A New Hope? (Has that title been used before?)

Just because I have Bluetooth speaker shaped like the Millennium Falcon in the weight room, doesn't mean I can make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

I did have a pretty good week, though.  Ran 5 miles last Saturday, hilly 3 on Monday, and a relatively fast two on Thursday; lifted Sunday, Tuesday, Friday (today).

It's a long year ahead...but I haven't yet succumbed to the power of the Dark Side.

A Bunch of Stuff that I'm too Lazy to Think of a Witty Title For

• I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but there's only a few days left to enter the First Annual Earn Your Donuts Bad Race Photo Contest (Brought to You by Road ID). We've got two entries that I think are classics, but there's no other brave souls out there willing to make fun of yourself a little for a $35 Road ID Gift Certificate? Send in entries as instructed or leave a link to your photo in the comments, whichever's easier for you. Submissions will be accepted until 11:59PM ET on Monday, 2/27/2012.
  
  
• So, I guess I'll get the update on the Great Comeback of 2011 out of the way -- it's going fine. 3.1 miles on Monday in 28:28. I felt really great for the first two miles, as if all my mediocre powers had returned, and then kind of died at mile 3. Today was supposed to be running day, but I took a day off because I've felt sick with cold symptoms plus a huge headache all day. If I feel better tomorrow, I'll run 2 or 3 miles. If not, I'll probably just put it off to Saturday to get back on a regular schedule.
  
  
• I took the day of on Monday. We didn't do anything exciting, but it was a nice relaxing day. However, we did go to the gym that evening. I rode 6.5 miles on the bike in half an hour and did (ellipticalled?) 3.1 miles on the elliptical. I slept really well Monday night!
  
  
• I don't like to talk about my job very much on the blog, but on Tuesday, I had one of the worst days of work I've ever had in eight years of my job. It's pretty common for me to be stressed or burnt-out, but this day just left me really, really, angry...like "want to punch a wall angry". I know that doesn't end well, so instead, I took my frustration out in the weight room, and let's just say that I should lift every time I'm really mad about something. Increased weight in everything. Note to self: download a bunch of older Metallica albums for the full angry lifting effect.
  
  
• I went my first of four personal training sessions at the Y later on Tuesday night. It's more of an informational session/orientation than a real workout, or I wouldn't have lifted before. This evening's session was an introduction to all the leg machines, and let's just say that I was a little sore today just from the one set of everything that I did. Leg press, leg curls, leg extensions, calf raise machine, hip abductor, hip adductor (don't ask me to remember which is which!).
  
  I've barely done any legwork at all (Except, you know, running), so I think this will make a big difference in improving my endurance. Hopefully will make me a little quicker, too. (There'll be some instruction -- which I need! -- on free weight leg exercises, too, but that's a later session).

(It's not a very good picture,
but I was trying to be sneaky so that I didn't look creepy.)

• This has been another pretty boring entry. You know what that means: ADORABLE KITTENS!!!
  

(Carl, the orange tabby, and PT, the brown and white tabby,
were two of my pals from the Adoption Center at Petsmart.
Luckily, they've both found homes.)

Reset

Approximately three months ago, I finished a marathon. Right now, I could possibly run five miles if the living dead were after me, unless of course they were Kenyan zombies. I've run three 3-milers, and I'm trying a four-mile "long run" on Saturday, so we'll see how that goes.

It's frustrating, especially as the marathon that I was training for approaches. I'll probably sign up for the 8K so that I feel welcome at the post-race party, but it's hard to get excited for that when I ran the same marathon last year and ran 10 miles three or 4 times a week last summer. Basically, it's like I've gone back in time three years in my running career.

In another sense, though, I'm seeing it as a positive: a chance to correct some of the many mistakes I've made. I can do the leg exercises I should have been doing all along; I can do some speedwork; and most importantly, maybe I can get the fun back. I enjoy running, don't get me wrong, but as I trained for Philly it felt more and more like something I had to do, rather than something I wanted to. I enjoyed some of those long runs, but others were just torturous. I am -- barring injury, I always have to say -- going to run in the 2013 Shamrock Marathon, but on the way back up marathon shape I want to try to pay attention to what distances I actually enjoy the most. 26.2 isn't something I wanted to just "check off a bucket list", but right now I don't see myself as a guy who's going to want to run multiple marathons every year or even one every year. That said...I think I can make marathon training a little less daunting if I can make myself stronger.

