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Man in the Mirror

Posted in other, rest, training, tagged Energy, motivation, running, youth on July 15, 2011| 5 Comments »

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When I look in the mirror I do not initially see a 41-year-old man looking back at me. The ~~man~~, er boy, staring back at me is still young.

But as I lean closer to the mirror, the wrinkles become more apparent. The amount of salt on my unshaven face is ever growing. The gray in my hair is spreading, slowly, but steadily spreading nonetheless.

That guy in the mirror is no longer 22 or even 32 (which is the age I always foresaw myself staying at forever). No, that guy is 41.

41.

41 is not old necessarily, but it definitely is not young anymore – and that’s hard for someone who has always had somewhat of a Peter Pan complex. All my life I felt that if you stayed young in your mind and heart, your body would reflect that. When I re-discovered running three years ago I became convinced that I had found the Fountain of Youth.

6 months into my discovery I was 25 pounds lighter, had more energy than I had when I was 20, and felt as mentally sharp as I ever had been. I was convinced that I had turned the clock backward.

The problem of course is that you can only hold back Father Time for so long. Over the last three months it has suddenly taken me longer to recover, I’ve required more energy to motivate and my cracker-jack timing has been, well, a little off. Despite all of that I continued to push myself, hard. Eventually I had to stop and listen.

During a time that I should have been at the peak of my training (70 miles per week) for my upcoming marathon at the end of the month, I was instead asleep and running haphazardly (20 miles per week). Obviously I needed a break. 6 marathons (along with training for them) in 18 months had taken their toll.

I felt old. Suddenly running wasn’t my fountain of youth anymore. It was more like the wrong cup at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

With just two weeks until the Run Around the Lake Marathon, I’m still working my way back to loving running again. My mojo (lower-case “m”) seems to be back – I was able to throw down 20 miles in 95° heat and just this morning I ran some pretty strong intervals – but it hasn’t been/isn’t easy yet.

One nice, and unexpected, thing about missing runs due to lack of motivation however has been fresher legs when I DO run. Maybe as I get older, less is more.

Under normal circumstances I think that I would be losing my mind right about now knowing just how crappy my training has been this cycle, but something Joanne over at Apple Crumbles said to me several weeks ago has kept me steady despite my lack of mileage. She said:

“As for the marathon training, you’re a seasoned marathoner. You know what to do to get from mile 1 to mile 26.2. Don’t worry”

You know what? She’s right.

And so I look at that man in the mirror. He may not be as young or as strong or as fast as he was even just 18 months ago (actually I know I’m faster than I was 18 months ago…I just may not be as fast as I was 9 months ago), but he is wiser and has the accumulated knowledge of 6 marathons under his belt.

For the first time since November 2009, I am nervous about running a marathon, but this time it is tempered with the knowledge, as Joanne said, that I “know what to do to get from mile 1 to mile 26.2”.

I will worry, but dammit if I don’t enjoy myself too. We, most of us anyway, don’t do this to finish first – we do this for fun!!! And if I squint my eyes just a little bit, it easily takes 10 years off that guy I see in the mirror.

Why do you run?

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Mojo in a Box – part I

Posted in motivation, tagged mojo, mojo in a box, running on June 22, 2011| 6 Comments »

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Cycles.

Everything moves in cycles and that includes our motivation. Sometimes the speed of the cycles is steady, sometimes it varies.

As some of you know, my mojo has been at a nadir for some time now. I have been unable to get myself going – there’s always a half-decent excuse, which is great if you believe in half-decent excuses…unfortunately, I do not.

But this week I do feel it coming back. It’s a trickle, but I can feel it, building slowly.

Two things have helped move me along.

On Sunday I was fortunate enough to receive a Garmin Forerunner 610 as a Fathers’ Day gift. (inevitable review to follow).
Yesterday, a free pair of Brooks’ Green Silence – I won them by winning my buddy Doug’s —>36K for Miracles virtual race <— – arrived in the mail (another inevitable review to follow).

On Monday, though normally a rest day, I had to take the watch out for a test run. Tonight or tomorrow (whenever I can squeeze in the time – school letting out has thrown the schedule out of whack) I will be taking the Green Silence for a test run as well.

