edis running

Early Mornings

2008-08-18T07:38:00.000-07:00

I bookended my weekend with a couple of 4:30 wake up runs. Both Fri and Mon I ran around 3.1-3.2M in around 30 minutes. The run Friday felt pretty good, this morning's was a little more difficult. I think I may be feeling shin pain again. Same leg, same place. Sure is strange that I am may be dealing with this again.

The Midnight Run is this weekend. Right now, I'm thinking of giving it a go. I'll get a couple more runs in this week and then decide.

Still eating different. Although I am allowing more cholesterol foods in small doses. I am still watching portion size though. As a result, I'm still right around 217, down from the 223-225 when I started this last month.

Mooresville, NC

2008-08-03T05:25:00.000-07:00

Well. Another place that is not home.

This week started in Columbus. Then to Windsor, ON. Then to Cordele. And now Mooresville, NC. No business this weekend though. This is family reunion weekend. It's been nice, but it was a long way to go.

This morning, I went down and had a treadmill run. For some reason, I just didn't have anything this morning. Time and Distance is below. Had to walk about half of the time. Probably drank and ate too much yesterday. Probably had 4-5 beers over the course of the day (that is from noon til about 10pm). And although I didn't eat too, too much, I did fall off my portion control, low cholesterol diet. Heck, they had scrambled dogs...A man can only resist so much.

Temperature in the fitness room was probably 80F or more. And it was adjacent to the indoor pool, so I think the humidity in there was over 70%. That said, I sweated like I was in a steam room. Heart rate was in the high 170s during my running portions. When I was walking, it settled around 135.

T: 30'
D: 2.7M

Tomorrow, I'm back in Cordele. Then I've got to go to Fuque Varina, NC for a meeting with JD. Next week, I'm in Augusta for another JD meeting and then I'm in Chicago for 2 nights for an AFS deal.

I'm ready to be home for a while...

Windsor 5k

2008-07-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

Quickly from Canada.

Windsor 5k

31'08". 88F 7:15pm 7/30/08

More now...

This was a neat run scenery wise. The Detroit River is believe it or not, really pretty. Running on the Windsor, Canada side, you have a great view of downtown Detroit. I ran from the hotel to Ambassador Bridge and back. Just under 3.2 miles. The weather was quite hot and actually very dry. Ran the out leg into a steady head wind. Probably went out too quick and didn't have much left on the return leg, even with the wind help.

I'm disappointed that I have only run a few times this month. Not having a regular schedule makes it difficult...or at least makes me feel better about my excuses.

2008-07-20T17:49:00.000-07:00

Well, the summer is past the halfway point, and I am finally getting in gear somewhat...

July 5 - 3 miles in 30'20
July 12 - 3.2 in 30'47

both of the above runs were at the river. Ran from the cabin down Mtn. Dr. to Lickskillet and back. Very hilly track. Runs were both on Sat. mornings before 9:00.

Today, I'm in Cordele and after having a South Beach Salad for dinner (menu item at the Grill at the marina), I came back to hotel, rested a bit and then ran to the foundry and back. So that will be below...

July 20 - 3.39m in 34'13" - 90F (I think that took a lot out of me. I walked about 4 minutes of it.)

On Sunday, July 13, I started something that I never figured I'd do. I gave up red meat and bacon for 30 days. I live on that stuff, so this hasn't exactly been easy. But last week, I ate at least one salad as a meal everyday and then a chicken/fish meal as the other. Breakfast was a replacement shake. By Friday morning, I'd lost 6 pounds. That's really something I think. Because of that, on Friday after going to Alamisco to pick up the girls, we stopped at Niffers and I rewarded myself with a chili cheeseburger...I know, I didn't even go 7 days. But it was a reward that I gave myself and I was right back on the diet Friday night. We'll see...

I'm trying to start the running thing again. Schedule has been crazy so it has again been hard to get into a training regime. No races on the calendar yet other than the Country's Midnight Run. I think that is sometime in September/October.

