Get Ready to Run!

Watch Out Oprah, I Got New Feet

2010-05-06T20:09:00.001-07:00

Three years ago I started a blog named “Beating Oprah” to raise money for the American Cancer Society and to chronicle my ultimately failed attempt, at the 2007 Chicago Marathon, to best Ms. Oprah Winfrey’s personal record at the distance (she ran a 4 hour 28 minute marathon; dang Oprah!). Sometime after that effort I renamed the blog so as to record not only time and distance, but how I was physically feeling when I ran, what was working, what wasn’t, and occasionally, the wild thoughts and stories one conjures up while swimming through a 15 mile, Houston Summertime run. Somewhere along the way it no longer became a priority and short of time and distance, all the other information I mined from my runs was lost.

I find myself, now three years on, back in the same spot; training for the Chicago Marathon with Houston Fall FIT. Though I’m not really concerned with Oprah’s times any more, it is interesting to realize how some of the first posts I wrote back in Spring 2007 are applicable to today. Back then I was starting to get some heel and knee pain and had grown so weary of it that I took the biggest step a runner can make … I switched shoe brand and type! I wrote scandalous, love-letter like posts about how great my new Mizuno stability shoes were and about how I was looking forward to finally running healthy.

That shoe love affair was short lived though, as later on in that season my left foot broke down and I got a mean case of chronic plantar fasciitis (aka, “that foot ‘itis”). That would start what’s dragged into years of minor injuries, minor trips to Houston’s major medical establishments, and some surprisingly great runs, along with some real stinkers. 2007’s Chicago Marathon turned out to be more Southside Houston than Southside Great Lakes; the race was cancelled due to extreme heat and I, along with most participants, was pulled off the course before completing the race. Later that year I would stumble my way through my first ultra marathon, six months later would finish Hood to Coast (“The Mother of all Relays”), but in the 2009 Houston Marathon I set an injury plagued, dismal “personal worst” at the distance. Surprisingly, I threw in a relatively healthy season of training for last year’s Marine Corps Marathon, and with no time goals at all, came within 100 seconds of my personal record; that record was the one I thought I would never approach again, so I was excited to be a healthy runner putting up personally healthy times. Immediately after that race though, my right leg broke down in a major way, and I found myself back in one of those major medical buildings; will it be any different this time around?

Maybe. After many a session of physical therapy and learning way more about how the human hip works than I reason to know, I think I have the tools to stay healthy. “New orthotics” (that’s fancy talk for shoe inserts) were prescribed as a piece of the solution and I now sit undertrained but basically pain free and two days shy of another marathon training season with Felix and my Houston FIT peeps.

The lessons will come hard and fast as I’ll quickly work my way up to a volume and intensity of running I didn’t achieve through spring’s short races and my various layoffs while my body adjusted to its newly re-mastered feet and right hip. This will be my attempt to record what doesn’t work, try and lay in stone what does, and absolutely record those oh so lucid hallucinations the 21 miler, in 80 degree weather, will no doubt bring.

P.S. – I’ve removed the link to the old Beating Oprah site, because frankly it is just odd to read your thoughts from three years prior (probably should remove all the old ones on here, but for now, they will stick around). Even if I remove them I will probably bring some back on occasion, but I will certainly not bring back the one where I said Barry White must have ran in Mizuno since they make love to your feet, no, that one is gone forever!!

Beating of my drum

2008-07-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

Dear goodness! I'm in geek runner heaven!!! For the second run of the day, I actually figured out how to pair my heart rate monitor strap with my running watch (use that Computer Engineering degree, use it!) and thus was able, with the included software, to build this bad ass chart of pace versus heart rate:

My heart rate is in red, and my pace is in blue. Not surprisingly, when my pace slowed due to a road crossing and then two walk breaks, my heart rate plummeted. What is cool is I felt like the entire run was within a hot-humid but none-the-less comfortable zone, and my heart rate did hang out in the comfortable, yet hard working, mid 170s. I'm not exactly sure if I can use all this information proactively, or simply help to diagnose my runs and any problems that occur; time will tell. Regardless, I'm quite happy with my new toy. Bring on the distance, versus elevation, versus heart rate charts!!!

Tombstone

2008-07-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

"A veteran HoustonFIT runner said that when he dies, his tombstone will read 'Left on Crestwood, Right on Blossom' ."

Yep folks, it's marathon training season again! This weeks HoustonFIT run, the third of about 26 or so, took us along our favored path, the conjunction of Crestwood and Blossom. The quote above was relayed to our Yellow Group (9 to 10 minute mile pace) by our new head coach Alaina; she herself was quoting Mack, one of our runners with the longest tenure. There's a case to be made that the repetition of Crestwood and Blossom is mind numbingly boring. Equally valid is the case that training for my fifth marathon is a bit of a bore. But yet, despite it all, I, and many other familiar faces, continue on.

I doubt we do it for the toys, though I am happy to report that I have a new one; I'm the proud owner of a Garmin Forerunner 405. This latest of the Garmin GPS running watches is basically a location device with more computing power than the first couple of computers I owned ... combined. Routes, pace, calories, heart rate, and wireless communication are just a few of it's tricks, and I can say that after just one run, I'm quite enamored with it. It will let me record my runs in truly gory detail (bring on the numbers!!!)!

But toys come and go, so maybe I train for the side benefits; other races. Last year was the SunMart 50k, my first Ultramarathon (or ultra hike, as the pace was admittedly slow). This year, in just a month actually, will be my first uber relay, Hood to Coast. Though most of us do bring a respectable running pedigree to the Hood team, we're all ultimately together because of the people we know.

And that's really what it comes down to, the people. Though I'm sure I've basically written this post before (probably about this time last year!), it's worth reiterating that the people and all their accompanying drama make the dynamics of a training group fun (and the training isn't bad either!). Whether it's making new friends, finding time for old ones, listening to our walkers deal with being kicked out of the marathon, or girlfriend/boyfriend athletic bonding, the people keep it fun. I really can't fathom running with another group, and am surprised by the familiar faces that I see running the streets with no group, or more surprisingly, running with the likes of Kenyan Way or Runners High. Those people are often putting their personal goals ahead of the group dynamic, and feel a change of scenery will help; I certainly can't begrudge them that. For me though, I like my little running group to much to consider anything else.

Though I'm basically healthy for the first time in a year, and running more frequently than I have in about that same amount of time (behold July's mileage to your right; the busiest month of the year thus far!), for all I know this could be my last marathon training season. Deep down I doubt that, but all things come to an end; even if I keep running for many, many years, half-marathon specialization is certainly in the cards for my old, busted knees and feet.

The thought that this marathon might be it, the last one, led to a rehash of what could be called my yearly "GET HYPED, IT'S TIME TO TRAIN" post. Though the group is fun, I also use them for peer pressure to help me accomplish my goals. As the years go by, I know I get closer to the "running is better than drinking and watching too many sports" part of my running career, so I know I have limited opportunities to set a personal best in the marathon. I'm healthy and have the support of the usual cast of characters (though one is in a slightly different role this year ... don't you just hate inside comments on a blog ... goodness!) so I hope to be able to hit things hard and have a good race come January. Good doesn't necessarily mean a record, I've certainly been running long enough to know that, but last year I was hurt, and that certainly was not the good I was looking for.

Left on Crestwood, right on Blossom ... for at least one more year!

Back on the Horse

2008-07-16T13:26:00.001-07:00

Whew! Now that was a good break from blogging!!! After a bit of a hiatus which probably has no one reading this thing, I've decided that I should start it back up. It proved useful in documenting what did and did not lead to my heel problems, so I should be equally diligent in documenting my current recovery.

As you'll notice from my handy-dandy RunningAhead widget to the right, my mileage for June took a nice tick upward as I finally worked my way into running three to four times a week, and I also started running some six mile runs on the weekend. All in all my body has accepted this "return to work" with little complaint. My stride is certainly better, as the thudding that was my left footfall has been replaced by a more smooth, less impactful step. I wear the orthotics all the time, and that, combined with nightly socking, seem to keep my heel pain at no more than 25 to 40% of its old levels. I'm not all the way back to full foot health, but I don't feel as if the current level of issue will affect my ability to heal ... my heel ... unless I run hills ... I'll stop.

If you noticed June was an increase in mileage, surely you've taken note of crazy July! Though that mileage total won't compare with the ones from October through December, this could go down as my most active July ever. The main facilitator of that is Hood to Coast; I've started running three times in a 24 hour span to simulate the relay. This Monday through Tuesday was the first time I did that, and though the runs were pint sized at 3.5, 2.9, and 3.0, that does add up to decent miles by the time I throw on Thursday speed work and Saturday's long run. As I've increased my work load, most of my pain has been muscular with some pain in the knees and right hip. The knees, well, that's old news. The right hip seems to be the area that has taken the longest to adjust to the orthotics (it started hurting soon after I got the new footwear), but of late I haven't noticed it, so hopefully it's rounded the corner.

