Running for CRSF

A.H.

2008-09-08T10:27:00.014-04:00

Throughout history mankind has used significant events to mark the beginning or end of an age. Two particular periods we are most familiar with, as usually referenced in the modern secular western world, are B.C.E. (before the common era) or C.E. (Common era). These mark the significant achievements of humanity that propelled us from one consciousness to the next. For the modern technological age the Industrial revolution is often referenced as the progenitor of modern times.

Individuals do the same thing when they experience significant milestones in their lives. Finishing college or an advanced degree, starting a family, a new career etc.

For me the most significant physical event in my life has been the half marathon. This event has certainly sparked a solid commitment to maintaining a healthy and active live style. It would surely be a waste for me to just go back to being a couch potato! Plus the thing I enjoy most is running for a cause and that has made this new period of A.H. (After the Half) all the more special and significant.

Here are some pictures of that exhausting event. I finished the race in about two hours and thirty eight minutes even though the race clock read three hours fifteen minutes. That clock represents when the race started and my coral (the 20th one) didn't start until about thirty minutes after the official race started.

At any rate, thanks for all the contributions for CRSF and I hope you know I ran for every single penny of it!

May you be well, happy and peaceful!

Slowly getting back into the swing of things.

2008-09-04T15:38:00.002-04:00

I went for a very short run last night and did some work on the elliptical this morning. I got back to weight training and I’m feeling really good overall. Actually I feel a lot better than I thought I would after the run. I am still going to take it slow getting back in to a routine but again I have to say that I feel great.

So many people at work and family have really been generous with their donations for CRSF and it has been really touching. I hope to keep doing things to raise money for this cause. This small step has given me some insight into things I can do in the future and I am certainly excited to see where it can lead.

13. 1 Miles... I Did it!

2008-08-31T17:06:00.002-04:00

I really don't know where to start but I guess I can sum up my feelings by saying this race was both the most rewarding and the most painful thing I have ever done physically.

The funniest thing about my experience was that there was a man who juggled about four or five balls while running the whole race. Believe it or not he makes really great time. I was joking with my family and friends that I was determined not to let this man finish before me. I caught and passed him around mile 6 and was satisfied that I would not finish after a man juggling while running.

By the time I got to the last mile I was completely out of gas! I was walking the final strip and was about a half mile from the finish line when I see this man blow past me juggling! All I could do was laugh. It became a race to the finish but by the time I could get my legs going again he had already put too much distance in front of me, juggling the whole while and rubbing the humiliation in deeper. I crossed the line just behind him and thought this was probably one of the funniest things that has ever happened to me.

It was a great race! There were over twenty thousand people and everyone had a really great attitude. Couples, families and friends were all out there doing something really good. I was also really happy with how the locals supported us. They were out there cheering us on and spraying us with watter, it was really great energy.

I felt really good to be doing this for CRSF as well. I plan on doing this again next year and raising money for the orphanage. I hope to recruit a few family and friends to also run and try to raise money as well.

In closing let me just say thank you to all those who contributed to CRSF. We are living in tight economic times and I wish all those who gave and who plan to give a special blessing of wellness, peace and happiness!

Rafael

Hit and miss

2008-08-26T11:47:00.002-04:00

Like most thing in my life this blog has been hit and miss. It certainly didn't shape up the way I imagined it in my head but hey I gave it a shot. At any rate the day is at hand and I have trained much in the same way I have updated this blog. I started out really hard and then kind of faded in the middle...Who am I kidding? I all but vanished toward the middle! It is the nature of things and who I have grown to be.

That being said I still trained and worked hard. I pushed through some injuries and realized that I could push farther than I thought I could. I am in the best shape of my life and I feel great. I think this experience will certainly be a force to propel me to live a healthy and active life style for years to come.

The greatest part of this has been trying to do something to help a cause that is dear to me. I am happy to be raising money for the orphans of CRSF and hope that the little work I do will go a long way in their lives.