I am working my way back to my marathon training (I had better! there are just over 5 weeks to go) after 10+ days off. The Mojo ain’t flowing freely just quite yet, but these two items have provided an external spark that I think are just the trick for getting me back on track. My mind is taken off of the fact that my self-motivation is low and focused squarely on my two new toys.

Which brings me to what I have been preaching since the inception of the blog (if not longer) – by whatever means possible get yourself moving one way or another and then let momentum/inertia take over. If it takes an external push to get going, fine! Use it until the internal engine kicks in. It’s like a stick-shift car with a dead battery – get some friends to push the car, pop the clutch, finally get the engine started and then you’re off.

I’ve got the car in gear, clutch engaged, and am slowly rolling down the hill.

Will my Mojo in a Box work? If I pop the clutch, will the engine start?

Check back next week.

Why do you run?

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Symmetry

Posted in health, motivation, other, rest, training, tagged Injury, leg, running, symmetry on June 17, 2011| 16 Comments »

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A big, fat 0.

That’s the number of miles I have run in the last 7 days.

Zip.

Nada.

I’m definitely starting to get a little grumpy.

But now I am battling myself on two fronts. The fire, that internal engine is still stuck in neutral; motivation to train is at a low; but even if the desire were back, I am now facing an issue of pain in my right heel, my right knee and right hip. The latter two, I am convinced, are offshoots of the first.

Not to get too graphic, but a callused part of my heel decided couple of weeks ago to crack. That has led to a sharp pain in my heel, which has led me to alter my gait, which I am convinced has thrown off the fine-tuning on my right leg. It doesn’t help that my right leg has always been noticeably smaller than my left, that I am weaker on the right side. My symmetry has always been a little off, but this cracked heel has thrown everything way off balance.

Those aches and pains that have kept my motivation down these past several weeks are waxing, not waning.

It is not the expected result of rest.

I’m going to have a serious problem if things don’t turn around in the next week or two. I still believe I can be ready for my next marathon on 5 weeks training, maybe even 4, but the last time I tried to fake my way through on anything shorter (my first marathon), the result was frozen quads at mile 20. At least if it happens at Around the Lake, I’ll be no more than a mile and a half from the finish.

Ugh.

I hate this feeling.

My motivation may be in the crapper right now, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to run.

Want.

To.

Run.

I want to sweat, I want to breathe hard, I want to feel spent.

It is my therapy.

Hopefully the heel heals soon and a modicum of symmetry is returned to my body. I really think that once I stop limping, the knee and hip will right itself.

At least that’s my hope.

I hope I’m right.

Why do you run?

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Unintentional

Posted in rest, training, tagged recovery, rest, running, Unintentional on June 15, 2011| 4 Comments »

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It’s been almost a week since my last run. I’ve officially only missed 4 runs on my training schedule and am most likely to miss a fifth tomorrow. Although I am starting to feel a little antsy, I don’t have that sense of urgency that has driven me in the past.

When I wrote a couple weeks ago about losing my mojo, many of you left me comments saying that maybe my body was just trying to tell me something; maybe after training all winter for Boston and then starting right back up a few weeks later for another marathon, my body just needed a break. At the time I took it all in intellectually, but in my heart I did not, could not accept that. Giving lip service to the idea that I may have needed a break, I decided to rest on my scheduled recovery run days. All I ended up doing was pushing myself harder on my other training days. It worked – for about a day or two and then my body finally said, “Enough!”

For the last week, the little aches and pains that simply come with training – those badges of hard work I wear so proudly – have intensified a bit. They are not debilitating by any means, but they are uncomfortable. For the past week I have been waking up in the mornings and simply letting my aches and pains dictate whether I would run or not.

The answer has been clear:

Rest.

Heal.

Truly recover.

And so each of those mornings I have done just that. I did not set out to take a week off, but it looks like that is what my subconscious has decided I need.

Despite being only 6 weeks away from my next marathon, I am not panicked, I am not worried, I am not afraid.

