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Time: none
Distance: none
Gym: nope
Taking the day off.
In other news, today is Heps at Harvard's Gordon Indoor Track. Heps was always a great time of the year mostly because I would get my tri-annual haircut. I would usually chop the locks thrice per year that would coincide with the league championships in cross-country, indoor and outdoor. The Brown squad is not going to win this year but that doesn't mean we can have a little fun while following the coverage on www.hepstrack.com. Here are some over/unders I put together:- Vegas maintains that the over/under is still at 33 points.
- The over/under for the 4x400 is at 3:21 if they run one. These aren't the days when D-Money (aka Dallas) could anchor in 47.
- The over/under for the top Brown guy in the 5k is 14:39.89 b/c that's what Kim Smith ran yesterday at the Armory. (Remember that race is often tactical).
- The over/under for the number of guys making the finals and not scoring is 4.
- The over/under the the DMR is 10:08.
Also, the USATF Indoor Championships are being held in Boston at the Reggie Lewis Center and I believe the New England Indoor Championships are also taking place at Boston University. Big weekend of racing up in Beantown.
Time: 28:03
Distance: ~4 miles
Gym: morning
I was up early and in the gym by the time Meagan called me. I rode the bike and frolicked on the elliptical. The achilles wasn't any more of a problem with two days of running behind me so I will probably go for another short one after work.
I was planning to meet up with Scotty for a jog but we missed each other due to the study he's doing. No worries though because I got in some decent stretching and drills while I waited. When I decided to press on I looped through campus and then the surrounding streets until I got about 4 miles. The achilles was not a factor but I can still find a spot of soreness if I press around. The eccentric loads and ice quickly followed upon finishing the workout.
Time: 26:04
Distance: ~3 miles
Gym: afternoon
I spent a good portion of the morning wanging out at Winan's sipping brew. The streets were rather quiet this morning while I was reading articles. I also took a spin up to the grocery store to purchase some calcium heavy products. I think milk and yogurt are going to become a bigger part of my diet in the near future. When I finally hit the streets for my jog the winds had changed and the temperature had dropped from a tropical 76 to probably 66. Throughout the day the wind had been out of the southwest but during my run the wind was directly out of the north. Enough about the wind, the run was great. The achilles felt good and everything seemed to be working properly. I finished up at the gym with my stretch rope and spent a good amount of time working on the hamstrings. I was sure to do some eccentric loads and some heel walks. There was no pain or burning sensation to speak of and I was sure to ice upon returning home.
Time: 20:10
Distance: ~3 miles
Gym: morning
I sought out the bike and elliptical this morning which was a barrel full of monkeys. I'm talking a ton of fun! Sitting there dripping with sweat is my ideal way of spending a cool, windless foggy morning here in Norman. The 'crete was calling me but I decided to wait until later to run.
After work and spending a few hours at Borders with John "Big Ten" Green I went out on the roads. I decided to keep the run short and slow so as to not aggravate the achilles. The ol' heel is feeling better and is nearly without pain. I really have to press on the lateral side with my digits to get a pain response. Running skins was great given that my shirt smelled like funk.
Time: none
Distance: none
Gym: nope
Complete day off to let the achilles rest. I got a comment on the blog from a reader who says:
I dont know how bad off your achilles is...I have two really bad years of achilles issues...I am not sure if you have heard of DMSO, or if that would even help you. some people think it does nothing for the achilles but I think it helped a little. Supposably its dangerous but I think im still quite normal.Thanks for the comment and thanks for reading. I do know about DMSO and I have recently purchased some from a company out in California. I first heard of DMSO when I was in high school from my high school coach Danny Aldridge. Danny ran for Athletics West in the 80s when American distance running was strong and willing to push the envelope. He said that he and his teammates would get the DMSO from a horse trainer near Eugene and they would crush up ibuprofen to mix into the substance before applying it directly to the injured/inflammed area. I was lucky to have a good high school coach as there are so many terrible ones out there these days. I attribute much of my success as a prep runner to his coaching and training philosophy. Danny was the 111 American to break 4 minutes in the mile (there is another familiar name at #115) and he is still in the U.S. record books for the all popular 4 x 1500m relay.
I have used the DMSO + ibuprofen mixture about 3 times now and I don't know what to think. I'm somewhat wary of the warnings but also ready to get rid of the inflammation. I hope that a few applications of DMSO doesn't cause a giant tumor to form on my lower leg.
