What Racing's Done for Me

2011's Tour of the Tucson Mountains was my first athletic endeavor as an adult.  After just having completed this year's Tour of the Tucson Mountains, I thought it would be a good time to pause and reflect on what's happened.  Besides, I could use a bit of a pick-me-up.  I've had a lot of stresses lately that are really not worth the weight I've placed upon them.  I've been a bit sick, or something, and haven't been able to exercise much either.  So, I decided that putting this together would be a good way to remember and celebrate.

In the picture below, you can see the change in a year.  In last year's race I was in over my head, but this year, while I didn't meet my goal, I was rock-solid.   

In the past 12 months I've participated in 13 events which included a duathalon, warrior dash, two metric centuries and a century ride, one Pikermi, a trail Pikermi, a 10K and the rest were 5K's.  In the past year I spent quite a bit of time injured. I've had problems with the rear chain, from glutes to calves.  Part of the source is weakness due to being out of shape, but I'm afraid some of it is due to a back injury from 1998. But I'm patient, pay more attention to how things are feeling, and devote a lot more time to strengthening things.

One of the coolest things was mentioned by my brother-in-law last weekend.

He commented, "Isn't it cool that your dad, sisters and brother are now into running because of you?"

I would agree 100% if you crossed out the "because of me," portion because regardless of why they run, they run now for their own reasons, just as I do.  No matter who started us, we laced our shoes (or in my case, slip on my VFF's) each morning for personal reasons.

Below I've taken a picture of the bibs and medals I've collected this year.  I was surprised that I've earned 5, first in age groups and two second places (one I was nursing a bad hammy and was beat by like 5 seconds).  In all fairness, the 10K was REAL small, as was one of the 5K's.  But hey, I wasn't the only one in my AG, so it's legit.   

My favorite race was the first one, but I was an emotional wreck during and for about an hour after.  I was angry, sad, remorseful, proud, all at once.  During the race I faced a lot of things that had been bubbling to the surface during the previous few months of training.

My least favorite was my slowest 5K, 21:30.  I finished 3rd but led most of the race and just BONKED in the last half mile.  Had I run a smarter race, I'd have won.  

Either way, before I raced I had lost about 50 pounds or so in the previous 6 months, and another 40 to 50 since.  But I don't think I would've lost the second half, much less even kept off the first half, without racing.

Racing is my new hobby, and I love it.  It gives purpose beyond selfish and conceited reasons to exercise.  It gives me confidence and identity, both the quiet type.  I'm so glad I took the plunge and tried the first one.

Saturday I race in a metric century.  I'm a bit worn out and not sure how I'll do.  It's not a race I was sure to participate in until last week.  So I'll go, enjoy my time there, push as hard as I can and see what happens.

Team SeaBiscuit's Inaugural Run

It is better to give than to receive.

Word.

Saturday was my dad's 63rd birthday.  The picture of my mother leaving on the one-mile walk really captures the mood of the day!

That evening he updated his facebook status.  It read:

Greatest birthday ever in seven thousand years of recorded human history.

How cool is it to have your best birthday at 63?

I thought it would be cool if all of his children could join him in a 5K.  My dad ran a lot when he was younger, but a string of Achilles problems and life in general eventually removed him from running and his weight ballooned.  In recent times he's lost about 80 pounds, is running several hours a week and is eager to run his first marathon.

As with most people that begin running, my dad has had a string of injuries from piriformis to ankle.  But he's tough and determined and has patiently worked through them all.  Thus, I've taken to calling him Seabiscuit.  In fact, for his birthday I bought him a RoadID bracelet inscribed with "Seabiscuit Racing."

For race day my sisters thought it would be a great idea if we had matching shirts.  They purchased the lovely chartreuse shirts and then decorated the backs for the occasion with #49 and Team Seabiscuit.

The race was the Boxer 5K, hosted by Vail Science Academy High School and put on by the always wonderful Steve Taggert.  The morning was beautiful, race time temp in the mid 60's, quite nice for this time of the year.  

 We lined up for a photo, but unfortunately, my mother had already left for the 1 mile walk.  The Easter Bunny sat in her place.  In the photo are 5 of the 6 grandchildren, two of the three spouses, all four children and my father.  He's wearing the red hat.

For the run I planned on hanging back with whomever needed company/support.  My dad was going to do the same.  My calf is strained from last week's 5K.  While my dad runs regularly, the others are in varying stages of fitness...meaning, my dad is in better shape than all of his children, save the oldest, me.

