Posts from — October 2006

Every freaking Friday, I can count on it like clockwork; a major crisis will develop in my office. I’ve gotten to the point where I no longer worry about it happening; because I can be assured that it will occur. Perhaps I should just start taking Fridays off. Avoid the whole crisis business from the start. I now find it more amusing than anything else. Fortunately, we figured out a creative solution for this week’s problem and I was able to get out of my office without too much delay.

I am on the subway now and sitting opposite me is a mother who just smacked her baby. She has done it twice so far. The second time a couple of people saw it and I shared a look with the woman seated next to me. It is a cute little kid and this woman has a scowl on her face as if to say “How da fuck did I wind up having to take care of a baby”. Oh that’s nice; she just fed him some candy. Nothing like a nutritious snack for a growing child.

My foot is feeling a little better today. I am going to try it out tomorrow morning and see how it feels. I am not too worried about it as I always have amputation as an option. The miserable thing about Plantar Fasciitis is that you can’t work through it. Give me some good ole’ fashion shin splints, now that’s some good pain that I can run through.

Amazing how I am still hungry all of the time even though I haven’t trained in 3 days. It is also amazing at how out of shape I feel in that same short time. I wonder what I will do if I have to take a long layoff. G-d I am hungry. Maybe I’ll go ask the abusive mother for some of her candy.

I suddenly find myself with a major case of Plantar Fasciitis. Well not a major case, but it is keeping me from running for the next couple of days. My foot suddenly started bothering me yesterday morning, continued throughout the day and got worse when I attempted to run at night. I decided to call off last night’s run after only a mile so as not to turn a small problem into a large one. The only think I can attribute this ailment to was the fact I ran with new running shoes Tuesday evening. They are the exact same model that I was previously using, but maybe something was tweaked in their design by the manufacturer unbeknownst to me. The result being a bum foot

I hate when I have to take time off due to injury. It especially hurts when everything has been going so well with my training. I will just have to take it a day at a time to see how it goes. I don’t know what to do with myself. I am very distraught over this. I can just hear a certain friend telling me I told you so as it relates to my increased distance lately. I don’t want to hear it.

I read somewhere that I should write for about 20 minutes everyday, even if I have nothing to write about. Well, that is what I am doing now. I’ve got the time since I am trapped on the subway on the way home. At least it is moving today. One of the things I saw while riding was this woman sitting right next to me. She has the longest neck I have ever seen. She must be part giraffe and a chiropractors dream. How many vertebrae must be in that thing?

Do you ever get the sensation that time is running out. Running out on anything; luck, life, opportunity, etc. I know I’ve said it before, but I have such an overwhelming sense of time passing. They are uncontrollable thoughts. I can feel every single second of everyday pass by. This makes it so hard to enjoy life when you are consumed with the passing of it. I guess all I can do about it is to try to enjoy every second of it.

I am running again in the evening. I think I’ve practically given up trying to wake up in the morning. I guess I will soon start recognizing the evening runners. I’ve gotten so used to seeing the same people in the park every morning. Evening running will make me aware of a whole new crop of runners and cyclists. One of the benefits of evening running is the local pub will be open so I can stop in for a post workout beer. Nothing like replacing lost carbohydrates right away.

OMG, the subway is just freakin’ intolerable today. Hot and crowded and deadly slow. The MTA must think there is no reason to air condition the cars since it’s now October. To top it off some bastard keeps getting their bag caught in the door, invoking endless announcements to please step away from the door. I am hoping to get home early enough to do my run, but as it stands now I am trapped in this hell for the foreseeable future.

Prospect Park will seem like the wide open plains if I ever make it there. Maybe once I do I can imagine myself running through the grassy fields. I probably better not as to not risk getting smashed by another cyclist while my thoughts are off wandering. I should have left work earlier, but no, I had to stay to make sure I got some things done. No good deed goes unpunished is what they say.

At least as of late I am able to amuse myself with some new music on my MP3 player. Well, not new music per se, but a different mix of some classic heavy metal and punk rock. Until this past weekend, my MP3 player was stuck playing the same playlist over and over – for about a year. I’ve really learned to hate some of my previously favorite songs.

