Posts from — October 2006

It is just shy of 1am. I haven’t stayed up this late in longer than I can remember. The day started early enough, around 6am with a run through Tallman State Park. I didn’t want to be pissed off at myself for not doing another morning run, so I got out the door of my hotel and had a thoroughly enjoyable run. I stopped on several occasions to take pictures of sights that I thought interesting, including this corny picture of myself taken while holding my camera phone at arms length.

After my run, it was a quick breakfast, shower and change of clothes for another morning spent in an all day conference. Today though, I had an important engagement in the afternoon, so I snuck out of it at the lunch time break. I had to be home to change into my Halloween costume and pick up my children from school. It is an annual tradition that I will not miss. I figure I only have a few years in which my kids will want me to pick them up in school dressed in some creepy costume and I am not going to miss one opportunity.

I went as Dracula this year and my son and daughter were matching vampires. I think we looked fantastic if I do say so myself. We went trick or treating throughout our neighborhood and my kids got bucket loads of candy. Hopefully their teeth won’t rot out before they reach their teenage years.

After Trick or Treating, we went back home along with another couple and their children. We have been Trick or Treating together for several years now. We ate dinner and the kids then played together and handed out candy to passing trick or treat’ers. My friend knew I had to be back at my conference this evening, for a Halloween party that my company was throwing. It was regrettable that I had to leave my children, but I was exceedingly happy that I was able to get out at all and spend most of Halloween with my children.

I got back to the conference early enough so that I missed very little of the Halloween party. It was ok as far as a “work” party goes and I stayed up later than I would have liked and drank more that I should have. I think I am writing with a fairly decent clarity, so it doesn’t appear as though I drank too much.

Well now it is past 1am and I am going to go to sleep. I am willing to bet my last dollar that I will not be getting up in the morning for a run. I can’t imagine how that would be possible. Miracles do happen though and perhaps I will be feeling exceedingly masochistic. I do enjoy my pain.

Under a quickly setting sun, I managed to squeeze in a workout before it got too dark. I went on the trails along the IBM Executive Briefing Center and headed into Tallman State Park. It was probably a bit foolish to attempt a run alone on unfamiliar trails while it was getting dark, but I felt on living a bit on the wild side. I figured I could always navigate by staying on the path and if I got hurt and couldn’t make it back on my own, I could always use my cell phone to call a colleague and setup a search and rescue mission.

It was nice to be alone and in the woods. I passed a couple of deer and a raccoon and I was the only person around. I went out to do a 6 mile loop, but at about the 2.5 mark, the trail became confusing, so instead of floundering around looking for where to go, I just started to back track it home. At this point, someone who saw me getting ready to go for a run back at the hotel, decided to go and caught up to me. We ran a few short paces, to see if we can pick up the trail. What we found seemed to lead us done a rocky slope and we figured tackling it now, with the sun below the horizon would be ill advisable.

I will have to do this run again tomorrow morning. It was so nice to run on trails and hearing the dirt crunch under your feet. Plus the ground is easier on my legs and I didn’t even notice my recent ankle problems.

When I returned from my run, I ate a couple of chocolate chip cookies for a recovery meal. It was all I had in my room and dinner wasn’t being served for a while. I showered quickly, dressed again and then went out to the lounge area to socialize and drink with my coworkers. I couldn’t find anyone to agree that Beer is a good post-workout recovery drink. I took it with a vitamin, so it should be ok.

After drinking and talking for a while, we all headed down to the dining hall. It was buffet style meals and you could slop onto your plates all the food you can eat. I ate a normal sized amount of food. My food consumption was somewhat limited by the 3 previous beers poured into my stomach. We bullshitted at the dinner table for a while and then excused ourselves to hang out in the Sports Bar at another location in the facility.

At this point I just sort of listened in and perked up when I heard something that sparked my interest. I was kind of getting tired and just wanted to head back to my room. On the one hand I wanted to make sure I got enough rest to do my workout in the morning. But on the other hand, I felt that I was missing out on all the games and socializing that was going on. I stayed for a while, but in the end I just wasn’t feeling it. The tradeoff of drinking all night and playing games with my coworkers was just too divergent from what I need to do in order to keep my training in check and satisfying. It was kind of hard to leave when you hear groups starting to shout and have fun. I couldn’t enjoy that though as I didn’t feel pulled into the moments. It was not enough of a draw to keep me from missing out on a workout in the morning. I guess I just have different priorities.

