Catching Up

ORN: 11.4 miles, R4/W1, 1:57:24, 10:18/mile

Lately, running has been good while blogging has been bad.

I'm just really enjoying running right now, in almost a new sort of way. The ITB and ankle pain that bugged me through December and January has cleared up. Winter weather is rotten but I'm just running for the simple joy of the run. It is great to just go out the door and run. I do have a bit of a plan but mostly it is just focused on safely ramping up the miles so I can comfortably get to doing consistent 20 mile weekend runs. I only have a couple of races on my mind for the spring and if they happen or don't happen, I'm fine.

And this is kind of cool. Just getting out and spending the time alone, in the cold, hearing the early-returning birds sing (asking each other just why they came back so early, I'm guessing) and thinking through the day. Very cool.

But there has been little time for blogging or commenting on blogs. Please don't take my absence from your blog comment stream personally. Keeping a manufacturing operation going in this economy is no small task. Yet we are seeing some success. There's lots of tough news out there but it ain't all bad, folks. Treating customers and employees with respect, innovation and quality makes a difference.

We also threw in a brief vacation trip to the West Coast, visiting my sister and BIL in San Diego. You can read about it here. Man, was it nice to run in sunshine and warm temperatures. A treat was running 10+ miles with nephew John around Lake Mirmar just north of SD. Great conversation, great running.

And the other highlight was getting to connect with running buddy Darrell and his wife in scenic Temecula for breakfast last Saturday. What a treat to get together, meet Lisa for the first time and have the four of us connect widely. I do think our wives were also grateful we only touched lightly on running over the 90 minutes together! Oh, and if you ever see "sweet potato pancakes" on a menu, order them...very yummy.

Lisa, Darrell, Gretchen, Joe

Life does go on. And, in it all, we persevere.

Long Term Running Goal

ORN: 7.0 miles, 1:09:17, R3/W1, 9:54/mile, pain free

Goals are important. And not just vague conceptual thoughts about targets. Many studies have shown that the liklihood of achieving anything is significantly improved with a specific, written goal.

I remember discovering this fact early in my undergraduate studies. I was fascinated by how a clearly-stated, written goal tended to focus the mind, clarify choices and lead to achieving important things. Shoot, I even got engaged after I set a specific goal to improve my social life during the fall of 1974 (but that's a different story and I'd need to have Gretchen tell her side as well).

So, it's probably no surprise I have a long-term goal in running. When I started the second-era of my running career in 2004, I realized I needed a long-term goal to add direction far beyond the short-term and annual list of races to be run. Sometime in 2005, it geled for me. I remember telling Darrell about this goal during our first December marathon meet up in 2006 but I've never posted it here. And in the lull between races for me, this seemed like a good time.

My long-term running goal is to run a race of at least a half-marathon distance on the weekend when each of my twin grandsons get married.

Why such a goal? Well, it gives some life and visual punch to my desire to keep moving and active deep into my life. Let's do the math (hey, I'm a Purdue engineer and I always do the math) and see what this means.

Next week, Drew and Nathan turn 5. Last fall, I turned 55. If they get married in their early-to-mid 20s, I'll be in my early 70s on their wedding days. And, yeah, I'd like to still be running then. I see a good number of men in their 70s at races. Can I be one of them?

The implication of this goal on my day-to-day running is clear. It causes me to pay attention to staying injury-free. It causes me to not get too uptight about inevitable ups and downs of races or training. If illness strikes, it gives focus to any recorery efforts. I didn't put a time goal on my race; but I did say "run". I need a lot of consistency to get to this goal. This adds motivation to keep moving in our extreme midwest weather.

Being a very visual goal, it also adds a strong emotional pull. I can sure make a picture of getting a Saturday morning race in, showering, and heading to a wedding in the afternoon. And the visual, emotional tug is one measure of a useful goal.

Will it happen?? I have no idea. Will Drew and/or Nathan cooperate? Well, this is my goal, not theirs, so there is no pressure on them. I must say, though, I hope their musical taste improves by the time they plan the reception.



I think about this goal a bit during almost every run I make. And it came home in a fascinating way yesterday. We attended the wedding of the daughter of long-time friends yesterday. As family friends, they invited our son, daughter-in-law and their three munchkins as well. When we got to the ceremony, it worked out that the twins sat with Gretchen and me. Well, you can imagine the task of keeping two inquisitive 5 year-olds quiet during the solemnity of a wedding ceremony but it worked. At one point, Drew whispered to Gretchen "Grandma, someday I'm going to get married and then you can be my daughter." Huh?? Well, it made sense to him.