For tomorrow's speed work, I'm going to take a break from the long ladders of the past two weeks and move back into shorter, more anaerobic distances (8 x 400m x 200m). As most of my running this Spring has been fairly easy "recovery" runs while I acclimated to my orthotics or recovered from my ankle sprain, my body seems to sputter when I get close to going anaerobic. These shorter repeats should encourage my body to improve it's oxygen consumption (one of the key goals), while also allowing me to repeatedly bump up into my anaerobic zone. Since I'll bump the zone many times, but not stay in it for too long, I'll be able to rack up considerable anaerobic time without blowing up (i.e., the summation of the repeats will have be being anaerobic longer than with a ladder). In theory, this will push my anaerobic zone to a higher speed, allowing me to work more efficiently. I was fond of last year's Yasso workout (10 x 800m x 400m), so I may try to work my way back into those.

For Saturday's long run, I'm actually going to try and integrate some hills via Rick's famed parking deck at San Felipe and I-610. The details are still a bit hazy, but as my middle leg at Hood to Coast is an extreme uphill, I need to get some hill running under my legs.

Well, that will do it for today! I plan to be more diligent in my running posts and maybe have a post a week that is on some random topic; it helps my sanity to let those rogue thoughts out! Take care!

Running on the Hardwood

2008-05-29T13:26:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday, I returned to my podiatrist to get direction on how to wear my new orthotics. That was also the first day I wore them for the entire day at work; no real problems, though on dress shoes you have to work the laces a touch to make the orthotic and shoe coexist in harmony.

Dr. Hasse said that I should start wearing the orthotics all the time; any shoe that I wear, the orthotic should be in it. Once my plantar fascitis abates (she thinks the orthotics will accomplish that), I can choose to only wear them in my running shoes if I prefer. I was given clearance to start running, it actually seemed like she wanted me to run, though I was told to take it very slow. She recounted a runner with new orthotics who came in complaining of pain from the new inserts. "How much have you been running?" "Only three miles two days ago, and three miles yesterday." With that tale told, she emphasized that I should a) return to running very slowly and b) under no circumstances should I run on back-to-back days.

So on Wednesday, I laced up the running shoes for the first time in almost a month, and proceeded to Memorial. Per the doc's advice (she wanted my first run to be two repeats of one half mile running, one half mile walking), I planned to take it easy and run one half mile, walk a half mile, turn around, and run the mile back. The first half mile went well, with only some minor ankle/heel twinging towards the end. After the somewhat boring half mile walk, I ran the mile return while trying to force my bad foot to relax; I get the sense that I've started controlling how it lands, perhaps due to the pain in the heel. So ran I did, with my foot all loose and landing on the ground as it damn well pleased ... and things went great. Everything (save a little hamstring pain) was good, the mile was fast enough to be respectable (under 10 min/mile) and I ended with renewed hopes that I've finally found the elixir of life for my running career (I was starting to worry that me and running were going to have to part ways). I will run a mile, walk a half mile, then run 1.5 miles on my next trip to the park. On my third trip, I will (get ready for it!) run three miles with no break!!!

There's still much internal debate about what shoes I should run in. Dr. Hasse seems to be a fan of New Balance, but now that I've had a successful run in Mizuno, I would like to keep the shoes the same to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, whether the orthotics are really to be credited with any improvement. I have about 40 miles left on these shoes, so perhaps I will run them out, and then decide how I should proceed.

Take a Hike

2008-05-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

Wednesday I finished up my shock therapy (man did they hit me hard; my crusty little pinky toe was dancing every time the juice flowed) and received my orthotics. Though the podiatrist shafted me on my consultation appointment to discuss exactly how and when to wear the orthotics (thanks Doc), I know that I am to slooooowly transition my feet into them; start at one hour a day, and increase by one hour each day thereafter. I have a meeting with the podiatrist next Tuesday to discuss exactly how/when I am to wear my new toys.

I also have a decision about what kind of shoe I now want to run in. Despite the fact that a switch in shoe, a move to orthotics, and an end to heel pain (let's hope!) would mean I wouldn't know if the shoe or the orthotics helped, it still feels like a natural time to switch. The heel of the orthotic is very firm, plate-like some would say. For that reason I wonder if it really matters whether my shoes have a lot of control, as the foot will be staying in a biomechanically crisp position thanks to the orthotic. I will ponder, discuss with the doc, and do some relevant Google searching.

So a two hour hike with Melissa to Miller Outdoor Theatre tonight. Then three hours on Friday and so on. Running next week? Maybe, though not in the orthotics; I think I would run in my current shoes with the normal insoles, as I want to give my foot ample time to adjust before I start running. If I decide not to run the Race for the Pennant 5k (May 31st), then there's really no need to run next week (other than to preserve my waistline and keep my sanity ... sigh ... actually, the stationary bike is keeping me fairly sane).

Well that's it for the foot update kiddos. Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Diversify

2008-05-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

So as for running, as I think as I promised last time, there hasn't been any. I am still awaiting my orthotics (probably a week away yet), though I do go to the foot doctor for shock therapy #3 of 6 on Tuesday. My foot, from an ankle perspective, is feeling quite stellar. From a plantar fascitis point of view, not so good; the underside of my heel bone is quite angry. I've started socking again, and hope that a nightly tug on the old plantar will alleviate most of my heel pain as I prepare to start running again.

It's been awhile since I posted about money, moolah, change, cheese, greenbacks, etc., so here we go; I'm about to sale a lot of my company's stock. This article was brought up to me today, and it embodies what I've been feeling of late; we can't find oil. With the price of oil so bloody high, national oil companies (NOCs) are making it harder and harder for us to get access to their booty. In short, they would rather get the oil and gas themselves, instead of offering us, or any other international oil company (IOC), a piece of the pie. Most people think we make a lot of money from the sale of gasoline; we don't. Actually, our refining business isn't making much these days since the cost of oil that makes gasoline is so damn high. To some people's surprise, there has always been talk of the company getting out of the gasoline business. Instead, we would just suck the stuff out of the ground, and sale it to people who do nothing but refine it into gasoline and other products (Valero being the largest such example).

Our Upstream, the folks who find and suck the oil and gas, are making all our money. Since we are making a lot, the question is, what are we doing with it. Are we buying other oil companies? Nope, they are too expensive with the price of oil so high. Are we trying to get into new areas to find oil? Yes, but with limited success, as the most lucrative areas (Russia, Saudi Arabia, United States) are either off limits (the first two) or are limiting drilling (the good old US of A!). So instead we are ... buying butt loads of our own stock. Last quarter, the company purchased $8 billion (yep, with a B) of our own stock. Why?

Two reasons are popular. One, the company leaders feel we are under priced, so why not invest in ourselves. We demand a premium share price for its stock, more so than any other IOC, so that reason doesn't hold a lot of water. The second, and more likely truthful answer, is we don't have anything else to do with the money, so we buy up our own shares.

Why should I care, you ask? After all, if we buy our own shares, we have less dividends to pay, and can thus pay more for each dividend. The reason I care is share price is ultimately dictated by Wall Street's opinion of your ability to make more money than you have before. Without additional oil and gas to suck from the ground, we will be unable to make more money than we have in the past without a run up in oil prices. Though oil could go higher, many think we are reaching some kind of ceiling, or bubble, and the price is bound to decrease. For the first quarter of 2008, we produced 3% less oil and gas than in the same period of 2007; we are not finding and producing more oil and gas.

So without higher oil prices, and without more oil being produced, what is our future? Well, we will certainly still make gads of money, as we produce a lot of oil (though only 3% of the world's daily supply; the NOCs produce most of the world's oil). But, and this is important, we will not make more money, so one would think our stock price would go stagnant, or even decrease.

But what about the recent run up in our stock price (we've had double digit returns for the past five years)? Well, that is probably due to the recent run up in oil prices, which, one imagines, cannot go on forever. So what's the future of our stock price?

I'm not sure, really, but I'm no longer comfortable having 40 some odd percent of my retirement money tied to the company stock. The international fund that we can invest in has done well, and once the US is out of its current recession, that fund should continue to provide nice returns as the world's economy keeps on chugging along.

So in short, I'm not bearish on my company's stock, but I think it's time to realize that we may be entering a period of not so stellar growth. As a young man (don't laugh!), I'm all about capital appreciation. As I've pointed out to people before, the money I make before 35 is the money that will give me heat in the old folks home and fund whatever kind of late-life crisis I choose to partake in (I'm thinking a BMW M5 would be nice when I turn 60!). So sometime, maybe even tonight if I get around to it, I'm going to sale about 10% of my total retirement fund, all of it being company stock, and buy the international index fund. The international fund has been beaten down this year, almost as bad as the US markets, so it would seem I am buying low, a good thing.

Some will never fathom betting against the largest of the IOCs when the price of oil is around $120 a barrel, but long term, I think it's the right play. I've blogged such moves in the past, if for no other reason, so as to make myself be honest when I evaluate the value of such moves. Will the international fund out perform our stock over the next year? Should I just keep the status quo, and not muck with the formula that has my retirement fund plump and happy? If I'm wrong, I suppose I have a lot of race bibs I can burn if I don't have money for heat in the old folks home.

