Happy New Year

I’m noticing most of the posts in Blogland don’t have a lot of content about running.

I’m sure that everyone is savoring the last few moments of the holiday season and will get their running back in gear in 2008, me included!

I plan on bringing in the New Year in a very low-key manner.

Upon completion of the New Year’s Eve Race, I’m sure we’ll stick around and have a few toast with other Downtown Runners/Walkers that will be there.

I’m not one to go out and celebrate New Year’s Eve, due to the number of amateur celebrants out there. In addition we’re supposed to get a few inches of the white stuff, which always makes for fun driving.

So keep those 2008 resolutions practical and attainable and I’ll see you in the New Year.

Oh my Aching Head

This post will be short and sweet. Oh my aching head!

Sandy and I had our annual Post-Christmas Pre-New Year’s Eve Open House.

Good times were had by one and all, just a little bit more on my part.

Football Frenzy

Tonight the New England Patriots will be trying to achieve regular season perfection in the NFL. This is such a big event that the game will be televised on two major networks, as well as the NFL Network on cable. Now I’m as big a football fan as the next obsessive guy (Go Packers), but three stations carrying a regular season game!

I’ve always wanted to see the television networks give better coverage to running road races. How can you televise a marathon in thirty minutes? Now I realize that most of the viewing public want to see the elite runners and who wins the events but wouldn’t it be nice to see some of us middle of the pack runners? I love seeing the human interest stories of the runner that overcame some sort of obstacle or encountered an event on their life that pushed them to the limit.

Okay, time to go in the basement and get on the trainer. This daily blogging is going to be interesting!

BLOG365

I joined Great Lakes Running Girl’s BLOG365 team, so expect to read a lot of thoughtless ramblings in the upcoming year!
I’m also in charge of volunteer recruitment for our local New Year’s Eve race and it’s getting down to the wire. Where are all of my volunteers?
It’s not like you have to be a world-class runner to be a volunteer.
I’m sure that most races encounter the same problem of trying to lure non-runners to help out at running events. What type of enticement can you have for them? What would make people give up their precious time to stand and hand out fluids?
The lure of a free T-shirt and all of the Gatorade you can drink obviously isn’t enough.
We try to tell every runner that they need to be on the other side of the fluid station to get a real feel on how important volunteers are to having a successful event. As I said in several emails to my running club, ‘how would you like to have a serf-serve fluid station when you trying to run a PR?’.
We even need people to pour beer after the races have concluded. These volunteer spots filled up pretty fast.
Hopefully we’ll have enough volunteers and a great event.

Happy, Merry, Joy, Joy

Happy Holidays to everyone in Blogland. 2007 was a year that started off promising but along came Father Time, a few unexpected injuries and a knee surgery. Oh my!
Now is the time to come up with blogging resolutions for the upcoming year.

You know the ones like, ‘I’ll post something everyday’ or ‘ I’ll make my post better and give them more thought’.

Well, I’m not a big New Year’s resolution person. I think you can make changes whenever there is a need.
So I’ll continue to miss days without post and have post that makes no sense to anyone but me.

So bring on 2008!

Twas the Days before Christmas....

Okay, who stole my extra days of shopping?

I cannot believe that it’s four days until Christmas! I had such high hopes of shopping and being finished before the actual day. As someone said to me earlier this week, “..the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
I will complete my shopping before December 25th!

My Greatest T-shirt

I just read Pat’s blog and he has a picture of his running club’s T-shirt and he calls it the greatest running shirt ever and it got me to looking at my collection. I still have the first T-shirt from my very first 10k race and it’s my greatest running shirt.
This is just a plain old ordinary blue T-shirt with no special logo but it symbolizes the start of my running career. It is a little tattered from many machine washing cycles and the threads have grown apart to the point of almost seeing through it. That shirt became my lucky race shirt. Just as Tiger Woods has his red shirts that he wears on the final rounds days, I wore that to race in.
So who else has a great running T-shirt or even the first race T-shirt they received?
Another season of the Biggest Loser has come to an end and the twins (Bill & Jim) cleaned up. They were the big money winners with each losing over 50% of their original weight! Alas, I didn’t win in the Fantasy Biggest Loser League but I didn’t end up in last place either.

Tuesday's Thoughts

It must be true what they say about misery loving company. PT Girl and I have a new leg training partner in Vinnie.
Now Vinnie has some back issue but he is mainly trying to improve his leg strength for cycling. He completed the Make-A-Wish 300 Mile bike ride this year for the first time and he is hooked. He already has tree trunks for legs but he wants to maintain what he has.
Now it’s so easy to back out of a workout when you do it alone, but with two other folks waiting it will be impossible to miss!
I’m trying to compile my 2008 race schedule and so far January is the only month that I don’t have a race. This is probably a good thing knowing the weather and my current conditioning. I’m looking at a 5k on Superbowl Sunday or a 4 Miler the following week. I’m committed to the Country Music Marathon & ½ Marathon in April but that’s as a Team in training coach.
It’s Tuesday, so I’m off to run with the Downtown Detroit Runners and have a few adult beverages afterwards to replenish the fluids lost in the run.

Ramblings of a Runner

I’m typically not a superstitious person but I am looking for my lucky rabbit’s foot.

I’ve been able to run for three consecutive days and that’s starting to worry me.

I was reading an article that basically stated that injuries start to manifest themselves into other types of injuries.

That’s right, I’m in some weird sci-fi type of injury spiral that could be never-ending.

It’s been about three or four years of one injury after another, all leading to time away from training or not being able to perform at my peak.

I was always able to explain my way out of bad races by saying that I was injured or coming back from an injury. Then it got to be more mental than physical. I was uncertain if I wanted to go through the effort and pain of training properly.

Did I want to run to the point of feeling like I was about to cough up a lung?

The line between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ pain was being blurred in my mind by my injuries.

Would running through this pain cause me to have another setback?

Did I need to continue with that additional lap?

These were the questions that I would ask myself and the answer was always, No!

I began running races with other people I knew were slower just so I didn’t have to push myself anymore.

