Week Nine-Keeping It Simple

   Running in and of itself is a simple activity. All that's required is a pair of running sneakers, a shirt and a pair of shorts. All that you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. There's no rules on how fast you should go or how far. Everything's up to you. The simplicity of it all is one of the biggest reasons why I like the sport so much. 

   As with anything though, you can make running as complex as you want too. There's so many different types of running sneakers, clothing and gear to choose from that it'll make your wallet catch fire. There's so many different races to choose from that it's as exhausting as running a hill workout to think about them all. To add to the confusion there's thousands of different viewpoints on training, racing and how to treat injuries.

   Through the years I've worn about every type of running clothing, tried many different types of shoes and spent a small fortune on running related tech. I've tinkered with my training and raced all distances up to the ultra. I've also self-treated myself, been evaluated by my doctor and seen a chiropractor for my running related injuries. I'm always open to trying new things and I've done a great job of making running much more complex than it needs to be.

   For the past two years I've been suffering through nagging hamstring issues. It almost sidelined me last year completely. Just when I thought I had those issues licked I was delighted to discover that the ache didn't go away, it just moved into my hips. So for much of this training season I've been trying everything that I could to ease that hip pain. Extra stretching, medication and reductions in training were the name of the game. Up until this week I was starting to get concerned that this was going to shatter my hopes of running my ultras planned for the Fall. I was frustrated and tired of this pain in the butt, literally! I decided to give up and try something new, going back to basics and keeping it simple.

   On one hand it's amusing to realize that a tennis ball and a bag of ice can solve an issue that's been bugging you for so long. But on the other hand it's frustrating to think that I was so stubborn that I wasn't willing to try something so inexpensive, so not technological. Amazing! Hopefully with a little more self-treatment and time my hip pain won't be a problem any more.

   This week wasn't bad at all. The worst thing was jumping back into cross-training after a two and a half week hiatus. Good lord it's incredible how sore you can get after starting up again! I surprised myself with a decent 16 mile long run despite being so sore and wading through a torrential downpour while the sun was shining. I tried to surge every other mile and it wasn't pretty, but it worked. Good to know all of this hard training is paying off!

   Hope your week was as productive! Have a great upcoming week and ride that lightning my friends...  

Week Seven & Eight-Passing It On

   

   We've always taken a relaxed attitude with regards to finding activities to occupy my son's free time. Especially during the dog days of summer. Over the years we've tried various sports. But unless he has any kind of natural talent for it, he gets frustrated and gives up. We've done a variety of summer camps too. He loves the more intellectual ones compared to the more active ones. He's a voracious reader. Which I think is absolutely great for his age. But doesn't do a lot for his fitness. He refuses to learn how to ride his bike because of the lack of children to cruise around our neighborhood with. Not that we'd let him out of our sight even if he did. It seems like we're always trying to get him to get up and do SOMETHING! We don't care what he does. Just as long as he's doing something other than play video games and watch television. 

   About two years ago he expressed an interest in running with me. Since then we've done it on and off again. With my crazy schedule it's been anything but consistent. Throw in me trying to train for races and it sometimes doesn't happen at all.

   Two weeks ago I saw that a local running club is sponsoring a children's cross-country race series every Wednesday night for the entire month of August. For a small fee kids can race in the 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile and mile distances. Every finisher gets a ribbon and a popsicle. They also get a snazzy t-shirt promoting trail running. After a little discussion he decided that he wanted to do it. Of course I was thrilled! This was going to force us to make time for running together.

   The first Wednesday came before you know it. Funny how it seemed so easy for him to say yes earlier in the week. But when the time came to leave for the races there was a little grumbling. Initially I was just going to watch and cheer him from the sidelines. But he wanted me to run each race with him. Which I didn't mind doing one bit! Lining up for the 1/4 mile start he decided that he was going to try to run all three races. The quarter mile went quickly and it was amazing to run beside him as usual. My only complaint was that the kid races were run before an adult 5K. Which meant he was going to be in for a surprise. His three races were going to be run immediately one after the other. We barely finished the first race when they lined up for the 1/2 mile. Another great race but we had to stop briefly for him walk and catch his breath. I could tell he was exhausted at the end. But he was adamant about trying the mile too. The mile turned out to be a disaster and he got his first official DNF. He was rightfully upset. After some talking we decided that spending the morning running around at his summer camp, not having enough to eat before the race and the short rest time between races didn't help him much. He was the only kid that I saw to attempt all three races. I was proud of him for trying his best. I had an self imposed easy training week. Mostly due to cutting out my cross-training to give the steroid I was on a chance to reduce some of the inflammation I'd been suffering from in my right shoulder and hips. It felt nice to run for fun with him. The popsicle tasted good and the finisher ribbon was hung on the medal rack.

