Ice on the road, Ice on the leg

My right thigh was really hurting today. I am really fighting off a screaming, kicking, temper tantram over this injury. This began as a mild ache about 2 weeks before the Disney marathon. I didn't run any significant miles for those 2 weeks for fear of having problems in the race. During the marathon I didn't feel it at all. I took it easy for the week following the marathon and still had no pain. At some point the mild ache began again and it built into the full out pain it is now. I DON'T HAVE TIME TO BE INJURED! I should be logging quality miles now. My running club has begun the weekend long runs again and it looks like I will have to skip this weekends gathering. That pisses me off! OK Willie, get control, breath..... breath.... take a time out.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. So in Oklahoma I am learning that we get more ice than snow but it is still pretty to see the ground covered. The ice really sucks and some of the drivers seem to lose their minds when their tires slip a little.

What's a runner to do when there is ice on the ground and ice on his leg? Go shoe shopping! I am due for another hit on the old shoe store crack pipe so I let myself go today. Running stores are a dangerous place for me and I have a dealer around the corner that has financed an empire on what I spend in his store. I tried on the Brooks Adrenaline 8, Ohhhh that's nice! I also tried the Asics 2330, Uhhhh even better. Can I try a hit of those Brooks Trance 7's?? Oh your so good to me! Stock up on som Gu for those long runs, check out the selection of shorts and tank-tops while dreaming of hot summer treks along the lake and I'm good for a few weeks. My only problem is which shoes to go with. Any suggestions? I am in Brooks now and liked them at first but the fit seemed to change after a few hundred miles and not they don't feel right. I had some Asics before this and they fit like a glove but I was unsure about the support they were giving me. If anyone has suggestions (of course you do, what runner doesn't have an opinion about shoes!) I would love to hear them.

Pilates kicked my butt again tonight. I did the whole routine and am beginning to like the blond again. She seemed nicer tonight, I must have gotten to her last night. We'll have to see how our third date goes, I think that's the reconing point of any relationship. B.T.W. my dog Missy decided to do them with me tonight. She enjoyed laying on my neck and licking my face as I suffered but I think she got a good workout anyway.

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Just when things are going well....

A mild ache in my right thigh turned into a screaming pain along my entire inner thigh tonight. THIS SUCKS! I am feeling great, I have a brand-spanking new marathon training plan which I followed for a whole week, and now something hurts. Went out for a 6 mile speedworkout tonight and made it a mile before I gave in and turned around. I am trying to stay positive; I have 13 weeks to the marathon so I should fix this now and not let it linger. Lot's of ice, rest and my new adventure......... Pilates!

That's right, I am going to start Pilates so I can strengthen my core (first I have to find it). After my disappointing run tonight I came home and fired up the DVD to start my new found pain-inducing routine. The cute blond was nice enough at first, but then she turned ugly. Why do we have to do 10 reps of the things that hurt and only 3 reps of the things I like! Oh, and she was able to talk and give "encouragement" while doing the "twist-yourself-in-half-and-lift-your-right-leg-and-cough" torture manuever! I am now firmly against the water-boarding technique because I think I did it at some point tonight. This s**t hurts! I found myself thinking that I wanted to take this little blond out for a 20 mile run in July and see how she does... Yea take that! Not so easy is it! I might have a weak core but I can run your core into the ground buddy!

Ok so Pilates didn't go so well at first. It really was a good workout and I am sure it will benefit my running. Now if I can only get this leg healed quickly so I can reap the benefits.

Just so I don't leave you on a down beat I'll mention that my son ran with me tonight. YEA! He is 13 and wants to run cross-country next year. He really ran well tonight making it 2 miles in much less pain than me. Maybe I won't lose touch with him during those dreaded teenage years after all! Let's hope

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Finally a day of rest.

Roy 'Tin Cup' McAvoy: Okay, so how do I do it? Therapy, I mean, I mean, wh-- how do I start doing it?
Dr. Molly Griswold: Ooo-kay, Roy. Well, in parlance you might understand, just kick back and let the big dog eat.
Roy 'Tin Cup' McAvoy: Suppose there's this guy, and he's standing on the shore of a big wide river, and the... river's full of all manner of disaster, you know, piranhas, alligators, eddies, currents, shit like that... nobody'll even go down there to dip a toe. And on the other side of the river's a million bucks, and on this side of the river... is a rowboat.
Dr. Molly Griswold: Mm-hmm?
Roy 'Tin Cup' McAvoy: I guess my question's this: What would possess the guy standing on the shore to swim for it?
Dr. Molly Griswold: He is an idiot.
Roy 'Tin Cup' McAvoy: No, see, he's a helluva swimmer. His problem's more like why does he always have to... rise to the challenge?
Dr. Molly Griswold: He is a juvenile idiot.
Roy 'Tin Cup' McAvoy: You don't understand what I mean by the river.
Dr. Molly Griswold: Roy, we're talking about you, and what you like to call your inner demons -- that human frailty you like to blather about -- not some mythopoetic metaphor you come up with in a... feeble and transparent effort to do yourself credit.
Roy 'Tin Cup' McAvoy: You mean you're going to make me feel lousy?
Dr. Molly Griswold: No.
Roy 'Tin Cup' McAvoy: I came here to feel better. I mean, what kind of therapy is...
Dr. Molly Griswold: Roy, Roy, Roy, you don't have any inner demons. What you have is inner crapola, inner debris... garbage... loose wires, a few... [laughs]
Dr. Molly Griswold: horseshit in staggering amounts.

