Starting Over, Foam Rolling & Being The Man Of Lead...

  After being a long distance runner for so long, I've come to expect certain things as the rule of law. I'm different than most people. I get great enjoyment from spending my free time out there on the roads, I no longer warm up after just half a mile and don't start to feel "in the groove" until three and can lose myself for hours during my long distance runs on the weekends in what seems like just mere minutes. The list goes on and on and on and on... No matter how fast of a distance runner you are, there's one thing that you will always do well, be able to run long distances. It's been that way for so long, I can't remember the type of runner that I was before then. 

   If you're reading this, then you know the challenges that I've been facing for the last two weeks with regards to my running. Calf pain, hamstring pain, ankle pain, muscle spasms, extreme muscle tightness, soreness and the worst leg fatigue I've ever experienced have been my best running friends lately. It seems like everything is shutting down all at once. What I once ran as my easy warm up pace, now feels like hard speed work. An easy six miler has turned into an epic battle just to get back home alive. Not very encouraging considering that I'm not even halfway through the 366 days of the Project.

   Many people have urged me to stop running everyday, give up the Project and remember that I'm turning 40 this year, not 21. "It's time for me to stop this silly stuff and succumb to the inevitable conclusion. It's over. You're an adult who should be taking naps, drinking beer by the case and the longest distance you should travel should be from your recliner to the refrigerator."  

   Like any other runner I've had my share of injuries, aches, sprains, pains and days that it's challenging to get out there. But those have always been temporary things that didn't last long and when they did, I was able to develop a treatment plan which quickly resolved the issues. So, when I got bombarded with all of these things at once, I must admit that I was at a total loss why and was intimidated by the thought of trying to put myself back together. One thing was for sure though, there was going to be NO quitting here or sailing off into the sunset riding my recliner with a cold beer in my hand! 

   As I've said before, I started the Project to remind me that the joy in running isn't about the fast times or PR's. It was about the experience itself. I'm a huge believer that speed doesn't make you a runner. Being out there RUNNING, makes you a runner. It was time for me to take some of my own medicine. The new marathon pace was erased and replaced with my easy pace. My speed work day was replaced with an easy running day. My long run pace has gotten slower. A good rule of thumb I've been preaching for years is, if it doesn't hurt, then run, but the minute it begins to hurt, walk or stop completely. I've decided that being gentle with myself and listening to what my body was telling me is more important than setting another marathon PR this year. Goals have been adjusted. I still want to run a marathon. But now, who cares about the time? I have been humbled beyond belief by this experience.

   Long ago in the beginning as a new runner I seriously injured myself by foolishly running myself into the ground in shoes that didn't fit my stride, gait or support needs. I went to a highly reputed sports doctor, got schooled on the different types of shoes and who they're right for. During his  flexibility exam we discovered that my hamstrings were unsurprisingly tight. Typical for most distance runners. Years later I developed that dreaded IT band injury. It took well over a year to make that disappear. Since those painful times, I now practice a dedicated yoga stretching program that I try to do right after I train. But, my hamstrings and IT band haven't been an issue for years. So, I don't spend time stretching them like I should. After some advice from my good buddy, Coach Jeff I tried using a foam roller. To say that I was surprised that rolling my IT band, which hadn't been sore at all, brought tears to my eyes and was painful as hell, is an understatement. Yowza! I also started rolling my glutes, which lo and behold, eased most of the nagging back pain I've experienced for years. This roller thingy has become my new best friend. My wife's starting to get jealous! I now have begun to stretch after EVERY workout and again at night. It's time well spent, I hope.

