I run part of a long run with a group, and then more on my own. With this group and the outstanding conditions, the first half of this run felt like an easy and carefree stroll through the park. There is nothing like good conversation on a run, especially when it involves a friendly but vigorous debate -- I admit that I took the bait and jumped in on this one. Although my knee hurt on the downhills, for most of the first fifteen miles I didn't feel it at all, and it didn't really hurt until the last two or three miles of the whole run.

The second, alone, part of the run was equally nice, complete with a nice loop, cool weather, and a fruitless search for water at an elementary school. I guess they have to keep a fence around the whole school these days, but it sure isn't good for us runners... During the last few miles I took a loop around the neighborhood I grew up in, and I thought about the story of each house and the family that inhabited it. I have to admit that, physically, I felt really good for the vast majority of this run. The last few miles required a little pushing and my knee did ache, but this is familiar territory. Beyond sheer good luck, I hope this has something to do with the base-building I did back in October and November.

The really remarkable part of the run was the mental calm, and the lack of struggle. Despite a multi-loop run which passed nearly by my house three times (a setup for early bail-out), I didn't once think of stopping, walking, shortening the run, or not doing the upcoming race. These thoughts are the norm for me in any run longer than 15 miles or so (and many runs shorter than that!), and part of the satisfaction and challenge of running is dealing with them and continuing. If I were to try and explain why this one was different, I suppose I could come up with a few concrete things: a virtual taper because I was resting my knee, careful attention to nutrition/hydration/salt, starting the run with friends, perfect weather. But, I won't try to over-explain, and will count this as one of my favorite long runs in recent memory. The pace was slow (and looking over my splits I really can't blame this on the group I ran with!), but it felt so good.

The happy day-after note is that my knee still feels good. Good is, of course, a relative term, but I think it is getting better regardless of what I do, and I am looking forward to a good marathon.

--

On a side note, I have to mention that I have been struggling quite a lot with not only my professional direction but the whole notion of who I am, how to live my life, and how to truly place my family first. I suppose we all entertain thoughts and doubts periodically, but this has been a time of particular up-and-down emotion. I have to wonder how this intersects with running and training, considering that it came to a head shortly after a very nice holiday break (that culminated in a challenging long run) followed by two weeks of fairly hard work with absolutely no running. There is always something of a let-down after a good race or even long training run, but the effect was amplified many times by life and emotional substrate. Food for thought.

Ice, ice

2011-01-11T19:27:00.000-05:00

Several more days into the recovery / inflammation-busting period -- no running, but plenty of other activities to keep happy and busy. I must say that there are few things as freeing and fun as a short run, but I am making do with cycling (in- and outdoor), yoga, and resistance training, and liberal application of ice packs. None of these activities are quite as suitable for big-picture thinking as a run...and I have been doing a lot of big picture thinking lately, about priorities and direction in life. Expect more on this later once I have time to process.

Today (Tues): Indoor bike 45 min @ 131 W (13.9 miles / 18.5 mph)
Mon: rest
Sun: Yoga ~1 hour, vigorous
Sat: rest
Fri: Cycle ~22 miles (no stats as my watch ran out of batteries midway) on a windy, gorgeous day

Time to heal, my little friend

2011-01-06T16:20:00.000-05:00

Taking two weeks off from running to let the knee heal, or at least let the inflammation subside. I'm trying to do this right: Advil, ice, and strict avoidance of running for a defined period. Alternative activities to keep me sane (see below).

Looking forward to a long weekend at home with visiting family.

TODAY (Thursday):
Calisthenics/Lifting (Pullup, Pushup, Core, Bicep, Tricep)
SET 1: 10 pullups (5 wide grip, 5 side grip), 10 pushups, 5 knees-to-elbows, dumbbell concentration curls
SET 2: 10 pullups, 10 pushups, 5 knees-to-elbows, dumbbell concentration curls
INTERLUDE 1: 10 military push-ups, 20 chair dips
SET 3: 10 pullups, 10 pushups, 30 incline sit-ups (straight-left-right), dumbbell hammer curls
SET 4: 10 pullups, 10 pushups, 30 incline sit-ups (straight-left-right), dumbbell curls with hammer down
INTERLUDE 2: 10 military push-ups, 20 chair dips
BONUS ROUND: 10 diamond push-ups, 10 pullups

Yesterday (Wednesday):
Yoga for one hour - vinyasa, inversions, balance

Tuesday: rest

Monday: indoor bike 30 min @ ~130 W

New Years Resolutions and Fitness Goals

2011-01-01T14:34:00.000-05:00

This post marks a year of keeping this blog going -- a succesful resolution from last New Year, which was to do some (any!) writing on a regular basis. I have no literary pretensions but I am happy to have put some thoughts to virtual paper.

New Years Resolutions/Goals for 2011 - outward focus
1) Presence.
2) Develop the less cynical, humbler, and less judgmental self.
3) Meet Jess's needs and wants before my own.
4) Garden and eat the food!

Fitness and well-being goals for 2011 - inward focus

1) Maintain consistently healthful diet - devise a sustainable way to deal with temptations, convenience, etc.

- This includes reducing caffeine intake to a reasonable level.
2) Regular yoga to lead to meditation alone.
3) Real periodization of training. (i.e. approach it like real training!)

3) Regular cycling and leg strength training to begin after February marathon, to prevent recurrence of knee injury

4) Regular speed/tempo training (running).

6) Repeat p90x with Jess!! (Start date: mid-March)

7) Plan +/- train for ultramarathons to progress to 100 mile run.

8) Less drama about getting up for pre-dawn workouts - just do it.

Finally, here are the elements of weekly training, each to be included based on the focus for the week:

Runs: speed interval, tempo, hill/power, trail, long run, recovery run

Leg strength/injury prevention: cycling, plyometrics, static leg exercises (lunges, squats, etc.)

Yoga

Upper body and core resistance training: core/back, pullups/back, pushups/chest, shoulder, tricep, bicep.

Meeting all of these goals/resolutions/plans will be difficult but worthwhile to try!

TODAY:

20 mile run (3:07:36, 9:22 avg)
What a way to ring in the New Year! This was a good old-fashioned long run, done by myself with a pre-dawn start. I had to dig deep here, folks, fighting off the usual cast of demons and voices that would have me stop, turn back early, walk, or simply give up running altogether. In fact, this was a beautiful but gritty run. The morning was cool but not cold, and I must have seen 10 or so deer on the roads and trails. I did an out and back course, from my house to a forest with some nice running trails. The "effort map" of the run was as up and down as any elevation map, with a low (difficult) point around miles 3-6, a high point from miles 9-11 as I was running on trails and passing the halfway point, and then a sustained low from miles 14-16. Mile 16 I stopped for water at a local park, and the four miles home were mentally easy but physically very challenging. I don't mind gritting my teeth and getting it done, but I don't usually have to grit this much! I dug deep at and made the last mile the fastest of the run.

The significance of this run (for me, at this time) is that I have some confidence about the upcoming marathon (~Feb 19th). Paradoxically this will allow me to take a few easy (?off) weeks to let my knee recover from whatever injury is not really getting better. One could argue that this run was not the wisest move, and I could not refute that argument. Nonetheless, I am proud of the run and feel good about it.

It will be a challenge to come in under 4 hours, but I think I can do it.

Thoughts while sitting in the sun watching the kids play.

2010-12-31T20:01:00.003-05:00

Took a few sublime moments this morning to sit outside in the sun and read a book -To the Edge, by a NY Times reporter who attempted (ran? not quite done with the story) the famous Badwater / Death Valley ultramarathon. While sipping coffee, reading, watching the kids play, and eventually pretending to be a mean pirate with them, I had a moment of bliss followed by a moment of awareness: I think I am more at the fringes of society then I like to admit. Why do I embrace endurance sports, and dream of ridiculous races and runs? Why was my early adulthood defined primarily by wilderness travel (hiking, rock climbing, etc.) Why do I still picture our family living in a cabin and me building the furniture and tinkering with the solar panels? This is not to say I dislike the conventional aspects of my life, but I think the realization today is that running (and distance running in particular) feeds a part of myself that needs to be fed.

Perhaps this is all a way of saying I want to be more like my younger brother, who has always lived exactly the distance from society that he chose. He has had the courage to eat a very alternative diet for five years (raw/live food), live in a truly "off-the-grid" house for several years, and wait very patiently for a full time job that allows him to be outside all day. Hmmm.

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm toying with the idea of running another 50 miler, then perhaps taking it from there to run a 100 miler. Talking now about family implications during a year that is already going to be busy and challenging. Again, hmmm.

Good workout planned tomorrow but I will be superstitious and not jinx it until it's done.

New Year's resolutions / fitness goals for 2011 to follow.

TODAY (Friday, December 31, 2010)
Core, tricep, shoulder workout
10 minute run (warmup)
2 sets: 10 Turkish get-ups DB, Laying tricep extension DB, 40 weighted arm circles
2 sets: 15 straight leg raises (front, L, R), 5x10sec superman, Overhead press DB, 20 Chair dips
2 sets: 8 knee-to-elbows, Tricep kickback DB, 3-way straight arm raise DB

YESTERDAY (Thursday, December 30): REST DAY

Long rambling post / feelin' great

2010-12-29T13:42:00.001-05:00

Tuesday, December 21:
One hour of yoga outdoors in the warm sun.

   I think this is how yoga was meant to be practiced.

Wednesday, December 22:
Running speed intervals (warmup, 4 reps x 3 min high effort with 3 min easy, cooldown - total 4.5 miles), using the fancy new GPS/HR watch as well as new lighter running shoes ("minimalist").

   This was a great run, with an interesting realization -- that I can run much faster than I thought at just above my lactate threshold. This run set me off on a quest to understand and learn more about heart rate-based training - seeking advice from friends (see The Blog of Sean), and checking out a whole bunch of books out from the library. Some, such as Tim Noakes Lore of Running, try to debunk the notion of a lactate "threshold," while others (such as Friel's Triathlete's Training Bible) give methods of calculating it. Regardless, the useful concept seems to be identifying the highest effort or heart rate that is sustainable for 20-60 minutes (depending on level of training). It is an ephemeral concept and a slippery number to pin down, as its noninvasive measurement depends on subjectively recognizing the point JUST BEFORE WHICH you are huffing and puffing and working so hard you will have to slow down in a few minutes. It's nice in a way to tune in to your body and situational awareness so you recognize the state of being and clues to reaching "threshold" before you actually get there. Alternately, you pin it to heart rate (though varies by exercise modality) and pay attention to the number. Or both.

   So, I am off to incorporate some heart rate concepts into my training. Just as interestingly, while at the library I discovered some very cool books on training, endurance racing, and barefoot running. Expect quasi-reviews once they are read.

Thursday, December 23:
Rest day

Friday, December 24:
Run 12 miles, 1:51 (~9:15 pace)

   This was meant to be an 18 mile run - the first 12 with friends and the last 6 alone, but I stopped after the first segment because my knee hurt. I realize that since I started this blog a year ago there have been only two or three months where injury didn't play prominently into my training (or posting): January, and August-September. My injuries from last winter (neck, left wrist, and left knee) have more or less healed up, although I still favor the ulnar side of the wrist during lifting. A few months ago I twisted my right knee somehow, so that in combination with being somewhat tight to begin with, it has been bothering me on uphills and downhills. (Fortunately this is an atypical year for me. I attribute the injuries to two things: not enough cycling anymore, and incorporating new workout modalities in 2009-2010). In any case, I ended this one early to avoid the all-too-familiar injury-reinjury cycle as well as the on-again off-again training that led to poor marathon performance in May. My plan was to re-evaluate my commitment to the marathon and potentially scale back if the knee didn't recover soon. On the plus side, this run was easy for me and I didn't feel tired at the end. I missed out on the chance to push the last 6 miles at my own pace, but have completed enough long runs to not worry too much about it.