Race day is just around the corner and I am excited to be finally doing this. It was an up and down journey but I learned something each time my feet hit the ground.

Stay tuned and be well.

Getting ready for race day!

2008-08-26T11:21:00.002-04:00

I am fired up for the big race this Sunday! I thought long and hard about whether or not I would run with my IPod or not. I've decided to go without it. I want to be present for every step, every breeze and every ache and pain and I just want to run free.

Be well

Getting there

2008-07-01T12:49:00.002-04:00

Had a great spin class today. I pushed myself beyond the point of exhaustion and couldn't get enough. My legs, and my knee feel uncharacteristically strong today. Tomorrow I will do Yoga and see if incorporating that on my off days will help as well.

New Regiment

2008-06-30T09:49:00.002-04:00

Ok,

So I ran five miles on the elliptical this morning. It was a pretty good work out. I am going to try the elliptical instead of the treadmill along with spin class and some leg weights until the beginning of August to see if I can strengthen my knee. Around the beginning of August I'll incorporate some short runs and build up to about 8 to 10 miles and hopefully I will be ready by Labor Day. Man I'm cutting it close and I'm a little concerned about my knee. Obviously not too much because I have not gone in to get it looked at.

Getting there one short step at a time

2008-06-16T07:51:00.004-04:00

I took a short run this morning. I felt great only the pain in my right knee still concerns me... Update on CRSF. The orphanage is working hard to meet the growing needs of children who are disaffected by war and the Asian Tsunami. They are always accepting clothing, computers and monetary donations. Currently I am working on trying to help edit the CRSF web site. It is quite a project, hope to be done soon.

Uh Oh!

2008-06-15T08:46:00.002-04:00

I had some personal set backs and I have not been training the way that I should. I have practically had to start back at square one! I have an injury to my right knee and I need to work this out pronto.

More to come

New CRSF Web site is launched

2008-01-21T09:15:00.000-05:00

I am happy to report that the new CRSF web site is up and running. It is clear that Rev. Kirama and his staff have worked really hard to get this site up and running. Take a look see on the site to get a better idea of the great work he is doing for the children and elderly in Sri Lanka.

Spinning my wheels

2008-01-16T10:14:00.001-05:00

It has been so cold here the last few days. I have been wanting to get out and run on the street but wow it has been bone chilling cold! I have been been going to the spin classes at the gym and I am pleased at the progress I have made in those classes.

I am still running on the treadmill but I have to say that for a while each step has been near torture. It is so boring running in place! I really miss the variety of running on the street. I talked to a friend at work who suggested I run a variation workout to get some incline and speed variation. I am going to try this out tonight because the most I can run on the treadmill without feeling like I am going to lose my mind has been three miles. I want to at least make five my standard and move up to about eight by the spring.

I'll post how my experience goes tonight.

Running indoors

2008-01-05T20:51:00.000-05:00

I've been alternating between spin class and treadmill running. I think these two training techniques will help me in the long run. I haven't been running out on the street for a while and to be honest I am looking forward to getting back out on the pavement.

I have also worked out an arrangement with two Sri Lankan organizations that will take donations for CRSF that will give donors the charity tax benefits.

Addicted to Eggnog!

2007-12-21T09:49:00.000-05:00

This has been a slow week. I am sure that all my extra holiday pounds will come from the gallons of eggnog I can't seem to stop drinking. Of all the sources of mad amounts of fat and calories why did I get addicted to this stuff?! From Virgin to "mildly spiked" eggnog to eggnog Latte from Star Bucks I have been guzzling it down in vats!

I don't know if I am making up for being in Sri Lanka last Christmas and going without this seasonal treat but I can't seem to get enough. At any rate I feel I'll have to run twice as much in order to deal with this heavenly transgression. Saturday and Sunday promise to be active along with the week of Christmas, that is active with running I hope and not with eggnog guzzling!

