It's never too late to be what you might have been. -George Eliot
Today I ran about 7.5 miles. I was suppose to run 10 miles today but, I was made late by a car accident on the freeway. Yes, even at 5:15 in the morning, someone's life can be irrevocably changed. I pray that the folks in the accident are OK and can recover what they've lost.
Anyway, while I was running this morning I started thinking about my pursuit for the elusive 3:20 I need to qualify for Boston. (If I were to run Boston before 2010 the requirement would be 3:15) Is this something I have in me? Am I getting too old to really push myself for faster times? 3:20 would require me to run some 55 minutes faster than my fastest marathon, Chicago 2005. Believe me I had my doubts.
Then I see this quote from George Eliot - "It's never too late to be what you might have been". She's got a point. I can keep moving forward toward the goal. I'm not too old to demonstrate this level of athleticism. I have so many strong runners around me who have improved despite their age. They believe in themselves and they let nothing get in the way. These folks persuade me I can do the same. I believe it. So I pursue it. Never, never stop running.
Discourse on running, fitness, healthy eating. May have long stories about all kinds of running gear like Garmin watches, running sleeves or just musings about what I find in the running community. Try to keep you guessing.
BowFlex
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
We Train in the Rain
I have been back to running for more than a week now and my foot seems to be better each day. I'm still not 100% but, I can get up every morning and stand on my foot without too much pain. Well, really no pain just discomfort I'd say. On little spot still hurts to the touch so I've been massaging it every so often.
This past Saturday my group and I ran a loop around our lake. It's about 9.5 miles and it rained like crazy. No matter, we train in the rain. It's really kind of refreshing because it's been very humid here lately and the rain offered a little break. My group is filled with people who have run several marathons so, I'm always confident they know how to manage their time on the run. I say this because I believe we were conservative in our efforts even though rain usually causes you to run faster.
This past Saturday my group and I ran a loop around our lake. It's about 9.5 miles and it rained like crazy. No matter, we train in the rain. It's really kind of refreshing because it's been very humid here lately and the rain offered a little break. My group is filled with people who have run several marathons so, I'm always confident they know how to manage their time on the run. I say this because I believe we were conservative in our efforts even though rain usually causes you to run faster.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
My Return to the Road
The most humid day of the year yet and I choose today to return to my running. I only ran the short 4.6 miler since taking two weeks off due to the relentless plantar fasciitis. How did it feel? I'm not 100% for sure but, I'm close to 80% or so. Let's see how the morning hits me. If you've had this itis before then you know that the morning is the tell tell sign that alerts you to your condition. Will I wake up with renewed pain or will my healing continue on? Check with me in eight hours.
If all goes well on Friday morning getting out of bed then I will prepare for a longer run on Saturday. Saturday is the day that our marathon training group does its long runs. Since we're just starting up, only 3 weeks now, Saturday's run is only 8 miles. That is no big deal for most of my running buddies and me because we run around our lake every weekend, which is about 9.5 miles. We do this when we're not in marathon training season and just want to keep up a base. All that to say, I'm fairly comfortable running 8 miles even if I've been away for a couple of weeks. The challenge is in the condition of my left foot. Running that distance this early in the game my lead to prolonged problems with my foot. I'm not really interested in risking that. Maybe I should just run out 2 miles and return, then grab a bike and meet the gang as they make their return trip to the starting point.
I think deciding to run the shorter distance would be a demonstration of genuine wisdom. However, I am a runner dag nab it, and we runners don't need no stinking wisdom...just run hard! Wait, wait, I'm a coach. Along with four other coaches, I'm leading a group of about 100 people who all wish to run a marathon or two this year. If one of them develops a minor injury and I recommend they rest for a couple of weeks or even three, how can I expect them to listen to me if I'm unwilling to listen to me? I would be truly disappointed if someone was forced to end their marathon pursuit for the year simply because they did not take enough time to heal from an injury. Basically, I must practice what I preach.
A guy at my job said to me today, "I know how much you love running and you plan to run until you're eighty. Right? Then it would be stupid to run too much now and risk a chronic injury". Good advise I imagine. I will listen.
BTW - There's no real chance that I will begin biking regularly. This bike I have now is a loaner from a kool running buddy who let me take it at the last minute last Friday afternoon. I was able to use it to keep pace with my group last Saturday morning. Clearly riding a bike works different muscles because it was quite challenging to get around on that thing. It really has been years since I was last on a bicycle. Sure you never forget how to ride a bike but, you certainly won't be as good at it as you were before.
If all goes well on Friday morning getting out of bed then I will prepare for a longer run on Saturday. Saturday is the day that our marathon training group does its long runs. Since we're just starting up, only 3 weeks now, Saturday's run is only 8 miles. That is no big deal for most of my running buddies and me because we run around our lake every weekend, which is about 9.5 miles. We do this when we're not in marathon training season and just want to keep up a base. All that to say, I'm fairly comfortable running 8 miles even if I've been away for a couple of weeks. The challenge is in the condition of my left foot. Running that distance this early in the game my lead to prolonged problems with my foot. I'm not really interested in risking that. Maybe I should just run out 2 miles and return, then grab a bike and meet the gang as they make their return trip to the starting point.
I think deciding to run the shorter distance would be a demonstration of genuine wisdom. However, I am a runner dag nab it, and we runners don't need no stinking wisdom...just run hard! Wait, wait, I'm a coach. Along with four other coaches, I'm leading a group of about 100 people who all wish to run a marathon or two this year. If one of them develops a minor injury and I recommend they rest for a couple of weeks or even three, how can I expect them to listen to me if I'm unwilling to listen to me? I would be truly disappointed if someone was forced to end their marathon pursuit for the year simply because they did not take enough time to heal from an injury. Basically, I must practice what I preach.
A guy at my job said to me today, "I know how much you love running and you plan to run until you're eighty. Right? Then it would be stupid to run too much now and risk a chronic injury". Good advise I imagine. I will listen.
BTW - There's no real chance that I will begin biking regularly. This bike I have now is a loaner from a kool running buddy who let me take it at the last minute last Friday afternoon. I was able to use it to keep pace with my group last Saturday morning. Clearly riding a bike works different muscles because it was quite challenging to get around on that thing. It really has been years since I was last on a bicycle. Sure you never forget how to ride a bike but, you certainly won't be as good at it as you were before.
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