Yeah, I'm doing a Wordless Wednesday (from my mouth at least)

Keep moving forward...

Since the initial pain in the groin on October 29th, I have been able to run 3 times.  Once 10 days after (two short .6 mile runs to vote and back), then 14 days after (2.5 miles-felt really good until 1 block from my house then the pain came back full force) and then 29 days after I did 1.5 (1/4 walk, 1 run, 1/4 walk) with only a couple dull aches that went away quickly.

But I wasn't doing enough to keep myself in shape.  I walk a LOT in my classroom during the day (a former student told her teacher the next year that I can NOT sit still...) so I do walk enough.  But I was lacking in other areas.  So, I decided to write the post "Get your ass in shape (and mine as well)" as a motivator to myself and hopefully to others.

So, I finished off a couple books about running (The Long Run and Advanced Marathoning) and have skimmed through The Runner's Body (more scientific and easy to skip around in) and also started Relentless Forward Progress- a book on ultra running that I am only at the beginning, but love it already!!  The purpose of this was to keep my mind on running and off of my boredom eating that had taken over (I think I gained about 6 pounds or so since the injury).

I also signed up for the #plankaday group on twitter and the #100up group as well that is a 30 day in a row challenge for doing 100 ups.  I've been doing the plank a day group for about a week and the 100 up group I started just two days ago.  These are things (form work and core work) that I need to do to achieve my goals. 

I need to keep that picture in my mind of what my goal looks like, imagine what it will feel like and also the sounds and smells of the trails as I run mile after mile.

What are your goals?  What are you doing to meet them?

And then there was Run!

Woohoo!
I ran today with no sharp pain and just a couple dull aches creeping in that went away!

I used a wet towel that I had microwaved and then placed in another towel to warm up the cranky parts.  Then I headed out on a 1/4 mile walk, 1 mile run and 1/4 mile walk.  On the run I kept my strides short and light and it seemed to work.  I ran the mile in 11:02.  I'm going to do the same on Monday or Tuesday and see how it goes.  If the sharp pain comes back while doing these easy runs, it'll be time for the DR, but hopefully the rest has helped it!!

Get your ass in shape (and mine as well)

This is what you need to do to get your ass in the shape you want it to be...(and what I plan on doing)

Choose a goal for yourself.

Picture all the steps you need to take to achieve that goal- backwards!  Follow those steps from where you want to be to where you are now.  Take a close look at all those mini goals you need to reach as you progress.  Picture what you need to do to be able to achieve those mini goals along the way.

What do you need to do to get there?  Write down your goal and then write down all the things you need to do to reach that goal from the goal to where you are now.  Then, start.  Simple?  No freaking way!  But, that's where the dedication comes in.  That's where other people who are going through the same things come in.  Because, quite frankly, sometimes we need someone to kick us in the ass since we can't always do it ourselves.  This is where we need someone who understands what we are doing to say "Why the hell are you just sitting there?" or "Why did you just eat all that crap?" or "Get off the couch and do your core work!".

Here's my goal, and it may take a couple years to get to:


Finish an ultramarathon (50k) at an under 10 minutes per mile pace.

• Run a few ultramarathons a year with each one used to build up to the next.
• Run a 25 mile training trail run at 11:00 minutes per mile or less a few weeks before the goal 50k.
• Build up my ultrapace trail runs from 10 to 22 miles (help? for pace runs, would 22 be too much or too little for a 50k?)
• Add in speedwork every week to 10 days either fast paced medium runs (10 miles@ 8 minutes per mile for example- that pace will take some time as well to build up to {insert steps here}.
• Build up to 60 miles per week for a couple weeks before tapering for the goal race.
• Build up to running 35+ miles on consecutive weekends during peak training (11-24 Sat and Sun, for example)
• Core work each week, 2-4 times per week
• Running form work, 1-2 times per week
• Eat right- the right kinds of food and the right times of day
• Get plenty of sleep- sleeping well is very, very important when training

So, what's your goal?  What do you need to do to get there?