2008-05-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

Right at 3m twice this week...nothing to get too excited about, but it is the first expended energy in quite some time. Having to ease into it a bit. I'll get there though.

Up to 226 after this weekends smoke fest. Ribs, Chicken and Bottom Round. I love to BBQ!

2008-02-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

The buzz is beginning stir inside me again. Do something! That is what I keep hearing. Just do something!

Well, I'm almost there.

easy does it...

2007-04-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

dateline: cordele, ga

3.3 miles this morning on a 10 minute mile pace. got a real dilema though...i think the shin splint is coming back. i think what this means is that from now on, i'll need to do all my preparation in a non impact way.

Sick as a dog

2007-04-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a total loss. My plan of 8.5 miles by Monday didn't happen, but I did just get in a 4 miler this evening. Time was 35'39", so with lots of hills and a little walking mixed in, I got in at just under a 9' mile. Nothing twinging in the calf, although there is a bit of tightness in that spot. I'm trying to go easy...but I've got lots of catching up to do.

I wonder how everyone else is doing...................................................................

Has anybody seen the towel?

2007-04-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

For the first time today, I started thinking that I may be in bad shape as far as preparation for this race is concerned. After putting in over 50 miles by Valentines Day, I think I've probably tallied about 20-25 miles since then. After this calf thing started and work started getting crazy with Cordele coming close to cranking up, I just haven't had the will power to run. However, guilt is a pretty powerful incentive. I'm still trying to put'em in the bank. But I've got some serious saving to do.

Today was 2.5 miles in 21' flat. 8'20" pace. Now I've just got to try to spread that over a few more miles.

Here's my goal for the next seven days...
Friday - 3.5 miles
Saturday - Cordele - then hopefully golf
Sunday - 5 miles...I think I can, I think I can
Monday - Cordele - Rest
Tuesday - Cordele - 4 miles
Wednesday - 4 miles.

That's basically 16-17 miles over the next 7 days. Wish me luck.

2 feet high and holding

2007-04-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

Wednesday again, and I have only put in about 5 miles since the last post. Monday I did a circuit workout (2 times around the horn) then put in 2.5 miles on the treadmill. Today, when I got home from work, I ran down to the club and did one circuit and then ran home. I felt pretty rough on the way home. Big hill climb with some downhill and my legs felt a little weak under me. I'm just out of the shower now though and the feeling of needing to throw up is beginning to subside....So now, it's off to dinner.

Today was a bit of a hell day at work...OSHA showed up at the door. I'll fill in the details later.

edis, out.

1 foot high and risin

2007-04-04T04:42:00.000-07:00

How high's the water mama?

Back at square one. My training has officially started "again". After starting the year feeling pretty damn good about my training and even better about becoming a runner, I really hit the skids when I developed the shin splint. I never thought it would take as much out of me as it did, but I have been fighting with myself for the last month about getting my ass back out on the trail. This morning, 5:15 at the Veterans Memorial State Park in Cordele, GA, I finally beat myself back into submission.

2.75m in 25'48". A paltry pace at best, but when I finished, I felt like a runner again. I can sense traces of the confidence that I lost with the injury. I can feel it coming back again...and I love it.

A longer layoff

2007-03-27T04:40:00.000-07:00

Well, after an even longer time of layoff (never hit the bike or the pool), I am now ready to begin my training again in earnest. The pain in my calf has finally completely subsided and so I am ready to begin to prepare safely for this race.

I am in Cordele again today. Lately, I have been spending a good deal of time down here, and I see that only continuing. The plant is edging ever closer to starting up and there is still much to do. The Italians are here and we have already had many enjoyable times together. They are a delightful group. Three of them know very little English while one of them is fluent in five languages. Now that they are here, the work is progressing very quickly and I believe that we will meet our start-up date of the first week of May. It will come down to the rest of the plant being ready, as the new molding machine will most certainly be in good form. Our team has been working 12 hours/day for the last 3 1/2 months taking every other Sunday off. It is the toughest of work schedules, but the men are faring beautifully and are excited with the arrival of the group from Italy.

