January Total Hours: 54:30; Workouts: 48

Running

132 Miles run, 20 hours, 16 runs

Swimming

14 swim sessions, 11:45 Hours in the pool

17.59 Miles (30,958 yards)

Cycling

18 Cycle sessions, Time in the saddle: 22:45

325 Miles

Since I plan to take the winter and spring off from marathoning, it seemed like a good idea to put my interest in multisport as cross training to a test.  I’ve registered for the Gulf Coast Triathlon to be held in Panama City Beach, Florida on May 12.  This is a “long course/70.3″ race, which would be considered a half-iron distance.  I was nervous about registering, but as soon as I did, I felt excitement (yes and fear!) about the possibilities and to see what I could do in this new challenge.

For training, we are using Matt Fitzgerald’s intermediate 70.3 plan, with modifications to the running and swimming portions.  Since I’ve a considerable base in running, I will run longer than he prescribes.  Plus, I’m swimming an average of 2,000 yards per session now and his plan starts in the 800s.  So, I will remain at my higher level of swim distance.

I’ll update my progress as we go!

The moment I hit 2,500 miles running for 2011

As 2011 dawned and I enjoyed some success in marathoning and in running, I set a personal goal to reach 2,500 running miles by the end of the year.  I was right on track for this goal for most of the year until I decided to run CIM.  That race was my 5th marathon in 56 weeks and I was approaching a point where I needed a recovery period something fierce.  So after CIM, I took a full week off, then started with shortens of 4-5 miles every other day.  Megan and I discussed my goal and I concluded that while 2,500 was an admirable goal and likely within reach, it was best to not get caught up on numbers.  I had well exceeded last year’s total of 1,700 miles and experienced more growth and maturation as a runner than I expected.  So I had no problem settling for 2,400 miles and change.  In fact, I had put in some solid sessions on my new bike and several 2,000 meter swims, so I wasn’t lacking for activity.

So, on Wednesday, December 21, I texted Megan to let her know that I had exceeded 2400 miles, and reached my secondary goal of averaging 200 miles a month, or 50 miles a week.  I was satisfied.   But late that day she called and said “I think you should do it!  You are so close. You have to give it a shot!”

So, we agreed on a few rules.  I would run consecutive days, close to 7-9 miles a day with two or three 13-milers on the weekends and if all went well I’d hit 2500 miles on the 31st.  I’d listen to my body. I would not run through injury. I would be honest about how my legs felt.  The goal was important but not more so than my health.

I had 97 miles to run in 10 days.  The first two-to-four days of this 10 day streak were tough.  I had come off a recovery period after running CIM and ramping up mileage so soon was a shock to the system.  I wasn’t sure I would be able to keep it up every day until the end of the month.  My legs were sluggish, I didn’t push hard at all, and took to listening to audiobooks to slow myself down and distract my mind from the miles.

Christmas morning dawned.  Well it hadn’t dawned yet, as I left the house just after 5 to get 9-10 miles in before the events of the day—and the travel—absorbed my time.  Somehow this run was better than the rest. It was early. And cold. But my legs felt ok.  Not as heavy as the first few days.  Something was happening to my body.  It was becoming acclimated to running long mileage every day.  And it was starting to desire those miles.

I cannot explain it, but the more I ran, the more I wanted to run.  Monday the 26th was a turning point.  We had traveled to my mom’s house for Christmas and were heading to Florida the next day to see the in-laws.  A change of scenery was just what I needed.  My legs felt peppier, I turned the music back on to give me a lift.  I started listening to Kesha, Rihanna, Beyonce, Flo Rida—and liked it!

By the time we got to Florida (the state, not the singer), I was on a roll.  I found a pool nearby and was able to get early morning swims before I ran.  And my mileage was increasing.  Instead of 9-10 miles, I upped the distance to 12. My body craved these runs. The stress of travel. Of family. Of holiday hustle and bustle all melted away.  Every day was better than the last.  I didn’t want this to end.

I exceeded 2,500 miles two days early.  But I couldn’t stop.  Jeez. Who could? I was on a roll, I had never run this much in such a short period in my running life. I was learning so much about myself and my body and that it is stronger and tougher than I thought.