Merry Christmas to all!

Personal Best

2007-12-12T16:26:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had a situation where you thought you were doing something better than you have ever done only to find out you didn't? Monday, Lance Armstrong told me that I had accomplished a personal best for the mile! Well, it was his voice anyway, which is a feature for my Nike+Ipod contraption.

So today I was, at least I thought I was, flying during my run. I was so sure I had not only posted my best time for my mile but for my five mile run to date. So, after I finished the run I listened to the summary and waited for Lance to congratulate me on my blazing time....Silence. Oh well. The good thing is that I was only 22 seconds slower from my best time for five miles coming in at 45:10 and my overall pace was much better than Monday's pace and I'm sure I was probably an eyelash away from my best time for a mile yet, but I have to sync my IPod to find out that particular detail.

So when I didn't hear Lance I just kind of laughed out loud to myself. The best thing about this run today was that I had no pain whatsoever from the tendinitis in my left knee. Usually by mile four I am in a great deal of pain and it lasts at least for two days. Today I made sure to stay on my toes when I ran and stretched and iced right after the run and I was relieved there was no pain. The thing about that knee pain is it makes it very hard to sit and meditate! But at least for now I won't have that problem. Funny, that is probably the only problem I have in my life. Huh, that's pretty crazy.

Oh, by the way I'll have some details soon on how you can donate to CRSF.

My true motivation

2007-12-10T13:41:00.000-05:00

For me competition has always been difficult. I have always been fiercely competitive but something in the back of my head never really let me fall in love with the idea of winning or losing. Society has conditioned me to want to win and to celebrate whenever I have, and I certainly know how to rub a victory in. However, I have never been a sore loser. In many cases I have found myself just as happy for the other guy winning as I would have been If I had won the competition.

My motivation for winning or striving to be the best died off a while ago. Winning is the thing that drives a lot of people and that is fine since that's what works for them. But what motivates me is developing perseverance and not giving up even though I feel like quitting. If that means I come in first so be it, but even if I come in last I am more satisfied with the accomplishment than where I am in the standings.

Some might say that I strive for mediocrity. From my point of view I could care less who wins. I don't really get my validation from others and so being proclaimed the winner really has little meaning to me. When I look in the mirror or inside my own mind I have to answer more important questions than weather or not I won or lost. Did I give it my all? If not, why? What are things I can do that will help develop a will to keep going? Did I cheat myself or fool myself in my training or studying? How can I be more honest with myself? What do I expect from this? Am I trying to prove something or develop my character? The answers to these questions is what is important.

Running for a cause has certainly given me focus. A positive side effect has been that as I run I gently assassinate the part of my character that tempts me to throw in the towel and give up without seeing how far I can go and how much I can give. I am slowly killing off that part of me that for years has told me small white lies I was all too eager to believe. "You'll get to it tomorrow" "You can't take another step" "You can stop later just try it this one time" "They'll never know". This has been what I have benefited most from thus far and I expect there are greater lessons ahead.

About CRSF

2007-12-03T15:33:00.000-05:00

The Vision and Mission of CRSF is “Let us look after helpless people”. CRSF was founded in 1987 to provide shelter safety and care to children who have been displaced as a result violence from war in the North and Eastern areas of Sri Lanka.

In addition to being a refugee camp and offering adoptive services for displaced children CRSF also provides housing and medical care for senior citizens and serves as a Buddhist monetary to train novice monks. CRSF was registered as a refugee voluntary organization with the department of social service of Sri Lanka on 27th December 1989 (Reg. no. 11/4/8/2160/89).

Group photo of CRSF Children and Rev. Dhamananda

Serviced performed

1. Currently the CRSF Sri Pemananda children’s home houses 25 children.

2. CRSF Sri Vijaya dharmmarma is a novice Buddhist monk training center and currently houses and trains 20 monks.

3. Senior's home, Kakirawa presently houses 15 elderly mothers.

4. CRSF Vocational training center offers computer training for both children living at CRSF and local children as well.

5. Drinking water bottling project.

6. Agency post office.

7. CRSF Rural resources saving project.

Medical check up for senior residents.