Electric Avenue

2008-05-07T16:43:00.001-07:00

Today was my five week return visit to the podiatrist to check on the progress of my once upon a time ankle muffin. I had it all planned; "If you don't fix me I won't be able to run anymore and will spend my former athletic time drinking beer and watching NFL network; for the love of God woman, FIX ME!" It didn't quite go down that way.

I shared, somewhat sheepishly, that I had ran a half-marathon last weekend. With that, I also shared the continuing pain and swelling and she said all in all, she was pleased with my progress. After letting me identify the exact points of pain, she started talking about various tendons, pointing out where they ran and where the anchored to bone, and how they often got pissy (medically speaking, tendinitis) after an bad ankle sprain. Ultimately, she said if I was able to run a half-marathon, all the tendons "must be firing" correctly, so we just needed to keep me moving down the road to improvement.

She picked her words well. For some reason I liked the phrase "must be firing" correctly! That's right, my feet fire when I run! Yeah!! Piston-like, a whirling-dervish of kinetic energy, OH YEAH!

With my fears of some unknown, sinister ailment out the window, I also shared that my heel was hurting once again; she nodded her head as if she wasn't surprised, and agreed with my assessment that the plantar fascitis had returned. To address the swelling and tendinitis, she prescribed six sessions of foot electrocution; little pads running from a medieval device are affixed to my foot and a gentle current shocks the be-jesus out of my foot. I had my first session today, and it really wasn't that bad, though the nurse did ask "is that setting high enough for you"? How the hell do I know?!? Should we go until we smell flesh sizzling??!? At the point I could feel my achilles jumping around a bit, I today the brain-trust that it was indeed high enough.

For the plantar fascitis, and really for everything short of the sprain related damage, she decided to put me in orthotics (custom made shoe insoles). That last podiatrist I saw said I wasn't a good candidate for them, but the current podiatrist said that was only true of over the counter orthotics; I should be able to tolerate a custom made insole. The downside is they cost $250 and are not covered by my insurance (Thanks Aetna! assholes), but I was more than willing to pay a LOT more for them, as this is probably my last best chance to heal up permanently. Molds of my feet were taken, and the insoles will come back in a couple of weeks.

Until I get the insoles I don't plan to run. I figure the shock therapy will do the most good if my foot is otherwise resting, so only stationary biking, weight lifting, and swimming for a couple of weeks. After that, I think the protocol should be to SLOWLY transition into the world of orthotics. Walk in them, jog in them, run in them a little, and then start to increase mileage. Hopefully by the end of June or so, I'll be healthy and ready to train all out for the marathon. After all, my chances to break 4:30 are probably dwindling as the years tick by .....

Kiss My Bricks - Indy Mini Marathon

2008-05-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

I just finished the 32nd annual Indy Mini Marathon, the largest mini marathon in the country. The draw of the event, besides its title of largest, is that you get to run an entire loop on the Indy Motor Superspeedway; pretty stellar!

Though there were great fears of poor weather, weather.com nailed it, and the rains had went away come the start time of 7:33AM. According to the bank sign near the start line, the temperature was a nice 61 or so degrees with cloud cover promising to keep it cool for most of the race. If I'm being picky, I would prefer temps about 5 to 10 degrees colder, but it would turn out that's about the only thing I would find to complain about during this excellently executed race. The clouds did clear around my mile 8, and the sun was actually kind of intense, but all in all, it was bearable.

I decided to use the sock the night before the race, and perhaps that was a mistake; my foot was pretty angry at the start line and for the first mile. I tried to slow down, and the foot got more agreeable as I rounded into mile 2. It would end up periodically flaring up into a state of anger, pain, and general angst, but those episodes were pretty limited. By the end, I think the foot just got numb (ahh, the joy on long distance running!).

On the race course, there was copious amounts of music. Actually, most of the time I could hear some kind of band or artist playing. I can't claim that it was always good music (sorry Indy!), but they did do a good job of keeping folks distracted on the course.

The water/gatorade support was outstanding! There were something to the tune of 20 stops on the course, and I never saw any evidence of issues with water or gatorade distribution. Unlike Chicago, Indy clearly used city water from a hose (I saw some hoses in action), so as long as they were stocked with cups, they were in good shape.

The start line corral was equally stellar; the best I've ever been a part of. To efficiently start 35,000 runners, the race had corrals A -> Z, with your corral assigned either by a past result or your claim of how fast you could run. You could either run in your corral or any slower one that you preferred. There were plenty of corrals and it was easy to get into. Chicago's corrals were impossible to get into, and Houston has never had enough corrals to make them work well (though this last year, with a waved start, perhaps they've finally figured it out).

The race track was a neat experience. Almost three miles, complete with water misters at one point, many sets of high school cheerleaders cheering, and the big screen TVs were playing the local TV coverage of the race. When I came to the bricks, the ones racers kiss .... I guess I missed them! I don't remember. We had a discussion of kissing the bricks ("Of course, you have too"), and how to do it ("Tongue? I think you should since this is one of the most well known tracks."), so maybe it worked out for the best that I didn't get any track loving.

I also had a first during this race; I drank beer. Not after the race mind you (well, I did that to), during it. Most races (though usually just marathons) have some unofficial beer on the course (the local Hash House Harriers normally provide it), so I decided at mile 11.5 or so to toss back a very small Dixie cup of some kind of light beer (I'm going to say Bud) when I came up to it. I had always wanted to have some of the race course beer, but have been fearful of stomach problems if I were to do that in the full marathon. At mile 11.5 though, with 2:15 in the bag and 2:10 out of reach, I decided I might as well enjoy.

My total time was 2:11:56, so I managed to come in under my goal of 2:15. Below are my mile splits, and after a decent start (I had aspirations of actually breaking 2:10 for the first four miles), my miles started to suffer a bit. I was proud that even though my miles started to suffer, I didn't have to walk, and didn't throw in a stinker mile to rest; I just kept plodding along as best I could. Lynette and Jon had a good day as well, hitting the board with a nice 1:57, which may be a PR for Lynette. Jon's brother Chris was running as well, and he had a good time with a 1:48.

Finally, many thanks to the volunteers, included my friend from my Auburn days Kara (sorry I didn't see you in the water chute). 4,000 volunteers are needed for the run, and they all did an excellent job!

Mile 1 - 9:39
Mile 2 - 9:13 (I promise, I tried to slow down!)
Mile 3 - 9:45
Mile 4 - 9:22
Mile 5 - 10:17
Mile 6 - 10:01
Mile 7 - 10:09
Mile 8 - 10:13
Mile 9 - 10:35
Mile 10 - 10:34
Mile 11 - 10:18
Mile 12 - 10:37
Mile 13 - 10:26
Mile 13.1 - 0:49

Headed to Indy

2008-05-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

Quick post, as it is traditional that predict what will happen at a race.

First off, the six mile run from Tuesday went pretty stellar. It was cold (49 degrees), but Melissa did an excellent job of rabbiting me around Memorial to 56 minutes or 9:20 min/mile pace. The ankle hurt afterwards, but it is still clear that it's healing, if only oh so slowly.

For Indy, the weather is slated to blow. Rain, thunderstorms specifically; if it is bad as predicted, I suspect the event will be rained out. Folks might snicker at the idea, but there's no way the race would allow the runners and volunteers on the course in the face of sure thunderstorms, as their liability for any injuries would pretty much be limitless. Assuming it doesn't rain tooo bad (I have little rain running experience, so I wouldn't know what to expect), my goal is to keep my time under 2:15, with anything under 2:10 being very good. The weather should be around 60 degrees, so fairly close to what most people believe to be optimal.

Hopefully things go well. Have a great weekend!

Rise Run 5k

2008-04-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

The plan for this past week was the normal Bagel run on Monday, speed work on Tuesday morning, some kind of run on Thursday, and the Rise Run 5k this morning. Almost! The Bagel run went well, with my foot feeling OK, but my lungs angry at the speed, temperature, and humidity they were forced to work in. Tuesday, for speed work, I actually decided to do some speed work instead of regular speed mileage. I did six repeats of 400 meters hard by 200 meters easy. As speed work exposes your feet to excessive amounts of force, it's no surprise that my foot and the knee on that leg became angry with the workout. I fought through it though, and managed to run a 1:49 final 400 meter repeat (ahhh, not bad considering). Thursday was the day I slacked, I never got around to running.

Which brings us to the Rise Run 5k this morning. It was a wet morning in Houston, so as you might expect, the turnout at this high profile but small run benefiting a school for kids with Down Syndrome was pretty small. This was the "graduation" run for the StayFIT 5k program I was unable to run with, so their contingent of fast runners, slower runners, and walkers were all present (except for Lynette who unfortunately, as it will turn out in a few paragraphs, was out of town). There was end of training season pictures, words of wisdom from coach Felix (it's wet out, watch your step), and the obligatory 10 minute warm up run. The start line was almost a disaster for this race, as kids, and some folks who clearly intended to walk the race were almost at the front. Sorry granny, you need to take the Geritol bottle to the back of the pack! With some jostling and gentle elbows, the runners were properly assembled, and the race began.

