Asscrack of dawn

Up this morning at the asscrack of dawn.  I'm not talking about a stripper.  I'm talking about the sucky time before the sun rises.  I decided in my warped logic to run a 5k this morning.

Why:
1. Lovely wife is gone to medical coding class and child is asleep so I'm solo anyway.
2. It's the day before my birthday (warped logic).
3. It's for a program that helps fund PE4Life in school.
4. Its international week in the Premier League no games this morning.
5. Why not?

I've got to leave and go do this now I'll finish this when I get back.

I'm back.  It is 44 degrees and rainy.  I made all the rookie mistakes.  I got there 15 minutes before the start.  I didn't do a good job stretching.  I had to make a last minute port a potty stop.  I started too fast.

I'm pretty sure that wearing the Vibrams Sunday and the Wednesday before the race trashed my calves.  They were sooooo tired at the very begining of the race I can't think of any other reason why that would happen.

No PR for me.  (UPDATE: around 3:30 off my 5k PR) Oh well there are always more 5ks usually 3 or 4 a day this time of year.

Anyway, it was for a good cause, I didn't walk it and the t-shirt is kinda cool.

In case you're curious the PE4Life program is designed to encourage lifelong fitness and combat childhood obesity by teaching kids about sports, fitness and nutrition.

Happy Birthday to me...

Last weekend I had a birthday party with friends.  It was kind strange for me because I generally don't like to do stuff before my birthday.  However, schedules are what they are and this was the most opportune time.

I got an awesome Batman cake.  It was homemade even better!  Sorry bakery cakes can't compete flavor wise with a good homemade cake.

I also got a couple of great running related gifts.  I will discuss them more later because I haven't been able to use them yet.

One is a Camelbak Mini Mule hydration pack.  This one was hand picked by my good friends Dave and Jess.  They are aware of my running and are accustomed to the insane summer heat and humidity in Arkansas so this is the perfect gift.  Besides the hydration bladder it also has enough room for cellphone, gels, a small camera, cash or whatever.  It even has the front chest strap for comfort.  As next January rolls around and I'm looking at 20 mile runs I think this might be my new best friend.  Sunday is my actual birthday so I'm going to run 9 miles on the 39th birthday.  I'm looking forward to trying the pack out.

                                       
The other amazingly thoughtful gift was a pair of Motorola SD-10 bluetooth headphones.

                                                               Like dees ones.                                     

I am planning a phone upgrade in the next couple of weeks.  Almost certainly a windows 7 Samsung Focus.  It integrates my Zune software with a smart phone ( I hope I'm smart enough to use it).  Anyhoo, Microsoft say they aren't making Zunes anymore so I figure upgrade the memory on the phone and use it  double duty music player and phone.  I realize I'm not the first to come up with this idea.  With the Bluetooth headphones shown above I can listen to music while running and make and receive calls as well.

My lovely wife loves the idea of being able to get a hold of me in case of emergency.  I like that aspect as well but I have to admit part of me like the thought of being in my own head a bit without the interruption.  It's a trade off accept the possibility of the unimportant interruption to be able to receive the important message.

Update on the Vibrams:  I've worn them on 3 runs so far.  Recapping- first run was a 2 miler on Wednesday.  After this first run my calves were pretty sore.  The second run was the following Sunday (much sooner than they recommend starting off) 2.25 miles.  After the second run my calves were fine so the third run was 1 week exactly to the first.  I ran 3 miles the following Wednesday (yesterday).  Today my calves are fine everything's groovy.  I intend to wear them for a 5k this Saturday.

I'll post on how that goes and family bday party we're having tonight.

Are you looking at my monkey... feet?

Happy (early) Birthday to me! It's early but I got my birthday present from my lovely wife and daughter last night.  I got just what I tried on at a local store and then ordered from the ol' interweb.  A pair of Vibram Five Finger shoes.

As a disclaimer, I always try to order from local companies.  I believe in supporting the community even if it costs a couple extra dollars.  In this case, none of the local retailers had the style I wanted so I had to confirm proper sizing in the store and then I ordered online.

That said, my lovely wife and daughter hate them, but they're what I wanted so I got them anyway.   Thank you girls.

What are Five Finger Shoes?

I'm glad you asked.  Here's a picture.