These injuries had brought me to the point where I had lost all confidence in my running abilities. I was just going through the motions.

Even with all of the negatives that were occurring in my running life I stayed close to the running community. I still talked to other runners and cheered whenever I had the opportunity. Being around a ton of positive folks kept me from wallowing in my self-pity for any extended time.

Now I’m not out of the waters just yet. I still have aches and pains that medication helps overcome and the years of pounding the pavement are catching up with me, but I’m going to at least try!

So all of you wonderful bloggers out there in blogland keep those positive vibes coming and if you see an old guy on the side of the road, just honk!

Let it Snow, let it snow......

Well we finally got dumped on with the wintry white stuff, so running will get a lot more interesting. This is definitely the time of year when watching golf tournaments in California or Florida look so appealing.
I have yet to step foot into a shopping mall for any type of Christmas gifts and the clock is starting to tick faster with each passing day.
Why do I do this to myself each year? Why can’t I just start buying stuff and labeling envelopes in August?
Everyone in Blogland already seems to have their 2008 racing schedule lined up, so I guess I have to fall in line. I will probably concentrate on the shorter distance races in 2008 and leave the marathons to Team in Training. It will be like the times when I first started running. So be on the lookout for my 2008 list of races.

Gift Question?

Okay all of you running animals out there. What would you say to a Christmas gift of 13 local races for the 2008 season? One of the local running stores has a deal where you purchase entry into 13 races for $75. I think even if you raced in half of them it would be worth the money!

Tuesday's Turn

If it’s Tuesday, it must be a Downtown Runner’s run, but the weather was really crappy. It rained the entire day with a fog over the city and it looked really cold. I say all of this because I stayed inside at work and dreaded the thought of running in the cold rain.
They had also forecast freezing rain, so the ride home would be lousy also. Since I had to deliver the route maps, Sandy and I went to the restaurant with the plan of just dropping them off and going home.
Well the temps were in the thirties and the rain had stopped, so Sandy decided that we would run!
It turned out to be a good run, of course I was overdressed.
I finally think my right knee is getting better. I was able to run without any twinges of aches for about three miles.
Of course my legs and respiratory system are having issues of their own.

Oh my aching head.

This weekend was the beginning of the holiday parties and it started with a bang!

The Downtown Runners & Walkers of Detroit held their annual gala and it was extra great this year! We had a great turnout and the liquid refreshments were cold and plentiful. It’s also an annual event for Sandy to run in the Jingle Bell 5K in New Baltimore. I’m typically still suffering from the night before, so I’m just a spectator. It’s amazing that she has run this race for the last six years and her finish time is almost always the same. She runs between 25:00 and 25:46, which is fantastic.

Oh that’s right, I forgot about the running stuff that I did in the morning.

The team got its first encounter with the wind at Stony Creek MetroPark. Even though it’s a circular loop around the park, the wind always seems to be in your face. We tried running negative splits so everyone would have a little left in their tanks towards the end of their runs. No matter how hard you try, it is so difficult to run slow when you have a ton of energy.

Congratulations to Bob Delisle for completing his second marathon in Honolulu on Sunday. Bob was part of the Michigan chapter of team in Training and wasn’t sure if he would make it or not. I can’t wait to read his race report.
I’m starting to feel almost normal again, so bring on the parties!

OUCH!

My legs are killing me!

Whose bright idea was it again to exercise with a demon-woman?

I forced myself to get out and run at least 30 minutes and that was about all I could muster.

The actual running wasn’t so bad, it was just getting my leg muscles loose to get going.

We have our annual running club Holiday Party this Saturday, so I’m sure that Sunday morning will be almost impossible to get any miles in.

For some strange reason this party has an abundance of alcohol and food, both of which I partake in abundance!

Mentor-led training but I’ll be out there wit the team tomorrow morning putting in some much needed miles.

The TNT Honolulu team is soaking up the sun and warm temps, I hope! I saw on the news where they were having strong winds, which will hopefully be tailwinds.

Things I learned today

Never workout with Physical Therapist Girl. Ouch!

I talked myself into doing a leg workout with PT-Girl today.

Now normally when I workout in the gym, I’m the social type. I enjoy chatting between my sets and ensuring that everyone around is enjoying themselves.

Well my training partner for today didn’t subscribe to that theory.

PT-Girl kicked my butt!

Here’s the routine we completed:

• Leg Press – 4 sets (90 lbs x 20, 180 lbs x 20, 270 lbs x 15, 180 lbs x 20)
• Walking Lunges/Hamstring Curls (superset) – 4 sets (lunges w/50 lbs) Curls 70 lbs x 20
• Leg Extension – 6 sets (two legs x 2, one leg x 2, two legs up/one leg down x 2)
• Squats – Pyramid down from 15 reps until 1 rep (fortunately we did this without any weight)

I’m sure that there were probably about a thousand other exercises PT-Girl could have come up with but time was my savior. All of this took approximately 40 minutes and most of that time was spent with me trying to hide or get water.

Now I’m just hoping that I am able to walk, let alone run!

MIA, and I don't mean Miami!

I’ve been busy at work and haven’t had a lot of time to post, but I have been running!
I was able to find some hills for the Team in Training group to run on this past weekend. I know that most of them won’t go looking for any hillwork, so I have to bring it to them. It’s awesome to see them take off in their groups and come back feeling as though they could conquer anything. We have a long way to go but the team is really doing well. I haven’t had any issues with my knee other than the swelling, which doesn’t want to go away. I am feeling all of the usual aches and pains of running outside in Michigan. I’m jealous of the guys in Arizona and Florida this time of year. This is also the time of year when the holiday parties will be going on each weekend until the end of the year. So I have to be extra careful in my eating and drinking, I can’t just go out and put in the miles to burn that stuff off any more. Okay, time to get back to work and have a great week.

Let the games begin!

I am officially almost ready for the holiday season.
The artificial pre-lit Christmas tree is assembled and decorated.

Low flying planes can now maneuver safely at night with the aid of the lamination from our decorated house.

I’m already getting annoyed with radio stations playing ‘only’ Christmas music.

