An Absolutely Spectacular Day!!!!!!!

Today was an absolutely spectacular day.  I'm sitting in the Red Carpet Club at O'Hare waiting for my flight back to MSY.  I should be tired.  I should be sore.  I'm not (hoping not to jinx myself) and I have a grin on my face that won't leave.  I surprised the hell out of myself today.  I'll post pictures when I get them --- sorry, I wasn't advanced enough to take them with my phone.

I was REALLY nervous this morning.  I didn't know why, but I was.  Yesterday was cold, but today was amazing.  The sun was out, it wasn't humid, it was about 75 degrees.  I slept well last night, which was a welcome change after not sleeping the last week.  I woke up relatively refreshed this morning.  I stretched, hydrated, ate a little something, took the prednisone and 600 mg of ibuprofen, and walked to Grant park to meet Gen for the run. 

30,000 plus in Grant Park.  The largest 8k in the world.  Amazing.  I kept looking around and comparing myself to all of the "real runners" that I saw everywhere.  I kept hydrating.  The race was to start at 9:00 a.m. --- but that was for the elite runners.  My starting block was at the end.  By 9:10 I had to pee.  problem was, we didn't actually cross the start line until 10:00 a.m.

The race started and I felt good.  Even though I wore my watch, I wasn't keeping time.  I thought it would be slow, especially in light of all of the issues I was having.  To me, this was the test as to whether I would even be able to do the half and pull marathons on the pavement.  About a half mile in, and then a mile in, Gen looked at her watch.  I told her not to, but at the same time I knew it was a losing battle.  The thing is, there were clocks at each mile marker.  In my head, I knew that we were doing well --- and not just well for me, well for anyone.  I felt good.  We were dodging and weaving around the walkers and slowly passing other runner.  I saw that we were passing runners whose starting blocks were far before ours.  HOLY CRAP!  Keep in mind, I REALLY had to pee.

We hit 5K and in my mind, based on the clocks at the mile markers, I knew we were doing well.  I felt good.  But 5K is where my achilles generally starts ti hurt.  Sure as anything, another K and my achiller started to flare.  We walked for about 2 minutes, and were dilligent not to walk more.  We started to run again.  We hit 4 miles and I knew we had it, even though I was starting to hurt.  We crossed onto Michigan Avenue and I could see "the hill" which was the last quarter mile of the race.

The Shamrock Shuffle starts and ends exactly where the marathon does.  I have heard people complain for years about that last quarter mile of the marathon.  I hated that hill.  And hills don't help my achilles.  Half way up the hill the pain was bad --- I didn't want to stop but at the same time I didn't want to hurt myself permanently.  We were dilligent and walked a bit, but then started again.  I could see the finish line.  OH MY GOD!!!  I knew it was only 5 miles (even though the Garmin said 5.3 miles), but it was on the pavement and it was almost a year to the day that I started this whole journey to be a new and better me.  A year ago I NEVER would have thought that I would be running the Shamrock Shuffle, but less feel pretty good doing it.

We crossed the finish line.  I didn't hear them announce our names, but apparently they did.  I put my arms up and apparently they took our picture doing so (they will be available online tomorrow).  Gen looked at her watch --- 5.3 in under an hour --- and that was with walking for two little bits.  We walked through the two water stops as well.  I was ECSTATIC with the time.  I wasn't limping.  I felt good.  I realized that I can do the half and God willing the full.  Six months from today, at this very minute, I will have finished the Chicago Marathon. 

I've pushed myself a lot in the last year.  I've pushed myself to do things I never imagined and I pushed myself to do things that I never thought that I would like and/or make me happy.  It hasn't been a fast journey, and it isn't over yet.  But I'm excited for where it is going to take me.  I've done it the healthy way.  Even though I have been motivated and disciplined there is no way that I could have done this without a few other people --- without Liberdy (my trainer), without Gen (running partner extraordinairre), without my friends (Brooke, Margie, Stacey, Darcy, Mary, Elyse, Alana, Dad, Marina, Ali, Heidi, Max, Melanie, Jenny) and family in Chicago, Milwaukee, New Orleans, DC, and Toronto, and without my colleagues at work being understanding if I left the office for a training run.

I know it was only 5 miles.  I know there are people who do that every day.  I know that 5 miles does not equal a half marathon or a marathon.  I don't care, though.  Today was a big day.  Today I followed through on something and didn't give up. 

On a more practical note, there are other things that I learned today.  I learned not to drink too much before starting a race.  I learned that walking after the race goes a long way to help with cramp prevention.  I learned that Adidas shoes rock even more than I thought and I will be a fan for life.  I learned that Nike hats work best for me --- and I need to wear what works best for me --- even if they only had a red (i.e. Wisconsin color) hat available.  I learned that I still don't see myself as I am now, but will try to get there.  And, I learned that to all of those people who finished after we did --- I am apparently considered a runner.

HOLY CRAP, when did I become a runner?  Am I really a runner?  I don't "look" like a runner and I don't "feel" like a runner.

