Some days are diamonds, and some were more like this morning.
Today's training called for a 20-30 minute run, which would make this the third running morning in a row. I decided to run into work, or at least run for 25 minutes and walk in from there. I managed to get two miles in before I felt a familiar discomfort in my calf. When I reached my stopping point, the discomfort grew a lot more 'discomforting'. I had been here before, experiencing the exact same pain, a little less than a year ago, and it forced me to go two weeks without so much as a jog.
A couple of nights ago I was reviewing the training schedule and was surprised to see the three day in row segment, especially following a Sunday, 'long' run. I should have let me common sense take over at that moment and make an adjustment allowing for an extra rest day. The body needs rest, almost as much as it does the running.
The good news from today, my body will get the rest it needs; it now has no choice.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
When nature calls...
Today I had a wonderful run ruined completely by mother nature's persistent call; a call that could not be answered standing up.
I had been looking so forward to today's run, I even had an extra day of rest because of the horrible weather yesterday - so I was just going to move my Sunday run to this morning, the Victoria Day holiday.
My pre-run routine went pretty smooth, got up an hour before heading out the door, drank a glass of Gatorade, and made the necessary pit stops, or so I thought. Walking down my front steps, I sensed something was not perfect, but I ignored it anyway - big mistake.
About one and quarter miles in, I couldn't ignore her any long and had to slow down to a walk to "keep control of myself", this happend a few more times over the next couple of miles. There was nothing I could do. Neither the beautiful weather, U2 playing on my MP3 player, or my new GPS wrist device could take my mind off the problem at hand.
While I'm happy to say I made it back to my computer, accident-free, I'm a little disappointed with my performance. But this is one of those situations you have to keep in your head to make your next session that much better, these things will happen from time-to-time.
And besides, things could have been a lot worse.
I had been looking so forward to today's run, I even had an extra day of rest because of the horrible weather yesterday - so I was just going to move my Sunday run to this morning, the Victoria Day holiday.
My pre-run routine went pretty smooth, got up an hour before heading out the door, drank a glass of Gatorade, and made the necessary pit stops, or so I thought. Walking down my front steps, I sensed something was not perfect, but I ignored it anyway - big mistake.
About one and quarter miles in, I couldn't ignore her any long and had to slow down to a walk to "keep control of myself", this happend a few more times over the next couple of miles. There was nothing I could do. Neither the beautiful weather, U2 playing on my MP3 player, or my new GPS wrist device could take my mind off the problem at hand.
While I'm happy to say I made it back to my computer, accident-free, I'm a little disappointed with my performance. But this is one of those situations you have to keep in your head to make your next session that much better, these things will happen from time-to-time.
And besides, things could have been a lot worse.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Saved by technology...
The other a day a friend asked how my training was going and I beamed a little as I let him know that my sessions had been very strong and that I've been working on my pace to try to get a little faster. I'm a pretty steady just below 12 minute per mile kind of guy and it's something I want to improve on this year. Things were going great, or so I thought, until I was out for an 'easy' session the other morning. I could see in the distance a couple approaching me, but well before our paths crossed, my course took me down a sideroad. I was feeling strong and sure that my 'easy' pace was a little faster than last year's, that was until the couple that I had seen in the distance trotted up behind and then right on past me. Oh they were quite polite, saying 'good morning' and giving me the 'runner's wave', but as I watched them pull farther away, all the while maintaining a conversation with each other, I began to question how fast this new pace of mine really was. The answer was in the mail.
A few days earlier, I had purchased a GPS device on e-Bay. I'm a technology and data freak, and the idea of being able to upload your training sessions and see them on a map really tickled my fancy. The unit arrived on the afternoon of the same day I had my pride handed back to me by that running couple. I spent the night with it on my wrist pressing buttons and finding out all about what it could do for me; the following morning I would put it to the test.
I normally get out of bed at 5:30 on the mornings that I run, but this morning, I was up at 5:00 am, perhaps because of the excitement surrounding my new gizmo, but most likely because I had eaten pizza the night before and it was playing havoc with my stomach. Dressed and ready to go, I started my warm-up walk while the GPS unit acquired the signals it needed from the sky. After a few minutes, I pressed the start button and off I went. I finished about a minute earlier than I normally do for this particular course and I then proceeded my cool down walk back to my house. Once inside, and still sweating profusely, I attached the device to my computer, uploaded the data to motionbased.com and started the analysis. It showed me the route I ran, the elevation gain and decline over my course, and a whole bunch of other info that I would not normally know (or care) about. But the one bit of info that I was most interested in was the pace of the run, I had to know if I was getting faster, or if my mind was playing tricks on me.