Lastly, I have yet decided on any gift to but for anyone. Yes, let the games begin.

My string of consecutive days of exercise ended on Thanksgiving but it wasn’t because I didn’t want to exercise. I volunteered for our local Turkey trot 10K and had a blast.

Now I’ve been told that I have a large and loud personality, so to be given a megaphone for crowd control was a gift from the gods to me.

I could tell the same joke over and over and for every new group of runners that approached, it was new and fresh. I was in heaven.

I am still in awe whenever someone says that I help make the event that much better just by my presence. So if you have the chance to help out at a race, please do. It’s so worthwhile and events can never have too many volunteers.

After the race it was off to the annual Thanksgiving game at Ford Field to watch my Green Bay Packers defeat the Detroit Lions. The number of Packer fans that attended the game surprised me.

On the running front, I’ve been able to get in some short runs without any significant knee pain but I’m not going to get crazy just yet. I’ve also put the bike on the trainer and actually rode for over an hour.

Since I’ll be running in the snow, sleet and colder temps, I’m thinking of purchasing a Trail running shoe. My feet get really cold on the longer runs and I’m thinking the trail shoes would be better insulated, any thoughts out there?

I've Been Tagged

Thanks to Runner Gal Leana, I’ve been tagged and now I have to come up with five random/weird facts about myself. I could probably come up with a few more but rules are rules, so here are my Top Five Random facts:

I competed in a ‘Beer Case Race’, where you see who can finish a case of beer in the shortest amount of time. This may not sound strange to do in your twenties but I competed as a Grand Master a few years ago and was in first places for a brief time (after 16 beers). I didn’t complete the race due to my inability to stand up.
I didn’t learn how to ride a bike until I was eighteen years old. I never had a need to ride anywhere that wasn’t walking distance. Bikes weren’t seen as ‘cool’ in the neighborhood. This is probably why I still have that fear of my first real fall off the bike!
My second toe goes over the big toe, giving the appearance of my toes looking like you’re crossing your fingers. It’s not something that will get me on David Letterman but it’s good knowing I have something crossed at all times.
I remember black and white television, the opening episode of Gilligan’s Island (it was pre-empted by a speech from then Governor Romney) and growing up with one telephone for the entire house.
In my twenties, I followed a young lady out to California for a two week vacation without a place to stay. Kind of spur of the moment thing or maybe just a summer fling! It wasn’t one of those hitchhiking trips but a plane ride and bus to nowhere. Fortunately, she did have an apartment with a couch.

Okay, let's get down to business, here are The Rules:
Link to your tagger, and post these rules on your blog.
Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
Tag 5 people at the end of your post by their names and links to their blogs.
Let them know they are TAGGED by leaving a comment on their blog.

Now the next step is for me to tag five fellow bloggers and list their names and links:

Sonia – Solo Running Chick
Bob – Running Part Deux
Al – On Eagles WIngs
Geology Diva (Who is toooo busy for this)
MotownRunnerGirl – (I think she’s done this before)

New Bloggers

I’m going to attempt to get my TNT team members to start blogging about their upcoming experiences. I’ve got a couple of past team members started, so we’ll see who jumps aboard the blogging express. I’ll keep you guys posted.

The Team

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the 2008 TNT spring team!

We had a great training run even though the sun didn’t shine down upon us. It will be interesting to see the improvements five months from now!

Everyone came with a great attitude and they’re excited about the journey that they have chosen.

No one got lost and there were no injuries to report, Yay!

Losers

I just can’t pick losers!

Sonia asked about my fantasy Biggest Loser team and she was correct in her assumption of no news meaning being in last place!

Okay I’m in last place, there I said it.

I truly thought that my original team would hang in there and lose tons of weight, but alas it ain’t happening.

I still have two players in the game but they aren’t breaking any records in weight lost.

I think that I’m mathematically eliminated unless one of my team members loses a body part.

I was glad to see Amy get booted off also.

I’ll be watching the show just for entertainment purposes only. I still have football, Go Packers!

Spring Team 2008

I have a spring team!

I just received my official roster for the spring Team in Training team and I am getting geeked.

Is this how teachers feel at the start of their school year?

It will be fun to put faces to some of these names at Kickoff tonight.

Right now there are sixteen members of the run team and eight walkers. We still have a couple of weeks of meeting to add to that.

Bus Blogging

Today the temperature is supposed to climb to the lower sixties, which means I had to get out and enjoy it at lunch. This worked out great since the Downtown Runners are heading west to Plymouth to run this evening, so Sandy and I will skip tonight’s run and enjoy a Tuesday at home.

I purposely sought out someone that would run a little slower, since I’m still doing my top-secret undercover training. I was able to find one of my co-workers that wanted to have an easy day. With the exception of the first half-mile, my body started to loosen up and I didn’t feel any out of the norm aches. How long do you have to keep your fingers crossed for it to take hold?

I was also wondering when and where do most bloggers in Blogland do their blogging? I personally hate turning on the PC when I get home from work, so most of my blogging is done at work, but today it was done on the bus commuting home.

Tomorrow is Kickoff for the Spring Team in training season and it’s always exciting to get started. Saturday is the first group training run and I can’t wait to see all of those smiling faces in near-freezing temperatures. I’m sure that I be collecting clothing from the slightly overdressed.

Okay my stop is coming up, see you on the road.

Happy Feet Again

Well it is Happy Feet time again. I was able to run 5.36 miles today with the help of a few hundred friends.

I ran in the Big Bird 10k today and my knee actually felt okay at points of the race.

I didn’t try and go out racing, so it was different to be really in the back of the pack. I just wanted to get in my ‘long’ run!

This race goes over I-696 twice, which wasn’t usually isn’t an issue but the downhill portion was unforgiving on the knees.

I think I was a little annoying to a few people, since I chatted the entire time I was running.

I even heard the ‘..you have too much energy to be running this slow’!

Of course once I was done my knee grew in size but there wasn’t any sufficient pain.

The other major point is that I even ran on Saturday, so that’s two consecutive days of running.

