This Running Life

With running, that is. When did it click with you? At what instance did you realize that you had fallen for running, were determined to become a runner and run in road races? In short, when did the warm fuzzies for running begin? For me it was last spring. I had just returned to running for health matters and I can recall now that there was something of a courtship that occurred during those early days. Was running “right” for me? Did I see this relationship growing? Did I still get those excited feelings when it was time to run? Now, don’t get me wrong. I still love running and most of my struggle is geting up at insanely early hours to get runs in (4:50 AM insane!) But once on the road, I am in my own world or some podcaster’s world and love it.

But when I look back on those early days of running I recall a distinctly good feeling about what I was doing–an attraction, even. It was brand new. I scoured the internet reading all sorts of running blogs and web sites. I subscribed to Runners World! When I fall for something, and get really into it, I devour information, ask tons of questions, observe runners, their attire, gear, their habits. It all seems old hat now, but ten it was fresh, new, and yes, a bit seductive.

Just want to let you all know that I purchased my own domain. This blog will soon appear on http://www.runtodisney.com.

Believe it or not, there is another dude with runningtodisney.com. He is doing the same thing I am–training for the Disney races. Weird. Blogger will redirect everyone to the new domain in a few days.

One of the reasons for the change is that I am really seriously thinking about starting a podcast. Doing something like Marathon Chris does sounds a lot like fun–if I could only get my kids to speak on tape!

Had another great run on Sunday the 17th. Eight more miles. This time I felt stronger than in the first 8-miler. I also ran it about 3 minutes faster, at a 12:50 pace. While I didn’t have a bunch of negative splits, I did seem to alternate miles in the 12s and 13s. That is, one mile would be 12:30, the other 13:20, and this pattern continued for the entire run. Some of this had to do with picture taking. I’ve been wanting to take my camera and snap a few shots of my route for you. So, I’ve posted a few of them below. Between the two 8-milers, I had an up-and-down week. My Tuesday run was interrupted by intestinal problems most likely resulting in eating chili the night before. Note to self: no more chili on run eves.

This is Deborah Drive in Monroe with the sun peaking up after night of rainfall. One of the roads I run on. Lovely neighborhood. I don’t live there. The rent’s a little too high for college professors in the humanities, but I drive to my health club, park, and run from there. My neighborhood is too close to busy streets and I want to live.

Above is Island Drive in Monroe. This is the really high rent district. I may be a “Doctor” but not the right kind of Doctor to live here. Which reminds me of a New yorker cartoon from years ago. One panel, a maitre’d is on the phone taking a reservation and says something like, “Table for two, Dr. Jones. Now are you a real doctor or just a Ph.D.?” This is a beautiful street and from this view if you looked to the left, you will see a pretty bayou.

Here is the bayou. Nice, eh? This was a lovely Sunday morning and I was 6 miles into the 8 mile run.

Well, I finally broke the 8 mile barrier on Feb. 10. I had run 7.5 last summer on the eve of the Achilles/Calf injury but never got above that distance–until now. I finally met and exceeded the 8 mile mark. In short, the run was great. I started slow and built up a string of negative splits. Other than a slight break at mile 4 to return to my car and shed clothing as the sun came up–and ditch an iPod I forgot to charge– I ran pretty solid.

Here are my splits:
13:45
13:04
12:53
14:32 (break at car to shed clothes)
13:16
13:04
12:22
11:41
Total 1:45

I felt pretty good about this. I had strength at the end, although my legs and ankles were wondering what I was doing to them.

I am now at the point where 13 doesn’t seem so far away. 26.2? That’s another issue entirely!

Because of the weather, and because I despise treadmill running, I was only able to run once this week, on Friday. I did a nice three-miler and felt good. No issues. I can really feel the difference when I keep my HR down and keep a steady pace while doing these base miles. I am kinda following Galloway’s walk break plan, and taking a quick walk break every half mile or so.

It has been colder than usual down here this winter. Typically, in Louisiana, you might get 3 days of highs in the 40s, followed by a week of 60s. But January has been consistently colder than previous years. I am a man who loves bundling up in cold weather. But that was before I started running at 5:30 AM! Now I am favoring milder temps.

I forgot to tell you, but over the Christmas break I was visiting relatives and went to Destin, FL to a HUGE outlet complex. There was a Saucony outlet store there and I bought a Hind Go.2 Jacket. (Hind is owned by Saucony–who knew?). This is a wind and water resistant jacket that has really performed well. If is is in the 30s, I can wear 2 t shirts under it and feel no cold after I’ve run for a mile. Or I can wear an Under Armour cold gear shirt under it for temps in the 20s. Very nice. I bought it on sale for 79 dollars. (That’s right, the regular price was 138) What a bargain. (he said with tongue in cheek)

Here is a pic. Mine is red and black, nicer looking than the one shown.

I forgot to write earlier that I purchased Jeff Galloway’s book “Marathon: You Can Do it” at a running store in Birmingham, while visiting my parents over the holidays. I am just sitting down to read it, so don’t tell me how it ends. Will our hero finish the Disney Marathon? Will his Achilles flare up and put him on the shelf–again? Stay tuned.

I was listening to Fdip while on my Thursday run and Steve spoke about being part of something bigger when you run. I believe it. I was thinking today about Steve’s comments, that while I run alone (like Steve Runner) I am part of a bigger movement, something that attracts millions of people to do crazy things to their bodies. If you had told me two years ago that I would want to run 26.2 miles, I’d have told you you were crazy. Now it draws me. The feeling that we strive toward this goal in a collective sense, and share pain and pride together, even if from afar and only on the Internet, is a remarkable thing. So, I am proud to share this love and vision for running with you all.

We are still on the road visiting family for Christmas. Last week was my wife’s family. This week, mine. I am road weary. Not much time to myself, falling behind on manuscript revisions (which will be late now) and visiting family and friends each day. In short, I am tired.

I have worked in some 3-mile runs on every other day. Just nice and easy base miles. I’ll run tomorrow morning, then again on Sunday. Then I’ll most likely not run for at least a week since we’ll be at Disney world. I’ll get my miles in, but they’ll be walking!