   On the nutrition front, we enjoyed a traditional Italian seafood dinner with shrimp, squid soup, red snapper, and anchovy pasta. Aside from the pasta, this was the closest thing to a "Paleo" meal that I've had. I have to admit it was a nice meal that didn't leave me unpleasantly stuffed afterwards.

Saturday, December 25:
One hour of yoga

   This was a new workout that emphasized slow, static movements with a focus on forward bends. Not what I was expecting, but nice.

   Christmas has always been a very family-oriented time for me (not that this is unique!). We enjoyed the true blessings of our family - in our own house in the morning, and my parents' house in the evening. It was amazing to bring our own children to a dinner with people with whom we have been having dinner since I was only two years older than my oldest child. It also brought an especially interesting perspective to the passage of time, and aging, to see an old childhood friend that I hadn't seen in fifteen years! For me, that is a long time. The reality is that I am a lucky man, with an incredible wife, three healthy and happy children, a brother as well as many siblings by marriage, and three sets of parents that I love. The only downside to Christmas is in the overconsumption, in the form of a literal mountain of presents. To reveal my own inconsistency, I enjoy giving and receiving presents, but as a family we seem unable to moderate!

Sunday, December 26:
Resistance training (pullups, pushups, biceps):
  Repeat x 6 sets:
   8 x 1 pullup and 2 pushups with bars
   bicep DB (1 & 4: standing curl; 2 & 5: concentration curl; 3 & 6: static curl)
  Bonus: 5 pullups, 10 pushups, bicep DB strip set

   This was a really fun workout, with good results in terms of soreness! I have no idea if it is more effective to extend the number of pullups by doing many small sets vs. several moderate sets, but I certainly reached near-fatigue and got a good workout.

Monday, December 27:
Run to stadium (2.5 miles)
Stadiums (x10) with 5x10 pushups between

   This has become a nice weekly routine with a good friend of mine. The run was really nice too, as I found myself cruising along at about an 8 minute per mile pace -- a pace that was previously my top-shape cruising speed (we're talking 8 years ago) but has eluded me for quite some time. The way I felt during this quick warm up run made me think (hope?) that this pace is somehow intrinsic, and I just haven't been able to access it. Perhaps with more speed training, mileage, and some luck with regards to injury I will attain or surpass this as a sustainable pace once more. First things first, though, as I have a ways to go to get there. Currently I think my own personal sustainable pace is closer to 8:55, but I haven't done a long run alone in quite a while to put this to the test. Hmm.

   My knee barely hurt during the run or the stadiums, so my thoughts drifted back to the marathon after this run and workout.

Tuesday, December 28:
One hour of yoga (vigorous).

   Adding yoga to my training and life has been tremendous. I started this in the fall of 2009 through p90x, and kept up with the yoga -- for a while nearly daily, now when I can manage and far less often than I would like. This is the closest to meditation and expansion of awareness I have come in years. My core is stronger than ever, and my flexibility and balance are improving. Yoga, as well as increased resistance training/lifting, are going to be lifelong changes.

Today (Wednesday, December 28th):

8 mile run - relaxed and hilly (for Gainesville)

Ideal weather and conditions. This was a test run in many ways. If my knee hurt, I was planning on giving up on the marathon. If not, I would commit and do it. Well, it felt ok (not perfect), and I felt great after this run, so I am going to sign up for the race immediately after this overly lengthy blog post. To my brother-in-law who is training away (we'll call him "Yosef"), I will see you there, my friend. To my friend with whom I am scheming about future ultramarathons, let us make the the plans and enter the arena.

COMING SOON:

Future fitness goals and New Year's resolutions.

Stay tuned for the first anniversary post of B.D.J. Runs.

Toys and Work

2010-12-20T20:21:00.001-05:00

I've been enjoying the holiday season and gotten a few workout-related toys. Since my previous running/cycling watch died a slow and miserable death (not so waterproof after 5-6 years!), I have been coveting one of the new GPS watches. I got one, aided by a surprise customer appreciation sale at the running store. For those who care, it is the Garmin Forerunner 410; for those who don't, suffice it to say it makes an excellent gadget and early Christmas present.

After about 6 years in Mizuno running shoes I am finally trying something else as well. Although I have many friends who are into barefoot running for various reasons, I haven't made this leap myself. I do like the idea of lightweight and minimalist footwear, having applied this strategy to hiking in the past (I hiked about 850 miles in running shoes with my wife in 1999, and haven't really used boots since, except in snow). So, I went and got some Saucony Progrid Kinvara shoes after seeing a nice writeup in a magazine. They certainly are light and on the first trial run I stopped noticing them after a mile or so. Definitely requires a lighter footfall with more form-consciousness, especially on pavement, but that probably isn't a bad thing. Will see how they do and hopefully transition them into long runs soon (not sure about February marathon). I've only ever used three shoe models before this: Brooks Beast (when I was heavier), Saucony Grid Omni (before they redesigned and ruined it), and Mizuno Wave series.

Anyway, toys and gear aside, it has been an intense week for me. Since this is a blog about training and a primarily physical experience, I think it is fair to say that my job has been intense on physical as well as emotional and mental planes for the last several days. I have been up for a good part of the night the past few nights, working intensely all day, and grabbing short naps and quick workouts in between. I am finally emerging from this tunnel, which was unpleasant but not altogether bad (in fact the feeling of satisfaction resembles getting through a workout that was unexpectedly hellish). The bottom line, though, is that I experienced an almost altered state of consciousness while working at least in part to serve and take care of other people (patients, in my case). Food for thought as I work on that elusive balance in life.

Recent workouts:

short runs

indoor bike

stadiums with dumbbells in hand (10 lbs each side)

Will provide more workout detail in the future.

Next long run planned for Christmas Eve - 18 miles.

Up all night; triangles

2010-12-10T22:16:00.000-05:00

Today was a "2-a-day" kind of day (although the last two days were nowhere close, so I guess it averages out). I think it's a fitting start to what is going to be a bit of a grueling weekend: up all night at work tonight (Friday), home for a few hours Saturday morning, and then working from 2-10pm tomorrow. An 18 mile run from 5-8 Sunday morning, then several family activities and a small semi-public speaking role Sunday evening. If this isn't good training for a 24-hour race, I don't know what is!!!

In global news: I am happy with my overall fitness, but for two nagging issues: (1) right knee bothering me more and more; (2) can't seem to get to "race weight". As for the first, this not the knee that was injured this spring -- that has healed -- but a flareup of a more chronic bit of pain. It doesn't fit well with my training plan, which is to push hard for several training cycles with some rest in between. At least it only hurts going uphill, so good thing I'm in Florida. As for the second, I seem to lack the simple discipline to not eat the multiple sweets/donuts/etc. that seem to show up every day at work. I think if it weren't for this I would have no problem. Discipline, anyone?

Finally, the deep thoughts section: I have often thought of life and satisfaction as related to the classic (?) triangle of mind, body, and spirit. In fact I think I'm doing ok with the first two and even starting to develop the third. But there is something missing, as this triangle is so inwardly focused. Perhaps an outwardly focused triangle along the same lines would be friends/family, work/productivity, and personal/spiritual. (Or in a more "primitive" sense: village, food, and personal/spiritual). Food for thought during a long run -- in many ways the ultimate in combining the three elements of the inwardly focused triangle into one experience.

Today: Run 4 miles (am), lift - pullups (20 total), biceps (DB), triceps (DB, dips), pushups, ab/core, shoulder (DB)
Wed & Thu: nothing (blech)
Tues: run 4 miles
Mon: Stadiums

Been a long time / notebook change

2010-12-04T21:35:00.000-05:00

Well, my friends, the thoughts haven't stopped coming even thought I haven't written them down for a while. There has actually been a lot going on over the last few weeks. I turned 35 ("halfway through," as an acquaintance told me -- I thought she meant life but it turns out she was only talking about the decade). We traveled with family for Thanksgiving, and came back to a busy week at work. As is often the case we feel behind on Christmas planning, shopping, and decorating before even having gotten started. How does one stay sane in these crazy times?

Running.

My first training arc for the upcoming marathon is complete, with 12, 14, and 16 milers on subsequent wekeends. My knee took a bit of a beating, although I attribute that to a single trail run more than anything else. However, after a week of relative rest I felt pretty good running today. In fact, I felt great since the weather was 65 and sunny in December! I will do an 18 miler next weekend, rest a week, then push for several weeks into the 20-22 mile range.

My latest long-ish (16 mile) training run was with my brother in law Joe, on the McQueen Island Trail in Georgia (near Savannah). This was an excellent run, with perfect weather (high 40's, dry and sunny), nice scenery, and a straight flat course that allowed one to concentrate on the conversation and the running. The nice part for me was thinking back to a nearly identical run on the same trail exactly 9 years and 3 days prior - Thanksgiving weekend 2001, when we first started going to Savannah on a regular basis. So much has changed, but so little has as well -- though for one thing I've slowed down quite a bit over nearly a decade! As I mentioned in the last blog, my two little green notebooks span 12 years of running (and a few other activities). Today I faced the inevitable and bought two new notebooks as close to the old ones as I could find. I went through my monthly ritual of drawing columns for date, pulse, weight, activity, distance/time, and notes -- a new chapter, in running, or training, or life.

Making tentative plans with a friend to train for a 50 miler with the goal of bridging to 100 miler in the next few years. More later.

Workout Sampler since last post:
Yoga
Mixed lifting with 15 and 30 pound dumbbells I spotted in my mother-in-law's yard.
14 and 16 mile training run
Stadium work
Short runs.

Pushing through.

2010-11-18T21:30:00.001-05:00

As usual, when I ramp up my training mileage (however slightly, as any bean counters will notice), I feel it. I am making a conscious choice to push through this for another week and a half or so, through a mid-distance run this weekend and a long-ish run over Thanksgiving weekend. After that I will take a few weeks to recuperate and then have another hard training cycle. Having said that, I feel great! I had a very good run on Tuesday, another run and calisthenic session yesterdayt that left me felt like someone had punched me in the arm 100 times, and today some outstanding yoga in the backyard while the kids played outside. There's something great about triangle or right angle when you look up and see trees and blue sky, rather than a ceiling.

My run on Tuesday was a loop I used to do when I first got into running. I had planned to write about the memories that flooded back, but it ended up being a run like any other.

On a truly sad note, I am on the last page of my current running/training log. This is the second in a series of two notebooks I have kept since 1998 (more than one third of my life). The sad part is that they don't make this notebook anymore, and I don't quite know how I'm going to handle the change. Has this happened to anyone else?

Monday: rest
Tues: run 4.5 miles
Wed: run 3 miles, 30 pull ups, 100 push ups, 20 knees to elbows
Today: yoga 35 minutes

Week, weekend, and zone.