Yay!

Pity Party Time

Everyone keeps telling me that my conditioning will return, but when?

I want to run like the wind…………

The one thing that distance running does, is instill some patience into you. I need to find my patience and just remember to put one foot in front of the other. I appreciate running more now since I wasn’t able to do it for an extended period of time.

I think running with the Downtown Runners made me want to go faster, since everyone was dashing pass me at light-speed.

I wanted to register for the ‘Big Bird’ run but why? I can’t sustain a pace for any period of time for s*it.

If you can’t tell already, I’m having a Pity Party (Thanks Solo Running Chick), it must be contagious!

I think that I’ll be on the sidelines once again cheering and supporting the runners that I know.

I am surprised that people come up to me and tell me how appreciative they were to see me cheering and yelling for them at an event. Don’t they realize that I have a cooler full of beer next to me?

I just found out that I’ll be on the course of the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot, so I’m hoping for warm weather. This race has been growing in participation over the past few years, so the need for more volunteers is really becoming apparent. The course is a semi out-and-back, with a few streets in need of human delimiters, which will be my job.

I’m so important!

Okay, the party is over and I’ll get my butt back on track.

No No No

No knee pain, no speed, no sweat.

I’m running but it isn’t pretty. I went to the school track and ran my circles. I was lucky to stay ahead of the senior citizen walkers. I wore my heart rate monitor to see just how bad of shape I’m in.

Can you believe that another runner dies while running a marathon? I also read the Sports Illustrated article about Alberto Salazar having his heart attack. I’m the type that reads something like that and starts to get chest pains. Now I have to make it a point to run with my Road-ID attached to my shoe, someone has to identify the body.

Congratulations to Brian Sell on making the U.S. Olympic team for the marathon. It didn’t look as though he was having fun the last portion of the race.

Also how can Paula Radcliffe win the NYC marathon after giving birth to a baby and I’m struggling after my time off? I hate those elite athletes!

The plan for this week is to see if my body can handle consecutive days of running. Remember, I’m only doing a couple of miles each day.

The Green Bay Packers win another game to stay in first place ahead of those surging Detroit Lions. What in the world is going on?

Okay, the plan is......

Okay, the plan is to run as much as possible without hurting myself!

I know that might sound like a pretty simple task but I’m starting to doubt it. I did three miles and didn’t feel great but I didn’t have any knee pain.
Now once I stopped running I did notice some swelling that a little icing won’t resolve. Icing my knee has worked wonders for me. I can actually bend it and walk on it and climb stairs with it, after icing. Now I need to invent a knee brace that stay cold.

I am sooooooooo tempted to register for a race but my better judgment say no.

I watched the ‘Marathon Challenge’ on PBS and it was so similar to my Team in Training experiences. If you get the opportunity to view this program, it is well worth the hour. I’m sure that we can all relate in some way or another.

I still have two players on my ‘Biggest Loser’ fantasy team but I am so far back in the weight lost point total. I didn’t realize how this program had evolved into a ‘game’ and the way the contestants are playing. I remember when it was just about losing weight.

Which leads to the fact that I am gaining weight and it ain’t all muscle!

Running Fool

Can somebody tell me why is my body talking to me in so many ways?

Not only does my surgically repaired knee give me twinges, now my good knee is seeking attention with a few early steps aches!

I am running on a regular basis now, but I may have to back off on the 2008 Olympics. It should be interesting to see how the race pans out Saturday. Brian Sells is getting a lot of attention here in the high-five state.

I am doing my running on the high school track which is a lot more forgiving on my knee. As much as I hate the treadmill, I think the track is running a close second. It is so easy to just to walk off that track and call it a day.

Tonight starts the informational meetings for Team in Training. I love this part, seeing all of the faces of uncertainty. People questioning why they’re attending. The endless number of questions and it’s always a few individuals that stand out and end up performing above and beyond their wildest dreams.

Go Team

Happy Feet

I ran a mile without any knee twinges. I didn’t set the world on fire but it was a mile without issues and it was after running yesterday!

This is a friend that cut the ½ marathon course and somehow got into the lead pack of marathon runners. Notice how her stride lacks the knee lift of the Kenyans.

Marathon Sunday

Although I knew I wasn’t running the entire ½ marathon I did want to start the race, even though this meant a 5:00 AM wake-up alarm.

So I took off with the other 14,999 runners/walkers into the darkness of Detroit. Now I wasn’t running fast and I was enjoying the company of the runners I was around but I decided two miles out was far enough.

I officially dropped out of the marathon at mile 2, which meant I had to run back to the start line and become a cheerleader.

Even though a lot of people look like they’re in agony, I was still jealous that they were able to run.

I covered 6 miles running from spot to spot and my knee ballooned to the size of a small volleyball. Fortunately I ended my trek at the River’s Edge Grille with an ice cold beer. The medicinal uses of beer are amazing, I could drink one and use one to ice my knee at the same time.

Fun Times

Quick note for all those Windy City Marathon Wannabees.

Here’s a link that might put a smile on your face: http://www.chicagofunrun.com/
The shits read: The marathon quit, but we didn’t.

PT Anyone?

I just checked out the course map for the Nike Marathon in Frisco. Sandy is going to be positioned at Mile 11 and the looks like a primo spot to see her TNT team and run with them. She’ll be able to even get them in the last few miles of the marathon. While she’s doing her thang in Frisco, I’ll be having a blast at the Detroit Marathon. This will be the first time we’ve been running an event at the same time but in different cities. Now that’s strange. I started my unofficial physical therapy session with myself and it’s showing some benefit already, I’m a quick learner! I think my ‘real’ physical therapist thinks of ways to inflict pain on her clients and uses me for her practice patient. She came over and wanted me to try some exercises on a BOSU ball. It’s not like I have two left feet but I’m not one of the Flying Walendas either. It’s amazing how many exercises you can come up with to hurt a person! It appears that the swelling in my knee is going down or at least I’m hoping. I still ice it after doing anything. I have my map of the ½ marathon course and I know all of the spots I can turn off and see everyone. I plan on taking pictures, so Solo Running Chick be ready!

