Week Five-Remembering The Hunger

   It's not that I'm not used to the pain. When you first become a distance runner it can be glaringly clear at times that it's not easy discovering what you're capable of. I guess all of life is like that to some degree. Nobody's born with prior experience or innate ability to do new things. It takes time and practice to be able to do something well. Good genetics can definitely make that journey easier. Especially in distance running. But at some point you're going to be standing there wondering why the hell you do this to yourself for fun? 

   Over the last 12 years I've had many of those "Why the hell?" moments. I remember the first time that I ran 13 miles. I remember the panic in my wife's voice as she discovered me laying on the floor in front of our bathroom. I wasn't in any kind of trouble. It just felt glorious to lay there on the cold tile felt and it was so convenient to be that close to the toilet. To this day I still get stomach issues when I run really far. It's got something to do with your body pumping extra blood to your legs and away from your organs.

   I remember the first time that I discovered chaffing. There you are having the time of your life running mileage that ordinary people drive in their car. You're on top of the world and feel completely bad ass. Then you start noticing some stinging in all the wrong places. Then comes the blood. But you really don't get the full effect until after the race when your in the shower. You discover places on your body that you never even knew existed, let alone that could chafe. I remember reveling in joy when I found that the small circular band aids diabetics use to cover up their injection points also worked perfectly to protect my nipples during my marathons.

   I remember trusting the race directors of my very first marathon that there will be everything that they said there would be at all of the water stations. They had everything covered. It's nice to know that I can run 26.2 miles on nothing more than plain water and one cherry popsicle. Everything was long gone by the time I got to those stops. I've never been so hungry in my life. I remember being so starved that I could've eaten dirt.

   There's countless other things that have challenged me over 12 years of running. But as those years grew in number, the number of challenges decreased. With experience your body learns to adjust to running for hours. You buy stock in anti-chafing products like Bodyglide and Squeaky Cheeks. You bring a race belt to your event stocked with all the things that you'll need. You learn what works for you and what doesn't. Over time you can become quite good at this running thing. But also quite comfortable. You forget about the hunger that you had in the early days to be better. You're already running enough that ordinary people think you're an Olympian. Why do anymore hard work?

   I found myself at that point a few years ago. I decided that I wanted a change. I wanted that hunger back. I changed my eating habits, lost a lot of weight, broke four hours in a marathon and ran 366 consecutive days. It felt good to be challenged again and feel like I was growing.

   Over the last 12 years I've tried many different running plans and tweaked all of them into a marathon training plan that's gotten me good results. I've been using my homemade plan and running the marathon distance so long that I know it by heart. Days aren't labeled Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. But instead Strength Run day, Cross-Training day and Easy Run day. I run marathons. I could do them in my sleep.

   With this new ultra marathon challenge before me I've had to change my training all together. Forge ahead with a new training plan into territory that was familiar but unknown as well. My training's been going well up until this week. My 18 mile long run felt like a complete disaster. I only had one day off this week. Which meant the only time that I could fit this run in was on a hot and humid day. Sunscreen left me blinded by mile three, I forgot my cellphone and I walked about a third of the distance. It felt more like torture than training.

   It's in workouts like these when you experience the whole spectrum of emotions. Elation to despair. You think about so many crazy different things. Your life, your family your future. The voice of doubt is louder than usual. The end of that run left me feeling like a fool to think that I could ever go further than 26.2 miles. But looking back, I did what I do best, put one foot in front of the other. I didn't stop.

   Finding yourself shouldn't be something that stops when you reach adulthood. It does for some people. But for those who dare to continually search for the amazing things that lay within us it's not about the end result. It's about the journey. After some thought and a lot of pep-talk messages, thank you, that long run wasn't a disaster. It was an opportunity for my body to remember a hunger that's been forgotten. The training's only going to keep getting harder, the miles longer. I'm going to be a very hungry man in another 11 weeks!

