Slow Re-Start

I feel like an old clunker-- You know-- those cars that if you don't drive them for a while-- they take forever to restart. I am back up and running-- but feel VERY sluggish. I only took about 5 days off so I'm pretty discouraged.

I feel slower and my breathing is off. My longest run this week was a 7 miler and I felt like I was going to die!

Does anyone else have this problem after breaks?

Update and New Technology

Hi everyone.

I am back from vacation-- and although it was tough to return to work after a long week of rest I did get some good news Monday regarding my injury. The Xrays came back and show no fracture which was really what I was concerned about. The Doc says it probably has more to do with the muscle-- Possibly, given the location of the pain, the Soleus:


Some of you sugested shin splints-- I have had those before-- this is different.. The pain is in that area, the front lower part of the leg, but further in- if that makes any sense.

Anyway-- fresh off the news that it is not anything too serious and now that the pain has subsided-- I am back on my feet. I went on an easy 5 miler today during lunch.. and.. I kept an average of a 7:45 pace--- How do I know that you maybe asking??? Because I received a snazzy heart rate monitor for my bday last week!!!! Yes I am finally amoung many of you high tech runner geeks ( I say that with love of course). I LOVE IT.

It's not the Garmin-- which between you and I-- is what I really wanted-- BUt this is awesome!!

I got the polar rs200sd- It is pretty cool and tells you EVERYTHING the garmin does--It's just not equipped with GPS technology-- But I really don't need that. It has a foot pod which like the heart rate belt, remotely connects to the watch and gives you distance, calories burned, time, pace, etc.

It also remotely downloads data to your computer-- I haven't quite figured that out yet.

So you should expect some big time results from me-- thats the hope anyway, now that I am injury free and finally linked to modern technology!

Subaru, Vacation, and Injury

I'll begin with Last Friday's Subaru Buffalo 4 mile road race. Friends and I from work decided LOOONNG ago to run in this. It calls itself the best road race in the city-- It's in a great location and is suppose to have the greatest after party.

Last Friday? It was wet, rainy and cold- I still ran. 28:50 was my time-- for a 4 miler I am happy-- especially when you consider I have an injury to report.

It's not major-- at least that's what I hope. My left lower portion of my leg from the knee down-- in the front-- has been killing me. I had taken several days off-- in fact- ran for the first time since the Subaru ( 7 miles ) last night, felt great during the run--- not so great after.

I am on vacation this week-- and traveling- which explains the lack in blog progress.. Heading to the doc's office tonight-- will let you know. Wish me luck!

I hope you are all well-- Will be checking blogs tonight while I rest my leg! I am guessing Brian (a Runner's blog) has broken a 4 minute mile-- Melanie Tait has run a marathon, and Glenn Jones is now an Iron man- am I right?

Junk Food = Success?

It's true. I believe the worse I eat, the better I run-- seriously.

I made that determination this past weekend. It was the annual "Taste of Buffalo" a huge festival where hundreds of restaurants roll out their best dishes for the city to try.

Any food you can imagine is there and I tried it. I spent both Saturday AND Sunday at the festival. I was without rules or limits-- I went nutz.

I easily consumed 3,000+ calories per day! I ate Chimichangas, Lamb Lollies, Chicken Curry, BBQ pork sandwiches, beef tenderloin "Sliders", Italian Burritos, peanut butter pie, ice cream, and this thing called an "Elephant Sub"- basically ground beef, onions in a cheesy, greasy sauce put in a hot dog bun. It sounds gross but was awesome. I washed it all down with beers-- several beers-- and "Sangria Slushies". Take a look at my eyes in the following photo. I am with several co-workers (our TV station was a sponsor) at the VIP tent where there was all the beer you could drink!


ANYWAYS, to make a long story... longer.... Lets get to my point, finally. My run Sunday, after the first day of pure gluttony, was incredible. 10 miles in 1hr 27 minutes. I really would've kept going-- I only stopped so I could meet my friends for day 2 of All You Can Eat madness... My run today-- again, amazing... Compare that to last week-- when I felt a bit sluggish.