I've been running at the indoor track at the Y, since I can hit the stationary bike afterward and burn some more calories, and it's given me a chance to watch other people running. I observed a runner on Saturday who was just running with a completely effortless stride (and lapping everyone). On the other hand, I've found that I really don't feel very light on my feet most of the time when I run. Sure, some runs are better than others, but I need to put more spring in my step. The Supernova Sequences have been pretty good to me, but maybe it's time to try another shoe. More importantly, I want to do a better job lower-body weightlifting and core strength, and maybe I need to play around with changing my stride (I feel more powerful at 1-mile pace than normal pace...but I guess that's the point?). Since I'm just starting to run after a layoff, it's hard to tell if the body-weight exercises I've been doing are helping, but I know I need to do more. If I can make my legs stronger, and every stride more powerful, these long runs won't be so bad.

On the positive side, though, I've been eating a lot better and my weight's moving in the right direction -- it's only been two weeks, I know! -- and I've done a great job lifting since the end of November. Other than my reduced mileage, I actually feel better overall than I have in a long time. But my mileage is greatly reduced, and I think a re-setting of goals is in order.

Previous 2012 running/fitness goals:

1. 5:59 or better mile.

2. 22:59 or better 5K

3. 4:50 marathon

4. 10 races total

5. Lift weights 3x/week

New 2012 running fitness goals:

1. Half marathon in the fall. There are several we're considering in October.

2. 5:59 mile -- with no marathon likely to be on my schedule this year, this is the holy grail. I'll be training myself up to a half so I can't totally forsake distance, but I need to shave 21 seconds off of my one-mile PR to do this. Hello, speedwork.

3. Rediscover the fun -- I know this is vaguely defined, but this is important and I think my other goals line up with this. With a half on the horizon instead of a full, I don't need to worry about torturous summer mileage as much as I did in 2011. I hope to run 5Ks, 8Ks, 10Ks and a half this year. I can may more attention to whether I enjoy shorter, faster training runs for the 5Ks or longer, more peaceful runs as I build distance back up.

4. Make legs stronger -- more lower-body strength training. Since I do so little of this now, I think it will make a huge difference.

5. Bench press my own body weight -- I've been doing well with lifting, but I've never been able to do this. (I probably could have a few years ago if I'd had a spotter). I can help myself with this not only by sticking with lifting, but by making myself lighter, too! I'd like my weight to be in the low-to-mid 130s, I should be able to bench that.

6. New 5K PR -- I'm not sure about this one and I'm not going to sweat it too much if it doesn't happen. I think it will take me awhile to get my speed back. Having a goal will make the 5K schedule more fun, but I'm usually fastest in the cold and I don't want to kill myself racing for PR in November or December because...

7. Get back to the Shamrock Marathon in 2013 -- I want to do everything I can to make sure I'm healthy and ready for marathon training. As long as I'm up to 14 or 15 miles by the end of the year, I know I'll feel ready. But I'd not going to unduly risk injury by going for broke at Celtic Solstice or Jingle Bell. I have no aspiration of Boston (although I was really fired-up after my first run last Saturday and I was thinking "I'm going to come back!"; "I'm going to run marathons again"; "I'm going to Boston...wait..ok, dial that one back), so this is my Boston. 26.2 miles in Virginia Beach on Sunday, March 17. Everything other running goal needs to lead up to that. My fall race strategy, strength training, speedwork. I'm entered in this race and can't defer again.

So, this is like a new beginning for me (hence the redecorating). I want to re-capture the joy of running, but I also want to correct the mistakes of the past. I'm very motivated to make a good running year out of this mess. I'm also angry at myself, which will help me keep that motivation. If I can parallel 2009, in which I ran my first 10K in the spring and half in the fall, I'll be very happy.