For me, the race came down to one thing, beat Coach Felix. Though I don't think anyone told him that was my goal, he ominously told me in the start chute that he was going to "keep an eye on me" during the race. I was actually regretting running in my orange (War Eagle!) running shirt as it would be easy for Felix to spy on me and try to run me down. Now, I don't think Felix was reeeeeally keeping an eye on me, but I needed some kind of motivation to push my poorly training legs and lungs, so I allowed this Felix conspiracy theory to run wild in my head.

The first mile was, well, I don't know; I never saw a mile one marker. Somewhere along that stretch, the lead male runner came whizzing back by down the out and back course with no one even remotely near. When I saw the second place runner come into sight, I thought, why not look for Jonathan, maybe he's holding strong at the front of the pack. And just shortly after that, I saw a runner clad in a StayFIT shirt appear; it was indeed Jon! I yelled at him that he was in no worse than seventh placeso as to try and give him a little kick in the running shoes (he had complained that the small happy hour we did the evening before may have been a bad idea, so I thought he might need the encouragement). I should have seen Melissa at this point, but I think I got caught up in trying to find that damn one mile marker and we crossed without me realizing it (she didn't see me either, so I don't think I got in trouble!).

I made the turn to go back towards downtown, and CURSES, there was Felix way closer to me that I had hoped. I couldn't slow pimp it back into downtown with him that close! At this point, I was even hearing him (he huffs and puffs a lot) as he ran or as he talked to his little flock of runners that I think were with him. As I came to the only water table on the course, I had a choice to make; water myself or no? You don't need water in a 5k; your body will not process it in time for it to matter. With that said though, my mouth was as dry as desert, so I thought I would "feel" better with a quick moisten of the mouth. I grabbed my cup, chugged it down, tossed the cup into the trash (it is close to Earth Day people, do your part) and continued on my way, unaware if Felix had used my pit stop as a chance to gain time on me.

I came to the two mile marker averaging around 8:38 min/miles over the first two. This part of the race was where we ran around the Astro's Minute Maid Park (quality) and I started playing mind games with myself as I knew I simply had to run a few blocks past the park, a few over, back to the side of the park, and then the finish line would be in sight. As I neared the three mile marker, I kept an eye out for Felix in case he went into silent mode and tried to pass me wide; he never showed. As I rounded onto the last stretch into the finish line, I "kicked" (not much of a kick mind you) and ambled over the line in 26:22 for a pace of 8:30. Felix, it turned out, was about 50 seconds behind me! Victory!!!

I certainly wasn't the only runner to have a victory on the day, and most of the others were actually recognized victories. Nine StayFIT runners placed in their age group, with Melissa placing third overall amongst the ladies! She picked up a ceramic shoe and $50 gift certificate to Luke's Locker (and the announcer clowned her red shoes, awesome!). Hitting the board in the overall standings for a race is an amazing accomplishment, so everyone was piling well deserved accolades onto her. The sad thing is if Lynette had been at the race, I think they would placed second and third, as Melissa was real close to the second place girl, and with Lynette as a rabbit, they both would have passed the second place person. There's always the Astro's Run in a month!

Jonathan also had a similarly impressive accomplishment. Though a tad younger than I, he is in my age group, the manly and daunting 30-34 year olds. This is the age where most runners peak, so even though he is probably as fast as he has ever been, he's peaking against stiff competition. He came close in the Lookin' Good and Trolley Runs to placing in his age group, and he broke through today! I think he was around fifth overall amongst the men, which put him first in the manly 30-34 year old age group. Impressive indeed and he received a ceramic tile painted by some of the kids from the Rise School to commemorate the accomplishment!

And even though Felix was unable to catch me (not that he was trying), he did get second in his age group. Some say Felix likes attention, some say he likes it a bit too much, but still, it was good to see him place on the final day of his 5k training program.

Some winners say "It's small race, it's no big deal", but I think that's crap. Running is about you versus the course and the clock. People don't wear their ages on their back, so you really don't know who you might be racing; you just go out and you run hard. If you show up, and run through all the pain of a 5k (it really does suck, even though it's short) you put your time on the wall and if no one can beat it, then you deserve the hardware. That's all that can be asked of you; run hard, and if you do well enough, you get the booty!

Not to end this post on a bad note, but it's the final week before Indy, and I really don't know why I'm running this race! I'm not "foot-well", and probably shouldn't run. But I will, of course, because I'm dumb and I want the medal! I have a doctor's appointment four days post-Indy, so I hope to push for an MRI to know for certain whether something is really wrong with my foot, or if I really did sprain it bad enough for it to not recover in over two months. Oddly enough, my plantar problem seems to be just as bad an my general ankle pain at this point .... maybe I just did too much too soon. Oh well, at least I beat Felix!

Turning the Corner

2008-04-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

The softball games from Monday night went good; we won both, and the ankle seemed no worse for wear. Tuesday morning's 5:30AM run came early, but it brought success; I ran about 3.5 miles, with 2 of those miles being continuous.

Thursday came around with the goal of increasing to three miles of continuous running. Gone would be my total mileage goals, just continuous running goals from Thursday all the way up to the Indy Half. Melissa was nice enough to rabbit me around Rice; she led me to a spry 2.9 mile loop in under 27 minutes. That was certainly a great time considering my woes, and a good sign for the ankle. Saturday brought another StayFIT run that I joined the start/finish of, but that I did not run. They were doing their last hill workout of the season, and I had no interest in doing hills on the ankle, so I ran the two miles from their starting point to Memorial Park and back. I think that run was the one that proved, at least to me, that I will fully heal from the ankle injury one day. The pain was still there, though it was reduced. My speed wasn't completely back, but I did manage 9:45 min/miles on the way to the park, and 9:15 min/miles on the way back; it's a good sign when the ankle tolerates negative splits. Though I suppose I'm a "veteran" runner, it never hurts the head to have a run go well, and Thursday and Saturday are definitely in that category. For the first time, I have legitimate confidence that I'll be able to handle Indy.

So what's a guy with a better but still recuperating ankle to do on a Sunday, a cross-training day. He swims! That's right, I finally went to 24 HR Fitness with the goal go doing nothing but swimming. No weight lifting, no aerobic workout, just get in the pool and swim. This is all going towards my silly goal of doing a Half-Ironman Triathalon in October in Austin. Though the swim will be difficult, I'll certainly never have a chance unless I practice.

I decided to do the swim with my heart rate monitor. The reasoning behind that is there's some "stigma" attached to how hard I believe the swim will be; I think it will kick my ass. The only way to judge the amount of my ass that is indeed being kicked is to know how hard my heart is working. So the Auburn flip-flops came off, and into the rather cool, indoor water I went. I turned on my water-proof Polar heart rate monitor .... and it didn't work. I turned it on again .... nothing. The watch, mind you, it was working like a champ. The chest strap though, it didn't seem to be transmitting a signal to the watch! Normally this happens when the chest strap isn't damp enough; certainly not the case here! So I simply timed my treks from one end of the pool to the other, without knowing, definitively at least, how hard my ass was getting kicked.

I won't bore you with the details of the swim other than to say I think I learned something important. I've always complained that I swim like a brick; my ass drags through the water. When I swam head down, as if I were going to take a breathe on the side of a stroke like a real freestyle swimmer, I don't have that problem; I actually seem to swim pretty well. The problem is with the breathing, as I simply don't know how to breathe on the side of a freestyle stroke without inhaling most of the pool. This made for daunting 25 meter laps, but I did learn a key aspect of my swimming weakness.

Later on Sunday, I was around the swimming connoisseur himself, Eugene, and asked his advice on my oxygen woes. He said I probably wasn't turning my torso enough, robbing myself of full stroke power, and not allowing my head to get out of the water enough to get a clean breathe. He also said I should exhale while my head is under water, or as he put it, blow bubbles. If I can put his advice to into practice, I might actually be able to make it across the pool in better time and under MUCH better control of myself.

Bagel run Monday morning, then running with Melissa Tuesday morning. Thursday running of some kind, then the Rise Run (aka, the Chicken Run) 5k on Saturday morning. A busy week, but hopefully one that continues to see ankle improvement. Now I just need to find some time to get into a pool ....

No, It's Not Soft

2008-04-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

Softball is a strangely named sport. Though it is a ball, that sumbitch (that's Southern for ... well, I think you know) ain't soft! Tonight I return to this bizarrely named endeavor after three weeks out with my ankle injury. I am certainly not 100%, but I do feel as if, since last Friday, each day has brought improvement. Prior to that, most days seemed to be similar to the one that preceded it. I have a serious ankle brace to wear during the games (metal posts on both sides of my ankle; it will certainly not sprain tonight!), so hopefully I'll come out of tonight no worse than I started!

