Heps Season

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.

Cold Front

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.

The Streets

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.

Running Skins

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.

Day Off

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.

Another Short Run

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.

Week in Review

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.

And the Award Goes to...

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.

Sale of the Day

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.

She Saw Me Cooking Eggs...

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.

Patience

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.

Encouraging Recovery

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.

Gym Life

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.

Back to Nompton

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.