http://howlingcommando.fastrunningblog.com

12:00 PM - So today we were forecasted to get another 4 to 8 inches of snow on top of what we got the other day.  It was a dangerous drive down to Albany.  The route I take to school which usually takes 45 minutes took about an hour and a half, but we got there.  Snow was coming down heavy around the start of the race.  The first mile went really slow and had to be close to 9 minutes for me.  There was a 3.5 miler being run simultaneously so I lined up about midpack to let the rabbits have their fun.  Once we got out on the State Campus Loop though the roads were a little better.  About 2-3 inches of slush, but I was able to run in the tracks of the cars that were going by.  Around mile 2 I caught up to a father/daughter team I thought were running the 3.5 miler.  Turns out the dad was doing the Hangover Half.  We started chatting and from mile 2 to mile 9 we ran together, until we caught a couple of his friends and booked a 6:40 Mile 9.  I hung tough, but it was kind of funny.  One of my brothers, my sister and my mom all came down to see me run, and they thought it'd be funny to lob a snowball out in front of me.  Well this was when I was trying to hang onto the blistering pace, about 3 or 4 feet off the back of the group of 4, and my brother lobs one right in front of me and then about two seconds later... SPLaT!  I get hit in the side of the face right about at the temple with a snowball.  Haha in retrospect it's kind of funny, but it wasn't very funny at the time that's for sure!  So I tried to regroup, but the group of 4 just started to accelerate further as we went up the hill.   I was left to run the last four miles in by myself.  I caught and passed two others out on the course and shuffled home with probably a horribly slow 8:50 or 8:55 last mile. I was really struggling to just regain some of that cool, calm, collected I had maintained for so long.  Overall, however I felt really good.  I just wish Emmy had been there to see me run.  So far the races she's gone to were my two marathons where I did anything but race it seems... though she did get to see me set the huge PR in the 10k on Turkey Day! So that's a plus.  Overall, I have to say that given the crappy conditions out on the road, and the snowball, I held my own.  I just need to train a little harder I realize to be able to best my PRs even in less than favorable conditions.   I did a 1 mile cool down in about 9 or 9:30 then got some coffee, pizza, and changed my clothes.  We stopped at Walmart on the way home to pick up some necessary food items for our trip...   WE'RE GOING TO PUERTO RICO January 3rd to the 10th!!!  I can't wait!  I'll actually be able to see Emma for an entire week! (This is a miracle as I hardly get to see her while we're at school.)  She truly is an amazing girl.  I saw her on Christmas, and I'm already going crazy because I haven't seen her and it's only been 7 days!

I will make sure I don't slack too much during the vacation.  I have snorkeling gear and am bringing running shoes.  So I will be running/swimming/hiking/snorkeling all week! I can't wait!  I will have to bring back some pictures for everyone!

Total Mileage Today:  14.11  (13.11 = race)  Time for Race: 1:38:33  Average Pace: 7:31/Mile - Good for 31st place in the half-marathon overall! Not sure about place in my age division.

Well, I'm back safe and sound after perhaps the most enjoyable week of my life on the Island Paradise of Vieques.  I wish I could put into words the awestruck look on all of our faces as we climbed out of the jeep and saw that from my aunt and uncle's winter home you could simultaneously see both the Atlantic and Carribbean.  A fun-filled, jam-packed week of beach hopping and being the "Gringos", but it was definitely worth it.  At first I wasn't sure what to expect, as it took us 31 hours to get to our final destination.  Tip that I learned:  NEVER FLY UNITED!!!!  We woke at 2:30 am on January 3rd and headed off to the airport and checked in at 4:00 am for our 5:40 boarding for a flight to Dulles Int'l in Washington, D.C. only to find ourselves kept on board for more than seven hours because we were kept in the dark about a "sticking valve" on the plane.  Needless to say they let us off for five minutes because they were ordered to do so by law, but then they told us to reboard because we'd be on our way.... riiiight this was at 10:00 am.  We ended up finally getting airborn shortly after 1:00 pm, just "slightly" delayed from our initial departure.  Well they attempted to 'cool' us if you can call it that with a 10 dollar meal voucher and a 20% coupon off a future flight with United. All I can give to them is a big one finger salute.  We finally landed in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 11:35 PM local time, and as the last plane from San Juan to Vieques left at 5:30pm, we were stuck.  And furthermore, they wouldn't rebook us until 5:30 the following day, plus add to that the fact that they would not pay for a hotel room for us...  So there we were in San Juan, in a hot, sticky, airport surrounded by people we didn't know, forced to make the best of our situation.  My mother, sister, her boyfriend, Emma, and myself, paced the halls of the abandoned airport, and then gave in to our sleep deprivation and formed a makeshift bunker fortification just in front of the agricultural and security check-ins, with 3 rows of cheap, worn out airport chairs and our luggage as walls.  In the morning, we all decided we just wanted to get out of the stupid airport and all the junk that United had forced on us.  So we coughed up $80 for a taxi to the ferry and ended up in Vieques around 1:15pm.  From there we tried to forget the bad part of the trip thus far, and got on to enjoying the "Island Life".  I can't believe how breathtaking and absolutely amazing it all is.  And I cannot wait to go back.  I truly see why many people enjoy traveling.  To be able to walk barefoot on a beach, or run through the incoming tide, the waves crashing over you, waves of grainy sand just completely engulfing you in the moment... truly the trip of a lifetime.  I was sad to leave, but glad to get home and hopefully back on track from the "lazy" week I had.  Much to my dismay and I suppose in retrospect it was actually funny... our flight on United was "delayed" - aka overbooked (their fault, not ours seeing as how we made our reservations for our flight SIX MONTHS AGO!!!)  Luckily we got put on a different carrier and road US Airways to Charlotte, North Carolina where we ironically met up with two kids from my town! (this coming from a town whose high school has about 70 kids per grade!) What were the chances!?! Needless to say, US Airways gave us no problems, and I was happy to have a nice flight and read more of The Terror.  My mom is going to write a complaint letter and hopefully we get a voucher for another flight, because it truly is not fair to put up with the airlines shortfalls, when it was their own negligence that caused us to have both a crazy start and finish to our trip.  Looking forward to a run tomorrow and then to the 25k on Sunday!

Got some running/walking/swimming in this week.  Total Mileage ~ 5 miles.

9:30 AM - Zipped up my long sleeve shirts and laced up my new sneakers from Christmas to head out for a run today.  Wasn't sure what to expect with having a week off and not being used to the cold again.  I am sure that I've lost a good deal of the fitness level I had going into the Hangover Half.  But I am sure I'll get back there with a couple weeks of good running.  Had a lot on my mind and with the fiasco yesterday with Dad's stress test and my mom getting pulled over on the way to get him for it for speeding, I was in an I-really-really-detest-state-troopers kind of mood.  I had to chuckle a little though when I hung a left out of our road and saw a car come up over the hill by Waterwheel Village (The Waterwheel is a small country store located right in a valley between two 1/2 or 2/3 mile long hills going up in either direction; a kid was hit and killed here a couple of years ago right across the street because cars come barreling down going 60 or 70mph; This when the state Rte. Speed Limit is 55, with a yellow 45mph warning sign for the stretch coming down through the valley). Well this car comes barrelling up and you can hear it before you actually see it.  Then about two seconds later comes this State Trooper SUV with its lights on and pulled the guy over right at my road.  I don't know what is up with the cops, but I really feel they should do something better with their time like catch the real criminals, and I know we have a lot out there.  Have to allot for extra time to go to work tonight.

There was a pretty strong wind today about 12-15 mile per hour.  I felt alright, was trying to hold back and stay steady because I know tomorrow is going to be a long run.  But I didn't know how I was going to take it.  I mean I knew I would be out of shape, despite all the walking, swimming and jogging I did at the beach.  But I was kind of disheartened at the same time when I realized I was in fact going slower despite a steady effort.  Still overall pretty easy effort.  Oh well.  I guess that's the sacrifice I made for going on vacation.  Getting psyched about grad classes.  Going out to grab some supplies today.

Total Mileage:  8.11 miles   Total Time:  1:08:20  Average Pace:  8:25

ugh. Just got out of work.  It's 11:58PM... Going to go take a six hour nap and then up to run/jog a 25k race. Joy.  Note:  Saw 3 cops on the way to work today and 1 on the way home.  They need to get a life!

10:00 AM - Very big turnout today at the winter series, but I think it was because there were 3 races today (3 mile, 10k and 25k).  I started out in the back of the pack and was a little sore from yesterday, after doing 8+ miles on my first day back since the Hangover Half.  Blah.  Felt really strong actually and was holding it steady despite the on-off-on-off surging of those around me.  Felt really good, but just didn't have it in me today to finish the full 15.5.  I think it was because I got 5 hours of sleep last night.  Finally fell asleep after work around 12:45, and up at 6:00 am.  Plus like I mentioned before, was a little sore from yesterday.  Supposed to get a storm tonight, but hope I can get in a run before going down to my first day of graduate classes tomorrow!

12 miles in 1:35:30 = 7:57 pace per mile!  (I guess I can't really say that I am that out of shape!)  Cooled down and changed clothes and went to a movie with Emma and a couple of our friends afterwards.

Total Mileage for the day:  13.2 miles

SHOES: Asics 2120s (*New):  21.31

7:45 AM - Wanted to make sure I got a run in today, so headed out on the snowy roads; got a few inches of snow last night, and the plows were out in force.  Almost got taken out on one of the backroads because the plow was taking a corner too fast.  Felt pretty good.  Some residual soreness this morning, but it went away for the most part after about a mile.  Felt good to get out there on the roads again.  And I'm really surprised because there was only one mile where I felt I was actually pushing the pace (that was downhill though and I knew it would be my fastest mile).  Overall, a really nice run.  Time to go grab a shower and get ready for class tonight.  I think I might bring my sleeping bag and stay over at a friend's; Hopefully Emma can stay to watch tv after my class tonight!

Total Time:  1:04:09   Total Mileage:  8.25  Average Pace:  7:46 per mile

Shoes: Asics 2120s (*New): 29.56

No run today;  After my class last night, I was a little overwhelmed with all the work that is due next class! Thankfully the class doesn't meet next Monday because of Martin Luther King Day, however.  So I went to Emma's and I got to see the Sky-boy.  That really made my day because I'm absolutely in love with that kid!  Children truly are amazing, and I think that I needed that little interlude to further solidify my drive and ambition to one day be a teacher.  Just dropping a quick entry during the break of my late class:  7:15 to 9:55pm tonight! Blah.  Got to get up for work 11-8 tomorrow.  Plan is to get up around 6:30, and head out the door at 7:30 and do either the 8.25 loop, or possibly tack on another 1.75 for a 10-miler.  Probably should do the 10 since I had today off.  Am feeling lazy! 

My chance of redemption coming up later this month:

Sunday, 1/27 @ 10:00 AM  - Winter Series 30k (18.6mi) I figured out some elapsed times for various paces.  I think I am going to shoot for the 8:00-8:30 range.

2:38:26 - 8:30/mile

2:33:47 - 8:15/ mile

2:29:07 - 8:00 / mile

2:24:28 - 7:45/ mile

Got to run! Class is starting again! 

7:30 AM - That one hurt.  Legs felt pretty good when I woke up, but it was in the single digits outside.  Felt pretty good for most of the run.  The last couple miles were tough though.  Definitely felt the extra effort to get up and over those hills.  Overall though felt pretty good.  Really stressed about how I'm going to be able to pay off this grad school bill.  They never sent me a bill in the mail, and now it is past due and I'm being charged late fees.  Why the hell am I even going to grad school I wonder sometimes.

Mile 1 - 7:40

Mile 2 - 7:22

Mile 3 - 7:29

Mile 4 - 7:45 (uphill)

Mile 5 - 7:23

Mile 6 - 8:04 (uphill)

Mile 7 - 7:53

Mile 8 - 7:30

Total Distance: 8.25 Miles   Total Time: 1:02:35  Average Pace: 7:35/mile

Shoes: Asics 2120s (*New): 37.81

9:00 AM - Yeah, it's definitely winter.  As if there weren't any other way for Mother Nature to affirm that in fact it is not late November, but rather the full-fledged assault on mankind's existence we like to call winter, another single digit temperature to start the day.  Legs felt fresh. No soreness whatsoever.  But after the first mile, despite 3 upper layers, and a full length spandex bottom as well as a pair of winter running pants, certain appendages began to freeze and I opted for a slightly shorter run than I had hoped.  I had wanted to do the 8.25 loop, but by mile 3 it had not only gotten cold, but had begun to actually hurt.  I turned around and booked it home.  Oh what I wouldn't give to be anywhere where there was a temperature at least with two digits!