I followed last Tuesday's return to running with a little running Saturday morning; I joined the HoustonFIT StayFIT 5k training program for their workout at the Lamar High School track. Though the StayFIT'ers were doing a SERIOUS workout (4 repeats of 1 mile hard, by some short distance easy), I was on much shorter leash. I did their 10 minute warm-up (about one mile) with little issue. Then, I started running slow loops of the track with the hope of doing two miles continuously. Unfortunately, my foot began to ache and my stride broke down after 1.5 miles. I told myself that if my stride failed, at least at this early stage of my recovery, I should stop running as I would be at too high a risk for re-injury or a sympathy injury in the other leg. Though my total distance was a little disappointing, I did cover the first mile in under 10 minutes, so the speed was OK.

Next up in my sloooow road to recovery is a run tomorrow morning at Memorial. I think the goal will again be to bang out two continuous miles along with a goal of running more total that my previous two outings. I will feel much better about the world when I can run three continuous miles as I can do as Houston based runners should be able to do, run one loop of Memorial of Rice University.

The foot doesn't look too bad, so no pictures for you this time. Hopefully after softball, that will still be the case.

25 and Counting

2008-04-08T18:38:00.000-07:00

25 days to go until the Indy Mini Marathon. I know you're all on the edge of your seat wanting to know about the foot?!?

Well, the foot is improving, but it was starting in a much worse place than I had imagined. Attempts to do some impromptu jogging at the end of last week resulted in clear evidence that I had a much more limited range of motion while running than walking (too much pain/discomfort down inside the ankle).

At the Trolley Run 5k this Saturday, whilst waiting for Melissa, Lynette, and Jon to all PR for the second race in a row (congrats speedy people!), I did some light jogging and it was a no go; I really couldn't stride. With all that running, I had worked up a helluva appetite, so I did what you're not supposed to do; I ate the post race food even though I didn't run! The guilt felt so bad .... but the Chik-Fil-A tasted ohhhh sooooo gooooood! And to top off the haul of food, Melissa added to her collection of running hardware with a second place in her age division (only 2 seconds out of first place!). With hardware in hand, and full bellies, we all called it a day.

For the next two days, not much exercise and no attempt at running. Come Tuesday morning I decided to see how the fast people of the world do their training, so I joined Melissa at Memorial for some laps of the short, 400 meter loop. I walked two laps, ran one easy, walked two more, ran two easy, and then walked one easy. Two total miles there, and though my speed was pretty slow while running, I was pleased that I was able to run with something not to foreign from that of a normal gait. The icing on the cake was the 10 minute (almost one mile) cool down after the workout; though I think it was fairly slow, I was pleased to be able to continually run for one mile! I think this bodes well for me actually being able to run the Indy Mini.

In the past when I've had bad bruises, they have turned out to be quite "colorful". My body slowly breaks down the blood, and my pale skin allows a window unto which you can watch the carnage! This time is no different, though the colors on the top of my foot have been a bit subdued (for a brief day or so, my middle toe was raspberry red, but now it is back to "looks like you don't wash that toe" brown). Please don't pay attention to my gnarly little pinky toe (you may barf, it's kind of crusty), but here's a pic I took on day one of being without the boot. Visual proof of what I now hold dear ... FLAG FOOTBALL CAN SUCK IT! Take care kiddos.

End of an Era

2008-04-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was my return appt. with Dr. Haase, my podiatrist, to check on the status of my ankle. Unfortunately, I was beset with a touch of 'itis (I suspect of the bronchitis variety), so I was battling a healthy 101 degree fever, and I had no voice. I'm sure specialists try not to pick up on symptoms outside of their specialty, cause they don't want to deal with that shit, so she dutifully snipped off my foot wrap (it had been under the boot since the beginning) while I squeaked that I had been a good boy and had worn the boot as requested (I left out the parts about ping pong and the dance club, though I was booted for both activities!).

With her clipping done, she revealed ..... a fairly normal looking foot! The bruising that turned me into the muffin man had settled out along the top of my foot, all the way to my toes, but wasn't near as knarly looking as I had hoped for (trust me, you'd be seeing pictures if it were bad!). She was pleased with my progress, and asked that I remain in the boot until Saturday, at which time I could start transitioning into a soft wrap and tennis shoes. I of course took that to mean I don't need to wear the boot ever again, and thus I went to work today with a soft wrapped ankle in my normal dress shoes.

There's a reason people go to medical school people; they learn stuff, and then they share it with patients. By about 3PM it was clear Dr. Haase was a good learner, as my bootless foot was quite pissed. She even warned me that my foot might get a little tired as I transitioned out of the boot. Still though, I think I am done with the boot; I'll simply try to take it easy and limit the walking (and ping pong) near term.

For the near future, she gave me no time table for my return to sports, only advising that I avoid uneven surfaces as those could lead to a new sprain, and then we'd be starting all over again. As was usual, I heard "You can play softball, just use a brace that will prevent any kind of ankle sprain." Other than softball though, I plan to only run in the near term.

Upon closer inspection tonight, there is still a decent amount of swelling present. It seems to be deep, hard swelling though, so you really have to compare my left and right ankles to see the spots that are still misshapen. I an fearful that I may still be a couple of weeks away from comfortable running, but somewhat confident that I can still run Indy, even it at a slow pace. This Saturday morning I think I'm going to go with Melissa, Lynette, and Jonathan to the Trolley Run 5k. I figure I might as well be present when Melissa further crushes my 5k PR! While they're out on the course, I think I'll do some light jogging near the finish line and see how I hold up.

Later kids, be safe.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2008-03-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

I was sharing musical genre preferences with Melissa and gave the heavy hitters on my IPod (i.e., the bands that make up my small but high quality playlist). Though I could remember most of the big track lists, I realized I've got a lot of one-off tracks, that one kick ass song by that one artist/band that I'm pleasantly surprised by when it shuffles to the play position. So for today, here's my playlist, though only in terms of band and number of tracks as I can't find a way to export a playlist to text!

Breaking Benjamin: 8 tracks
Ben Folds Five: 7 tracks
Better Than Ezra: 5 tracks
30 Seconds to Mars: 5 tracks
Cake: 4 tracks
Coldplay: 3 tracks
Incubus: 3 tracks
Outkast: 2 tracks
U2: 2 tracks
Johny Cash: 2 tracks
James Taylor: 2 tracks
Hoobastank: 2 tracks
Dave Matthews Band: 2 tracks
Amy Winehouse: 1 track
Audioslave: 1 track
Evans Blue: 1 track
Fall Out Boy: 1 track
Foo Fighters: 1 track
Jay-Z: 1 track
Kayne West: 1 track
The Killers: 1 track
Maroon 5: 1 track
Matchbox Twenty: 1 track
My Chemical Romance: 1 track
Nine Inch Nails: 1 track
Queen: 1 track
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus: 1 track
Seether & Amy Lee: 1 track
Silverchair: 1 track
Snoop Dogg & Pharrell Williams: 1 track
Staind: 1 track
Stone Temple Pilots: 1 track
System of a Down: 1 track
Trapt: 1 track
The Who: 1 track
3 Doors Down: 1 track
311: 1 track

I've put most of my albums into iTunes, with each disc normally throwing a song or two onto the above list (many of the above are single tracks I own, I don't necessarily own the whole album). In the process I've tried to pick, of all my complete albums, my favorite. As I write this, I get more and more uncomfortable at the proposition, because it a difficult chore. In some moods, some albums are good, and in others, well, only other albums will do.

I've always thoughts bands should try new things with their sound; sometimes it leads to improvement (Audioslave) and sometimes disappointment (Matchbox Twenty). The album that I'll name my favorite is a Better Than Ezra (BTE) offering named How Does Your Garden Grow? Much to my dismay, BTE was, over their first couple of albums, called the Pearl Jam of New Orleans. I think Pearl Jam is on the verge of the title "a band that's famous just because they're famous", so I've always bristled at that comparison. With the Garden CD, BTE definitely produced an experimental sound, and in the process, made an amazing album. The songs flow together, but not in a cheesy Linkin' Park kind of way; their mood, their sound, their length, it all just seems mapped out. There's some classic songs in the true alt rock vein of being lyrical non-sense that none-the-less rock (Track - New Kind of Low, "All the way from South Dakota, like a green leprechaun"). There are some serious songs with haunting tales that are sung in such a way as to make you think they might be more autobiographical than made-up-tales (Track - Beautiful Mistake, "Now I guess you're going, your fingers through the door, your taillights fading, like twenty years before"). The first track, Je Ne M'En Souviens Pas, is a make or break track for your enjoyment of the album. It's an experimental track that serves to set the mood for the album more so than anything else. Certainly not a song you'd like put in a playlist, but one that serves an important role on the album.

I haven't purchased a BTE album since Garden. I hear they've moved away from their experimental sound back to the sound that made them relevant on the alt rock scene for a short time (you would no doubt recognize the songs Good and In the Blood if you heard them). Though they still produce the occasional album, they seem to have largely stopped wide-scale tours, instead preferring to just play their hometown JazzFest and at the House of Blues. I regret that I've never seen them play live, though maybe one day they'll go back out on the road, and I'll see if parts of the greatest album I own sound as good in person as they sound coming out of my computer speakers right now.