We all "took off" and talked, joked and had a great time.  We are a friendly, outgoing family, quite loquacious.  We talked to different participants before the race and during, and cheered them on as they looped back. 

At one point, my oldest sister said, "I'm having the best time I can remember!"  Later the other siblings shared similar sentiments.

As people returned and ran in the opposite lane I cheered, gave my buddy Bill (who finished 4th, first in age group) a high-five.  I loved it.  And I was surprised how much I enjoyed running 12 minute miles in a 5K...but that'll have to wait for another blog.

My oldest sister was pooped and began to walk and my dad hung back with her.  My other sister and baby brother decided to keep going, so I paced them.  My youngest sister exercises regularly, but has exercise induced asthma, has been ill, just moved to a new town and has a new job...and hadn't worked out in a month.  My brother has been trying to get into a running routine, but also has just moved to a new state (back to Arizona), has a new job, and has two young children.  We talked about and had a great time, just the three of us.  I can't remember spending time with us three only ever before.

As we approached the finish line I was in the middle.  My sister leaned over and said, "Whatever you do, beat Nathan!"  You'd have to know the family dynamics to catch the full meaning, but needless to say, somethings never change...and it cracked me up!  I didn't though, I let them both cross in front of me.

After turning in my tag, I went back out to catch the rest of the team.  My sister joined me.  We caught my dad and sister and walked back with them.  Eventually my sister-in-law, niece and nephew and brother showed up.

We cheered as a 79 year old man zoomed past us to finish.

If I haven't conveyed the fact that we had a GREAT time, I'm remiss.  Let me offer this evidence:

The picture is my dad first, me second and my SIL Katie, with her son Matthew on her shoulders.  Matthew has MD and, while I've not shared this with my family, on my RoadID is inscribed, "Race For Those That Can't," and it's for him.  But more on that later, too.

Now what would a family outing be without two things...first, the cute thing, and second, the embarrassing thing.

1.  First, cute.  My nephew Matthew is stomping on ants.  His little sister, Lainey, watches and studies, then copies in every detail.  Typical ...  

But Katie noticed that at the same time I began to stretch out my bum calf, my sister Amber watched and studied.  Then she said, "Oh, that's what I should be doing now," and did exactly as I'd done.

2.  It was a small race.  My dad won first in his AG, but was the ONLY one in his AG.  When he was called up for his prize, he took a picture with the Easter Bunny, as all winners had done.  And he said, "Where's the Playboy Bunny."  Of course, my mother was horrified and somehow fulfilled, as if she knew he would say just that.

I was raised with the notion that a family that eats together stays together.  But I think that this run was the strongest bonding experience I've experienced with my family.  I'm so happy that everybody participated and am truly touched by the whole experience.

PR and an Ice Bath and Doggie

Last night I was up past 11, usually in bed by 9.  The morning came fast.  I dragged myself out of bed at 6, headed out the door, returning inside three times, having forgotten something.  I made it to the race, all essentials in-tow, registered and had a good time talking with some friends.  One of the local middle schools had their cross country team in uniform attending the race.

The morning was BEAUTIFUL, low 50's at start time with nice sunshine.  It's going to be 85 today, so it warmed up fast.

The race wound through the old neighborhoods here, the same ones where I grew up.  I took my warm up jog, a bit over a mile, through the old streets, looking at my old houses, houses of friends, remembering where this big mean dog named Coors resided.  I turned onto a street whose name has been shortened to Placita Baca, from Placita de Baca, place of the cow.  I used to infuriate my sister, telling her the street was named after her.

For some reason, the stroll through my old haunting grounds inspired me to want to do well.  This is where I'm from.  I'm who I am today because of experiences I had here.  But I was concerned because my calves still ached and didn't feel right from Monday's tempo run.  Plus, I climbed over 6,000 feet in my last two bike rides...can you say, shot legs?  I'd just see how it went.

At the start of the race all of the middle schools crowded the starting line.  I knew a few of them would probably beat me, they run pretty fast.  But many would just be in the way, so I had to get around them.  Of course they took off fast, and in passing them I completed my first mile in 6:23.  Oops.  I passed all but three of them about half way through mile one, knew I was going too fast, but couldn't slow down or they'd pass me again.  And I didn't want to dodge between kids and people up the hill, which took most of mile 2.  

