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.
- I officially deferred from the 2012 Shamrock Marathon this morning. I was looking forward to (hopefully) improving from last year, getting all the goodies, and enjoying the post-race party, but it's been pretty clear since late December that this wasn't going to happen. Get 'em next year, right?
- I have a Twitter now: www.twitter.com/earnyourdonuts. I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do with Twitter, but I thought it might be a good way to spread the word about the First Annual Earn Your Donuts Bad Race Photo Contest (Brought to you By Road ID).
- Speaking of the FAEYDBRPC...maybe this contest wasn't as good or funny of an idea as I thought. No one's entered yet, so if you enter, you've got an excellent chance of winning a $35 Road ID gift certificate.
- Registration for the Broad Street Run 10-miler in Philadelphia opened today. Go to www.broadstreetrun.com to register; it'll fill up fast. It's not till May 6, so I think I could do it, but I'll hold to the new plan of taking it a bit slowly and not racing anything over 10K till the fall.
- I went for my second run of the comeback tour on Monday night. 3 miles in 29:39. I think I miscounted laps because it seemed like I was pushing myself more than I did on Saturday. More soreness while running; less afterward. Going again on Thursday and trying a four-mile "long run" on Saturday.
(No soup for you!)
I think race photos capture us at some of our best moments; when we're out there giving the best effort we can at something we (hopefully!) enjoy, no matter the level of competition. Better still are the ones taken at the end of the race, when we've stopped moving and the medals are around our necks.
Pictures taken during the race, well, I think they tend to sometimes come out a bit weird. Hopefully anyone who's been in a race has some photos of them running that they really like, but chances are that they've also got some like this:
(I didn't puke, I just looked like it.)
Since it's an action shot, the photographer (in the case above, my wife) is invariably going to catch me in mid-stride with my eyes closed, some other goofy expression on my face, or sometimes just looking like I'm going to die.
(Apparently, I always cross the finish line with my eyes closed?)
(Nevermind the weird facial expression.
What am I doing with my hands? Juggling?
Holding an invisible fruit basket?)At least this one is pretty good -- I am so fast that I appear blurry!
These were the funniest ones I could find. There were probably worse ones, taken at the Baltimore Running Festival in 2010, the 2010 Philly Half, and Broad Street, but I didn't buy the photos from those races because the majority of them were strange looking or because I was behind people taller than me (which is everyone).
Then I got the pictures from the 2011 Philly Marathon. It was not my best race by any means, but the pictures generally came out ok. When I saw a photographer, I tried to make sure I was making a normal expression and not a grimace of pain. But I can't for the life of me figure out what I'm doing here:
(I guess I decided to zombie walk across the finish? "Brains...brains...brains!!")At any rate, I know I can't be the only one this happens to -- in fact, I know I'm not! Adam at the "The Boring Runner" chronicled his Rock & Roll Arizona Marathon by noting how the pictures chronologically got a little more...awkward as he progressed through the race. (If you're not subscribed to his blog, you should be!)
Speed doesn't matter...if you get your picture taken while running, some of them are going to come out funny! Readers, I suspect you have some great race photos, but you probably have some bad ones, too, and I'd like you to share them in the First Annual Earn Your Donuts Bad Race Photo Contest.This isn't just a chance to make fun of yourself for your own and other people's amusement, this is a chance to win fabulous prizes!
First prize is a $35 online gift certificate for Road ID, more than enough to buy any of the Road ID product models. I'm not one to lecture people about their choice of gear, but I'm going to lecture you now...this is an important! Bad things can happen out there, and a Road ID or similar piece of gear can help first responders quickly identify you and get in touch with your emergency contacts. There's similar products out there, but I can personally vouch for the quality of the Road ID Wrist ID Sport! If you've already got one for yourself, they make great gifts! If you're a fan of them on Facebook, have seen their advertisements, or have ordered products from them, it seems like a company with a good sense of humor and they very generously agreed to sponsor this contest.
(Wrist ID Sport photo from www.roadid.com)
Second prize is a $10.00 gift card to Dunkin Donuts. This is primarily a donut blog, after all.
So, let the First Annual Earn Your Donuts Bad Race Photo Contest (Brought to you by Road ID) begin! I look forward to your participation!
Rules
1. To enter, please send me the photo of yourself that you'd like to enter by Monday, Feb 27. That's two weeks to scour your hard drives. You can e-mail the photo or a link to it to me at earnyourdonuts@gmail.com, or you can post a link to it in the comments. Your photo will be posted on the blog, but no one's full name will be used (I'll use your first name only, your blogger nickname if you have one, or something else that you specify.)
2. It has to be a photo of yourself!
3. It doesn't matter if it's a professional photo or not, as long as it's during a race.
4. This is all in good fun. I think that everyone that's had race photos taken has probably been caught in a goofy pose. We're making fun of that and in doing so poking fun at ourselves, NOT commenting negatively on peoples' appearances. Any comments that I think are mean-spirited are going to get deleted faster than Usain Bolt runs 200m.