The Boot

2008-03-25T17:15:00.000-07:00

Kara posed the following question after my Muffin Man post:
Is all this torture you tell us about your body going through worth the running you do????

Fair question! First off, despite the fact that I've generally been beaten, battered, and bruised during the course of this blog (coincidence?!?), I have been blessed to be a relatively injury free runner. My body has proven it's relatively capable of taking the abuse of sane amounts of running (reference the first five years or so of my "running career"). Equally proven however, is that my body tolerates an injury, once it comes on, about as well as a fart is tolerated in church. My right Achilles problem from last year is, in my opinion, the root cause of the problems in my left leg this year; one leg compensates, then it goes haywire. So my trick is to get healthy, take care of myself, and thus hopefully maintain that level of health.

But I still haven't answered the question have I, is it worth it? Yes, it is worth the pain. Running has allowed me to see the world, form and solidify friendships, and have some truly kick-ass experiences! Now, one might say that I could have had all of that with other hobbies, and simply put, that's a true statement. However, that ship has sailed, as I'm firmly entrenched in this addictive sport.

I don't want to downplay the value I get from the sport though, from the pure act of running; even that, without the above side benefits, is worth the pain. Runs where everything goes right are easy; runs where you're a little banged up, the weather is a little off, or the crowd uncooperative, those are the ones that often provide the most challenge and some memorable reward. Running a sub 25 minute 5k at the Lookin' Good race a couple weekends back wasn't particularly noteworthy, as it's something I've done several times before. However, running it after four weeks off, with virtually no running/training, made the accomplishment something I'm proud of. So by that logic, the pain/injury actually makes me enjoy the sport more ....

....Good lord this is a twisted sport! The pain makes it better!?!? I need a new hobby! So the logic gets a bit twisted, but it all boils down to the fact that when you run, it's an internal battle. I'm never going to win a race, but I can set a goal and strive to beat it. That goal is going to move based on my health, the weather, the distance, etc., but there's always a good race to be had, even if it's a painful one that I have to finish very slowly.

That's really what gets you hooked. Unlike basketball, where the other team can just blow, your goal, normally a distance/time combination, isn't going to let up. Time isn't going to slow down, the course isn't going to get shorter; if you set a challenging goal and beat it, you've accomplishment something killer, even if you didn't finish first in the race.

But enough philosophy, that's not what this blog is about. This blog is about my injuries!

Today I went to see my doctor, who sent me to a podiatrist, who x-rayed my foot (fourth x-ray of that foot in five weeks, geez!) and declared I have not broken any bones (whew!). She did ask me though, whether I wanted to heal in one week or four ... one please! To get there, she wrapped my foot up and put it in a walking boot. No crutches (score) and no showers (stinky), so there's pluses and minuses, but it seems my prognosis is for a reasonable recovery. I've probably put some small tears in my ligaments, but nothing that won't heal with time.

So no exercise for a week. Therefore, no injuries (let's hope!) for a week. Hummm, what will I write about?

Muffin Man

2008-03-23T12:40:00.001-07:00

"Do you know the Muffin Man?"

It's not just a fun quote from Shrek 2 folks, it's now a question I can answer in the affirmative; I know the Muffin Man, and he's baking a muffin .... in my left ankle! My sprain from Thursday has plumped up nicely, with the bottom of my ankle muffin looking a touch burned due to the blood settling out. The general consensus is I should go to see my doctor "just in case", and though I am a bit reluctant due to what I suspect the treatment will be (immobilization, anti-inflammatory, come back in a week), I think I will go. An x-ray confirming that my bones are still as the good lord made them, and hopefully an opinion that I haven't done ligament damage, would provide some peace of mind.

After two days of compressing the muffin, I have decided to let it out of it's pan so it can grow as it wants. I figure at this point all I'm doing is pushing swelling around, which is not going to help it heal, and besides, that kind of hurts! Since I've let it free it's been feeling much better and I can even walk, at a very slow speed, with something similar to a normal gait (no more peg-leg-pirate-like walking for me!). Needless to say though, I will not be taking part in tomorrow morning's Luke's Bagel Run or in our softball games. Suck!

Most of Saturday was beach time, as quite a few folks headed down to Galveston to party it up at a beach house Leon had rented out. It was still too early in the season for much frolicking in the water, but the weather was good so it was nice just to sit out on the beach. I felt bad about not being able to help Leon clean up this morning, but my muffin has proven to be stiff first thing in the morning, so I didn't feel like hiking up the stairs to the kitchen and main living area.

The best time of year for outings like this is upon us, as we have about a two month window before the weather becomes oppressively hot. Hopefully I'll find some ways to take advantage, and hopefully my muffin won't be an issue by then!

R.I.C.E. R.I.C.E. Baby

2008-03-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

I followed last Saturday's full return to the sports world with, well, a bit too much I think. Sunday I took my bike out to Memorial for a spin, Monday morning I rejoined the Luke's Bagel Run folks for a 3.6 mile run, and on Monday night I played the first two softball games of our season; come Tuesday I was beat! Even today (Thursday) I feel a bit of discomfort in my quads; it was too much too soon.

The big question is was the four week layoff worth it; is my foot holding up better than before? In short, I do think it is less painful, and quicker to recover than before, but it is not pain free. I was hoping for pain free, for my left heel to feel as good as my right, as I think that was the goal of the cortisone shots. I am going to try running with some shoe inserts again, but this time, I'm going to focus on thin, soft inserts that provide some, though not obtrusive, arch support. The inserts I used back in October were rigid, beastly things and as the doctor later advised me, my ankle anatomy will not tolerate such an orthotic. So I went to Luke's today and had a long conversation with a shoe guy; he was helpful, though a bit jaded about podiatrists. "I've had two cortisone shots but I fear they might not work", I said. "They never do," retorts Luke's shoe guy (LSG). LSG continued, "I bet the doctor wants to cut you, right?" No, was the answer, but I navigated LSG back onto my attempt to find an orthotic that would help before my heel becomes chronic again. After trying a couple of inserts in my shoes, I left with what met the bill; a thin, more so cushioned that supported insert that will give a little lift to my arches.

LSG said what I probably needed was what runners are never willing to give; more rest. Well LSG, I think I can give you that thanks to football!

Instead of taking my new inserts for a spin at Memorial, I decided to help out our co-ed football team and play with them tonight. To cut to the drama, I was chasing a guy early in game one and I suppose I caught a cleat on my left shoe awkwardly in the ground. Ankle twisted, three "pops" were felt and heard, and then the pain started as I hit the ground.

Needless to say, that was the end of my night! Thankfully I was able to at least contribute to the team with a little sideline defensive coordination, and the team squeaked out a three point win. Knowing I needed to ice (Rest Ice Compress Elevate) my foot, I popped my second Advil of the night and headed home.

(r)Ice (r)Ice Baby!

It's human nature to think that the popping I heard/felt was tendons and various fibrous bits 'o Keith's left ankle shredding themselves; that's probably not the case though. Likely I felt tendons/ligaments moving over bone as they were being streeeeetched for all they were worth. I had a real bad sprain playing tennis many years ago, and I think this one may not be as bad. Probably a two week'er; certainly no running this weekend. Thankfully I have an ankle sleeve which makes for an excellent compressor and am taking the best care of it I can tonight. The swelling has already started above my ankle; doctors advise that you've got 24 hours to halt / reduce the swelling before it sets in for the long haul.

I really had no intentions of playing football tonight, and don't even consider myself a real part of the team, so you might think I'm bitter; I'm not. They did need my help, and I could just as easily rip something up playing softball, or even ping pong at work! If you play, you may get hurt, that's just the way it goes. It is a bit discouraging that the already beaten up foot now has to endure another injury; I like to spread mine around when possible!

So to LSG, you get your wish, looks like my four week layoff from running will be more like six or so weeks after all!

Sock Monster

2008-03-16T19:55:00.001-07:00

How did I lose a running sock? I have three pair of Nike Shox running socks (two black - the fast ones - and one white pair). I now find myself with one of the black socks missing?!? Three pairs is enough to get me through the week, but only two pairs really screws with my laundry cycle!

But enough about my wardrobe woes, time for an Ellie Mae update. Ellie came through surgery quite well on Thursday, and the vet thinks he got all the cancer; great news! Ellie is back at home, and has even been roaming around a bit; all indications are that she feels quite chipper. She's on an antibiotic and pain pill, but apparently it's quite the task to get her to take them. Vienna sausage subterfuge was attempted, but she dutifully spit out the tainted processed meat. My Mother had to resort to putting the pill in her mouth and massaging her throat until Ellie broke down and swallowed. She has learned to take pills in the past, so hopefully she'll get in line in the coming days.

On to running. Thursday night I started toying with the idea of running a 5k this weekend in an effort to see how the foot would hold up and too see how much of my mojo I had lost with the four week layoff. I was planning to take Friday afternoon off from work, so suddenly a plan was born; go find myself the best pair of shoes ever on Friday afternoon, take them for a spin at Memorial, and then the 5k Saturday morning!

