Day Two

Time: 23:23
Distance: 4.99km
Pace: 4:41/km
Map

I didn't I run .01 farther!? This was my second consecutive streak of running which puts me at 99,211,458 on the list of US citizens tracking their consecutive days of running. In 20 years maybe I could be in the top 100. The thing is, I don't care about the streak. I want to run fast. Running fast means pushing the envelope and experiencing high levels of discomfort. However, I often confuse pain and injury with discomfort.

Today I jogged from our offices over to a field behind a school, but soon left because it was filled with goose shit. It was everywhere! I didn't feel like driving home with shitty shoes, so I opted to run loops around the Beverly High School track. The facility just got a nice upgrade with a field turf grass infield. The track surface is firm but mostly intact. It will make a nice venue for spring/summer workouts.

My hamstring today felt a little better. It's still tight and restrictive, but I'm able to jog with less discomfort than last week. What's strange is that I can do high knees or butt kicks with absolutely no pain. But, if I extend my leg to engage my upper hamstring, I'm immediately reminded of why I can't resume training. My normal stride is a little hampered just when I'm about to plant my right leg. I'm no physio, but that's when your upper hamstring/glute is activated which I can feel.

I'll be getting ART tomorrow to further loosen up my tight leg. I'm taking this one day at a time...

Right Direction

Time: 21:21
Distance: 4.51km
Pace: 4:44/km
Map

Hey, hey, hey... I ran today. It wasn't fast or far, but it felt fantastic. (How's that for some lame alliteration)?

I laced them up this President's Day and set off for the only track in Marblehead. It didn't take long to get there but it gave me enough time to take an evaluation of how I'm feeling. I want to run more. I didn't have that awkward sensation that you get after a long layoff. I felt good aerobically (granted I was running slow) and coordinated the entire 10 minutes to the track. After some light drills to help loosen up my hamstring I shuffled home to do some more drills.

The injury is definitely improving, but not at the point where I can resume normal training. I hope to start jogging lightly this week in order to increase blood flow. I'll get ART again this week to assist in the mobility.

Paragon Sports Run Group

Time: none

Distance: none

This morning Meagan and I headed over to Paragon Sports which is a NYC institution for sporting equipment. If you're ever in New York and find yourself near Union Square, stop in to check it out. We were on hand to chat with their run group training for 13.1 NYC and raffle off some goodies.

The weather was perfect and the crowd was enthusiastic in anticipation for a great run along the West Side Hwy. I was bummed to not be running with everyone. Instead I walked over to Starbucks and slurped the black stuff, walked through the farmers' market and chatted with people in Paragon. Meagan got to run with Jay Holder who was finishing up a 22 mile run. At least someone from Karhu can represent.

Travel to NYC

Time: none
Distance: none

I traveled from Marblehead to NYC today making several stops along the way to visit accounts. I can't really tell how my hamstring is doing having not run in a few days. I think it's getting better with my rest and massage balling. The plan will be to run early next week. I purposefully did not pack running shoes or gear in order to keep me from running with friends this weekend. Sad, but true.

City Sports & Balega

Time: none
Distance: none

Surprise, surprise... Today was another day off due to a nagging hamstring. I'm trying not to stretch it, but rather massage it with a firm round object. I drive with a Trigger Point massage ball placed underneath my upper hamstring, right where it meets the buttocks.

My travels today took me to Spark Bike & Run Sports in Taunton, MA and City Sports corporate. I like hanging out at Spark because the owner is good guy. His store is new, he's making connections with his community and he's interested in learning more about the industry. He also carries BMC bikes (repped by my buddy Liam) and will soon have Karhu.

The City Sports visit was mainly for Balega which I was fortunate enough to pick up recently. Everybody loves a good pair of socks and Balega has the best ones out there. It was the first time I had a chance to visit with the sock buyer. She was cool, British, and likes coffee. The headquarters are in the North End where the streets are narrow and it's impossible to find parking. I managed to find a spot and leave the neighborhood with no scratches on my car. The only bigger win would have been to lace up the kicks and get out for a run.

Trivia in Rhode Island

Time: none
Distance: none

Today was day off. Lame.

I drove down to Providence, RI to spend some time at a Winter Rep Show. The foot traffic wasn't fantastic but I got to hang out with the Moving Comfort and Craft reps. They know the business and all of the accounts in my territory so it was fun to pick their brain. They also have house bunnies. Yes, rabbits that are basically cats, but related to Roger Rabbit. Earlier in the day one nearly got locked in the closet which wouldn't have ended well for anyone. True story.

After the expo, I met up with my former teammate Ryan Graddy. He's in med school at Brown and invited me to play trivia with some of his classmates. I was next to useless but I did know the final questions which ensured us a third place showing. The answer had to do with 80s music, Billboard Top 100 and pop music... not my strongest category. I would have excelled at rap music by Bay Area rappers in the 90s who were signed to either Death Row or Bad Boy. However, I somehow came up with the answer of Prince. Yes, the artist formerly known as Prince. I knew it.