Fit your foot like a glove.  The idea is we were made to not wear shoes and this is as much like bare foot as you can get but still protect your feet.  This model in particular is made fro running.

They make me look like this...

Obviously, I don't obsess about my appearance.

I did a lot of research before buying these shoes.  How to run in them etc.  All the books say start slowly and gradually add distance.  They say use the 10% rule.  No more than 10% of your weekly mileage should be run initially.  For me, that's 2 miles.

I was so excited I got up and did a 2 miler on my usual day off just to try them out.  It seemed to be a big success.  We'll see tomorrow I guess.

The usual problems people encounter are foot problems (too much reliance on cushy shoes), Achilles tendon problems (it natually shortens because of heeled shoes) and calf soreness ( back to the cushy shoes).  Several months ago I changed my stride because of achilles tendon and hip flexor issues I went from the typical running shoe heel striker to a more mid-foot strike.  Because of that change the Vibram were not much of an issue with the footstrike and while I have some calf tighness my foot and ankle feel fine.

If I can walk tomorrow I'll do another 2 miler with them Sunday.

I can say that my average pace was up a good bit.  I don't know if it was because I felt like I was running in socks or just the general feeling of freedom.  I was like the return to a simpler time when I was a kid and went barefoot all the time playing in the yard.  It felt good.

I know I won't wear these for every run.  My wife my not let me wear them in her presence.  So far though no buyer's remorse.

UPDATE: The day after using the new shoes my calves are really tight and kind of sore.  Still no buyers remorse but I'm glad I took the advice to go easy.

The time is now

So...

The Little Rock Marathon has come and gone.

When I started this I said that I was shooting for around 2:15.  I threw that out the window after injury and illness and told myself "just finish with out having to walk" and it's a success.

I have 0 experience with races. One 5k is all I've ever run so I have no clue or strategy.  Anyone surprised?

I did try to keep in mind one phrase I read somewhere "you can't bank miles."  It means you can't win the race in the first miles.  You win it in the end so save gas for the end.

Fortunately my friend Special K and 2 of her friends were running so I had good company to chill with ( see what I did there?).

 It was cold.

                           

I was expecting a temp of about 50 degrees.  Instead I get 38 with a windchill of 32.  No problem it's what I trained in.  However, I did not do a good job of stretching beforehand so my left shin burned for the first 2-3 miles.  It finally worked out but I really though it was going to be a looooong day.

I started the race having to pee.  That sucked.  I thought I had that handled but an hour out in the cold proved otherwise.

At mile 2 this was most of the other guys.  North Little Rock you can thank me for not marking my territory.  I did lose 5 minutes around mile 4.5 waiting on a port a potty.

After reliving myself I was relieved (see what I did there?) to find I felt good.  Mile 5 hit and I felt good.  Mile 7, halfway there, still good. 8, 9 10?  At mile 10 I literally got chills when I realized all I had  left was a morning run.  Just over 3 miles left and I felt great.

I was too conservative.  So, I decide to leave it all on the road and start passing people, Never mind the fact that I'm screwed if I'm too tired to move afterwards.  I have a 3/4 mile walk to the card and I'm all alone driving myself home.

I turn onto La Harp at the old Balch Oldsmobile building and I'm feeling great.  I'm still passing people

One woman actually cheers me as I pass her.  For that, I say to her thank you.  Not many sports where that happens, it's nice.  All us mere mortals are competing only with ourselves.

I finally see the finish line and break into a run.  I can hear the announcer saying every body's name as they cross.  Then I cross and... he mispronounces my name.  No biggie, I'm used to it just gimme my medal!

                                           

The finish line was great someone ran up to me and put one of the astronaut silver foil blankets on me.  They put a medal around my neck.  I got my picture taken.  People are holding out food to me.  I'm special!

It was somewhere in the haze of bananas, Little Debbie's Swiss Rolls, beer and chocolate milk I realized I was soaking wet and freezing my a$$ off.  The astronaut blanket is for $#/T!

                                                   

The astronaut blanket is a silver freakin trash bag.  I was so disappointed.  I very quickly realized I was not so steady on my feet.  My legs had been running for 2 hours straight and didn't quite grasp that they could do other things.  Standing, walking it all took concentration.  I waited for Special K for as long as I could stand it (i waited1 banana, 1 swiss roll, 1 milk and 2 beer if you are wondering) and had to bail.