There's roughly three things you need to consider when picking a shoe; your weight, your arches, and your running style. My weight isn't an issue, so on to my arches. To figure them out, you wet your feet in a tub, and step on paper to leave a foot imprint. I've done this before, but didn't really remember the outcome, so I took a picture this time around:

Holy crooked feet! Mine are not the same! Clearly my left foot is as flat as a pancake, while my right one has a decent enough arch. Jon and Lynette assure me I'm not a freak, that this could be common, much like having legs of different length. I'm not sure though, as I worry the left one has collapsed from abuse. Regardless of how I got so out of whack, it is what it is. I probably need a shoe with some level of arch support for my left foot.

As for my style of running, I carefully inspected the soles of my last two pair of running shoes and compared what I saw with some online guidance. Most of my wear is on the outside heel (it should be) and under the outside, or pinky toe. That last bit is a bit odd, as I had always though I "overpronated" (rolled my feet towards the big toe too much). Turns out, from my wear pattern at least, I certainly don't. I'm probably either neutral (biomechanically perfect, thank you very much) or I may even underpronated a touch; we'll go with neutral, as that bit of biomechanical efficiency makes me feel a bit better now that I know my feet are freakishly dissimilar.

So where does that leave me in way of shoes ... with the ones I have, they are for neutral runners who need arch support. There's certainly a wide realm of shoes that fit this bill, but for now, I see no reason to abandon these. When it's time for new ones, I will probably be willing to brand out and try some new brands.

So Saturday came, and with it the Lookin' Good Shamrock Strut 5k. Jon, Lynette, and Melissa were running it in their spiffy new racing shoes (about half the weight of a shoe you would normally train in) with about half of their 5k training program in the books. The weather was good, if maybe a bit warm; off we went! I kept the girls in my sights for the first mile and they certainly carried me to a good time; 7:35, the fastest mile I ever remember in a race. Not surprisingly given my layoff, my times started suffering from there; 8:05 and 8:25 for the next two miles. I finished in a time of 24:52 which is actually a time I'm happy with; it's only the fourth time I've broken 25 minutes, and actually faster than the Rocket's Run back in early February. I think all the rest, combined with the girls pulling me out to a fast first mile, were the keys to my success at the run. Jon, Melissa, and Lynette all set personal records with Lynette and Melissa placing in their respective age groups; a good testament for the 5k training program and racing in light shoes!

And yes, the color is for St. Patty's Day! Who cares if the Catholic Church "officially" moved the day to Saturday, if no green on Monday, you run the risk of a pinch! Take care.

My Dog, Elie Mae

2008-03-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

Ellie Mae is sick; the vet says she has cancer.

We got Ellie Mae in 1995 as a gift for my Father; she was somewhere between 1 and 2 years old, had given birth to a litter of pups, and had subsequently been fixed. We think she's a beagle, though in true country parlance, we refer to her as a "beagle hound".

At first the vet thought, at the age of 14, Ellie Mae would be too old to try and cut the tumor out, but upon a check of her heart, he says it's worth a go. The tumor is in her belly, and if she comes through the anesthesia and the tumor is self-contained, she might end up being fine. The tumor has only showed as a patch of missing fur; my mother says she's as active and prissy as ever! She'll had surgery today.

Ellie has always been what I call a "hunting dog". She's never been used to hunt mind you, but she roams around "Hagler Hill" in what I suppose are quests for adventure, small, furry animals to pester, and to spend time with my Uncle, who she seems to be quite enamored with. She's quite fiery when it comes to her turf; she's barks rather viciously at anyone or any car she doesn't recognize when it comes into our yard (she's pinned a few UPS delivery men in their truck in her day). The amazing thing is that when I drive up, even after all these years of living in Houston, she doesn't bark! It doesn't seem to even matter what car I'm in; I guess she's learned to look inside the car and even though I only see her a few times a year, I suppose she still recognizes me.

When she realizes it's me, she goes crazy because she know she can get in the house whenever she wants; my Mother won't stop her with me there! Though she loves to hunt in the day, she's clearly a house dog at night. My Mother won't let her far in the house; Ellie has a rug just off the kitchen that she has to stay on. She always goes to her rug, gives it a quick smell, and beds down to sleep for ever how long she gets to stay indoors. I'm not sure if she wants to be indoors simply because it's better "weather" than outside, or if she just likes being around us ... who knows what's going on in her doggie brain.

Ellie's secret passion is laps; she loves to sit in them. As a young dog, she would walk up to you and put one leg on your thigh. She would look away, as if to say "Nothing to see here, just resting my leg on yours". If she received no rebuke, the second leg would be propped up, "Just resting my front legs, taking a chill." Then the trap was sprung as she would suddenly LEAP into your lap, at first content to rest her head on your shoulder, though gradually trying to get an angle to lick you on the face. Ellie, being an outdoor dog, isn't the best smelling thing in the world, so I'm not sure how many laps she gets to sit in anymore.

There's only a handful of animals that I really have strong memories of; a cat named Smoke, a fish named Arnold, a dog named Mitzy, and Ellie Mae. Ellie has lived longer than any, and in going back home to visit family, seeing Ellie Mae is just one of those expected things. Pets are as mortal as people; they face the same risks we face and often succumb to the same diseases. Despite the recent realization that her time might be running out, the thought of Ellie Mae being gone is a tough one for me.

My Mother hasn't been letting Ellie Mae into the house lately, as she's afraid the sore on her stomach is too apt to bleed. It's her decision of course, but I hope she lets her back into the house soon. I really think they both would like that.

I hope I get to see my dog, at least one more time.

Bayou City Classic 2008

2008-03-09T14:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the much anticipated 30th anniversary of the Bayou City Classic 10k. More to the point, our centipede was going for it's fifth consecutive corporate victory at the event.

The build-up to centipede race is fairly intense; what's our theme, who's going to run, what are we going to wear, what have we forgotten, what will our formation be, etc. Then, in the days immediately prior to the event, things get real chaotic as packets have to be gotten, gear bags for each runner have to be stuffed, and then there's always the last minute run to the store for costume accessories. Though I'll admit, in retrospect it is always a pain, the challenge of making it all come together is part of the fun. Other than myself, Jon, Andy, and Leon are the remaining members of our original centipede; we're the members of the original six who have ran each centipede. True to the veterans that they were, they procured some SWEET additions to this year's centipede; many thanks for their assistance!

So there we were, a forty degree race morning, with stiff breezes whipped up by downtown Houston buildings, 13 centipede members strong, getting roped up and dressed for our run. This year's theme, "Juiced, Steroids in Sports", was perhaps our most tasteless (the Dick Cheney centipede was close, but this one really hits home with Houston). I was a bit fearful that the judges might not "get it", that perhaps they weren't sufficiently into the world of non-running sports to understand the fun we were having at the expense, mainly, of baseball players (we also had a sprinter and bicyclist to give all dirty sports their fare share of attention). My fears were further whipped up when I saw that this year had brought out the best crop of centipedes in recent memory: there were six women dressed in full wedding gowns, about 30 women (and men in drag) in an all female wedding processional, Britney, K-Fed, and the kiddos made an appearance, there was an elaborate zoo-keeper centipede, a German beer brewing centipede, and in keeping with the season, a centipede made up of girl scout cookies! Our competition, so it seemed, would be fierce.

When we took to the street and got lined up, some of my concerns were alleviated; we looked awesome! Leon's dedication to looking like a certain San Fransisco slugger, Andy's addition of balloons under everyone shirts to look like clownishly large muscles, and Jon's attention to detail with signs for the baseball players backs ("That's not a syringe in my pocket, I'm just happy to see you"), made us look as current, controversial, and tasteless as I could have imagined! Too much fanfare, off we went into the cold morning air.

Leon and I had discovered some inexpensive noise makers at a party store that were, well, outlandishly noisy! They were a bit odd in that you blew into a hole in the middle of a tube, and the air forced a soft membrane to vibrate ... LOUDLY! Thanks to the cold air and our slow pace we were able to use these and our other noise makers to raise quite the ruckus when we came to a turn in the course, crossed another centipede, or came to a water stop. I don't doubt that for the past three years we have been the loudest centipede out there, but alas, we never win the award. Regardless, that's a staple of our centipede, make a lot of noise. This centipede might have been the best/most fun at that engagement, as water stations across the course from us would cheer back to us as we made noise while passing them. The other centipedes greeted our cheers with their own, and even the Chevron centipede cheered back at us (I don't think they realized we were booing them; there's only room for one oil and gas centipede in this race!).

The recent baseball steroids scandal really helped us out, as a lot of individuals got involved with us we went. One race photographer asked for a shot of HGH as we ran by, one aide person on a bike said she was going to call the local sports radio station and tell them about us, some of the water stations said they had put some steroids in the water for us, and one guy working the race actually booed us .... when you go for controversy, I guess that's what you get sometimes!

We stopped at each aide station and generally took it very easy while running. In addition, we also walked the last bridge back into downtown so as to rest up for the big finish, and to allow Eugene to prep his vocal cords for the traditional singing of "Eye of the Tiger". Our total time was about 1:25 minutes; not our fastest centipede, but not our slowest, and from a noise/crowd interaction standpoint, the speed helped us have enough energy to act a fool; it was certainly a success.