Total Time:  45:24   Total Mileage:  6.22   Average Pace:  7:18 / mile

Asics 2120s: 44.03

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF OUR FAST RUNNING BLOG FRIENDS WHO ARE RACING THIS WEEKEND! LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THOSE RACE REPORTS!

8:30 AM - A bone chilling 9 degrees this morning when I laced up to head outside.  Made sure I took extra precautions to bundle up.  Wore two x long sleeve sport wick shirts, as well as a zipper up top layer and on the bottom had on a pair of long spandex and the pair of running pants.  The goal this morning was restraint and enjoying a long run.  Tried to forget about all that homework I have to do this weekend.  Overall I was impressed that I finished the run, hit 50 miles for only 5 days of running this week, and felt 0 tenderness/soreness and only minimal effort.  Splits were as follows:

11:00 AM - Bitter cold out today; that kind of cold that when you breathe in it stings your nostrils. I went with Emmy to her work and I got in a good treadmill run. I was going to go for an increased pace run, but decided to keep it easy and relaxed. I am not sure why but my right achilles is tight and I had to ice it a couple times last night. Feels better, though still hurts a bit. Almost like a grinding as I walk around on it. Am going to have to take it easy this week. Still get the mileage in when I can, but no speed work. I think I have been pushing a little hard with speed in December rather than just easy miles.

Miles 1 - 3 : 8:20 pace held steady.

Miles 4 - 10 - 8:00 pace. Only bad part was when the gym's treadmill decided to make me cool down after 60 minutes, so I had to take a 10 second break and reset the treadmill to finish the run.

Total Time: 1:20:40 Total Distance: 10.25 Average pace: 7:52 / mile

Asics 2120s:  68.68 miles

7:45 AM - So I wanted to try to run despite the lingering soreness.  Woke up to 9 degree temp so bundled up with spandex and pants for bottoms, and two sport long sleeve shirts with a zipper up third layer.  Temperature ironically wasn't a problem, though perhaps it was because I was preoccupied with looking for any signs of weakness in the right achilles.  I wanted to go as slow as possible.  I think I have realized that either the pain was due to me trying to get in such a long run on a treadmill after not using one for over a month? Or that I did a few too many miles after having nearly a week off for winter break.  Am going to try to do about 6-6.5 for the rest of the week and do them at slow pace to see if that helps.  I don't want to have to not run, because I think I would go crazy!

Mile 1: 8:28

Mile 2: 8:47

Mile 3: 9:06

Mile 4: 9:02

Mile 5: 9:13

Mile 6: 9:07

Last .43: 3:48 (8:48 pace)

Total Time: 57:33  Total Mileage: 6.43 miles  Pace: 8:57/mile

*Asics 2120s:  75.11

10:00 PM - Did half an hour of hot treatment with a hot pack;  Just really want this to go away.  I just want to ruN! it's so frustrating. UGH!

7:45 AM - Right now I'm torn between taking Friday and Saturday off, or continuing to log a couple slow miles each day.  I had initially wanted to do the 6-6.5 miles that I did yesterday, but after only about a mile and a half I realized that my achilles is still not wanting me to.  It's not that it hurts so much that you can almost feel the grinding/straining of it.  I think it might be a smart decision to take Friday and Saturday off and go for a slow run on Sunday morning.  That would give me nearly 72 hours of staying off my feet as much as possible outside of work and school.  And if that is still not enough, then I really am out of ideas.  I am just frustrated that this happened.  My legs are aching to go for a run, but my achilles just won't have it.

Mile 1: 8:55

Mile 2: 9:11

Mile 3: 9:39

Mile 4: 8:54

Total Time: 36:41  Total Miles: 4  Average Pace: 9:10/ mile

*Asics 2120s:  79.11

Another thought I have is that perhaps I have increased the total amount of miles per run too fast?  What with the whole week off when I went on vacation, I have logged 98.22 miles this month but I only have 12 total days of running including today's measly 4 miles.  That would average out to 8.1+ miles / run.  Just a thought.  I am thinking that if I take off until Sunday, I will have to plan out a start from scratch plan, perhaps going back to running only 6 miles a day 6 days a week with no long runs.  Which stinks because I really do like my 10+ mile runs :(

After reading everyone's comments and suggestions, I think I need to continue to stretch and be careful about my leg.  I kind of want to take time off, but I just don't know.  Sunday's race is out of the question, but I think that by Sunday I would like to be back on the 6 miles a day for 6 days program.  I guess I can run tomorrow morning light again just 4 or 5 miles at 9+ mile pace... and then take Saturday off and start in on the recovery runs starting Sunday.

7:45 AM - Coldest morning of the year so far.  Weather.com had it listed as 6 degrees but with the wind that it felt like -4 below!  I bundled up with 2 sets of spandex and a winter running pants for the bottom, and then 3 thermal technical shirts.  It worked because my face was the only exposed skin after hat and gloves and that was the only skin exposed.  So I am on the fence because I feel like one of those horses that slightly fractures a foot and has to be put down because it wants to run, but just physically can't.  My legs are raring to go, but my ankle and right achilles just don't want me to go yet.    I have become religious about stretching in the mornings and evenings, and I stopped at mile 3 today to stretch because it started to hurt a bit.  I am as per suggestion doing the calf raises, though I can only manage 5-6 on just my right leg, and about 10-12 with both feet together.  I will take Saturday off and Sunday God willing get 6 miles in at 9 minute or slower pace.  I hate babying it like this, but I don't think I have much other choice if I want to continue running.

Mile 1: 8:38

Mile 2: 8:52

Mile 3: 9:11 (uphill)

Mile 4: 9:03

Mile 5: 8:33

Total Time: 44:32  Total Mileage: 5.02  Average Pace: 8:52/ mile

*Asics 2120s: 84.13

7:45 AM - After two days off I thought that I would be feeling better and up for a run.  If my leg holds up I want to hit 36 miles for the week.  Temperature was a brisk 13 degrees this morning, but sunny and very calm out.  I started out and felt pretty good.  My achilles didn't even start to hurt until mile 4.  I think I just need to embrace the slow easy pace and continue to ice and what not.  Tomorrow I will need to try to average 8:45 or slower pace so that I don't hurt too much.

Mile 1: 8:16

Mile 2: 8:21

Mile 3: 8:37

Mile 4: 8:45

Mile 5: 8:31

Mile 6: 8:29

Total Time: 51:40  Total Mileage: 6.07   Average Pace:  8:30/mile

*Asics 2120s: 90.2 miles

7:45 AM - 11 degrees today. Woke up and the achilles was still sore. But as it seems this is going to be a problem I am going to have to deal with for weeks or months (oh I certainly hope not), I decided I needed to get out there to get in a run. My morning was made better since Emmy called me right before I was going outside, so that certainly made my morning. I found it hard to concentrate during the run since I was constantly monitoring my achilles. The pain would come in for a mile, then go away for a time, then come in again. It seemed it hurt more on the uphills. But maybe that's just me. Just wish I felt better. Hopefully I can continue to heal despite getting in daily runs. Did a lot of stretching afterwards.

Mile 1: 8:38

Mile 2: 8:56

Mile 3: 8:55

Mile 4: 9:07

Mile 5: 8:54

Mile 6: 8:45

Total Time: 54:13 Total Mileage: 6.1 miles Average Pace: 8:53/ mile

*Asics 2120s: 96.3

MY ACHILLES HURTS A LOT. THAT STORM IS SUPPOSED TO GET HERE TONIGHT TOO. I THINK I WANT TO TAKE THE REST OF THE WEEK OFF, LESS I RISK RUPTURING IT.

 Found this on a website... crap! I've been doing ALL THE WRONG THINGS!

Exercises to Avoid

http://www.drpribut.com/sports/spinjur.html#achilten

Excessive stretching is not good for your achilles tendon. The stretch that I most often recommend is the "wall stretch". I do not recommend the "stair stretch", the "incline stretch", or the "put a towel around your feet and pull up until it hurts stretch". If any of these are working for you, that's great, you don't need any advice. In most cases, for the patients I see, these stretches put too much tension on the already tender achilles tendon. Contracting the muscle when it is in a stretched position, as initial therapy of an injured achilles tendon is not a good thing.

What a shame. Warmest day of the year so far - 38 degrees right now. And I can't run.  My mom 'grounded' me from running this morning, and I said, 'eh even if I wanted to run, my foot hurts so much that I'd be lucky to get the 500 feet to the end of the driveway'. :(

I guess I'm experiencing the frustration that any runner feels when their body is saying "RUN RUN" yet some stupid nagging little injury that appears out of the blue is putting a damper on that.  I am going to concentrate on situps/pushups I guess so at least I can get something in. 

AM Crunches: 300  Pushups:  100; arms: freeweights

The pain that I'm feeling now is definitely more intense than when I was running a couple days ago.  I think it didn't help that I was on my feet for 9 hours at work today.  I picked up a copy of Noakes' Lore of Running and read up on the severity of achilles issues and how to treat them.  According to Noakes, I should have concentrated on the "eccentric" stretching to strengthen my achilles and calf muscles .  He says you should allow your weight to bring your heel down past the level of the stair and then raise it back up.  I don't think I can do this right now.  It really got enflamed at work today to the point where it almost hurt to stand.  I should never have kept running on it.  Noakes said to take a minimum of a week off from the initial injury, and I had to be a moron and run like 5 x in a week.  I'm really bummed.  I guess I'm going to take a couple weeks off.  That shoots all my 2008 goals to hell. Grrr. Frustration doesn't even begin to sum up how I feel.  I'm just angry at myself that I let myself get hurt.  Running is my only outlet really.  Without it I know I'm going to be going crazy. *sigh

Yay for goose eggs.  I applied Icy Hot right before I went to bed last night and woke up and there was less soreness and swelling.  Trying to stay positive.  Going to get a shower and then I guess pushup/situp time.

AM  300 crunches, 100 pushups   free weight exercises.

PM  Icing and some light stretching; free weights and 300 crunches.

AM -  200 crunches after coffee; more later.

*Note: Elevated foot and put some icy hot on last night.  Foot is feeling a little  better.  Was able to do 10 calf raises on the stairs yesterday with minimal pain.  Will continue to ice and stretch.  Trying hard to visualize the healing process.

AM - Officially safe to say I was burnt out.  Desperately needed some sleep.  Probably could have slept even longer having got home around midnight!   Going to do some crunches/pushups in a little bit.  Then tons of homework.  My achilles feels a lot better, even after standing at work for 8 hours yesterday.  Im' hoping it heals up nicely.

Rest Day #4 and Counting

Iced.

PM - 300 crunches; weights light, some pushups

PM#2 - 200 crunches; pushups

AM - Going to do some crunches and eccentric exercises.  Continuing to ice and stretch lightly.  Anticipating the rebound sometime soon.

Rest day #5 :(

Sorry to all you Patriots Fans out there (and I know there are many).  It must hurt to be fans of the team that ended the perfect season not so perfectly. 18 and 1 ouch.  I never thought I'd live to see one of our three New York football teams actually end up a Super Bowl winner. wow. Miracles do come true.

Achilles is healing nicely.  Have done a lot of icing, massaging, resting.  I can't believe it's only been 5 days.  This whole "taking a week off to rest" I think is the most painful, most drawn out week I have ever had.  Even worse than finals week ever was in college!

FYI, anyone looking for a good trail marathon should look at the one I'm doing:  Nipmuck Trail Marathon in Ashford, CT  : http://www.marathonguide.com/sites/nipmucktrail/marathoninfo.cfm  ;  Although, I'm not sure what kind of goal to set.  It states to ADD ONE HOUR to your BEST ROAD MARATHON PR.  It's a very difficult 26.4 mile course I suppose, and only about 10 of 180 finishers ever gets under 4 hours, and about 60 under 5 hours.  My best road PR is 4:26, so I suppose I am shooting for 5:30 or faster, but would it be too ambitious to aim for breaknig 5 hours? 

