Happy Vomit-days

Aaah the holidays. I spent a lot of mine in a dark room with a fever accompanied by a nasty stomach bug and left it in day-after Christmas stockings for all to enjoy. Sorry to everyone who contracted my nasty bug.

Up until I got that bug, my Christmas was going great. Amanda and I visited her folks, then we visited my folks on Christmas day. I had planned on getting back to Bristol on Sunday evening to take care of a few things on my Monday day off, one of which included a nice trail run.

With the weather being cold and snowy, not many people are heading out to the local city park to make use of the trails, which means that I can run them and have them all to myself. Just me and the sound of the snow and sticks crunching under each stride. I think it's also more about motivation. Most people just aren't motivated to get out in the cold and do anything. Sure it's cold, and if you're a runner or cyclist or hiker, it will be cold for the first few minutes, then you warm up, I guarantee it! Rule of thumb is that, when doing outdoor exercise in the Winter, dress as if it's 10 degrees warmer than it actually is. This accommodates for you increase in body temperature and will keep you from overheating.

Another issue of motivation comes around this time of year, which comes in the form of resolutions. Everyone at some point has made one, and more often than not, broken one. I know I have. Resolutions are good in that you've set a goal for yourself, but most of us don't take into consideration what motivates us to accomplish these goals.

I can use this blog and my marathon as an example. I've always wanted to run a marathon, or attempt to finish one, but never really had the motivation to do so. So, a good motivational idea was to use it as a way to raise money for a charitable donation. Not only do I get to run the marathon, but I can use it to do some good at the same time. Your goal doesn't have to be big, nor does it have to be really all that important. Just as long as you do it for the right reasons and have the proper motivation to see it through. We all know that "will power" isn't exactly what we make it out to be.

It's the most wonderful run....

Ten days since my last post and it has been a busy ten days. I've had lots of work to do before the new year approaches which means that my blogging has been lacking. I have been running though!

I've come to the realization that running trails is much more fun than running on the roads. This makes sense to me since I'd rather be riding my mountain bike than my road bike if plan to ride. The trails offer a nicer cushion to land on when I'm running which means that my plantar fasciitis doesn't flame up nearly as early in my run.

During my last run there was still quite a bit of snow in some areas of the park, especially the trails. I ran part of the cross country course out there, but added a little more trail to the loop and ran part of it in reverse. When I was running the reverse section, I had to run up a hill, not a big hill, but a hill and it reminded me of that scene in Rocky IV where Rocky ditches the Russians following him in the car by ducking off the road, then he runs up the mountain and yells 'DRAGOOO!!!" a bunch of times. Well, my ascent to the top of the hill wasn't that dramatic, but I thought about it anyway.

I'm going to start planning running routes at Sugar Hollow Park on the trails since I can create lots of options. Running trails also keeps me off the roads and away from crazy drivers, especially this time of year when everyone is out shopping and hating other people.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Snow, snow...and oh...snow.

Old Man Winter is trying to make an old man out of me, I'm certain of it. It's tough to get motivated to do anything when the weather doesn't cooperate. I've spent the entire day at the house with my wife and we both worked on our own little projects and watched a couple of movies.

Hopefully I can get out and about tomorrow, maybe even run on the dreaded treadmill at the YMCA. I did get to go for a short run last week, mainly to test my foot's pain threshold. It held up really well and I felt good the entire run. As much as I'm not a runner and don't really like to run, I'm eager to start putting in some miles again.

I'll take suggestions. What do you do when it's too nasty to get outside to run or ride?

Cross training

It has been a few since I last posted on ye olde blog and I do apologize. I've been trying to catch up on everything after being gone for Thanksgiving.

I haven't done much running since my foot had been bothering me after my last run  in sunny Florida, so I've started using my first love as a cross-training method to keep me somewhat in shape. I've been doing some mountain biking since it doesn't hurt my foot and I sure as heck don't mind riding! They say cross training is important, but riding doesn't really feel like training to me, however, running does. It does feel nice to switch it up a little though.

I'm going to run today, probably at the YMCA on a treadmill since the weather is extremely cold lately and it's only getting colder and darker by the time I get off work. I generally hate running on treadmills, but they do have TVs in front of them...maybe I'll catch Oprah or something. Is her show still on?

I do want to take this moment to congratulate my running mate's mate, Joy, for completing her first marathon this past weekend in Memphis. She ran the St. Jude's marathon to raise money for St. Jude's and finished under five hours. Way to go Joy!

I will return with a regularly scheduled program, I promise. Thanks for keeping up!