2010-11-14T20:03:00.000-05:00

After an excellent mid-distance run last weekend, I started this week with a crisp Monday morning run, and things were uphill from there (in a good way). Having committed to the marathon in February, and written out a shorter and more focused training schedule than I'm used to, I am feeling great! Four good, solid runs this weekend, with an 8 miler this morning that had traces of my faster pacing from 5 years ago (thanks, David, for pushing me). I think and hope that now will be the time that I say goodbye to the negativity that has plagued my running for about 2 years off and on. Of course it doesn't hurt that the weather is perfect (mid-40s in the morning) and will continue that way through the winter. One final thought:although my buildup and training period is shorter, I think it will help me avoid peaking too early in terms of motivation--a problem in the past with 6 month or training periods.

My running partner this morning told a story about finishing a run and not remembering the last few miles of it. We settled on the idea that he was in "the zone" (vs. oxygen-deprived), and I was recollecting the few runs where I was that deeply in the zone. A few specific long runs come to mind, as do a few trail runs where the footing was so tricky I had no room to think in the conscious. A few of these runs are on my list of memorable runs, but a most aren't. Thinking more about it, there is some element of the "zone" in most runs I take, and often I will go in and out of the zone (or "flow") state of consciousness multiple times during the run. I can think of many long runs like this, where a few effortless miles alternate with a few miles of focus, concentration, and the internal discussion of whether to stop and walk for just a bit. Those of little faith will point to endorphins or hyponatremia or some other physiologic explanation for alterted level of consciousness, but I hold to the idea that I am touching an altered state (not level) of consciousness. In part, that's what keeps getting me out the door.

With Veteran's Day on a Thursday, I took Friday off as well and enjoyed a great four-day weekend with the family. Picnics, dinner with my parents, a movie with Jess, good sleep, and some long overdue yardwork were what we enjoyed. Not too often that this opportunity comes along, so I am glad I took advantage. Some sublime moments here as well (running is not the only path to the zone!)

WORKOUTS:
Mon: Run 4 miles
Tues: Lift (Bicep, Tricep, Pullup, Pushup, Ab) - this one made me whimper with pain!
Wed: Run 4 miles
Thurs: Yoga
Friday: Bike 20 miles, Lift (Shoulders, Pullups, Ab)
Saturday: Run 4 miles
Sunday: Run 8 miles

reflection and mileage

2010-11-07T19:46:00.000-05:00

A quick note today:

Had a nice 12 mile run on Saturday, followed by a crisp, sunny weekend at a lakeside camp with a great group of men (including my father). I returned home today to my family and had a nice walk with the girls while Jess played soccer.

Life is good.

And, I'm feeling good about the marathon in February. Training plan is written down and underway.

Minimalist

2010-11-04T09:26:00.000-04:00

This turned out to be a fun workout that came together in my head as I was running. It required no equipment except shoes and a pull-up bar, which I used in the local park. I was sluggish during the middle section, but finished strong. Also didn't help that the pullup bars were over sand, so every time I rose from burpee to pullup I got a shower of sand in my face, hair, and eyes. A good time.

I think I am going to run the Gainesville marathon Feb 20, so with 3+ months to train I'd better get started! Just decided on the way to work this am. Will post training schedule soon.

Ran 2.5 miles
4 sets of:
    5 burpee to pullups
    5 knee to elbows
    10 wide push-ups
    10 shoulder press push-ups
    20 wide arms circles (10 forward 10 backward)
Ran 2 miles more

What's next?

2010-11-01T10:44:00.002-04:00

It's November. I can't believe it. We had an excellent Halloween yesterday, complete with family, friends, pumpkins, trick or treating, and plenty of candy. It turned out to be a great night and a nice finish to a busy month. I got in a quick run in the afternoon, which helped to start things off . It does feel a little strange to be eating toasted pumpkin seeds in shorts, but that's not really too hard to get used to.

Working out has been going well lately, and as I mentioned a few posts ago I think the mix is a good one. So, I guess that means the time has come to pick a race and train for it before the training momentum diffuses for lack of focus. I am going to miss the upcoming half marathon here in town (formerly the Micanopy half marathon, now on a nice trail in town that I have spent many a mile on). I am more and more inclined to run the February marathon here in town, but I would like to find a longer trail run (or relay) in the next few years. Getting back into triathlon would be fun too but time for cycling and time/money for getting in the pool are challenging right now. Lots of fun on the horizon, and it's just a matter of choosing.

I read an interesting article in Outside magazine about a "race" in Vermont called the death race. The race itself is a little outlandish in its design, but on some level I get it and in fact am very attracted to this kind of event. In the past I've been accused of being a thrill seeker or adventure seeker--I don't know if I agree with this but I do seek and appreciate challenge in the fitness/racing/outdoor arena, anyway.

Finally, a shout-out to the importance of regular daily bowel movements. This is so important to feeling good and running well, and I think can be a great indicator for overall physical and emotional health, nutrition, and groundedness. As a pediatrician I often think that parents are "obsessed" with bowel movements but on some level they have a great point.

--
Today: Stadiums / Pushups (10 times p bleachers with 10 incline pushups after each stadium)
Yesterday (Sun): Run 45 minutes, moderate effort

Sat: Lifting/Calisthenics:
2 sets: 5 pullups (standard grip 1st set, chinup grip 2nd set)
              bicep curls
              lying tricep extensions
              50 situps
              -------
2 sets:   5 pullups (standard grip 1st set, chinup grip 2nd set)
              bicep concentration curls
              tricep kickbacks
              30 alternating bicycle crunches
              --------
2 sets:   5 pullups (standard grip 1st set, chinup grip 2nd set)
              crouching bicep curls
              20 chair dips
              static core: 50 sec boat, 25 sec each side straight leg rais, 25 sec each side straight legs to side

Friday: rest

Thursday: stadiums, pullups, and pushups

Wednesday: yoga 1 hour

Tuesday: rest

Two brief observations

2010-10-25T20:40:00.001-04:00

1. Only in Florida can a run in late October feel the same as a run in July (very hot, that is).
2. A shower cold enough to take your breath away is an excellent way to reduce core temperature quickly.

Today:
Run 4 miles
Shoulder workout with dumbbells: straight arm raise front and side (2 sets), overhead press (2 sets), upright flys (2 sets), wide pushups (2 sets), weighted arm circles (1 set)

Steady Rhythm

2010-10-24T21:04:00.000-04:00

If the week can be said to have a theme, it is rhythm. Just as I realize I am updating this blog about once weekly, many aspects of life seem to have fallen into a comforting rhythm - family dinners, work, weekend activities and schedule, and (finally) running and training. In the same vein, over the past few weeks I have really felt that we are really settling in as a family and making a home here (something I worried about as recently as a few weeks ago in these very pages). This weekend we enjoyed a romantic Friday evening dinner, the girls' final soccer game of the season, a nice time downtown with my parents, a quick getaway with Jess to a book sale, an outstanding church service, and a fun halloween party where about 40 kids in costume played while we chatted with friends. Not too bad, really. I think it is no coincidence that I am feeling this way after being home from a lot of travel and work, and putting a very busy and challenging month nearly behind me. Probably the funnest part is the "small town" aspect where we see acquaintances from one arena (e.g. work, soccer) at another place (e.g. friends' party, downtown). Of course, my mildly impaired facial and name recognition skills are put to the test in these situations.

Training has been going well, though training for what I am not sure. I have gotten some great running in over the past few weeks, with some speed work and some mid-distance mileage creeping back into the regimen. Lifting/calisthenics has been good, and although I wish for more time for yoga and cycling I do those when I can. Weekly stadium workouts are another positive addition, so if I can keep it up I think my general fitness level will be very good. Specific fitness is more the question for now, though. I'd love to capitalize on strength gains to actually become a faster runner -- the obvious choice as returning to triathlon is unrealistic for me right now. I think I have a half marathon coming up in a few weeks, and if that goes well maybe I'll be motivated to do a full one in the winter/spring (hopefully with better than last time's less than stellar performance). Then perhaps planning for the 100 miler before or around age 40. Hmmmmm. Food for thought.

Speaking of food, so many of my friends are doing the "paleo" diet or some variation, I need to look into it more. Will report back once I do.

Today (Sun): run 9.2 miles
Yesterday (Sat)
Fri: stadiums and pull-ups
Thu: pushups, abs, and indoor bike
Wed: rest
Tues: hot afternoon run
Mon: biceps/pushups/abs/triceps

Light at the end of the tunnel

2010-10-16T20:45:00.000-04:00

Well, I guess I am not going to get to a thorough review of my recent travels. The highlights, as I mentioned, are as follows:

Running to the Pacific Ocean.
Seeing an old friend and walking through the streets of San Francisco while catching up.
Enjoying getting to know some of my colleagues, luxury-style!
Two excellent courses/conferences (so good I didn't pull my usual routine of skipping out on the meeting to explore the city).
Running through Pittsburgh in perfect early fall weather.
Staying with a wonderful family who graciously hosted me while in Pittsburgh - some people that I clicked with pretty well despite having never met them.
Returning home to my amazing family, with second-to-none welcome back hugs.

Since the beginning of October I feel like I haven't stopped to look around, mostly because of work. Thankfully, on the recent trips I had plenty of time to think about life, the universe, and everything. Still managing to fit in some workouts while on call, though I am struggling to balance this with family time and sleep! The light at the end of the tunnel is the end of October: I work the weekend of the 30-31st and then no weekends for quite a while.

Major fitness-related event was buying a full set of dumbbells, which after a long while of screwing and unscrewing plates and using mismatched bands, I am happy about. In fact the plan (and justification for getting them!) is that this will enable Jess and I to do the p90x program together, mixing workouts with time together and mutual encouragement. How can it get better than that? So, in the meantime I've been working on developing a loose rotation of 3-4 basic exercises for back/pullups, chest/pushups, shoulders, bi, tri, legs, and core/ab. Today I stumbled for the second time on a great formula -- lifting mixed with interval running, as follows:

(TODAY):
Repeating each unit twice:

First unit:
  Run 4 minute loop at moderate exertion (trying each time to beat last time)
  Dumbbell bicep curls
  Pushups - standard (25 first set / 15 with bars second set)
  Dumbbell overhead press
Second unit:
  Run as above

Dumbbell concentration curls

Pushups - military (15 first set / 10 with bars second set)

Dumbbell straight arm lifts (8 front / 8 side)

Third unit:

Run as above

Dumbbell hammer curls

Pushups - wide grip (20 first set / 15 with bars second set)

Dumbbell overhead row

Fourth unit

Run as above

Dumbbell static curls (8 each side while holding other side at 90 degrees)

Pushups - diamond (5 each set)

"Pike press" pushups (15 each set)

Dumbbell front fly

Cool down run 10 minutes

(YESTERDAY/FRI) - rest

(THURSDAY) - run 4 miles

(WEDNESDAY) - yoga 45 minutes
(TUE) - rest
(MON) - lift tri, pullups/back, ab, legs (similar to today but no run)
(SUN) - run 7.8 miles
(SAT) -travel day

travel

2010-10-08T21:50:00.002-04:00

On the road most of the last two weeks. High notes: a run to the Pacific Ocean (San Francisco) and another great one in a park/nature preserve in Pittsburgh. Low points: away from family! Lots of time to think about life, though. I'll try to write about the trip and the runs when I return. Also, I read one of the best books I've read in the last decade - Abraham Verghese's _Cuttting for Stone_. More on this also.

today (fri): run 6 (Pittsburgh)
Thurs: lift
Wed: run 4.5 (Pittsburg)
Tues:run 4
Sun and Mon: rest
Sat: run
last Fri: rest
Thurs: yoga
Wed: run (San Fran)

Fun, Dogma, and Presence

2010-09-26T16:34:00.000-04:00

Today I had a thoughtful run (the best kind). I didn't think about anything earth-shattering. I did not solve the following problems: war, hunger, hatred. But, I did think a bit about fun, presence, and dogma, and how they play into both life and running. The run itself wasn't bad, hot but partly shaded on familiar roads and paths.