Heading up the hill I was in 5th place.  Three boys in front and a friend of mine who is wicked fast and ended up finishing in 17 and change.  Mile two only climbed 146 feet, which is half of what the Cookie Toss Mile in my tempo run was, but it killed me.  My calves really started to hurt.

At the start of the hill I heard one of the boys I was running with spit.  It wasn't just a spit, it was the type that tells me he was tapped.  I've noticed that when I have that dry spit I'm done, and when racing, if someone I'm with spits, soon they're dropping.  But I encouraged him to keep going.

Regardless, soon I was in 4th place.  The kid I was now running with was TINY, probably all of 80 pounds.  But he was running strong.  There was another boy in front of us, about 200 yards up the hill.  I told the boy, "See him...he's dying.  You got it.  You're tougher than him, go get him.  This race is yours."

He tried, and closed a significant portion of the gap, but at the end of mile two we headed down hill, and the other boy took off.

Once at the bottom of the hill I was toast, tooling along at a 6:45 pace or so, not pushing.  I had no idea of my time as I'd just looked at my pace on the Garmin and thought that with the hill, there'd be no shot at a PR.  I had a half mile left, just bring it on home...then BOOM, left calf totally locked up.  I hopped, thought about stopping, but didn't want to be passed.  How stupid is that?

I limped the rest of the way in.  At the start of the chute I saw 19:57 on the clock ... Come on!  I've been dying to run a sub-20 5K, this could've been my first.

I finished 4th, congratulated those in front and the small boy thanked me, twice, for pushing and encouraging him.  That was as cool as anything else.

For my effort I got the race t-shirt, of course, and first place for each age group received these medals (females had female runners on theirs).

 Here I am, pre-race:

Limping down the chute:

Dear Hat, I Love You

I love my hat.  When I first started getting serious about this whole endeavor of exercise and weight loss, my first purchase was the hat.  Sports Authority, $20.  I picked it because it was black, stretched, lightweight and fairly low key.

And since then, beneath my hat I have endured.  I have had injury and disappointment, frustration and pain, suffering, self-doubt...and of course all of the good stuff those things bring.

When I bought the hat I couldn't run 1 mile, I couldn't do two pull ups.  I weighed 275 pounds (had already lost about 25).  Now, wearing the same hat, I do 5 sets of 10 pullups, run two miles as a way to stretch an injured hamstring, and am still over 200 pounds, but around 15% body fat.  I'm going to train for, and run my first marathon in this hat.

Never before has a material item been with me through so much.  When I pack to go somewhere for a weekend, I throw the hat in the bottom of my bag so I can take it on a run.  Every time I go the gym, I have the hat.  Every summer run I take, the hat is on.  It's a very rare event that I'm running without it.  If I could figure out how to wear it under my helmet, I'd ride my bike with it too. 

I lose my keys, have lost my wedding ring.  I misplace my belt regularly.  But the hat, it's never misplaced.

So when I'm told that the hat should be burned, tossed out, or that I need a toxic waste handling permit to wear the thing, I'm a little put-out. 

Maybe I'm missing something.  You decide.

 

Today, Tuesday, I did a lot better eating.  I haven't done a fancy excel spreadsheet yet, but finish in around 2,400 calories.  According to Garmin, my ride burned 1,200, plus I ran three miles today.  I'm exhausted and can't believe it's only day 2.  I'm so pumped about making all of the early morning workouts that I wake up several times a night thinking it's time to go!  

Last thing:  Granola Bars Recipe (We have flax seed and chia seeds, whatever nuts are around and a tiny bit of chocolate chips in ours).

Granola Bars

Tastes much like Woodstock Cookie Company Granola Bars.
From Bonnie Chase, Adapted by Jessica Bickford

Mix together dry ingredients:
2 C oats
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C wheat germ or wheat bran
1 t cinnamon
1 C whole wheat flour
1 C whatever (chocolate chips, cranberries, pecans, etc., etc., etc...) (I often use 1 cup ground nuts and ½-1 cup chocolate chips)
3/4 t salt

Optional Nutritional Additives: 1/4 C soy lecithin; 1 T gelatin; hemp, chia, or flax seeds (I use ¼ to ½ cup ground flax seeds.) ; steel cuts oats...use your nutritional imagination! 

Now mix in wet ingredients:

1/2 C oil
1/2 C honey or maple syrup
2 eggs
2 t vanilla (I’ve been known to omit this without any major disruptions)

Mix well and press into a well-greased 9 x 13 pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool 5 minutes and cut bars, but do not remove them from the pan or eat them until they've cooled COMPLETELY.