My time was 2:10:56 under my goal but not my best.  Got a medal anyway.

I have a 5K in mind for the day before my 39th birthday and another half marathon in line for October.  This time I want under 2 hours.  The full marathon next March is coming soon.  So is 40.

If you want to see my dramatic finish you can go to the link below and watch.  I'm the dashing fellow in all black with the white hat (that's how you can tell I'm one of the good guys).  I come in at the top at around 13 seconds into the video.
http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event_video.asp?EVENTID=75437&BIB=4593

The Gods Must Be Angry

It's been a while since I posted and there's lots to update.

So the leg thing worked itself out with lots of stretching, time and  flexoril but, I missed several days of much needed runs.

Then came the flu or whatever it was.  Thursday to Tuesday with 103+ degree fever and all the coughing and joy that goes with it.  Right in the peak of training.  No 12 mile run.

                                                    
I went to the Dr and got my brain swabbed.  They call it a flu test.  Turns out it's not the flu he doesn't know what it is wrong with me so... Amoxicillin it is!  After a week of horse pills I got well enough to run and then the leg acts up again.  2 weeks from the race and the longest run I've got is a 10.5 mile.  At this point I'm not sure the leg will hold up for 13.1 or that I have the endurance to run the whole thing if the leg doesn't go out.  Nothing against the run/ walkers but I wanted to run the whole thing!

                                                   

I'm pretty much following the taper plan.  Pretty much.  Business trip to Vegas means running schedule is okay in fact I'm running more because of the time difference.  Diet is FUBAR.  Not watching what I eat so I probably gained 5 pounds.

I'm consoling myself with the fact that this is just the first step and my actual goal is the full marathon 1 year away.  This race is as much a trial run as anything else.  A building block.  By the way that's not me in the picture.

Bitch, Bitch, Bitch

I said I would talk more about the sore knee.  It seems that it is a tight hamstring causing the tendon on the back of my knee to feel like an over tightened guitar string.

I’ve been freaked out by this injury(? ) for a couple reasons.  The first is that it could completely ruin my chance to hit my goal time for the half marathon.  That whole I just want to finish doesn’t work.  Set goal.   Achieve.  Set new goal.  I have a realistic goal in mind.  I want to finish between 2:00 and 2:30.  Not unrealistic at all considering on training runs I have completed 10 miles in 1:45.  Sooooo, now I’m looking at several months of building mileage out the window.  The second reason is that I’ve never had an injury like this one.  I’ve had sprains and broken bones I know how to deal with those.  This is new and I don’t have time for a long learning curve.  I know I sound like a whiney wuss.

                                                        My wife thinks this is me.    

First step to a solution is to define problem.

I have to give a huge thanks to my great friend and neighbor Shari.  She is the massage therapist and owner of Mind Over Matter Massage in downtown Jacksonville.  It’s hard to even write ‘downtown Jacksonville’ without hearing the Asian boy from the Unique Furniture (he’s like 19 now).  If you’re from central Arkansas you’ve seen the commercial.  Anyhoo, Shari came over on Super Bowl Sunday and worked on my leg.  How awesome is that?

So, after a full day of rest and Shari working on my leg Sunday I decided Monday evening (last night) to give the leg a short test run in new shoes.

New shoes.  I love them and hate them.  Not this particular pair just new shows in general.  I love getting new shoes. Everyone does.  I remember the best part of starting a new school year was the new pair of shoes.  Out with the old skanky sneaks in with the new.  Since I started running shoes are a crap shoot.  They feel great in the store but around mile 2 they feel like you have a board strapped to your foot.  Nevermind blisters.  Shoe companies in their never ending wisdom and attempt to ‘improve’ existing product take the shoe that fits you great and completely $%^& it up.

For the record February is just past the right time to buy running shoe.  The clearance is on for the old styles but they are down to the sizes that fit only midgets or mutants (not that there's anything wrong with that.) So every pair I looked at they were out of my size.  After trying on a dozen or so different shoes I buy my first ever pair of ASICS.  It's not important or a big deal but when has that stopped someone from blogging it. 

Me, my new shoes and my jacked up leg walk into a bar.  I mean go for a short run.  I decide I’m going to do 2 miles really slow. 1 mile out and 1 mile back.  I kissed my wife and told her to send out the search party if I wasn't back in 30 minutes.  I typed all this and now I wish I had a great end to the story something insane crazy funny.  Instead I just rambled.  I got nothing.  You read all this for a big let down.  No payoff nothing happened.  My leg bothered me but not too much.  I made it  home no search party.

