The MS Runner

I don’t know what it is other than being lazy.  I enjoy writing, but I just haven’t been motivated lately.  But the good news is I’m still running.  The bad news is my knee hurts again.  I did a very hilly 20 mile run yesterday where the elevation change was over 1,000 feet!  Actually got to the top of this hill and it was freaking chilly.  But, I really had a great run.  It’s the best I’ve I felt after a 20 mile run ever.  But as I said, my knee is hurting, so I will need to go back to the doctor and get those wonderful shots in my knee.  This will unfortunately, slow down my training for my marathon.  I’m just hoping that it will enable me to bounce back quick enough so I don’t miss much and therefore be able to run decent come November 15.  My dog Miles is now officially running with me.  We did a mile last week, and a mile today.  He does real well as long as he has a stick in his mouth.  Maybe I should try that.

Football season starts today!  Well it actually started last Thursday, but today is the official start in my mind.

50″ TV - check

Beer - check

I’m ready.

Most of you know that for this spring, I’m training for a half marathon and not a full.  Just to recap, I decided to go with the half thinking that my knee needed a break.  Well I’m happy to report that so far it’s working.   One big difference is that I have been following a training program from the book, Run Less, Run Faster.  The basis of the book naturally is less running.  No more running 6 days a week.  They have you running only 3 days, and then 2 days of cross training, which could include swimming, bike riding, or using a rowing machine.  Even if I would be training for a full marathon, it’s the same training program.  Today for instance, I’m running 10 miles, and then I’m not scheduled to run again until Tuesday.  So basically you have 1 day, Saturday, where you build up your mileage, and then 2 days, Tuesday and Thursday, where you do mainly speed work.  Tuesday is the harder speed workout, and Thursday is really a mixture of easy running and fast running.  I guess the end resault will be how I do on my race day, but at this point, I’m happy.

I did the half at the Denver Marathon this past weekend and I must say that it was a success.  My goal was not to push myself too hard, finish somewhere around 2 hours, and not hurt my knee.  The day was perfect for running.  It was 50 degrees at the start and got up to about 62 at the end.  The one thing that I would change about this marathon is the start.  You have the marathoners, the half marathoners, and the relaythoners all starting together.  It’s like a freakin’ cattle call and I felt like I was going to go to the slaughterhouse.  And the one thing that really pisses me off is the people that line up towards the front with runners that will run the race in 3 hours or so, and the only thing that they can run well with is their mouth.  Oye.  Anyways, I think they should have qualifying waves and if you are a slow poke, you will have to be at the end. But, after the crazy start, it thinned out a bit, but there were always other runners around you.  I like that because if can fall into a group that runs your pace, it seems that much easier to run.

Around mile 5, my legs started feeling heavy.  Being that I hadn’t run longer than 10 miles sine June, I was a bit concerned.  But then at mile 6, I had one of my Stinger Energy Gels, and felt much better.  I probably should have taken it a mile sooner, but I’m a creature of habit.  I seem to always have one at mile 6 instead of having one when I need it.

After mile 6, I ran into someone I knew and she was doing the half also.  This is a week after she ran the Chicago Marathon!  Amazing.

Between mile 7 and mile 11, I really don’t remember much.  I kind of get into a zone where I don’t notice anything or even pay attention to my time.  I checked my watch at mile 11, and it was at 1 hour and 42 minutes.  I was doing okay, and I didn’t even try and do the math to see if I was going to make it in 2 hours.   I just kept along at the pace I was going and figured I’d be right about 2 hours.

Once I hit the point where you could see the finish, I thought I’d pick up the pace a bit, because I felt strong and good.  There was less than a half mile to go, and I think I passed about 15 people to get to the finish line.  My final time was 1:59:38.  I broke 2 hours, and more importantly, I didn’t hurt myself.

One nice thing about this marathon, was the beer garden afterwards.  They actually had some good beer instead of the typical Bud or Coors.  It was all from Left Hand Brewing Company here in Colorado.  As I was sitting there tossing back a few Sawtooth Ales’s, this woman sat down next to me and starting talking about the run.  It turns out that she is 66 years old, ran the half marathon that day, and has done 5 marathons already this year!  She’s not even sure how many marathons she has done in her life, but she said it’s well over a hundred.  Maybe close to two hundred.  Incredible!

Well that’s it, and now I aim for the OBX Marathon in North Carolina.  Since I have not run much this summer, I’m doing the half.  At sea level, I’m shooting for 1:45.

I know Clint Eastwood was never a great actor, but he was so cool.  He had “it” you know?  Turns out he is a better director than an actor, but I would much rather see him in front of the camera than not see him all.  What has this got to do with anything?  Well, nothing actually.

But speaking of the title of the movie, I had one of those weeks this week.  Some of it was good, some bad, and although nothing was really ugly, I had to put it in here because it’s a catchy title.   The week started off with going to the Nugget / Piston basketball game with a customer of mine.  Of course that involved eating bad food and copious amounts of beer.  The good thing is that that Pistons won!  On Tuesday night I did my speed and hill work and threw some plyometric exercises in there also.  That was good.  On Wednesday, I went to dinner with a supplier, and although I tried to eat good, it turned out bad.  Hey, someone else was paying so of course I had to indulge myself.  I ran 6 miles on Thursday at The Snug which was good, but the way I do it isn’t so good.  I run 3 miles, have a Guiness, then run 3 more.   I don’t think I’ve ever seen that method listed anywhere in any running magazine.  Friday, Diane and I went out to eat and it was all you could eat fish and chips!  Sweet!  I really didn’t eat that much, but it was bad.  Today was a 16 mile run and the weather was awesome.  It was 45 to start and about 55 by the time I ended.  I didn’t do too bad, which is good!  It was designed to be an easy run just to build up my miles, and I did it in a 9:02 per mile pace.  I’m happy with that, and I’m glad that this week is over.

I enjoy reading some of the other running blogs that I come across because they sometimes have good information, or some type of training tip that is useful.  It is a struggle sometimes to come up with something on my end that is useful, and maybe just slightly entertaining.  If this was just a journal that I listed how many miles I ran today, what type of terrain, and what the weather was like, I wouldn’t want to share that because for the most part, I don’t think anyone really cares.  “OMG, Dave ran 10 miles today and it was only 20 degrees!  I hope he’s okay!”  That being said, I ran 10 miles on Saturday and it was 35 degrees!  And I’m okay.  This was a recovery week and even though I only ran 10 miles, I did 4 miles of it at a 7:45 pace which for me is great.  Along the way, I spotted a bald eagle in a tree and it was totally awesome.  That thing was huge!  One bonus lately is it is staying lighter out later now, so at least when I get home from work and go running, there still is some daylight.  (Who cares Dave?  We can see that it’s staying lighter out.  We are not blind.)  Um, well I did stick to my guns about drinking only light beer despite my son Jason giving me shit about it.  He is somewhat confused in that he thinks that I’m either 260 pounds or 150 pounds.  I did decide though that Amstel Light is the way to go.  It is the best tasting light beer on the market in my opinion.

This week the new gym I joined opens up and I am going to try and work out in the mornings now, and go running after work.  I will see how that goes.  It may be that the gym will be packed because it’s brand new, and I won’t enjoy it if I have to fight over the equipment.  Stay tuned for more breath taking details on this, and many other earth shattering events to come.