Fun: As I try to make and meet goals in running and fitness, there are some things that are fun to do, and some things that are fun to be able to do. For example, it is fun to go out for a run in the cool weather. It is fun to be able to go running no matter how hot (or cold) it might get, but not necessarily fun to do it. As any faithful reader of this blog might recall, I spent a good part of the winter complaining about sub-freezing runs in Vermont, and a good part of the summer complaining about 90+ degree runs here in Florida. Those same faithful readers might ask why I am in Vermont in the winter and Florida in the summer, and not the other way around. Alas, I have no good answer. It is fun to be able to do a certain number of pull-ups, fun to be able to run 26 or 50 miles, fun to be able to ride 100 miles, etc., but invariably for me the training involves some fun but a lot of not-so-fun grinding out of miles, reps, etc. As I ran today to the park (fun) where I did some pull-ups (not as fun) I thought about how to balance the fun and non-fun to keep pushing and meeting goals, but not burning out. This though process was a prelude to wondering if I am done with long-distance running for the foreseeable future. The training has gotten less fun as it eats into other time demands, and as I feel the ever-so-slow creep of age. My last marathon was decidedly not fun. But, I've had a a lot of fun with long runs in the past - maybe I can recapture that, or maybe it really is time to move on. I'm not giving up on distance yet, though, as one of my longtime goals has been to run a 100-mile race.

Dogma: One thing that I've been able to do over the past few years is abandon many artificial "rules" about training and running that I had set for myself. I used to run, bike, and swim exclusively. I used to consider a bike ride not worth it if less than 20 miles, and a run not worth it if less than 4-5 miles. I used to not "waste my time" with yoga or resistance training as they detracted from my running, cycling, and swimming. I've shed many of these restrictions, and incorporated some new and different (perhaps even more fun) activities into training now -- I ran 3 miles today with some calisthenics thrown in; I like to take shorter bike rides and mix short indoor bike rides with other training elements; I enjoy yoga and consider it as good a workout as a run. So the question is, how does training parallel life? How can I find and shed dogma and self-created rule that are holding back fulfillment, doing good for others, and my own enjoyment of life? This bears much more thought over many more runs.

Presence: I've never been as good at "living in the moment," as I wish I were. It's not often enough that I am able to enjoy where I am and what I am doing for what it is. Today I thought about this in a geographic sense, triggered as I ran by a shaded and clear-flowing creek that reminds me of searching for sharks' teeth as a child. Now that we're back in the town where I grew up, I wonder what it will take to feel at home in a place--to be here without picturing life in other places, and whether I'll be able to impart that sense of homeness to the kids (if, indeed, my childrens' experience has much at all to do with mine). In part this is a function of having moved five times in the last 11 years, and in part of the displacement that comes from being back where I grew up but having been away (intermittently) for a good long while. Perhaps it's just the heat as I think about summer in Vermont and Maine. Don't get me wrong: I do sometimes live in the moment, often at surprising and unexpected times. What I'd like, though, is to be able to choose to do it, and choose it as an approach to life.

Workouts:
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: run 4 miles (early morning full moon)
Friday: yoga 1.5 hours (p90x yoga DVD)
Saturday: run 5.5 miles
Sunday (today) run 3 miles, 30 pull-ups (20 standard grip, 10 chin-ups), 50 pushups (all standard)

Untitled

2010-09-21T16:20:00.000-04:00

This was truly a great weekend.

It was a family weekend, and felt like we were slipping into a comfortable but fun fall routine -- finally everyone is in the swing of things. Everyone in the family played soccer (except me!). We saw friends, and ate wonderful food with them. We saw my parents. I won't go on and on about any crisp fall weather (although it was cool yesterday morning), because we don't have any. There are a few leaves on the ground, but they are brown and not so crisp.

It was also a good weekend for working out:
Saturday ran 4miles
Sunday biked 21 miles (road bike)
Monday - rest

And today a nice gym/treadmill workout in the afternoon:
Warmup: run 0.5 mile
Four sets of:
    -30 pushups (10 wide, 10 standard, 10 military)
    -shoulder (sets 1&3 - straight arm raises 8 side/8 front with 15 lb weights; sets 2&4 - overhead dumbbell press 8 reps max weight)
    -leg (sets 1&3 - weighted squats - 20 lb dumbbells; sets 2&4 - weighted lunges - 25 lb dumbbells)
    -5 chair dips
    -15 incline situps (somewhere between 30 and 45 degree angle)\
    -5 pullups (side grip)
    -run 0.25 mile @ moderate pace
Bonus round: 10 burpees, 25 chair dips

energizing

2010-09-17T17:02:00.001-04:00

Yesterday's run was not done as planned: in the morning, with calisthenics, in the park. Instead, I ran after dinner and an exhausting day -- it was intense, though, and as usual it energized me and made me feel human again.

Today home from work early, so prior to a relaxing evening with my family, I did a "full-body" workout:

10 pull-ups
1st set standing bicep curls (bands)
5 chin-ups
1st set standing static bicep curls (bands) - hold one hand at 90 degrees while curling with other
5 pull-ups
1st set crouching single arm curls (bands)
5 chin-ups
2nd set standing bicep curls (weights)
5 pull-ups
2nd set standing static bicep curls (bands)
5 chin-ups
2nd set crouching single arm curls (bands)
5 pull-ups
[40 total pull-ups]

then, 55 minutes of yoga - focusing on intense vinyasa-based practice with extra pushups, and core/ab work.

Now, again, energized for great evening.

Goals

2010-09-15T20:49:00.001-04:00

I came home today to find the girls outside playing naked in the dirt, Jess about to hose them down, and Max watching raptly from inside the sliding glass door. Suffice it to say, a good time was had by all. Despite work being busy and somewhat draining, I am so fortunate to have this amazing family to come home to.
As for training, my September goal was simple, but I failed abruptly after working nearly all night last Thursday. Something so easy -- work out every day -- was out my reach. So what mindset to take? Give myself a break, or grit my teeth and vow to try again, harder? Is doing both a cop-out? I wrote earlier about how much planning to put into training, and I think the time has come to emerge from the shell of randomness and plan out weeks or months at a time. Sometimes having a plan is the right thing (though sometimes not!)

This was the coolest morning since moving to Florida -- I am looking forward to an intense run tomorrow with some pull-ups, burpees, etc. in the park. Yesterday's run was nice but dark - until daylight savings time hits I've moved from starting before dawn to finishing before dawn.

Saturday: run 7 miles
Sunday: yoga 20 minutes, indoor bike 20 minutes, 10 pullups and 2 sets bicep curls
Monday: rest
Tuesday: run 4 miles:
Wednesday (today): rest
Thursday (tomorrow): run 4 miles.

September continues

2010-09-08T20:56:00.001-04:00

So far doing well with daily workout. Feels good. I believe I wrote a few weeks ago about a hint of cool weather. That hint was a cruel trick, and we are back, for now, to steam room conditions.

Monday, September 6: run 4miles
Tuesday, September 7: yoga 45 minutes
Wednesday, September 8:
10 sets of 5 burpees, 10 situps (varied: regular, legs straight ahead at 45 degree angle, legs straight to right, legs straight to left, alternating leg raise side crunch; repeat)
Thursday, September 9 - planned - run 4 miles

Fall is coming, baby

2010-09-05T20:43:00.000-04:00

Well, we continue to have just a hint of coolness in the morning air, so the early runs are more pleasant. Last month was busy at work so I fell off the wagon a bit as far as working out. In September my plan is to exercise every day, without exception. I've managed to stick with it so far despite an extreme lack of motivation last night. I'm energized by the weather, by my old running group getting back together for some group runs, and by a few races coming up this fall and winter. I do think I will be seduced (once again) by the lure of the marathon, so if I can come up with a good training program, not peak too early, and not injure myself, there will be more to come on that topic. I'll probably go with the "Five Points of Life" marathon conveniently located here in town, in February. Then, maybe I will be psychologically ready to think about planning for a 100 mile race. Maybe. In the short term, the monthly goal:

Goal for September: Work out every day - one day at a time. Keep me honest, friends.

Sep 1: Yoga 1 hour

Sep 2:
Run 1.5 miles warmup / speedwork
2 sets of:
     dumbbell bicep curls
     dumbbell tricep extensions
     20 squats (10 static, 10 squat jumps; second set with weights)
     dumbbell overhead shoulder presses
     10 pullups (5 standard, 5 side grip)
     30 pushups (10 std, 10 wide, 10 military)
     20 weighted lunges
     run 0.5 miles in between sets
Run 1 mile speedwork [total running 3 miles]

Sep 3: Run 4 miles

Sep 4: Yoga 35 minutes

Sep 5: Indoor bike 45 minutes, short core workout.

Enough said

2010-08-29T20:42:00.001-04:00

I had a great weekend at home with the family. It is amazing to realize again and again how rich and lucky I am. Finished with a very busy month at work so I will be able to get into some good training, and perhaps some more interesting and reflective posts. And, nearly finished with my alcohol-free month! Odd to celebrate with a beer, but that's exactly what will happen.

Today: 5.75 mile trail run
Yesterday:
yoga 15 minutes for stretching
10 sets x 5 pull ups (alternating standard and chin-up grip)
14 sets x 5 push ups (total 3 sets military, 3 sets wide, 2 sets diamond, 6 sets standard)
Friday: rest
Thursday: ran 4 miles

Tonight's workout

2010-08-23T20:06:00.000-04:00

Fun in the garage:

2 sets of:
dumbbell bicep curls (10 reps, max weight)
dumbbell standing overhead press (10 reps, max weight)
15 pushups with bars - assorted regular, wide grip, military
20 situps
10 alternating leg raises (core work)
30 sec boat hold
20 alternating leg raise side crunches
tricep kickbacks (10 reps, heavyweight band)
15 squats, no weight
10 pullups - 5 standard, 5 chinup
15 lunges
10 burpees

and 1 bonus set of 5 diamond pushups (hands touching so thumb and index fingers form diamond shape)

(Yesteday: 40 minutes of yoga)

What I like about running.

2010-08-21T15:06:00.001-04:00

I'm not going to lie to you: I had a tough run today in 90/90 conditions - 90 degrees and near 90 percent humidity. Although I got my start running in Florida, the two times I've moved back here have been a real challenge. It doesn't help that we tend to move in the middle of summer, from cool dry places (first from Colorado and now from Vermont). So I've been slowly acclimatizing to the heat and humidity, trying to run in the morning when possible. Today I didn't quite make it out in the morning, but the motivation was there at about 11:30, so off I went. I will tell you now, I was struggling to maintain a pace that in other circumstances would be a recovery pace or a post-race shuffle. I could feel my metabolic workload skyrocketing as I moved between patches of shade and sun, and even the inclines that pass for hills here were kicking my ass.