AM - Really starting to feel blah.  My achilles I think is healing... but this is the longest week ever. Depressed.

Pushups and 200 crunches

Days of "Rest" (or TORTURE!):  6

AM - Crunches and pushups; Raring to get back out on the roads. Nasty weather expected next couple days so hopefully before the end of the week I can get a trial run in . Got to start smart. Don't want any more setbacks. Sent off application to Nipmuck for 6/1 yesterday. Getting psyched!

Rest Day: 7; Felt pain yesterday going up stairs which was weird. Continuing to massage and take it easy. Hoping to just get back out there even for 3 mile jogs.

So I really want to run.  But the question is:  How long do I need to wait before I come back.  Everything I've read leads me to believe that achilles issues might be a prolonged problem, so should I suck it up and start doing some runs?

My thoughts and prayers to all those who are affected by or know those that were in the paths of those devastating storms that hit the South last night.

Mile 1: 10:14

Mile 2: 10:10

Total Distance: 2.06  Total Time: 20:57  Avg. Pace: 10:09/mile

Got up early and went and did my taxes. Oh happy days.  Even though I only work part time, I paid 1500 bucks in taxes and still OWE 250 to the government.  Not a very nice start to my day.  My mom and me swung by the YMCA afterwards, and I did a swim.  First time in probably about four years I've gone swimming (besides jumping into the waves in Vieques during winter break).  This is what I did:

1000 m freestyle:  20:08

200 m breast stroke: 5:02

450 m freestyle:  8:58

= 1 Mile =  34:08

Felt really good actually;  Looking forward to becoming a better swimmer and getting in some nice swims this month while I rest.  I picked up a schedule and they have a lot of mornings with open lap swim.  This looks promising. :)

PM - 3 sets of pushups, 200 crunches.  Probably going to get up early to go swimming.  Though not sure.  There's open lane swim 530 AM to 830 AM, and then 1115-5 (but only 1 lane available during this time).  It might be a 5am wakeup call then for me.

11:30 AM - Went to the YMCA this morning and decided to go for a swim.  Did 1100 meters of freestyle in 21:35 and then changed and went and checked out the weightroom.  They more than quadrupled the amount of cardio equipment that they have since the last time I was there about two years ago.  Kick butt!  Hopped onto a bike and did 5.1 miles in 20:45.  Felt really good, and barely any soreness in the achilles.  Not the same as running, but at least it's something to do.

Blah seems a pretty good term for summing up today.  Feel like junk and want to run but can't.  Stuck at home babysitting and can't go to the YMCA.  Man this is peachy.  Not to mention have to do a stupid paper for grad school that is absolutely pointless.  Tried reading more from Running Through the Wall.  All that does is make me more depressed.  Now it's snowing a ton too.  And to make a horrible day even better, found out that somehow all 3 sets of my keys got locked in my car. I need a redo at life.

Going to plan my hardest to get to the YMCA and do a good 40 min + bike ride or something.  Got my paper done which is good.  That leaves tomorrow open (more than usual) to get in a cardio.  me = Misses Running :'(!!

10:00 AM - Went to the YMCA, despite 40mph winds and near white out conditions.  We've got about 8 inches of snow since midnight.  Was not expecting to see the entire parking lot full, as I go to a very small out in the country type of YMCA.  Turns out there was a pickleball tournament going on (Had never really seen this sport before, so took the time to watch for a few minutes - quite amusing, though it seemed the average age of the participants was well above 60).  Luckily there was space enough for me to find a stationary bike, though the recumbants were taken, as two of the three stationaries were broken I guess.  Overall, felt really good, and made sure resistance was a 10 of 14 being the max.  Definitely worked up a sweat and kept the speed over 20mph the entire ride!!

Total Time: 36:15   Total Mileage (biked):  13.28

Wanted to stay on longer, but stupid rules say you can only stay on for 30 minutes at a time, and I had already eaten up someone else's chunk of time, which was pointed out to me upon which I promptly and genuinely apologized.  Oops!

Had to shovel out our mailbox from its ice encased cocoon because we received a nice little note informing us they have suspended mail service until we do.  Then stacked wood.  Did a little jog up and down our driveway .1 miles each way (about 550 feet long each way).  Achilles is a little sore from the biking.  So I cam inside after and iced.  Come on recovery!

Dangerously cold out today.  Will not be fun walking to class.  Did 250 crunches and pushups and curls.  Bored out of my mind.  Wish had a time machine to make the next couple weeks disappear and hopefully be healthy to run again!

UPDATE: So my achilles is a little sore from the riding yesterday as well as the shoveling and short run up and down the driveway.  I did the stair lifts again and I think that my muscles are strengthening because I am able to do the lifts without much pain.  I can put all my weight on my right foot as well.  It's just that there is soreness there, and I don't think I could run on it without the pain coming back.  I really don't know what I should do.  I mean I don't think I tore it but it's just like the weeks go by so slow.  It might be a smart decision to not try running again until March 1st and truly concentrate on just trying to get healed up nicely.  But it seems everyone else who has had an achilles issue says that despite taking time off, the problem just resurfaces when you try to run again.  Also, if someone could clarifty the whole 'compression' aspect of the healing process.  I mean I usually wrap my ankle in an ace bandage if it starts to hurt and after icing.  Also, I don't walk around barefoot any more.  I wear a pair of trainers with my orthodics in (I'm flat footed so I have orthodics to help combat my pronation as well as my messed up bowlegs). 

So was sitting in class and came to the conclusion I was not meant to be a runner. That's why I got hurt.  I haven't done anything strenuous in training that I haven't been through before.  And I do everything right.  I stretch, get my rest, don't do too much speedwork, and most importantly DONT TAKE STEROIDS.  And yet I get hurt.  That doesn't just blow. It sucks.  And nothing against you tri people, but biking/swimming SUCK compared to just being able to run.  This absolutely SUCKS.  And my achilles hurts like heck today.  And I didn't even exercise! I am considering just cutting off my foot and getting a prosthetic.  At least then I could run.

Couldn't fall asleep, and then when I did had bad dreams.  Drained. Woke up at 5am with throbbing pain in the achilles which I had wrapped in an Ace bandage.  So I took it off. It's a little better now 3 hours later.  Still tight, but less tender than last night. 

AM - pushups, 400 crunches, free weight exercises.  Jogged to mailbox and back because car did another funny thing once again. Just went and dropped 90 bucks for a new battery.. this one's guaranteed for 3 years.  Didn't do too bad on the last one.  Ended up getting 7 years out of it :)

PM - light stretching.  Going to have to ice it and stretch again when I get home from class late tonight in that storm.  Good news is car is fixed and my parents' sauna came today, though a lot of the pieces were damaged :(. We still put it together though because this was the company's second attempt and my dad really wants to use it later.

Guess I'll do more pushups and crunches.  Achilles is still sore.  Beginning to think maybe I did more than just pull it.  Maybe it's torn :(

PM - 300 crunches, free weights, 4 x 1 minute "plank", pushups.

Going to try to see if CVS or somewhere as an ankle brace or one of the ones with cold gel in it to help ice on the way to Albany today.

PM - tried 2 different stores and SOL for the wraps with built in ice packs.  Did the next best thing and bought an ankle wrap for like 10 bucks to add some support maybe? And got a new gel ice pack, as the only one I have is solid ice and hurts to put it around my leg and doesn't conform.  Come on Recovery! :)

Did 1 mile of fast walking to and from car to class.  Total Time: 12:00.  Too afraid to try running on it because I still feel pain sometimes if I'm on my feet too much.  Wishing it would just get better.

So, if my achilles is still somewhat tender what do I do?   If I am taking off until March 1st, I will probably have lost all my fitness, but I don't really care about that.  I just want to be able to run again.  I've still been icing almost every day.  But who's to say the pain is not going to just come back once I start running again?

AM - 100 pushups and 300 crunches, 3 x "plank"

11:30 AM - I went for a walk, and had a little pain in the achilles, but it was bearable.  Total Walked was 1.25 miles in a time of 21:30.  I'll take it as something at least.  I might be trying to do some walking as it seems will be a while for recovery.  Going to attempt to make a heel lift out of the insole of my shoe, as I already wear orthotics and it would be hard to put additional inserts in. (About 100 calories burned)

Did a .6 mile walk at lunch after trying to put in a heel lift.  Less pain when walking, but still no way I can run.  Blah.

AM - 100 pushups, a couple "planks" x 1 minute and 200 crunches, 100 situps.

AM - Pushups and Situps, 200 crunches, Achilles is a lot better just from icing a couple times yesterday.  Tried to elevate it a bit more.  I think there might be something to this heel lift after all!  Trying to stay positive.

Good luck with the run Kory! Stay safe.  And to all our other FRB members out here struggling with injuries and nagging downers, think positive, think spring, and you're in my prayers.  As John "the Penguin" Bingham would say: Waddle on, friends.

AM - pushups and crunches.  My achilles is feeling good right now.  Not tender to the touch any more and no swelling.  I hope this continues tonight at work.  Really looking forward to what I used to take for granted - an easy, leisurely run outside! 

I think I can? <<<< I KNOW I CAN!!!

On a sad note, I took a look at my Garmin today and noticed it's covered in dust.  Can't believe it's been like three weeks since I last used it.  OH how it will feel to strap that baby on and head out on the roads! Come on healing!

AM - Pushups and crunches;  Getting ready to go take a LAST test for grad school (kind of like a GRE) @ 1.  Achilles isn't inflamed and doesn't hurt so I think it's getting better.  Really wanting to go for a run to start off March the right way.

At work last night, I was only on my feet for four hours but I have been making sure to take the elevator instead of stairs, and trying my best to keep pressure and strain off the achilles. About 95% of the sorness is gone, but I find that if I'm on my feet for an extended period of time without icing, the achilles and the area around it gets red and wam to the touch.  This is a little unnerving as I thought there was supposed to be restricted bloodflow to this tendon?  Maybe it's a good sign though that it is healing or something. 

AM - pushups and 300 crunches.

AM - Horrile night of sleep last night.  Couldn't sleep. Kept having nightmares and restless legs. Ugh! 

Did 300 crunches; 100 pushups;  4 x 12 reps of bicep curls (only 12 lb weights) - yes I know I am a weakling, but am working to change that.  200 situps on an exercise/yoga ball.  Come on abs of steel! hehe

*New Goal* By the end of the summer be able to do a pull-up - will be my FIRST EVER Pull up :)!!

Goal is maybe to try to do 2 miles on March 1st or 2nd with EMMY on a bike trail at about 9:30 pace or 10:00 to see how I feel.  Question:  Am I supposed to get a heel lift to leave in while I run ?  I assume the heel lift is supposed to be used for an extended time period while your achilles heels?  Right now I have a homemade one that consists of a cut up shoe insert that is under my orthotics.  Anyone have suggestions?

AM - Fourth Tuesday in a row that is has snowed.  Going to be a tricky drive to and from school tonight especially since they said the real stuff starts after 6pm and my class goes until 9:55 :(.  Blah!  Also, today is Day #28 since my last run :( .. and about 37 since the injury.

• Pushups: 2 x 40, 1 x 25 
• 250 sit-ups on exercise ball
• 600 crunches
• 8 x 12 curls 12lbs.

After 14 inches of snow, it's a mess out there. Ugh! Didn't even get to my class for my grad test last night.  That's my little Chevy Prizm below buried in the wintry stuff.

And, to top things off, last night I managed to freezerburn my achilles.  I haven't had problems before with an ice pack, but I put it directly on the skin, and it numbed the skin so I didn't even feel the burning until it was a little too late.  Now it looks like I have freezer/sun burn on my foot! Good thing it doesn't hurt.  Just looks bad. Below is a picture of my achilles after a month:  It looks worse than it is I think because of the burning.  I have virtually no pain whatsoever.

Also this morning:   300 crunches, 150 situps, pushups.

