Gasparilla 5K

ORN: 3.1 miles, 37:46

Well, we DID it. 30 some-odd years after we marched through Tampa, Don and I RAN [and walked] the 5K. And we had a ball. We ran some, walked some, and talked a BUNCH.

It had been a few years since Don had run the race and I think he was shocked to see how many people there were. I was too. I don't know what the numbers were, but it is a BIG race.

Good fun all the way around. Somewhere around mile 2 we were passed by a military group running in formation. Hard to miss the irony!

It was one of those great running days. Good weather, good company. What's better than that??

John

City by the Bay

ORN: 45 minutes, 4/2

Not THAT city by the bay. Tampa Bay. I'm down here for the Gasparilla Festival and will be running the 5K on Saturday with an old Army Band buddy of mine. The last time we were "marching" in Tampa was 30 years ago. Should be fun.

Tonight's run was just a "stay loose" run. I wanted to feel the heat and humidity in Tampa. Let's just say that it's VERY different than running in Chicago at this time of year.

I'm still feeling the jet lag, time change, day change, hemisphere change, but it's getting better.

John

Dress Rehearsal

ORN: 3 miles, 9/1, 33 minutes.

Since I've been off my training for nearly two weeks [although I did run some] I'm a bit concerned, so I did a "test run" today. I'm hoping that I can finish the 5K this weekend in under 33 minutes, but that will take a pretty good day for me.

We'll see.

John

Back in Action

Whew. I'm back, but still trying to get pointed in the right direction.

I had a good time away. Lots of walking and some trail running. I hope to be back on the Blog in a day or so.

John

Away for a while

I am going to be away from the computer from Feb. 9 to Feb 22. I'll do a COMPLETE blog when I return.

John

Tempo Run

ORN: 4 miles, 5/1, 45 minutes [treadmill]

After being in Tucson and San Diego I just couldn't take going outside in the 20 degrees and snow. So, off to the gym. I like the treadmill because I can set a pace and hold it. My mind can sort of go on vacation while my body exercises.

I had THE best run I've had since Disney. I held steady at a 10:30 pace [with a walk every 5 minutes] and it felt good to be at that effort.

John

t-shirt weather

ORN: 30 minutes, 5/1

I was in San Diego for the RunningUSA conference and my business partner and I managed to squeeze in a short run around a bay area. It's winter in Chicago, but it was BEAUTIFUL out there.

My legs are beginning to feel "normal" but the emotional commitment just isn't back up to full steam.

John

An Easy Two

ORN: 2 miles, 4/2

I'm still in Tucson and I need to get out of here soon or I'll never leave. It was another beautiful sunrise over that Catalina mountains and another perfect morning for a run.

Inspired by all the mountains and "outdoors" I bought a pair of trail shoes and today was my first run in them. I know what you're thinking - I live in Chicago. I run along the lakefront path most of the time and the nearest trails are an hour or more drive. But, the path IS crushed stone. That's kinda like a trail.

Besides, I LIKE buying shoes. These happen to be bumble bee yellow and black - NOT my first choice in shoe colors - but they fit well and felt great. I'll get over the color. I didn't get a pair of super heavy-duty trail shoes, either. These have a slightly different tread and a bit tougher outsole. All in all, a pretty good choice for everyday shoes.

So, this morning was just a trial run and I'm pleased to report that they were very good. I even tried some "off road" running and they seemed to be working just fine.

The new shoes might be just the ticket for energizing my running. If this morning was any indication, they will be.

John

Sunrise run

ORN: 80 minutes, 3/2, Tucson, AZ

Talk about a change of scenery. I ran this morning with the training group from Fleet Feet Tuscon. Most of them are training for the Arizona Distance Classic, half marathon, in Tucson on March 12.

I can't begin to tell you where we ran. All I can tell you is there were mountains and cacti and things scurrying around the ground. It was about 40 degrees when we started and then the sun crested the mountains. BOOM. Instantly it was 65 degrees.