Time: 32:01
Distance: ~4 miles
Gym: morning & evening
I went to the gym in the morning and spent some time on the elliptical and bike. The achilles wasn't sore in the morning which is a good sign.
I ran home from work in the afternoon and took a route that is a touch over 4 miles. I continue to run really far back on my heal and still try no to toe off aggressively. I finished up at the gym and threw some weights around. The eccentric loads felt good and a short cool down on the bike capped things off. In the evening I could feel the achilles getting a little creaky. I made sure to ice a couple of times and take some Vitamin I. I'm not too worried about it because at no point was there pain, just a bit of inflammation and creakiness. I'll probably take the day off tomorrow.
Time: 83:04
Distance: ~11 miles
This was a step in the right direction. The achilles is much improved though I'm not confident enough to start running full time on it. It would be best if I continue to run about 30 minutes every other day or every couple of days until the heal returns to full strength. The gym has been successfully added to my routine though I don't find it all that fun. It definitely helps having a place where you can easily do core, stretch and have access to some weights.
Time: 42:58
Distance: ~6 miles
I spent a good portion of the day sitting at Winan's sipping coffees and chatting with friends. By the time the afternoon rolled around I was ready to put in a few miles with Scotty D on his double. We ventured through campus and looped around the side streets. The achilles cooperated for the entirety of the run again and I was sure to ice and eccentric load afterwards.
Scotty and I caught the Academy Awards and I was glad to see Slumdog dominate all categories because it was one of the few movies I paid money to view last year.
Time: none
Distance: none
Gym: morning
I spent a little over an hour at the gym walking between white lifting machines in some semblance of a weight routine. My achilles still feels good but I'm not going to run today so that it gets proper recovery time.
When I got to work it was busy and it never let up. People streamed through the door all day but there were two solid bursts of customers that left Gus, Craig, Sarah and I helping multiple people at a time. The second onslaught started around 4 pm and lasted until 6 pm which is considerable given we close at 5:30. Gus had already left to put on his monkey costume (read: tuxedo) for some auction he was helping and Sarah had left around 4:30 which left me and Craig to attend to multiple families. Luckily, Scotty D had rolled through on his way back from OKC where he had done some wine tasting. He could see that we were slammed and while I was helping a gentleman with some kicks there was a friendly older woman looking at shoes. This is when the magic happened and Scotty stepped up to the plate.
Dizzle prefaced his sales pitch with, "I don't work here, but I could probably explain some of the shoes to you." She was interested in some of our top shelf varietals which Scotty is all too familiar with as he works at a liquor store. She started with the Nike Equalon and Structure Triax before settling on the Asics Kayano. Scotty was hustlin' because after she was done with shoes she bought some socks and then some clothes. If OK Runner sold midget horses she would have bought one from Scotty. It was brilliant. When it was all over her ticket came to a touch over $400 and we all had a good laugh at his skills. Jerry who actually works for the store came through a few moments later and was filled in on the details and his potential firing. We all soon left for NY Pizza when Oscar (Craig's nickname) texted me saying that Scotty's performance earned us $40 in drinks to be re-paid to me on Monday. That's a commission of 10% and a great time when pitchers are $6.
Time: 40:06
Distance: 5 miles
Gym: morning
This morning I spent some minutes on the bike and elliptical, nothing new to report there. In the afternoon I got off work a bit early and headed up to OKC with Scotty D. He and Spenis were going to go for a jog so instead of sitting at the house playing with Chelsea (Spenis' dog) I said, "Fuck it. Let's go running." I laced up the kicks and shed the shirt for our jog through a pretty decent neighborhood with rolling hills. Our group of three ran comfortably alongside the road and it felt great to be back out there. The pace was easy and I was very cautious with my stride. I made sure to land pretty far back on the heal and not push off too hard with the toes. Every 10 minutes I glanced at my watch half thinking I would start to feel a twinge of pain at any moment. I got to 10 minutes, then 20 and 30 sucessfully without any sort of discomfort. A 40 minute run is not usually the way to start a bit of a comeback, ideally you put in 20 minutes and call it a day. We returned to the house at 38 minutes and I felt confident enough to run until we hit 40. I would call this run a great success.
After some eccentric loads and a quick bit of ice to reduce any swelling that may have occured, we were off to McNellie's for some sweet potato fries and burger.
... thought I was back at it.