AM - Pushups, 150 situps, 200 crunches, 4 x 15 reps of 12 lbs

Really don't know about the achilles.  Everyone seems to say that it takes a lot to actually "rupture" one, and I haven't done any running in 4 weeks and any serious running in more than 5.  Maybe it's just going to take more time.  I've done everything right I thought: rest, icing, stretching, compression, elevation.. but still seems to be bothered every day at work.  Iced it in the car on the way home last night driving with cruise control on, and then again this m orning.  The swelling from yesterday at work is gone, but it will probably come back with tomorrow 8 hours of being on my feet again. Ugh! [note: discoloration from the photo yesterday from the burning is gone pretty much as well] Frustration to the max. But today's high is projected to be 11, tonight's low -15 plus a windchill that might bring it to the near -30 range.  Same for tomorrow, then it might warm to near 40 and rain on Monday.  Sick of winter and the 20+ inches of snow we've had in the last day and a half! And yet I don't want spring to come yet because I still won't be able to run.  Come on stupid recovery. Hurry up already! haha

 Re: Eccentric Loading for the Achilles :  I've read conflicting reports that it is beneficial and also detrimental to try the Eccentric Loading technique.  I'll try anything. I just want to get healthy!  I read last night that the Finnish guy that developed/discovered this technique was actually trying to blow his achilles out because that's the only way they would do surgery on it if it was completely ruptured.  But it seemed to help heal him.  What should I do?  Everyone said that rest would do the trick and that a heel lift would help, but am I just impatient?  I've lost all my conditioning which is fine. I can build back, but I feel like I can't even jog a 10 minute mile without fear that pain will come back.

HAPPY LEAP YEAR FRB!

Horribly cold this morning.  Can't wait to move somewhere warmer.  Really hating the Northeast right now.  And what is predicted for tonight and tomorrow? More snow! Joy (Sarcasm implied & intended!)!! Another 4-8" here on top of the 20" we already got this week, and at Emmy's there's going to be another 8-12". Ugh! Frustrating!

Good news:  Made an Appointment for Wednesday @ 3 for Physical Sports Therapist to take a look at my achilles. I'm trying to stay positive but it seems like all my goals for this year are shot.  I'll be lucky to even hit 1500 miles!

AM: 100 situps, 150 crunches, 100 pushups, 4 x 12 @ 12lbs arms

PM - Did 150 situps, 200 crunches, 50 pushups and 3 x 15 @ 12 lbs.

Anticipating the Dr.'s appointment on Wednesday afternoon.  I have tried my best to stay off my feet, and I make sure to wear the heel lift when I'm up and about.  I really like to think that it is getting better, but I will have to leave that up to the specialist to determine.  Still looking forward to some kind of running this spring, and hopefully a slow, steady buildup for the marathon.  Crossing my fingers!!

I got to hold my soon-to-be niece, Jane this weekend.  It is such an awesome feeling to hold a baby.  You truly take that miracle for granted until an opportunity like that just fills you with wonder and amazement.  She is so beautiful and absolutely adorable, and it was so nice to see the family come together at Emma's house to share in this awesome experience.  It's hard to believe she's only a month old.  I can't wait to spoil her when she grows up :-D!  It will definitely be cool to be, Uncle Benn!

Above: A picture of "the bean" [Jane  - 1 mos. old] and me! She's so adorable and I can tell she has runner's legs and feet already! I'm going to have to teach her the art of the long distance runner! :) Perhaps a future Olympian!

AM - Did 200 situps, 250 crunches, 80 pushups and 3 x 15 @ 12 lbs; Gorgeous day out. Mid 30s; Hasn't been this warm since the injury like 6 weeks ago. Really trying to stay positive but finding it increasingly hard to do. Don't want to try anything until I see the specialist though. Praying that I can run again. I would take 10 minute miles even, just don't want to hear the dreaded words "Your running career is over". gag.

PM - 150 situps, 200 crunches, 50 pushups, 3 x 15 @ 12 lbs.  Exhausted, though on a positive, I haven't had any pain on my achilles in a while; kind of anxious to see what the story is with it.  I really just want to start running again.  I don't wish a forced hiatus from our sport on any one of you. Phew it's exhausting in itself. 

AM - 200 crunches, 100 situps, 3 x 15 @12 lbs;

Getting nervous about the specialist tomorrow.  My achilles is feeling better - the heel lift definitely helps! But I don't want to hear that it is torn or whatever.  I just really want to be able to start doing a couple miles here!  I tried to take a picture to show how I am overpronating, which you all say is probably the cause for my problems, but I already have had orthotics that I have used for 3 years, so they are supposed to correct them. Praying that tomorrow brings good news.

2:00 PM - Went for a walk at moderate pace.  Ended up doing 20:00 pain free minutes and 1.07 miles.  I feel that progress is in order and am anxiously awaiting tomorrow afternoon's appointment.

TODAY = DOCTOR DAY!! Appointment Time: 3:00pm - So I nervously parked the car about quarter to in the parking lot and made my way inside.  Filled out some paperwork, and sat there looking through the adventure and skiing magazines until they called my name.  The guy that called my name was pretty cool and laid back and brought me to a room and went "So you think you have achilles tendinitis?" And I gave my whole shpeel about January 21st running on the treadmill, soreness afterwards, red, puffy, iced 20 on, 20 off for a couple hours, then four to five times a day after that.  Practice R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevation) for a few weeks, then after reading a couple of articles and books about the matter, decided on implementing a heel lift, and experimented with slight stretching and eccentric exercises, then thought better of the latter once it seemed to be doing more harm than good.  Meanwhile I forgot to pause and when I finally did the guy looks at me dumbfounded and goes "Right, the doctor will be in to see you in a minute". Oops!  So then the doc comes in, a nice guy tall, late 30s or so; Turns out he is a runner as well, a pronator like me, and has successfully completed 15 marathons.  So I lapsed into my story again, explaining how I came up with a heel lift and everything, step by step how I've been monitoring my progress, and trying to take it easy.  He agrees with everything I've been doing.  He checked out the achilles and since I was pretty pain free, he explained that if I had come to the office earlier he probably would not have done much differently.  Achilles tendinitis is different for each runner, he said and, that I show a lot of dedication and self control being able to stay away from running.  At this point I couldn't hold back and explained that actually I'm a member of a really cool running blog, and thankfully there are a lot of friends here who have offered insight, suggestions, and some of the best motivation and encouragement that I've ever received.  To make a long story short, it felt good to hear from him when talking to the nurse, "You know, it is nice to have a patient that treats himself the correct way; this is a sharp young man.  Wish we had more people like him." I also told him how I managed 20 pain free minutes of walking yesterday, and he told me to start back slowly, progressing to 3 miles of painfree walking and then slowly incorporating say a half mile of light (10-12 minute pace) jogging when I felt ready, using walking as a warm up and cool down.  While at work on my break, I was perusing Noake's Lore of Running, and looking at his suggestion for beginner marathoners.  He had a table of using minutes, rather than miles to record progress, much like Gordon Bloch in his book How to Train for and Run Your Best Marathon; Now I'm not even considering a marathon at all and am promptly sending a cancellation for my entry for the 6/1 race (I feel it's the right thing to do; rather than risk reinjury) - But I think I can tailor their plans my needs. Noakes' suggests 5 days of 25-30 minutes of walking/running for the first 3 weeks of the beginner plan, I will modify this slightly, go by feel, and hopefully by the end of march progress to light runs. Perhaps uplifting, was reading about the early 1900s runners that used walking for recovery and actual training, advocating this activity for its easing of the pressure and impact on the joints.  So, in short slow and steady is the suggestion and my decision. I am going to go check out some new shoes tomorrow, as per the doctor's suggestion, he recommended Brooks' Addictions (aptly named, don't you think?) and gave me a running store about an hour away that is great for helping you try out new running stuff.  I might go there tomorrow after I finish my work.

Another thing I took away from Noakes' that resonates in all the blogs here at FRB is that a run (or walk) is what you make of it.  There is a positive to every day, and something to learn from every run. Every step is helping us to become more aware of our bodies and our place in the world.  I think that it will be important to continue to draw on the support of others that have gone through such problems and continue to blog.  Finding something positive, or something learned about each and every day will aid the healing progress.  The doc said I'm well on my way to healing and getting back out on the roads.

Thanks for all of your concerns, suggestions, and unwavering support. You guys and gals make each and every day a great one. As Jody would say, "Happy Running!", and thanks a million.  You truly are amazing people, and have changed my outlook on not only training, but my life and my impact on others'.

>>Benn<<

2:00 PM - Made the drive down to Albany to find the Fit Feet Running speciality store that the doctor mentioned, and found it with ease.  Really loved the guy that was working there; he actually knew stuff, as opposed to every other store I've gone to.  And the shoe fit! Tried on the Brooks Addiction 7 and found it to be roomy and comfortable. He had me hop on a treadmill to test it out. It's nice. They have a treadmill and a camera set up  behind it to video your running gait if needed. After only about 2 minutes I knew this shoe was a winner. A little pricey, but I think well worth the investment.  I still love my Asics 2110s and 2120s, but they just don't have the necessary support that I need right now.

This afternoon I walked a gentle 30 minutes.  It feels like spring outside, just about 40 degrees and sunny with crystal clear blue skies.  Gorgeous.

Total Time: 30:00   Total Mileage: 1.65    Average Pace: 18:10/ mile

Thanks for all of your support everyone! Think Spring!

7:00 PM - 50 pushups, 100 situps, 200 crunches, 3 x 15 @ 12 lbs arms

9:00 AM - Went for a walk in my new Brooks' Addictions. Felt calm and pain free the entire time.  Made sure to ease into it and 10 mins of light stretching before hand, followed by 15 minutes of stretching after the walk.  We have lucked out the last two days for weather - I hear we have a nasty storm ready to pound us once again this weekend.  Read some of latest issue of Running Times, and really enjoyed the article about 5 best races of all time, though I think there are a hundred more that could have made the list. Also the article on Kara Goucher was motivating.  Looking forward to the weekend, and then easing into perhaps 4 or 5 walks next week.

Total Time: 37:00   Total Mileage: 2.07 miles    Average Pace: 17:52 / mile

Mile 1: 18:13

Mile 2: 17:39

11:00 PM - After work, did 225 easy crunches just for fun. :) Felt good this week to actually have some (+) mileage on the board! Tomorrow will most likely be a rest day, and then an easy day on Sunday.  We're making progress towards spring!

2:00 PM  - 200 crunches and 50 pushups, followed by a nice 2.1 mile stroll on the treadmill.  Felt nice and easy.  Feeling pretty good today. 

Total Mileage: 2.1 miles   Total Time:  37:30  Average Pace:  17:51 / mile

11:00 AM - "Taking steps in the right direction" ... . I went for an easy walk on the treadmill because it's cold and snowy outside.  Did light stretching before and after.  Felt really good. Took out the last half of the heel lift this morning and was just "testing the waters" to see how the achilles felt.  It felt great.  Did not push it and was monitoring for pain, and didn't feel any. Granted this isn't running, and the test will come later next week when I start to do a slow couple minutes of jogging.  We'll see how it goes.  But, this is good.  Good progress and long awaited.  Now the key is not to push too hard to deminish the risk of reinjury!

Total Time:  55:00  Total Mileage:  3.02    Average Pace:  18:12 / mile

9:00 AM - One step at a time. Slow and steady.  I can do this.

With temps projected for 40+ degrees 5 days in a row with no storms, this week will be a good week for walking :).  Did a very easy walk today and it was crazy how fast it went.  While I am definitely biased towards running, I can live with walking. It's progress, and still 'steps' in the right direction (literally).  Slow and steady, monitoring how I felt.  No pain at all, though I might put the heel lift in today when walking around campus, as I have to take 4 flights of stairs up and down to class. Might be a smart decision. Great races everyone at Moab! I'm looking forward to everyone's spring race reports!!

Total Time:  53:00   Total Mileage:  3.03  Average Pace:  17:29

1:30 PM - short 10 minute walk.  .56 miles @18:00 min/mi

9:30 AM - Did a nice 1 mile walk @ 17:42 pace, and then decided to gently "test the waters".  It worked nicely.  Did a .25 "shuffle jog" @ 15:00 /mile pace.  This is huge progress for me, and the first time I have tried to do a run in about a month.  Then cooled down with .5 miles

Total Time:  30:16    Total Mileage:  1.75 miles    Average Pace:  17:17 / mile

Think I might take tomorrow off.  I have done 6 days in a row. I think duly earned! Come on recovery!