My daily totals for the ten day period: 12.86, 9.1, 13.5, 9.2, 10, 13, 12.15, 12.15, 12, 12

Things I learned while running 116 miles in 10 days:

• My body is capable of pushing beyond limits my brain tries to establish
• Running a lot of miles on consecutive days will not automatically lead to injury
• My body and mind crave long periods of long slow miles from time to time.  After the stress of marathon training all year during 2011, it was nice to just run
• That I can eventually up my mileage from 2011′s 50 mike a week average to upwards of 70.  It will take time, true, just like getting to 50/week did.
• That I can do anything as long as I believe I can

Taken the week they discovered my BP issue. I was wracked with fear.

This week marks the 5th anniversary of the discovery of my “industrial strength” high blood pressure.  If you’ve listened to any of my old podcasts (or TRL ep 1) you know this story.  If not, then here’s a thumbnail.

The week before Christmas 2006 both my boys came down with the Flu. My wife and I panicked since we had a surprise after-Christmas Disney trip planned. Inevitably, I came down with the flu.  On a Saturday morning, I woke with fever and the all-too-familiar “flu-eyes.” So I rushed to an after hours med care to beg for some medication to knock it out quickly. Turns out I didn’t have the  flu.  Instead I had very high blood pressure: 162/116. These numbers were so high that several people took my vitals.  I think the entire staff had a turn at the BP cuff! So high that the med care staff almost sent me to the ER. I called my friend, Don, a physician, and he sent me to bed, wrote a scrip for BP meds and told me to see him after Christmas.

Heavier days

I was face to face with my own mortality. I could die. My kids could lose their father. My family would lose a provider. This was my “welcome to the 40s” moment. I was an overweight man, who loved fried foods, fast food, and was a stroke waiting to happen.

I was so afraid that I'd die and lose the prviliege of seeing these two boys grow

Something had to change. Mind you, I HAD been active, taking yoga classes, going to the health club, doing step aerobics, spin classes, refereeing youth and high school soccer.  But all that does a man no good if he continues to eat like there is no tomorrow: wings, burgers, chicken, chips, dip, late night turkey and may sandwiches, candy, etc etc. If anything, this activity might have forestalled the stroke that should have happened long before then.  I had to lose weight, get my diet under control. Change had to happen–NOW!

After my first race of any distance: Big D Half Marathon in April 2008 (2:58)

I decided to start running. I had run only in high school and only as training for other sports, such as football or wrestling. Running hurt, was not preferable, but I knew if anything could knock some weight off, running could.  I eliminated salt from my diet. I never missed a BP med! I went from 247 lbs to 217 over a 6 month period. I felt great, ran a 5K, fell in love with running and decided to run a half marathon. Then I got lazy with my eating. While running became a great new lovely thing for me, I fell back into old habits with food choices.  I gained weight, back up to 235 or so, by the time I got a new job and moved to Alabama. The running was great, the eating sucked. I embraced the idea that I would be on BP meds for the rest of my life.  That High BP is “hereditary” and there’s nothing I could do about it.  That it ran in my family and once you got it and were on meds there was no getting off.  Little did I know that all that was BS.  I felt that I was running and training for a marathon, so I had earned that order of 12 chicken wings or that BBQ.  I was an idiot.

I WAS semi-active. Here officiating a high school soccer game in 2007

So, you know the rest of the story. In July 2009, I turned things around and finally for good. Eventually lost 75 lbs, from 231 to 156, got faster in running than I ever imagined. I learned to swim–and like it–and fell in love with cycling. Became Vegan, was removed from BP meds. Shocked my doctor who said I was a role model for this lifestyle.  He’s so used to seeing southern males in the 40s get bigger and less healthy.  I was a southern male, in his 40s, losing weight, getting off medication, and feeling incredible youthful.  And here I am, as happy as I’ve ever been in my life. I am fit.  I have the stamina of an 18 year old. I am a better father and husband.  I am happier and more positive in my outlook on life than at any time in my 44 years.

So, I’ll celebrate this week, this 5 year anniversary of waking up to my health, with some great Vegan food, lots of exercise, and smile a little more than I usually do.

Thank you for being around, for supporting, for cheering, sharing in bad days and reveling in the good ones.