No running today per my new marathon training schedule. YEA!! I have run everyday since Friday and my legs are tired! Don't you love the quote above? I can relate to the inner demons. Why is it that I just can't accept that my failings are due to something explainable and realistic. I guess I love the idea that there is still some romantic, mythological forces at play in the world today. What fun is it to live in a world where everything is explainable and understood? I want to believe in fate and destiny and things beyond my control. Serendipity! I want heroes that overcome unbelievable obstacles, who can leap tall buildings in a single bound, who can defeat the monsters and save the world!

Then again, I also like to have someone around who knows and loves me enough to tell me when I'm full of #$%@......

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See Willie Blown Away

Wiiiiiiinnnnndddddyyy today! Ran 6 easy miles today with a friend from work. He is training for his first marathon and we have decided to run on Monday's together after work. I thought this would be great, I could help him along in his training and get some company on my easy runs. Well somewhere about mile 4 he let it slip that he ran a 12K leg of a marathon relay last year and averaged 6:30/mile! OK, so I can't be much help to him since he can run circles around me and I have gained nothing but someone ELSE to try and keep up with. So much for easy runs on Monday's!

Being an engineer I couldn't help but try to calculate an equivalent pace for running 8:20/mile into a 30 mph headwind (how big a geek am I, right). After much mental effort I decided that if I just turn around and run with the wind for awhile at the same effort I could probably get an accurate estimate of the answer from my Garmin 205 (God bless GPS). The problem with that is trying to maintain equal effort with a tailwind. It is very hard to hold yourself back when you are being pushed along by tornadic winds. I have never been that great a judging effort anyway. I know there are some runners and running programs that base training on perceived effort instead of a precise goal pace per mile but I would really suck at those! I am one of those runners that can run an easy 7:30 pace one day or run a hard 9:00 pace on another. Maybe that is my body speaking to me but sometimes it's hard to find an explanation for the difference in pace.

Since I really enjoy laughing at myself I will post for the world an example of how my mind works, or, in this case, doesn't work. I ran a 5K race this weekend here in my wonderful adopted hometown. I am NOT a 5K'er. Way to short for someone as slow as me, but it was for a good cause and I had friends that were running it so I thought I would use it for some speed work. My best 5K was 20:18 which I ran last fall on a relatively flat course here in the wonderfully-pancake-like terrain of Oklahoma. Although I don't do 5K's normally, this time was close enough to 20 minutes that I now have a goal of breaking 20 minutes. It's not something I am actively training for but I want to do it someday. Anyway, I started this race on Saturday and felt pretty good. My trusty Garmin was indicating a 6:33 pace at the 1/2 mile point so my 20 minute goal idea popped into my head. OK as I write this next part, I want you to remember that I am an engineer and I perform hundreds of complex calculations everyday at work. So I am about a mile into this race and I am trying to figure out what pace I need to run to break 20 minutes for a 5K. After much mis-guided thought, I determine that I only need to run 6:40 per mile to finish right at 20 minutes. So I figure I'm ahead of pace! yea for me! I can slow up some, this is easy. I go through mile 1 at 6:33, mile 2 at 13:01 (OK I still didn't get it yet figure I can coast to the finish right?). For the last mile I didn't check my watch and concentrated on running hard since the last mile had some rolling hills. (This is the really funny part) I checked my split at mile 3 which told me a ran a 6:49 and I was ecstatic! I'm gonna make it. What I failed to look at was my total time (which are the biggest number on my watch, but hey, I was happy) which at mile 3 must have been 19:50 giving me 10 seconds to run the last .1 miles! Since the finish was at the top of a hill and around a corner from the 3 mile mark I was able to live in my happy-fantasy world until I rounded the corner. At that point, I was dashed against the rocks of reality when I saw, in large red number, something like 20:40 on the race clock! I was totally bummed! How could I be so dumb. Then I remember who I was dealing with and chalked it up to another fine day in the life of Willie.

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Love the OKC Landrunners Club

Ran a total of 12 miles today. Did 10 of it with the OKC Landrunners marathon training group. We averaged under 8 minutes/mile for the 10 miles. That is fast for me but I felt good so I stayed with them. I am constantly amazed at how different it is to run with others as compared to running alone. Sometimes I can run alone and feel like I am really cruising along when really I am not training as hard as I should. Having a group to push you really helps you get out of your comfort zone.

Well this is my first attempt at a blog. I would like to capture my thoughts and feelings as I train for and complete marathons. It has always troubled me to leave some great thoughts out on the road after a run. I have always wanted to capture those and get them out to the world. Maybe I won't change anything, maybe I can't create world peace from my sometimes random, sometimes off-the-wall, chains-of-thought, but maybe I can gain some insight into who I am and maybe you can relate too. That is enough.