10pm –

Not only did I get my run in this evening, but I had a great time of it. My legs are still a bit sore from the increased mileage, but they seem to be handling it well. The park was dark when I got there, the result of the increasingly shorter days. It made for a mostly peaceful night run, especially when I ran along the park’s transverses, which were completely deserted.

I ran a pace that felt natural, which in the end averaged out to a 7:57 M/M. A couple of times during the run another runner tried to keep pace with me right after I caught them. It was amusing and annoying at the same time. One guy kept pace so close to me on my side, it was like he wanted to hold hands while we ran.

When I returned home I was ravenously hungry. My wife served up the remainder of a chicken carcass that was languishing in my refrigerated. I ripped into it like Genghis Kahn. That and some pasta and veggies rounded out my post workout meal. I had a chocolate chip cookie for desert.

My daughter also wanted to accompany me on her bike for my run tonight, but unfortunately she had not yet completed her homework. She was very disappointed when I told her that she couldn’t go with me, since her homework was more important. Hopefully, her desire to go out with me when I run will inspire her to get it done earlier in the day. On the bright side of things it is very heartwarming to know she wants to go with me and is disappointed when she can’t.

I decided to take today off. I was schedule for a very easy 3 mile active recovery run, but I figured running around with my kids all day was recovery enough. I probably could have struggled through a run, but I tend to try to go too hard, turning it from recovery into a workout. I am sure my legs will thank me tomorrow.

One thing I did do today was send in my application and entry fee for the JFK 50 Miler. I am now definitely committed to the race. I no longer have any doubt that I will be successful at it. I am even thinking I can have a pretty competitive time. I’ll just have to see how race day goes and remember, more than anything, to pace myself very slow especially for the first 30 miles or so. I am looking forward to struggling through the Appalachian Trail section and then first having to contend with miles of endless tow path along the canal. I suspect I’ll learn a lot about myself as I do it. The suffering should be wonderful.

Well today wasn’t really a long run, unless you consider 13.1 miles as long. But the run was done hard, at somewhat of a race pace. So all things considered, I’d say I put the same stress on my legs that I would have if the run was 20 miles; possibly even more.

I did the Greta’s Great Gallop Half Marathon. My coach told me to race it. I had my doubts as to whether I could, but my legs showed up for race day. Right at the start I ran into my friend Jon. We paced each other for the first 3 miles. The last time I raced with Jon at the start of a race was the NJ Marathon. Both of these races were very successful. I need to make starting a race with Jon into more of a habit.

I must say I am really surprised at how well I did. I didn’t expect my pace to be so good. I easily negative split the race and never really entered anaerobic levels. My only limiting factor was the fatigue in my legs from my run yesterday. I guess I could have pushed myself harder, but I was afraid of digging too deep and killing myself for the next couple of days.

The day itself was very wet. It started to pour at the start of the race, eventually slowing to a steady rain for the duration. I didn’t mind it though as it served to keep me cool. I wore a hat to keep the water out of my eyes and my regular eyeglasses since my Rudy Projects tend to fog up. The only disappointment for the day was that I told my wife it was better off to keep the kids at home, rather than take them to the kid’s races later in the morning. I didn’t see the point in making them stand around in the rain to race a couple of hundred yards. It probably all worked out for the best, since they started the kid’s races right around the time I was finishing. I probably would have missed them anyway.

The Race:

My legs felt a bit heavy from my 20 miler yesterday, but they were turning over well and I felt pretty good. I kept a moderate pace at first and then just naturally began to run faster. It wasn’t much of an effort to do so. I was just able to run well. I didn’t think about running faster or slowing down, I just ran the pace that felt right.

Even though it was easy for me to run a 7:23 pace (7:05 if you count the total Polar 625x distance), I did feel some aches and pains in my legs. I guess that is to be expected when you start putting in some running distance and then go out and race the next day. The pain felt good. I was relishing in it and liking the way my body was feeling as I worked towards the finish line. I am beginning to feel invincible when it comes to running and I am really enjoying my new found running stamina.

For the remainder of the day I played baseball with my kids outside my house, took them to see a movie and then pushed them on the swings in a nearby park. It turned out to be such a beautiful day and I really enjoyed being out in it with my kids.