Finally fit!

Voted "most athletic" in high school. I'm on the right. (what they give dudes who aren't good looking) I made that sock tie look good though!

The new, happier, healthier me

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I love running bears!

So, I ran California International Marathon (CIM) on December 4.  This race starts in Folsom and ends at the steps of the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Pretty course, tough course.  It is advertised as a fast course, one with a net downhill elevation.  And all that is true. But this is not an easy course, by any means.  The first 15 miles of this race is dotted with small and moderate-sized rolling hills that do a number on your legs.

So, my goals for this race were:

1)Run happy, finish strong, smile and appreciate that I’m fortunate to run

2) New PR: sub 3:28

3) Race Day Magic!: sub 3:20

4) “Do you believe in miracles”: 3:15

I am happy to say that I achieved goal No. 1. This my standard  goal of every race.  The rest will take care if itself in due time.  And this is the secret to my running happiness, I am realizing. PRs and BQs will come when they come. We cannot rush success.  We cannot conjure magical days on our own. They happen when they happen.  All we can do is train, do our best, run happy, smile, and never forget that this is NOT a job, but something we enjoy for love, life and laughter.

So I was pretty much on goal for the first 15 miles of the race.  Then my right quad started misbehaving, really hurting such that my gait got thrown off a bit.  I fought through it, but soon realized that magic wouldn’t happen today and that i would have to fight to the finish. I did my best, but slowed the pace and just pushed through.  I saw Megan and Eric at Mile 20 and that gave me a boost, but by then any hopes of a new PR were gone.  Let me now say that this was my most mature race as a marathoner.  A year ago, had this happened to me, I would have gone into a pretty dark place and struggled to run happy.  I have learned that when hard and difficult things happen in marathons the true test of our running maturity is how we react.  Do we fold the tents and shut down? Do we push and do our best t the end? Do we have a mental breakdown akin to a temper tantrum, or do we say to ourselves “this sucks. But I am running and healthy, and doing something few people have done. So I will run with pride no matter how hard this is or how badly I hurt.”

At mile 20

I’m still learning how to break through mental walls late in races. But as much as I want to be tougher and developed a steelier mind, I cannot rush this process.  I want to run late in to my life.  I want to be that old geezer running his hundredth marathon at 85.  I want to be that person that people look to when they think of longevity and good cheer on the roads.

This was on my mind as I fought through the last miles of CIM.  Yes, other things were on my mind too: “Whose idea was this race?! I’m gonna punch him right in the kisser!”  ”I hope my leg doesn’t fall off before I finish. I’m not sure I could carry it and my bottle the rest of the way.” “How much does a leg weigh?”  ”Legs might be hard to run with since they might keep[ bending at the knee.  Too much flopping.  I'd rather run with an arm or a head."  "All I want right now is to sit in Megan's van and drink a gallon of Starbucks coffee!"

What next?  Time for a recovery period.  I still have a goal of finishing the year with 2,400 running miles and I will get that.  This is a bit short of my 2,500 mile goal from earlier in the year, but then again, I hadn't planned on running CIM, either.  My body is tired. But my mind is more so.  I've raced 5 marathons since November 2010.  That's a lot of mental pressure.  I need to veg out and run without a purpose for a few weeks.  I've purchased a new bike, and have been swimming more than ever.  While my mind is struggling with not having a "goal" race to train for, I welcome this period of recovery.  In the last miles of the marathon, I found myself thinking that my mental edge was a bit dulled from all the racing.  I was coming to terms with a recovery period while finishing a marathon.  And I was able to enjoy as much as possible the last few miles of CIM, knowing it would be later in 2012 before I ran another.

Official digits:

Finish: 3:37:48

Splits--5.9 Miles: 44:27; 13.1 miles: 1:40:21; 20 miles: 2:38:08

Men 40-44: 239/603; Men: 1121/3270; overall 1465/5754.