My knee is still whispering to me that we are NOT going too far or too fast. I'm listening! About an hour and 15 minutes into the run I knew that I'd be walking it in.

But it was a good week. I tied on my shoes and ran 5 days this week. They weren't all high quality runs but I was out there. Little by little it's coming back.

John

Easy treadmill run

ORN: 4 miles, 55 minutes, 4/2

It was the fourth day in a row that I've run. That alone is a surprise. 3 days is usually my limit. But, I'll be traveling the next two days and won't be able to run so I wanted to get it in.

I did a VERY easy - long run pace - run on the treadmill. I could have gone outside, but I wanted to be able to stop if I wanted to. And I almost did. About 2 miles into it I thought about quiting but told myself I'd try going one more segment and then decide.

So I'll take two days off and then try a long run on Saturday. Wish me luck.

John

Three for Three

ORN: 55 minutes, 4/1

Three days in a row! WOW. Somewhere near the end of today's run I actually started to feel good about running. It's coming BACK!

I changed to a 4/1 ratio [from 5/1] and that helped. It was also a beautiful day, and that helped. It was one of those days where you have to work hard NOT to enjoy running.

Good stuff!!

John

Quarters and a steam

ORN: warm up, 5 "quarters", cool down

I headed to the gym today. I need to do something to get fired up so I thought hitting the treadmill and doing some "speed work" might be the way to go. And, it seemed to work.

Now, "speed" is a relative term. I warmed up by walking and "easy" jogging for 1/2 mile and then did 5, 1/4 mile "repeats". I ran 1/4 of a mile at a 10 minute pace, then walked for a tenth of a mile, then ran another 1/4, and so on for a total of 5 quarters.

There's something refreshing about doing "speed" work after having spent most of the past 6 months just cranking out long runs. I need to be careful. Too much speed is NOT a good thing. But once a week should be fine.

Then I hit the steam room. I'd never been in a steam room until about a month ago. I'd just seen them on TV and in movies. I kinda liked it. I don't perspire much so it felt strange to just be covered in sweat!

Running is starting to feel a bit more normal. This is a good thing!

John

Close, but no cigar

ORN: 70 minutes, 5/1

We are having an amazing January here in Chicago. It was overcast and a little drizzly today, but the temperature was in the high 40's. I started off in tights, a couple of long-sleeved shirts, and a jacket, but quickly shed the jacket.

I started on my "normal" 50 minute loop, but in the back of my mind I thought that if I felt good where I would usually turn that I would go a bit farther. I wasn't ready to call it a long run, but at least I was considering going "longer" than I had.

Maybe it was the day. Maybe it was being able to take off my jacket and gloves - I don't know. I do know that when I had the change to turn around I didn't. I kept running. And it almost felt like I was running because I wanted to, not because I had to.

That's the danger in doing what I did last fall. The 4 marathons - not to mention all the long training runs - became something that I HAD to do. Even though my body is feeling closer to recovered, my spirit is just not ready to start thinking about training again.

But, it's getting better. And for now I'll take that.

John

One step closer

ORN: 50 minutes, 5/1

I'm still not there, but I'm getting closer. Today's run almost felt normal. It wasn't the "joy of the journey" experience that I usually have, but I didn't hate it.

There are still some leftover aches and pains. My left inner groin is still sore. I still think from all the walking. There are other bits and pieces of my body that still aren't right. It's just gonna take time.

The question of "what next" keeps crossing my mind. I don't have an answer, and won't maybe for a little while.

And so it goes. This is what I DO like about running. The self-discovery, the mystery, the not ever being able to figure it out.

John

Try, try again

ORN: 50 minutes, 5/1

It was COLD but clear along the lakefront. I hadn't run since Saturday's disheartening walk back. Not to mention the sore knee. So I didn't have high expectations.

As it turned out, things were fine. It wasn't one of those mind-blowing runs where I just feel a peace with the world. But, it also wasn't a painful experience either.