5. After 2/27, I will post all entrants and voting will take place either through blog comments or an online survey. (I reserve the right to choose or one or the other voting based on number of entries and how much free time I have!)
6. Make sure I have a way to contact you through your blog or e-mail. You wouldn't want to miss out on prizes! I won't spam you, I promise!
7. Update -- If you want to send in a good race photo with your bad one for comparison, as suggested in the comments, you're welcome to do so and I will post them together. You don't have to, though. For example, I think "zombie walk" and "invisible fruit basket" stand pretty well by themselves.
With a wintry mix falling over Central PA, coating the grounds but not the roads, and me waking up (covered in cats) feeling like I'd been hit by a train despite a very good longer than usual night of sleep, I was leaning toward putting my run off till tomorrow.
Instead, Chris (who had a 4-miler today on her training calendar) and I headed up to the indoor track at the West Shore YMCA. And, I'm glad we did.
My plan was to try for two miles. I started out feeling great, it was nice to run again after over a month off. After two miles, I felt good enough to go for three. I was definitely a little bit winded afterwards, and my quads are bit sore but don't feel injured, but I'm otherwise ok.
Shinsplints? Gone.
Mystery bump? No problem.
One mile at this track is 16 laps, and I might have miscounted as I was singing along with Van Halen in my head (I hope it was in my head), but I believe that I ran an even 3 miles or one lap extra in 28:57. Other than being indoors, this run could not possibly have gone any better. This year's Shamrock Marathon is out of the question, but I feel very confident about the spring 5Ks, 8Ks, and 10Ks and trying to destroy the Harrisburg Mile in the Summer.
It is a long way back to being in marathon shape, but it is great to be started on that road.
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.
"We now return to our regularly-scheduled program. If Van Halen ever puts out a new album, I'll review it. Please don't hold your breath..."
-- Brian, July 18 2011
I never thought I'd be writing this post. After going off-topic for a review of the long-awaited Blink-182 album, I promised another music review only if the oft-feuding monsters of rock that had been my favorite band since 1988 put out some new material. With nary a peep since their 2007 tour with David Lee Roth on vocals and Eddie Van Halen's son, Wolfgang, filling in for the venerable Michael Anthony on bass, I postulated that the DLR had been de facto kicked out of the band again and that we'd seen the last of them.
I don't need to recount the whole sordid history of Van Halen and its rotating lead singers, but let's back up just a little.
Of course, everyone knew "Jump", "Panama", "Hot for Teacher", and other Van Halen hits, but I would say that I really became a Van Halen fan back in 1988, when my friend Brian played OU812 while we were playing Nintendo in my (parents') basement. From ominous opening strains of "Mine All Mine", a rather obscure song that remains my favorite Van Halen tune, I was hooked.
In 1991, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge was released. "Right Now" is the super hit off that record, but "Judgement Day" and "The Dream is Over" are excellent too. Balance, released in 1994, when I was high-school senior, was playing almost every day as I drove to school. I loved the older stuff, with David Lee Roth on lead vocals, but Eddie (Van Halen), Alex (Van Halen), Sammy (Hagar), and Mike (Anthony) was the lineup I first really got to know. I give you all that background just to explain that while somr Van Halen purists will insist that Van Halen with Roth is the only Van Halen, I don't have the strong antipathy toward one of them that I think most participants in a "Sammy or Dave" debate probably have. Instead, I just lament what might have been had the Van Halen brothers been able to get along with one of the two lead singers.
The Van Halen brothers kicked Sammy out of the band in 1996 to briefly re-unite with Dave, after recording some new songs with him for their "best of" album, only to almost immediately kick Dave right back out of the band. I saw them on tour in 1998 with Gary Cherone, but let's pretend I didn't, and was lucky enough to catch them in '04 when they re-united with Sammy, who they subsequently kicked out of the band for a second time. In '07, they improbably reunited with Dave, and put on a great show (during which they played not a single "Hagar" song), but after years of silence I didn't think we'd ever see another Van Halen album.
Then a few weeks ago...out of nowhere, Van Halen is touring with Dave again. (I know it's not really out of nowhere, just that I missed it.) I skeptically suggested that they must be trying to make a quick buck one last time (which may still be true), and then wham! learn there's an album on the way, entitled A Different Kind of Truth, which I downloaded today.
Ok, Brian. You like Van Halen. You never thought they'd put album out. Great. Terrific. What's it sound like?
(Drumroll...)
I like it. There's no "Jump" on here. No "Running with the Devil", "Panama", or "Unchained". I'm not sure there's any "greatest hits" on this, but it sounds like a David Lee Roth-era Van Halen album...which it should, since many of the songs are based on demos written in the '70s. It's really loud, mostly fast, features excellent guitar solos, and is definitely fun. If you're looking for lyrical genius, look elsewhere. With no disrespect meant to Wolfgang Van Halen, Michael Anthony's backing vocals are missed. I think most of the songs have a similar sound, which in my opinion makes "Blood and Fire", my favorite song on the album, stand out. I think "The Trouble With Never" has the best chance of being a hit, which probably dooms it to an existence without radio airplay. "Stay Frosty" is my least favorite song on the album, but it's not as bad as I feared when I heard the preview on the band's facebook page. It does get loud, the preview just didn't last long enough.