The papparazzi caught me sleeping in the van on the drive back to SF

Bib, shirt, medal, and AG award

Finish time: 1:40:02

28th out of 551 overall finishers

24th out of 221 men

3rd in 40-44 Age Group, Men (37 runners)

I run CIM in two weeks, so when I saw this race pop up on the race calendar, I thought it would be good to have a race/training run opportunity late in the cycle as a way of 1)giving a little race day practice in terms of pacing and prep and pushing through late miles and 2)a great way of getting off my regular running route and change things up a bit as I entered taper.  In fact, before I decided to run CIM, I had considered running the marathon that this race had offered but later canceled for lack of registrants.  As a side note, my guess as to the lack of registrants for the Studdard Marathon was that this race is just too close to the Mercedes Marathon that is run in February.  That race has a pretty dedicated following and few marathoners are wont to try and run two races so close together.

So let me begin by saying that I am considering filing a class-action lawsuit against races that advertise “flat, fast” courses, when in fact they aren’t.  Oh sure, there were no mountains, no 1,000 foot climbs, but if you run long enough you know that the worse kind of course is one with a steady and gradual incline, one that you can’t really “see” but certainly “feel” after the miles.  This race, at least the last 7 miles was that kid of course. This was, to me, a scenic course, which took me by landmarks of Birmingham’s past; places where the city’s  founders resided.  The oldest ballpark in the nation, Rickwood Field, where my dad took us 2-3 times a week in the early 1980s to watch minor league baseball.  Legion Field, the site of so many epic college football games, and a side of the city that has seen better years, true, but is important to those of us who grew up there.  I guess as a historian, this stuff appeals to me: the architecture, the history, the feeling that I was exploring my own past as I ran.

The plan was to start out in my Goal Marathon Pace (GMP) bubble, 7:25-7:35 miles for the first half and then see what I could do in the second half.  The gun went off and after navigating some walker/jogger types, who irritatingly placed themselves at the front of the pack, I settled into the bubble.  The first 5 miles of the race, save for one pretty nice little hill, was fairly flat and I found the running easy and smooth.  I was a little confused because I thought it was TOO easy at first.  Settling right into GMP was surprisingly not that hard so I found a couple of people with a similar pace and we ran with each other.  Trouble is as we came across that first hill they all fell back and I kept searching for people to pace with.  I know this sounds kind of haughty or pompous, but you can easily spot people in races who don’t do their hill work.  They may cruise fast and easy on the flat but as soon as they hit the incline they fall back and struggle.  I felt good holding pace up the hill, knowing that my many miles up and down Mountain Avenue were paying off.

Through mile 6 things were fine. Pace was good, heart rate was in a good area, low zone 3.  This is when I noticed the running getting slightly more difficult.  The slow gradual incline that would last for the next 7 miles had appeared.  There were some smallish hills in the midst of this gradual incline (which I liken to Golden Gate Park along the SF marathon course, slight and gradual but enough to slowly suck the life out of your legs!).  I held pace but realized at about mile 8 or 9 that I would likely have no kick today.  So I decided to hold the GMP bubble for the rest of the race, practice good form, work on keeping my shoulders low (they tend to creep up into a hunch as I get tired), and finish strong.

A couple of nice highway overpass ramps did my legs in and I struggled to hold GMP in the last mile. But  still finished strong and with a new PR and finished 3d in my 40-44 age group.

This was a good race for me. It came a week after my peak training mileage week and a 24-mile run the Sunday before. Running strong, getting a PR, and doing it on tired legs is quite satisfying.  It also comes right at the start of my taper for CIM, and was great way to test myself and work on lots of race-related issues, sch as mental toughness.  This has always been my weakest point, my mental toughness, and any opportunity to work on it before CIM was welcome.

Ruben put on a good race, with good support and enthusiastic volunteers, and enhanced by good communication with runners in the weeks leading up to the event.

Getting the Age Group award from Ruben

Here are my splits:

I am excited to see what I can do as I  enter peak mileage of this training cycle.  Funny, the time between marathons 1 and 2 and 2 and 3 was almost a year in each instance.  Back then, I didn’t cross train or do much core, and recovery time from those races was much longer.  My fitness level was such that recovery became a slow process and the races themselves were difficult.