Non-turkey trottin'

As I sit here on this Thanksgiving evening, I'm reading about what everyone is thankful for. I will add to that by saying that I'm thankful to all of my marathon contributors, my ability to go out for a run today and for organizations like Livestrong and St. Jude's for all they do for cancer patients and their families. It has been a while since I have posted and do have updates. Seems my foot problem was some pretty severe plantar fasciitis. I exited the doctor's office with a nice pair of crutches to help me get around. He told me to rest, which I did probably a little too well. I wasn't able to ride a bike or run for more than a week, well, until today. Today was my first run since the half marathon. I ran a little more than three miles and it wasn't pretty. Between my stack of French toast this morning & my gluttony during my injury time, it became a tough run. Top that with the humidity and heat here in Florida. You heard me, Florida. My parents are snowbirds so this year Thanksgiving is in sunny Florida. It's nice to have sunny and warm weather, but the humidity is tough. My foot did hurt near the end of my run, but I didn't push it. With some ice, rest and my Naproxen, I should be good for my Saturday Santos ride in Ocala. I hope all of my readers have had a great Thanksgiving and if you're traveling, that you have safe trips!

Mustache Love

Saturday's half marathon was a little disappointing for me. I didn't finish under two hours, I hurt my foot and I had to walk for two miles. Needless to say, my spirits were a little low for most of the run. I did find a little source of inspiration during, what I have dubbed, the 'Walking Miles'.

For the month of November, I have been growing a mustache for Movember. Most people make fun of the 'stache or just flat out hate it, but I don't mind, it's for a good cause. I had been walking for a little more than a mile and as I was limping along with my head down, I noticed something shiny in the road. As I got closer I noticed it was a pin lying face down. I picked it up and flipped it over and immediately felt a smile on my face.

That's right, mustache love. It gave me a boost of confidence and really reminded me of why I was out there. It also made me feel a little worse too knowing that I may have had to give up the half and not finish. I clipped the pin onto my number on my chest and continued walking and I could hear it jingle with every step. Now it will forever be pinned to my wool Retrotec cycling cap with my other pins. So to all you Movember participants, love your mustache.

Mile marker one

I've had a lot of people text me and send me facebook messages asking me how my half marathon went yesterday. I had planned on waiting until tomorrow to post, but thought I'd give a weekend edition.

As my core followers know, I have been battling a nagging foot injury for a couple of weeks now, but with a few exercises and some Naproxen it wasn't bothering me nearly as bad. So Saturday, I took extra special care to do the necessary stretches and take my medication before the run. I got there a bit early to register and make sure my legs were warmed up.

As we lined up the start line I couldn't have felt better. My foot was hurting a little bit, but not enough to bother my stride or my times. I was stuck in some traffic for the first mile, but as the herd thinned down I found myself in a good pace and started to chip away at the ten minute first mile I had just run. As the first few miles ticked off, I noticed that I was right on pace for my sub two hour run. Mile one, ten minutes, mile two, eight-ish minutes, mile three nine minutes. This went on until the turn around point at mile five. As I approached the turnaround point my foot started to aggravate me a bit. So, just before mile six marker I got this feeling like someone had just driven a stake into my heel with a hammer. The pain when I would land on my right foot was almost unbearable. I didn't want to do it, but I had no choice but to walk the next two miles, killing my sub two hour goal.

The way the course was laid out, at around mile eight, you were right at the finish line if you turned left, if you turned right, you made the final five mile loop to finish the run. I thought very seriously about stopping and not finishing the run. As a matter of fact, when I got there I had already decided I was finished, but some unknown force pulled me right and I started to lightly jog to the top of the hill to the eight mile marker. The thought of not finishing really devastated me. I had a goal of finishing in two hours, I didn't want to NOT finish. So I ran the next five miles in some of the most excruciating pain I have ever felt in my entire life. There were several hills to run up and down and at the next mile marker I noticed that I had just run a 14 minute mile. The last few were very slow going to say the least. As I got to the top of the last hill I could see the finish line and the marker that read '13'. As I saw the marker, I also saw Amanda. She had to work Saturday morning so she wasn't there for the start, but other than the time keepers, she was the only one standing at the finish line. Seeing her there was just as sweet as finishing. As I crossed the finish line, I noticed I had beat the cutoff time by five minutes, finishing in 2hrs 55 mins. Then I collapsed in pain. For the next few minutes my foot throbbed and stabbed.

Today I wake up and I can't walk on my right foot. I am now hopping on my left foot everywhere I go. As I sit here writing this post, I am planning a trip to the weekend after-hours clinic to have them look at it. Although I'm glad I finished the race, I now think it may have been a bit foolish. Ah well, I have  until April to heal up.