My Old Friend

I put a good face on it.  I smiled and talked, and did my best to enjoy the morning.  I did have a good time. But on this morning's 5K, GEA Feeling Fit, I met my old friend, Disappointment.

I woke and my legs felt fine, my head was clear.  I decided to run, which hadn't been a sure thing.  I really wanted to break 20 minutes today.  It was my third 5K and, third time's a charm.  That's how goals should be, a bit beyond reasonable.

Here was my plan.  Mile one, 6:30.  I ran it in 6:08, tried slowing down, but it was down hill!  Had I known that the rest of the race save the last tenth were steadily uphill, I would've run the first mile faster and not pushed through those hills in the middle of the run.

Mile two I planned on running a bit faster, around 6:25.  I ran it in 7:01, yikes.  I knew, because of my garmin, that I was going too slow, but was dying to maintain that pace.  Ugh.

Something weird happened on mile two, I learned something about myself:  I want to win.

There were two people in front of me and I didn't care, I was trying to race against my plan.  Somewhere in the middle of mile two it became apparent I wasn't going to be able to execute the plan.  Around that time those two in front slowed.  I caught them.  I ran behind the lead runner for a while thinking if I should race him, follow and conserve energy, or pass and try to catch up to my planned speed.

I decided to try to stick to the plan.  I passed him and ran alone for the next three-quarters of a mile.  Of course on mile three, which I had hoped to run fastest, I was dead.  I ran it in 7:21.  That's almost my half marathon pace!  I was dogging it a bit. Don't get me wrong, I was tired and pushing hard, but my motivation was waning.  I was coughing up nasty stuff and laboring.  I was a full minute behind my goal and the guy a passed and someone else were about to pass me.

I ended up finishing 28 seconds behind the winner in 21:28.  My slowest by far.  Funny thing is, everybody said they ran surprisingly slow today.  So it probably wasn't my remaining congestion from my Christmas bug.

Anyhow, I finished 3rd over all, first in my age group.  My wife and father were there to support me, which is always awesome.  After the race we met one of my daughter's elementary school teachers, one I really like.  I won a free car wash in the raffle and a first place medallion. 

Now don't get me wrong.  I'm not distraught or upset.  I just wanted a different outcome.  Nothing I can do about it now except to accept this and learn and improve.  On a perfect day, in my current condition I don't think I could break 20 on this course (click here for the garmin report, check out the player tab especially). 

But here's what I learned.

1.  By looking at some pictures, I heel strike when tired if I'm wearing shoes.  (I usually wear toe shoes, you don't heel strike in those!)

2.  I don't think I started out too fast, but the second mile is where I lost it.  I should've listened to the my body instead of the watch, I would've had a faster time.  I think I might've won the race.

3.  I am more motivated than ever to drop my remaining weight.  The two men that beat me were my height, but weigh at least 50 pounds less than me.  In the picture below, where I'm crossing the finish line, I'm 208.4 pounds.

   

All said, even with the disappointment, I had a great time and am so loving my new life-style.  

Running Away

Tomorrow is a 5K, one I hope to break 20 minutes.

This has been the worst week of teaching ever.  I won't get into it beyond that, and I just mention it to identify a source of major stress.  Normally, work provides little or no stress, but this year, things are a bit different.  Money has also been incredibly tight, and I got a call from the community college director saying that one of my classes probably won't "make," meaning there wouldn't be enough students to run the class.  (Four days later there were enough students to keep the class, but I'd already experienced a lot of stress by that point.)

Starting yesterday I had a bit of dizziness, most of it is the disorientation you feel when you have a new pair of glasses.  But some of it has been a bit worse.  I think it's due to some sinus/ear congestion.  I hope it's not crazy blood pressure due to stress! 

I've also been experience some knee irritation and swelling.  I am hoping this is due to a not yet properly set up new bicycle.  The symptoms are consistent with that, but still, running on a puffy knee isn't a good idea.  My rule of thumb for that is that if the swelling is more than a tablespoon's size when the knee is fully bent, or if there is any pain, no running.  I've not run since Tuesday, just two miles on the dreadmill.


I'm looking forward to the 5k, the escape and challenge.  However, if I'm not feeling great, I'm not going to push for sub 20.  :(  Another day.

Running is an escape, but meeting a goal, that's even better.