This Sunday I hope to go out for a Fathers’ Day long run – no intensity, just some nice, long easy miles. Maybe I will get back into the training program. Maybe I won’t. Either way, I am still signed up for Around the Lake and I will still be shooting for a 3:15.

The next 6 weeks are going to be interesting.

Why do you run?

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Quicksand and a Rope

Posted in motivation, other, Uncategorized, tagged autism, Autism Speaks, Dr. Geri Dawson, running, stress on June 10, 2011| 18 Comments »

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I am running – pounding the treadmill.

My demeanor is calm, almost stoic, but I am sinking.

Sweat is dripping out of every single pore of my body. I am drenched. The display of the treadmill is spattered.

I’m waiting…waiting for the endorphins to kick in; waiting for the wave of “feel good” to wash over me and wash away the troubles of the day, the 1000 paper cuts that are threatening to bleed me out. I wait, and when I feel like I’ve waited long enough, I double-down and pick up the pace. The sweat continues to pour out of me, now like a leaky bucket losing water.

My breathing becomes labored and yet, I am still calm, stone-faced and waiting.

When the endorphins finally kick in, it is almost anti-climactic.

Yes, I feel good.

Yes, there is some release of tension.

But there is an underlying sense of dread, of sadness, of disappointment, of loneliness.

Something is not right. There is still a weight upon my chest, my shoulders, pressing down. The immediate world around me is no longer bending to my will. The destiny of me and my family no longer seems to be in my hands.

***

I think about Brooke’s future a lot. I know that any parent thinks about their child(ren)’s future, but when you have a child with special needs, like Brooke has, those concerns get multiplied. What roadblocks will autism throw up against her as an adult? as a teenager? as a tween? next week? It doesn’t seem to stop. A few weeks ago we had a scare that Brooke might be suffering from brain seizures (nearly 1/4 of kids on the autism spectrum will at some point suffer a seizure of some sort). She had been rolling her eyes into her head sometimes at a terrifying rate of 10 – 15 times per minute. In the end, after an EEG and an evaluation, it was determined that she was not suffering from seizures, but rather a motor tic associated with autism.

Not that I would have wanted it to be a brain seizure, but I thought, “Great, just one more thing that is going to make it difficult for her. Great!” Fortunately the eye rolling has subsided immensely. I now see her do it maybe 10 times in a day as opposed to 10 times in a minute.

That, along with a few other factors related to Brooke, have taken their toll I think. My sleep has suffered. My running has suffered. My motivation to do ANYTHING has suffered. I have been sinking slowly in a quicksand that has threatened to swallow me up.

***

But then last night I was thrown a rope.

Jess and I went to listen to a talk given my Autism Speaks Chief Science Officer Geri Dawson. She spoke on the state of science and research in the field of autism – where we were, where we are and where we just might be going in the not-so-distant future. Jess is much better at conveying events, so I will leave it to her to elaborate on the talk, but I will tell you this – we were sitting with Mrs. SGM, a military wife/mother of a little one with autism. At the end of the talk, Mrs. R went up to Dr. Dawson and told her that this was the first time she had been to something like this where she walked away with a sense of hope – a true sense of hope.

That is exactly how I felt.

It took those words for me to realize that my “hope” had been waning over the past few months. It was more of a general deterioration of my hope for the future. As the economy continues to struggle and town budgets get tighter, administrators eye more and more the funds spent on a child like Brooke. Long-term views are replaced by short-sighted ones. It’s happening everywhere and our community is no exception. So my hope for Brooke had taken a beating.

Until last night.

What she said will not impact the budget issues each town faces, but as I listened to Dr. Dawson speak, I was lifted by the possibility that big breakthroughs are right around the corner – that there may be a time, relatively soon, when Brooke’s autism won’t demand so much attention, so much manpower. My hope for a truly independent adult Brooke was reborn.

***

And with that, a certain amount of weight was lifted off of my chest. This morning I woke up just after 4AM and went for my run (10 miles, putting me over 1,000 miles for 2011!). There was the usual dragging my butt out of the comforts of my bed, but there wasn’t the sense of defeat and dread that has accompanied the moment of consciousness this past month or so.