Yet, it was kind of mind-boggling to sit with these two little boys, fast-forwarding 15-20 years and imagine them marrying, much as I hit rewind remembering this bride's birth 22 years ago and seeing her now. That time will go quickly. And, if I can keep in shape, I'll be around to enjoy it.

And will I make it to their little sister's wedding too??


Persevere. In the short and long term.

Reestablishing Rhythm

ORN:  3.3 miles, R3/W1, 34:15

 

After a late-night ending to a Super Bowl gathering, it was nice to get out and run early this morning. It was also nice to run on dry pavement...a bit of a warming trend over the weekend melted the snow pack on the streets. 

 

(<i>Football comment: With the exception of the Dorito's Crystal Ball commercial, the ads were lame.  The football was pretty good. Probably the way it should be.</i>)

 

What has struck me refreshingly over the past week is the simple joy of running pain free.  Having focused a lot on the left ITB discomfort since Memphis, I had failed to acknowledge some sharp pain in both ankles.  I guess I didn't want to admit that hurt too.  About 2 weeks ago, I noticed the ankle pain was gone.  On Saturday, I ran 5.5 miles with no twinges at all.  This morning, I rolled out and did 3+ with a focus on form and just the pure joy of running without pain.  On top of that, the work schedule has calmed and the runs are now more regular.  Starting this week, I slowly start ramping up the mileage for one and maybe two spring races.

 

All of this made me realize afresh the simple discipline of running.  Doing it regularly.  Doing it joyfully.  Doing it with a clear mind, which allows one to explore other things in the time alone.  Relaxing in the nested rhythms of the run.  The rhythm of motion of running.  The rhythm (for me) of the run/walk.  The rhythm of the week (short runs weekdays, long run weekend).  The rhythms of the seasons.

 

It's good to get back to a sense of rhythm.  

 

Persevere.   

 

A Most Enjoyable Run

ORN: 3.1 miles, 32:34, R3/W1, 10:31/mile

This morning’s run was something special.

Not that the run itself was remarkable; a very humble (though pain-free) three miler.

But it showed much of why I enjoy running.

You see, this week has been hectic. Four of my five work days have been 16-18 hours long. The tension, particularly yesterday, has been very real. Not bad tension; we’re grappling with some very good problems to have. Yet it has been long and intense and draining.

Wednesday night, as a meeting moved well past 10pm, I said to myself “I gotta get out and run tomorrow.” But that meeting motored well past 11 and it was midnight before I could get to bed, exhausted. Thursday night’s event continued past 10pm again, but this time I said “I don’t care; I’m up and running on Friday morning.”

So I did. Into a relatively balmy 36F morning, with the wind-chills oh-so-comfortable at 20F, I walked out the door. And as I quickly fell into the routine on my favorite Cumberland Woods route, I thought about why I find running so enjoyable.

The quiet. The time alone. The steady pat-pat-pat of feet. The winter morning dark which cuts out most other distractions. The repetition of a consistent pattern.

I don’t worship running. But I do find it a spiritual discipline, a regular practice in which I can reflect, pray, contemplate more important things. All of which happened this morning in a special way.

Persevere.

New running resource; thinking about shoes

ORN: 5.2 miles, R3/W1

During December, I had a nice set of email exchanges with Marius Bakken, a member of the Norwegian Olympic team in 2000 and 2004 at 5,000m. He’s finishing medical school now and has started up two websites. We had a wonderful exchange and I think he adds to our knowledge, both as an elite runner and as a physician.

His first site is about our omnipresent challenge of selecting running shoes, while a second site is about marathon training plans. You may find it useful; I sure have.

All of which has caused me to wonder just why it is so hard to find a good shoe that works over the long haul. This has come back to my mind as I fight my current ITB issue. In my five mile run this afternoon, the ITB started rumbling at me again right at the five mile mark. Are my long-term trusted Brooks Beasts no longer adequate? Will I get to run a pain-free 10 miler anytime soon??