I'm Gonna Break 20 This Time

I have a 5k on Saturday.  I'm stoked.  It's just a 5k, I know, but I'm pumped.  I've not trained for it and I won't be resting up for it either.  But, it'll be my third and I'm going to break through the 20 minute mark this time, I know it.  Well, I really believe it anyway.

Actually, I've been a little nervous about injury lately.  I've been fairly liberal with days off of running, even when they've not been planned, if things didn't feel quite right.  In addition, I've got structure, each run has a purpose.  I feel good, very sore today, but good.

Then today at work I was talking with two friends who are both runners, more so than I.  They're both injured.  One is walking, the other just took a solid month off.  I'm standing between them feeling like...I'm next.  It's as if I'm a soldier in the Revolutionary War and my compatriots on each side have just gone down.

Boom.

Down on the left.

Boom.

Down on the right. 

I'm exposed.  I'm next?

If and when injury occurs, I know it's just part of the whole experience.  A strained hamstring now might help prevent an enlarged heart at 55.  I think I've learned to listen to my body and see signs of over-use before they become injuries, at least some of the signs.  But I'll continue my planned rest, ice, compress, stretch, use the foam roller and keep the structure and focus.  Throw in smart decisions while running and that's all I can do, right?  That sounds like patience to me.  I suck at patience.  It's something I have to work on daily.

Patience...on Saturday trying to break 20.  I'm going to be patient the first two miles this time and then slam through the third.  First two miles I'm going to try and be 6:40, then let it loose a bit on mile 3 and 0.1. 

But what I really want to share is just some of the experience of being a runner while not running.

The Human Divining Rod

This morning I woke at 1:15, ready for my 4:15 run.  False alarm, someone just sent me a text!  Who texts at 1:15 am?   People that don't:

1. Have jobs
2. Run in the morning

In his defense:  "Respond when you get the chance, but I might be working."  Pretty funny really because there goes #1. 

Anyhow, I greeted 4:15 with excitement.  Between being under the weather, a 111 mile bike race exactly 30 days ago, a half marathon 8 days ago and a tough 5K Saturday, I took two days in a row off!  That's right folks, you heard it here first.  I took two days in a row off from exercise.

Now, Sunday morning my left foot looked like it belonged to a geriatric diabetic and yesterday I delivered my old bike to Tucson (sold it).  I actually felt a twinge of sadness when the guy walked away with it.  I lost the better part of 90 pounds on that bike, rode it almost 5,000 miles! It's okay though because I have a new bike.

Back on track:  I hit the running path by the gym at 4:30 after my usual warm up of 50 pushups, jump rope, lunges and squats.  I felt good really.  My legs were a little sore, spots here and there waking up.  My feet really hurt.  But it felt awesome to run.  As I passed mile one the path ended and I had to travel across about 100 yards of dirt before hitting the road.  Now, mind you, there are no street lights, the moon has set.  It's total darkness.  There was a "spot," about 4 feet by 2 feet, that looked darker than the rest of the ground.  I stepped right in it.

I cannot walk on water!  But I can find water in the desert!

My right foot went completely under, above the ankle.  Left foot went in second, but only the first half of my foot.  I finished the last two miles blister free, laughing at myself.  How silly is that?

Hey, it was 4:40 in the morning at that point. 

The best part was the weird looks I got when I made it back to the gym to do the 20 minutes or so of circuit training I do on short run mornings.  I was muddier than I thought!  But like in the movie Fight Club, everybody stared, nobody asked.

I learned a lot today.

Today I participated in a 5K race in Tucson.  I had a blast and got all of the free goodies from vendors and learned a thing or two.

The first thing I learned is that one should not be in the bathroom when the race starts.  That should be self-evident.  I can be a bit dense.

Actually, the race started 5 minutes early.  Where the bathrooms were staged was far enough away from the PA system that I could hear them, but not understand what was being said.  Plus, they talk so much that after a while I just tune it out.

Anyhow, I step out of the bathroom and hear the count down 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... pop.  I ran over to the race and hopped in line.  My official time was about 30 seconds slower than my stop watch.

The course was a lot hillier than expected, though it wasn't what I'd call a hilly run by any stretch.  It just wasn't at all flat.  All good, I run hills daily, we're on speaking terms, hills and I.