4:00 PM - Quick 10:00 walk before heading down to class. .61 miles @ 16:23 / mile

11:00 AM  - So I know it's my day "off" but I got my new issue of Runner's World, and I felt really guilty about gaining so much weight in the last two months, so I refused to just take a day off.  Decided to go nice and easy.  Did a mile of walking, and then my 15:00 pace "shuffle" (this time did it for .34 miles in 5:00), then a .65 mile cool down. Felt good and pain free. Probably tomorrow = the day off and then sometime this weekend going to try for a 7 or 8 minute "shuffle" or maybe 2 x 4 min at same pace.

Total Time:  35:00  Total Mileage:  2.00 miles  Average Pace:  17:30

Happy and Safe Running to everyone!  Think Spring!!

9:30 AM - Walked a mile in 17:40, then decided to pick it up a bit and do my "shuffle-jog" routine: today I was able to do .5 miles in 7:08 (14:16 pace) with no pain. Cooled down with a .57 mile walk.

Total Time: 35:00  Total Mileage:  2.07 miles  Average Pace:  16:54 / mile

Steady as she goes... making progress one step at a time!

9:00 AM  -  Went for a walk before having to get ready for work.  Did my normal slow mile "warm up". First mile in 17:39; then decided to do my "shuffle" a little longer today.  Ended up doing .75 miles in 10:36. (14:08 pace!) Longest "jog/run" in a long time.  No pain at all. Afterwards, eased into a nice walk again to finish out the morning outing.

Total Time: 35:03  Total Distance:  2.15 miles  Average Pace:  16:18 /mi

Slow and steady progress.  One foot in front of the other.  Step by step on the path of recovery! 

11:00 AM - Went walking with Emmy.  Found a nice little nature trail, and though it was wet and a lot of ice on the trail, we really enjoyed ourselves.  Then went walking around Stockbridge, Massachusetts where everyone was so friendly - that cozy small New England village feeling. During the nature trail run, I did a slow "shuffle" 1.01 miles in 14:29, though the second half was arguably faster between 12:20 and 12:30 per mile pace.  No pain at all yesterday or this morning.  Feeling great!

Total Time:  53:00 Total Distance: 3.00 miles  Average Pace:  17:40/mile

11:00 AM - Went walking on another nature trail with Emmy. This one was covered in snow on parts though, but it was fun :).  We did a little bit of jogging (me @ about 13:00 min/ mile pace) for about .5 miles. Was a blast because it was mid 40s and sunny! Now it's in the low 30's though and snowing. Ick! Spring's almost here though... I can feel it!!

Run Safe, Run Fast, Run With a Smile! :)

Total Time:  36:20  Total Mileage: 2 miles  Average Pace:  18:10

 

11:00 AM - Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of our FRB members! I was still in Massachusetts before class this afternoon, and Emmy and I decided to celebrate St. Patrick's Day the right way - none of that silly drunken nonsense for us - so we went to DUBLIN! (Dublin Street that is! ;p).  We started with walking, and then we progressed to a nice jog as we got onto the side road. It felt really nice to be able to go for a stroll. Big progress again today. No pain either!  Was able to do 1 mile @ 9:30-9:40 pace! Then cooled down with a 1.7 mile walk.  Overall, really happy today and really excited about what's in store for this coming spring!

Total Time: ~54:00  Total Distance: 4 miles  Average Pace:  13:30

2:00 PM - Did a 1 mile walking "warm up", .75 mile run in 10:00, then 1.25 mile walk "warm down".  Feeling pretty good, and really looking forward to being able to get out there for some easy runs.

Total Time: ~ 45:00  Total Distance:  3 miles   Average Pace: 15:00 / mile

Took yesterday off after 13 days in a row!! Today = 1.0 miles nice and easy at 16:00  and then 2 hours of ping pong (not the wussy kind either, but intense table tennis action; this I counted for a mile of x- training) :)

Stay safe, Think SPRING, and waddle on friends! The best is yet to come!!

9:00 AM - So today was a greatday already! Did a 1 mile warm up walk in 15:38, then was able to do 1.5 miles of jogging @ 12:00 min / mile pace!! (Huge improvement and pain free and longest run since about the second week in February!), then cooled down with .5 mile walk @ about the same speed as the warm up.  Felt really great today! :)

Total Time: 41:38  Total Distance:  3 miles  Average Pace:  13:52 / mile

Rest up fellow FRBloggers.... SPRING IS HERE !!!

11:00 AM - Gorgeous weather today, though somewhat windy. Sunny with temps right around 40; Emmy and I went to her high school track to reminisce and get in a nice walk / jog!  It went simply splendid, and it was so cool to be able to get out for another walk in this soon-to-be-spring weather.  Ended up doing a 1 mile warm up walk in about 14:26, then did a 1 mile "jog" at about 9:42 pace (pain free! yes!) then walked a mile, and did another .5 miles of jogging @ 9:56 pace.  Man that felt really great! :) So happy that things are on the upswing.  Will make sure to take it nice and slow though so that improvements will continue!

Total Time: 52:30  Total Distance:  4 miles  Average Pace:  13:07 / mile pace

Happy Easter Fellow FRBloggers! ( A safe travel to any of our members and their families travelling to see loved ones this weekend.  Congratulations  to everyone for a consistent winter training season. Hope everyone is as excited as I am about SPRING! Best of luck to everyone and those of you who are also in the middle of a 'healing' phase like me, you're in my prayers!  Great things are still to come in 2008!)

Have fun.  Run strong.  Run safe.  And keep on truckin'!

10:00 PM - Had a wonderful Easter with Emma and her family in Massachusetts, and after a nice lunch, I zipped home and got to see my sister before she headed back to school as well.  Have been feeling pretty good these past few days, and I am anxiously anticipating the Spring and hopefully being able to slowly get back into my running 'thang'.  Keeping it slow and steady though for now.  Did a mile walk for warm up, light stretching, then 1 mile @ 12:00 jogging, then .5 miles walking to cool off.  All in all a nice excursion.

Total Time: 35:23  Total Distance:  2.5 miles   Average Pace:  14:09 / mile

10:00 AM - Since it's only been about 12 hours since I did my walk last night, I did not want to push it too hard.  Did a mile warm up, then 1 mile slow jogging @ 12:00, then a 5 minute walking cool down. Read some from Jack Batten's The Complete Jogger (c. 1977) and I have found at least through the first 30 pages that Batten supports what I am feeling about my training right now.  He suggests:

• 1. Train, don't Strain (oh how true is that!)
• 2. Practice LSD (long, slow distance)
• 3. Let progress come at your own pace. (I think of the three, this has been the most difficult, but most rewarding concept for me to embrace during my 2 month layoff; We all heal at different rates, as do we progress in our training, but if you try to push the pace too early, you are only going to achieve minimal satisfaction and prolonged setbacks e.g. one step forward, 2 steps back)

Total Time: 32:25  Total Distance: 2.33 miles  Average Pace: 13:54 / mile

Best of luck to everyone recouping after a stressful winter.  We've made it.  The end is in sight! And from there it's smooth roads and Spring delights! Cruise on friends!

3:00 PM - Went on the treadmill and did 2.08 miles in 28:00, with 10:00 minutes of jogging @ about 11:48 pace.  Felt really good and relaxed.  Really feeling great today.  Light stretching afterwards.

Total Time: 28:00  Total Distance:  2.08 miles  Average Pace: 13:27 / mile

8:00 AM - Great day for a walk.  Feeling pretty good today, no soreness or tightness.  Did some light stretching and off I went.  Ended up doing over 40 minutes straight without breaks, sign that my fitness is slowly coming back. (all painfree mind you).  And big breakthrough:  After 1 mile warm up, did 1.75 miles of jogging non-stop (Most since January!)  I think the slow, cautious progression of training has been an important part of my progress.  I think things are definitely on the upswing!  1 mile of warm up walk, 1.75 miles of jogging @ 11:31 pace!!, .5 miles cool down.

Total Time:  41:18  Total Distance:  3.25 miles   Average Pace:  12:42 / mile

1:00 PM - Study break before lunch.  Went for a nice 20:00 walk.  Did easy 1.4 miles.

Total Time: 20:00  Total Distance:  1.4 miles  Average Pace:  14:17 / mile

9:00 AM -  Easy day today.  No soreness from the last week, so that's good!  Anxiously anticipating Spring and Summer this year!  Did 1 mile warm up walk, 1 mile jog in 11:23, and then .5 mile walking cool down.  Feeling good.  Light stretching afterwards.

Total Time:  33:55  Total Distance:  2.5 miles   Average Pace:  13:34 / mile

Reading Running A to Z: An Encyclopedia for the Thoughtful Runner  (circa 1983) Some of the stuff in here is great!  I will have to post some of the 'fashion tips' on here later. :)

Hope everyone is recouperating nicely; Have a safe and happy run all!

12:00 PM - Quick 15:00 on treadmill.  Included a .75 mile in 8:29 (11:18 pace).  Total distance was 1.2 miles for this short little jaunt.  Now time to study and then off to work until 11:30 tonight. Ick.

12:30 PM - Today is an easy day.  Did 2.25 miles in 30:18 including 1 mile of jogging @ 11:28 pace.  Felt nice and relaxed.  Want to go more, but have to continue to do slow, steady increases. I might in the near future aim for doing on - off of 1 mile jogging one day, 2 miles of jogging the next day...  Not sure how fast to increase though.  Feels good to see continued improvements. 

300 crunches, 150 situps, 100 pushups and 3 x 15 @ 12 lb weight for arms.  Stretching

Total Time:  30:18  Total Distance: 2.25 miles  Avg. Pace: 13:28 / mile

Today is a day off.  After 8 straight days, taking a breather :).  Plus with a nice walk/jog tomorrow I'll be right on pace for improvement from last week's 18+.  Hoping to get to 21 or 22 after tomorrow.  Then start transitioning to the 2 miles of jogging a day for 5 days.. for 10 miles of jogging next week and see how that feels.  On a downside.. I could see part of my lawn yesterday and the track as well was almost completely melted, yet woke up this morning to 6" of fresh snow.  GRRRR! I thought we were done with this junk!

Keep on truckin' FRBloggers! We're almost there!! We can do it!

7:00 PM  -  The best is yet to come! Felt really good after a day off; Now if only I could feel as motivated about my homework as I do about my training's steady progression!  Started off with easy walking and then eased into a jog.  I ended up doing the longest steady run since January!  Did 2 completely "pain free" miles in 22:06 (11:03 / mile pace!). Then cooled down with a brisk walk.  Stretching.  I'm getting excited about fitness coming back.  Goal is to do 2 miles at a time several times this week and then start easing into a 2 - 2.5 or 3 on off sequence in the following week. :)  Running is definitely one of the most amazing feelings in the world! So glad I can feel this again!  Hope all my fellow FRBloggers are healing up nicely!

Total Time: 41:00 Total Distance: 3.26  Average Pace: 12:34/Mile

4:00 PM - Progress is in order - hopped on the treadmill to get in another day of training.  Really getting optimistic that once Mother Nature decides to stop giving us snow so that it can melt a bit that I can get out on the roads. Gorgeous sunny day here and temps in the mid 30s :) Really awesome!  Did walking warmp up, eased into a nice jog. Two miles in 21:51! 10:55 PACE!! Woot! Walking cool down, and stretching. 

Total Time: 41:00 Total Distance: 3.30 Average Pace: 12:25

On the mend! Keep on truckin' FRB >> We'll get there I'm sure of it! One way or another, whether run, bike, swim, hop or waltz we'll get there! Great job everyone, and Happy Spring!

11:00 AM - Freezing rain today. Blah. But tomorrow is supposed to be thunderstorms and temperatures in the 50s, so I am holding out hope that perhaps I might see the lawn again sometime. Felt really good today. No soreness at all.  Did my normal warm up walk, then eased into a jog. Couldn't have asked for anything better. Ran 2.5 miles in 27:00 @ 10:48 / mile pace. This truly shows that all this work is paying off.  I am steadily progressing, and I have no doubt that I'll be able to call myself a runner once again! :).  Did my warm down walk and then stretched.