That's just a basic outline for me.  I've done just one 50k and completed it in 6:19, so I have some work to do.  I need to get to about 5:10:11 (I need to cut off 1 hour, 9 minutes and a few seconds).  Sounds daunting if I look at it from where I am right now, which is why I need to break it down from the goal and look at each step I need to take along the way, going backwards.  That way I see all the steps I need to take to get there, and so will you.

Then, all we need to do is take the first step...

Ok, a Thankful Thread

You know what, I finally decided to do a thankful thread so bear with me (or bare with me for you nudists).

First and foremost I am thankful for a wife and children that put up with my crankiness when I'm tired, hungry or really need a run; that make me laugh and that I can make laugh every single day; that supports me in my athletic endeavors; and that provides unconditional love and supprt.

Secondly, I'm thankful that I saw early enough that my horrific eating habits were negatively effecting my children and my health; that I had the inner strength in September of 2008 to cut out sugary foods cold turkey and have had the strength to stay that way ever since-with the exception of a piece of cake at a wedding 3 months later which caused my stomach to seize up and a quick run to the bathroom and give it to the Porcelain God as it totally did not agree with me and also muffins. 

Thirdly, I am thankful that I have refound the sport in running that I truly love and have always loved.  I am running further than I ever have before (I ran a lot to keep in shape for rugby and then some duathlons in the early 90's).  I am also thankful that my children are eager to run, that my wife has taken up running and that friends come to me for running advice.  They are the main reason I got the RRCA long distance running coach certification program- I wanted to make sure I was steering them in the right direction!

Family, diet, exercise- yup, that's about right for a Running Moose's Blog!

Decision Time

I've given myself one run of a mile sometime this four day weekend to see how my groin is feeling.  If there is pain, I'm calling the doctor.  If there is no pain, I will wait a couple days and then do another mile and go slowly from there.  If the pain ever gets to the sharp pain that it was, then I will call the doctor.  I figure this weekend it will have been a month since the initial sharp pain and medical attention will be necessary.  From looking at anatomy pictures, I believe it is the gracilis muscle that is pulled.  I don't think it is torn (or anything else is torn).  If something was torn- or even a more sever pull- I'm sure I would not have the same strength that I do and that there would be bruising and or swelling, both of which there was never any present.  I only felt pain for the day after the initial pain started and for a short time after the 2nd run 1.5 weeks ago.  I walk a lot at work and never feel any aches at all.  So, that being said, wish me luck for a nice, slow, painless 1 mile run this weekend!!

I hope that you all (at least all of you in America or of American decent) have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Everyone else, have a wonderful Thursday!

Settling in...

I guess I'm settling in to my injury.  So, I decided that I need to read.  What am I going to read about?  Running, of course.  I recently started Advanced Marathoning by Pete Phitzinger.  I'm not an advanced marathoner (or officially a marathoner, I guess...) but I have found the book to be a good read and to be informative.  There hasn't been a whole lot of new info for me yet, but I'm only about 1/4th of the way through.  Another book I'm going to read is one I bought over a year ago, but never really got into it- The Runner's Body by Tucker, Dugas and Fitzgerald.  This book focuses on the physiological aspects of runners and how it effects our bodies.  I am sure I'll be able to get through it this time.  Last on my reading list is one I literally just bought: Relentless Forward Progress by ultramarathoner Byron Powell.  RFP is a guide for those who wish to run an ultramarathon and has a lot of advice from many very successful ultramarathoners.  I can NOT wait to get to this one!!!

Do you have any running or running related books you've read?

Running is...

...one of many things that I am thankful for (obviously my family and friends come first, but this is about running).  I've been thinking about why I run, which I actually do often (especially when I'm trying not to poop myself trying to get to an outhouse or cornfield).  So, this is what was going through my mind today...feeling free and the love of nature are two of the reasons I love to run.  But, there are two other main reasons why I run- the desire to push myself and to keep myself healthy.