Hurting Hamstring

Time: none
Distance: none

You're going to be seeing a lot of the above as I try to get caught up on my blog. Pretty depressing and I apologize if you're reading this in a RSS feed for a multitude of recaps as they are not going to be entertaining.

Since it's Valentine's Day and Meagan is out of town, could there be a better way to celebrate the evening than drinking a beer, rubbing arnica on your hamstring and alternating between heat/ice? I think not! I'm probably negating any benefits of my hamstring recovering by enjoying this Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, but it's delicious.

I started the day off positively by going to see Dr. Anne Gilbride who is the girlfriend of the Karhu CEO. It's unfortunate that I can't pay her in shoes. She did ART and adjusted my hips which weren't too out of place. I'm battling a really tight right hamstring that shoots signs of discomfort every time I plant and pull on my right side. Not good.

The good news? My SI Joint no longer hurts. Keep reading the catch up (ketchup?) posts to find out why my hamstring is hurt.

Schenker to the Front

Time: 38:20
Distance: 7.11 km
Pace: 5:23/km
Map

This afternoon Meagan, the Craft/Karhu GM (@CraftSportsGM) and I left the office for a little jog around the lovely town of Beverly, MA. It's a busy time of the year as people on the Craft side of the business are making the official "buy" for next year. That means if you want to be rocking the coolest baselayers, tights and jackets next fall, then the "buy" must be forecast according. Tension, tension...

We suited up in our running costumes and headed out the door in mild February conditions. I, unfortunately, could not enjoy the run as my hamstring is absolutely killing me. I have a decent range of motion on my right side, but every pull through hurts while weight bearing. The discomfort is high up near the insertion point to my butt (not what you're thinking). I will be getting treatment tomorrow, but I now recognize that this is a little more serious than I thought.

If you're on the Twitter, please follow Eric (linked above) because it's pathetic how few followers he has! (I hope he reads this).

Sir Charles of IKEA

Time: 39:39
Distance: 7.30 km
Pace: 5:26/km
Map

This morning I drove into Boston with the Karhu CEO to run along the Charles River. Our goal was to put in a few kilometers and then scope out a few parking spots near the Boston Marathon finish. I don't want to ruin any brand activation events in April, but we are going to be doing something pretty sweet involving a 24 foot Argosy.

I never really fell into a rhythm on the run for various reasons: (A) it was really cold and windy, (B) we were running slow, (C) my hamstring was hurting as if it were really cold and we were running really slow.

After the run we toured Comm. Ave, Newbury and Boylston Streets, grabbed a coffee and headed to IKEA. I got roped into the Swedish furniture behemoth part, but it was okay since I got breakfast out of it. Did you know they serve breakfast for $1.99!? Free coffee too! I'm not a fan of IKEA, but after learning of their food offerings for rock bottom prices, I could become a convert.

Vision Lost

This is not how I envisioned my training after Meagan's Olympic Trials performance. I had hoped to start running my own workouts eared to running a spring marathon. There was even talk about getting an entry into the Boston Marathon, but all of that has been put on pause. I had been having some slight discomfort in my low right side of my back, hip, groin during the last couple of runs with Meagan leading up to the Trials. In Houston, the pain wasn't getting any better, so I opted to take Saturday (the only running I did was to cheer on the runners) and Sunday off. Fast forward to today and I'm still having the same discomfort whenever I land on my right side.

I'm pretty convinced it's my SI joint and I'll find out more this Saturday when I go to see a chiropractor. I have run a bit which I'll update soon.

Since I'm not really running, check out a few recent articles about work:

Antenna Mag & Candy Washington

I didn't attend Project NY, but it's a big shoe and fashion trade show. My sense is that people way cooler that you or me browse mostly underground brands looking for the next biggest urban trends.

I don't really work on the Karhu Originals side of the business, but I wear the shoes all the time. There is something about the brand's unique history that I like. Wearing brightly colored mesh upper shoes also gets a big boring as I spend enough time in running shoes. When I visit accounts or hang out with my friends, I prefer to wear Karhu Originals. (Yes, that was a Dos XX reference).

Hepcat Hopscotch Race

Time: none
Distance: none

There was no running today as I had to be out the door early for arrival and set up at an event in Raleigh. I helped to sponsor an alley cat race with Chrome and the event organizers wanted me on hand to show off the brand. I set up a table and displayed a bunch of bags and shoes for all to see. The stickers were an immediate hit and some were placed on bikes at the event.

I'm feeling lazy and don't feel like posting individual photos, so I will direct you to the TGA Facebook page.

Day 5

Time: none
Distance: none

Another day without bringing the heart rate above 100.