Total Time: 48:52 Total Distance: 4.00 miles Average Pace: 12:13 / mile

10:00 AM - Happy April everyone! :) Hilight of today was 2.5 miles after warmup in 26:39 @ 10:39 Pace! Total for the day was 4.75 miles in an even hour.  Felt really good. Light stretching to follow.

Total Time: 1:00:00 Total Distance: 4.75 miles Average Pace; 12:37 / mile

8:00 PM - Felt good today. Interesting food for thought. Was still reading Joe Henderson's Running A to Z and found a passage in there that talked about when running the Pikes Peak Marathon it is important to turn around as soon as  you get to the top because if you don't it will take much longer to find your way down the switchbacks; I think this can be extrapolated to the everyday runner, and more importantly those of us that became injured in the last several months.  I think there is a commonality among distance runners to continually improve and always strive to set a PR, or win a race.  Yet I think what I've learned the hard way in the last couple of months is that we can't continually improve. You can log as many miles as you want, but miles are correlated to wear and tear, and there is only so much the human body can take before it says "Hey! Wait a minute! I need a break here!".  I think I lingered too long at the top of the mountain after my November races, and started focusing on more intense training for the 1/2 in January, then jumped right back in to start training for the next race.  What I failed to do, was listen to my body and take some time for recovery.

Did warm up walk, then 2 easy miles of jogging in 21:25 (10:42 pace), cool down.

Total Time: 40:06 Total Distance: 3.25 miles Average Pace: 12:20 / mile

PROGRESS! I have done 11 miles of jogging in the last 5 days! Between 2-2.5 each day! Things are coming along nicely.  I can't wait until I can run 3 or 4 though!

8:00 AM - Went for a nice walk today. No running though, because did 5 days in a row with a jog. Ended up doing 25:00.

Total Time: 25:00  Total Distance: 1.67 Average Pace: 14:58

Had a stressful day today. Had to study for a big EPY 502 Ed Psych test. But it paid off! I got a perfect score and an actual thumbs up from the professor on the way out of the room.

I'm not sure who here has battled or is battling or knows someone who is battling cancer, but each year I do the Relay for Life, and this year I'd like to try to get pledges.  I set a goal of $200, though I know it will be hard to meet this goal by June.  For every $10.00 I collect I plan to run a mile.  If anyone has the ability to support me, or is interested in making a donation for a luminaria in remembrance/honor of anyone, my site is:  http://main.acsevents.org/goto/benngriffin

Many thanks FRBloggers.  Keep on trucking!

- - Benn - -

No run or walk today. Emergency came up at work.  Originally I was supposed to work 8am to 4pm, but one of the guys at work had chest pains and went to the ER so they asked me to stay an extra hour to 5pm, then to come back 9pm to 11:30pm.  They had wanted me to stay if possible all the way through but I had promised one of my brotheres to go to his fundraiser called Galwayopoly where I got to see him and my dad dominate Team Orange! Ugh! So got home around midnight, then my other brother woke me up at 4:30 and told me I had to take him to school for his band trip. Then I came home to sleep and finally fell asleep around 6, alarm when off at 6:42. Now work 8am to 4pm (that I know of).  I really want to do a walk or run tonight, but I might have to wait until after I pass out for a couple hours after work. So tired my eyelids hurt! haha.  Hope everyone else has better luck! As far as I know, Steve's okay though so that's the important part.  You can always catch up on sleep, but you only get one heart!

5:00 PM - Long day, kind of feels like Friday just merged with Saturday into a super day.  But luckily I got through work and was able to muster up the strength to get out there for a nice enjoyable outing. (This on quite possibly the best day of the year so far! 54 degrees and sunny with only a slight wind.  Headed to the track and foudn that I was the only one there except for one other walker.

Mile 1: warm up walk : 14:17. Felt nice and ready to go :)

Mile 2:  eased into a jog.  9:11 [ Yes, I know. That's fast! Though it did not feel fast at all.  I monitored myself and was running at the same effort and cadence that I did on the treadmill.  Felt really good though.

Mile 3: continued to jog. 8:50! [Fastest mile since I hurt myself in January. Don't worry I know that I should not try to PR now that I'm feeling better.  I will continue to keep myself in check and run smart and conservative.  Tomorrow will be a slow easy recovery day.]

Mile 3 - 3.5: 4:23; aka 8:51 / mile pace! This means I maintained an 8:50 pace for 1.5 miles after a 9:11 easy mile before that with no pain. That also equates to progress!

Mile 3.5 - 4.57 - Cool down mile: 14:15 for the first mile, 1:10 for the last .07.

Total Time:  52:07 Total Distance: 4.57 Average Pace: 11:24

JOGGING NOTES FROM THIS WEEK: WHERE I'M AT

• With 5 days including jogging of 6 days total, I had 3 x 2.5 miles of jogging continuously, and 2 x 2 miles of jogging continuously; I feel this shows that my persistence has paid off. It is important for me to continue to gradually increase miles so that I will not risk further injury.
• Total Miles Jogged this past week: 11.5 miles in time of : 1:59:19; Equates to average pace of 10:22, though this is skewed since my "break through" Saturday run.  Overall feel really great about my current level of fitness and looking forward to another good week. To everyone else out there who also continues to wage the war of Comeback 2008 - I think it was Teddy Roosevelt who said something like, "when you get to the end of a rope, tie a knot and hang on";  We can and will do this!  Keep on truckin' FRBloggers and thanks for all of your support!

- Benn - Anxiously awaiting the runs still developing over the horizon.

12:00 PM - Did a nice walk today before I have to get ready for work and schoolwork stuff. Still finishing up Joe Henderson's An Encyclopedia for the Thoughtful Runner.  So much of what he writes is so true and smart.  In it he suggests that the average runner can only train for at most 6 months of true "racing" a year, and that your corresponding training should follow the seasons so that you recover in the winter, race in the spring, recover and build slow and steady in the summer, and then race in the fall.  I am bypassing spring and using it as a time to just build up and recover. Then summer will be slow and steady again, hopefully back up to 50 or 60 mile weeks in preparations for the October Marathon and my November races.

Henderson writes, "The lesson here for all runners may be that we need an occasional training holiday. We might be wise not to wait for nature to demand it with an injury or an illness, but to take it voluntarily" (pp 137) He later goes on to use a quote from Ecclesiastes, "To everything, there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven... a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up." (pp 140)

And, from page 155, "[Y]ou don't need to try anything more spectacular than the modest running you already do.  You already have such a big lead that almost no one will ever catch you.  You don't need to envy other heroes, because you are one." (This quote comes in context from an excerpt where Henderson talks about how less than 1% of people than ran in high school are still running by the time they graduate from college.) I think it helps put into perspective that while even though we will claim it's an individual race to the finish, how it's just us and the clock, we still pride ourselves in being able to call ourselves runners and toting our wall of PRs and finishes with us.  We all carry our own invisible trophy case whose stories are shown in bib numbers, finisher medals, and diary entries. And yet at the same time we want to be recognizecd for our commitment and determination with the sport and our training, all those miles to come to some kind of noticing by outsiders.  Well, just know that fellow runners and non runners alike do notice everyone's commitment and determination out there, and it has made our sport all the bettr for it I think at least.

With that said, did an easy 1 mile warm up walk in 15:00, then 2 miles jogging in 21:28 (10:44 pace), then 1 mile cool down walk.

Total Time: 50:41 Total Distance: 4 miles Average Pace: 12:40

8:00 AM - After a long week of work, had to get up early, despite wanting to sleep in.  Feeling a little worn out after only five hours of sleep last night, but so much work to do that I couldn't afford to sleep in.  Went on the treadmill so that I could read today's case study for class and thus kill two birds with one stone.  I find it easier to focus and mull things over while I am walking - shuffling oddly enough. It gives me time to think about how I want to go about addressing the topics.

Began with usual walk for the warm up, then eased into 2 miles of jogging in 21:23 @ 10:41 pace. Then cooled down walking for a mile at about 15:00 pace. Once again, pain free :). Things are looking up! Stay positive fellow bloggers. We will get through this together! With a little faith, hard work, and determination we can overcome any obstacle.

Total Time: 51:12 Total Distance: 4 miles Average Pace: 12:48 / mile

1:00 PM - Went for another walk after a long morning of getting homework done for my night class.  Just a short 15 minute walk. Gorgeous out today in the upper 40s or low 50s!  On a side note, first 5+ day total in almost 2 months!

Total Time: 15:00 Total Distance: 1.02 miles Average Pace: 14:42/mile

Am reading Sacks Psychology of Running (1981) still.  Just finished actually.  A couple interesting quotes I woud like to share:

I. With regards to running addiction: "The bottom line in the development of addiction to running is adherence. You can't develop addiction to the activity unless you participate on a regular basis... Running has become a compulsion, a habit, an addiction. When days are missed, withdrawal symptoms become immediately apparent and generally powerful.  Running has become much more than a means to the end of getting in shape; it has become the end itself. The need to run becomes omnipresent." (120-121)  I think this was the hardest part (and arguably still is) about a forced break from running.  We truly take for granted just the ability to lace up and head out the door for a run when we are sidelined, and I give Emmy and everyone else that had to deal with me during my lay off extra points for putting up with my moodyness. It's amazing how the human body adapts after conditioning.

II. Also in regards to that as a follow up, and something I think I have suffered from comes from Ch. 21 " A High Prevalence of Affective Disorder in Runners": runners reported an improvement in mood and a reduction of tension after running; many of them had past histories of depression which had improved since they started running... As well as relieving depression, running (or the lack thereof) can itself cause depression. Some symptoms include depression, insomnia, fatiguability, irritability, and tachycardia (238-245)

It's amazing to think that books written on running, even 25 or 30 years ago are still so relevant today. I found it funny when Sacks mentioned that one sign of running addiction is the chronic reading of anything and everything about the sport. But I think as long as I keep myself in check, it is not necessarily a bad thing.

9:00 AM - Today was a really great day! I was pretty tired and kind of stressed with all of the end of the year projects and papers due. But I wanted to get my walk-shuffle in early. So after talking to my cutie and saying good morning, hopped on the treadmill. Mixed reactions today - walk and shuffle went fine, actually FANTASTIC, as I logged the longest jog yet since February 3 miles non-stop in 32:10 @ 10:43 pace! Started with 15:00 walk of one mile and finished with cooldown walk of a mile in 15:00 as well.  During the time though I was reading a really important book that I hope more Americans will read:  Affluenza, by John DeGraaf : book version of a PBS documentary that aired a while ago that talks about how Americans today are overworked, overstressed, underslept, and so tied into wasteful consumerism that we are effectively shooting the world to hell in a handbasket.  It made me sick to read some of the staggering statistics out there i.e. that 93% of teenage girls list shopping as their favorite activity, Parents today spend 7 times more time shopping then they do playing with their kids, America makes up only 4 percent of the world's population but is responsible for 25 percent of global warming.. There currently are more people filing for bankruptcy each year than graduate from college, and further more, more people are in an endless stream of debt now then during the Great Depression!  Reading the statistics I guess I count myself fortunate that 1. I'm a runner and understand and appreciate the sacredness and natural wonderment of the world around me, and 2. that I have not been drawn into the credit card fiasco that fuels consumerism today. They said the average American has over 7 credit cards and more than 8,000 dollars of debt.  It's times like these that I feel like either moving to Canada or voting the Communist ticket. I'm sick and tired of the rich getting the tax breaks, the middle class being underinsured with health care, and everyone buying into capitalist propoganda. Everyone says the hippies are radicals and that the eco-friendly people are just weirdos; Well if I have it my way, a nice house out in the country, with my own land, no smog or pollution, no hustle and bustle and stress of work and urbanity, that sounds pretty sweet to me.  What is money worth if the stress and time that it takes to get it takes you away from your family and shortens years off your life? We only live once, so we should try to make the best of it! Okay I'll hop off my soap box now :)

Total Time: 62:10 Total Distance: 5 miles Average Pace: 12:26/ mile

9:00 AM - Started with 1 mile warm up walk in 15:00, then eased into 3 miles of jogging in the same time as yesterday : 32:10 (10:43 / mile!). Half mile walking cool down and light stretching.  Felt really great. No pain!

