Another bump in the road...

Well we got the results back from my MRI... yep, I have a torn TFCC in my wrist. What the &!@$ is a TFCC you ask? The Triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) is formed by the triangular fibrocartilage discus (TFC), the radioulnar ligaments (RUL’s) and the ulnocarpal ligaments (UCL’s). Don't worry, I thought the same thing when I read that for the first time also. Tomorrow I'll hopefully be able to sit down with my physical therapist and ask a few questions (which means a million questions). I also have to have some x-rays of my wrists prior to sitting down with the Ortho doctor. Looks like surgery will be in my near future. The bright side of all this as my Physical Therapist put it... at least you can still run. Well that's exactly what I did and what I will continue to do. Today we ran 3 miles around the neighborhood. Did a pretty easy pace starting off and then worked the pace up as we went. The run is just what my calves needed from the abuse I put them through this weekend. So my weight lifting is on hold for awhile but I can still run. Good thing I didn't decide to start a weight lifting blog.

Welcome to Week Four!

It is now 103 Days will the OBX Marathon and 40 Days till the Harrisburg Half Marathon (but who's counting). This week we have added a 10K race in place of a 6 mile pace run. We might feel it a bit more on Sundays 11 mile LSD run. Today we switched up our leg workout by alternating timed sets of Air Squats and Step-Ups. Then a quick Abs workout to finish things off. My calves are still thanking me for this weekends activities. I hope to have eliminated all heel striking prior to OBX. I would love to hear from other runners out there that are planning to run OBX and what they are doing to train. If your thinking OBX might be calling you... you still have 15 weeks to train up for it. I'll go ahead and leave the link here for you.

http://www.obxmarathon.org/

Week 3 of training is complete!

This week we made some modifications to the "plan". The total mileage for the week was the same... just how we got there was a little different. Thursday is when it seemed to fall apart. By fall apart I simply mean we didn't follow the plan. Thursday was supposed to be 3 mile run day... ended up being a day off. Friday was supposed to be a day off... ended up staying a day off. Now all of a sudden we were at the weekend with 14 miles to make up over the two days. Saturday morning started off with the Fort Bragg Family 5K... well that made up for 3 of those miles, now we had 11 miles left. We quickly came up with a strategy to make up the needed miles without putting either of us in the hospital... or even worse.... the couch. I had ordered a pair of training shoes from Newton Running. The Sir Isaac Newtons! The shoe is designed to promote a proper forefoot landing while running. Well here I am with these new shoes... a need to get some more miles in... sounds like a Saturday evening run. We decide to hit the mean streets of the Riverbrook Subdivision for another 3 miles. Right from the get go I could feel how much easier it was to tell if I was doing a proper forefoot strike. It made it feel weird to either heel strike or land with a mid foot strike. What I wasn't ready for was the fact that by the first half a mile my calves were on fire. That wonderful feeling pretty much stayed the rest of the way... At that point I wished I was wearing my beloved compression socks. With the run in the bag and another 3 miles knocked out it was time for a couple things... first a shower and then to put on my compression socks. I was expecting to wake up last night to my own screams of pain and anguish. Luckily for me I woke up after a good nights sleep with the sound of my alarm clock and sore calves. It was now day two of the weekend and we still had 8 miles to get in. Since we already had to go on post so that I could get my MRI on my wrist (possible torn ligament from weight lifting) we figured we would get our miles in on Pope Army Airfield. There is a 6.5 mile loop around the airfield that is mostly sidewalks. We started off at the Pope Gym did the loop and then added another 1.5 miles to get in our 8 miles. This was are LSD (Long Slow Distance) run so we set a goal of running a 10:00 minute mile pace. Our overall average ended up being 9:50 minutes per mile. Another week closer to OBX and we are still on track.   

It's never too late, but now's a good time!

