This Running Life

Why I run, Why I believe

13 Sep 2007
“A marathon is like life with its ups and downs, but once you’ve done it you feel that you can do anything.” –unknown

“We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.” –Emil Zatopek

I was surfing the web, googling anything that came to my mind, when I thought about sharing with you a couple of running quotes that resonated with me.

At first I had no attraction to the marathon. I had settled on a half, 13.1 miles seemed doable. But 26.2 looked like a lot! The more I ran,however, progressing from a fight to complete 4, to running 8 and feeling like I could go farther; the more I got energized about that really long 26 miles. There is at once something inherently crazy and admirable about marathoners. Former NFL player (Minnesota Vikings) Alan Page said running a marathon was like playing a football game where hitting was allowed ONLY below the waist. This guy was tough, and he felt like that!?

But I am drawn to this culture of running and the subculture of the marathon. I want to experience this—I think.

But I also equate the marathon with my spirituality. My faith looks a lot like a marathon. From the descriptions I hear of the various stages of a marathon and what the mind and body go through, I really cannot help but think of my faith. Start out with faith and optimism, find fatigue along the early going. Hit some short but scalable walls in the middle, go through hell in mile 21, experience doubts and second guessing along the way–even to the point of panic–cry a little , laugh a little, and struggle to finish. All the while you have run a course, with all your might, failing and succeeding at various times and places, but holding fast to a vision of the finish line and of an eternal reward. For Christians, eternity with the Creator. For marathoners, the right to say that you have conquered 26.2 miles and knowing that you have done something few other people have. For the believing marathoner, a double benefit of eternity and marathon completion!
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I’m afraid

11 Sep 2007
I’ll admit that as the date for my running re-start approaches, I have been hit with all sorts of anxiety. Will I be fully recovered? Have I sat out long enough? What if I “feel” something while I run?

I’m a little afraid of feeling or experiencing the worst case scenario of more pain. Of course, my “trainer” (who happens to be the person who finished 12th in the world in the Olympic Distance triathlon in 40-44 age group. Way to go Lisa!) says to take it real slow. Go to a track, run the straights, walk the curves. The track surface is flat, stable, and will allow me to get back slowly. I’ll do this for a couple of weeks. (I don’t know how long I’ll walk the curves, though.)

I am eager to return to running. I really want to do the St Jude’s half on Dec 1 (see my countdown clock?) and become a St. Jude “hero” and raise money for my run for the hospital. So say a little prayer, mostly that I remain healthy and forget this anxiety junk and am able to run this great race for an even greater cause.

By the way–Polar foot pod arrives today, which happens to be my wife’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Marie! You are “thirty-something years old!
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Where have I been?

8 Sep 2007
That was the question posed to me by a good friend last night at a football game. She reads the blog and hasn’t seen a new entry in some time. It has been a while, no? I have some good reasons for not posting. First, I’ve taken over as a department head at my university and have been swamped. Things are settling down now, but for the past couple of weeks, it was rough. Second, not running for 3 weeks now has left me with little to say about running. I went today to our local Race for the Cure, but did not run, only watching some friends complete their races. I wish I would have stayed home. One more week and I can try to run again.

I did order the foot pod for the polar heart monitor that I have been using. No more charting courses on google pedometer to get my miles in. Now I just fire that baby up and let it calculate my distance, pace per mile, and coordinate with the HR data already collected by the chest strap.

In lieu of running, I have done lots of spin classes at my health club. I also started twice weekly “body pump” workouts. This is an hour-long class that works the whole body with low weights and HIGH reps, while at the same time elevating your HR to give you a solid aerobic workout. It has done wonders for my “muscle tone” and for my knees. We do lots of squats and lunges, which hurt like nobody’s business at first. Now my knees are without pain as I climb stairs.

Not having run for almost a month now has allowed me to work on weak spots of my fitness, to recover sore parts of my body, and to remind myself (as one commenter put it) that running should be treated as a practice, not a tool to get fit, or a chore to complete. I think that when I return, my mind will better appreciate the nuances of running, but also allow me to prioritize those things in my life that need more attention. And there’s no better time to think about those things than while running!