   Thank you for going on this journey with me. Hope your week was good and your future's looking bright. Let me know if I can do anything for you! Ride that lightning my friends...

Week Four-Why Not Get Help?

   

   As I ran the last few miles this week I found myself laughing at my silly self a little. I've always been the type of person who takes a small amount of pride knowing that I can accomplish almost anything on my own. I think that's one of the reasons why I like distance running so much. When you're eight miles out into a 16 mile long run the only way you're going to get back home is to run the other eight miles. No teammates to carry you, no taking a seat on the bench when you're tired or saved by the bell in the final few seconds. Running is one of the most honest sports out there. What you put into it, you get out. 

   Through the last 12 years I've run over 60 different races. That's a lot of miles. When I was a younger runner I got the typical aches and pains that you might expect from someone growing into our sport. I didn't know about strengthening my core or stretching to improve my flexibility. I got through those hard miles with nothing other than sheer stubbornness. Nowadays I practice a dedicated strength and core routine. Even though I hate doing it, I try to stretch everyday. The aches and pains still rear their ugly head now and then. Even more so since I've gotten older. But my stubbornness continues to be stronger than ever. 

   Up until last year I was doing pretty good with watching those stubborn miles go by. I'd managed to self treat all of my injuries up until then. But things started to come apart that Fall. I got a serious case of peroneal tendonitis that almost sidelined my 366 Project as well as any hope for a marathon that year. I struggled through single mile runs to keep the Project going and managed to get a deferment for my hometown marathon in Rochester. The tendonitis eventually got better. But then I battled with hamstring tightness for the rest of the year right up to my last minute decision to run the Empire State Marathon as a substitute to Rochester. I ran the race, set a PR and had my best marathon racing experience to date. I capped off the year by surpassing my 366th day of running. It was a momentous 2013 with a lot of accomplishments. It's be nice to say that my good old stubbornness is what got me through those challenging times. But I'd be fibbing. I got a little help from my primary care doctor and chiropractor.

   It all started after one of my running friends grew tired of me complaining about my nagging tendonitis. They suggested that I see a local chiropractor in our area who specialized in distance athletes. At first my stubborn self thought the idea of seeking help from anyone, let alone a chiropractor was ludicrous. I'd heard so many horror stories from people about these "alternative medicine" doctors who done more harm than good. Why would I pay for an expensive office visit to someone to make me feel even worse? I'd rather buy an extra pair of running shoes and suffer on. After some thought and some checking I discovered that an office visit would be covered under my current health care plan. I also discovered that this particular Chiropractor, let's call him Dr. Mike, was a marathoner and triathlete himself. I asked around my local running community and heard good things about his practice. So, I decided to give it a shot.

   What I got at my first visit wasn't what I expected. I expected to get tweaked and cracked for 20 minutes. But instead Dr. Mike took the time to get to know me, my past and where I wanted to go in the future with regards to my running. I found it refreshing to talk with someone who didn't look at me like I had three heads when I told him that I run 26.2 miles for fun.  He understood where I was coming from.

   Over that summer Dr. Mike not only erased my tendonitis, but also eased my hamstring tightness. Aches that I endured for years were quickly erased after a few visits. Without my primary care doctor's and Dr. Mike's help I would've surely never had the great year that I did.

   I was laughing this week because this old body's developed yet more aches, some tightness in my hips. What can you expect when you train for an ultra marathon and run everyday? It's time to call Dr. Mike again and make an appointment. Yes, I still have that stubbornness of my youth. But now it's more directed towards attacking hill workouts than training through injuries which can be fixed. Sometimes it's good to get out of the way of your ego. Yeah, he may be faster. But the race is long and you'll pass him in no time with a little help from your friends.

   It was a good week of training. This week's 16 mile long run felt better than last week's 14 mile. I'm still struggling dealing with the high humidity here and locking down a fueling plan that works. Finally got confirmation from the new race directors for this year Rochester marathon that my deferment's been approved by the new company that bought the rights to the race. That means three very long races in three consecutive months. I've never done something like that before. It'll be interesting to see if I put Dr. Mike on speed dial or not! The home treadmill's back up and running after a visit from the fitness store tech!