   I was griping to a coworker this week how freaking annoying these constant muscle spasms are getting. For goodness sake, my wife even said they were happening while I was sleeping! He commented that I need to look into my iron intake. I scoffed, iron intake? I take a multivitamin. I don't need to look into iron, do I? As it turns out, mine and most men's multivitamins don't have any iron in them. I was shocked. I then referenced my wonderful little iPhone app, My Fitness Pal, which is a weight loss tool that can graphically display your vitamin and mineral intake in a given day. I discovered that routinely I only take in about 30% of my daily iron requirement. These days I don't eat red meat all that much and apparently the form of iron you receive from plant sources isn't absorbed as readily as the type found in animal protein. After additional research, I further discovered that distance runners who train with the mileage that I do are prone to iron deficiency due to the hard pounding out there on the roads. Many of the symptoms I've been experiencing are experienced by iron deficient runners. It's important to note here that, 1. I'm not a doctor 2. Should not be listened to for health advice. Most doctors recommend a blood test to check for this particular problem. But, I hate needles and yes, have been known to pass out a time or three when getting blood drawn. So, I've decided to do a little experiment on myself. I'm now taking iron tablets at night. According to my research, it takes two to three weeks for a noticeable change. I'm anxiously awaiting to see if this is the culprit and remaining wary of taking too much!
   I think that there's a combination of different things that have happened. I'm going to continue to be cautious and approach this using the knowledge that I've gained over my years of running and continue to research the issues. After all, every runner's different and only you, really know what's best for you. At least the muscle spasms, calf and hamstring pain are gone. I must be doing something right. Just have to get a handle on the leg fatigue and ankle pain and we'll be back in business. Going to do some shopping this weekend for an ankle brace that I can tolerate wearing when training to give it some extra support. If you have some free time, check out your local pharmacy and pick up some velcro ice wraps. They're a handy neoprene sleeve with an inner pouch that you can place an ice bag into, then the wrap can be tightly secured to your injured area with velcro. Very inexpensive, versatile and easy to use on running related injuries. I'm sucking down the tart cherry juice instead of taking pain relievers. There's compelling information out there that taking pain relievers for extended time periods can cause numerous problems, including hindering the injured area from healing completely. Use them only for two to four days.
   Little nervous about today. Going to try for a long run of eight miles after work. Hopefully it'll be smooth and enjoyable like it used to be. But as I type, the ankle is throbbing a little. Happy Father's Day out there to all you runner dads! Really looking forward to an easy mile, going out to breakfast and taking my little man to see the new Superman movie tomorrow as a father and son day! Many of the things that you learn when becoming a distance runner can be applied to your everyday life. Some runs have bad patches, times when it seems daunting to just finish. What kind of an example would I set for my son if I just gave up? Yes, bad patches suck ass. But you will endure, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think. I'm not giving up the Run for the Sun or the 366 Project anytime soon. Run for your lives my friends... 

     

  

     

366 Podcast-Episode 3 Yoga On

   Hey everybody! Hope you are well. Listen as I ramble on about how yoga isn't just for stay at home moms anymore. It'll make you a happier, more flexible runner! Run for your lives my friends...

Resilience & Letting Go...

   And so it was. Yesterday the 2013 marathon training schedule came off it's wheels and to a grinding stop. After trying to ignore the growing fatigue in my legs and throbbing pain in my right foot all week, it's time for me to re-evaluate. 

   Let's take a look at how I got broken in the first place. Last Friday I attended an "in-service" for my job. For those of you not employed in the world of law enforcement, one thing to keep in mind is that we have code words and odd phrases for everything and anything. "In-service" is code for training. This particular in-service was for members of the SRT team. That is short for Special Response Team, which is basically our version of a SWAT team. We are the guys and girls that get called when regular deputies can't handle a situation. One of our main duties is to deal with hostage situations. While training that day, we ran a hostage scenario. By the end of the scenario, the hostage got rescued, the bad guy's weapon was removed and the bad guy was in handcuffs and shackles. I ran three miles later that day. A mile the next. And a ten mile long run the following day. During that long run I noticed that my right foot and calf were strangely a little sore. 

   All this week I watched my performance steadily decline as I tried to get through my workouts. My legs felt dead. I was having a lot of trouble maintaining my easy pace and while cross-training my right leg was much weaker than normal. All this week I've been getting to bed early, taking anti-inflammatories and icing the hell out of my right foot. 