Sorry.

A Pirate Runs Towards 40 or The Further Adventures of a Husky Boy...

So where to begin...I guess at the beginning.

I was born a poor black child.

Sorry, that's wrong.  I can't live a lie.  That's the beginning of The Jerk with Steve Martin.  I just love that line.  Best opening to a movie EVER.  I expect there's going to be more references to this movie before the adventure is over.

In reality, I'm 38 (white, not that it matters) and training to run my first half marathon (13.1 miles) next month just days before my 39th.  The idea behind this blog is that I want to chronicle my efforts to run the half marathon (13.1 miles) with the goal of runing the full marathon (26.2 miles) just before the big four oh.  I'll expand on my family (sexy supportive wife Angie and wonderful daughter Chloe), my great friends, work and my life in general as I go along.

I'm not sure why I'm doing this, the marathon running not the writing.  I know why I'm writing.  I hope the why of the marathon crystalizes as I'm doing this.  Is it mid-life crisis?  Ignorance? Stupidity?  Acomplishment? All of the above or none, I don't know.  Yet.

I do know a little over a year and a half ago my lovely, talented, brilliant, wonderful (I'm a proud parent) daughter Chloe was playing soccer and was preparing to move up to the "big" field.  The big field is around 10 yards longer and wider than a football field.  She was worried that she would not have the cardio for that size field.  In her defense, she was moving up to the big field about 3 years sooner than is usual.  Girls just don't turn out for sports in the same numbers as boys.  So we wind up with a U14 team made up of girls from 11-14.

Anyhoo, the aforementioned wonderful daughter asks if I'll run with her.  Help her get in shape.  As a good dad and encouraging coach I agree immediately.  I compliment her on her diligence. I tell her that's she a great example for the team, then...I panic.

I'm 5'9" and at the time 2 bills.  200 POUNDS. WTF. OMG.  FML.

                                                          actual photo Christmas 2009
                                                Okay, maybe not but it felt like it at the time.

I'm not sure I could keep up with her when I was her age.  I was a husky kid.  She's definitely not.  If you are not familiar with "husky" it means you're chubby.  Chubby's not nice to say unless you're talking about a 6 month old baby.  I wasn't 6 months old anymore so husky I was.  Fortunately, when I hit about 13 that went away naturally as I got taller.  Once I quit growing and stopped playing sports I got husky again.  It snuck up on me.  Husky or not I've played about every sport you can play in Arkansas I even ran track (poorly) but  I.   Hated.  Running.  Probably why I played a lot of baseball.  Baseball is a lazy man's game.  Running was punishment.

Fact: Every coach for every sport punishes players by making them run.

Back to the story, I started running without her because she had a sore ankle.  Figured it would work out great.  I run a week or 2 without her get a little head start on the conditioning.  When her ankle got better she would join me. Simple.

As with most plans this one didn't work out and I had to make adjustments on the run so to speak.  (see what I did there?)

She never joined me and I never stopped.  My clothes started fitting better. (encouragement) I had more energy.(encouragement!) I noticed weight loss.  I now hover around 180.  (encouragement!!) And there was a sense of accomplishment as I went from jog 1 lap/walk 1 lap to jog 2/walk 1 then 3/1 then jog for a 30 minutes without stopping.  The 45.  Then 60 minutes. Then 80 until this week was 110.

Saturday one hour fifty minutes. (encouragement?)

My knee hurts now. (not so encouraging.)  More on that later.

As I mentioned, this journey? started over a year and a half ago so I'll be sharing things that occur in the now and talk about things I've learned the hard way.

Finally, I feel like I should explain the title of the blog "It's My Own Damn Fault..."? I batted a buch of titles around.  Beside being a parrothead reference it's fairly apropos.  I bought into the dream of boat drinks and idealized tropics Jimmy has been hawking some 23 years ago (yes I was 16 more on that another time).  Mainly though running is something you can do on your own.  No team. No coach.  You and whatever is ahead of you.  No one to blame for your failure or success but you.

Yesterday my knee hurt pretty bad, and yes, it's my own damn fault.  Jimmy please don't sue.