Kids Running

I burned her out.  I was trying to catch up on a decade of my own lethargy and apparently, dragged her along.  

Last summer, as I just began to run, I'd bring my youngest daughter, who ran cross country and track, with me.  Most of the time it was a great time.  But it was always early, and even so, still hot.  

She got burned out.  

The following school year, she still participated in cross country but it became quite obvious that her heart was not into it.  I didn't think I was pressuring her to do well at the time, but now see it differently.  Regardless, from the advice of a friend, I backed off, entirely, gave her an open invitation to join me anytime on a run, and left it alone.  

In the past, even before burning out, she would say that she loved running, but didn't like the race environment, especially in track.  After a race she was always distraught, sometimes inconsolable.  It was heart breaking at times.  Her coaches have the right attitude for kids that age, I certainly was thrilled to see her participating and didn't care what place she got.  We all just wanted her, and the others, to get involved, have some fun and get some exercise.  But she was a wreck after each race, even before running with me.  

It surprised me this year when she said she was going to join track again.  I figured she was joining to hang out with her friends.  I just said, "Cool."

It shocked me when she started saying things like, “I hope I get invited to this meet.”

Then, I was almost sent into cardiac arrest when in preparation for the possibility of being invited to this Saturday's meet, she ran on her own, like her coach said to!  She did get invited.  Unfortunately, due to weather, the meet was canceled.  

Regardless of that outcome, I am so happy that she is enjoying running.  She’s having a great time.  She’s not fast, usually finishes in the later part of the field, but she’s getting faster and is now interested in how she’s improved, not her placing! As soon as she finished running the 4x400 relay on Tuesday's meet, she ran over and asked if she ran it faster than her second quarter in the 800.  

Music to my ears!

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.

Day Off, Unscheduled

In the past I've had a number of times where I was going to get back in shape. I usually start off slow and build momentum and right about then, I get injured. I want to avoid that mistake.

Last week I ran 10 miles, which may have been too much too soon. I don't believe I injured anything, but this morning I was still sore and my left knee and hip hurt. They hurt Saturday too, and I ran anyway, they were fine during the run. But today, I decided I'd take the day off. I've got 2 1/2 years to achieve my goal, so pace and patience will be important. Another thing to consider is that I can no longer take ibuprofen which is awesome for minor inflammation and so on. It would definitely help today!

In the meantime, especially until I drop a lot of weight, I need to have an alternate, low impact but high intensity cardio program for days like these. So I'm looking at elliptical machines, exercise bikes, real bicycles, and boxing stuff. This is also a cue to redouble my efforts on fixing my diet.

I have done better with serving size but have a long ways to go. I have done better with eating more frequently, but have a long ways to go. I have cut out sweets. I have chosen more appropriate foods, but have a long way to go. I have cut back on beer, but need to cut it completely.

Anyhow, this will be a tough week because of how it started...not running but thinking. When running, especially right now at the beginning, there are many victories which leave me feeling positive and charged. Today, no run, no victory. Time to get organized!

Small Victories

My alarm didn't go off this morning, so I woke up half an hour late. It wasn't a scheduled run day, but I had wanted to do a short, about 1 1/2 miles, run. I got up fast and went out the door. I completed the run. The first half is down hill, the second half is up hill...not a fair combination for someone just starting out.

But, I did it and it went well.

Yesterday, Labor Day, I went on a two mile run with my 12 year old daughter, who is in cross country. She is of course faster than me. She'd run ahead until she hit the mile marker, turn around and run back to me and so on until I finished the first mile. On the second mile I decided to run her pace. It was pretty tough for me, but I did it. Man, I used to be able to hardly break a sweat averaging 6:15 miles for a few miles. Oh well. Maybe I'll regain that speed, but if not, no biggie.

Tomorrow, depending on knee conditions (after two consecutive run days), I'm going to try what I call "the monster." It's only 2.5 miles or so, but STEEP. Did I mention it was STEEP?

Introduction

I'm a 37 year old man that likes to drink beer and watch football. I like to eat hamburgers and play guitar and ride motorcycles and play video games with my kids. I like to take my wife out to dinner and eat awesome food. I like teaching math because I like the feeling of helping people accomplish something, that is, overcome a hurdle in their lives.

Here is a picture of my on Labor Day weekend, 2010. I'm sitting on the couch with a beer in my hand (what I do best). This, mind you, is after working out for five weeks, five days a week. I'm the one waving to the camera.
I'm very overweight. I have been for about a decade. A handful of times I'll decide to do something about the weight and cut back the beer, start working out and drop a few pounds. On a good run it'll last for three months. But, eventually, since I never had a goal other than to "be healthier" it fizzles out when something new comes along.

So of course, my question is, will this time be different? If history is any indication of the future, no. I'll stick with this until November and be back to my old self again.

The thing is, I wasn't a fat ass my entire life. Not until I was 28 or so. Before that, physical prowess had been a big part of my identity. I had won a strong man competition in high school, was a member of the 1000 pound club (weight lifting), had run a mile in under 5 minutes, but really stood apart from others when it came to distance running.

I'm 5' 10" and in the army I weighted 210. Not exactly a runner's build. But I never got tired running. I couldn't keep up with one or two people that could run 2 miles in the 10 minute range (although I smoked heavily then), but otherwise, I was so much faster than everybody else that it was what I was known for.

When I got out of the military I was married, had a family, quit smoking, went from a laborious job to a desk job and gained a lot of weight. I got back in shape and when I had a severe back injury. The doctor said I had a 90% chance of being permanently partially paralyzed in my right leg.

SCREW THAT!

So, I used that as an excuse, well the fear of it repeating, for a long time and did nothing. All the while life became more complicated and I settled into progressively worse habits. Now I'm 37 and about 280 pounds. I'm thinking that in 3 years I'll be 40 and will have likely lived half of my life.

My dad had told me about people that always relive their past through stories, but have nothing to be proud of in the present. By-gones is what I call them. People like me who can brag about past accomplishments but now ... well, I can drink more beer than most people. See what I mean. It's a sad commentary.

So here it is. In my 40th year, I want to run a marathon. At least, now that I'm in my 37th year, I think I'll want to in my 40th. I'll have lived half of my life if I make it to 40 and want to run a marathon to prove that I still have the desire and drive that I used to have.

You may wonder, as I have, "Why a marathon, why not just try and get to some former level of fitness?"

The answer is, "That's not how I work." If I set an easy goal, I'll lose interest. When I went to college, I picked the hardest subject I knew, math. That's what I majored in. I want a big goal because I want a big accomplishment. I don't want to brag about it, I just want to accomplish it!

This is something that I've been thinking of for several weeks. I'll post updates here to keep those that are interested informed of how things are going. In the mean time, I plan to do a lot of "road work," pickin' em up and puttin' em down. We'll see how it goes.