More later, I suppose. I will probably only try to get in a run of 30 minutes or so tonight. Slow pace. We'll see.

A long layoff

2007-03-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

I know that all of you have been wondering where I am. Why the long silence? Where could he be? Well, I've been wondering the same thing lately. The shin splint thing ended up turning into a 2 week layoff where I basically did nothing at all, and that is exactly how I have been feeling...like nothing at all. Work has been pretty hectic. I've just returned from a road trip to North and South Carolina for a foundry visit and an AFS conference. The foundry I visited is running a piece of equipment like one that we will be installing in Cordele (which is where I am this a.m.) and the AFS meeting was spent meeting with suppliers trying to line up all of the things that we will be needing for startup. The real fun started on the way back yesterday from the conference. The short version is this...500 miles of driving in 12 hours while spending $493.37 on a new alternator and battery for the expedition...and that's all I'd like to say about that.

I did finally run again. Wednesday and Thursday of this week, I finally started back on the training trail. I eased in to it on Wed. with a 2.25 mile treadmiller in 20 minutes testing to see how my calf was going to treat me. After I finished that, I did 20 more minutes of hill work on the exercise bike. Thursday, I went for a run on the beach. It was a 40 minute run, not sure how far I went. After my run each day, my leg was still hurting a little, though not as badly as it was a couple of weeks ago. So, I believe that what I need to do for the next couple of weeks, is omit the running for a little while and instead pick up the bike and swim thing. For the swimming, that means joining the Y or something like that, but I think that is something that I can do.

This shin splint thing has really got me down...

Wednesday

2007-02-21T19:57:00.000-08:00

Well, the trip to Nashville went off without a hitch. We had a very nice visit with the Stac's grandparents and cousins. Had a little snow even. We swang (you know, I'm not sure swang is a word but I sure like the way it sounds) through Chattanooga on the way home and had lunch at a place near and dear to my heart. I went for the Delirious burger (15 oz before cooking) and was instantly reminded that Cheeburger Cheeburger without question has the best burgers on the planet.

I rested my calf. Problem is, the damn thing didn't really feel any better. Matter of fact, this week, it's still hurting. More in the muscle now than anywhere else. I haven't run since last Thursday, but I have been on my feet a bunch. If it doesn't start feeling better in the next couple of days, I'm going to see the Doc.

These last 5/6 days, I have felt worthless. I'm going to be getting back on the bike to keep the cardio up and may take the advice that some of you gave me and get into the pool as well.

By the way, one extremely bright spot on the weekend trip was coming home through Atlanta and stopping by to see Hunter Lawrence Martin. Pictures as promised...

Friday

2007-02-16T04:40:00.000-08:00

I thought it was really funny yesterday that after I described the pain I was having in yesterdays post, I typed in "pain in the lower calf and inner tibia" and all of these results for different types of posterior shin splints popped up. I know it is probably dangerous to self diagnose, but it is hard to argue with the description of my pain and PSS matching so completely. But I am not sure that I agree with the causes so much. See the problem that I have is that it lists "Flat Feet" as the most likely cause. I don't have flat feet. And I don't feel like I have inadequate arch support in the Asics that I am running in. I guess it could all get back to stretching (which I possibly have been neglecting to a painful end). So that is the first thing that I will do to try to alleviate this. I iced my leg for a little while last night and took some ibuprofen.

With all that said, I'm pretty sure that I'll use this trip to Nashville as an excuse to rest for a few extra days. I was going to try to get in 6-7 miles tomorrow on the tread mill, but I will likely hold off on that for now.

Thursday

2007-02-15T15:55:00.000-08:00

Started to get up this morning at 4:45 but took one look at the temp (27F) and got back under the covers. So instead, I just got an after work run in. 3.6 in 32'15". As I sit here having just finished, my calf is throbbing pretty good. I spent 10 minutes or so stretching before my run and stretched a little bit when I finished up, but it is still smarting. It's almost like I have a tenderness down the inside of my lower tibia that radiates through my lower calf muscle. That's not a shin splint is it? I'm going to have do to some investigation. I'll let you know what I come up with.