Ready for Anything

This is the final week for the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon and ½ Marathon.

I always found this week to be somewhat strange, in that you’ve trained for everything imaginable on the course but nothing about how to handle this week.

This is the week when you run just to remind your legs of what they’re suppose to do.

You don’t want to run hard or run long.

You don’t want to run in the rain. You don’t want to run in the dark and risk a twisted ankle.

You stay away from any small children that might be the epicenter of anything contagious.

If you belong to a team involved in any type of competitive sport, you bow out of this week’s competition for fear of getting injured.

This is the week when you go through all of the mental preparation for your event.

You check the weather forecast on a daily basis, hoping that the predicted rain holds off.

You eat pasta for dinner for the entire week, thinking this will really help.

You drink water as if you were a camel and can store it.

You’ve memorized the course, you’ve even run the last 10k!

You have your split times written down and laminated, you even have a little fluff time in there.

You’re as ready as you’re going to be, then………

Mission Accomplished

I ran outside and didn’t have any issues with my right knee!

This isn’t to say that the rest of my body took a vacation the past three weeks. I was feeling twinges and aches in places that I didn’t even know I use while running.

I am soooooooo out of running shape!

In the time it took me to run one mile, I had a back ache, a twinge in my left quad and something happening in my left knee?

I also decided to do a majority of my running in the next few days on a track.

Nothing like the spongy surface of a track to help take the pounding that we all encounter while running.

Okay, it’s time for ice, ice baby.

Wake-up Call

I hit the indoor track today and my PT and it was just like riding a bike. Only this bike had two flat tires and the gears weren’t shifting. I was like the proverbial fish out of water.
The one saving grace was that I didn’t encountered any pain or discomfort.


So at this rate, I’ll be ready for the ½ marathon in Detroit in the year 2012!



It’s probably time to rethink my race strategy.

The Streak in On

My first day of Ken’s Homemade physical therapy went well.

I only started doing leg exercises after my ex-physical therapist reamed me out for not doing anything to strengthen my knee! How was I supposed to know?

Okay, a few leg extensions and some squats and my all-time favorite ‘walking lunges’!

Having gone through therapy a few times, I know the routine somewhat.
We do lower weights, higher repetitions.

I was going to attempt to run on the dreadmill but everyone seemed to think it wasn’t a good idea. But did that stop me? Nooooooooooooooooo

I planned on running for a ¼ of a mile and then call it a day. Everything seemed okay, except I kept waiting for something to happen.

Mind you, I didn’t expect for my leg to fall off but I was really conscious of my knee. Every time it struck the ground I waited. I completed my run with a little sensation in my knee but nothing I couldn’t walk away from I proceeded to ice it as if I had run a race thinking about the chances of running two consecutive days.

That’s right, two days of running in a row. I’ll probably stick to the ¼ mile but it will still be a streak!

Rantings of a Mad Coach

In what had to be an absolute runner’s nightmare, the Chicago Marathon was cancelled at 12 noon!

I’ve been reading a few accounts of what transpired and it sounds like the race officials were caught with their pants down. There are stories of fluid stations with overturned tables and no water or sports drinks, runners purchasing their own fluids from nearby gas stations and stores.
Now I’m sure that everything possible was done to ensure the safety of each participate during the race and it was a tough decision to call the race and I give them credit for doing that.

Are there things that could have been handled better? Sure, but how could you tell ten thousand people that spent countless hours and steps into training that their day was over? I would venture to guess that a lot of TNT athletes were a part of this goup!

I was trying to imagine how I would have handled the situation from a TNT coaching perspective and it scares me.

How do you tell someone you’ve seen start from almost nothing to abandon their dream of
crossing that finish line, even if it is for their own good?

I can’t even imagine what the mood was like at the victory party!

Having participated in a few warm weather endurance events, we always try to protect the athlete.

Which leads to the question of when is enough, enough? When do you shutdown the competitive fire within and just succumb to the realization that you can’t continue?

Okay, I’m sure that quite a few of the disappointed will find another fall marathon to sign up for and not let their training go to waste. Then there will be the other side that just wanted to complete one marathon and banish their shoes to the back of the closet and call it a career.

But as I always tell my team during their training, the one thing you have no control over is the weather!

Passed the Test

Okay boy and girls, we had a preliminary test for the knee today. I decided to try a spinning class to determine if continued moving would be a problem.

Well, 30 minutes later I was still spinning with no discomfort what so ever. I cut the class short so I could ice my knee as a precaution.

Boy, am I a good patient or what?

I really surprised myself for being discipline enough to not try any of the standing positions. That’s another reason I cut it short, knowing me I would have gotten adventurous and hurt myself.

I’m still not going to attempt a run until the 10th of October, that way I have 10 days to train for the Detroit half-marathon!

I Heart Running

Talk about time flying when you’re having fun, this weekend kicks off the Fall marathon season in the Midwest. The LaSalle Bank Chicago marathon is being held Sunday, October 7th. Our Michigan chapter of TNT is sending team for the first time, I believe in quite a while. This will be the first group of Sandy’s team to embark on their endurance journey. I wish them all the best of luck, I know they’ve trained well.

Go Team!

I remember running the Chicago marathon in 1988 and the temps never getting above freezing. Talk about being young and stupid!

No matter if I was running an event or not, I always feel the excitement of the month. Everyone you talk to while running is asking the same question, “which marathon are you running?”.

I miss running….

Fantasy Lands

I’m doing cardio. That’s right, I’m actually doing things that elevate my heart rate.

I got on the stationary bike for a 10 minute warm-up and to test out my knee.

Okay, no problems with the bike, so let’s take it up a little bit more.

Next, the Stair-master. Now I hated this machine even before my knee problems, so chances are I’ll still hate it.

Five minutes later, I’m back on solid ground without any discomfort in my knee.

Next, the treadmill!!!!

Nah, that was it for day one of my recovery, although I was tempted.

I iced my knee and didn’t have any post-exercise trauma.