I'm close to ready to run again. That's pretty clear. But I'm not there yet. The Goofy [training and races] took more out of me than I expected.

John

Still trying

January 24, 2006

Well, I still can't get myself ready to run. After the fiasco on Saturday, I just CAN NOT make myself get out there again. There's really nothing to do except wait.

I actually think that's part of the problem with doing LONG races that take SO much time to prepare. Once it's over it's hard to get back out there

So, I'm going to continue to take my own advice and wait!

John

Too much, too soon

ORN: 90 plus minutes, 4/2: 45 minutes, WALK

I went out on a training run today with Jenny's Winter Warriors team. Most of them are training for either our Arizona Distance Classic or the Country Music Marathon or Half Marathon. They had a 9 mile run scheduled.

We got a little bit of snow last night so that path was clear but slippery in spots. Truth is, it was one of the prettiest mornings we've had all winter. Clear blue sky, bright sunlight, and fresh snow. The BEST!

I was a little nervous about trying to go 9 miles. I'm nowhere near recovered, but I figured I'd line up and see how it went. It went FINE until about 90 minutes into the run. At that point my left knee was starting to talk to me. I've learned -the hard way - to listen when my knee first starts whispering to me rather than waiting until it's SCREAMING at me. So, I bagged it and walked back to the store.

All in all a decent experience, though. It was such a beautiful day that I would have hated to miss it. And I haven't gotten to run with the Winter Warriors much this season so that was good too.

But, I'm not ready for long runs yet. Not even close. I'll take tomorrow off and try something short on Monday.

Waddle on,

John

Baby Steps

ORN: 40 minutes, 4/1

I was up doing an appearance at the Holland [MI] Hospital and had a chance to run with a few folks from Holland. More than a few, actually. Nearly 80 people showed up on a VERY cold night.

We had a great time. It was fun to be back out there running with a group. I'm still not 100% fired up about running, but I'm beginning to ease my self back into it.

John

Back at it

ORN: 50 minutes. 5 min. warm up. Run 4/walk 1 for 45 minutes

I got back out there. I could tell today that my attitude hard turned sour and whether my body felt like it or not I needed to get out and run. It was near freezing so I just bundled up and went out.

A quick inventory: I've got some tightness in my left knee that's not usually there. Not sure if that's left over from Goofy or just from standing so much this past weekend. More curious, I've got some residual aches [not really pain, but it's something] on both sides of my inner, upper thighs. I can never remember if those are abductors and adductors, but whatever they are, they're sore.

My guess is that it's from the walking, not the running.

By the time I was coming home it had started to snow. It was that light, warm-ish snow that makes you feel like you're inside of one of those things you shake up and make it snow inside. I little boy, probably 3 or 4 was walking with his mom and he was trying to catch the snowflakes on his gloves. VERY cute.

I still haven't figured out what I want to do next. Jenny suggested an ultra! There's a 50K in Wisconsin in May. I'm thinking more like a 10K. We'll see.

John

What's next?

Friends,

As you can tell from the empty space on the blog, I haven't been doing any running lately. The truth is that the thought of running hasn't even crossed my mind since Disney.

The training for Goofy took months. Even though it snuck up on me I think I always had it in the back of my mind. I had been preparing for the Chicago marathon pretty seriously all summer long. That led to Marine Corps, which led to the Tucson Half marathon and the Honolulu Marathon. I am, frankly, just tired of training.

This happened one other time in my running life. One year I ran the Chicago and Marine Corps marathons on back-to-back weekends. The intensity of the training for that double left me with NO desire to train afterwards. And I didn't train. For nearly a year. I ran. But I didn't "train".

So, I'm still not sure what's next. I ended up walking about 4 1/2 miles of the Rock "n" Roll marathon course yesterday. In cotton slacks and street shoes! But, I was on the course, feeling the "vibe" of being out there.

I'm "thinking" about going for a little run this afternoon. I'll let you know tomorow if I went, and if I did, how it felt.

Waddle on,

John