Tomorrow, it's off to Nashville. No run until probably Saturday at the earliest.

Well, here's an early diagnosis: (From www.coolrunning.com)

Posterior Shin Splints

Description:
Pain on the inner side of your leg, right where the calf muscle meets the big shin bone. If the pain is severe, you may have strained this area enough to cause a stress fracture in the tibia. If this is the case you should see a doctor immediately.

Likely causes:
You've strained a muscle that gives some support to the arch of your foot (the muscle runs from the shin bone around the ankle and attaches behind the ball of the foot). You probably have flat feet.

Hump Day

2007-02-14T03:57:00.000-08:00

This morning's route. In 47:30. I'll post more later.

Nothing but your basic 5 miler this morning. Pace ended up being around 9'27". That is a little better than my 6 miler from last week. I have some pace work to do though. I'll be thinking about that in a bit.

In my training log for this MWTC 10K, I've planned to try to increase my mileage by about 10% every week. This week I should be running about 4.4 miles each time out. Obviously, I have had a mixed result with my recent runs. Monday, I couldn't make that distance, but today, I think I could have gone another couple of miles easy. I guess my runs later this week will be the better indicator. I think I am going to run tomorrow and then rest Friday (we'll be driving to Nashville late in the afternoon and I don't want to be tired). That way I can get a distance run in up in Nashville on Saturday. It will probably be a treadmiller, but we'll see.

As far as pace goes, I know that is something I would like to improve. My goal come race time is to be able to finish a true 10K in somewhere around 50 minutes. That puts me right at an 8' mile pace. Since I haven't really come close to that over any distance, I have got my work cut out for me. I believe that I will begin trying to get some pace work in during my runs in the coming weeks. I want to build a solid distance base (above 5 miles) before I start pushing it too much. I am worried lately with my calf being sore about an injury totally knocking me off schedule. I'm not positive that I can afford to take another couple of weeks off.

As for my calf, I have started stretching pretty good after my run and it seems to help the soreness subside. I read an interesting article on RunnersWorld.com about stretching and running that surprised me a bit. It turns out that stretching does not really cut down on injuries for runners. I know that this is something that goes completely against our traditional thinking, but read the article and see for yourself. I am not currently stretching with purpose before a run, but I do notice that when I get started at 5 in the morning, that first mile is sometimes one of my slowest. It takes me a while to get my legs warmed up. I almost feel like the tinman who needs a few drops of oil at all the joints to get limbered up. I think I will put in some pre-run stretching over the next couple of weeks to see how I feel and if I can get rolling a little quicker.

Monday Blues

2007-02-12T15:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I suck on Mondays. After putting in my 6 miler on Friday, I felt so good about myself that I took the weekend off and did some stuff around the house with Stac. We are trying to move the kids area into the basement so there was some weak mind/strong back work that she had me do. I woke up this a.m. at 4:45 and spent about 10-15 minutes trying to keep my eyes open. I finally rolled out of bed got my wind pants and sweatshirt on and hit the road. Immediately, I noticed that this was going to be a tough run for me this morning. I put in 2.8 miles in 26'23" (9'21" pace) and finished feeling like I was going to die. This was a hill run for me, so I knew it would be hard, but this was ridiculous. When I finished, I noticed that my right calf was starting to get sore (I felt this a little be this weekend, but shrugged it off). It started to feel better throughout the day so I think it is just soreness.

Anyway, when I got home from work, after being so discouraged about this morning, I decided to go get another run in. So I just got back from another 2.8 miler but this time, I ran it in 23'14" (8'18" pace). As soon as I finished, my right calf started to flare up again, so I'll probably rest for sure tomorrow. But, my latest 2.8 helped me shake the blues from this morning. I suppose it helped that for my evening run, it was 65F instead of 34F like it was this morning. There is a big difference in running in cold conditions vs. warm ones. That much I am discovering for sure.