  I was scheduled to log a ten mile long run on Saturday after work. I was feeling slightly better. So, I decided to try for the full ten at my easy pace. The run started off good. But after about four miles I was done. I found a place on the side of the road to sit, stretch and texted my wife to come get me. As I sat there on a boulder noticing how cold it was with my shirt soaked with damp sweat, mosquitoes buzzing eagerly around me I put my head down and accepted that maybe this was the end of the 366 Project.
   It's a really strange sensation to be running along one week at your "fast" marathon pace, everything normal and then the next, you can barely manage to hold your warm up pace. After about five minutes I realized that my wife, who's been sick with a cold, was asleep and therefore, wasn't coming to pick me up. The only way I was getting home was to finish this run on my own. I set my jaw, started up the ipod and finished the rest of the run. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. But it was four miles short of the distance I was scheduled to run. At least it was six.
   As a person with OCD and a runner I was disgusted with myself. Even though most race training schedules take into account that you may miss a day or two. It's still frustrating as hell to not get the scheduled workout in.
   But your body is what you have to work with. I knew in the back of my mind that this could happen. I've never attempted to run this long consecutively. So, I took a breath and just let it go. Ultimately, I have two goals for my running this year. First, I want to finish this damn 366 Project and second, I want to run a marathon in the fall. With that in mind, I may have to sacrifice setting a new PR in my fall marathon for completing the project. As I've preached here before, running is about the journey, not the destination. But sometimes, your own advice is hard to take.
   Today I just had to do an easy mile. After feeling so much self imposed pressure this week to get my workouts in, it was nice to enjoy not having an agenda. The run felt good, not 100% and I took it slow and easy. Did some online research and surprisingly, the leg fatigue may be due to a lower back strain and tight glute muscles. Tomorrow I'm going to start an aggressive stretching program targeting my glutes and make a  foam roller my new best friend. The rest of the day was spent cutting the lawn, taking my son fishing, going out to lunch and having a dinner cookout with my mom. Nothing like grilled muscles and a beer to make you forget your worries.
   Yes, it sucks that I'm injured right now. But maybe it's just as well. If there's one skill that every runner needs it's resiliency. Nobody's going to run your workouts for you. Nobody's going to have to face the injuries that sometimes come. Nobody but you is going to have to overcome all the challenges that you will face. Out of all of my 53 races over 11 years there was one solid constant in every race that's never changed, at some point I wanted to give up, quit, it was too hard. But, I put one foot in front of the other and carried on.
   This week I got a lot of support from a lot of great people at a time when I really needed it. Thank you. This journey isn't finished yet. I've still got 206 days and a marathon left to run. Run for your lives my friends...and take it one day at a time!   

366 Podcast-Episode 2 Happy National Running Day!

   Just wanted to take a moment today to wish all of my fellow runners a Happy National Running Day! For all of you soon to be runners, don't be afraid to take that first step. Once you do, you'll never look back and from then on will be a member of one of the most amazing groups of weird, funny and compassionate people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing! Run for your lives my friends...

For more information on today and how to start running please got to:

http://www.runningday.org/

366 Podcast-Episode 1

   Last Sunday I recorded my 1st video podcast while getting my 10 mile long run in on the old Hojack railroad trail! Enjoy & run for your lives my friends...

Are You A Runner, Or Are You A Runner?

   

Tonight I had the pleasure of talking with Coach Jeff, host of the great podcast, The Coach Jeff Running Podcast. We caught up on the newly started 2013 Run for the Sun and how the 366 Project is going. We talked about a lot of things.  Had a complete blast during my very first podcast interview! But one thing that I thought about after our talk is, what have I learned so far from the 366 Project? One of the most important things that I've always known in my heart is, and have said here before, is that running is a journey, not a destination. This has been thoroughly confirmed by the Project. Are you a runner, or are you a runner? 

   As a brand spankin new new runner I wanted to do what every other new runner wanted. I wanted to lose weight, get in shape and run fast. Over these 11 years I can say with a great deal of pride that I have lost weight, gotten in better shape than most 39 year olds that I know and have gotten faster than I ever thought possible. But, as time goes by I'm smart enough to realize that the times will get slower and the weight will be harder to keep off. Not a very promising future. Or is it? 

   What does it mean to be a runner? When you start running it consumes you, it becomes what you do, who you are. When people look at you they don't see "you" anymore. They see somebody who loves chafing, farmer sunburns, the sting of sweat as it runs down into your eyes and the hilarity of getting frostbite on your private parts. They see somebody who thinks it's normal to pay $275 to run 26.2 miles through all of NYC's boroughs, loves the smell of new running shoes and takes pleasure when they can't walk after a 60 mile training week. 

   Yes, all of those things are wonderful in their own special ways. But I'm here to tell you that in the end all those things won't matter a bit. The times, the races or the fast PR's will all fade away. All you are left with in the end is you. The race is long, it's hard at times, but in the end it's only with yourself. 

   Over time I've learned how to Chi run, the Galloway method, how to power climb a hill, how to run a negative split, how to remove black toenails, how to find the best deal for a pair of running shoes, how to work a GPS watch like a master and how to eat to fuel myself for a marathon. But out of all my talented running related skills, the most important thing I've learned is listening to my body. What's the point of running yourself into the ground when it's the really, really long race of your life? 

   Running has become such a center point in my life. It's what I do. It's who I am. It's my relaxation time. It's my journey to find my way in this world. It may sound ridiculous to the non-runner, but I've gotten more from simply putting one foot in front of the other than any college course, job or relationship. I want to make sure that I'm able to continue to do this forever. Someday I will die. It's inevitable. There's much I can do to delay that. 

   I want to be the crazy old guy who's out there at dawn slowly chugging up that hill during morning rush hour. I want to be that old guy who walks into the running store to buy new shoes and doesn't need to try them on. "Hey man, I've owned 200 pairs. Trust me, they fit. I'm good." I want to be that crazy grandfather who runs 20 laps around his granddaughter's soccer field during games. I want to be the oldest guy to run my hometown marathon. I want to be a runner for the rest of my life.