I have also returned to yoga class on Fridays and try to stretch the calves twice a day in anticipation of running again.

Here is a shout out to Amy, who tells me she has this linked (yea!) and to Kelle another friend who isn’t sure what a blog is. I’ll link her here but first I’ll plug her store: Eskamoes Frozen Custard. Custard is creamier than ice cream and tastes so good, I am positive that it is stuff I am not allowed to have. (I do sneak a bite of my kids’ ‘moes from time to time.)
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I hate it when that happens

21 Aug 2007
It wasn’t an hour after I posted my last dispatch about the 30 day hiatus, that I flipped the TV to BBC America, which was showing “Chariots of Fire.” I want to go run anytime I see that movie. And my spirituality is always encouraged by the story and by Eric Liddell’s words. There is a scene where he is explaining why he has to run and win. “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.” Man oh man! I was a wreck. So inspiring, yet maddening. I want to run again, to feel that pleasure. To feel my body grow and groan and fight. I found myself watching the movie and thinking about THEIR Achilles, THEIR knees. Did they hurt? Did they fight through the pain? Will I ever be as graceful as they?

And how about this Liddell line from the movie:

“Lord Cadogan: Don’t be impertinent, Liddell!
Eric Liddell: The impertinence lies, sir, with those who seek to influence a man to deny his beliefs!”
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On the shelf, part II

19 Aug 2007
Well. Apparently my rest and recovery for the achilles pain was not enough. The pain came back. Now the pain was nothing like the first time it hit me, but I also haven’t run more than three miles since returning to the road. I spoke with a dear friend of mine, who conveniently happens to be a doctor, and he confirmed what I thought all along: overuse. My 40 year old tendons are struggling to keep up with the rest of my body. Here’s the good news: the pain I suffer is nowhere near my heel, which is where most ruptures occur, so he thinks that the chances for an achilles rupture are slim, given where the pain starts and ends (at the junction of the achilles, soleus and gastroc muscles–what you might call mid-calf–and ends some three inches at least above the heel). So I guess I got that going for me.

What now? Rest. One month cold turkey from running, and following low-stress exercises: cycle, swim, elliptical. And a lot of stretching and weights for the entire body.

If I lay off running for a month, could I still make the December 1st St. Jude’s half marathon, at least? I think the marathon is definitely out. But the half may be a possibility.

I guess we all have to deal with injuries and setbacks in our running, but I hate that I have to. I was really hitting my stride, so to speak. It felt great to be part of this community of runners. I felt IN and alive again. Now i feel OUT and damaged. My spirituality has to treat this as a lesson in not making any one thing a god to me. The irony is that some of my most poignant spiritual moments in the last 6 months have come on the road, as the sun rises and dogs bark, and a song on my iPod urges me to think of or pray for another. Working out on an elliptical trainer watching the early news somehow just doesn’t have the same feel.
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3d day–no pain on the treadmill

10 Aug 2007
Just finished my 3-mile run. This is the third day back running after achilles rest. Rainy and too hot outside so I ran on the treadmill. I did 3 miles, 12 minute pace. I felt good—there was no pain, but a little soreness in my calf from stretching and really working calves a great deal.

After my hydration problems from the other day, I went to a local bike shop and bought a Camelbak Blue Wave Hydration pack. It was 30% off, so for 20 bucks I guess I couldn’t go wrong. I had debated whether I should get the fanny pack or the backpack, but the backpack was 20 dollars cheaper and held 2 times as much water as the fanny pack, which held only 28 ounces. The one I bought holds 1.5 liters. It took a little getting used to, but I will find it easier to take this pack on an 8 mile run in August than planting water bottles all over my route.
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So far, so good—-and boy is it hot!

8 Aug 2007
Well, I had my second run back from achilles rest and recovery. Did just under three miles at 12 minutes pace. Felt better than Monday, but not perfect. Maybe I am expecting too much. Will I always have the achilles in the back of my mind? Will I always feel “something” there? Between wondering IF I actually feel something (let’s be clear: I feel NO pain) and dealing with my frostbit calf (which feels like a bad sunburn–you know how if you move or stretch after a sunburn, it feels like the skin is tight and “burning”? That’s how it feels back there. So it is hard for me to determine if my calf is tight or my skin is tight from frostbite.