Well, enough blabbering. Here's the totals:

Totals:
Running
D: 5.6m
W: 5.6m
M: 21.8m
Y: 46m
Biking
D: 0
W: 0
M: 0m
Y: 8m

By the way, I'll keep you posted on the calf...

Friday

2007-02-09T04:46:00.000-08:00

6.15 miles 1:00:14!

I think I have it in me! I think I can be someone who loves to run! This morning, I ran basically the same route as Wednesday, but I did a figure-8 around the park and then did a full loop before heading back to the house. Another uphill finish that I was pretty sure was going to kill me a time or two, but once I got through the hills, I felt pretty good. I actually sprinted (as much sprint as was possible at the 6-mile mark) for about the last 200 yards. Without that sprint, I might have been able to go on some more! I am pretty freakin' psyched about where I am right now. Now my goal will be to at least double this distance between now and the MWTC. Probably, I'd like to be around the 12-13 mile mark sometime in late March or early April. That sounds like big talk when I sit back and read it, but I actually think that it is possible.

Maybe I'm a runner after all!

Totals:
Running
D: 6.15m
W: 13.1m
M: 16.2m
Y: 40.4m
Biking
D: 0
W: 0
M: 0m
Y: 8m

Thursday

2007-02-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

No running today. Busy day at work and just didn't have time once I got home. I'm thinking of pushing it a little bit in the morning. I've added a little to my course from Wednesday. Here's the new loop right here. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get it all in. I'll be getting started around 5 in the a.m. so wish me luck!

Wednesday

2007-02-07T04:48:00.000-08:00

4.2 miles...42'05". I was hoping to be right around a 10' mile for this run and I ended up averaging 10'01". That's right on where I wanted to be. Not only was this my 1st long run, it also was all uphill to the finish. The last mile was basically a steep up hill for the 1st 1/4 mile then gradual hills with some slight down hills the rest of the way.

Totals:
Running
D: 4.2m
W: 6.9m
M: 10m
Y: 34m
Biking
D: 0
W: 0
M: 0m
Y: 8m

Tuesday

2007-02-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

No run today. After yesterday evening's run, I decided to layoff this a.m. and then ended up not having time to run this morning. I will be running in the morning though. I have a course mapped out that puts me right over 4 miles for tomorrow. That will be the longest run I've attempted so far. Matter of fact, it'll be the longest run I've ever attempted. I'm excited about it. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. I just want to finish this in 40' or so.

I spent some time tonight looking at training aides. There are a couple that are sold by Garmin that I am intersted in. The Forerunner 305 is the one that I am most interested in. It is a combination device that does everything to pace setting, distance tracking, heart rate monitoring...It sounds like the perfect tool to help me train more specifically and track my progress. I am thinking that I will likely get this, but I will probably wait until I hit some type of milestone before I splurge for it. I'm thinking the 10 mile mark might be a good number. My first 10 miler will certainly be worth celebrating, and that might be the perfect reward. Based on my training log, I should be hitting the 10 mile mark on regular runs in April. I'll likely try to get one in before then however with a weekend distance run. I'll let you know as I get closer.

I'll update the totals in the morning.

Monday

2007-02-05T15:32:00.000-08:00

After taking a rest day on Sunday, still basking in my post race glory (I wore my t-shirt from the race all day yesterday...I almost wore it to church , but Susan said that it would be tacky), I slept through my morning run. I stayed up for the ball game and the wife and I didn't get to bed until almost midnight. I'm hanging with the kids tonight cause Stac has a league meeting (as in Jr., not bowling). However, I did squeeze in a quick run before she left. This was one of those kind of runs that I didn't realize I was going to have time for until the last second, so mentally I was a little behind. But I did turn in what I thought was a pretty good run. 2.72 miles in 24'15" and it was mostly hills. I frankly thought I had put in closer to 3 miles, but when I got home and mapped the route on google, I had fallen a little short. The pace was only slightly faster than my 5k pace, which I thought I was going well better than. I guess the hills took more out of me than I thought.