In my discussions of this matter with Marius, I wondered if there is a simpler way of diagnosing pronation. I’ve learned, with the help of the great folks from Naperville Running Company (a tip of the running cap to my pal Waddler for connecting me to them) that the wear pattern on the shoes I’m wearing now tell the best story of how well my shoes are or aren’t working. A wear pattern tailing to a take-off point at or inside the big toe is a sure sign of overpromation. Conversely, a wear pattern that moves to outside of the middle toe shows underpronation. Further, I’ve come to believe that a good shoe will compensate for my natural biomechanics and present a “normalized” approach to the pavement below. If that works, the wear pattern should be neutral. Somehow, finding the best running shoe should be experimental not theoretical.

Yet I’ve never read this or seen this clearly stated anywhere. In fact, it was only after years of running I ever could figure out just what “pronate” meant. I suggested Marius consider this in his new site…perhaps he will. In the meantime, living over three hours away from a competent running store, I feel a little stuck in shoe selection. Further, any experimenting with shoes is expensive. For a lumpy, large, overpronater like me, decent shoes run in the $120-140 range.

Do I look at the Mizuno Wave Renegade 4? The Asics Evolution 4? Or the seemingly invisible Loco Mojo?? Or persevere with the current pain with my trusted Brooks Beasts?

I overthink these things when I run. My wife is so grateful that I have a blog to blather on over such things, thus sparing her hours of boredom. Thanks for any thoughts and advice you might have.

And, shoot, how lucky can I be that overpronation is one of my big concerns?? I have nothing to be concerned about. At all. And I am grateful.

Persevere. Through issues big and small.

2009 Running Plans

ORN: 6.2 miles, R3/W1

I’ve been holding off publishing any plans for 2009. I knew what I wanted to do but wasn’t sure at all what I could do.

Since mile 16 of the Memphis Marathon on December 6, my left ITB has been bugging me. It’s been coming and going but always seemed to wake up in a bad mood somewhere around 8 miles into a run. A week ago, I did some speed work with no problems but only did 6 miles total. So, what would happen today when I went out for a 16 miler?

As usual, it went wonderfully for the early part of the run. Unfortunately, just shy of 6 miles, the left ITB started barking again and it became quickly evident the problem remains. I was near home, so I just shut down the run at 10km.

So, while I had previously looked at three marathons which were all nearby and conveniently scheduled this spring, I’m going to scale back and target a single half-marathon, the Geist Half Marathon on May 16 just north of Indy. This will let me scale back the mileage but maintain a target. From my log last year, that could well help. If the leg feels better, I could throw in a couple of other races but I’m not committed to such a plan yet.

It also fits with my long-term running goals about which I have not written here but will in the next few weeks.

I’m actually pretty happy with this plan. So, here we go.

Persevere.

A Review of 2008

ORN: 5.2 miles, 52:18, R3/W1, 10:04/mile

The drive home from Huntsville, Alabama a little over a year ago was a long one and not just because of 9+ hours in the car. My much-anticipated run in the Rocket City Marathon had gone very badly and I beat myself up quite a bit on the first half of that drive. I finally did start to think more proactively, and published my thoughts at the time here.

Therefore, it was a treat to reflect on 2008 during this morning’s simple 5 miler.

Modifying my general running goal to “Run the Best Race Conditions Allow” really was huge, more than I even anticipated. I went into each of the nine races I ran this year with a rational plan, based on my conditioning and understanding of the weather. In all but one case, I executed the plan; my serious bonk in the US Air Force Marathon was a wonderful teacher, despite the major errors I made there.

The other key element for 2008 was to make races more frequent so I would not pin particular hopes too highly on any one of them. This went wonderfully. Timing shifted such that I ran 5 half marathons in 9 weeks in the spring…what a hoot that was. Three marathons fell onto the schedule for the fall and I felt like I am now just starting to scratch the surface of what this distance can teach. Then, sandwiched between, was an amazing 6 hour trail run on July 5, covering 27.5 miles of humid Indiana woodland. That race was a treat…and I may well do it again next summer.

The log shows 1,116 miles for the year. Not a lot of miles; lower than both my 2005 and 2006 totals. But I did it injury-free with more races and more fun. Not a bad combo.

It was a good year and I’m very thankful to have the time and the health to keep on running. I’m incredibly thankful for this wonderful “virtual community” of distance runners. Your friendship and interest means so much to me!! I wish the very best for 2009 to you and yours as we all persevere.