This afternoon I was walking around Lincoln Park with my friend Margie.  She asked if I missed Chicago.  I said that I missed my friends and that if I could transport my friends from Chicago to New Orleans that I would consider it utopia.  I am sad to go home tonight, not sad to go home but sad to leave my friends --- kind of like the last day of camp.  The weekend was amazing.  It was amazing to be with my friends.  It was amazing to be around people who I could "talk running" with and share this craziness with. 

So, in conclusion, 8K (i.e. 5 miles) on the pavement --- check.  Next stop --- minus a 5K and 10K here and there --- Toronto for the Half Marathon.

I'm Walking (or Flying) to New Orleans

It's 6:15 a.m. and I have to be in the lobby in an hour to meet my colleagues and go to the airport.  Flying back to New Orleans --- back to the heat, humidity, and the office.  I'll be back in Chicago next Saturday for the Shamrock Shuffle, but a week in New Orleans will do me good.

I ran 6.5 miles yesterday.  It was raining and cold, so it was on a treadmill.  It was hard and my achilles started to "scream" around 5k -- but I walked for 2 minutes and then started again.  My goal was to run 7 miles, but it hurt and I bargained with myself as I was running.  I was exhausted afterwards.  I spent about 30 total minutes stretching and then iced.  I popped ibuprofen at dinner and again before bed.  I don't want to jinx myself but I actually feel fine today.  The true test will be tomorrow at the LSU Med School 5k in Audubon Park. 

I'm still VERY happy with the Adidas shoes.  I highly recommend them. 

All in all, great trip to Chicago.  Good work wise.  Ate at amazing restaurants (as an aside, go to The Girl and the Goat http://www.girlandthegoat.com/  if you are in Chicago).  Was able to run again.  Nervous about the Shamrock Shuffle next weekend in Chicago, but I will finish it even if it isn't pretty.

Fingers Crossed, But I Think I'm Back.

I started reading a great book yesterday called "A Clydesdale's Tale: or How a Big Guy Trained For and Ran the Vermont 100" by Steve Latour.  It is a bit tongue and cheek, but got me motivated and even more excited to start running today.  There was a quote that really struck a chord with me.

"Innate potential is a wonderful thing, but it is not necessary for achievement.  Sure, to be a world champion takes potential, desire, and effort, but to improve oneself greatly does not require potential.  All it requires is a basic ability to function combined with desire and effort.  That is the secret."

The book is the writer's story.  He is a man that you would never think is a runner.  He is a man that had never run before and was obese.  Yet he did it, despite how he looked to others and despite how people thought a runner has to look --- he is a runner.  In the book he defines "runner" as:

"If you actually give a care whether someone calls you a jogger or a runner, then you are a runner.  Everything else is secondary.  To wit, if while going for an easy two miles you are greatly out of breath and taking in oxygen in a manner like unto a wildfire that sucks away the very living air around it for miles, while you are sweating like the leaky faucets of a thousand correction facilities, as you are shaking all over in your limbs as if the monkeys of all the jungles of Africa were swinging over you, and if you are maintaining a steady 20 minute per mile pace all the while, and then you feel insulted that someone says 'Hey! Get a load of that jogger!', then you are a runner.  Don't let anyone tell you different, for anything they say is as the braying of donkeys and the barking of dogs."

I left my house in New Orleans this morning at 4:15 a.m.  The storms were terrible last night with flooding, power outages, and hail the size of golf balls.  I didn't really sleep because I was afraid --- in light of the power going out --- that I would oversleep, not pick up my colleague en route to the airport, and miss the 6 a.m. flight to Chicago.  I made the flight, even though the storm started up again as I was leaving my house, and "napped" during the flight to Chicago.  We landed at O'Hare at roughly 8 a.m.  I wore my running clothes on the plane figuring we would get to the hotel so early that my room wouldn't be ready and I would go straight to the gym.

The car picked us up and it took us about an hour to get to the hotel with traffic.  Our rooms were ready (and I even got a suite), but even though they were, I literally dropped off my bag, put on a pair of shorts, and went straight to the gym.  I was able to run again today, and I was excited.  The hotel has recently been gutted and the gym is a part of the spa at the hotel; this was actually the perfect setting.  I spent a decent amount of time stretching, and then started on the treadmill.  I went in thinking that I wasn't going to go too far today as I didn't want to overdo it, and also that I was going to listen to my body and if the pain was unbearable that I was going to stop.  (I also took 600 mg of ibuprofen before I started.)  At roughly 3 miles in I started to feel some pain in my right achilles --- so 5k it was today.  My pace was 11:18 per mile.  Not stellar, but also not terrible considering everything.  I had absolutely no pain in my left foot --- which was huge.  I cooled down and spent some time stretching --- including stretching in the steam room.  The steam room was a perfect place to stretch because the heat was great for my muscles.  I felt absolutely amazing when I left the gym.