Time: none
Distance: none
Gym: once
Went to the gym in the morning to spend some time getting huge. The next time I go to buy a dress shirt I won't have to hunt for the measly 15 inch or the elusive 14 1/2 varietals. I'll be able to walk in and grab the beafy 18 inch Barry Bonds sized one and be on my way. The achilles continues to feel much improved and the eccentric loads haven't given me any problem.
Time: none
Distance: none
Gym: twice?
Another day spent at the gym however I'm getting encouraging signs from my achilles. The pain is substantially improved and the swelling is nearly gone. It seems like in the past 36 hours the achilles just wanted to start taking steps in the right direction which is great. I'm ready to get back out on the roads but it's my goal to wait until this weekend. Tom "Sloppy at Best" McArdle like to give a few extra days off when returning from injury so that if it feels good on Weds. you wait until Sun. to test it.
Time: none
Distance: none
Gym: twice
I think I went to the gym twice today though I don't really remember or care to recall. I prefer to forget the mindless session spent on the bike and elliptical. I only put myself through the boredom so that I can warm up my leg and achilles in hope that I don't rip the tendon doing eccentric loads.
Time: none
Distance: none
I got back to Norman around 11 am this morning. I was supposed to return the hero of Austin sore from a marathon, but instead I returned with a lingering bum leg. The pain is definitely getting better, but until it's feeling exceptional I'm stuck working out at the gym. I think I went to the gym today and lifted some stuff, pushed some pedals and shuffled my feet.
Time: ~15 mins
Distance: ~2 miles
This was a good week for things other than running. I opted not to run the race in hopes of getting back into a routine sometime during the Black History Month also known as February. I was pleasantly surprised by Meagan during my trip to Austin on Valentine's Day and got to watch Owen run his first marathon. I wish I had been out there competing too because the field was much softer this year than last and years prior. I joined a gym this week and have been showing up regularly for boring elliptical and bike sessions. I don't get after it like I was did when I was injured. In college I could destroy the cross training routine but now I don't feel the urge. I'll be back out there soon and hope to incorporate some more core and stretching into the gig.
Time: none
Distance: none
Bike: about 30 miles
It was another early morning that was filled with excitement. Yesterday, Owen did just about everything in his power to sabotage his race in hopes of finding an excuse for a poor performance. He played a few games of pong, ate a plateful of brownies, dug a hole for the whole pig and smoked a pack of cigarettes. He didn't actually do that last one. Owen was up early and looked to be in good spirits for his debut in the 'thon. I was disappointed that I wouldn't be joining him down at the start line but wanted to serve a role in his performance and watch the race from Hanley's bike.
I rode down to about the 10k mark on the course. It was along Town Lake where I caught my first glimpse of the race. The runners who I thought were the leaders came through and one of them was sporting the Brown tattoo. Turns out Dan Kahn was near the front of the race and it wasn't until later that I realized these guys were running the half-marathon. (It looks like a former NYC Marathon champion, German Silva, was in the field. I've been reading Shannon Rowbury's blog and Silva has a training facility down in Mexico where Rowbury and Leo Manzano have been putting in work.)
The press truck was about a minute behind with the marathon leader who was only about 10 seconds up on Owen and a pack of 3 other runners. Owen looked great but he was being followed closely by an obnoxious Euro dude who wouldn't leave his hip. I understand and am fully for the principles of drafting and racing tactics but when there is no money at stake in a non-championship atmosphere why not help out? I could tell that Owen was annoyed with the dude especially when his request for help was returned with a "sorry, sorry." I'm not sure if he was sorry for not understanding the question or for refusing to share the lead. Besides the Polish dude (who I don't think finished) Owen was running with Gilbert of RunTex fame.
Around 8 miles Owen and his Pollack buddy broke away from Gilbert and looked like they were going to chase down the leader. I was trying not to follow too closely or aid Owen too much because there are some written and unwritten rules to marathoning and road racing in general. I'm all for encouragement and advice but I kinda draw the line with domestiques during the race. Since I wasn't officially a part of the race I thought it be better for me to keep some distance and not appear too vested in Owen's race. Just before the halfway mark Owen had broken the Pole and was running solo in second place. He looked great and was about 20 seconds behind the leader. When he asked for a Gu packet I quickly rode ahead and asked a girl if she would hand a vanilla flavored packet to my buddy running in second place. This was probably unnecessary but a safe way of getting Owen the packet.