Oh yeah, and I'd be remiss if I didn't remind you to enter the First Annual Earn Your Donuts Bad Race Photo Contest (Brought to you by Road ID) for a chance to win a $35 Road ID gift card.

Random

So, I've got a couple things to write about, but no ideas for a coherent blog post. So, you get bullet points:

Losin' It

• "The Battle of the Bulge", as described in last Friday's post seems to have gotten off to a decent start. I've lost just over 4 pounds since last Thursday night. Now, I know there's often a big loss the first week of a diet, but I think I did pretty well in eating less during the day (salads for lunch, no salty snacks or desserts during the day) and working out every day this week. I can tell I'm eating less because I'm actually finding myself feeling hungry, rather than just eating because it's time to eat or because I loooooooove eating. Good start, but gotta stick with it...
  

Running/Fitness

• I'm going to go running tomorrow. I have no idea what to expect or what goals to set, I just know I'm going running for the first time in over a month. I'm excited, but also nervous. The shinsplits on the right leg seem better, but I'm hoping I can tell pretty quickly whether the Left Leg Mystery Bump is going to be problem, rather than something that isn't noticeable until I get the mileage back up. If it needs further treatment, I'd like to know sooner rather than later. Check back tomorrow to see how it goes. (I bet the suspense is KILLING you!) Update: Forecast is snow tonight and into tomorrow. So we'll see about this. Perfect timing. I loathe snow.
  
  
• I've run a total of 2.5 miles in 2012. I'm signed up for 8 miles worth of races by the end of April.
  
  
• I've been re-thinking my running goals. That probably can hold for a future post though since the next couple of weeks are probably going to show whether it's ok to start working my way back, and since that's supposed to be what this blog is about, anyway.
  
  
• NEXT WEEK! I'll announce the first "Earn Your Donuts" contest and giveaway. I have an actual prize, it's not just pictures of my cats or autographed running bibs, or autographed cats, I promise. It's an actual company that you've probably heard of. (I wasn't sure what heading to put this under).
  

Off-topic

• After a couple (ok a lot!) more listens, I like the new Van Halen album even more. My musical tastes have changed over the last 12 years or so. I would never claim to have any punk rock credibility at all, but that's mostly what I've been listening too. This week, though, has been a complete Van Halen binge. It's 1984 again, and I love it. (All hail the defending World Champion Baltimore Orioles!) Don't feel bad, Sammy Hagar, I've got your stuff mixed in there, too. I still like you even if the Van Halens don't.
  
  
• Friday night is my favorite part of the week. The end of the work week, the first sip of beer, a relaxing dinner at home or a local restaurant, and Fringe. Fringe, on FOX, is one of my current favorite TV shows, fitting nicely into the weird sci-fi/mystery niche that's still been vacant in my life since the end of LOST (still mad about that ending, though!). Unlike LOST, though, which was -- or at least seemed -- smart, I think Fringe is really just campy fun. "Previously on Fringe...a bunch of things that don't really make sense." During my high school years, I spent many a Friday night with Agents Scully and Mulder, making Fringe seem comfortably familiar.

• You may think it would be cute and funny to teach a cat to sit on your shoulders like a parrot. It's not.

Trouble in Paradise

After a busy running 2011, I have yet to log a single mile in 2012. That wasn't my intent, but a result of my leg problem seeming like it will be more trouble than I thought it would.

To recap, on Christmas Eve, I ran 4 miles, was struggling quite a lot, and drove right to the doctor's office when I saw a large bump on my leg where there shouldn't be one. I was diagnosed with varicose veins and the doctor recommended compression socks and putting my leg up as much as I could.

On December 26 at about 12:45am, Chris and I drove to Philadelphia to catch a flight to Jamaica, where we had the chance to spend a wonderful week at Couples Swept Away in Negril in celebration of our 10th anniversary.


It was an awesome trip with amazing sunsets, a gorgeous beach, and delicious food and drink. It was exactly the week of relaxation that I needed and we had a wonderful time, but I was not planning on being idle. Our resort had a jogging track and what it billed as the nicest gym on the island, and I brought ample workout gear.