But, as I was pondering the various theories of fatigue (for example, that the feeling of tiredness is less related to muscle fatigue itself than to a message from your prain telling your muscles they are tired when you are about to impose too much demand on your heart), I was also pondering why running stays interesting and why I keep doing it. Running is beautiful in its simplicity: shorts, shoes (if that), and out the door. From there the possibilities are endless, with variations in distance, interval training, hills, and company. But the physical variations barely scratch the surface. Today the run was simple, but the mental challenge was intense. I spent the run focused intently on minor variations in feel, keeping positive, and pushing myself to maintain some semblance of a pace. This is a run I've done many times before, but the experience is really quite different each time. It is never completely predictable when a run will be hard and when it will be smooth and easy and I feel like I'm flying. That's what I really like about running.

Misadventure

2010-08-14T20:25:00.001-04:00

Today was my triumphant return to cycling -- It's been nearly a year (sing August 16th of 2009, in fact) that I've even been on my road bike. Granted, I've been biking to work one or two days a week since moving to Florida, but I was psyched to pump up my tires and go. Although I've been a runner from the beginning, I really enjoy cycling, and in the past have done some good riding -- especially when training for triathlons and when I lived in western Colorado. So I got the bike down, got out the pump and oiled the chain (don't worry, not WD40), and got going.

Now, I have an unofficial rule that I don't, or at least shouldn't, postpone an outdoor workout just because it might rain or snow. If it is actually raining or snowing, that's a different story, but if it is merely cloudy or threatening to precipitate I usually try to just get out and go. In general this has gotten me out the door with only a few memorable slogs or epics, and let's be honest -- it can rain even if it doesn't look like it will. Today, it had rained overnight and earlier in the day, but the weather was partly cloudy as I headed out of the garage.

The ride started out well enough, though my cadence was sluggish, but after about five miles, as I turned onto the road that would be the major part of my route, I saw a very dark and threatening cloud overhead. It started to rain, and rain hard, as only a summer thunderstorm in the south can do. Visibility was quite low, and I was riding through newly-formed six inch puddles, but what the heck. It was a warm day and I was having fun. When the lightning started I turned back toward home, trying to picture what Jess would say if I kept going. (Hint: it might contain the words "not very smart"). I got back and the girls were playing in the backyard in the rain, so I joined them for some swinging and sliding, then went back to the garage to complete the day's workout.

So my triumphant return to cycling was all of twelve miles, but as usual I am happy just to have gotten out the door. In all honesty I've had some trouble finding/making time to work out in the last few weeks, and my schedule at work is busier than in a long time. So to paraphrase G.I. Joe, getting out the door is half the battle, and I've at least been doing that.

Wednesday - short but worthwhile early morning yoga
Thursday - ran 1.5 miles to park, then 30 each of burpees, pullups, squats, lunges, pushups; ran 1.5 miles back home.
Today - cycle 12 miles (44:25 / 16.4 mph); then 3 sets of: 40 straight leg alternating side crunches, 15 pushups with bars, 5 pullups, and 8-10 rep dumbbell bicep curls.

Fall is here! Hah.

2010-08-09T20:20:00.000-04:00

Very busy with work, but did manage a few evening runs over the last several days. The weather is cooler - barely perceptible but real, and this morning when I woke up I would almost swear it was pleasant.

Wrist and neck much better, knee a little bit so.

Still no alcohol for August.

Saturday - run 4 m
Today - run 4 m

Goal: more variety!

whirlwind of activity

2010-08-01T16:46:00.000-04:00

In the midst of a wonderful four-day weekend (I took a few extra days off last week to spend time with visiting family) - we have built a swingset, floated down a river, eaten well, and enjoyed time with family and friends. Trying to keep the workouts going strong...here's what's recent:

Thursday: Run 3+ miles, 6 hours building swingset - very hot.
Friday: PT stretches and back exercises, 4 hours building swingset - still hot
Saturday: Run 4.4 miles (am - hot and soupy); Core workout pm ("ab ripper" from p90x with double reps)
Today: rest day
Tomorrow: morning run, hopefully less humid.

Goal for August - no alcohol (thanks, Gary)

weekend blogger

2010-07-25T15:56:00.001-04:00

I seem to be finding, or making, time for writing this blog only on the weekends. I guess that's all right, as I've settled in to a very traditional work schedule where I work during the week and have family and leisure time on the weekends.

One challenge in particular that this creates is fitting in a workout schedule. For me it's an old question that comes down to three options or styles: (Option 1) Set a regular workout time, which would be 5:00 am, and get used to it every day. I have done this before but it's not very natural for me that early in the morning. If I got off work earlier and could have 4:00-5:00 or so, that would be great, but that is not possible right now. (Option 2) Look at my schedule weeks or even months in advance and plan workout times and workouts far in advance. I've done this too and it has worked fairly well. (Option 3) Work out when I can, doing what feels right and generally fits in with my overall workout plans. This becomes my default after a while, and depends very highly on motivation. When the motivation factor is high, this is my favorite style; when it is low it is deadly.

Right now I"m operating purely in Option 3; I'd like to add back some forethought and perhaps some regular timing there as well. We'll see. Although both motivation and discipline have been a bit poor for me lately, they are both picking up.

It's been a good weekend:

Friday: Cross Fit workout in the park.
warmup
2 min each (with 1 minute rest in between) of:
burpees
jumprope
pushups
shuttle run
squat

Saturday: Recovery and PT day
yoga 30 minutes
PT stretches and back exercises
1 hour yardwork

Sunday(today): Run 4 1/4 miles, 20 pull ups.

Weekend fun

2010-07-18T20:38:00.000-04:00

After a *very* low-key week, with all systems go, I have attempted to ease back into both running, resistance training, and the physical therapy that I should have been doing for the last several months. Still getting used to the heat but at least getting out and about a little more. I did have a good run yesterday although it took nearly 3 miles to really feel warmed up, then today I did a short workout after some yard work and stretching. I was really feeling out of it knowing that friends are doing crossfit obstacle course races that sound really fun while I am struggling to eke out a few pullups or miles without re-injury. But, I know I've had my moments and will again. My other plan is to start again with yoga - for a while I was practicing at least every other day (if not more often) and feeling the benefits; now I haven't done a real session in a month or so. I think in the long term this may be more valuable for injury prevention (and overall health/enjoyment) than anything.

On a different note, I had a great weekend - meeting some new people, reconnecting with old friends, enjoying a summer barbecue, and enjoying family time. I am a lucky man.

Yesterday: ran 4 miles
Today:
   PT stretches / exercises for back
   then, 4 sets of:
   -5 pull ups (alternate standard and chinup each set)
   -10 push ups (set 1-std, 2-wide, 3-military, 4-std)
   -25 situps
   -10 alternating straight-leg crunches

sublime, and taking it "easy"

2010-07-13T19:49:00.000-04:00

First, a great afternoon. I probably overuse the word "sublime," but this afternoon and evening were. I got home a little early from work and heard everyone playing out back, so I went out to find Jess and Max on a blanket in our wonderfully shaded backyard, and the girls in the kiddie-pool. Naturally, I put on some swimming trunks and hopped in. Am I that wimpy that Florida hose-water feels cold when two mischievious little elves are dumping on my head with buckets? It was cool and refreshing after sitting in my inferno of a car on the way home, and great to be with the family in such a relaxing way. We fired up the grill, made burgers, and ate outside afterward.

My workouts have been fairly scant lately, but I've been feeling good. Not restless or grouchy like I usually am when I don't exercise regularly, but just good. My neck, knee, and wrist are all feeling better, so perhaps this falls into the realm of "listening to my body" and simply resisting my tendency to overdo it. I think this restful phase will work itself out soon, naturally, but for now I am really trying to go with the flow, sleep, and be as present as possible at home and work. An early morning run tomorrow will be nice, though.

yardworkout

2010-07-10T21:42:00.001-04:00

I had an interesting couple of days. Yesterday, on my way home from work, I ran into an old friend and mentor who encouraged me when I was first starting with triathlons (now 8 years ago!). We chatted for a while, and I mentioned that my workouts have tapered off in general since having small children. He listed a bunch of folks who also had to "slow down" when their kids were young, and then told me how they all ramped back up later in life. So this is the time, my friends, when quality trumps quantity...

Today, instead of running, I did yardwork for three hours in the blazing sun (~95 degree weather at midday). Yes, I did have the benefit of several gasoline powered tools, but there was plenty of good clean work and sweating. I can tell you, speaking of long workouts, that I feel a sense of tiredness I haven't felt in a while. Even before writing this, it reminded me of coming in after a 5 or 6 hour bike ride. I think I will feel it in the morning, so I guess for a workout, that's okay. And the yard doesn't look half bad.

Today: yardwork!
Tomorrow: running

Not so soggy anymore

2010-07-08T21:06:00.000-04:00

I'm pleased to report that I am acclimatizing to the Florida weather. It was a cool 69 degrees this morning, and I felt good during my early morning pitch-black to sunrise run. I was remembering how the first time I tried to run in the dark it freaked me out so much that I cut short a run and made my way home under the brightest street lights I could find, and now, years later, I am very used to it. I now use a trusty headlamp with a red filter so I can both see in the dark and have somewhere else to look when cars with bright headlights go by. Very tactical.

Anyways it was a nice morning run and set the stage for a good day.

Some core work in the morning, perhaps with some bicep, tricep, and shoulder exercises thrown in?

Also to start cycling to work on a more or less everyday basis tomorrow.

TODAY: run 4 miles

new experience

2010-07-05T20:11:00.001-04:00

It's been quite a week and weekend!

We finished unpacking our house and are getting more and more settled in here. We used the long three-day weekend to do this, as well as to spend some good family time together. We spent this afternoon with good friends hanging out in the pool and enjoying dinner. Not too bad for the 4th of July weekend.

I ended a week of self-imposed running exile, entered into mostly for the sake of my knee, yesterday. Still amazed by the humidity (and I even grew up here!) but had a nice return to running. I am also excited because in addition to unpacking I organized our garage and hung the pull up bar, so I plan on doing a few pull ups tonight to celebrate.

Also started a new job last week, and I can tell you it is a shock to the system to go from knowing a place and basically knowing my business, to knowing almost nothing! When I arrived at my first day I didn't even know how to turn on the machine I will be using, let alone produce or interepret useful data. What a humbling and absolutely shocking experience, though, to feel so totally clueless. Thankfully I work with an amazing group of people and everyone has been incredibly helpful so far. More to come.

Yesterday: run 4.25 miles
Today: 5 sets of: (5 pullups, 10 pushups, 20 situps). the pull up sets alternated standard and chinup grip

In Florida at last

2010-06-25T19:46:00.001-04:00

After a long but uneventful move, a great visit with our family in Savannah (including one of the faithful followers of this blog), and a lot of packing and unpacking, we are here. With the kitchen done and the kids getting used to the place, it is starting to feel like home.

From a running perspective, it really is home, as we are about a mile from the house I grew up in, and in the very same tree-covered neighborhoods and parks in which I started running seriously in 1996. I've run a couple of times here so far, and I guess you could say that I'm getting used to the heat. The running has a different feel, and one that I know I'll enjoy a lot once my body resets its thermostat. Still not unpacked enough to do much equipment-based workouts, but running, push-ups, and basic dumbbell work are well within reach.