Total Time: 54:45 Total Distance: 4.5 miles Average Pace: 12:10/ mile

Going to take it easy and take tomorrow off, as I have had some good gains the last few days and don't want to push it too much. Plus I have a late night at work and a lot of school work to catch up on! I wish everyone the best and hope that all my fellow recovering FRBloggers get to come back soon! We will make it through the injuries and come out stronger, more determined, and more the wiser for it! We can do this! Stay strong and think positive. Optimism truly is a little known virtue that has kept me going all these weeks! You're in my prayers everyone.

9:00 AM - Started with a nice mile warm up walk, then eased into my jogging. Was reading about Amby Burfoot's 1968 Boston Marathon win, and I can't imagine running 26.2 miles without any water stops! Let alone racing that far!! Absolutely amazing. Did 2.5 miles of nice jogging in 26:49 (10:43 pace) and then .5 miles cooldown walk. Felt really good today and just needed to get in a few more miles to ease into the school work today. Best of luck today FRBloggers and keep on truckin'.

Total Time: 49:19 Total Mileage: 4 miles Average Pace: 12:17/ mile

7:00 PM - Did a quick walk with .5 miles jog at the same pace as this morning. Total of 1.75 miles in a time of 24:00.

Total Time: 24:00 Total Distance: 1.75 Average Pace: 13:42

5:00 PM - After working all day, was nice to get changed and head to the track, since I knew that no one else would be there as it was about 42 degrees, overcast and raining like it had been all day.  Started with a mile walking warm up, then 2 miles jogging, 1 mile cool down with a little bit of jogging.

• Mile 1 - 13:55
• Mile 2 - 9:08 (feeling really good)
• Mile 3 - 8:53 (felt as easy pace as running on treadmill; had to hold back)
• Mile 4 - 11:25 (with about half mile of jogging in there)
• last .05 - :36

Total Time: 44:00 Total Distance: 4.05 miles Average Pace: 10:52/ mile

SUMMARY FOR THE WEEK: Ended up doing 28.32 miles total this week, nice improvement and no pain.  In total I did 14.5 miles of jogging in total of 2:37:22 (or 10:51 a mile pace)

FOR NEXT WEEK:  Would like to keep mileage at about the same but transition some more jogging % of the miles; i.e. have maybe 16 or 17 miles of jogging instead of 14.5.

Things are getting better. Think Spring everyone! We'll get through this!

11:00 AM - After going to church with Dad today, I went home, changed and headed to the track. Started with a walking warmup as usual, then ended up going 3.25 miles without stopping!! Then cool down walking and slow jog picking up all the litter and bottles around the track! Come on people! Don't litter! It's bad! Did my part though.

• Mile 1 - 13:53
• Mile 2 - 8:59 (jogging: Really good; surprised it was this fast!)
• Mile 3 - 8:45 (Did I read that right? :) )
• Mile 4 - 8:44 (Woot! Feeling awesome)
• Mile 4-4.25 - 2:15 (9:00 pace)
• Mile 5 - 12:23
• Last .1 - :53

Total Time: 55:55 Total Distance: 5.34 Average Pace: 10:28/ mile

1:00 PM - Squeezed in a quick workout between work and school. Really tired and stressed with all the stuff lately, but class tomorrow night is "optional" which frees up time to get this presentation for next week together. Crunch time this week so I can have the weekend off to watch the Trials and Boston!  Began with normal walking warmup, then eased into 3 miles in 31:17 (10:25 pace), then cooled down walking.

Total Time: 49:36 Total Distance: 4.25 miles Average Pace: 11:40/ mile

Thanks for all the great posts everyone! I am really wanting to enter the St. George Lottery now!!! It would be really exciting I think! Plus I heard it's a fast course, though since I don't train at such elevation, and gain from the negative elevation overall would probably be negated; though I would really like to be able to see Utah! That'd be fun! :)

I REGISTERED TODAY FOR ST. GEORGE MARATHON!!! CROSSING MY FINGERS! I CALLED UP AND TOLD EMMY, AND SHE'S SO EXCITED! SHE WANTS TO COME WATCH ME RUN IF I GET ACCEPTED INTO THE MARATHON. (SHE'S MY GOOD LUCK CHARM AFTER ALL AND HAS GONE TO MY LAST TWO MARATHONS!!) I CHECKED ON EXPEDIA.COM AND PLANE TICKETS WERE BETWEEN 300 AND 450 I THINK. AND IF I FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH (I.E. MAY) THEN WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THE TICKETS ALL LINED UP! SO HAPPY! NOW I NEED TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT A PLAN SO I CAN SET A HUGE PR!

2:45 PM - So today started off with work from 8am to 12pm, then to the dentist @ 1:30 where I found out that one of my molars that had been filled last time, hadn't been sealed completely.. so that's why I was having pain; so he had to give me three separate shots of novacaine and then drilled out the old porcelain filling, plus the "soft" parts that had developed (this hurt so much!) then he refilled it.  I went to the track afterwards, as it was 52 and sunny. I still can't feel the left side of my face and I might be drooling on the keyboard as I write this :)

• .5 mile warm up: 7:15 (14:34 / mile)
• Running! (there I finally said it!) Did three miles of running. Splits were : 8:16, 8:09, 8:12. Yes, I know way too fast, but no pain, and I promise that tomorrow will just be an easy recovery day. This is sweet sweet progress though :)
• Cooled down with a mile of walking and light jogging alternating every lap: 12:23

Total Time: 44:20 Total Distance: 4.5 miles Average Pace: 9:50/ mile!

9:45 AM - It's supposed to be a gorgeous day today with a high of near 70; Too bad I have to spend it inside doing homework and then later working until midnight! Decided to start the day off right with my normal walk-shuffle routine.  Ended up going for 1:00 even today! And better yet, no pain or soreness (besides in my mouth from the visit to the dentist yesterday!) Started with a warmup mile walk in 15:00, then eased into 3.5 miles of light jogging as I read a local running magazing The Pacesetter, total time of 37:20 (10:40/ mile), then cooled down with .5 miles of walking and stretching. Felt really great!

Total Time: 1:00:00 Total Distance: 5.00 miles Average Pace: 12:00/ mi

9:00 AM - Felt great today. Tired, but got some endorphins after hopping on the treadmill. Warmed up with 1.5 miles of walking, then eased into 3.5 miles of jogging in 37:20 (10:40 / mile pace), then cooled down with .5 miles of walking.

Total Time: 1:07:30 Total Distance: 5.5 miles Average Pace: 12:16/ mile

What I'm Reading Today: Picked up a copy of Marathoning by Bill Rodgers (c. 1980) and read the first 80 pages of it while on the treadmill today. It truly is amazing just how knowledgeable and gifted Rodges is. And to think that after his collegiate days for Wesleyan he was going ot give up the sport completely! (and arguably did for a couple years). He truly is a remarkable man, and having known and competed with the best of the generation (Shorter, Galloway, Burfoot).. he has so much insight into the sport of long distance running. I wish I had come across this book earlier, but I'm just getting to his narrative of winning Boston for the first time, and I'm absolutely hooked. Just a couple words I thought we can all take to heart:

"You often read about the Kenyan runners and the statements they make about why the American and European runners tighten up: that they worry too much about the other competitors; that they worry to much about individual times in a race, or about their splits....They refuse to let the pure naturalness of running take over." (pg. 47) How true is it that often we approach a race with a specified goal in mind, and then we set out 'on pace' to achieve that goal, only to flounder or get discouraged when we get a slower time. I have learned a lot in the last year myself, and found that the reason I improved in my races was both upping my mileage, as well as listening to the advice of a 15 year old brother who, while he doesn't truly understand the sport, perhaps understands a critical piece of racing. "Just race." he told me. Sometimes we can't always shoot for a PR. Or if we do, as Sasha has alluded to, we can't set out on pace for that PR, especially if conditions are unfavorable. We need to modify our approach. As Rodgers learned in his first experience with the marathon at Boston in 1973, it truly is a humbling experience.

"[A] runner must always retain his individuality as a runner. Never get caught up too much with the pack or with a coach. You have to think for yourself.... Let it filter through, be selective, and discard the rest. You must know yourself and what is right for you." (pg. 27)

"For most people who run marathons, it is and it should be that way.. It's not a race, except a race within yourself. Can you finish it? Sometimes that becomes a difficult question for a marathoner. An Irish marathoner I know described such situations best. He likened them to "a crucifixion." (pg. 57) Okay, so yeah Rodgers is clearly exaggerating, but at the same time he captures the essence of the marathon. The marathon is one of the most grueling races that the runner can endure. To approach it as a serious race, and truly lay everything out on the line can be the most painful experience one has to deal with. You can hit the wall and either stop, or endure the pain and push on for that self-gratification of crossing the finish line. Marathons in my opinion take on a spirituality - when you are out there, plodding along for hours, you get in a groove, and you focus on issues in your life. You take in the scenery, but at the same time you are constantly self-monitoring, and internalizing what this journey means for you.  I think that if you don't have a goal of what you want to get out of the marathon when you go in, you aren't going to come out with a sense of accomplishment. You will just come out feeling let down. I have great respect for all the marathoners out there, and the countless thousands of miles they have put into training. 

As we look forward to this weekend and the Olympic Trials and all of our fellow FRBloggers that are competing in Boston, as well as Ogden later this Spring and anyone else training for a race in the future, we should remember why we are doing it.  Whether it's for better health, for the runner's high, for a PR, for comraderie, or for the adrenaline rush and thrill of competition - remember that we are all runners together and that we all have the drive and determination to toe that starting line like a world class athlete.  We might not all have the athletic prowess as Rodgers, Shorter, Hall, or Sell but we all have a heart as big as theirs'. We have what it takes inside of us to reach the finish line. We understand that it will be a test of will, of endurance, but we have faith in our months and years of preparation, and we journey forth down that path intent on proving to ourselves we too deserve the thrill of victory. Best of luck to everyone in their training and racing.  Run strong. Run fast. Run for you. God bless.    

  - Benn -

7:00 PM - In Pittsfield, Mass. with Emma. We went to the Ashwilticook Trail that goes From Pittsfield north to Lanesboro and Cheshire. We started over by the Berkshire Mall and walked for a bit because I wasn't sure how I felt. Temps were in the mid to upper 60s and a slight breeze.  Things were really looking gorgeous tonight as it was just approaching the dusk hours and the sun was setting over the lake.

• Mile 1: 15:46
• Mile 2: 14:42
• Mile 3: 9:48
• Mile 4: 9:52
• Mile 5: 9:44

No pain, and felt calm and collected, though I got "chicked" big time by Emma! (and to think she claims she isn't a runner!) Feeling good, and anxious to come up with a plan for the 'thon in October.

Total Time: 59:52 Total Distance: 5 miles Average Pace: 11:58/ mile

1:00 PM - Went for a hike off of Rte. 7 to Ice Glen. There was a Fire Tower at the top and Emma and I decided to go on the trail, as last time we tried to go, there was too much ice and I was slipping.  This time it was gorgeous and it was an awesome feeling of accomplishment to get to the top and look out over the Berkshire Mts. I want to go back in the fall, and truly understand the beauty that James Taylor sings about in his songs. (Awesome thing too, is I found out James Taylor is a member at Emma's gym, so I hope that one day I run into him there!)

Highest Elevation: 1531'

Total Time: 41:00 Total Mileage: 1.77 miles Average Pace: 23:11/ mile

WATCHED THE BOSTON MARATHON TODAY! Absolutely amazing! I don't know how Cheriyout does it, but he truly is one of the most amazing distance runners I have ever watched. He knows strategy so well, and knows how to use the course to his advantage :)

On another note, found out my neighbor PR'ed in the marathon and also beat his time by about 6 minutes from last year!!

71

53

Shaun P. Evans

30

M

Middle Grove

2:31:46

**(This is good, considering where we live, the lack of an organized running club and the fact that this guy logs all his miles by himself, all while working full time as a physical therapist) I wish I could get even a 3:31!!! Man Shaun is amazing too!

3:45 PM - Temp was in the high 70s, sunny. Was in Pittsfield still, and after class on Monday, I wanted to go for another hike-walk-jog with Emma.  We chose the Pittsfield State Forest this time, and it was amazing!.  We experienced backwoods offroading. There was an access trail that was covered with rocks and last years leaves as no one had cleared the trail for some time. We started off on a "loop" but we noticed we were just going further back into the woods with no loop in site.. It was extremely hard work climing up there and we averaged less than three mph on the way up! This is how the day's excursion ended up going splits wise (I'm surprised neither of us slipped off the edge of the trail or hurt ourselves more than our battle scarred legs and a couple rolled ankles!) To put things into perspective.. it took us about 33:00 to go up ~1.5 miles, and only 16:00 to come down! We are trail blazers to the max! Raaaaaawwwwr!