My first run in Jamaica was a 7-miler on Tuesday morning. It seemed to go decently; the heat and humidity was a challenge and my legs felt tired, but the compression socks seemed to do their jobs very well. I had planned on running mostly along the beach, but I found that it took three minutes to run the whole length of the resort's beachfront walk and I didn't want to bother other guests on their way to and from breakfast by running back and forth along the resort's busiest path, so I opted for loops around the half-mile jogging course. It was a nice place to run, but the repetitiveness did make me long for my Shuffle, which I'd left at home.

While the run went well, my weird vein problem bothered me intermittently throughout the trip, and when I went for what I hoped would be my "long run" on Friday morning, I had to stop after three miles when my leg was just hurting too much to continue.


I'd planned to run one more time (Yasso 800s) on vacation, but decided to bag it and rest. The leg bothered me intermittently throughout the trip. I didn't completely rest, though. I lifted three times on the trip, and the gym was very nice and lifting is much more enjoyable when you're basically outside. Still, I definitely feel like I gained 10lbs on the trip!





Relaxation and fun was the point and in that regard it was a complete success. I am nervous about my next run, which will be tonight, though. It was kind of vacation where I now feel totally out of shape, but I know that feeling will quickly pass if I can get back on the roads. However, I also know that if I'm not able to have a good January, the Shamrock Marathon is a really dicey proposition for me. I wanted to do everything right for this one and kick butt, but right now I'll just be happy if I can run it and finish.

My plan for tonight is just 3-5 miles, but I think it will be a key data point as I wonder how worried I should be about my leg and how challenging it will be to manage. My leg is elevated and my fingers are crossed!

Losing the Arms Race

Remember the blog post where I mentioned that I was going to try to start lifting again after getting completely out of the habit earlier this year after being pretty consistent with it ever since 1999?

Or the one where I berated myself for not starting lifting again and resolving to do better?

Oh, good. I don't either.

And I haven't. Got back in the swing of lifting, that is. I used the weights for the first time since July.

I've had enough trouble motivating myself to run over the past few months, let alone lift, but now the pressure is on. I have a beach trip coming up at the end of the year, and I admit I am motivated mostly by vanity. I know I won't get back all or even most of the strength I had before (which, I admit, wasn't that much!) and I'm very ectomorphic without much muscle mass even at my "peak" of lifting regularly (2006-2009), but I think I can tone back up a little by the end of December.

The goal is 3x a week, probably Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday, until after the marathon and then every other day after that.

The Gun Show is Canceled

Remember that post a few months ago where I decided I was going to start lifting again? No. That's ok. Anyway, the point was that after lifting pretty regularly for the past six years (though the title of this post and my "Welcome to the Gun Show" shirt are both meant ironically) and on and off for the past 14, I'd completely stopped after January of this year, but as of that post on May 9 I was going to start again. Nope. I lifted all of three times that week but then not again until this week, over two months later, and I noticed a loss of strength just since May. D'oh.

I'm not sure why I can't get back into the routine. It's not the most fun thing in the world, though neither is running the same neighborhood course over and over again. A gym membership, where at least I would have to get up and walk around to different stations would break up the monotony a bit, but in the past the extra time needed to go to and from the gym has been enough to prevent me from going.

(This shirt was always meant as a joke.
But I don't think I can even wear it in jest, now.)

Busy schedule? I find time to run and bike and watch reruns of "Futurama." I usually give the cat his medicine at 7:00am, that's plenty of time to work out before work. Too tired? I manage to get myself up much earlier than that on running days. Every excuse I can come up with is invalid. I just need to shut up and do it. (I lifted this morning, so this blog entry isn't taking away from lifting time.)

Maybe there's just not enough motivation. I sign up for running events all the time, but it will be the proverbial cold day in Hell before I would be entered in any feats of strength competition. But, I am going on a beach vacation later in the year. So even though I might not have motivation now, I know I will by then, at which point it would be too late. Thus, I'm going to try to start lifting again at least two times a week for the next month (long enough to create a habit).

So consider the Gun Show not canceled, just postponed.