   Do some research, check some credentials and think about getting treatment from a chiropractor. It may make your miles a little easier. Let me know if you've had any good experiences with your doctors. Hope your training is going good. Let me know if I can help. Thanks for following my journey. Have a great week. Week four is history!

   Ride that lightning my friends...

Week Three

   

   They say that for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. In the world of distance running this is more commonly known as "training effect". It basically all comes down to this, you work hard, put your time in and eventually your body will adapt to the increased demands that you place on it. Before you know it, distances and paces that you once found difficult  become a little easier. It's such a simple concept. The only tricky part is finding that sweet spot where you're working just hard enough to get a result. But not over extending yourself and over training. It should be something easy to do. But it's not. In fact it's hard as hell!

   Over the past 12 years I've trained for countless races. Some training seasons were better than others. There were years where I didn't push myself hard enough. It may sound impossible to most non-runners, but an experienced runner can get away with doing very little training and fake their way through their big race. You probably won't smash any PR's, run the entire distance or feel very pain free while doing it. But you'll be able to limp your way to the finish line. I've done that more than once. 

   On the flip-side, I've had years where I trained too much. Even the best of us experienced runners call fall prey to thinking that more faster is better. While this may help some runners achieve great results, it's not something you can sustain for extended periods of time. If you try to make it last for a long time you'll wind up becoming injured and hating the thing that you so much love to do. I've done that more than once too. Luckily I didn't injure myself that badly and rediscovered my love for running again. 

   So as I find myself rounding the corner of my third week of this ultra training I think that I see a little bit of that glorious training effect creeping in. But man oh man, it's been challenging to get there. Unlike most of the marathon training that I've done in the past, this particular plan's weekly mileage ramp up is a bit faster than I'm used too. With the higher long run mileage amounts I've decided that the only way I can fit the runs into my schedule would be to do them on one of my days off. My work schedule is difficult to plan. I typically work four days and have two off. Which means that my days off rotate every week. Therefore my long runs will be rotating through my training weeks. This could be good because my legs will get one hell of a wallop on weeks when my long run and mid-distance runs are close spaced together. It could also make for a disastrous training week full of much suffering too. I'm making this up as I go. So time will be the true test of success. 

   This week had to be re-jiggered quite a bit. I was on vacation which was awesome! But my son went to a week long robotics Lego camp. It was only two hours each day and to make the pick-up time I had to log most of my miles and cross-training inside at the old Y that I used to belong to about 10 years ago. It was odd being back at a place that I spent so much time building the base of who I am today. I'm sad to say that it was just like I remembered it; stuffy, cramped and small. But I was not the same person. I'm much more experienced now, lighter, faster and am hoping to go further than I ever dreamed I could. 

   It was a long week, lots of challenging workouts, lots of long miles. As awful as the humid last three miles of my fourteen mile long run were this week, today's easy six were truly enjoyable on my newly repaired treadmill. Amazing how quickly you can recover when you abuse yourself. Just press on and do the hard work. You may reach your goals faster than you expect. But, it may take you longer than you would like it to also. 

   I don't know what's in store for me this October and November. I could have the race of my life. I could hobble away with my first DNF (Did Not Finish). Either way, I'm glad that I decided to take the journey. I hope that you're healthy, happy and enjoying your own journeys. Let me know how you're doing, what you have planned and what your thinking. Ride that lightning my friends and have a great week!

Why I Run

   Today's blog post is directly aimed at my friend Chris Russell. He's an amazing writer and podcaster about all things running. I've been listening to him for years and highly recommend that you check out his work at: http://runrunlive.com. It's really great stuff that's funny, entertaining and informative. Recently he's put out a request for some good blog posts that he can read on his show. So, here goes. Here's my contribution... 