I did make a promise to myself to wait until at least the 10th of October before I attempt to run and then it’ll be on the dreadmill.

WTF! I’m losing more weight than my Biggest Loser Fantasy team! (Bryan & Phil)

Are the camera people giving them food on the side?

These guys have nothing else to do on the ranch but exercise and eat right!

I’m in next to last place, check it out(BL Standings).

In my other fantasy world I’m all over the place. I have a team that is 5 – 0 (Yay, we play double headers) and a team that is 0 – 4 (stupid &#$^ coach) and then I’m 1 – 3 in the sub-division league.

No Restrictions

Life is good again!

The Green Bay Packers are undefeated and in sole possession of first place and the doctor told me that I have no restrictions due to me knee surgery.
I’m still not going to go parachuting in the near future but the possibility of running may not be too far away.
I plan on taking it easy for a few more days and get my knee back to its normal size. There is still some swelling just from the surgery.
I was able to check out some photos that were taken during the surgery and it was interesting. The first thing they saw was loose cartilage floating around and then a tear of the meniscus, which was the pain on the inside of my knee. The loose cartilage was from a spot on the outside of my knee. Then there was the ever present arthritis that will be with me the rest of my life. No wonder I was having issues after each run, duh!
I’m going to get in just a few runs before the Detroit Half-Marathon. I don’t want too many people flying pass me on the course.

Life Without Running

Well since my running has been non-existent, I’ll switch it up and use my strength training as a blog post.
Yesterday was arm day and as a change of pace I decided to superset biceps and triceps.
I started with a few warm-up sets of curls and extensions. Isn’t this stuff riveting?

Needless to say I kept most of the weights lighter than normal to ensure finishing the higher rep sets.

I know it’s not like telling someone how fast you ran mile three and what the terrain was like when you hit mile six.
Or how far you have to run to get in your daily recommended mileage for an upcoming race.
I have a doctor’s appointment on Monday and I’m going to ask how soon before I can run. Whatever the doctor tells me, I’m going to subtract two weeks. That’s how desperate I am to run. This is what a junkie must feel like without their drugs.
My fantasy Biggest Loser team is lingering at the bottom. I thought Bryan and Phil (I think that’s who I have) would do great but they’re only getting small numbers. I have to come up with a better strategy for picking my team.
I’m also trying to find some Cool-fit type shirts for our Downtown Running group and I’m not having any luck. Has anyone ordered T-shirts for a group before?
Okay, time to go push some more iron around!
Lastly, the Green Bay Packers are 3 – 0, Go Pack!

Mo' Stuff

Well I’m finally able to go up and down steps without any discomfort and most of the swelling has subsided. I can actually get a knee brace on without cutting off my circulation.

One thing that has occurred a couple of times for no apparent reason to me is my kneecap makes a slight shift that causes some pain. Now this never happened prior to the surgery, so I’m wondering if this is the healing process or what?

Since they did go in and smooth out that area, maybe they took too much off?

Sandy got her winter assignment for TNT and she’ll be going to Disney for the half and full marathons. So anyone go to be Goofy that weekend other than her?

The days are getting shorted and I am getting antsy to start doing some type of cardio exercise. I have people asking me why I’m spending so much time in the weight room. Well it’s either that or the cafeteria!

I am officially a fantasy league bust.

The new television season has started and I only have a few shows that I watch but NBC has raised the bar somewhat. I watched Journeyman and it had a pretty interesting premise. Let’s see if they can maintain the storyline. I’m sure that once I get hooked they’ll move it to another night and time.

It's Planning Time

Well my little time away from TNT is almost over. I just received my request to create the training schedules for the 2008 Country Music Marathon and the BMO Vancouver Marathon. Where did the time go?
It’s truly out of character for me to be planning what I going to be doing on Sunday May the 4th in the upcoming year! But that’s Marathon Sunday in Vancouver.
I’m not even sure of what I’m going to have for dinner tonight and now I have to schedule fifteen upcoming Saturdays in my calendar for group runs. I’m already looking at Memorial Day weekend for 2008, I need to ask for some vacation time.
Wasn’t Memorial Day just a few weeks ago?
I guess I should be glad that I’m on the inured reserve list and have the time to plan so far in advance.
Haven’t checked my Fantasy Biggest Loser yet but it has to be better than my fantasy football teams.

I Must be Taking Crazy Pills

How do people not go outside? I hobbled out for a few minutes just to enjoy the warm temps of the day. I miss running and it’s only been a few days.
What is the world coming to, O.J. is in jail and I’m not running. Now is this guy that stupid?
I spent all day Sunday watching football to the point where I was tired of it.
I have to get the swelling down on my knee just so I can drive without any problems. I’m taking an additional day off from work to ensure that I don’t do anything stupid that will hamper me from recovering. Of course it’s another beautiful day in Michigan and I have to sit and watch everyone else enjoy it. Is it just me or when you’re sick or unable to do anything, the world is full of options and everyone is super busy.
Has anyone out there had their knee scoped and came back better than ever?
I’m looking for any type of encouragement that I can get.

Ouchy

Ouch, ouch, ouch! Okay the drugs have worn off and now I feel like someone stabbed me in my knee.
Oh that’s right, someone did.
I was feeling really good yesterday, although I kept falling asleep wherever I was.
The doctor said the surgery went well and it was just a matter of cleaning out the area.
He mentioned that most of what he did was due to arthritis and some floating particles.
I have to keep my leg wrapped for 48 hours then I can see the damage.
I plan on being a really good patient and doing whatever they tell me to do.
I have the Vicodin out just in case.
I’m doing laps around the dining room table to stay in top conditioning for the half-marathon.
Okay, time for another nap.

Who Needs Running?