I decided to look up the official rules but couldn't find anything relevant, but I remember watching Geb break the WR in the 'thon and the commentator mentioned something about people on bikes not be allowed to give water or substances. I did find this interesting from the 2009 IAAF Competition Rules:
(d) pacing in races by persons not participating in the same race, by athletes lapped or about to be lapped or by any kind of technical device.
Technically, I think Gilbert could be disqualified as late in the race he was helped by members of his support crew. I think at one point he had 4 or 5 others running around him near the 24 mile mark. It's not a big deal on a race of this scale but something that definitely isn't allowed in larger races.
Anyway, Owen looked good until about 18 when the leader started pulling away and by 20 Gilbert was gaining on him. By 21 Gilbert had caught and passed and by 22 things were going from decent to poor. At one point I took a call from Tom McArdle and he asked, "Is Owen gonna win this shit?" I wish I could tell him that was going to be the case, but it wasn't meant to be. Owen's form stayed together until about 24 when the wheels fell off. I feel bad writing about the latter stages, but Owen doesn't like to sugarcoat things either. He didn't completely fall apart, but it definitely wasn't the way he envisioned closing out his debut. You feel bad when your buddy starts to falter but there isn't really anything one can do. I was a bit helpless as I watched the pace slow, the grimmace intensify and know the course was about to head up a hill. I'll let Owen give his account of the race in the coming days.
| 3761 | Jeremy | Borling | Chicago | IL | USA | Overall | 28 | M | 2:30:05 | 2:30:05 | 1 | 1 | 1 | INC | | 676 | 57:34 | 1 | 1:15:34 | 1 | 1:54:38 | 3 | 2:30:05 |
| 2 | Gilbert | Tuhabonye | Austin | TX |
| Overall | 34 | M | 2:31:58 | 2:31:58 | 2 | 2 | 2 | INC | | 741 | 58:06 | 3 | 1:16:35 | 2 | 1:56:22 | 4 | 2:31:58 |
| 2569 | Adam | Nevens | Santa Monica | CA | USA | Overall | 29 | M | 2:33:48 | 2:33:48 | 3 | 3 | 3 | INC | | 942 | 59:20 | 5 | 1:18:08 | 4 | 1:58:22 | 2 | 2:33:48 |
| 3923 | Owen | Washburn | Washington | DC | USA | M 25-29 | 25 | M | 2:36:02 | 2:36:03 | 4 | 4 | 1 | INC | | 710 | 57:49 | 2 | 1:16:03 | 3 | 1:56:09 | 13 | 2:36:02 |
| 2359 | Michael | McGrane | Arlington | MA | USA | M 35-39 | 38 | M | 2:36:40 | 2:36:40 | 5 | 5 | 1 | INC | | 1217 | 1:00:54 | 8 | 1:20:20 | 5 | 2:01:25 | 1 | 2:36:40 |
| 1655 | Jonathan | Feddock | Lexington | KY | USA | M 25-29 | 27 | M | 2:38:21 | 2:38:22 | 6 | 6 | 2 | INC | | 902 | 59:03 | 7 | 1:18:00 | 6 | 1:59:17 | 11 | 2:38:21 |
| 6 | Craig | Ottman | Keller | TX | USA | M 25-29 | 26 | M | 2:39:32 | 2:39:33 | 7 | 7 | 3 | INC | | 1162 | 1:00:35 | 10 | 1:20:09 | 7 | 2:01:55 | 6 | 2:39:32 |
| 4948 | Patrick | Darragh | Austin | TX | United States | M 35-39 | 35 | M | 2:40:32 | 2:40:34 | 8 | 8 | 2 | INC | | 1244 | 1:01:04 | 13 | 1:20:56 | 12 | 2:03:25 | 5 | 2:40:32 |
| 907 | Andy | Gardner | Kingwood | TX | USA | M 25-29 | 28 | M | 2:41:04 | 2:41:04 | 9 | 9 | 4 | INC | | 1172 | 1:00:40 | 14 | 1:20:33 | 11 | 2:03:01 | 7 | 2:41:04 |
| 4644 | Adam | Cohen | Norman | OK | USA | Master | 40 | M | 2:41:12 | 2:41:12 | 10 | 10 | 1 | INC | | INC | | INC | | INC | | 4007 | 2:41:12 |
| 1429 | Peter | Keenan | Saint | MN | USA | M 25-29 | 26 | M | 2:41:48 | 2:41:49 | 11 | 11 | 5 |
Congrats to Adam Cohen who had a great race and Pete Keenen who was part of the Dartmouth crew.