Injury report is mixed. Neck is healing well, feeling great the last few days (even today after lifting a heavy table and bookshelf). Wrist probably won't get better until after we finish unpacking and moving things around, but overall is doing ok. The knee, however, is screaming in protest at any twisting force and may be a while in healing. Oh well, such is life. I can still run, play, and enjoy myself!

More as life in FL progresses.

Tuesday: ran 4 miles in Savannah, our last stop before arriving

Wednesday: ran 4 miles here

Yesterday: rest

Today:
Calisthenics:
4 x 25 pushups (std)
4 x 25 alternating straight leg side crunches
Dumbells:
2 x 8 bicep curls
2 x 8 shoulder presses
2 x 40 weighted arm circles
2 x 8 crouching curls (each side)
2 x 16 weighted straight arm in and out raises

Tomorrow: run again.

Last Vermont run

2010-06-18T21:40:00.002-04:00

...for a while, anyways.

We move tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes. I am excited for a new chapter in our life.

From a running perspective, it will take a while to acclimatize to the heat and humidity. Will I complain as much as I did in the winters here? Stay tuned to find out.

Workouts and packing

2010-06-10T20:00:00.000-04:00

We are trying to pack our house to move. In the meantime, I'm getting creative with some workouts that don't require much equipment and don't hurt my knee.

Tuesday:
   PT back stretches
   200 pushups as follows: 10, then 15 each of standard, wide, military, one arm high and one arm low, and side arm balance pushups; then, 25 each of standard, wide, military
   double core workout -- "Ab Ripper X" with 50 reps of each exercise instead of 20

Wednesday: rest

Thursday:
   warmup: 5 minutes run, 3 minutes rowing machine
   PT back stretches
   40 pullups as follow: 10, then 6, then 4 each of standard grip and chin-ups
   2 sets each of:
   16 static bicep curls (hold one arm @ 90 degrees while the other curl, switch every 4)
   8 crouching one arm curls (each arm)
   10 machine rows

Tomorrow another run.

Good exploratory run

2010-06-07T22:11:00.001-04:00

When I started running, I used to like to just run and explore neighborhoods, streets, and roads. I still do this when I move somewhere new, or when I'm visiting somewhere, but haven't had the opportunity much recently. Today, I took a run during lunchtime at work, and instead of my usual routes down to the waterfront or through the Intervale, I thought I'd go down a bike path leading south through a very nice part of town. Of course, after 10 minutes of running on the University of Vermont campus (around dorms and other buildings), I was nowhere near the bike path, but I did end up running through some pleasant shady residential streets, enjoying wonderful weather and a cool breeze.

I've always thought that this kind of running is metaphorical, representing the kind of exploring and letting go that makes life interesting and, sometimes, meaningful. This is my view of a certain type of international traveling as well, not one that I've done much, but the kind where you strap on a backpack (or, better yet, put a pair of underwear in one pocket and a toothbrush in the other), and just go somewhere. In any case, it's fun and has a different flavor than running the usual routes.

Today: ran 4. 5miles. Pretty well recovered from the marathon though my left knee is a little touchy.

Warm summer evening

2010-06-02T20:33:00.000-04:00

Nearly perfect, sitting out on the porch with Jess.

Monday: 25 pullups (15 std, 10 chin)
Tuesday: rest
Today: pushups, shoulders, stretching/yoga
   2 x (15 std pushups, 15 wide pushups, 15 military pushups)
   2 x straight arm shoulder raise front/side 16 reps x 10 lbs
   2 x shoulder press 8 reps x max wt
   2 x 50 weighted arm circles
   PT back stretches
   Yoga (stretching) 15 minutes

Vermont City Marathon 2010 Race Report

2010-06-01T23:32:00.001-04:00

Those few faithful followers of this blog may recall that in the fall of 2009 I re-entered the world of running, having taken a mini-sabbatical. I was a little burned out from years of the same training pattern, and struggling to find challenge (meaning?) after a single lackluster marathon in 2008 following my foray into ultramarathoning. So I retooled under the framework of all-around fitness, did the p90x program while running only once or so per week, and then started seriously taking up speed training in the late fall and early winter. It was all going very well, and I was at a fairly good level of fitness, when I sprained my neck doing pull-ups and was essentially out of commission for a few months. My running didn't suffer much but my speed and strength training did, and although I did some nice long runs I misjudged and peaked way too early.

I thought about not doing the race, then thought about doing the half marathon, then thought I wouldn't be able to anyway because we had no babysitter. So, having settled into the complacency of "I would, and I want to, but I just can't," my boss kindly agreed to watch the kids so both Jess and I could race, and it was time to shit or get off the pot. Knowing that I was seriously undertrained (11 weeks since my last long run, a bare minimum 18 miler) I got myself psyched up and said I would just push it and do the best I could. After all, this would be my 10th time running the marathon distance, and I had managed to figure out the routine. In fact, I hadn't had to stop and walk since 2003! You can get the picture: I knew this would be a challenging race, but I had no idea how hard.

It started well. The temperature was between 55 and 60, with a cloudy sky. It was slightly humid but overall very nice running conditions. The cloud cover was high and didn't obscure the view of the Adirondack mountains across the lake from Battery park. My legs were a bit tired as I had been working around the house and getting stuff at Lowe's the day before, but I figured they would loosen up as the race went on. I found my team (more about them soon), did the group picture, dropped my bag, went to the port-a-potty, and squeezed my way into the starting corral. Oddly, though it was a Memorial Day weekend race, I don't remember singing the national anthem, bowing our heads, or anything like that -- just the governor making a corny joke ("Governor Douglas, are you going to run...for re-election?"). The horn went off, I shuffled across the starting line, and settled in behind the 3:40 pacer -- very optimistic based on past results and current training, but what the hell.

The first part of the race goes through the town of Burlington - some residential neighborhoods and the pedestrian marketplace. I followed the crowd, saw my daughters at mile 2 or so -- Cadien saw me and got a big smile on her face, while Rowan was so dazed by all the people that I don't think she had any idea -- and settled in to pace at about 8:40-8:55 per mile. I will admit that I broke my early and cardinal rule of marathoning; "Don't work at all in the first half" During my first marathon, I was a faster runner but similarly undertrained due to injury, and this strategy had worked well to prevent me from flaming out early. I've held to this rule variably since then, bending it but never breaking it. Here, I ignored it, and pushed hard to avoid getting passed, to feel like I was flying (in fact, one of the greatest moments I've had running was during my first marathon, when I felt like I was effortlessly gliding but was passing people left and right after having held back for half of the race), and to get early part of the race over with. It was a nice segment, with great energy and fantastic crowds. Probably the highlight was the pair of patriotic themed transvestite/cross-dressers on Church Street.

About 5 miles in, the race cuts north out of town, down into a valley, and along a 6 or so mile out-and-back segment on a road. Many people don't like this segment but I've always enjoyed it - after a packed course with a lot of turns it gives me a chance to get in a groove and just run for a while. Indeed, I did feel pretty good here, but was definitely working. On the way back I passed Jess as she was starting her relay leg, and pushed hard to come up the hill as we came back into town. Miles 8,9,10 were not bad, as we ran back through town and started south towards the waterfront and the halfway point, but I could feel myself working harder and harder.

As I neared OakLedge park and the halfway point, I could feel my pace slipping, myself getting tired, and people start to pass me in earnest. I wasn't doing too badly, though, and kept enough of a positive focus that I enjoyed the view of the water (we were now running north along the waterfront) and even looking forward to the challenge of the Battery Street hill. As I turned the corner to go up the hill, I saw Jess cheering me on -- totally unexpected -- and it buoyed me enough to put my head down and take a decent, steady pace up the hill (half a mile or so, probably 4% grade? -- not too bad but psychologically one of the most challenging and memorable parts of the race). Between that and the intense crowds I felt I was doing all right, until the 4:00 pacer blew by me. And I mean he blew by me. I gave up my faint hopes of running under 4 hours, and at the top of the hill my stride turned into a shuffle that I know all too well - not something I want to be doing with 10 miles to go in a race I wanted to "crush" or "own" not two weeks prior.

Now, on long runs and in races I've thought of quitting many times. It's a point of personal pride that I've never quit in the middle of a race, so much so that I didn't think it a realistic possibility. To top it off, the team I run with raises money for the Vermont Children's Hospital, and our slogan this year (printed brightly and largely on the backs of our shirts: "Never give up, ever."). So as I tried to turn my shuffle back to a run over miles 16, 17, 18 on a long straightaway and turning into a lollipop loop in a neighborhood that I remember as being a low point in my 2008 race, I focused everything on putting off what I now regarded as inevitable, the walk breaks. I know some people use them effectively, but for me they have been a sign of giving up on a race as a race, and, as I mentioned, eliminating them from marathons and training runs was a big deal. I managed to continue running roughly 10-minute miles until mile marker 19, when I stopped to walk and from then on walked half a mile or so and ran 1.5 miles or so (repeated a few times). The running was not bad but the walking was painful in many ways. Finally at mile 24.5 or so, the 4:30 pacer passed me and shouted some vaguely annoying bit of encouragement, so I started running again and passed the pacer (who was herself not on pace!). I gritted through to the end with little left for a final push, crossed the finish line, and started the process of recovering from the familiar post-race queasiness. Final time: 4:31:17 by the timing system.

In a way, I met one of my goals, which was to run so hard that I didn't have anything left - I remember some other marathons where I wish I had pushed harder because I wasn't "tired enough" at the end. But I never expected to post my worst time by far. The funny thing is that I have no excuses: the weather was great, the course was familiar, the crowds were fantastic (kids handing out watermelon pieces in the residential neighborhoods, many people with their hose sprayers on, costumes, views, etc.) the team support was great. But this was a humbling experience, since despite my experience with other marathons, an ultramarathon, an Ironman, etc., this race kicked my ass because of the simple fact that I wasn't well trained, I wasn't well rested, and I wasn't mentally prepared. I don't think it's a bad thing getting my ass kicked, and I didn't have a bad experience. But this race was hard. I am proud of the fact that I finished.

Lessons learned:
1. Respect the marathon.
2. Performance has everything to do with present fitness, training, attitude; and little with past achievements.
3. If you wear a shirt that says "Never Give Up" then you are pretty much locked in.
4. Also, if you buy a toilet and carry it into your house then that is not resting your legs.

I can tell you one thing: I'm not going out like that. I know we are moving to Florida in a few weeks and it will take a a month or more to become acclimatized to the humidity and heat, but I am feeling the stirrings that make me want to train and run until I run the best and fastest race I can. I may not qualify for Boston anytime before retirement but I can damn well break 3:40 with some real attention to training.

Another race, another day.

Time: 4:31:17 ( 10:21 average pace )
Splits:
1 - 9:25
2 - 8:45
3 - 8:58
4 - 8:32
5 - 8:43
6 - 8:35
7 - 8:53
8 - 8:52
9 - 8:55
10 - 8:55
11 - 8:53
12 - 9:10
13 - 9:13
14 - 9:56
15 - 9:52
16 - 10:04
17 - 10:06
18 - 10:17
19* - 14:22
20 - 11:34
21*+22 - 25:11
23* - 15:21
24 - 11:07
25* - 15:03
26 - 10:14
.2 - 2:14
* = walk/run

Taper Week

2010-05-28T20:55:00.000-04:00

This has been a good taper week, especially given our Vermont-style heat wave. I am looking forward to the marathon on Sunday and I think despite serious undertraining I will try to run it for time. All I know is that I'm taking a $20 so I can enjoy a lemonade and sausage sandwich at the finish line. And, folks, there's only one way to get to the finish line quickly (no, I'm not talking about sneaking on the subway!). Haul ass, and when you get tired, put one foot in front of the other, and then haul ass some more.