I am at the stage in marathon training where my mileage is peaking, my paces are settling in nicely, and my strength can be felt. (And passive voice can predominate! LOL)  I am slowly approaching my fitness peak for the race, and I can feel it.  Sure, I’m tired.  I ran 240 miles in October along with a ton of cross training (see last post), and I’ve run 2,166 miles for the year, but this is my favorite time of the cycle. The race is not too close, so I don’t find myself muttering “OMG. OMG. what have i done? 26.2 miles is a Looooong way. Holy Smokes!”  And the miles seem to just click by as I run. I guess this is why I’ve raced so much this past year.   I love this process and how it feels.

But I am also planning to take some time resting after CIM.  The rest of December will be a rest and recovery period for mind and body. I know I need it. I am approaching that place where one risks burn out.  But part of me is kicking and screaming, shouting “No! I’m cool.  All is well.  No fatigue here!  Where’s the next race, baby!”  But I’m fooling myself.  Of course it took a friend to convince me, but I see the need for rest.  I will embrace it, when the time comes.  Until then, I’ve got 30 more days to run my fanny off!  Perhaps this is why I don’t want this cycle to end?  Is this the hardest thing a runner does–rest?  I think so!

But I’ve had a great training cycle to this point! The long runs have been wonderful, the tempo sessions (a lot of track work) have fostered a great deal of growth, and the hill work (my weekly climb up and down Mountain Street) has produced strong legs. I’ve got a great plan written by a great friend. And I cannot wait to see how I do!   Just one more month! Yikes!

In 2008, I decided to chronicle my journey to my first marathon by producing a podcast named after my very little-read blog of the same name, Running to Disney.  I got the idea from listening to podcasts about running, and found inspiration in the stories of the shows’ hosts. We all used technology, and a word (Podcasts), made popular by Steve Jobs and Apple. The simplification and popularity of this technology invited people to share their lives and stories with complete strangers across the interwebs.

My podcast introduced me to other people along the same journey of physical fitness, mental challenges, personal achievement. We shared our lives even though we had never shaken hands, or met, or spoke with one another save for one-sided conversations through our shows or call-ins or emails.

I found new friends who thought the same things I did, pursued the same goals, shared the same dreams, anxieties, fears, problems.  So who knows, if I don’t start a podcast using my Macbook then maybe I am like so many people who run a marathon, one race and done. No motivation or inspiration to push beyond that which I had attained.

And without the podcast I don’t meet my friend Megan from California who begins to coach my running and share her life as a Vegan and how it made her not only a better runner, but a better human. And who knows? Without that friend ship maybe I don’t lose 75 pounds, become Vegan,attain a level of health and fitness that I presumed unreachable, and find myself off of the blood pressure medicine everyone assumed I’d take for the remainder of my life? Do I shave close to 3 hours off my marathon time between 2009 and 2011?

Maybe I don’t meet my friend Dom from Minnesota, who has become a close friend and confidant and fellow Disney nut. The list goes on and on: Kevin from Ohio, Stan from Missouri, Nik and Dan from Massachusetts, Eric from California, Jason from South Carolina, Shawn and Jason from Atlanta.  And without that podcast I don’t receive emails from people who I have inspired to make their own life changes.

As the central character and narrator of Robert Penn Warren’s classic novel, All the King’s Men (1946), about the corrupting nature of power and the interrelatedness of all mankind.  Jack Burden struggles to come to terms with his role in life and, more importantly, how one person’s life can affect the world and the lives of people with whom they are directly and indirectly connected.  Burden ultimately realizes that no one person is disconnected from another and summarizes his discovery by observing that “. . . the world is like an enormous spider web and if you touch it, however so lightly, at any point, the vibration ripples to the remotest perimeter.”  My web is so much larger and more extensive because of the types of technology that Steve Jobs introduced into my life.

Truth be told, I have more digital friends whose lives I know about and for whom I care deeply than I do “in person” friends. Such is the age in which we live, with technology making it easier for us to meet and share and grow together.

Sure, I could list all the Apple products sitting here before me, or in my back pack, or at home. But I’d rather list the friends I’ve accumulated BECAUSE of many of these products and the type of user-friendly appeal they provide.

Did Steve Jobs literally turn me into a speedy Vegan? Well, no, not directly, but he sure had a hand in it. Am I sad he has passed from this life? Yes. Am I happy for the life that I have thanks to his life and achievements? More than you’ll ever know.