But the larger issue is that I am running again, ever so slowly and patiently.

What I am feeling is HOT! Today at 6 am in Panama City Beach, Florida it was 80 degrees (F) and 96% humidity–before the sun had risen in full!!!!! I ran three and was totally drenched–as if I had jumped in the pool! I was seriously under-hydrated and got the dry-heaves when I got back to the condo. A boat load of water and I felt better. I plan on running the treadmill on Friday!

Can anyone recommend a good, light, hydration pack?
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Back, sort of

6 Aug 2007
First run in 2 weeks this morning. Ran just short of three miles. Stopped every mile to walk and stretch. I found myself favoring my hurt leg and really trying to feel anything at all. I felt something….not pain, not pulling, but kind of a tugging in the area…I think. I’m not sure if I had phantom pain, imagined pain, imagined something. It definitely did NOT hurt, but …

I iced it when I got home, took ibuprofen, stretched and haven’t felt any pain all day. I’ll rest tomorrow and do some elliptical, then run again on Wednesday. I believe my calves will be sore tomorrow, mainly from not running for so long. We’ll see.

I am at my in-laws’ beach front condo this week, and when I returned I grabbed what I thought was a slushy ice-bag from their freezer and wrapped it on my achilles with an ace bandage. I kept thinking that this really was cold, and later found that I had a mild case of frost bite!!!!! He had concocted a mix of slush and rubbing alcohol that did not freeze, but remained slushy but extremely cold. I now have a frost bit area on my lower calf. As Homer would say, doh!

I felt great otherwise. All this rest has really allowed those other areas of my body to recover. I feel ready to break out of this injury cocoon.
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Tomorrow!

5 Aug 2007
Well, my two-week forced-rest period is over and I run tomorrow! I am nervous and excited and anxious and ready to go. But I kind of don’t want to go because I am afraid I might feel pain again. It will be an easy three, with as many walk breaks as I need. Taking it sloooooooooowwwwwwww. I’m running nothing over 4 miles this week and will run two days, break, run two more, break, run two more.

Since the Disney Marathon weekend is out this year for me and my fmily, I am planning on running in Memphis at the St. Jude marathon. I am also seriously considering becoming a St. Jude Hero and commit to raising money for the hospital. I just want to be sure my achilles is okay.

I’ll report on tomorrow’s run. eep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer.
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Week 2, no running. I am going crazy

30 Jul 2007
Just completed my second visit to the massage therapist. He says my achilles and calf region looks all better. I have been stretching and getting back into my yoga and this had made the difference. I am still laying off running for another week to let it heal completely. But the wait is killing me. The elliptical trainer is fine and all, but it is no substitute for running. Doing thirty minutes on it feels like three hours: booring.

I did buy another pair of Brooks Trance, this time the on-sale Trance 6, which was 50 bucks off at http://www.runningwarehouse.com, plus FREE 2-day shipping. Can’t beat that. I’ll alternate the two pair of Brooks to extend their life, IF I can survive another boring elliptical week.

On the good news side, I found a wonderful podcast and blog this week: Running Adventure (http://marathonchris.blogspot.com). The podcast is called Running Adventure and can be found on iTunes. Check it out and tell Chris you enjoy it.
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On The Shelf

25 Jul 2007
Well, for the past couple of weeks I have run very few miles, primarily because my achilles has been acting up. Yesterday I went to a massage therapist who specializes in sports medicine-type injuries and he gave my entire lower left leg a workout. He thinks that since my calves are so developed, what he calls “football player calves” that the rest of my lower leg is unable to catch up, and he also contributes it to overuse–too many miles. So, no running for at least a week, if not two. On Sunday I ran 5 miles, testing the injury, which I though was better. But I ran with a faster group of guys and while I ran what was for me a fast 5 miles (53 min.) I aggravated the achilles once more.

So, no running, only elliptical and stretching.

By the way, when I do get to run the new Brooks shoes are awesome.
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