I called the surgery center to check and see what number I was in the surgery service line. I am numero one, I have to be there at 6:15 AM in the morning!
Don’t they realize that I’m taking the day off work?
It’s amazing the stories that people have when they finds out that you’re having surgery. Fortunately for me I haven’t heard any nightmares, yet!
People have asked if I’m going to have the event filmed and if I would take the movie home for later entertaining evenings with popcorn.
I’m just concerned if I’ll be able to attend a pub-crawl that is scheduled for Saturday evening. Priorities people, you have to keep them.
I’m sure that I can put my running shoes away for a few weeks so, I’m becoming a weight lifter, body building, and steroid-taking gym rat.
Since I’ll be on the IR (injury reserved) I’m going to dedicate all of my efforts in the weight room.
Okay not all of them, but I have to do something while I rehab.
Of course the weather is just beginning to turn into perfect running weather! The morning temps are in the fifties and the evenings even better.
But do I care, Nooooooooooo, because I’ll be pumping iron and looking at myself in the mirrors at the gym.
On a different note, I’ve made my two selections for my Fantasy Biggest Loser team. I’ve selected David, the ex-football player. I think he should have the mindset to get through a lot of the crap. My other selection is Lezlye, she’s a survivor of Hurricane Katrina (nuff said).
So far Bryan has lost 15 pounds in the first week, which puts me in fourth place tied with a few others.

We made it through another September 11th without any terrorist attacks or significant issues. There was a ceremony in the park downtown where police and firemen honored their fallen heroes. Someone sent me an email showing photos from that fateful day and it brought back memories of where I was and what was running through my mind at the time.
Our Tuesday running group met and no one even mentioned the World Trade Center or anything associated with 9/11.

Have we forgotten or are we trying to forget?

Are you Ready for some Football?

It was a non-running weekend for me. I just couldn’t get motivated to run any distance knowing that I’ll be rehabbing in a few days. I can honestly say that missing days of running is getting too easy. I have to get out of this funk!
I was able to log a few miles on the bike, so it wasn’t a total couch potato weekend. I’ll probably put the bike on the trainer and begin my winter basement training. I plan on actually riding through an entire Spinerval DVD this winter, no matter how bored I get!
Sandy and her team came in 102nd place in the 100k Dances with Dirt Relay in Hell, Michigan. She took a couple of face plants but everyone survived. It took them just over ten hours, which makes for a long day.
On Sunday we attended the Sex Ferry bike ride, which took the place of the normal running Hash. Due to potential rain we cut it short and only rode on four ferries. Overall we completed about 34 miles and a few beers.
The Green Bay Packers won their season opener against Philadelphia, which was pleasantly unexpected but a win is a win.
The University of Michigan lost another game, could they go an entire season without a win? Will Lloyd Carr retire after this season?
Football as we know it is topsy-turvy, even the Lions won.

Fantasy World

Now I know that I have way too much time on my hands!

I just signed up for a Fantasy Biggest Loser League.

That’s right, from the television show ‘The Biggest Loser’.

I found it on ‘Note to Self’ blog and since I’m a fan of the show, what the heck.

I chose Bryan for my number one draft pick, you have to pick the first team member blindly.

Our league is still forming so feel free to peruse and see what you think. You have until the actual show premieres on Tuesday to enter.

So now I’m in three fantasy football leagues and now a fantasy loser league!

Now see boys and girls, this is what happens when you stop running on a regular basis.

I could have gone the route of cigarettes and alcohol but I hope to eventually be back on the roads logging miles.

One week from today I’ll have my knee scoped and hopefully sending out an encouraging post.

It Came from Vegas

They lied about things staying in Vegas!

I brought back a summer cold that is kicking my a$$!

I’m sure it was handling strange dice or maybe the cards at the Blackjack table.

I thought that I was consuming enough alcohol to kill almost any germ.

Now I’m taking cold medication at night that helps me sleep but I wake with medicine head. So I spend the first half of the day in a fog at work, boy have I been productive.

Just eight more days until my surgery and I’m beginning to think it was well overdo. I’m getting knee pain from doing absolutely nothing!

I can be standing and it just starts to hurt.

Maybe it’s just mental, where the brain is sending out pain signals.

People are asking how long I’ll be out of work or if they’ll put it in a cast?

I’m just hoping to be able to run in October.

It's Five o'clock Somewhere...

Money you take to Vegas stays in Vegas!

Sandy and I had a great time in Vegas for the nuptials of Tim & Kathy Emmett.

I can’t believe that the high temps were above 105º each day we were there.
I know, “it’s a dry heat”. Well dry heat or not, it was hot. Sandy ran each morning while I nursed a weekend long hangover.

Why is it we feel obligated to take that free beer from the waitress?

Or my other favorite, ..”It’s five o’clock somewhere”.

Even though I didn’t run, we walked the entire length of the Strip several times each day.

We stayed at the old Aladdin, which is not the Planet Hollywood Resort. I guess it was better to rename an existing hotel rather than demolish and build a new on.

That being said, they’re still building bigger and more elaborate hotels on and off the strip and with whose money?

Alas, we had to leave Vegas and return to the Winter Wonderland. Now when the travel plans were originally shown to me the red-eye looked like a good idea. We would be able to stay in Vegas another day and not pay for the hotel room.

Okay, I was soooo wrong, I hated flying back in the middle of the night, it sucked.

We even had exit row seats!

Sleeping on the plane was impossible for me and I paid the price on Monday.

I walked around the entire day like a zombie…..

Now it’s time to get back to work and send those kids to school!

Viva Las Vegas

Sandy and I are headed to Las Vegas for a brief weekend getaway.

Really it’s for the impending wedding of Tim Emmett and Kathy Maj

I’ll be taking running gear with me but I can honestly say that there will be a lot of drinking and gambling going on!

Our flights are at ungodly times going and coming back, so sleep will be at a premium.

This should be a fun trip since a large group of runners are going and these people like to party! I may not be able to get in my daily requirement of gambling…..

For any of you Fall marathoners this is a good weekend to get in a long race and to see if all of that training is paying off….

Ice, Ice, Baby

Should I just stop running and let my knee have a rest period before I go under the scope?

Of course not! Why not go and do some speedwork with the Hanson’s running group?

That’s right, in lieu of running with the Downtown Detroit Runners/Walkers, Sandy and I ran with the rabbits.

As fate would have it, the night we run with them is speed or strength night. We had a choice between 3 x 1 mile or 2 x 3 miles.

