Back on Track!

Hello again!

It appears that I have not posted for a long, long time. Running has been going okay...last summer, though, I was eating a lot of food and drinking a lot of beer, so it seemed that I had a bit of a gut that caused me to stick with 4 milers all the time. 

But since then, I have really trained a lot, and put in a lot of good miles...starting in September of 2011, I decided that I was going to try to qualify for the Boston Marathon again at a spring marathon, and that's what I did!  I was fortunate enough to have run 3:01 at the Colfax Marathon in Denver, which is great, since evidently it is at a mile above sea level.  In the months prior to that awesome race, I ran three 10 mile races, a half, and a 25k trail race.  All of these were great, and tons of fun.

So, now that I have qualified for the 2013 Boston Marathon, I am going to go!  I was there in 2007 with my brother...he actually set a PR there! 

For the fall, I plan to just get in some good long runs, the Boulder Backroads Marathon (in October), and perhaps a 50 miler (The Bear Chase, in Denver, CO).  I am spending the summer in Vermont, and have had a lot of free time to run and really enjoy the roads!  Plus, there is a lot of elevation changes!  This morning I ran 16 miles, and the Garmin said that I gained 1600 feet and lost the same...that is a lot of hills!

Well, that is all for now...

Oh yeah, and I also bought a Trek 1.2, so hopefully I will be doing a lot of biking...I went for a 12 mile and a 16 mile ride last week, but I have not really been too regular about it.  There is also a pond to swim in nearby, but it is sort of creepy...I might sound like a bitch, but I really wish there was a pool here :)

Back into it...

I think I am back into running! I have been slowly building up my mileage, and this week I should be at 44 miles or so! I also did a long run of 12 a couple days ago, which was great!
It feels awesome to have gotten back into a training schedule! And, I have set some goals...there is a 50k in March that I think I will be ready for...and then one in April...and then a 50k/50M in May. Who knows what this spring will have in store for me?

Below is this graph from my running log showing the past year. It is neat to see how I build up, then sort of peak (or get injured!) and then start up again:

7 Miles!

7 miles today!

GREAT treadmill run. Talked on the bluetooth a bit, threw in some pullups every 10 minutes or so...did some tabla rhythms...all good things to keep you excited to run!

Tabla

This guy sometimes teaches the classes I take! I would be ecstatic if I could get to be 1/100th as good as him!

Also, did some good PT today. Feel really in shape. The legs feel strong again. I think I can do more pullups in one set than ever. Maybe I will do that later this week...

Haven't gotten the motivation to go out into the cold to run. Probably won't. I shoveled a bit today, though...for only 5 minutes...

6 miles!

Hello again!

Today was a momentous run, I think. When I left California, I got up to doing 4 milers 4 times a week...and back here in Nebraska, I have been doing 3 miles almost every day on the treadmill (too cold outside...plus I don't want to risk hurting the ankle again, like if I slipped on ice or something).

So today, I decided to do 6 miles on the treadmill. What was the hardest part was not getting bored! When you run for longer than 20 minutes on a treadmill, things become very tedious and boring!

To battle the boredom, I threw in 15 pullups every 5 minutes (did that 6 times), and also talked on the bluetooth. Ha! That's how you stayed enthused while on a treadmill!

Anyway, the 6 miles felt really really good! I think I will be ready to do sixes every day next week, and then bust out some 10 milers the next week.

I have beat the avulsion fracture! Hooray!

Hope your running is going good too!

Back on My Feet!

This past Wednesday, the physical therapist said I could run again! Since then, I have ran a mile on the treadmill on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and today (Sunday).

IT IS AMAZING TO BE RUNNING AGAIN!

My fitness seems to be pretty good still...have been swimming and aqua jogging like 3 or 4 times a week. Have been doing a lot of PT, too...so that is good!

Now I will have more to write in my blog, so stay tuned!

Updates!

Oh, it has been over a month since I last said anything on this blog! Way too too long!

Anyway, my training was going great! I was hitting some 90+ mile weeks, getting in good long runs...

And then I stepped on a pinecone and sustained an avulsion fracture to the right ankle.

I felt like a Navy SEAL or something who had just been wounded in combat and had to do something quick to be extracted, so what I did was hop on my left leg up this 30 yard hill to where the road was so I could get some help. No cars stopped, but a minute later these middle aged women walkers came by. One of them was a nurse. They were all nice! They went and got a van and drove me back to my place.

Later in the day I went to a place called Southern California Orthopedic Institute and this awesome doctor named Dr. Blecher took a look at my ankle. I had some x-rays and what not. It was pretty sweet to see the injury...but not really.

I had to wear a boot for 2 weeks, which I actually just got out of yesterday. Now I just have to wear a heavy duty brace, but I can walk around without having a strange gait. Wearing the boot was a bummer because my right foot was like an inch higher than my left when it was in the boot, so my left leg was taking a lot of force on it and actually became sore.

*****

Well, I started PT this morning...they did some massage, range of motion exercises, electric stim, ice, and this laser thing. I don't really know what the laser was, but I guess it is sort of like ultrasound.

I can feel my ankle healing by the minute!

I have been staying really positive about the whole situation, and maybe that is why the recovery is coming along well. I plan to get in the pool now and do a lot of swimming, and in the next week or two do some aqua running. I I bought some sweet goggles which are just like the kind Anton has. They are SUPER comfortable, like I could probably wear them all day or something, maybe use them when I am cooking or something where a lot of crap is flying around. I also got a flotation belt so to make the aqua running easier.

*****

HEAL HEAL HEAL!

Long Runs, Again

This weekend will be full of long runs...one is planned for Saturday morning, and then another on Sunday. The distances covered will be much. It will be a grand time!

The training seems to be going really well! With each run I feel more confident that the race I am planning on running in November goes good!