Labor Day with No Labor

Time: none
Distance: none

I put in zero work in terms of running today on Labor Day. I did go to the movies to see The Debt with Meagan.

One More Time

Time: none
Distance: none

And here's a third day of no running. So awesome.

No More Running

Time: none
Distance: none

One day can easily turn into two at this rate.

Day Off

Time: none
Distance: none

I'm taking time off as it isn't fun to run when every toe-off brings discomfort. My hope is that a few days with continued therapy will help alleviate some of the pain. I still have hopes of running Blue Ridge but those thoughts are rapidly fading.

Day Off

Time: none

Distance: none

Being smart and starting some consecutive days of no running. That also means no cross training which I hate.

Comeback Continues

6/2/11 - Ran about 10 minutes after giving a skin care clinic to a training group outside of Baltimore. Charm City Run is hosting the women's training groups for the Baltimore Women's Classic which is in a couple of week. I enlightened everyone to how great BodyGlide is and gave everyone a sample version of the product take home.

6/3/11 - No run. Gotta be smart.

6/4/11 - Drove from DC to CLT visiting Pacers - Logan Circle, Pacers - Arlington, Casual Adventure, Footsteps of Reston, Potomac - Reston, Wilkin's Shoe Center, Runners' Retreat, Mountain Trails and Runner's Corner. I didn't think I'd be able to watch any of the Pre Classic, but I timed my trip perfectly and got to see the Bowerman Mile during my last visit of the day. As a side note, I made it from Harrisonburg to Charlotte without stopping. Not a record but five straight hours in the car riding solo is rough without any stops.

6/5/11 - Sunday long run? No! I ran 3 miles along the creek path and then did some strength exercises. During the return trip some cyclist said I was looking good, but I told him that I felt terrible. At least I was looking fit. I even water jogged in the pool for 10-15 minutes before I realized how awful water running is.

6/6/11 - I ran 5 miles on my route through Freedom Park. It was nice and slow, nothing impressive. I continued with my strengthening exercises. In the evening I went to Dr. Greenapple's office and he fixed me up real nice.

6/7/11 - Before leaving for the airport I did drills and 3 hill strides in the condo complex. It was good to do something before jumping on the plane to Chicago for the GORE RUNNING WEAR Handover Meeting. I didn't have any pain while running or doing the drills, but I still do feel upper hamstring tightness near my adductors.

Is This Blog Dead?

Short answer: basically.

Where did we leave off?

April 21st: Last post about working out with Caitlin. She killed it. My hip/back felt a little funny the rest of the afternoon, but no major worries.

April 22nd: Ran 5 miles in the morning nice and easy. Hip/back didn't feel wonderful, but no worse. I went and had a x-ray done at Dr. Greenapple's office. I wanted to know if it was the bone or something soft tissues because I was planning on racing the next morning. I didn't run in the afternoon so that I could rest up the body.

April 23rd: Raced a 12k trail race out at the National White Water Center. It had rained the night before so the single track trails were a little muddy. I wore LunarRacers which was quite possibly the worst choice for this type of race (I still think trail shoes suck, except Inov8). I actually threw out the shoes after the race (might have been the pair I won Oklahoma City Marathon with). I fell 3 times during the race after opening up a minor gap on Ben Hovis. We had a bit of a sprint finish to the end, but I prevailed earning a trip for two to any Sandals Resort in the Caribbean. My punishment was that I couldn't walk after the race. My leg shut down and I hobbled up to accept my award with a walking stick Ben found me in the woods.

April 24th: Dr. Greenapple saw me on a Sunday to bring some life back into my leg. He did his best and I left walking a little bit better, but was still in the hurt tank. We couldn't decide if it was soft tissue, the SI Joint or something a little more major (pelvic stress fracture).

April 25th - May 31st: No running. None. I'm guessing my heart rate never got above 80 the entire time. The pain/discomfort got better after a week and I could walk normally. It took about 2 weeks before all discomfort went away. I did "jog" for about 2 or 3 minutes as tester runs, but could tell in that short period of time that running for 30 minutes would set me back significantly.

I had to watch the Twilight 5k from the sideline while all of the Let Me Run boys that I coached race. I had to time a couple of Meagan's workouts when I would have been pacing her up front. I watched Bobby Mack crack 30 minutes on the roads in Raleigh (he would have smoked me anyway).

I continued to get treatment from Dr. Greenapple or Dr. Kahn which has allowed the body to heal quicker. Since there is no target race on the schedule I haven't felt the need to rush back into things. I also elected not to cross train because I did so much of that during college. My body will be ready to run when it's ready to run.

June 1st: National Running Day. I was up in DC /Baltimore for a clinic with Charm City Run. I jogged for about 15 minutes around the Goucher College track in lane 6. I think I made it 7 or 8 laps in the heat. No pain. Felt awkward. Out of shape. But, the comeback is on.

Guess Who's Back...

...hopefully.