The evening's festivities were great even though Brown (Owen and I) couldn't manage a victory over Dartmouth. Terrible. We only played a couple games of pong and our performance was rather lackluster. Instead of re-posting the photos of the day, I'll simply give a link to Meagan's blog.
Time: ??
Distance: a partial lap of the UT rec fields
Gym: no
Bike: yes
It was an early Valentine's Day morning for me as I still had to pack for my quick trip to Austin. I was told to bring some sleeping equipment because Hanley's pad was going to be full of Dartmouth dudes. Kristi and Coleman picked me up and took me to the airport as they were on their way to Edmond for the Frigid Five. I almost didn't pack running shoes so that if I were tempted to run it would be possible to do so. I opted against that idea and brought along some kicks in the hopes of scoring a bike to watch the marathon.
The flights went without a hitch. It would be pretty hard for Southwest to mess up two 35 minute flights (OKC to Dallas to Austin). I gave Owen a ring to tell him that I had landed and he told me that "we" would be there shortly. I assumed "we" referred to Owen + Hanley, but I was surprisingly greeted by Owen + Meagan. She pulled off a wonderful stunt and came to hang out for the weekend. Great Valentine's Day gift. Since, I didn't know she was going to be there her present didn't come along. The afternoon was spent hanging out at Hanley's and being introduced to lots of folk, some familiar faces and lots of new ones.
I rode the bike during Meagan's double run in the afternoon. Hanley has a decent road bike that requires biking shoes, but I was able to ride with the Lunartrainers rather comfortably. I took Meagan in the direction of Owen's old neighborhood and even found the rec fields that I ran on a few years ago when I was down in Austin for the Texas Relays. We got to the fields and I was in good spirits so I ditched the bike and jogged a lap with Meagan. The achilles felt okay. It didn't hurt, just a little sore, but running anything legitimate wouldn't be a step in the right direction.
In the evening I was privileged to play a little pong for the first time. Beirut is a game, flip cup is a game, but pong is a sport... or so I'm told. My new goal for the weekend is for a Brown vs. Dartmouth victory in pong. It's good to have goals and when I decided to not race the marathon I've been without focus. Being fit, injured and without focus is a terrible time.
Time: 8:56
Distance: ~1 mile
Gym: yes
After work I suited up and went on a very short jog because I felt like it. I didn't run long enough to set me back and it felt good to turn the legs over and open the lungs up. I finished up at Downtown Fitness and hopped on an elliptical machine for a bit. I got bored rather quickly so I jumped to the bike while I watched the NBA Celebrity All-Star game. In the few moments that I watched Terrell Owens threw down a pretty sick alley-oop tossed up by Dominique Williams.
Time: none
Distance: none
Gym AM: yup
Gym PM: yup
In the morning I spent a few moments on the bike, elliptical and walked on the treadmill. Yes, I walked on the treadmill. At an incline though so as to make me a little more hardcore than the gray hair next to me. I followed this short bout with some time doing abs and stability exercises. Not too much else to report. No roid rage yet.
In the evening I returned to the gym and warmed up on the elliptical before heading off into the weights section. I benched 350 lbs, squatted 850 lbs, and dead lifted just over 900 lbs. I really think the 'roids are helping my lifting even if they don't seem to be doing a thing for my achilles.
Time: none
Distance: none
Gym: yup
So I went back to the gym this morning and it's terribly boring which is why I'll keep most of these posts short. I kinda muddled around the cardio area before doing a bit of core in the aerobics room. Tonight is the US vs. Mexico soccer match and the breadsticking crew hopes to watch it at Tarahumara's.
Time: none
Distance: none
Gym: yes
This morning a customer came into the store who is a D.O. (doctor of osteopathic medicine) and I told him about my achilles troubles. You gotta keep reading because Dr. Kim Floyd isn't a quack and I trust his advice on medical issues. Anyway, he offered that if I was serious about running the marathon, no guarantees about being able to finish, that I could come by his office and he'd take a look at the leg so that he could write a prescription for steroids. Know don't start calling me A-fraud (Tarpy and Owen), he offered one for methylprednisolone which is similar to anti-biotics in the sense that you take a decreasing dosage from days 1-6. At about noon I walked over to his office and was handed a slip a few minutes later for the juice. After a quick walk over to CVS I had a small package of pills in my palm and was ready to start hitting homeruns.