Max Elevation: 2125'

• Mile 1: 22:06 (Hi ho Hi ho it's off to work we go!)
• Mile 2: 18:23 (Hmm.. where's the loop? Time to free-run!)
• Mile 3: 10:49 (It's a bird, it's a plane, it's SUPER BENN!)
• Mile 4: 10:29 (Whoah! Pavement feels so cloudlike after that! cooldown)
• Mile 5: 20:17 (walking on another trail in the park hand in hand ;) )

Total Time: 1:22:04 Total Mileage: 5 miles Average Pace: 16:24/ mile

2:00 PM - After five days in Pittsfield, I had to give a goodbye hug and kiss to Emma and reluctantly come back to New York, as I had work from 4 to midnight tonight. Got home at 2 and I have to leave by about quarter after 3 to get to work on time, so I decided rather than unpack, I would hop on the treadmill.  Did a 5 minute warm up walk, eased into 3 miles of steady, painfree jogging, and then ended with a short cool down walk and stretching. Then headed off to work. My achilles feels fine and pain free after all the bumps and bruises from this weeks hiking! I really want to plan out a marathon training plan but I just don't know if it's simply "too early"; I know that Sasha often suggests to people to get up to 6 miles a day for 6 days a week before starting to even think about long runs.  Should I start to try to shoot for 4 miles of jogging at a time for 5 times a week at first? and then go from there? I think I had about 17 miles of jogging last week.

Total Time: 38:00 Total Mileage: 3.5 miles Average Pace: 10:51

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR AWESOME FRBloggers WHO WENT OUT AND COMPETED THIS WEEK. I'M TRULY SORRY IF I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO COMMENT ON YOUR RACE REPORT YET, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S FALLEN ON DEAF EARS (OR EYES?). I look forward to reading more of your blogs in the coming weeks, after school crazyness dies down.  And I am also anxiously awaiting news to be able to run in St. George Marathon 2008!! Yay! Keep on truckin' friends!!

10:00 AM - Started with a 5 minute warmup walk on the treadmill, and then eased into jogging while reading June's issue of Running Times. Felt really good, a little soreness in the quads from that escapade in the woods a few days ago, but other than that felt really good. Ended up doing  the most miles I've done since being injured! 5 MILES OF JOGGING today!! (53:28, good for 10:41/ mile pace) and then cooled down with .6 miles of walking. 15 minutes of stretching and 200 situps and crunches followed. Felt really good! And now I'm ready to tackle all this killer homework I have!

Total Time: 70:00 Total Mileage: 6.1 miles Average Pace: 11:28/ mile

4:30 PM - Have been really tired the last few days, and after working all day yesterday, was too tired to get out for a run or anything, so I waited until my "short" day today, as I only worked until 3:00. So I came home and went for a bike ride with one of my brothers and my mom to the high school track, 5.17 miles biking there in 19:34 (Splits were: 4:42, 2:58, 2:55, 4:07, 4:03, :49), then stretched and eased into 3 miles of continuous, painfree jogging: 30:00 exact (9:05, 10:21, and 10:34). Then stretched with Mom and Harry and cooled off with a bike ride home after about .6 miles of walking on the track. Riding home, the splits were between 4:00 and 5:19 a mile. Took it easy. So happy to get the first decent bike ride in . And weather was gorgeous! About 70 with sun and slight 5-10mph wind.

Total Time: 1:17:19 Total Distance: 13.11 miles Average Pace (running): 10:00 / mile (biking) 4:00

*Note Current 2008 Max Sustained Speed for Bike: 35 MPH (has to be held for 5 seconds)

10:00 AM - It was partly cloudy and temperature was about 54 degrees; Perfect weather with a slight 5-10 mph breeze. We finally got a little rain last night after nearly two weeks without it. I decided to try out a new pair of short shorts I bought the other day at Dicks' so I went to the track. Got there and stretched and saw one other guy had just got there as well. He was doing his thing, cruising at 7:30 pace, so I eased into a nice jog in the farthest lane not taken up with hurdles (lane 4). Run went as follows:

• Mile 1: 9:56
• Mile 2: 9:50
• Mile 3: 9:41
• Mile 4: 9:22
• Mile 5: 10:27 (cool down)
• last .2: 2:00

Overall felt amazing! Second 5+ miles of jogging I've been able to do since the injury. I really hope things are on the upswing and that I'm doing stuff right so I build up nice and slow. I can't wait for the fall marathon! Stretched afterwards. Oh and on a funny note, this lady came to shave our dogs today so now I am the proud owner of a hairless St. Bernard as well as a goofy looking hairless Great Pyrenees (she kind of looks like a lost sheep or a dalmation without spots now! ahah)

Total Time: 51:16 Total Distance: 5.2 mi Average Pace: 9:51/ mile

Food for thought: So last night at work I was leafing through a book I ordered from the 70s written by Ken Sparks and Gary Bjorklund. In it I happened upon a breakdown of training routines by some of the best runners of the 1960s and 70s. It was really interesting so see that of the elite American runners, most said weight training made up 0-5% of their training regime. This would make sense as we all know it pays in distance running to carry less weight. But something I really honed in on was their listing of the differences in training between LSD (long slow distance) and tempo (sustained running). I didn't buy the book yet so I only remember a couple figures off the top of my head, but the few staggering ones that jumped out at me were:

• Frank Shorter - 50 % LSD, 34% tempo
• Bill Rogers (Rodgers) - 2% LSD, 90% tempo

Maybe I only remembered these two since I'm reading Rodger's book Marathoning (c. 1980?) and I'm on a huge must read everything about distance running from the masters of the 70s and 80s kick, but I think it definintely hits on the point that some people have predominantly slow twitch muscles, and others fast-twitch, or a mixture of fast and slow. Rodgers has always claimed that he has a lot of slow-twitch, so it would make sense to do more tempo running, and Shorter as we all know was a master on the track as well, but lacked the natural gift for longer events (though he arguably trained rigorously to earn that gold medal!). I think something to take from Rodgers' wisdom in Marathoning is that we as runners know our bodies best and must adapt our training both to suit our strong points, but at the same time, to challenge our weaknesses. There is no way to improve, without testing our limits, and pushing through the fatigue, though not every workout, as that would be problematic. Reading advice from some of these great runners, most of who are still active in races today, kind of serves as a rejuicing for the ego. I know that so manhy of us are still battling our injuries, and I know I am far from 100%, but I think that reading about Rodgers winning the 3 most prestegious marathons in under 12 months and setting the AR for the marathon in 2:09:55, but yet being set back by injuries kind of supports my goals for this recovery. I'm trying to recover smartly and hopefully take a lot out of this down period so that I can develop a training plan that works fior me and can help me stay injury free in the future. For now I will bide my time, and be the running guru here, reading all the literature I can get my hands on, and of course blogging like there's no tomorrow.

Best of luck FRBloggers. Happy Monday! Run safe. And most importantly, run for you :)!

9:00 AM - Rainy day today. Went on the 'mill. Did a walking warm up, eased into a nice 2 mile jog in 21:25 good for 10:42 pace, and then cooled down with a walk. Felt pretty good, though legs are a little tight and sore from biking. I think tomorrow is a day off. Happy running bloggers!

Total Time: 40:20 Total Distance: 3.25 mi Average Pace: 12:24/ mile

Wow. It's hard to believe April has come and gone. Tomorrow is May. And I'm still nursing this injury. Blah. I got a slight twinge of pain going up stairs on Monday on the way to class, so I took yesterday off and today as well, though I'm going to be on my feet all night at work. Put the heel lift back in and I'm hoping that I can get in a short 2 mile jog on Thursday, maybe Friday. It is so frustrating, since my heart and mind are 110% committed, but my "Achilles heel" (pardon the pun ;) ) is just holding me back. Praying for a swift recovery. I really want to do well at St. George.

As I try to stay positive, a quote Marcus Aurelius made rings true:

"Reject your sense of injury, and the injury itself disappears." Now maybe I shouldn't reject it, but rather accept and embrace it. I think that I've done a lot to put myself headed in the right direction - that of recovery. I just need to accept that it is going to be a slow go for a while. Maybe by June I can be back to running 4 days a week with 5 or 6 miles? Who knows!

Happy Wednesday everyone. It's almost May, and halfway to the weekend! :) God bless all of our FRBloggers and their families. And everyone else nursing an injury, you're in my prayers. Oh, and if anyone needs protection from neighborhood dogs or hooligans, just call up the Howling Commandos 1-800-BICYCLE. Brent and I deliver. Hoo ha!

Um..... OW. That pretty much sums it up. Downright angry with myself right now. I've tried so hard and long for recovery, but it seems its back to square one.

PM - seran wrapped ice to my foot, seemed to help a bit. pushups/situps. It's just not fair. I just want to be able to call myself a runner again, rather than a guy who runs sometimes. This is too frustrating sometimes. I don't wish this junk on anyone.

 Friday : it hurt after three hours at work, so during my break I sat down and seran wrapped ice again to my foot for about 40-45 minutes. It was enough to get me through the rest of the shift at least, though I work 8-4 again tomorrow, so I don't know how that will go.

Worked today. Our General Manager thought it was an opportune time to rearrange everything, and as I was one of two guys working at the time, that's what he had me help with all day. Books = heavy = strained some muscles I think including my achilles. It's red and sore to the touch. Pretty upset. That about sums it up. Going to go work on finals stuff as my semester ends Tuesday. So much for ending on a positive note haha.

Congrats all FRBloggers on the race reports! Keep them coming!

1:00 PM - So after basically a week of inactivity and stuff, I had cabin fever so I asked Jonny if he'd be up for a bike ride. We decided to go for it. The rain finally stopped and it was partly sunny with temperature about 55 degrees I'd say. We went for a nice ride, and cruised on the flat parts, but we're just not used to biking, as I haven't done a 20 miler in probably about 8 or 9 months now. So it ended up being more of a ride for fitness bike trip. Not too much pain actually in my achilles. So I think I might be a biker for a while. It's not the same as running, but I read that it burns more calories time wise so maybe I can lose some weight doing this! Felt pretty strong on the flats. I think that in a few weeks I could even think about a 50 miler :)

Total Time: 1:24:15 Total Mileage: 20.25 miles Average Speed: 14.4 mph

*Max Speed: 30.2 mph (didn't try to push it though. just happened on a downhill)

Note: Steepest grade hill - 13%

9:45 AM - Woke up and temperature was about 50 degrees and sunny. Decided that to reward myself for finishing my paper yesterday and getting my last project of the semester done, I would go for a bike ride. Went by myself since Jonn and Harry were in school. Followed a lot of the same route yesterday. Legs felt pretty good. No soreness, just some fatigue from all the hills yesterday. Was thinking about how many decent sized hills are on that route, and found out that I scaled exactly 15 hills today. Phew! And yesterday was 22! Thats a lot of hills! Finished strong, though my legs feel a little like jello!

Total Time: 57:34 Total Mileage: 15 mi Average Speed: 15.5 mph

*Max Sustained Speed: 34.0 mph

9:00 AM - So, it was about 50 degrees and sunny again this morning. A slight wind but by golly was it gorgeous out. I decided to hop on the bike and go on a nice big loop for a bike tour. I started off how I did the last few days, but stayed on Jockey Street and went over to Charlton, and then came back home through the other part of town. Felt really great today. Though I did get my workout. Some of the roads were really bumpy and uncomfortable and I managed to have to have sprint outs with not 1, not 2, but FIVE dogs! Don't worry I owned them hardcore. They didn't stand a chance. I showed them how the Howling Commandos roll!

Total Time: 1:34:40 Total Distance: 24.89 mi Average Speed: 15.8 miles

*Max Sustained Speed: 36.6 MPH (New PR for 2008)

Now I am off to Massachusetts after my last final for a few days to see Emma's African Dance Recital for her college course. Can't wait! Be home after work on Saturday!