I love to race and run.  I don't worry about winning (though the occasional age group prize is a plus!!), I don't worry about time.  I know I do set time goals for myself.  But, those goals are to help push myself.  I love to push myself, test myself, making myself feel like I have given my all and have nothing left on the table.  I want to finish a race knowing that I could not have done anything more and that, in the end, I did my best.  This is something that, I think, got me to run the last couple miles of Blues Cruise, including the hills, despite being in quite a bit of pain and feeling spent.  I did not want to cross the finish line thinking "Maybe I could have done better.  Maybe I could have run more."  I didn't want to feel that way at all after crossing the line, and I didn't.  I think that's one of the reasons I'm still wearing the light jacket we got for the race even though it's 30 degrees outside.  I was proud of what I did.

Another major reason why I run is for health.  Not just my health, but the health of those around me.  I have told my story on here before.  You can check out the About Me page to see a long version but a bit over 3 years ago I was over 200 pounds and couldn't go up the stairs without huffing.  Before and after pics are here.  I saw my kids and my wife eating like I was and it needed to stop and if I wanted that to happen it had to start with me, and it did.  We are so much happier and healthier now than ever before.  I want it to stay that way and running helps with that. 

I also want to help others do the same!  I want to help get others out to run!  But in order to do that, you need to be willing to sacrifice old habits for new ones and spend some time on the treadmill, road and/ or trail.  Do you want to run/ walk a 5k this Spring?  Don't wait until New Years to make some resolution.  Start right now and make it your life, not just a resolution.  Call me, e-mail me, post something on here, I'll be happy to help you.  If you want some serious coaching?  Let me know!  In January (yeah, I know I just said start now) I will also be starting a Couch to 5k program.  I'm only going to do it if I have at least 2 people join up.  More would be better as you will be able to help push each other!  I have details in the coaching page as well.  Check it out!!

"I'm not telling you it's going to be easy, I'm telling you it's going to be worth it"  And I know from personal experience.

Revised Race list

Well, what else can I do when I'm injured and can't run?  So I went over my race list and gave it some good, hard thinking and here it is...
January
     Chilly Cheeks 7.2
February
March
     St. Patty's Scramble 15k
April
May
    22/23: Dirty German 50k in Phily
June
    Frank's Run- a 5k local to my school
July
August
     17-18: Leadville Pacing
September
     Labor Pains: 50 (+)
October
     Blues Cruise- help
     21: Tussey Mountainback: Rothrock State Forest (12 hour limit)
November
December

I took out the Michaux Marathon (not being run this year), Shiver By the River race series (I'm not sure when I'll run again so I decided not to sign up), a 50k in June since I'm doing one in May and didn't want to push myself before pacing Jay at Leadville.  From there I decided to remove another one I had listed for early October since the 50 miler is my distance goal for the year.  That leaves lots of time for proper building up and tapering.  I had read that if you can't do shorter races at a training kind of pace that they may hurt your training (recovery time) for your main races and I can't do that, so I left the 5k's off except for one that is right up the street from where I teach and on our SD's cross country course.  I will train for this (speed work) and try to kick some ass and see if I can repeat that 19:16 performance or better it. 

That's it!
Enjoy your run!

Back on the shelf

is not what I wanted to say to myself.  I took a week off after feeling a "pop" in my groin 1.5 miles into a run on that gorgeous snowy October 30th morning.  I iced regularly for a few days, but that was it.  I know, I should have done more (very light stretching, heat in the morning before moving around all day at work and ice after work and at night, maybe some Motrin here and there...). 