I couldn’t wake up this morning and missed my run. I am feeling about as aggravated as I ever have about not doing a workout. My schedule called for a 6 mile very easy AR run or off. I didn’t feel like taking off though. It is too darn nice outside to just blow it off.

Anyway, I can probably try to run this evening, but it would be on a treadmill. I think it will be too dark to run on the trails, which look beautiful; hence my overwhelming feeling of aggravation at not going this morning. I could swim instead. The pool is 25 yards so I could get in a decent workout. Oh, I am just so pissed at myself I can’t stand it. I mean really can’t stand it. I have to go to this meeting and I’ll be sitting on my ass for the next 8 hours.

Insomnia has set in. This gives me time to write about all of the things I’ve observed over the past few weeks. One of them is a sign that I am getting older. An obscene amount of gray hair fell from the scissors at my barbershop during my last haircut. At least 25 percent of the hair was gray. What a scary proposition. Is there nothing I can do to reverse this trend? And I mean reverse it, not cover it up with Grecian Formula.

At least I can control some things. I can control my weight and not be like these two lard asses, whose butts overflow into the subway seat beside them. It would just be unacceptable to me to have a wad of my butt taking up a second seat. I wanted to ask the owners of these offensive butts if they paid an extra fair for them. Check out the weight loss flyer stuck in the advertisement next to them. It was written just for them, but do they take it, no.

I am hoping the issues with my feet will become resolved soon and I will feel as fleet as foot as this one. I caught this picture in the subway station near my podiatrist’s office. I wonder if he had anything to do with the placement. Anyway I saw it after I left his office so I took it as a good omen. Something about it makes me feel as though I will be running fast again.

I still see the man on the corner quite regularly. Here he is doing who the hell knows what? Maybe picking up some trash. Here he is again later in the month during some colder weather.

I am on the road again traveling. This time I am up and the IBM Palisades Executive Briefing Center off of route 9W; about 2 miles north of the NY State line. I must have passed this place a hundred times during my bike rides up route 9W to Bear Mountain. I should have ridden my bike here today, but it would have been difficult carrying all my crap with me. I would have needed a bicycle trailer. At least I have a nice little view outside my window. Supposedly there is a nice 1.5 mile running trail along the grounds. I’ll find out tomorrow morning.

I got my last longish run before the NYCM today. 7.4 miles around Prospect Park. I can’t imagine how many times I ran around that park. I should have my ashes scattered over it after I die. It was chilly and very windy. The wind blew against me just as I started to climb the hill. Nothing like a little bonus resistance while training.

I am supposed to be here over Halloween, which is quite an annoyance to me. I’ve not missed one Halloween with my children since they were born. It’s been an annual tradition that I pick the up from school in my costume and see how many kids I can scare. Most of the kids are just amused, but some of them get totally freaked out. I’ll have to try to get back to the city to go trick or treating and then make it back up to finish my conference. Speaking of which, its time for me to go and check into it.

I went for a run tonight after I got home from work. I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been feeling distraught in the evening and all I want to do is veg out and go to sleep. I’ve been forcing myself to go out and run as I know I always feel better after I do. I really should get back to running in the morning so I can get that endorphin rush at the start of my day, rather than when I only have a few hours left in the day to enjoy it.

It was raining by the time I got home and I half debated whether or not I should do the run on my treadmill. I like running outdoors so much better so it really wasn’t a question. I guess part of my reluctance to go outdoors, was I knew the park would be deserted. I am beginning to worry like an old lady that something will happen to me if I take the out of the way routes I normally run on. I guess the worry comes with knowing that I have two small children at home and it wouldn’t do to be knocked unconscious while traveling along one of the transverses. I hate this feeling of nervousness. I don’t know if its normal or I am just turning into a paranoid schizophrenic. Maybe a bit of both. Maybe it is a result of getting older, like not being read anything up close and have lots of gray hair begin to appear on my head.

Anyway, nothing untoward happened to me and I thoroughly enjoyed running around the park. It was almost completely empty. I only saw two other runners. For some reason Friday nights are not a popular time for people to be out and exercising. I guess everyone has more of a social life than I do. I suppose the rain contributed to the emptiness. I didn’t quite get 6 miles when I came out of the park, so I continued over to the Prospect Expressway and ran over a pedestrian overpass. I got a nice picture of myself with the traffic on the background. I think it looks like I am trying to break out of prison.