Here is where it gets kind of funny --- as I left the gym/spa I asked the woman at the desk if she had any bags that I could put some ice in so that I could ice my achilles.  She said that she would have housekeeping bring it up to my room.  I got to my room and the front desk called about the ice --- asking if I wanted bags to put ice in or the single use ice packs.  I said, if they wouldn't mind, I would like both as I could use the single use packs later in the day.  Not 5 minutes later two men came to my door, with all of the ice on a silver platter.  There was some confusion, as one of the men wanted to ask me some question about how I had hurt myself in the gym that morning.  As soon as I explained that the injury was longstanding and that I just needed ice they breathed a sigh of relief (and left me a little "care package" of single use ice packs for the next few days).

So, I iced my achilles --- with a spectacular view of the City in the process.  I took some more ibuprofen later in the day and put on some compression socks (to wear under my boots) as a bit of an insurance policy.  I don't want to jinx anything --- but I feel pretty good right now.

I listened to my doctor, as I previously reported, and bought the Adidas shoes I wrote about the other day.  So far, so good.  Truly, they were the best shoes I have ever run in.  I am going to wait another day or so before I buy another pair --- but I am pleased.  When I got them the other day I was so excited at the thought of being able to run that I could barely contain myself.

Fingers crossed.  So far, so good.  Hoping that on Friday I will be able to run the actual course of next week's Shamrock Shuffle. 

Is it Wednesday Yet?

My feet and achilles tendons are so frozen that I can't feel them.  Twice today I have have submerged them --- for twenty minutes at a time --- in an ice bath.  Despite that, I am in a great mood and actually feel like I am on the road to recovery.  I can't start running again until later this week, but I spent 60 minutes on the Cybex Arc Trainer ( http://www.cybexintl.com/products/cardio/750%20A/intro.aspx )today.  I didn't do it at the level I would have before I hurt myself, but it still felt good to sweat.  I followed that with 1,000 sit ups.  Five hundred "typical" crunches and five hundred oblique crunches.  Tomorrow night I start back with Liberdy.

Kind of funny that I can start running again while I am in Chicago for work this week.  I am going to try to run the actual Shamrock Shuffle route while I am there.  Next Sunday I signed up for a 5k in New Orleans to get me running outside.

My doctor, who we have established is a runner, said that if I was in the market for shoes that I should think about trying the Adidas adiSTAR Ride 3 ( http://www.shopadidas.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4477648&cp=2039726.2039728.2020250&cid=U44214&shopGroup=R ).  I did my research, and it seems they might be a good fit for me.  To go along with the whole "starting anew" mentality when I can start running again on Wednesday, I ordered a pair (unfortunately, Varsity Sports doesn't carry Adidas).  They will be here by Tuesday so I will be able to try them out in Chicago.  Anyone out there ever run in Adidas shoes before?

As ironic as this might sound, the NCAA Basketball tournament has given me a new sense of life in terms of my running.  In reality, four teams that very few people thought had a chance have made it to the Final Four next weekend.  If you can tell me that you honestly picked either Butler and/or VCU as a Final Four team then I will be shocked and amazed.  No one saw it coming.  They aren't teams you would expect to be there because they don't necessarily fit the mold or what the you imagine when you imagine a basketball team going to the Final Four.  (OK, I am still a bit pissed at Butler for beating my beloved Badgers, but let's face it, the Badgers didn't come to play last week.) 

I'm starting to think of myself along the lines of Butler and VCU.  Both of those teams believed that they could do it despite what everyone told them.  It didn't matter that every sports writer in America told them they weren't good enough or didn't look like an elite basketball team.  They believed in themselves and what they were capable of.  OK, I get it.  I don't look like a runner (yet).  I am slower than most runner.  My achilles tendons are shorter than most peoples.  Who cares?  I don't.

When I was in high school there was a Nike add.  I don't remember all of it, but in essence it was about someone telling you that you would never be able to do something and then you proved them wrong by doing it.  The add ended with the words, "they will tell you no, and you will tell them yes."  On Wednesday my running starts anew.  People may tell me no, but I will tell them yes. 

Until Wednesday in Chicago.

The Shamrock Shuffle is Only Two Weeks Away.

The Shamrock Shuffle is two weeks from Saturday, and I can’t start trying to run again until the middle of next week.  I’ve done the 5 mile distance before several times, so I’m not worried about that.  I’m just starting to realize that it is just about here and hoping and praying that I will feel good and not be embarrassed by my time.    My friend Charlie is in town this week for a conference and over dinner the other night we realized that we would both be running in the Shamrock Shuffle.  He made me feel better in the sense that he said there were 30,000 people who did it --- many who would walk it --- so not to worry about the time.  From his mouth to God’s ears. 

After next week college athletics are, for the most part, over until August.  That makes me really sad.  But not in the way you might think (even though, for the record, I am upset about my Badgers).  College athletics gave me a schedule on the weekends. It is a schedule that makes my running better.  I would wake up, go to the gym, get the run in, and then meet all of my buddies to watch the games.  I need to find something else to keep me more disciplined now.  Because this week, without cardio, it hasn’t been easy.  Sure, I have stretched and done abs and weights, but it hasn’t been the same.

Just a few more days and I can continue trying to be a runner.  My foot does feel much better.  The bruising is gone (for the most part).  I’m continuing with the ice and ibuprofen.  No more pain medication, as it made me loopy and say bizarre things about the college basketball brackets.    Have a great weekend everyone.