Well, it wasn't bothering me at all for a few days- I was able to run up the stairs, across the street, to get the phone- any excuse I could find to run just a tad to test it.  And ALL was ok!  I never had any pain when moving my leg to check range of motion even right after it happened.  So, on Saturday morning, I took off for a run (yeah, should have used heat first!).  My groin felt great!  I was able to slowly pick up the pace until I was at a very comfy 8:40 pace for the last mile+.  My goal was a 2.6 mile loop and to walk if I felt any pain.  Well?  I felt pain- at 2.5freaking9!  Right at the end, 1/2 a block away from my house I felt pain!  Crap!

So, here I am 2 days later and I have some slight discomfort when I walk and I haven't been icing (moron).  I will soon, though, I promise.  That's probably why it hurt today- I hadn't done any icing other than the initial icing after the run and later that night (actually, I was at my brother's from Saturday to Sunday which may have been part of the reason why I forgot...).

So, I'm back on the shelf for at least a week, two if I am smrt...

Note to self...

...quit whining like a baby to yourself, harden the fuck up and get your ass moving.

2012 races...working on that schedule!

So, I've been working on my racing schedule for a month or so now (as I'm sure you have, too!!).  Mostly looking for that 50 miler in the fall that I want to do for my first 50 mile "race".  I have some definite races (barring injury or life circumstances) and some maybe races.  So, here's what I have so far:
January: 15: Chilly Cheeks 7.2 mile trail run and ton of fun after!! (definite)
               ?: Shiver by the River 5/10k race series (the whole series is maybe because of weather, etc)
February:
             ?: Shiver by the River 5/10k race series
March: ?: St. Patty's Scrambe 15k (I finished 3rd in the 6k last year- definite)
             ?: Shiver by the River 5/10k race series
April

May: 22/23: Dirty German 50k (date not set- definite)

June: 9: Laurel Highlands 50k (maybe)
         ?: Frank's Run 5k (maybe- this is a race local to the school district I work in.  I'd like to do it beat all my former students.  I PR'd it last year in 19:16.  I'd like to be faster in 2012).

July:

August: 17-18 Leadville 100 PACING (DEFINITE!  Pacing my friend Jay -from Let's Run Homey-for part of this legendary race.  I'm excited about running with him to help him achieve this goal and I'm excited about being in this amazing atmosphere!!)

September: ?: Labor Pains 12 Hour Endurance Run (Definite!  I ran 35 miles last year to make this my first official Ultra!  I want more for 2012.  I'd love to hit 50, but 40 is my goal as I will use this as a training run for my first 50.  Of course I was going to use this as a 25 mile training run this year for what was supposed to be my first ultra, but ended up with 35)

October: 8/9: Iron Cross 50k (maybe)
                ?: Blues Cruise (definite- but as a helper at an aide station, not running.  The atmosphere here was awesome for racing.  I really want to be a part of the other side in 2012!)
                 21: Tussey Mountainback 50 miler (definitely a maybe...This is looking like it will be my first 50 miler, but not if I find one that is mostly on single track rather than fire roads.  That's my only negative about this race- it may seem small, but...OK, it kinda is, but I really would rather run on single track rather than a dirt road).

November: Sunday after Thanksgiving: Dirty Bird 15k: I'm missing this this year because of my photographer wife's work schedule.  Really any race in the Spring or Fall are maybes because those are her busy seasons.

December: ?: Shiver by the River race series 5/10k

Wow, 14 races on my schedule.  Huh, I was only thinking 7 or 8 for the year with a focus on ultras, but I guess that's not gonna happen :)

How about you?  Are you excited about next year even though you still have a race or two this year?  Am I just a running dork?

I WILL RUN (and I did...)

So, I am finally going to head out for a run!  It'll be my first since feeling a pop in my groin 10 days ago.  I've run up and down the stairs and up the street, but nothing real.  I hadn't felt any pain, so I figure it's time.  I plan on heading out and doing 100-Ups to hep with my form in my Minimus Trail, then slip on my Green Silence for a mile or so just to test things out.


But I'm NOT going to do it now, so you'll have to wait for hours after reading this to find out what happened!!!  MWAH, HAH, HAH, HAH, Ha...oh wait...CRAP!  If I don't publish it you won't have to wait will you...crap...