Did Dr. Dawson’s talk resolve the issues we are currently dealing with now? No. Not even a little. BUT, as I look out over the horizon of time, I can see the storm clouds starting to break. The skies aren’t quite as dark or threatening and I think I see some sunshine coming through.

Thank you Dr. Dawson and Autism Speaks for inadvertently throwing me a rope and bringing back the sun.

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
and I say it’s all right

-The Beatles

Why do you run?

This is the second time an Autism Speaks scientist has pulled me out of my funk. I had the pleasure of also seeing Dr. Tager-Flusburg again last night.

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Boston Run To Remember 2011

Posted in race recap, tagged Boston Run To Remember, race recap, running on June 7, 2011| 10 Comments »

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Maybe it was the high expectations I had of myself.

Maybe it was the fact that the heat & humidity beat me into submission.

Maybe it was that at one point in the race I quit – I simply gave up.

Whatever the reason, Sunday’s race did not go according to plan – and I’ve been struggling for over a week now as to how to write this race recap.

***

My thinking had been that since I had been able to cover the hilly Heartbreak Hill Course in 1:32 just two weeks earlier, that I would be able to take on the flatter Run To Remember course in 1:31.

Seconds before the starting gun I realized that I wasn’t excited; I wasn’t pumped. I kept telling myself to get psyched, but it just wasn’t happening. Yet for all the lack of adrenaline, I still felt like 1:31 was a very reachable target.

The gun went off, and after the inevitable walk, jog, run, walk, stop, run of getting across the starting line, I was off.

Somewhere before mile 2, not really paying attention to pace...oops! - photo courtesy of J. Alain Ferry (RaceMenu.com)

After covering the first 2 miles in 13:20, I realized too late that I had gone out too fast. I would cover the next two miles in 14:00 (7:00 per mile was the initial goal), but by that time, I was in trouble. The heat and humidity began to take its toll and every mile thereafter, except for the final 1.1 got slower and slower.

Still, through 6 miles I was still 20 seconds under target (having run miles 5 and 6 in 14:20 for a total time of 41:40). By the end of mile 7 however (a 7:22), with my pace continuing to drop, I finally dropped behind pace of my stated goal.

For a brief flicker of a moment I thought, “it’s rally time. Get our ass in gear Luau!” and I tried, I really did, but my calves just didn’t have it on that Sunday.

I'm faaaaaaaadiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnng! Somewhere around mile 7+ - photo courtesy of J. Alain Ferry (RaceMenu.com)

Truth be told, this race was uneventful and without the dramatics I have grown used to in my past races. There was no reeling in of other runners; no sprint to the finish to catch somebody I had been eying for the last mile. It was almost as if my attitude on the whole was simply blah. Maybe it was the heat and humidity, I don’t know.

I did close with a strong final 1.1 miles, but even there I was unable to catch any runners ahead of me. What pisses me off the most now is that I didn’t care (at the time anyway).

I would finish with a time of 1:35:54. Well off my PR two weeks earlier. Still I did finish 167th out of 5,248 total runners and 28th out of 474 runners in my age group.

***

In the midst of my slow implosion, I had what will be one of my more memorable racing moments:

Somewhere between miles 7 and 9 (it’s all a blur), a guy pulled up to the left of me.

He could tell I was lagging.

“Come on, Luau” he said.

“I don’t have it today,” I said trying to scan his face for some recognition, “my calves are shot.” We chatted briefly, talked a moment about the Boston Marathon and then it was time for him to keep moving. I was slowing him down. He tried to get me to come with him, but it just wasn’t happening. I still had no idea who this guy was. As he pulled away he said, “great blog! Long time lurker!” John had recognized me, either from my shirt or shoes or sunglasses or all three. It was a neat moment of realizing just how inter-connected this running community is.

Lifted by this, I rallied briefly, chasing John for about a half-mile before I once again had to slow down.

After I finished, I walked back about a 1/2 mile along the course to see if I could cheer/run in a friend who was running her first half-marathon. I settled next to some kids who I remembered cheering me in as I had passed them. Their enthusiasm had been fantastic and nearly 30 minutes later when I had made my way back, it hadn’t waned. These kids were cheering everybody on as they waited for their mom to come by. As disappointed as I was in myself, my spirits were lifted by the raw energy these kids were giving to the passing runners. You could see faces change as they approached and heard these kids yelling and screaming their lungs out.