Anyway, here are some new totals now that I am logging some miles again. With the cool weather and being sick, I have not been riding the bike any lately. I hope to get back on that in the next week or so. Little bro is getting a bike so I hope that we may do some to and from work rides.

Totals:
Running
D: 2.7m
W: 2.7m
M: 5.9m
Y: 30m
Biking
D: 0
W: 0
M: 0m
Y: 8m

Race Day! Superbowl 5K!

2007-02-03T10:17:00.000-08:00

I finished! Here's the course map...superbowl 5k. Believe it or not, I forgot to hit my watch at the 3 mile mark and at the finish, and also forgot to look at the big running timer right at the finish line. So the time I'm going to give you should be close but it won't be exact. The race folks will be posting exact times later today.

I think that last night, I was guessing around 28' or in that range. Well, I think my time was right around 27'45". So after not running for the last 12 days and still suffering the effects of a mild cold, I'd say that time is worth being proud of for me.

The race experience was pretty cool. I got there about an hour before the race and picked up my number 846. I also got a little computer chip to tie on my shoe so that my finish time would be recorded. I didn't know anyone down there (a little surprising I think) so I spent the hour just walking back and forth from the race area to the car trying to decide what to wear or not wear. It was about 28 degrees this morning so I had on plenty of clothes. I ended up wearing a pair of jogging pants with shorts over them (those pants are a little too clingy for me and it being cold, I didn't want to give folks anything to talk about). On top, I wore a long sleeve wicking shirt with Chad's "Against Odds/Hope" shirt over that. I thought that shirt appropriate for the job that lay ahead. Topped it off with some gloves and a toboggan with the mp3 player piping cool tunes the whole way around.

I guess there were probably somewhere around 40-50 folks who were running along with me. At the start, I was purposely at the back of the pack so that I wouldn't get run over by those more ready than I for the race. I started out with my normal pace and in fact passed the 1 mile mark in exactly 9'00". I was feeling pretty good actually with the exception of the fact that I had to blow my nose about every 1/4 mile. I tried to do it when I wasn't close to anybody. At 2 miles, my time was 17'50 so an 8'50" mile. As mile 3 got underway, I was starting to feel the effects of the 12 day layoff set in. I became a little more labored in my breathing, but hung in there pretty well. I guess I did the last 1.1 miles in about 9'55" or so. I thought about trying to kick hard to the finish as I came around the last couple of corners, but there were women and children present and I was sure I would have scared some of them. So I kept the pace and crossed the line. No fanfare, no applause, but it felt pretty damn good to me. After a couple of minutes gasping for air, I got my breathing under control...a banana and water bottle later and I was five by five!

It was a great experience and before I left, picked up some material on a 10k in April that I think I'll be registering for. I've got a lot of work to do to get there, but I think I can do it.

Well, I just checked to CTC website and while the winners from each age group are posted, the overall results aren't up yet. Hopefully they'll get that up in the next day or so.

Friday

2007-02-02T19:33:00.000-08:00

Well, tomorrow is the Superbowl 5k and I'm all signed up I think. I think the race gets started around 10:00 or so. I haven't run in 12 days now (not exactly a recipe for success I know). My cold is not completely gone, so tomorrow, I'll be taking it slow and just hoping to finish in a reasonable amount of time. I am thinking that my earlier goal of 27'30" might still be attainable, but I'll probably be looking to finish in the 28' range.

I had a nice light dinner tonight of a small grilled chicken breast, rice and vegetables(broc, carrots, and cauli). Just for the sake of looking back on the pre race meals, I figure it is worth recording. I know this is just a 5k (3.107miles), but this might be the first of several races that I try to take on this year. And then again, it might just be the first of two that I will run for the rest of my life. We'll see.

I'll post again tomorrow afternoon after the big race.