Charging Ahead

"Make up your mind, Morty!"

2012-01-31T21:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, how many of you remember that 1979 summer classic where Tripper (Bill Murray) taunts Morty Melnik on choosing their ace runner in a competition between Camp North Star and the elites of Camp Mohawk? Anyone? Anyone over 35? If not, you are missing out on what was probably the biggest Oscar snub of the 70's. Anyways...

..."Make Up Your Mind, Morty!"

That's pretty much how I feel right now with this Morton's Neuroma. Three days after the cortisone shot to the left foot I ran an easy 3 miles around the neighborhood. I took it easy and had no pain in the left foot. Oh joy! The next day I took to the indoors and took "several hundred laps" on the black belt and enjoyed a comfortable 4 miles on the treadmill. No pain! I'm healed. Alright, time to take it up a notch.

My third "post-cortisone shot" run was a 7 mile jaunt on a flat-ish route through Brentwood and about half way through it my face went all "Don Knotts". The pain was back.

Two days later the pain was present again on a 5 mile route near my work, but it wasn't as bad. I had to think this through. Would the pain be something I would live with? New Orleans is a month away and it's time to reflect on my posture and my stride.

The pain is only present when two things happen:

My posture weakens and I lean forward when I run. This happens when I run out of energy and my body slouches.
My stride is such where I land flat on my feet instead of a rolling heal to ball. This happens when #1 happens (see above) or I experience a lot of hills.

Well, now that I have my PHD in Orthopedics from the University of I Make S*IT Up... I know how to put it all into practice. So today I put it all to test on Morty.

Enjoy a healthy breakfast. Check!

Morning Hydration. Check!

Late morning oatmeal. Check!

Nice flat route for a 5 mile experiment at lunch. Check!

The run went well. No pain whatsoever. I focused on my posture and I sustained enough pre-run energy and fluids to keep the body where it needs to be for the run. I was pleased. My work is far from over, however. Wednesday will be a good rest/stretch day and Thursday I will give Morty another chance as I hit the same trails for 8 miles.

* * *

I have posted a new and refreshing smoothie on the Shake It! page. The Popeye is a good one so don't hesitate to get some spinach and reward the body with a powerful punch as the 'Queen Leaf' meets the 'King of Fruits'.

Problem Solved: Yurbuds

2012-01-29T19:41:00.000-08:00

Rocky Road?

A few weeks ago I completed the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in Arizona and shared my initial failure to keep my ear buds secure while running. It actually happens to me all the time. I have tried a few different brands with different styles. FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! After a recommendation from fellow runner, Lisa, I have finally found a set of buds that won't even fall out of Sloth's ears.

Yurbuds is the answer I have been waiting for. Not only do they stay but they are positioned in a way that sends the music to the ear that gives a good, crisp sound. Baby, these things are advanced. So advanced that you actually get fitted by a sale associate to make sure you get the right product for your ears.

If you find yourself purchasing one of these products be sure you do so at a retailer that will size you up for the Yurbuds that fit those ears.

Coming this week...
I have a new shake I am working on this week that is PACKED with some great ingredients and has an oddly irresistible taste. It is incredible. Stay tuned, for now it's a secret until I can get it just right.

And then there were FIVE

2012-01-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

Be a thinker, not a stinker

"Stay in school and use your brain. Be a doctor, be a lawyer, carry a leather briefcase. Forget about sports as a profession. Sports make ya grunt and smell. See, be a thinker, not a stinker." ~ Apollo Creed (1976)

It sure seems like running is turning into a profession. After figuring out a budget and PTO I have finally booked the fifth (and final?) half marathon for 2012. Watch out St. Louis! I will be coming your way in October. Let's just see if that's where we end this year. Jason was eyeing that "Super Six" Heavy Medal yesterday so I am afraid St. Louis won't be the final half of the year.

On a separate note... I have my first of many yummy and "interesting" sport shakes/smoothies on my Shake It! page. It's a basic one. Check back for more as well as Kyle's opinions on my contraptions.

"Well, I've been with the best, and I've BEAT the best! I've retired more men than Social Security!" ~ Apollo Creed

Morton's Neuroma

2012-01-24T18:01:00.000-08:00

"I have given a name to my pain, and it is Batman." Well, not really. After almost a year of unidentified sharp pains in the balls of my feet I finally have an answer to what ails me.

The answer didn't come cheap either. After regular examinations and a set of x-rays we decided to go for the big M-R-I to get to the bottom of the bottom of my foot. And an MRI isn't the easiest thing to get on one foot. I got to stick my foot in the giant scanner and sit still for 25 minutes. One slight move and we need to start over.

I had a follow up visit with the foot doctor and got to take a look at the results of the MRI and as clear as day we saw the bright white markings between toes 3 and 4 that is diagnosed as Morton's Neuroma.

Morton's neuroma (also known as Morton's metatarsalgia, Morton's neuralgia, plantar neuroma and intermetatarsal neuroma) is a benign neuroma of an intermetatarsal plantar nerve, most commonly of the third and fourth intermetatarsal spaces. (Thank you Wikipedia for not being on strike today)

There are a few treatments available to me:

1) Wide and comfy running shoes. CHECK

2) Use Meta Pads on the shoes inserts. CHECK

3) Cortisone shot.

4) Surgery. Uh, hell no.

So this big sissy went the route of a shot to ease the pain. Only time will tell if this works seeing that the doc wants me to take a few days off to let the cortisone shot take effect. Come Thursday these feet will be back on the pavement.