It was standing here, cheering on the runners that I had another neat personal moment:

As I stood there clapping, shouting, encouraging, getting mildly dizzy from scanning the crowd for my friend, a tall guy with dark hair high-fived me as he went by.

“Hey!” he yelled.

I was a little taken aback, not sure what he was going to say next.

“I love your blog!” Another runner who reminded just how small our running world is.

Between John, Dark-Haired Runner and my dailymile friend Lynda B (who recognized me before the race because of my multi-colored shoes) I was able to take a lot of positives from a performance that was somewhat disappointing.

So to John, D.H.R. and Lynda, I thank you!

***

I did learn a few things though from this race:

•when the humidity is at 89% and then temperatures are rising quickly, DON’T go out too fast.

•don’t run a hard, fast-paced 12-Miler less than 36 hours before a half-marathon you are hoping to PR at. Friday night after putting the family to bed, I hit the treadmill to watch the Bruins while running my scheduled 12-Miler. In part because it was late and I wanted to get to bed, I ran it way too fast. As I trudged upstairs after my run, and despite being excited by the Bruins game 7 win, the weight of my legs gave me pause. I wondered if I had blown my race with that run.

•sometimes the random race where there is no expectation, like The Heartbreak Hill Half I ran two weeks before, are better opportunities to PR. It didn’t hurt that there was no pressure and it was a good 15° cooler.

***

I’m thinking maybe next year, especially if it’s hot and humid like it was for this race, I may switch to the 5-Miler and call it a day.

Why do you run?

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Dude, Where’s My Mojo?

Posted in motivation, tagged running, running mojo on June 3, 2011| 23 Comments »

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I’ve run 15 miles this week. All at once, late at night. That’s it.

I just haven’t been able to get my butt up and out in the morning. There have been excuses – Tuesday morning’s 13-miler I skipped because I was recovering from Sunday’s half-marathon race. Yesterday’s 5-mile recover run I skipped because I had run 15 miles late the night before and then I ran out of time later in the day. Then I couldn’t get out of bed for this morning’s 10-miler because, well, because I had a headache and was tired. Really? A headache? and because I was tired?

Where has my mojo gone?

When the alarm went off at 4AM this morning, I rolled over and went back to sleep. I dreamed about the Around the Lake Marathon coming at the end of July. But the dream wasn’t about excitement. No, despite the race being almost 2 months away, I dreamed that it was 10 days away and I was telling myself I needed to be tapering and NOT running the 10-miler I missed this morning. What the Hell does that mean?

Motivation is low and I don’t know why. I can’t even get the Run To Remember race report done (and I love writing race reports).

Dude, where is my mojo?

Maybe it’s the change of seasons. Maybe it’s the other crap going on in every day life that is starting to creep in. Maybe it’s the R-Un-Apture? Maybe I just need to run it out. Whatever the reason and solution, if you see my mojo in your travels, please tell it it is missed and needs to come home. I miss my morning runs.

Have a great weekend everyone. Whether you are racing or training, run strong and run happy.

Why do you run?

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R-un-apture

Posted in Odd Ball, other, tagged Harold Camping, marathon running, running, the apocalypse, the rapture, the runapture, the runocalypse on May 27, 2011| 14 Comments »

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So with Harold Camping telling us that the Apocalypse is 5 months away and that Judgement Day did in fact happen on May 21st, I’m left to wonder, were any of us saved?

Camping came to the date using the numbers 17, 10 and 5; 17 representing heaven, 10 representing completeness and 5 representing atonement.

Well, I have a theory. I think that some of us were in fact saved. Just like Camping used religiously inspired writings to determine the exact date, I have used my own religious sources to determine that if Judgment Day did in fact happen and if the Rapture and the Apocalypse are going to happen on October 21 then it is obvious who is among the saved.

If you look at any painting depicting the Rapture (go ahead, Google it), you will notice one thing in particular – every person rising up to Heaven has a runner’s body. Therefore, one can assume that if you are a runner, you have a pretty good shot at being called up.