Novice Monks

Rev. Kirama Dhammananda, Administrator of CRSF

Really happy about my knee and trying to learn Arabic

2007-11-29T10:04:00.001-05:00

The last few runs I have had I experienced a great deal of pain on the left side of my out knee. I did some research and figured it could be tendinitis. At any rate the pain was sometimes unbearable and I read that you are not supposed to run through pain even though I always do. Not Smart!

Anyway it came to a head on Monday when twice, about mid way through mile 4 my left knee buckled and I almost fell on the pavement. I thought the first time was just a fluke but then it happened again and I could barely finish the run.

Later in the day when I went back to work I was walking up some steps and I felt a snap and a stinging pain that made me want to scream to the top of my lungs, but since I was at work I just moaned and grimaced in pain. I thought for a moment that I may have torn or really damaged something. I was afraid to take another step but I had to see if this was something serious. Thankfully it didn't seem to be. It seemed more like something may have been out of place and just found its way back.

At any rate I rested and went for a five mile run yesterday. I made sure that I stretched before the run and I also consciously made sure that I ran on the balls of my feet. I didn't have one ounce of pain and my pace was the best it's been. The final ingredient was after the run I iced my knee and for the first time there was no pain in my knee after a run.

I hope that the extent of my knee pain was just incorrect running and not stretching. I have to keep an eye on it though because as I push my distance I might start having some problems. Some of you are probably asking why I haven't seen a specialist yet. It's simple, my experience with doctors is like my experience with the weather man, I still keep an umbrella handy. I hate to say it but unless it is really serious it seems like a waste of time. I have always been pretty proactive with seeing doctors but they generally never take any of my concerns seriously they tell me I'm to young to be worried about any thing. Not that I have anything against doctors but I have learned that being proactive and educating myself is for now the best way.

Another thing about my run yesterday was that I was able to make time for a goal I am striving toward. I am trying to learn several new languages over the next ten years. I was able to listen to some Arabic lessons on my Ipod instead of my usual music play list. It is tough to concentrate but this is really the only time I have and I will just repeat the lessons until it starts to sink in.

Brrrrr!

2007-11-27T15:16:00.001-05:00

I went running on Saturday and it took everything not to run back inside and crawl back under the blankets! It was cold, cold, cold!

I ran for six miles and I don't think I started sweating until mile six. Yesterday was much better. The weather was great...I'm on track with my running goals so far and still working on my fund raising. I ordered some CRSF writ bands for those who make contributions. I think that will be a nice touch, but we'll see.

No Pain!

2007-11-21T15:08:00.000-05:00

So I did my research and stretching and ran with no pain in my feet. I think the biggest problem was that my laces were too tight!

I need to work on my left knee though. I have always had pain in my knees but I am starting to get a little concerned about how it is feeling. I'll do some reading and resting this holiday weekend and see if I can find a solution.

Be Smart and run longer

2007-11-20T13:58:00.000-05:00

I have learned that I can only turn a deaf ear to my body for only so long. I have been experiencing a great deal of pain in the top of my right foot. The pain was almost too much to bare and still I ran on it.

I soon realized that I am not superman and should run smart. After all if I do a great deal of damage to my feet it's not just the running that will suffer. So, I did some research ( you have to love the Internet) and found that I am experiencing Inflammation of the extensor tendons. All the symptoms and possible causes matched my experience.

So because I really want to keep running I have a plan of action:

Stretch properly before and after the run
Don't tie shoes tight
Get appropriate foot padding
Stretch and apply ice after the run
Chose a more flat route to run because hills are what started the pain.

I'll try this plan of action and see if there is any improvement. I plan on running at least five miles tomorrow so we'll see how it goes.