As usual before these big events I have been doing a lot of thinking about the significance of running in my life, and how and when different "lives" come together - work, family, running, etc. There will be a nice coming together of these different lives just before the race as Jess and I drop our kids off at our boss's house, and then walk over together to the race start.

Eyes on the weather are not totally reassuring but not terrible either: small chance of rain, 60 in the morning, maybe low 80s for a high. So, all but the end will be decent weather, and once I'm in it that far a little heat never seems to matter.

Cheers and stay tuned for the race report.

Tuesday - rest / 115 situps
Wednesday - run 4.0 miles / 120 situps
Thursday - PT stretches, yoga 20 minutes, / 125 situps
Today - Run 2.5 miles / 130 situps
Tomorrow - rest (situps?)
Sunday - marathon (situps?)

The race is on

2010-05-24T22:35:00.000-04:00

Unexpectedly, at the last minute, we have found someone to watch the kids so that both Jess and I can run in this weekend's Vermont City Marathon. I am pumped. Now to decide: run the race as a marathon, or go all out in the first half and then just try and finish... Either way I'm undertrained so pressure will be low. I can't wait to get out there!

Still going with the situp contest.

I've also started my own 1-person contest: the 2010 pull-up/chin-up challenge.
The first day I started with 5 pullups and 5 chinups
I'm now up to 8 and 8.
The idea is to see how far I can go without coming off the bar in either set - so, it's a clean 8, rest, then a clean 8 again but with chinup grip.
Since it's my contest, I do this about every 2-3 days. Goal is to increase my rep number, I was getting too much into choppy sets that didn't seem to build much endurance...

Yesterday - rest (if that's what you call 4 hours in a hot attic packing boxes...)
Today - 110 situps, 16 pullups (8 std, 8 chinup), 55 pushups, PT back stretches

Keeping it real

2010-05-21T20:45:00.002-04:00

This is a day that has gotten better as it has gone on. Mediocre day at work, fun night with the kids, some evening calisthenics and yoga, and Jess gets home soon.

Today: 14 pullup (7 std, 7 chin); 30 pushups; 100 situps for time 2:50; yoga 30 min.

Barbecue

2010-05-20T15:14:00.000-04:00

First barbecue of the season coming up this afternoon, and I think it may be the hottest day of the spring so far (yes, all the way up to 80!).

In preparation I ran this morning while it was still cool. What I find amazing is how each run has its own story arc, similar to all past runs but different enough to keep it interesting. In broadest terms, I guess the arc contains: pre-run/motivation - warmup - running and thinking - post-run. Today I was quite aware of moving through the story, but barely aware of running. Some variety of the "flow" state, complete with meta-perception while more or less effortlessly moving through the activity at hand.

Today: run 4 miles, 90 situps

"a little light refreshment"

2010-05-19T21:57:00.001-04:00

At the end of a challenging day at work, sometimes a light workout is just the thing to shake off the stress and negative emotion without getting too amped up before bed. Today is such a day.

12 pullups (6 std, 6 chinup)
25 pushups
85 situps
PT stretches and back exercises
2 sets 8-10 reps each max weight dumbbells:
  bicep curls
  shoulder press
  tricep kickbacks

Excellent Results

2010-05-18T20:25:00.001-04:00

So, after a full week of relative rest (excepting a little yoga and the sit up contest) I have given my body as much easy time as it's going to get for now...so, I'm back. All injuries are showing signs of healing.

This morning was a cool, mellow run in clear high-40s weather, followed by a mild calisthenic warmup and some situps. Felt great and made my day go smoothly, although it made me realize that after we have left Vermont I'll miss the long summer days (light from 5 to 8:30 currently and not even at the solstice) In the vein of eating healthfully, I had a "Sashimi Deluxe" platter for lunch with green tea and perhaps the slightest thimbleful of sake. Work was productive, and I came home to my wonderful family. So, all in all, a positive day.

Last week: situps and occasional yoga
Today: Run 4 miles, 10 pullups, 20 pushups, 80 situps

At a crossroads

2010-05-12T19:42:00.000-04:00

The title of this post may be a bit melodramatic, but I do feel that I'm at a crossroads in terms of fitness and working out. I already reached, and took, a cross-road several months ago (about the time I started this blog) when I started to pursue a more wide-reaching definition of fitness, including lifting, power-based training, and yoga. Now, three more or less simultaneous injuries later (knee, wrist, and neck) the crossroads I am at relates to how to pursue these activities in a balanced and sustainable way. Although some may disagree, it seems no use going for a personal pull-up record if I'm going to sprain my neck and be essentially out of condition for heavy upper body work for months and months; similarly with the wrist and yoga poses that are too advanced. The knee is different; I've recovered from so many inflammatory running injuries that I am not too worried about this one.

So part of my nature has become to try and push my limits, to delight in exhaustion, and, yes, even to embrace some pain. How to modulate this to avoid injuries, or at least multiple injuries? No easy answer here. Food for thought as I (again) take an easy week.

Yesterday: yoga 20 minutes, 45 situps
Today: 50 situps

On the road

2010-05-10T22:33:00.002-04:00

Yesterday: 35 situps, core workout ("ab ripper X"), 20 min bike trainer intervals @ 150W;
Today: Run 4 miles, 40 situps

A new contest

2010-05-08T15:40:00.001-04:00

Even though the burpee war is still going on, a cruel reminder of my own lack of toughness, its instigators have started a milder (at least at first) situp war. So we've been adding five a day for several days, and I feel like I might have a shot at this one. I've only done a thousand situps a few times but I'll bet we get there.

Otherwise it's been a restful week with a nice run this morning after it rained last night.

Thu: rest / 20 situps
Fri: rest / 25 situps
Today: run 4 miles, 30 situps, 2 x 15 chair dips, 3 sets: (10 wide + 10 std + 10 military pushups) + an extra 10 to total 100 pushups; PT stretches / back exercises.

Traveling, Traveling

2010-05-05T20:11:00.004-04:00

Running often grounds me during traveling, and it's a great way to explore a new (or old) place. It's quick enough to get somewhere, but slow enough to see and experience a neighborhood, a trail, or a feature of the terrain.

I was in Florida last week and had a great time on some old familiar running routes; this weekend I was in Vancouver, BC (an incredible city that is new to me) and got a chance to see a couple of great areas while running. It was 90 minutes from when my plane touched down to when I had my shoes on and was running -- all I had to do from the airpot was takean inexpensive and quick train into town and check into my hotel. I ran a third of a mile on city streets and cut down to the seawall, where I ran for a few more miles along the ocean smelling the salt air and feeling spitting rain and a breeze. I turned around after reaching Stanley Park, which I explored again two days later on a sunny and calm day. Anyway, the trip was nice but the running (and other workouts) seemed to enable the enjoyment of dinners, the conference, and other parts of the trip.

Here is the view from our hotel room (the city streets) and, above, the view from the convention center (notice the floatplane landing).

Sunday: run 4 miles (Vancouver)
Monday: yoga 55 minutes, core workout, 40 pullups (28 std, 12 chin), 20 situps, assorted pushups
Tuesday: run 4.1 miles (Vancouver), 10 situps
Today: rest, 15 situps

Been a while

2010-04-29T19:43:00.000-04:00

As the title says, it's been awhile. To the many (2-3) faithful followers of this blog, don't worry. I was busy at work, then in Florida looking for a house for when we move in 2 months. So, don't call it a comeback, I was here to begin with.

I'm still in Florida, always beautiful in April, where it is 55 and sunny in the mornings. Perfect running weather? I think so.

I've had some nice workouts this week, and done a lot of thinking about training and my goals for the next year or so. I've been having a lot of fun running but not feeling so good about the upcoming marathon or the long runs. My distance training was going fairly well up until six weeks ago, but I haven't really done a long run since then. I meant to go 20 yesterday but ended up at 13.1. It was great run, through a rural road shaded by old oak trees, and I just stopped while I was still having fun, not wanting the solitary slog-fest that usually comes in the last third of the run. So, I am going to put the marathon on hold for now until I get my head right (because don't get me wrong, this is purely a head issue -- sometimes I choose to push through the slog-fest and sometimes I don't). I like the idea of doing 10-15 mile runs regularly for six months or so, mixed in with speed work, cycling, and a variety of strength and power training; then with a stronger base and overall fitness ramping up more quickly for a marathon or so in early 2011. I think I peaked too early this time, mentally that is, spending all of my energy and joy fighting the snow and cold. I may run the marathon for the fun of it but I'm not going to sweat the final long run. Mixed feelings as it's been a while since I've planned on doing a race and then changed my mind, but it feels right.

Here's what I've been up to this week:
Sunday: 14 hours flying (and boy are my arms tired!)
Monday: run 4.5 miles
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: run 13.1 miles
Thursday (TODAY): yoga 40 minutes, core workout, 120 pushups (3 sets each of 10 wide, 10 std, 10 military).
Friday (TOMORROW): run ~5 miles

Rainy day workout

2010-04-18T20:24:00.001-04:00

Cancelled plans for long run this weekend given the weather (forecasted and actual). Not that I haven't run in near freezing rain/snow before, but I'm afraid I just don't have the wherewithal this weekend.

Instead, I did a neat little anaerobic and strength focused workout from the garage:

Today -PT back exercises, then
3 sets of:
   7 minute running sprint intervals (1:30 warmup, 2:00 sprint, 1:30 easy, 2:00 sprint)
   5 pull ups
   10 wide pushups
   10 standard pushups
   10 military pushups
   5 chin ups

Next time I'll add more core work hanging from the pull up bar (knee to elbow, etc)

Yesterday and the day before both rest days.

Feelin' Groovy (and tired)

2010-04-15T21:07:00.001-04:00

Sometimes my body feels tired and sore in an altogether good way. Now is one of those times. This is as opposed to those times when I feel tired and sore in an over-trained or injured way, which has been my mode of operation all too frequently recently. I may also be breaking my morning curse and opening the door to more early training, but we'll see if it takes.

I plan to rest tomorrow and then run 20 miles on Friday at a good pace. How successful I am should give a good sense of how realistic my marathon goals are for this May.

2 days ago: run 4 miles
yesterday: yoga 90 minutes (with quadruple-pushup vinyasas)
today: run 4.5 miles.

Most Memorable Runs

2010-04-12T20:32:00.004-04:00

Originally this was going to be a short "top ten" list, but looking back through my training logs got me thinking about some memorable runs (or series of runs) in the last decade or so.

Dec 2001 - Hawthorne Trail, Gainesville FL - 10 miles
   A half finished 20 mile run with yin and yang: some of the fastest and smoothest running I've ever done-- it felt effortless at < 8:00 pace, but was abruptly ended by excruciating right knee pain.

Feb 2002 - Gulf Beaches Marathon, FL - 26.2 miles
   You always remember your first. I took a friend's advice and didn't even try to work for the first half, and despite a knee injury had an incredible first 18 miles. The wall was real though, my friends.