If you like DLR-era Van Halen, I think you'll like it. And I might have to re-appropriate "Blood and Fire" (which sounds like it's really Dave talking about his return to the band and their comeback) as the anthem of my return to the roads. I'm still skeptical that the Van Halen reunion is a long-term one, and maybe that's for the best, but this is fun. I just hope that they don't kick Dave out of the band again until after March 6, when I've got a ticket to see them in Philadelphia.
You can preview the songs on the album on iTunes or the band's facebook, or espn.com, for reasons I can't determine, has six full songs, including all of the ones I've mentioned.
http://espn.go.com/espn/thelife/music/feature/video/_/page/van-halen/different-kind-truth
Hopefully, as my break from running draws to a close, you enjoyed this little departure from boring race recaps and complaining. We'll now return to our regular subject matter. If the original lineup of Guns 'n' Roses ever gets back together, then I'll write another music review.
Your move, Axl.
I stepped on the bathroom scale last night. The scale groaned in agony and I recoiled in surprise at the reading on the display.
I believe that I'm now heavier than I've been at any point in my life and certainly at any point since the summer of 2001. In terms of fitness, I've a long way to fall to get to that point, since by that summer I'd also taken a long hiatus from lifting (or at least lifting more than once a week), was not doing any cardio at all, and spent my free time away from my sedentary job playing lots of video games and drinking beer almost every weeknight with the friend from college that I shared an apartment with. I haven't run in almost a month, but I can still handle some good cardio right now. In the summer of 2001, I was gasping for breath if I walked up a flight of stairs.
I think I gained most of this weight on vacation. That's ok. You don't go to an all-inclusive resort to practice restraint. But three days after getting home, when I went to the doctor for my follow-up visit for my leg problems, a pair of shorts (I know it was January, but I figured it would be easier for him to look at my legs) that had fit when I tried them on prior to vacation proved way too small and the scale at the doctor's office displayed a shockingly high number, I should have been a little more concerned.
- "It's just vacation weight. I gained it quickly and it'll come off quickly."
- "Of course I'm weighing in as heavier than usual. I'm wearing jeans, shoes, and a sweatshirt."
That number was no lower when I went last week for bronchitis.
- "Of course. I haven't been working out enough since I have bronchitis."
- "I've been lifting again. Muscle weighs more than fat."
As you can see, the excuses came easy.
I've felt better this week, and have gone back to the gym, had good workouts on the stationary bike and elliptical (both made much more bearable by the Kindle Fire) and I've done an excellent job through December and January getting back in the habit of lifting.
But the Nike pro combat shirt I was wearing seemed a little tighter than it should, and so I wearing a sleeveless shirt, shorts, and no shoes, stepped on the bathroom scale last night. While the number wasn't as high as the scale at the doctor's read last week, it was considerably higher than I expected.
My diet isn't great -- it never has really even been good. I still eat like I have the thermonuclear metabolism I had from the time I was born until I got to college, when it was very hard for me to put on any weight at all while I was growing up. Sounds great, right? It certainly had its good points. Eating pretty much whatever I wanted to was awesome. Being a male high-school junior who weighed 90lbs...not as awesome.
That metabolism is long gone. Instead, I've paid for my many indulgences on the roads of Manchester and York Haven, and on the Rail Trail. But..I'm probably not going to be running any
13-milers any time soon. I made changes after the summer of 2001, and I'm going to make some changes now.
.
To be honest, I don't want my diet to be great. I don't like to talk about my job on this blog, but the last year has been the most stressful year of work of my life. One of my favorite moments of the week is that first sip of beer on Friday night, especially if it's accompanied by delicious, delicious pizza. Right now, I'm not willing to give up that cheesesteak or burger on Saturday night. I love bar food too much.
And while not ideal, I don't think that's the real problem, either. The problem is my worse-than-usual eating during the day on weekdays. A breakfast of cereal, a banana and coffee...that's followed by two Pop-Tarts (they're packaged in twos, they're supposed to eaten like that); "I'm running errands at lunch...I'll just stop at Sheetz" (It's impossible for me to go to Sheetz and resist Combos -- huge bags that I eat in two days -- and practically illegal to go there and not get chocolate chip cookies.).
(Read this in voice of Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise.)
"The line must be drawn here."
(Ok, back to your normal voice now. Or whatever you imagine my voice sounding like...which is probably an improvement over what it really sounds like.)
Goodbye Pop-Tarts. Goodbye Combos. Goodbye Sheetz chocolate-chip cookies. I'll miss you most of all.
Hello carrots & celery as my Sheetz side-order and salads for lunch with no salty snacks or desserts. Hello, West Shore YMCA. And in about a week, hello running.
I've got a number in my head. When that number shows up on the scale, we'll see if can I learn moderation.
But I won't put off Judgement Day any longer.