I'm happy to say that all is well with me. The unit reported that I maintained a 10:57 per mile pace, about a minute per mile better than I usually do. I was impressed with myself. While these numbers would hardly catch the attention of the serious, performance runners, this little GPS unit turned out to be all I needed to ensure myself that my approach to this running season was on track. Now if I could only get this thing to take dictation.
A few days earlier, I had purchased a GPS device on e-Bay. I'm a technology and data freak, and the idea of being able to upload your training sessions and see them on a map really tickled my fancy. The unit arrived on the afternoon of the same day I had my pride handed back to me by that running couple. I spent the night with it on my wrist pressing buttons and finding out all about what it could do for me; the following morning I would put it to the test.
I normally get out of bed at 5:30 on the mornings that I run, but this morning, I was up at 5:00 am, perhaps because of the excitement surrounding my new gizmo, but most likely because I had eaten pizza the night before and it was playing havoc with my stomach. Dressed and ready to go, I started my warm-up walk while the GPS unit acquired the signals it needed from the sky. After a few minutes, I pressed the start button and off I went. I finished about a minute earlier than I normally do for this particular course and I then proceeded my cool down walk back to my house. Once inside, and still sweating profusely, I attached the device to my computer, uploaded the data to motionbased.com and started the analysis. It showed me the route I ran, the elevation gain and decline over my course, and a whole bunch of other info that I would not normally know (or care) about. But the one bit of info that I was most interested in was the pace of the run, I had to know if I was getting faster, or if my mind was playing tricks on me.
I'm happy to say that all is well with me. The unit reported that I maintained a 10:57 per mile pace, about a minute per mile better than I usually do. I was impressed with myself. While these numbers would hardly catch the attention of the serious, performance runners, this little GPS unit turned out to be all I needed to ensure myself that my approach to this running season was on track. Now if I could only get this thing to take dictation.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Butting heads...
I watched a woman pay $9.75 for twenty cigarettes yesterday morning and this led me to spend time thinking about the battles we face as a human race. We struggle to lose weight, to maintain a regular fitness routine, to eat well, and to give up bad habits. All the things that are so good for us, come with, in some cases, an extremely difficult lifestyle adjustment. I've gone through it many times during my battles with the bulges, I watch my wife go through it with me, and now I notice others facing similar challenges.
In the end, it comes down to one thing, your mind; think it, then do it, and at $9.75 a pack, smoking is one battle I won't have to engage in anytime soon.
In the end, it comes down to one thing, your mind; think it, then do it, and at $9.75 a pack, smoking is one battle I won't have to engage in anytime soon.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Lessons learned...
The greatest lesson I've ever learned about healthy living was recently passed on to me by my 91 year-old grandfather; today's crazed, carb-counting population would do well to learn the same lessons.
In his earlier years, Poppa, as he is affectionately known, was somewhat of an athlete and a pretty good runner. To this day, Poppa makes a point of taking his walker out every afternoon that weather permits for a one mile stroll to keep his legs moving and the pounds off. It was only within the last few years that my grandfather gave up his daily two-mile walk to a local skating rink and skating for an hour before walking back home again; a sciatic nerve problem put an abrupt end to his 'training' schedule.
Poppa remains active, eats sensibly, and indulges his sweet tooth every now and then; you won't find these lessons in the pages of Atkin's books. Just get out there and live - you can't live a healthy lifestyle sitting on your couch.
In his earlier years, Poppa, as he is affectionately known, was somewhat of an athlete and a pretty good runner. To this day, Poppa makes a point of taking his walker out every afternoon that weather permits for a one mile stroll to keep his legs moving and the pounds off. It was only within the last few years that my grandfather gave up his daily two-mile walk to a local skating rink and skating for an hour before walking back home again; a sciatic nerve problem put an abrupt end to his 'training' schedule.
Poppa remains active, eats sensibly, and indulges his sweet tooth every now and then; you won't find these lessons in the pages of Atkin's books. Just get out there and live - you can't live a healthy lifestyle sitting on your couch.
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