Training runs 2000-2003, Gainesville, FL
   Pure running, and building up my base for life.

June 2002 - Hood River, OR - 7 miles
   This was a great run on a fantastic vacation. I took a left out of the motel, found a road up a mountain, and followed it to a trail with an incredible view, and a water fountain at the end!

Feb 2003 - Gulf Beaches Marathon, FL - 26.2 miles (PR)
   Training paid off with a PR that I'm still trying to beat (3:49) and a time 23 minutes faster than my first.

May 2003 - to Horseshoe Beach, FL - bike 75 miles / run 10 miles
   Memorable for the 90-95 degree weather in extreme humidity. After this workout I felt so bad that I had to go dip in a cold spring afterwards, which I think prevented some form of heat illness.

Oct 2003 - Great Floridian Triathlon - swim 2.4 mi / bike 112 mi / run 26.2 miles
   This was a challenging but fantastic race, the run in particular was a milestone because I willed myself to keep running without walk breaks, so this was the first time I managed a marathon that way.

Feb 2004 - Camp Wesley Woods, GA - multiple runs
   Egg salad for lunch then daily runs up a 750 foot slope and onto a half-finished road on a Smoky mountain ridge. Iron stomach.

Fall 2005 - Tabeguache Trail, Grand Jct. CO - multiple runs
   Beautiful runs up on to a high desert ridge.

Nov 2005 - Gemini Bridge, Moab, CO - 16 miles
   Planned as a 12 miler but felt so good I kept going. Camped with friends afterward.

Winter 2006 - somewhere along I-70, CO
   Driving back from Denver to Grand Junction, stopped on a whim and ran on a trail I saw from the road. Turned out to be a great and memorable run.

Feb 2006 - Five Points of Life marathon, Gainesville, FL - 26.2 miles
   Most fun marathon I've done, though not the fastest.

May 2007 - Essex, VT to Mt. Mansfield and back - 31 miles
   Training run for the Vermont 50. Smooth first 10 miles, challenging run up the mountain to an alpine zone where I felt like I was flying from rock to rock, then an excruciating and difficult return. Well worth it.

Sep 2007 - Vermont 50 - ~51 miles, ~8000 feet of elevation gain
   Hard.

Oct 2008 - Burlington, VT - 10 miles
   A great fall run in Vermont, representative of many I've had. In this case running through the cool dry air with leaves falling around me was so fun I kept going and going and going, extending my lunch break a little too long.

May 2009 - VT City marathon (1/2 marathon) - 13.1 miles
   Negative splits for every mile - got me re-energized and excited to run after a long dry spell.

Winter 2010 - training runs in the cold
   Memorable for the mental challenge of getting of the door, and the physical challenge of keeping my face warm.

Thanksgiving Weekend 2010 - 16 miler on McQueen Island Trail, GA [added Dec 2010]
   Clear and cool, reminded me of run in the same place 9 years prior! Slower now but still love the long run.

February 2011 - Five Points of Life Marathon - personal record (3:44)
    Memorable forthe experience of starting out fairly hard and being able to keep it up for the whole time. Does this mark a change in my approach to long races or simply a lucky day?

Training log

2010-04-12T20:18:00.002-04:00

I wrote a separate post on some memorable runs in the last decade.

For workouts (or lack thereof, since I just finished a more-or-less rest week):
Two days ago: rest
Yesterday: back PT exercises, biceps lifting
Today: yoga

Not so good at resting

2010-04-09T20:22:00.001-04:00

I've never been that good at the "rest" or "easy" portion of training cycles. I swore up and down that this week would be a rest week, with a few days off (check), physical therapy, light yoga, and one or two easy runs. Absolutely no lifting, especially pull-ups. So what did I do yesterday, after my physical therapy work? A core/pull-up/pushup workout. Fortunately, or unfortunately, it felt great, so it will reinforce my tendency to ignore training plans and do what I feel like. I ran today and felt light-footed (though not lightheaded). So I hope I got enough rest, because it's over now. Today's unplanned resistance workout was only slightly less strenuous: flipping the girls over my head after they got a running start. For some reason the 30 pounder feels fine but the 40 pounder is a bit of a strain...

Next blogging task: list of top 10 runs ever

2 days ago: yoga 25 minutes

Yesterday: PT back exercises, core workout ("ab ripper X" + 5 knees to elbows + 20x3 leg lifts from dip bar), 10 pushups with side arm raise, 2 x 10 wide pushup, 2 x 10 std pushup, 2 x 10 military pushup; 25 pullups (15 standard, 10 chinups)

Today: Ran 4 miles

Rest week

2010-04-06T19:39:00.001-04:00

My body felt beat up after this weekend, which was a beautiful Easter weekend with family. I feel like I haven't been training as much as I want, but looking back the burpees were relentless and my legs felt like jello. I quit the burpee war, which is unfortunate since I was really enjoying it, but I need to put the focus on running right now. The other thing I did this weekend was swing, carry, lift, and otherwise play with four 30-40 pound kids clamoring for more. So I overdid it in general, and felt it on Monday. At some point the goal will be to be able to do the burpees and swinging of children without feeling like I overdid it, but I'm clearly not there yet. Another goal!

This is actually a good week to take it easy, since I am working a lot and wouldn't have been able to work out properly anyways. So, I'll do some stretching and yoga, and come back strong the following week.

3 days ago: 20 burpees, run 4.5 miles
2 days ago: 21 burpees, run 4 miles
yesterday: rest
today: rest / stretch

low mileage

2010-04-02T06:09:00.001-04:00

Looking back on my training so far this winter and spring, I am not quite at the point I'd like to be in terms of weekly mileage. Some of this is because I took it easy for a few weeks after my neck injury, but mostly I can't quite figure it out. Having too much fun with "cross-training?". I think I'll shoot for one extra run per week over the next month or so. I'm also curious, and perhaps a little nervous, to see how the burpees affect my running performance as they become a more substantial daily activity.

2 days ago: run 4 miles (fartlek), 17 burpees
yesterday: PT back exercises, 18 burpees
today: yoga 45 minutes (intense), 19 burpees

Family, family, family

2010-03-30T20:33:00.004-04:00

One of the things I'm blessed with in life is a wonderful family. That goes without saying for my immediate family (my wife and children), and my own parents, brother, and his family. But I'm blessed with an incredible, wonderful extended family as well. My in-laws, in particular (both sets), as well as Jess's sisters and their families, make up part of this group. There's not a person among them whom I don't genuinely enjoy, so at last count that's 4 (3 living) parent in-laws, 7 siblings, 4 sibling in-laws, and 3 nieces and nephews. I've spent so much time with them over the last 10 years and more that they feel like home to me as much as any group of people. We were just in Maine for a weekend, and had an incredible time with John and Phyllis, one of Jess's sets of parents (grandparents to our kids!). I could hide and say I'm really glad just for the kids' sakes but I'm glad for my own sake too.

My own more distant relations - grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, were a big part of my life as a young child, but primarily because of geography I haven't seen much of them since. There was a short period of time when Jess and I lived in Colorado that I was beginning to renew some of those relationships, but we moved away and I have mostly lost touch again. It strikes me as a loss that I wasn't as close to extended family in my own (later) childhood as I now am.

On a totally different note, I am beginning to get pissed off at myself for failing to get up for morning runs. I've been variably good and not so good at this in the past, but this is a new low. I've got a busy week at work coming up and I'll give myself a break, but after that I've got to suck it up and run early, especially as the weather is warming up. As I always try to remind myself, I never regret it when I do it.

Notice in the photo to left my outstanding nutrition plan!

3 days ago: yoga 40 minutes, 13 burpees
2 days ago: run 4 miles / 37:14; PT back exercises, 14 burpees, 10 knees-to-elbows
Yesterday: 15 burpees
Today: PT back exercises, 25 pull ups (15 standard, 10 chinups), 20x3 leg lifts (up on dip-bar apparatus, lift legs to 90 degrees with a hold at the top, each rep of 3 is straight/left/right), 16 burpees

Can't avoid philosophy

2010-03-26T16:19:00.000-04:00

I thought I was going to write about my workout today, and avoid philosophy, but I don't think I'll be able to do that. It was a really fun workout, completed after my final physical therapy session, with a mix and match of core and upper body exercises with a few burpees thrown in. I am slowly buying into the idea of short intense training, and today was a breakthrough as I abandoned the rule that any run shorter than 4 miles is a waste of time. I ran for about 14 minutes today (warmup + "tabata" + cooldown). Tabata is a protocol involving 8 repeats of 20 seconds maximal efforts and 10 seconds rest, introduced to me by my sister-in-law last summer. It works, at least according to what I've read, and it definitely makes it feel like a workout. The thing that blows my mind is that it twists specificity of training around on its head. If I am training to run a fast marathon, shouldn't I be running fast and long distances? This is in fact what I did 5 years ago or so. But maybe I'm actually training for dynamic power output and high cardiovascular workload, and a fast marathon will be a side effect. In any case, it's fun to branch out, and we'll see if it pays off in terms of performance. It's all a question of goals, and fun is not a bad one.

2 days ago: PT/back exercises, 10 burpees
Yesterday: run 4 m, 11 burpees
Today: PT/back exercises; core (100 twist/leg up situps, 1 minute up-down pushup hold in 10 second intervals; boat pose 3x20 sec; 15 hanging knees-to-elbows, 10 side arm pushups); 20 pullups (10 standard, 10 chinups); tabata treadmill run (~7 min pace at 5% grade) with 5 min warmup and 5 minute cooldown; 12 burpees

Ready for bed

2010-03-23T23:15:00.002-04:00

Long day but some great moments in there. I spent much of the day and evening at work but had a nice time at it; at home I felt full of life and energy as I spent spent time with Jess and the kids.

Physically I feel at a bit of a turning point -- my neck has improved, my last physical therapy visit is this week, and I am feeling ready to (slowly) build back up some of the strength I've lost while sidelined. Back to running when time permits. I haven't forgotten about the speed training phase coming up.

Yesterday: PT back exercises, pullups (15), core workout (intense), Burpee War Day 8 (8 burpees)
Today: Yoga 35 minutes, Burpee War Day 9 (9 burpees).

Great evening

2010-03-21T21:02:00.003-04:00

Great workout today - I pulled out the old p90x DVDs for a plyometrics workout in the garage, and had an even better post-workout dinner. It was leftovers night, and I consumed a gourmet feast: chicken risotto, bratwurst, pesto couscous, grean beans, sweet potatoes, homemade mac and cheese, and fruit salad! Awesome.

The best part was feeding Max while the girls were in bed and Jess was playing soccer. We both fell asleep, me holding the bottle and he drinking from it.

I forgot to wish my brother a happy birthday on Friday, so Happy Birthday, Brian!

I'm looking forward to a week of speed work, and the continuation of the Burpee contest..

Yesterday: PT back exercises, Burpee War Day 6 (6 burpees)
Today: Plyometrics ~1 hour (lunges, squats, jumps, etc.); Burpee War Day 7 (7 burpees)

Another great evening run!

2010-03-19T20:48:00.003-04:00

This one was even better than the last, with purple mountain views in the setting sun, and unbelievably perfect weather. I turned up the heat early and although I wasn't wearing a watch, this one felt fast...

Yesterday: PT back exercises; Burpee War Day 4 (4 burpees)
Today: ran 4 miles (fast); Burpee War Day 5 (5 burpees)