The MS Runner

Running While Battling Foot Blisters, Leg Cramps, Black Toe Nails - and MS

Archive for January, 2009


Random thoughts

Published January 29th, 2009 in Hines Ward, Miles, Run Faster, super bowl, Colfax Marathon | 1 Comment »

It’s freaking 5:00 in the morning and I don’t have anything else to do but update my blog.  My dog, Miles, needs to get on a better schedule.  At least tonight he only woke me up once to go out and that was at 1:30 in the morning.  But then he got up at 4:30.  I’m trying to hold off feeding him for awhile though.  He’s as much work as a baby!  Well, not really.

Signed up for the Colfax Half Marathon the other day.  Thanks to Kristen at Run Faster for letting me use the friend for free coupon.  She signed up and then gets a code that she gave to me for me to sign up.  So it’s really like both of us paying half price.  Hey Kristen, let me know where to send my half!  I’m also thinking about doing the program that’s outlined in the book, Run Less, Run Faster, which Kristen talks about in her blog.  With my knee and other injury issues, this may be the way to go.

The Super Bowl is this Sunday and it’s really turned into a circus.  In the good ole days (I know, I hated it when I was a kid and grown ups would say this) it was about the game.  Now it’s over hyped, over analyzed, and dragged out too much.  Just play the game.  Who cares who the halftime show is?  Are you really going to watch the game just so you can see Bruce Springstein?  I think on Sunday, there is like a 6 hour pre-game show.  Now we’ll know what Hines Ward is really like!  I won’t make a prediction because I suck.  I want a good game and I want the Cardinals to play bad.

At least the weather was nice

Published January 19th, 2009 in Rock and Roll Marathon Arizona, marathon | 4 Comments »

The Phoenix Rock and Roll marathon is now history and I would really like to do this one again when I’m better trained and ready.  The race was well organized and I thought that it come off as one of the better ones that I’ve been to.  One good thing is that the marathoners start earlier that the half marathoners and they also have waves.  Based on what you thought your finish time would be, that’s where you started.  That way the start is smooth and you’re not running down people that shouldn’t be be there.  I started off thinking that I have no expectations and whatever happens, happens.  I meant to try and run real slow out of the gate, but I ended up going a bit faster than I should have.  My 10K time was 9:20, and my half marathon time was 9:07.  Normally that would be where I would want to be, but being that my training was off, I knew that I couldn’t keep that up.  At mile 20, I was 3 hours and 3 minutes, which is a 9:15 pace.  I’m thinking, I can keep this up, I can do this!  Boy was I wrong.  One thing that was a factor was the heat.  To most people, they don’t mind 75 degrees and sunny.  To me, that’s way too hot and I started melting and knew that I was going to wilt.  I finished that last 6 miles in an hour and 10 minutes which means that I faded faster than Tyler Hick’s career.  Was it “hitting the wall” or just the fact that I hadn’t run 20 miles since last May?  I’m going with that and the weather.

All in all, I enjoyed the experience and I would do this race again.  For now, I’m going to take some time off and heal my knee, and try and figure out what my next marathon will be.

One week to go

Published January 11th, 2009 in Tom Brady, Rock and Roll Marathon Arizona, training, football, treadmills | No Comments »

The Rock and Roll Phoenix Marathon is almost here and in a way I’m looking forward to it, but I’m also not looking forward to it.  My training hasn’t gone on all that well because of my knee and I really don’t want to go out and do this half ass.  But then again, I have no real expectations and I can just relax and enjoy it.  Umm, how can anybody enjoy running 26 miles?  It’s also tough to train for a marathon early in the year when you live in a cold weather state.  I hate getting up at 5:00, going out in the darkness, when it’s 20 degrees out there.  I tried out the local fitness center, and even with 20 treadmills, it’s hard to get one.  It seems like everybody is there.  And if you think about it, I’m training in the freezing cold for a marathon that is is Arizona, and it will be 70 degrees.  That just doesn’t seem right.  But then I look back at my previous training for marathons, and it’s the same way.  Last year I trained mostly in the cold (Jan - April) for a marathon that when I ran it, it was 80 degrees.  Another one was when I trained all summer for a marathon in the fall, and it was 34 degrees and freezing rain at that one.  So when you think about it, you’re not really training in the right type of weather.  It’s always something.

I’ve refrained from talking football for awhile mostly because my team went 0-16 and my fantasy teams sucked.  I can’t seem to enjoy it as much this year.   I think it all started in week one when my best friend, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, went down for the year with a knee injury.  It hasn’t been the same with out him.  Okay, he’s not really my best friend, but I’m sure he would like me if he got to know me.  Hurry back Tom.  Football (and me) need you.

Happy New Year!

Published January 2nd, 2009 in New Years resolutions | 7 Comments »

To me, this is the strangest time of the year where most people make resolutions that quite simply, astound me.  Why is it that you have to wait for a particular day to change or do something?  “I resolve to be a better person”, is one of my favorites.  Aren’t you doing that (or trying to do that) every day?  No, I guess most people want to be shit heads until January 1st, and then they will become Mary Poppins.  “I resolve to lose weight”.   Weight Watchers love this time of year when people flock (or is it waddle) to their meetings in January, pay their money, and then are gone before March.  Most of these people are back to eating donuts instead of fruit, or fast food instead of preparing a nice healthy meal.  Then there’s all the people that join the gym.  They tie up all the treadmills for a couple of months, then there gone again.  “I resolve to get a new job”.  Yeah, good luck with that one in this economy, and let me tell you, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  “I resolve to watch less t.v.”  And do what, read?  You probably haven’t read a book in years other than that Readers Digest at the doctors office.  There are a ton of other resolutions that really crack me up, but the point I’m getting at is MOST people won’t change, or simply can’t change.  If you’re a crank ass, you’ll always be a crank ass.  If you’re a fat ass, you’ll always be a fat ass, and so on.  I’m not saying that this is always the case, but it’s a fact in most of them.  People can change, but it’s very hard work and they give up.  The ones that do stick it out, are the lucky ones.  My resolution every year is always the same.  “I resolve never to make any resolutions”.  Every bad habit or every change in my life has occurred when I’m prepared to make that change.  Most people aren’t prepared mentally to make a change on January 1st, and they fold under pressure.  Make a plan and stick to it and don’t commit to the pressure of a drop dead date to do it.  When you’re ready to change, you’ll know it.  Good luck, we’re all counting on you.