The doc told me that the inflammation on the lateral side was probably due to a slight tear in the achilles and that taking the 'roids would drastically decrease the pain and inflammation. He said the drugs would allow me to run, but warned that I still might not be able to finish the race. He was confident that I wouldn't rupture the achilles tendon in the process of racing but he couldn't say what the level of pain would be post-race. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I have the drugs and I will probably start the prescribed amount on Weds. morning.
After getting home from work I walked up to Downtown Fitness and joined a gym. It fits with my recent lifestyle because it's pretty crappy. I sleep on the floor, bums live in my hallway, my oven doesn't seem to heat food (it just distributes natural gas) and now I belong to a busted gym. I don't really have a routine yet, but I'm hoping to do a bit of cardio in the morning and focus more on lifting in the evening.
Time: none
Distance: depressing
Didn't do any running again today. I iced several times, massaged a couple times and stretched too. I've been doing a lot of reading about the achilles lately and can't stand all the conflicting rehabilitation methods. Some people say to take ibuprofen, others say not to stretch, some say to do eccentric calf raises with pain while others conflict all of this advice with the exact opposite. Completely frustrating.
Time: 69:17
Distance: ~10 miles
Another bad week due to the lingering achilles injury.
Time: none
Distance: none
Another day off. Spent much of the morning at Winan's. Drank a few cafe au lait (I don't know how to pluralize "lait," maybe a French trained speaker could help me out). Iced my achilles. Didn't take ibuprofen. Popped a few CVS brand Benadryl. Leg wasn't creaking. Watched the Boston Indoor Games. Wished I could run afterwards. Didn't watch the Grammy's. Watched some podcasts. Fell asleep way too early out of boredom.
Time: none
Distance: none
I woke up this morning and decided to take the day off with the condition of not taking ibuprofen during the day. I wanted to see how the leg felt without pain meds so that I could better recognize the level of discomfort. I still iced and stretched while at the store, but could tell that the leg was still inflamed. In the afternoon a customer, who I've sold kicks to in the past, came into the shop and I picked his brain for achilles exercises because he getting his masters down in Lubbock. He suggested that I stop taking ibuprofen all together because it will slow the healing process and that if I do have swelling to take Benadryl instead. That didn't make too much sense, but after reading a few articles I found that antihistamines do reduce swelling in soft tissue (nasal passage, lungs, and hopefully achilles). This guy also showed me some eccentric movements that I can do while standing around that are a bit different from the calf raises/drops.
After work Scotty and I went up to OKC to watch some of the film shorts that have been nominated for the Oscars. While sitting in the theater I massage my leg and could sense some creakiness when I moved my foot slowly. That's not a good sign.
Time: 18:40
Distance: ~3 miles
Tonight after work I set out of the roads to see how the achilles was doing. I felt great for the first 10 minutes, nearly no pain at all and only a slight bit of discomfort on the return. I would like to believe that the achilles continues to heal, but I have to remember that I've been taking 1600-1800 bits of ibuprofen during the day. I hope not to mask the pain too much or prevent the healing process by doing so, but I can't imagine that 20 minutes on the feet can do too much.
Time: 10:03
Distance: 1 mile
I ran in the morning before work on a loop up to the field near the library. I wanted to see how the leg felt on a run in the a.m. I could definitely feel the achilles was tight but the pain never got worse over the course of the run and it never swelled up. I'll be sure to ice and properly treat it throughout the day while at work.
Time: 27:41
Distance: ~4 miles
This run was just shy of 4 miles and I would normally go out and find another few minutes of run time but not when I'm trying to run smart. Scotty and I left OK Runner a little before 4 pm for a jog through Brookhaven on a warm but windy day. Spring feels like it is just around the corner which usually signals the time for me to get hurt. I think the past two years I've made it through winter healthy only to be greeted with a niggle upon the arrival of warmer temps. This year has to be different since it seems as though I'm on the mend which is good you know because I have a marathon to run in a few days.