 WHY I RUN...

   Why I run? That's a question that I get asked quite often from people who meet me for the first time. My family and longtime friends have given up asking me this particular question. They're either satisfied with the goofy answers that I've given them over the years or they've written me off as totally crazy.

   I've been logging miles out there on the roads, trails and treadmills for over 12 years now. And I think that the answer to the "Why I run?" question has been many different things to me over that time frame.

   Growing up I wasn't the healthiest kid in the neighborhood. I didn't play sports very well, I ate too much bad food and topped the scales at 220 lbs. with a size 42" waist. From about four years old until I was 16 years old I was obese. Then, one summer after some serious life changes I lost 60 lbs. It was such a dramatic change that people who didn't see me on a regular basis didn't even recognize me once they did. I got a huge boost to my self esteem. The funny looks, the sometimes sadistic childhood teasing and cruel laughing disappeared. But even to this day, even after all of my running accomplishments, deep down inside when I look at the mirror I still see the little fat kid. I run to make sure that the little fat kid hidden in this runner's body never comes back out. 

   One of thelife changes that happened that summer was the passing of my father from lung cancer. My father wasn't overweight. But, he didn't take care of himself like he should've either. He worked a high stress job of a police officer and combated that with smoking, drinking too much and socially burning the candle at both ends. At the time when he passed I'd just begun to really connect with him as a father and as an individual. But, at 45 years old my father disappeared from my life forever. It was an extremely difficult time and changed the course of my life. I luckily managed to survive the long period of depression. I now find myself also in the field of law enforcement. But, I don't indulge in the same self destructive habits that he once did. I do burn the candle at both ends when it comes to my training. But, nobody's perfect. I run because I want to see my family grow old. I want to see my son become the amazing man that I know he'll be someday.

   When you wear a badge, carry a gun and deal with dangerous people for a living your perspective on life changes. It's not you're typical nine to five desk job. During the police academy instructors drill into you to be suspicious of everyone and everything. Physical fitness is hammered into you as a necessity. Those are good skills to learn and they can keep you alive in the worst of situations. But, after those first few exciting years the excitement and enthusiasm of the job can quickly fade away. So can some of your safety skills and attention to your fitness. One of the cooler things about being a distance runner is that you can cheat in many other areas of your life and still maintain the appearance of fitness. You can eat and drink whatever you pretty much want. You can skip strength training and stretching. It's a simple matter of calories in are less than calories out thanks to all the miles that you log. You can effectively look fit but be totally unhealthy. I was at that point in my life seven years ago. I was an unhealthy runner, my safety skills were stale and I'd grown used to telling bad guys what to do and having them do it without question. Even when your safety skills are good and you've to prepared for all the possible worst case scenarios, things never happen when you expect them to. On an idle night a tiny, nobody bad guy who didn't like being told what to do decided that was the night he was going to kill me. I don't remember the whole incident. Only bits and flashes. I do remember the first punch. I do remember how quickly he got me into a decent choke hold. I do remember thinking how the hell was this happening so quick and why was I feeling so tired so fast. I was a distance runner for Christ's sake! I shouldn't feel this bad. Thankfully, while on the verge of blacking out a lot of things went right and I survived the attack. I vividly remember changing my son's diaper the next morning on his changing table. I remember him reaching up to touch my face with this quizzical look on his face. I realized that he had a difficult time recognizing me because of all the swelling and bruising. I looked like I went a round with Rocky. Since then I've rededicated myself to keeping my safety skills sharper and having a more encompassing level of fitness. I joined our SWAT team. I became a physical fitness instructor at the police academy. I run because law enforcement professionals are the best example of a paid athlete if there ever was one.