On the first mile my left hamstring started to hurt...crap.  I just kept my stride short and hoped it would go away.  The morning was cold and though I'd run about a mile warm up or so, that was close to twenty minutes earlier.  I also think that the crowd being pretty thick and corners being slow with everybody sneaking towards the inside of each turn contributed.  I felt like I had to speed around people or get stuck waiting behind them.  At one point I jumped over the curb and around a parked car.  Dang, why was I in the bathroom at the start.  Ugh.

At mile one I was 7:24.  I was very happy with that.  I hoped to break 24 minutes.  I've not been able to really run except this past Monday because of a hip/hamstring injury from late June.  My hip felt great, the hamstring loosened and things were going well.  I fell in behind a kid and followed him as he picked his way through.  Shortly after the first mile things started to thin and people started falling off.

The second mile was mostly uphill and went through the neighborhood where I'd parked as a UofA student.  I remember thinking how much things have changed since then!  Mile two was 6:20.  Whoa.  My pacer was speeding up too.  I did my best to keep up with him, but could never catch or pass him.

A few minutes into the third mile my left calf really started to hurt.  It was painful on my short run Wednesday morning.  As I finished the run, the third mile in 7:02, it was screaming at me and on the fringes of a full on disabling cramp.

All told my official time was 20:58, earning me second place in my age group and 15th over all.  I am pretty happy with that, especially for my first ever race!  Well, technically I did participate in a 5K in early July, but was injured and walked the whole thing finishing dead last.

The second thing I learned is that these races pay for themselves if you place.  I earned a small gift certificate to The Running Shop.  In combination with the free give aways from the vendors, I came out quite a bit ahead, financially speaking.

The third thing I learned is how nice runners can be.  I met with a fellow blogger on runnersworld and also talked with the man who won the half marathon.  In fact, his last 5K was faster than the 5K winner's time.  He asked how I did and congratulated me.  Pretty cool guy.

The last thing I learned was the important of good race hair.  Here's my effort:

All told I had a great time.  My mother went with me and tried to take pictures on my phone, but ended up just being moral support.  I got a free massage after the race and then went out to breakfast.  The calf is wrapped in ice and hopefully that won't keep me out of running for more than a day or two.

This past week I had a great time.  I had an awesome run Monday, the best in months.  My hip is finally healed.  I had a strong 40 mile ride on Tuesday in high winds.  Thursday morning I did a short two mile run before going to the gym, and Friday I had a very fast bike ride in high winds.  My power is increasing noticeably on the bike lately.  Combine all the training with the run today and I'm feeling pretty good right now.

I can't wait for my 11/11 10K trail run and then the big one, the half marathon in December.  I do know this, running a 5K is a heck of a lot easier than a 70 mile bike race.

Chaotic Schedule and running

I haven't posted for a few days, but not because nothing has been happening. This past weekend was the county fair and my kids were showing some animals in the fair. We were there from Thursday afternoon until Sunday evening. They spent the night out there with some friends one night, but otherwise we'd take them home at 7 and have them out there at 7. Not too bad until you realize it's an hour's drive each way!

Anyhow, I ran Wednesday but not Thursday. When I got home on Friday night I went for a two mile run on a new route. I was proud of myself for running even though I was truly beat!

Since then I hadn't run until this morning, Wednesday. I was gone all day Saturday, returning home at 1:30 on Sunday morning (I went to the UA game against then 9th ranked Iowa). Monday morning I planned to take off, knowing I'd be drained. Tuesday morning, when I rolled out of bed my back cramped up.

So today was only my second run since last Wednesday! I feel kind of like a slug! However, I put in a hard run and think my legs benefited from the long rest (well, lack of running). I also bought a heavy punching bag, gloves and jump rope. That stuff provides world class exercise, second to none!

I'm still at it, still working on zeroing in on a sustainable diet and the marathon goal is here to stay.

This morning was a fight.

I didn't run yesterday even though I was scheduled to run. My knee was swollen and my hip was sore. So I took the day off. Mondays (yesterday) and Wednesdays I work from about 6:30 am until 8 pm with a dinner break in the middle. So naturally I'm tired on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

This morning I didn't want to get out of bed. I did. I didn't want to warm up. I did. I didn't want to run, but I did. The run was a battle. I kept having to motivate myself to move forward, keep picking up my feet.

After about a half mile or so I forgot I was running and started thinking about stuff. So, I wasn't running hard, but I was running and that's OK. The run took me significantly longer than usual, but I finished it strong and ran really hard the last quarter mile.

Anyhow, here's to fighting!