   But the end will come. When it does, I hope I'm out there running on some random road with the sun setting into the lake in the background. The final finish line will be waiting and my friends I want to finish strong. No matter your pace, your distance, your weight. You are a runner. But are you a runner or are you a runner? Run for your lives my friends...be a runner. 

2013 Run For The Sun...

   Hello friends! Hope everybody's training is going well! Mother Nature and the Running Gods must've heard my complaints last week with regards to the weather here in upstate NY, because the high heat and humidity of last summer have made a comeback. I honestly don't know how the hell I trained last year through that pea soup stuff? On Thursday the temperature was in the high 80's and of course that was my scheduled day for a speed workout! I had worked all day inside and practically melted into my uniform. This year I've been experimenting with doing my speed work on local high school tracks and have been loving it! But it was three in the afternoon by the time I was done with work. So, I decided to run the workout at home along my lake front hilly road so that I didn't have to compete with the high school track team for lanes. I didn't want to make any of them look bad! Ha, ha! Needless to say, it was somewhat of a disaster! I managed to get the first two mile intervals finished without much trouble. But the last three were just me trying to hang on and get back home alive. Earlier in the week that nasty lower back strain returned with a vengeance. So that didn't help either. Apparently I need to give up trying any movement even slightly related to a hyper extension, weighted or not. Ah, the joys of growing old...

   I'm not writing this special mid-week post to gripe about me getting old. I'm writing to remind everyone that today is the start of the 2013 Run for the Sun! This is a special little project created by my friend Coach Jeff, the brilliant host of the amazing Coach Jeff Podcast. I discovered this little gem of a podcast through another friend and podcaster, Steve Runner. Good, good stuff to fill your ears while getting those miles in.

   So, what is the Run for the Sun? It's a free event that challenges you to run at least one mile every day for the month of June. In recent years the run-net community has made popular group runs set up and organized through social media. I had the pleasure of running the Poco Loco last month in Boston. It was an absolutely amazing time! Along, with these runs great people like Coach and Steve have also created events that last a weekend, week or month. What a great idea when distances are too great for us to get together. Why are these types of events a great opportunity for people like you? 

   As I've said before what is there not to love about social media and the run-net community? Through social media and events like this you can make connections and meet people from around the world! How freakin cool is that? During June regardless of where you are in the world, people like us will be getting their miles in together as a united group. Some of the most interesting and positive people I've ever met are runners. Why turn down a chance to learn some new things, get some great motivation and meet some fascinating runners like yourself? 

   It's absolutely free! After running for 11 years I've watched the cost to enter sponsored distance races increase drastically. No matter the distance, across the board, the cost to cross that finish line has steadily risen. That aggravates me as a runner, especially as a marathoner. The fact that it cost my sponsor over $500 to enter the NYC marathon twice is outrageous. I once figured out that the city of NY netted over ten million dollars in entry fees alone for the marathon. I'm no fool. I realize that some of that money goes towards, police, fire, medical, prize purses, food and volunteers. But does it have to be that steep? Events like this allow you to compete with others without hurting your wallet. 

   It's something to get you off your butt and re-motivate you! As runners we tend to be very rigid and dogmatic when it comes to enjoying our sport. Run this distance, in this time, on this day, blah, blah, blah. That can get old after a while. Events like this remind me why I began the 366 Project in the first place, I was bored and needed a new challenge. Almost halfway through my 366 day journey I can tell you that it's working. Running everyday reminds you of one of the most basic ideals of our sport, it's just damn fun! Why do you think as children we ran all over the place? Because it feels amazing to feel the wind whipping through your hair, your legs zipping along and your heart pounding away! I am beginning to slowly rediscover that joy again. Why did it ever leave in the first place?

   There you have it my friends. Today's the first day and it's not too late to join. What's a mile a day? It's an opportunity to learn about yourself, meet new friends and improve your health for nothing at all other than a month long commitment. Sounds great to me! You most likely already walk that distance or more in a day. Why not run one more? Just be smart and listen to your body. Most of all, enjoy the experience and get the whole family involved. If you're up to the challenge and want to run with the other 120 of us go to http://www.coachjeff.com.au/events-2/the-run-for-the-sun-2011/ and send Coach an email. He'll send you a nice little bib with your name on it and away you go! Coach also wants me to remind everybody to send in pictures and that they'll be various prizes involved. Oh, goodies? Yeah sign me up! After work today I'm starting with just a single mile! Thank you again Coach for organizing this awesome event! Good luck to you all! Run for your lives and the sun my friends...