   In the hustle and bustle of modern life we as a society are told who to be, where to go what to do on a daily basis. When you stop and think about how much of your life is dictated by outside influences in the "Land of the Free" you quickly realize that there's few things we have real control over. So many different things are out of our hands. Running for me is my way to exert a small amount of control over my life. I go when I typically want to. I go where I want to. I go for as long as my body will let me. It's my own time to think about what I want to think about doing something that I want to do. Through the years and miles I've soothed frayed nerves, had the best ideas, gotten better perspectives on problems, calmed angry tempers, marveled at the humor in my life, said good bye to lost loved ones, triumphed at overcoming obstacles, been disappointed at failures and discovered the value in pushing myself to the edge of breaking and being rewarded with what lays on the path less traveled. I run to find myself.

   Why I run is like asking why someone likes the color blue? There's no right or wrong answer and the possibilities are endless. Running is one of those things that will be what you need it to be. It could get rid of your obesity. It could enable you to maximize the time you get to spend with the people that you love the most. It could save your life when shit happens. It could help you discover what truly lies inside of you and what you're capable of. All that you need to do is take the first step.

   I hope that you and Chris enjoyed the post! I could go on forever here. I hope that whatever you're striving for becomes a reality. If there's anything I can do to help, let me know! Ride that lightning my friends and have a great rest of the week...        

    

Week Two

   Training to run distance events is a strange thing. At the end of last week I must admit that I was feeling really beat up. Even with logging a steady 30 miles a week during the off season I found myself feeling totally exhausted from the added additional eight miles added to that week. My hamstrings were sore as hell, I was fighting the same old battle with my right shoulder and my knees, something that hasn't ever bothered me before was rearing it's ugly head. I started to have doubts about what I'd gotten myself into.

   The start of this week didn't go any better. My legs didn't feel rested at all and my energy level was in the tank. Some people listen to music when they run. Some people listen to running podcasts. I happen to enjoy both and I was reminded how special this gift of being able to run was by one of those podcasts that I listen to.

   My friend Chris interviewed an amazing guy who broke his back during a motorcycle accident. Ouch! You'll never catch me on one of those things. There's a reason my wife dubbed me the "Moped Invalid" during our honeymoon. The moped rental store wouldn't even rent me one! I was that bad. Anyways, after this guy's accident he's told by doctors that he may be paralyzed and most certainly never run or bike again. Incredibly he heals, comes back and is now running and biking again. I started listening to that podcast feeling sorry for myself. But, finished as a humbled man. Sometimes it's difficult to realize how lucky we runners are to be able to step out of our door and let our feet take us where they will. I needed to get over myself.

   Another terrible fault of our select group is that we're always trying to compare ourselves to past PR's and performances. I don't have anything to prove to anyone when it comes to this ultra. My goal is just to finish. Not to mention that I've never trained for a race this long. So, why was I beating myself up over what I deemed as poor workouts when I have nothing to compare them to? Stupid I know. You'd be surprised what rolls around your head as the miles tick by.

    Today's workout wasn't anything special. Just easy running for an hour. No speed work, no hills and no pressure. Out of 14 days of ultra training today's run felt the best. The hamstrings, shoulder, hips, knees and ego didn't bother me at all. It was what I really needed right now. The mind is a powerful tool. Negative thoughts and emotions can make you only see the worst about any given situation. Running can be hard. But, it's those hard times that help you grow and become better. Much like life itself.

   Following your dreams isn't something for the faint of heart. It takes guts. It take determination. It takes you to places where your hideously evil worst self doubts live. When you go there it's not fun to have them screaming that you can't. Just put your head down, smile and know that you can. You're your own worst critic. But, the critic that's doing all the talking is still at home on the couch!

   Have a great week every body. As always, thanks for taking time out of your busy lives to read my blog and watch my vodcast. Let me know how your training is going and if there's anything I can do to help. I survived week two! Ride that lightning...

5 Miles More Podcast-Episode 15 "The Long Run"

Happy 4th of July to everyone! In this episode I bring you along for another one of my training workouts, the long run. Can you say 12 miles for America?!!!!