mother nature 0, dave 3

Hey Mother Nature!

Do you remember me?

You tried to keep me from running during the summer with your intense heat and humidity, but I ran anyway.

You made the weather for the Chicago Marathon cold and windy, and I ran a PR.

And this weekend? Well, you made it only 6 degrees, then added a wicked windchill, but I pushed through it. Yes, it was painful and there were times that I wanted to quit, times I certainly didn't think I would make it, but I did.

Nice try.

I'll see you next weekend...

P.S. Rain on the Super Bowl? Did you really think that would stop the Colts?!?!? Yeah Colts!

the century mark

Well, I have done it.

I have made it to my 100th post.

Now I wish I had some incredible post to make it all worthwhile, but it has been one of those weeks...

You know the type I am talking about... too much work and no running... ugh...

So, yeah, I've got that going for me.

Honestly, I could have found the time to run - honestly. I used work as an excuse to not run.

I guess the exciting news of the week for me was receiving my results booklet and finishers certificate from the Chicago Marathon. It is now all official. That part of my life is now in the history books. All I have left to do is get my medal, certificate, race photo, etc all arranged and displayed on the wall... something to help keep me motivated.

So this weekend will be exciting... a scheduled run outside and then some Super Bowl Madness... Go Colts!

dashing through the snow... well, sort of...

Almost all of the snow has melted, but there was a nice steady falling of flurries during my short run. I was feeling good that I got in two runs this week and was feeling good enough to try for a run outside this weekend. Saturday came and went before I had a chance, so I chose today.

I chose the coldest day in weeks to run outside.

Outside... where it was -4 below zero with the wind chill (a balmy 12 degrees above without).

Outside... when a sane person might say, "I have a treadmill, I'll stay inside where it is comfortable."

No.

Not me.

I needed to be outside again. The last time I ran outside was December 9th. It was the next day I "discovered" my knee problem. So was this a bit of redemption of sorts that I was seeking? Yes, I guess it was. I wanted to run and feel good while doing it. But I also wanted to reaffirm my love of running and being outdoors. Plus I wanted to be able to try out some new stuff I got for Christmas (new underarmour hat and new earbuds for my MP3 player - unfortunately with all the snow and ice just about melted, I couldn't try out my stablicers...)

Once I got out the door I found that it really wasn't too bad outside (properly dressed). So I decided for an easy, flat course that looped through my neighborhood - an easy 2.5 miles. I also decided I would use my HR monitor and GPS to see where my fitness level is.

When I first started out, the wind was whipping the snow into my face, but once I turned a corner it was tollerable. I was feeling good. I felt like I was taking it slow and steady. The run seemed to be over pretty quickly, and part of me thought about extending my run, but I chose to be cautious.

When I got back home, I checked my splits... WTF?! They went something like this...

Mile 1: 7:58/mile pace (not possible)

Mile 2: 8:33/mile pace (I was running into the wind on some of this)

Last .5 mile: 8:48/mile pace (more wind and apparently getting tired)

My heartrate was a little higher than before, but not too bad for running a bit faster than I should have. The positive spin on this is I still can run the pace I ran during marathon training. Now I just need to build my endurance again...

a glimmer of hope

So, I ran today. Not earth shattering news anymore, but it was different. I was sore in my knee, but started out with a brisk walk to loosen up. It felt okay, but not great. I decided to give running a try anyway, and oddly enough, the pain went away. I felt strong and like my old self again. I finished up, did four sets of abdominal crunches, showered and got ready for work. My knee feels great, and so does my soul. We'll see what tomorrow brings, but for now I have yet another little victory under my belt (oh, and new shoes under my feet - I was able to get the last pair exactly like my last four pair).

Life keeps going and so will I.

life or something like it

Running aside, it has already been another "stellar" start to a new year and it is only the 22nd of January... lots of personal and family issues to deal with and with the lack of running I have not had much of an outlet for what I can only describe as "feelings". You see, I am not an emotional person - I could probably be thought of as cold (if you didn't know me that is), but how I usually deal with stresses and emotions is through my running - I use running as some people use prayer. I won't go into any details, but things are looking better, but there are still probably going to be more ups and downs to deal with. I will cope, It is like the quote above my profile...

"A marathon is like life with its ups and downs, but once you've done it you feel that you can do anything."

Sorry to get all philosophical about stuff... now on to our regularly scheduled blog...

I got in a great run this morning - stronger and faster than my last few attempts. I wasn't even tired from staying up watching the Colts / Patriots game last night - and oh, what a game!

I am going to have to do something with my treadmill though. It is acting up more and more, almost to the point where I can't run fast enough on it now before it shuts off... looks like a call to the repair guy is in order... sounds expensive too...

My shoes came in and I picked them up on Friday night. I tried them out for a quick 3 mile run on the treadmill Saturday morning - unfortunately there's a little problem... They changed my beloved shoe and they do not offer it in a 4E width (yes, that is right, I have freakishly wide feet - I'll do very well in a triathlon when I try one some day - built in flippers and all), so I tried the 2E, as they measured so close to the old pair, but the toe box is much too narrow. So now I must find a new pair of shoes all over again... this sucks...