   This Wednesday we had a better game plan. He ate before the race and tried to rest his legs as much as he could in the morning. He also decided that he was going to run the 1/4 mile and mile races. He'd sit out the half mile to rest. The 1/4 mile went well and he was able to run the whole distance. But disaster struck again with the mile handing him another DNF. As we headed in towards the finish line he got that look on his face that I know all too well. We walked behind the timing truck and the inevitable tears started to flow. It was a good learning lesson. Not everyone runs because it's hard and takes practice. But we still won the day with a finisher ribbon for the 1/4 mile and a popsicle. I couldn't of been prouder again. His determination is awe inspiring.

   The past two weeks were disappointing for me at first. My perfect attendance with my training was broken, my injuries started to worry me and my lack of free time finally caught up with me. But after watching my son run I was reminded of how much running is similar to life. It doesn't always go as planned. You need to be flexible and gentle with yourself. Most importantly, you shouldn't let a few bad workouts or extra time off get inside your head. Interesting how my son is teaching me new things. The streak is still alive, the ultra training will continue. I tried some new stuff on my injuries  which seems to have done the trick and even managed to have the most amazing 22 mile long run yesterday! 

   I've gotta find my video recording mojo again. My GoPro's collecting way too much dust! Hopefully in the next week I'll be bringing you some new episodes of the video podcast. We are officially half-way through the training! Adapt, overcome, persevere and ride that lightning my friends! Have a great week!      

Week Six-In It For The Long Run

  

   I've talked before about how deciding to become a distance runner can change your life. It can help you transform your body, it can help you discover untapped strength that lies deep within yourself and it can help you accomplish some damn incredible things. It can change you in many positive ways.

   But there's also a dark side to this passion that we have for the open road. Even if you're lucky enough to be gifted with a better than average amount of fast twitch muscle fibers, it takes time to do the training, run that 5K, that half-marathon, that ultra marathon. It can become an addiction, albeit a healthy one. That can be fine if you're young, single and without a lot of responsibilities. You have nobody to answer to other than yourself. But when you have a marriage, a family, a career to contend with things can get a little tricky. Juggling all of those variables requires a good deal of patience and creativity. You have to learn to adapt easily and roll with what life throws at you. 

   This crazy urge to run for hours and prove yourself in distance races can get even worse when you start seeing your health change for the better, your split times getting faster and your recovery quicker. For some runners it's about setting the next new PR, running faster and going longer than last time. It's something that runs in your blood. For as much as you try to deny it, running becomes part of who you are.

   This passion that you have for our sport can come at a price. Your family, your friends, the people that you care most about find themselves sacrificing more and more time with you as your personal victories mount. You sometimes miss your child's baseball game, don't have the energy to stay up and watch that movie with your spouse and don't have the time to meet your friends out for happy hour.

   A long time ago when I first started running I quickly discovered how challenging it is to fit a 30 hour day into 24. It's one of the reasons that I typically run only one or two races in the Summertime and take the Winter and Spring off. Over the last few years I've enjoyed some of my biggest breakthroughs with regards to my running career. I drastically improved my fitness, entered the world of the run-net community through blogging and video podcasting, broke that four hour barrier and started a running streak. All while my family and friends watched and cheered me with copious amounts of enthusiasm.

   I love the fact that I've overcome those challenges. It's become addicting to beat what I once thought of as unbeatable. With my decision to run my first ultra-marathon this year, let alone the Rochester Marathon and a second ultra, my free time has gone out the window. This has been hard on my family and friends leaving me feeling more than a little guilty about my ambitions.

   So this week my perfect attendance to my training schedule fell. The streak lives on. But it wasn't my best training week. A lot of stress and challenges. Something had to give. Which wound up being a portion of my training for the week. As the week draws to a close I don't have any regrets. In many ways this week was a wake up call. What good is all that hard work and those thrilling victories without the ones that you love there with you? Without the incredible support and sacrifice of your loved ones those amazing victories would be nothing more than a number on a GPS watch, a sweaty race bib and a $5 medal.

   Running is something extremely important to me. But it isn't everything. This week reminded me that it's only something that I do for fun. Why be so serious? If I miss a workout, a fail to nail a better mile split by a second or need to let my running streak fall that's OK. Life is wonderful and running is a way to complement it and live more fully. Not the other way around.

   Thank you to my family and my friends for the support that you provide on a daily basis. Without you I'd just be some guy who can run really far. Say thank you to the ones who make us the amazing runners that we are. It's as much as of a race for them as it is for us. Everyone that knows me sees that I'm not giving up running anytime soon. I'm in it for the long run. I just have to slow down occasionally, enjoy the scenery, the wonderful people that support my crazy endeavors and be thankful for what I've been given.

   Back at it this week! Time to give the legs some speed after this little step back. Hope you have a great week! Ride that lightning my friends...