I spent a good portion of the day attending to the lower leg with a couple massage sessions with IB Relief. The time out on the roads was good but I know I can get things to great. The right achilles is still a bit inflamed though improved over the last 48 hours. Also, the level of pain is less than where it was a few weeks ago when I ran a short workout of 2 x 2 miles. Now that I'm not running as much it's hard to tell what would happen if I chose to put in a 10 miler. I know I could finish, but I'm not sure what would happen towards the latter stages of the run. Right now the 30 minute mark leaves me running at a pain level of about a 2 or 3 out of 10. Not sure what the running plans are for the next few days but I'll be sure not to push the pain threshold while continuing to do all the little extras for the achilles.
I apologize to all for not posting frequently lately, but I haven't been running much. I think the marathon countdown sits at 10 days and things aren't looking great. I'm trying to stay positive and get my achilles in working order in the next week. I just got back from a short trip to Charlotte to have Jailhouse Jeff work on my achilles. Meagan thinks I went to visit her, but the main purpose was to have some massage treatment on the lower right leg. The inflammation is still present, but the level of pain is very low during casual everyday activities. When I try to run I can feel a little bit of tightness in the achilles and then I stop so as to not aggravate the area further. It is my hope to go for a little jog this afternoon and see where things are at. I would like to put in between 20 and 30 minutes of light running, followed by a decent stretch session. I will also update the past week of missed posts from memory over the next couple of days. Promise.
Time: none
Distance: none
After a good stay in Charlotte it was time to travel back to Norman. Before leaving North Carolina I had to move a few more of Meagan's items that were in the pod to prison. The achilles didn't bother me today and I had Jeff massage it one last time before hopping on the plane to Oklahoma. I hope to start running lightly the next few days, not to gain fitness but to improve my mood. I've been in a shitty state physically and emotionally because I know I'm fit and ready to roll and I have this little niggle that is keeping me from putting in work.
Time: 12:53
Distance: ~2 miles
I went with the Queen's University crew over to the Johnson C. Smith stadium in the afternoon for their track session. Last week when I thought I would be healed by now I told Meagan that on Tuesday I was going to do a workout. That was definitely not the case, but I was able to run for about 2 miles on the infield pain free. It was cold and windy out there, but Meagan and her teammate Jess has a solid session of 2 x 1200, 2 x 400 at 5k race pace. I was going to run their cooldown, but I could tell the achilles was getting a bit tight after standing around in the cold wind. Being smart is terrible.
Time: none
Distance: none
I took another day off in hopes of easing the pain in my right achilles and lessen the bit of inflammation I feel. I had Jeffrey work on my lower leg today which hopefully helps break up whatever is plaguing me. Meagan went out for a couple runs today while I sat at her prison apartment in a foul mood. Actually I slept for a decent portion of the afternoon figuring that the extra few hours would cure all my ails. I don't think it worked.
Time: ~75 mins
Distance: ~11 miles
Time I: ~14 mins
Distance I: ~2 miles
Time II: ~14 mins
Distance II: ~2 miles
Today was my first full day in Charlotte and it was started off at McAlpine Park which is where Footlocker South is usually hosted. I wasn't sure if I was going to run since my leg feels better later in the day and the early morning meeting didn't coincide with the natural warming up process. Meagan and her teammates set out for their long run while the guys headed out too. I would have loved to have joined either group if I were healthy, but that's not the case. Instead Jeff and I went to Harris Teeter (a local grocer, not nearly as cool as Food Lion. I'm actually a little upset that I never got to a Food Lion while I was in North Carolina. **A short flashback to sophomore year when the team trained at Duke and wasn't given much in the way of a per diem, the distance crew hit up Food Lion for cheap eats. I remember eating a vat of Food Lion brand mac-n-cheese that was like $.33 a box. We created a song for the product that was pretty catchy which included the line "you could feed the army and the navy... something... something... something." Anyway, mama's in the big bed! End flashback**) to pick up some juice for the athletes post run. When we returned to the parking lot I did a little backwards running to warm the leg up and then I stretched a bit more before setting out for a short 2 mile jog.
I ran until I saw Scott Simmons, the head coach at Queens, and then ran back with him. We chatted about the Lunartrainers and the Coaching Distance Summit that was recently hosted at Queens in the fall. The achilles felt pretty solid, and after a quick email to some dude's pregnant wife telling her to leave a key on the front left tire because homeboy locked his keys in the car, I set out for run part du. The second portion felt good until the last 5 mins when I could tell things were slowly tightening up. Overall, I was pleased to put in a bit of running, but still disappointed that I couldn't explore more of the park.
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