When I signed up our centipede and told the judge our corporation, he said, "Oh yeah, you guys always have a big centipede." That probably means that the judges try to find us an award each year, but I think we make that easy on them by always bringing a quality centipede to the event. As has become their recent habit, the judges renamed the awards to reflect the centipede receiving it. In the ultimate compliment that they understood the topic our centipede was addressing, our fifth consecutive centipede award was announced as follows: "Receiving the Roger Clemens Centipede award, Juiced!"

So there you go. Award number five in the books, and though I'm certainly not a Roger hater, the name given to our award made it extra sweet! Will there be a number six next year? Our centipede has been shrinking in size for a couple of years, so perhaps this is our last one. If so, we've had a good run and are certainly going out on a current, controversial, and tasteless note; I'd have it no other way!

Happy Feet

2008-03-05T17:26:00.000-08:00

It's been two weeks and three days since my self-imposed hiatus from running. The good weather we've been having has been making me want to run, but thus far I've been able to resist the urge. As I'll dutifully break orders this Saturday and run much farther than 3 miles (we have the Bayou City Classic 10k ... that's 6.2 miles for those of you that use the units of measure God intended), I figure I should just rest the foot up until the big day. I must admit the foot is not completely void of sensations in the heel; sometimes there some "twinges". Hopefully this is just the continuation of the healing process and not the sign of a pending relapse once running starts up again. I suppose after this Saturday's run, I will start to slowly add some short runs back in.

In "Where do they run at over there" news, it looks like I may get to go to Qatar for work next month. In case you don't know, Qatar is kind of, well, Saudi Arabia's teet; it kind of hangs off the side into the Persian Gulf. Note to self, don't call the country "a teet hanging into the gulf" while over there. I'm still not quite sure why I need to go, so I'm not yet convinced it will happen, but I've been told to plan on going. Oh boy, is my mother ever going to freak when she finds out about that trip!

The run this Saturday is our yearly centipede run; we dress up, act a fool, and get accolades tossed upon us! The theme, "Juiced", is a play on steroids in sports, particularly baseball. It's timely, controversial, and given that Roger Clemens lives in Houston, just a bit tasteless; all the things you shoot for with a centipede, so hopefully we'll be the five-time corporate champions come Saturday! Here's some pictures from year's past:

2004 - The Lucky Charms

2005 - The Running of the Bulls to Market; Eat Mor Chikin

2006 - Dick Cheney's Hunting Party

2007 - Beer Run

Ill Effects of Austin

2008-02-27T17:49:00.000-08:00

Here's one of my pictures from Austin, clearly, it was a hard run:

I started cramping at mile 20. I grew boobs at mile 22.

The good people of the Austin Marathon and Half Marathon made the bizarre decision to reuse numbers between the two races, with the minor exception of half-marathoners having an "H" in front of their number. Apparently the program that assigns pictures to people didn't know about the "H", so I was assigned all this fine ladies pictures. Congrats to her! Here's my actual picture, from quite a bit earlier in the day:

H3039. Don't forget the damn H!

Despite the apparent ill effects of the Austin Half, I've been toying around with the idea of doing another half in Austin; the Austin Half IronMan. GASP! Well, it's a bit early for such things, but I happened to see an ad for it in one of the 24 HR Fitness magazines, and was proud to see it is in October; far enough away to train, and late enough in the year to maaaaybe not be too hot. It would be 1.2 miles swimming, 56 miles biking, and 13.1 miles running. 1:15 time limit for the swim, 4:15 for the bike, and then 2:30 for the run; total time limit of 8 hours. Maybe next time I race in Austin, I won't grow boobs!

Homo Sapien Indoorus

2008-02-24T17:37:00.000-08:00

This Saturday brought perhaps the best weekend weather day to Houston during this short 2008. With no running on the docket, I headed out on my trusty Trek 4300 bike for the first time in at least 9 months; the early start to marathon training last year put my bike into a serious state of neglect. The plan for Saturday was to ride around Buffalo Bayou, as I figured the Memorial bike trails would still be wet from the heavy rains on Thursday. The hour long ride went well, with no spills or similar such calamities, but there was one big obstacle; homo sapien indoorus (in - door -us). This offshoot of the human species believes that the good lord invented roofing material, HDTV, and air conditioning but for one reason; for them to enjoy it all year round! However, on this Saturday, with TV being a sporting wasteland and with the primal call of the wild luring them outside, indoorus was well represented at the Bayou.

Let me be clear, I don't begrudge folks who don't get out much the chance to go enjoy such a beautiful day. What I do find vexing is their complete lack of respect for others who are also seeking to enjoy the multi-purpose trails of the Bayou. Whether it be the three guys walking shoulder to shoulder and blocking the entire trail, or the wedding party that completely shut off the downtown branch of the trail, or, my favorite, the indoorus who purposefully jumps in front of me forcing me to the left (and into bike/pedestrian traffic behind them that they can't see), I seemed to be dodging indoorus for the entire ride. After bobbing and weaving my way around the river, I headed to the "hills" (read, big speed humps) by the Bayou Park Apts to see if I still remembered how to jump my bike. A couple of circuits on the speed humps yielded some decent jumps and some very spent legs, so I headed home satisfied with my first bike ride in quite a while.

I awoke Sunday morning with plans to go to the gym and swim. For some reason, I just can't make myself do this! I swim with so much wasted energy I figure I'll last about 15 minutes, so I envision the 15 minutes drive, 15 minute swim, and 15 minutes return; not a good use of time. So what to do ... take out the bike! With only about 18 hours having passed since my afternoon ride I was rather painfully reminded that one's tush needs more time than that to recover from the first ride of the year. Ignoring my saddle-sore rump, I gingerly made my way to Memorial Park. The mountain bike trails were still closed due to wet conditions, so I headed for the home turf of road bikers who are too afraid (and rightfully so) to bike amongst Houston's crazy drivers; the Memorial Park picnic clover leaf.

Though mountain bikers are the amphibians of the biker world, perfectly at home on trail or asphalt, there are some serious differences between road and mountain biking. Key amongst these differences is that when you get above 12 mph or so, an area a road biker lives in, your main speed culprit is air drag. Therefore, road bikers are frequently clad in the tightest of lycra, sucking in every bulging inch of Christmas diners past that would otherwise break a clean airflow and rob them of their precious speed. They sit atop rail thin, aerodynamic masterpieces, with their feet clamped into their pedals by special shoes so as to milk every ounce of torque from their lycra clad legs into their aerodynamic crankshaft. A truly refined sight to see!

Then there's me. The mountain biker wanna be. Maintaining friction with the ground, not airflow, is my main concern. Also, the more crap I wear means there's less chance for a stick, twig, bike pedal, or tree trunk doing serious damage when I take my inevitable spill over that rock that I didn't see in time! I sat atop my not terribly aerodynamic 35 pound beast of a machine, complete with speed robbing front shock, with an untucked running shirt up top, regular gym shorts flapping in the breeze, an old pair of running shoes atop my squeaky pedals, and a camelback water reservoir strapped to my back. Looking as if I received a memo saying all asphalt would give way to earthen trail sometime Sunday morning, I started my loops at the cloverleaf.

Though most road bikers simply passed me, going about their 25 mph or so way, I got introduced to a new guy this morning; the drafter! At top speed on the relatively flat cloverleaf, I can churn out about 18 mph worth of speed. This is more than enough to pass rollerbladers, kids on bikes, or even the occasional lycra clad road biker who is more interested in mileage than speed. So as I checked behind me to pass a lazily strolling rollerblader, I noticed my shadow behind me. But it wasn't my shadow. Upon a second look, it was a black clad road biker on a black bike all of about one foot off my back tire! As I stated above, road biking is all about aerodynamics, so my hulking beast of a bike, complete with it's rider in a not very aerodynamic upright position, was undoubtedly cutting a huge swath through the breeze. But really, why draft?!? I'm told by those who bike a lot that drafting is generally forbidden, or at the very least, frowned upon. If I were to make a sudden move, the drafter might be forced to eat my back tire, leaving him and I in a very bad way. And though I certainly didn't need to go, there's the sage advice of long distance triathletes; if you draft, you will get pee'd on!

After several minutes of drafting (he was so close, it was actually hard to see the guy), I heard the click of a bike transmission, and he smoothly went on his way around me. Why would one of the lycra-clad elite draft off my slow moving mountain bike? Perhaps he needed a break from the windy day, and decided to let me do the air slicing? Maybe it was a Godfather-esque intimidation technique, letting me know I wasn't welcome amongst the road bikers? Probably not that sinister, he was likely just practicing drafting for use in a race or some kind of competition. Whatever the motivation, it brought a little intrigue to my morning ride.

This time last year, after my first bike ride at Memorial, I was bleeding profusely and had to get a tetanus shot the next day! So all in all, a fruitful bit of exercise and a good way to enjoy a great weekend. Hopefully your weekend was good!