So what gives??? It could mean 1 of two things, either I don't consume enough calories during the week or Junk food is the secret to my running success.

I am going with the former. As much fun as it is to eat without limits-- I remain committed to being healthy. Eating like that once in a while is fun-- all the time is excessive and can only lead to bad things. So, today it's back to lean meats and veggies-- I'll just pile more of them on the plate to increase caloric intake.

How about you?? Similar success after a binge?

A So-So week

Nothing spectacular so far. It's Thursday and I've put in about 25 miles so far. I am planning a 12 miler tonight... Big deal!

I am getting bored and need to start spicing it up a bit. I have been so damned concerned with upping my mileage I have done little to up my speed.

So...

I am paying close attention to two blogs in particular-- Brian (A Runner's Blog) and Glenn (fatguyrunning) both follow great programs-- and push it hard. Neither ever seems to get bored. They're able to mix it up-- increasing distance and speed.

My biggest problem? Not having the information when running. I have been a stubborn old man who has refused to get a fancy-schmancy Garmin watch-- I need one for proper training-- so I will shop around and finally break down and get one.

Maybe, then I'll break the boring old routine-- and start to heat things up.

Crossing State Lines

As I mentioned last week-- I traveled downstate to Westchester County, NY to visit my big bro and his wife.

I ventured out on a run early Saturday morning and it was going so well I decided to run across the border-- crossing state lines!!! Yes, for the first time in my life-- I ran in two states during one workout-- how about that for a good run!

Ok-- so they live right on the NY/Connecticut border (literally 5 minutes from Greeenwich CT) but still-- I ran through 2 states! I can still brag right??

It was a great run. Westchester County and Greenwich CT, are both very beautiful. Full of rolling hills, quiet settings-- making it very hard to fathom you are only 30 minutes from New York city.

During the run-- I realized we, as runners are very lucky. Those of us who can run long distances are able to take in the sights, explore, in a way that is much more intimate than a car ride or even a walk. We travel slow enough to see and experience everything-- but fast enough not to get bored.

I can't wait for the next trip!

Another first??? Taking a picture of myself-- while running-- I took several, this was the only one not blurred :)

Holiday Get-A-Way-- Mapping out the run!

Today (Thursday) is my Friday! My holiday weekend begins tonight. I am driving to the New York City area to visit family. I am very excited for the obvious reasons, relaxation, the consumption of a few (many) frothy beverages, good food, etc-- but I also get psyched at the thought of mapping out new runs in strange, unfamiliar territories.

My brother and his wife live in Chappaqua, Westchester County, NY. They recently moved there-- so I have not yet been-- but have heard many good things about the community. It's where the Clintons lived while Hillary served as a US senator for New York, it's full of quaint neighborhoods with tree lined streets.

Whenever I travel-- I first, map out my desired runs on GMAPS PEDOMETER--


A GREAT source. It allows you to designate a route and gives you the mileage and calories burned. I like it better than mapmyrun.com, which has more details, but is much slower.

I've already established three routes that I plan to run. One for each day I am there.

Anyone else have any "tips" when running on "trips"?

Tyring to Make Up My Mind

I still have not decided. I told you weeks ago that I was looking for the next challenge-- My first Marathon.

I went down the list of a few I was considering-- and since then have added one more.

I want to run the NYC marathon. Official registration has been long closed-- but there are several charities still looking for runners-- if I can raise the amount required (average $2,500)

This much I know-- I have narrowed it down to two-- NYC (if I can get in) and The Walt Disney World Marathon in Orlando.

Brian, from a Runners Blog, mentioned that already the WDW is 65% full so I have to make up my mind fast!

I am a journalist-- so I am all about deadlines. I am giving myself two more weeks to decide... Even if the WDW closes-- I can still join a local charity group (Roswell Park Cancer Institute) which has a team running in WDW..

I hate decisions...........