For some reasons it seemed that physically I started a downward spiral at age 30. My metabolism seemed to slow down, I found out I had Obstructive Sleep Apnea, physical fitness slipped on my priority list, and at age 35 I hurt my back on an Airborne Operation. From age 30 to 36 my weight and physical fitness level went on a rollercoaster ride. At age 36 I decided that 20 years of smoking was probably a little much and that I needed to quit. I went from a solid pack a day to zip. Well the side effect of that was my weight jumped from 240lbs to 265lbs. Let's just say that it wasn't a good 25lbs that I had acquired. November of last year is when Kelly and I made a choice... we were going to take back control of our lives. A friend of mine posted on Facebook today, and I quote "If you want to change your body, then exercise. However if you want to change your life, become a runner". On November 3rd, 2012, Kelly and I decided to become runners. You might be asking yourself... why is he going on about all this. Well I'm going to tell you. Today we ran the Fort Bragg MWR Family 5K, which I ran in 21:19. This set a new Personal Record (PR) for me. Also, another friend of mine took a picture of me while running today which closely resembled another picture I have of me on that November 3rd 5K. So as it was...all the planets aligned and it was meant to be that we talk about a few steps in the journey of my life. This is my life, and as far as I know the only one I'm going to get. I've made it this far, why not see if I can get a few more miles out of this bod of mine. I know most people who are reading this know me, but if you or someone you knows needs a little kick in the pants... It's never too late, but now's a good time!

Tuesday nights alright for Running!

So no poop, there I was... wearing my short shorts, a bright orange shirt, my Garmin Forerunner 310X, and my Merrells. It was 2100hrs (9pm for those of us who don't like math) and off we went for our 3 mile run. One would think that at such a late hour it wouldn't feel so hot... but it did. Tuesday's runs are always a nice break. After all the miles over the weekend and then Monday's Leg Workout it's nice to just shake things out with a shorter jaunt. I've been noticing that my legs aren't as sore as they should be which tells me it's time to shake things up a little bit in the strength training department. Legs and Abs are the only the body parts I'm working out while I wait to have my MRI on my wrist. Even with this little set back in my training I don't want it to effect my running. I'm sure it will effect my beach appeal but I'm not really to worried about it. Kelly's crazy about me and I notice her checking me out all the time. So back to the running... I played around with my pace a little bit. The first mile I just did an easy warm up, and then ramped it up a little for the second. The third and final mile I kicked it in trying to keep my "5K Race Pace" for the whole mile. This Saturday, Fort Bragg MWR is hosting their monthly "Free Family 5K" on post. It is a timed, but not chipped event. We are going to run it and I am hoping to get a "PR" (Personal Record). This will probably be one of the last 5K's I run before the Marathon. If you live around the Fort Bragg area I strongly suggest you come out to Hendrick Stadium at 8am on Saturday, July 27th. Well it's time to call it a night. Go run!!! I'm going to bed!!!

It's Monday and I got a package in the mail!

So after a nice trip to visit family in SC we got back home to a couple packages waiting at the front door. Kelly got a new pair of running shoes she had ordered and I got the Level 1 Training System from www.Born2Run.com. Eric Orton the author of "The Cool Impossible", and coach of Christopher McDougall, author of "Born to Run", developed a system to first strengthen the feet and then to condition the other supporting muscles used during running. The Training System includes a training wedge, two poles, and a DVD. Since today was an off day from running and "Leg Day" for strength training, I decided to try some of the foot strengthening exercises in between leg exercises. I did come to a realization that my feet need a lot of work. This has been caused by a lifetime of wearing shoes that do the work of my feet. Eric covers a detailed training progression in his book. The DVD just showed proper form for the exercises. This will be a regular topic of discussion here and I suggest something you add to your training program. Strength training will make or break a training program. Now there is a million options for strength training from lifting weights, crossfit, or body weight exercises. These will help prevent injuries and increase your performance. If weight loss is your goal then adding strength training will help your body be more efficient at burning fat. I will be adding those foot strengthening exercising to my routine. My next steps toward my marathon and a lifetime of natural running. 

It's a wrap on week deuce!

So this mornings 9 mile LSD run brought an end to week 2. We went back to the Costal Carolina University's campus to run again. The weather couldn't have cooperated more with us. During the entire run it was overcast with a light breeze and 75 degrees. My attempt at pacing this week was a lot better. I managed to keep a 9:53 minute mile pace. I really never thought that keeping a slower pace than my goal race pace would be such a challenge. There will always be that part of me that wants to just step it out and see what I'm made of... And then there is the other somewhat wiser part that tells me ill never make it 26.2 miles at a sprint. This week we logged in 25 miles. Next week the miles actually drop back some to allow for recovery. Don't worry folks, the following week it ramps right back up. So I was just thinking earlier that I've kind of been just touching on topics as they come up. I welcome any and all comments and/or question. Or I can just ramble on from day to day... Either way I'm going to blog away as the miles go. Just thought I'd open it up a little... As long as this doesn't turn into Dr Phil or Dear Abby. So who else is out there training up for a race? I know Kelly and I aren't the only ones... Or are we?