Good Run Today

2007-11-16T21:04:00.000-05:00

So, for my lunch break today I ran a little over 5 miles through Rock Creek Park. The scenery was beautiful with all the fall foliage and the the soft trail was great on my knees and joints.

I felt great after the run and for as long as the weather permits I'm going to try and run during my lunch break.

Track My runs

2007-11-15T09:57:00.001-05:00

Ok so I was fooling around on the Nike+IPod site and found this cool widget that allows me to share my progress with all of you. What a world we live in! So this is just another way to keep me honest, not that I have a problem with honesty, but knowing I am being observed will keep me motivated to run.

If you look to the left of the page you can see my runs, the dates distance and time.

There is no time like NOW!

2007-11-15T08:06:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day to run. It was about 60 degrees outside and I got in a good 3 mile run around 4:30. I'm glad I got because today is rainy and the temperature will go down about 20 degrees by the afternoon.

I mentioned earlier that I would link to the Niki+IPod site so you all could see my progress. Well I don't think it's that easy so you'll just have to take my word for it. I have to say that I really love that site and for $30.00 dollars it was probably one of the best investments I could have made for my running regiment. I can draw out map routes, set goals, challenge others and myself. If you are a runner and use an IPod I would really recommend getting it.

Now again I didn't purchase the Nike Shoe. I simply put the chip in a small pouch and laced it into my shoe strings. It stays secure and when I get a new pair of running shoes I will be free to get any brand I want.

Soon I'll have to take my running on to the treadmill because of the colder weather. I still would much rather run outside though. We'll see what happens I generally like to train hard but I don't like cold weather much. At any rate there is always spin class.

Run Forest Run!

2007-11-14T16:14:00.000-05:00

I am trying to get out and some running in. It's been tough because my schedule has a little busier than usual. After I write this post I'm going to try and run a three mile loop. I'll let you know how it goes.

Blogging keeps me honest

2007-11-11T20:31:00.001-05:00

So I debated over and over again on if I would get out and do my long run today. Part of what made it hard was the weather. I don't like running in cold weather and I suppose no one really does. The thing is that it wasn't that cold but cold enough to make me want to stay in my warm bed.

But seeing as I posted that I would (though it was probably not even read by anyone) I felt I needed to keep to my word. That's a new thing I am really working on by the way; if I tell myself I am going to do something I do it or I try not to say I am going to do it all. I am trying to get out of the habit of lying to myself.

So I got out with my new Nike+IPod and it was great! Nice to hear the distance called out and told when I reached my goal. Today I set my goal for five miles. I ran the five but I was in a bit of dilemma. When the voice came on and told me I was at the half way point I should have turned around and headed back home. Instead I kept running out, further and further away from home. When I reached the five mile goal I was now five miles from home and figured what the heck, I might as well run back. So with each mile over my five mile goal the voice on the IPod said "mile six you are one mile over your goal of five miles." Hearing that did something to me and I didn't stop until I hit ten miles.

This was quite a milestone for me and one that came with a price because I could hardly walk after the run. My left knee was in so much pain it hurt just thinking about it. It's much better now. I had to do it though. I had to push. These runs especially the hard ones are eliminating any tendency I have to give up. Quiting has long since stopped being an option with me which is quite an accomplishment because I generally give up on things pretty easy. I also think that for me running is such a powerful tool to build the virtue of perseverance because I have always had issues with it. I have never enjoyed running so to push through and reach these milestones is nothing short of transforming.

I hope I can get back out by Tuesday, but that depends on how the knee is doing. If not I'll get to the spin class at the gym. Hey, keep my lady friend in your thoughts. She fell in a restaurant and sprained her knee a couple of weeks ago. She wants to get back out and run and can't so she gets down sometimes.

Thanks for reading.

Oh, I'll put up a link on the blog where you can track my training online via Nike+IPod.