I ran with my friend Larry this evening. If I didn’t plan to meet him, I may have just gone to bed. I arrived at home feeling cold and tired and sleep seemed like a much more appealing idea than a run. By the time Larry called to tell me he was ready to go, it was cold, dark and windy outside.

As soon as I got outside I realized I was under dressed for the run. Larry’s pace can best be described as slow and steady which wasn’t fast enough for me to warm up. I didn’t really mind the slower pace, as I figured it would be an exercise in proper pace management for the upcoming JFK 50. I’ll just have to dress warmer for the next one.

We spent the time talking about the Hawaii Ironman and about strategy for the JFK 50. It is getting close and I want to make sure I am fully prepared for it. I think my feet and ankles will hold up, even though they are still a little achy. The discomfit I am feeling has been very minor and will hopefully remain as such throughout the duration of the upcoming NYCM and JFK 50. I know one thing though; it is going to be tough running slow for so long. I wonder if I will be able to contain my pace.

The park was empty this evening and a beautiful crescent moon was showing. The cold and windy fall air made for a very clear sky and everything appear to be sharply in focus. It seemed like a perfect night for a run; it was a wonder that more people weren’t out. I guess not everyone finds it enjoyable to run when it is cold dark and windy.

Blogger was down last night, so I couldn’t post this entry timely. Darn it…

So I’ve been running for the past few days. The pain in my ankle has only been occasionally flaring up causing a bit of a shock when it occurs. I’ve been able to run through it though, so it seems as though I am back on track.

For the last three days I ran at night after I got home. Each time I really just felt like vegging out on my couch and was of half a mind to just forget about it. I was feeling drawn out and exhausted from work and didn’t want to go. However I forced myself to go and I felt much better afterwards. I think it was the reward of that post workout feeling that got me to get out the door.

This evening was an extra special run. My daughter had finished her homework before I arrived home and she wanted to go out with me. It is a great feeling to know that my child thinks that running on a cold and windy fall evening is a fun and interesting thing to do. She is getting very strong on her bike. I had to run hard in order to keep up with her. We talked the entire time about school, friends and stories from times I was training by myself at night and from when I was a kid in school. Here is a picture of us stopping by Grand Army Plaza to memorialize our night out together.

I am getting more impatient as I get older. I hate waiting around for anything. I feel as though every second of my life should be geared toward seeking pleasure out of it and being forced to wait for something is a colossal waste of time. I think instant gratification is a great thing. This is probably why I am filled with such angst over the state of my ankle.

Speaking of my ankle, I saw my podiatrist again today. He gave me the green light to run on it an assured me that I won’t tear anything or cause further damage. It may get tender and sore, but as long as I can deal with the pain, I should be alright. The problem is with the Peroneal Tendon. Now that I am no longer worried about running with the injury, I’ll take the pain it gives me as just an added benefit to training hard. Doesn’t any endurance athlete only feel alive while they are in the midst of their suffering?

I was able to get in a 6 mile run this evening in 46 minutes. Not bad for a week layoff. I need to send thanks to my friend Todd for getting me the same pair of shoes I was wearing before all this trouble began. Now that I am running, I just have to hope I am still in shape for the marathon.

This entry should be a lot longer, but it is getting late and I need to try to wake up tomorrow morning for a workout. I’ll try to get the remaining items off my mind tomorrow during my commute to work.

This pain in the ankle is becoming a real pain in the ass. I was able to run just over 8 miles today, but towards the end I started to feel my ankle acting up. Fortunately, I was able to make it home without any shooting pains going through it, but the way it felt was definitely sub-optimal. I guess on the brighter side of things, at least I was able to run. I guess that means if I give it enough time to heal, I’ll eventually be able to run pain free. My fear is that it will never heal and my running days are over.

I definitely needed to get out and run today. After a full week of absolutely nothing, other than being a couch jockey, I was being to feel very out of shape and stale. When I first started running, I felt awful and rusty. Eventually I started feeling better and began to enjoy the run; that is until I started to feel my ankle acting up. This really sucks. It makes me start thinking about amputation as a viable option.