I chose the one mile repeats, since I’m not actually training for anything. Plus there were a few TNT runners that I knew I could run with.

Sandy decided to go for the gold and do the three miles repeats, is that crazy or what.

The object of both was to get familiar with your pace, so for me it was just get through it without hurting any body parts!

I did on occasion have my knee buckle a little but not enough to cause a fall.

Oh, and add to all of this the 88º temperature and it made for an interesting evening.

The ice bag on my knee and the cold beer made everything better for a while………

The Date is Set

The date is set! We’ll be going under the knife on September 14th.

Well, it’s really not a knife but we’ll be having the knee scoped out.

The doctor makes it sound as if the procedure is really simple, with two incisions and no real bad side-effects.

Then again, when have you heard of a good side-effect?

I’m not sure how long the rehab will be or if I’ll be able to run without discomfort.

I just know it’s time to pay the piper for all those glorious years of running!

Post-Crim and Mo’ Stuff

What always marks the end of my summer is waking in the dark to drive to Flint for a day full of running and drinking.
What else can you do in Flint?
I can’t remember a starting line for a race being soooo crowded, we were literally on the sidewalk waiting to start.
I was running with TNT participants from the Fall/Winter team.
Sandy was going to run with a few of her members and I would just free-lance.
I started with Bob (check out his account of the race) and Rachel, both wanting to run around 10-minute miles.
I think the crowd actually helped keep them at that pace for the first few miles.
I knew I wasn’t going to run the entire ten miles and I did want to see the winners finish, so I left them at mile 3 and headed back to the finish line.
It’s amazing how many times I heard someone says, ‘..you’re going the wrong way’!
This is the first time that I’ve ever been able to see the finish of an elite race. The winner finished the 10 mile race in 47 minutes and eleven seconds! Bob and Rachel hadn’t made it to the five-mile mark yet!
It’s amazing to see what two legs can do when propelled at a faster than mine rate of speed!
I was able to stick around the finish long enough to see quite a few runners that I knew finish in under seventy minutes.
I went back on the course to run/cheer for other runners and it was a blast. I was able to spark a few people around mile 9 when things weren’t going so well.
Everyone finished and then the rain came down. The rain did put a damper on a lot of folks staying, but we continued with our normal trash talking and beer drinking.
So long summer!

Fantasy Weekend

Its Fantasy Football Draft weekend and I don’t have a clue who I should draft on any of my three teams.
That’s right, I’m into fantasy football and I promise myself each year not to continue, but they drag you back in each and every year.
I have the Number One draft pick in one league, which means I’ll be taking LT!
I have number nine in another league, which means God only knows who I will take,
And my last league doesn’t pick draft order until the draft day.
So the weekend will be filled with a ten-mile event and some beers, followed by a day of fantasy football smack taking and a few more beers.
Anybody else out there without a life that indulges in fantasies?

Meteorologist Ken

I’m could be a weather person.

I can truly say that my right knee tells me when it’s going to rain! That’s right, I did absolutely no running or jumping and my knee was throbbing all night. Lo and behold, it began to rain.

Yes, I have a second career, local weatherman.

I still haven’t decided what I’m going to do at the Crim on Saturday. I know that running the entire ten miles is out of the question.

I have officially signed up for the Detroit Free Press Half-Marathon. I’m thinking that even if I have my knee scoped in September, I could recover soon enough for the October race. I know, I must be Superman to recover that quickly but it could happen!

Sorry I had the comments portion of the blog incorrectly set, feel free to comment about anything.

Terrific Tuesday

It was a painful Tuesday evening run but I’m not disappointed.
My right knee didn’t bother me as much as it has in the past but it did swell a little.
We had a really good turnout for our end of summer picnic in Grosse Pointe.
Windmill Point Park is really and the surrounding homes are very impressive to run by.
I performed course marshal duties, since a few of the individuals had never run from the park. It doesn’t bode well when newbies get lost on their first-time run/walk with the group.
I knew that I wouldn’t run with anyone in particular, so I didn’t even attempt to pace myself. I just ran, which is becoming a regular thing for me.
I enjoyed the people and the atmosphere.
I’m trying to regain the enjoyment of just running and not being concerned with time or distance.

Meeting of the Minds

I was able to cycle and run this weekend without any significant knee problems.

Well is wasn’t like I did an Ironman, I rode for twenty miles and only ran for three but no knee pain. It’s the little things that keep me going now.

The weather has taken a dramatic change from the hot humid days to the cooler almost fall-like mornings. This would have been the perfect weekend for a long run, but not for me. I don’t think I’m going through withdrawals just yet but I sure it’ll come soon.

I just received my coaching assignments for the spring 2008 Team in Training season. We begin Informational meetings on October 29th.

I’m also involved in the Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon, so that means attending meetings for this also.

Don’t you just love meetings?

Broken Blog

Don’t ask me why but my WordPress Blog is broken.
For some reason the domain website has an older version of MySQL and the latest version of WordPress needs version. 4.0.0 or higher.
So I’ve created this Blogger version.

Maybe

I happened across a local newspaper article about a runner friend of mine and it got me to thinking about a couple of things. Will I ever get back to training and running like I did earlier in my life? Can I alter my biomechanics to run more efficiently? Somewhere along the way I lost my desire to train hard and race hard. I’ve been putting in just the minimums for both training and racing. I’ve been able to rationalize why I shouldn’t run hard, whether it be cutting the grass or not risking an injury. I've talked myself into stopping for breaks during training runs, even when I knew I could have slowed down or even maintain the pace. I'm not entering many races, which is a convenient way to excuse the bad training or lack of training. Some of the things that I might miss:
The lung burning sensation or running the first mile too fast and never recovering in a 10k race.
Having an answer when asked, “what race are you training for?”
Having a goal finish time and knowing what it will take to accomplish it.
Going for a top age group finish and seeing what other competitors were racing that day.

Hopefully I’ll be able to regain that spark or whatever it was years ago that kept me coming back for more.

Here’s a link to the story about Doug:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007708170396