Need more proof? Here are a few more numbers to chew on. We keep hearing that it is estimated that 10 – 15% of the “believers” will be saved. We also keep hearing that the number of those saved will be approximately 200,000,000 people. There are about 1.6 billion people in the world who run to some degree (courtesty of Yahoo!). If we take the average of 10 – 15% we get 12.5%. Guess what 12.5% person 1.6 billion is?

You guessed it, 200,000,000!

More proof? According to Christopher McDougall, our species was “born to run”. Therefore, it is how God made us.

So, to stay pure, we must run.

Still not sure? Let’s get back to Camping’s numbers – 17, 10 and 5.

If you add 17 and 10 you get the approximate distance of a marathon. Many first-time marathoners will tell you that “completing” (10) a marathon has a euphoric, almost “heavenly” (17) feel to it. This distance is, according to some scientists, the average distance ancient persistence hunters may have had to travel to chase down their prey, usually within a 5 hour stretch.

Get it? The answer, just like Camping’s “indisputable” mathematical proof is so obviously clear: if you have run a marathon in under 5 hours, you will/have been saved.

If you qualify, you are part of the R-un-apture and you will be let into Heaven. If not, get to work – according to my sources, there is an extension for those willing to run a marathon before October 21st…but you better do it in under 5 hours, otherwise you will be forced to suffer the Runocalypse.

a la NYCM's I'm In Stickers

Why do you run?

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Anger Management

Posted in motivation, other, training, tagged anger, kung-fu, management, running on May 25, 2011| 5 Comments »

Spring of 1992 was the last time I remember being Angry.

Yes, I’ve been mad about things many times since, but not since that Spring have I been truly, blindly, enraged.

I have a pretty long fuse – probably longer than most people’s (maybe too long). I don’t tend to get Angry – I mean really Angry. “angry” yes, “Angry” no. When “angry Luau” makes an appearance, it can be unsettling, not just for me, but for those around me who, for the most part, never see that side of me.

After studying Kung-Fu as a youngster for over 10 years I learned a few things, but two things apropos to today’s post were 1.)the need to stay calm and 2.)fear of what would happen if I didn’t. During those 10+ years, I got very good at what I did. I have spent a lifetime since avoiding physical confrontation for fear that in the midst of anger, I would do something that I would regret for the rest of my life. Twice in my early 20’s, things got out of hand, people got hurt, I swore to be more disciplined.

Recently, we (my family) have had to deal with some things, some people that have really tested my fuse. There have been moments when I have come close to losing it, but the remnants of my training have prevailed.

What does this have to do with running?

Everything.

I have not actively practiced Kung-Fu in almost 20 years. Any martial artist will tell you that when push comes to shove, the muscles remember, but I have not had the benefit of the daily workouts, the daily meditations, the daily focusing – that is, until I discovered running a little over two years ago.

Much like the martial arts, regular running is about discipline – whether you are a marathoner, a road racer or you run simply for the health benefits, running regularly is about focusing, achieving and getting the body to push its limits, to do something that you would not normally do in today’s society (a sad topic for another post someday). When taking it up to the marathon level, running can also be about maintaining a certain level-headedness when every fiber in your being is telling you to stop.

As much as Kung-Fu helped me lengthen my fuse over the course of 10 years when I was younger, running has done the same over the last 2. The discipline obtained from running 20+ miles many times over has carried over into my non-running life, the part that must remain calm when anger is trying to rear its ugly head.

I still fear anger, as I did when I was younger.

Though I do not like to run angry because of the heightened potential for injury, I do find that running is a great outlet for those negative feelings. The rhythmic beat of running is conducive toward a meditative state that allows one to work through the anger without letting the anger grab hold of your core – much like the meditation sessions we would have in Kung-Fu class. Running also provides a heightened physical state that allows one to have the physical reaction of anger in a controlled way, sweating away the negative energy.

I have been mad and angry these past couple of weeks, bordering on Angry – people do crappy things; but running has kept me grounded. Running has kept me focused.