 

 Oh well...anyway, without further ado (and it has been a few hours, er seconds for you), here's what happened... 

So, after that long delay, I went out and did the 100-ups.  I do need to watch the video again just to make sure I did the right thing.  After I switched into my Green Silence and headed out.  I ended up doing 1.3 miles in 11:36 (8:55 pace).  My groin felt...GREAT!  I thought I felt something after about 1 mile, but it was really quick and may have just been a general tightness.  I'm going to keep it easy and light for the next few weeks just to make sure all is well.  Sorry to keep you in suspense for so long!  Have a good run!

The other side of the race

The Oley Valley Country Classic 10 Miler was this past Sunday.  I was originally hoping to do it in about 1:25 or better, but a pop in my groin (insert easy joke here) last Saturday made that a no go.  In fact it made me running in the past 10 days let alone race  No Go.

So, what did I do instead?  Well, I got up at the same time as if I was going to race, got to the race earlier than I would have if I was going to race, and then proceeded to do whatever they asked me to do.  I helped fill some (10?) water jugs (5-10 gallons) with another helper.  Then I waited in my van with mile marker 4 and a timer.  Why?  Because when they said "GO!" it was my job to get out to mile for, plant the marker and wait for the runners to come by.  Amazingly it only took 22 minutes and change for the first two to come through.  They ended up with about a 1minute lead after 4 miles.  I'm not sure how they did overall, but they were looking good and chatting a bit (really?  show offs...).  The winner did finish in 55:52 with 2nd place about 20 seconds behind. 

As the runners filtered through, I clapped, cheered and encouraged them in my one man cheerleading show (no dress, sorry ladies).  I was most amazed at the 1 hour point.  A few minutes earlier I had considered leaving.  at about 48 minutes a woman came through and said she was the last, but I thought there was going to be someone coming by to let me know the runners had all passed.  So, I waited.  At about 50 minutes I was a green shirt way down the road moving slowly, so I waited and waited.  At 1:00:50, an elderly gentleman came through, apologizing for making me wait and thanking me for being there.  I cheered him on and clapped, and with my bad memory I can't remember exactly what I said, but it was something along the lines of you're doing great, just keep running!  After looking at the results a few minutes ago, I saw that he was 78 years old and had a finishing time of: ?.  That's right, a ? was next to his name for his time.  I'd say he was probably around 2:30 or so.  But the fact that he was out there pounding the pavement was awesome!  I hope I can do what he did when I'm 78!

Congrats to all the racers on running a great race (336 in the 10 miler-my goal time would have had me right around the middle- and the 170 in the 5k- 16:16 for the winner) and to all the volunteers and spectators who made it a great day for all 506 runners! 

Woohoo! Leadville 100, here I come...

Hehe...I WILL be at the Leadville 100 next August and I WILL be running...

...as a pacer!  I am very excited to say that a good friend of mine is going to be getting himself ready to run Leadville next year and he wants me to pace him for a stretch.  It's a ways off, but I'm VERY EXCITED!!  I want to get out running NOW!  Get that foot ready to run, Jay!

OMG I'm going insane...

Hi, my name's Erik and it's been four days since I've run.  And I am going insane.  I need to burn this energy off!  I'm still not running because of the injury that popped up on Saturday.  I had made it about 1.5 miles before I felt a pop in my groin (same exact muscle that bothered me during my ultra training).  It was a cold walk back in the snow. 

I feel like I'm going insane.  I need to do something.  Yes, I just said this above, but I can't stop my fingers from typing.  I plan on not running for at least a few more days (other than the short run to the phone in which I experience no pain- I saw this as a plus).  It still hurts when I massage the area.  I have full range of motion with no pain.  As of now, I have no pain when I walk, but I did.  Another positive.  I'm going to leave you with this...

 

Um, I already said...I'm hurt...