***

Sadly, running has not stopped me from feeling overwhelmed at times. Running has not stopped the tears – in fact, there have been runs that ended in tears as the emotion of trying to understand why some people do what they do pours out with my sweat and eventually gets to me. But the running I do has channeled the potential Anger, harnessed it and used it for the power of good (specifically and hopefully taking me to a BQ-5*).

***

Whether it is running or swimming or biking or boxing – hard, physical exertion can go a long way toward managing, channeling and potentially harnessing negative emotions like anger, much like Tai-Chi. With the path our lives took over the past few years, Lord knows what kind of person I would have evolved into had I not discovered running. The outlet that running has provided has been a Godsend.

I may not be a religious man, but Lord, I want You to know I am thankful. Thank you for the gift of fleet feet, emotional running and cleansing sweat.

*A BQ-# is the new designation I have seen floating around due to the new rolling registration for the Boston Marathon – the different levels being BQ-20 (qualifying by more than 20 minutes), BQ-10, BQ-5 and BQ. The higher the number, the more likely you will have the opportunity to register. My goal this summer is to achieve a BQ-5 so that I may register for Boston on the 5th day of registration as opposed to the second week where there is the possibility that registration will already be closed.

Why do you run?

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A Reminder (for me) on the Importance of Stretching

Posted in training, tagged high mileage, Knee Pain, Miles, running, stretching on May 23, 2011| 9 Comments »

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Leading into Sunday morning, I had run 42 miles for the week. For me, that’s a lot. During the peak of my training for both Smuttynose and Boston I hit 55 miles per week, but I don’t normally live in the 55 – 70 mile per week range. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever hit more than 55 miles in a Monday to Sunday stretch. By Saturday afternoon my right knee was feeling a little wonky (yes, non-runners, that is a technical term). When I woke up Sunday it was downright aching.

I stared at my schedule:

17 miles.

I had been here before. Achy knee, long mileage, determination. I had powered through it and then proceeded to have to take a week off from running. I knew that I shouldn’t run but I still reached for my shorts. Fortunately for my knee (but unfortunately for my little one) Brooke had been up sick that night. The double-whammy of my restless sleep and my achy knee finally got the better of me and I went back to bed.

When I woke up at a more decent hour the knee hadn’t improved. In fact, in addition to the achiness, it now had a clickiness (yes, that’s the technical term for that). I sighed. Maybe jumping up to the 12/70 plan* wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe training for another marathon so soon after Boston wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe I was going to need to take a little time off.

The fact that I felt a little under the weather didn’t help my mood. Nor did the fact that Brooke had been the target of teasing on Friday help either. I was mentally, physically and emotionally ~~down~~ shot.

I looked at my knee – pissed and pissy.

***

As I looked at my knee though, I realized that my stretching routine had gone by the wayside. Yes, I stretched my quads and my hammies; my calves and my lower back – but I had essentially stopped doing —>>>THESE<<<— two stretches on a regular basis. They were the two stretches that got me out of my endless cycle of running long miles and knee pain.

I immediately did the ITB stretch, held it for 40 seconds and …presto!… almost like magic the achy knee went away. Had it not been already mid-morning, I would have slipped on the running shoes and been off for my 17.

The achiness stayed away for most of the day, finally returning in the evening. 40 seconds later and relief was once again mine.

After putting the family to bed, I decided to make up at least some of the miles I missed in the morning. Due to time I only got in 9 miles, but I’ll take it. Afterward I made sure to stretch.

It is obvious to me that the ITB tightens when the mileage gets high, but as long as I do —>>>THOSE<<<— two stretches, hopefully I will be fine. The question becomes, “what is the mileage limit that those two stretches can counteract?” When I was training for Smutty and Boston I peaked at 55 miles per week in both training cycles. My current plan has me peaking at 70 miles.

70.

Wow! That seems like a lot of miles.

You tell me if I’m wrong, but for now, I think I’m going to stay the course and continue to up the mileage (in conjunction with the stretches). If the knee does not improve with the stretches, I will dial it back.

What would you do?

Why do you run?

*The 12/70 plan is the 12 week marathon program I am following that starts at 55 miles per week and peaks at 70 miles per week.