Shout out to Wikipedia for also telling me that Steven Tyler suffers from Morton's Neuroma. And you know what? There was a Golden Girls episode where Dorothy was diagnosed with Morton's Neuroma so... you know. I'm in good company.

The first: Rock N Roll Arizona Half Marathon

2012-01-23T20:54:00.000-08:00

...here I am. 5 minutes before the gun sounds for our corral and, sure enough, I am scrambling to find a port-a-potty. Happens to me every time. A mixture of "proper hydration techniques" and anxiety sends me off to my first official race of the morning: the 2nd annual 'Where the Hell are the Bathrooms? - 1K'.

Potty

I finally found what I was looking for and was back on task before my corral even made it across the starting line. Abraham (my bladder - I named him after the famous dude on the penny since my bladder is about the size of it) was happy and we were ready to go.

I IMMEDIATELY became terrified as my new (and un-tested) ear plugs would NOT stay in my ears. The first 3/4 mile was a multi-tasking bonanza as I dodged slower runners and desperately struggled to find a way to get the plugs to stay put so I can hear my tunes and listen to RunMeter give me my pace.

Somehow I managed to route the cord behind the ear, around my sun glasses, and back down into the ear. Finally, at about mile 1, I heard my first pace announcement from RunMeter and the shock just about made Abraham tap into the 'hydration reserves' and make my life a warm, damp hell. 7:14/mile pace?!?! Slow down stupid!

Alright. Back on track. I found a cozy 8:30/mile pace and enjoyed the scenery the race route had to offer. It's fun to read runner's shirts, signs from supporters, and interesting costumes along the way. It kind of pushed me to move quickly through the crowd to see the excitement.

So, the first 5-6 miles was a bit of a blur. Watching people, looking at the landscape, focusing on pace and posture (so the Morton's don't act up!) kept me busy. But the mind raced a little as I tried to remember the race map and was excited that everything was downhill after mile 9.5. Terrific! But wait, I haven't gone up any hills yet so how is it I go down...

Oh there it is. Mile 8.

I managed to keep a good 9:10/mile pace through the slight uphill. The Morton's stayed calm so the feet were feeling ok. Keep on keepin' on! The peak elevation of the race went through beautiful Papago Park. It reminded me of a Warner Brothers cartoon with Wiley Coyote chasing the Roadrunner. I wish I took a photo but at this point I was only a few miles out and I kept on going.

Mile 11. Good news: DOWNHILL! Bad news: NOTHING LEFT IN THE TANK. Not really sure how this happened. Well, maybe I do. My longest training distance was 10 miles and I only did that once. I became strong for the 8-10 mile distance but that was it. So I struggled. Thank goodness it was all downhill. Through the pain of some side stitches and fatigue my brain was doing a little math. "Ok, if I keep at this pace with the remaining distance, I may actually hit a sub 2 hour half marathon.

Run Stupid. Run!

Is that even possible? No way. Do the math again." After a few iterations I came to the realization that I could actually make this happen. 1.5 miles to go and my brain was telling the legs to keep it going.

The body did the best it could and I approached the finish line. The RunMeter gave me the early surprise as I heard "Time: 1 hour, 58 minutes and 32 seconds." (Chip time was 6 seconds faster) To my delight I hit a sub 2 half marathon. The first of the year! I was handed my finisher's medal and got in line with everyone else to enjoy all the free recovery drinks and snacks. I did it. I finished the first of four *or five* half marathons this year. My knees feel fine and the Morton's Neuroma stayed calm. Success.

The Good:

The route was good. Mostly flat and some of the scenery was beautiful.
The bands and support were great. Especially the P.F. Changes stage with the drum beaters.
The rail service got us where we needed to go. Cheap transportation is always great.
In N Out Burger.

The Bad:

Ear plugs. Yep, I returned them. ...what?! I wiped them down first!
The water tasted funny in some spots. Others complained as well. Not a big deal to me.

The Ugly:

The Ohio State fan that passed me before the finish line.
The injury to a fellow Healthways runner. Crutches for 6 weeks. Out for 6 months. (Hip fracture)

The WTF?:

Half way to Dallas a distracted pilot came over the intercom: "Ahhhh this is... ah this is your pilot. We are going to ah, need to head back to Nashville as we have ahhh, <enter inaudible gibberish here> with a <more gibberish> sensor."

Holy hell. We are going to miss our connecting flight from Dallas to Phoenix and completely miss the half marathon registration. Thankfully, once we were returned to Nashville, Jason spent an hour on the phone to get us re-booked on a Continental flight that got us to Phoenix and within registration by 10 minutes.

A little panic, to say the least.

Throwing the Gauntlet

2012-01-22T19:09:00.000-08:00

I felt pretty good a few days after the 2011 Ragnar Relay. I survived without injury and I was somewhat interested in the potential of running more in 2012. At work our Ragnar team talked and laughed about our 200-mile adventure. After a short while everyone cleared back to their desks... and that's when it all happened. I don't recall how the actual events transpired but I do remember my running friend (Jason) sending me a link to the Rock n Roll Marathon website asking me which half marathons I wanted to run in. I laughed it off. I knew he was probably looking at what he was planning on running in 2012.

I surfed the RnR site and got a little buzz from all the excitement and photos of the runners. There was an extensive list of races, numerous promotional adds, countdowns to discounts and other exciting events. Then... I found it. The one thing that took my interest to an all new level: 'HEAVY MEDAL BLING'.

Apparently The Rock N Roll Marathon series gives you additional medals for completing two or more half marathons. If we completed two we would get a sparkly "Rock Encore" medal. I copied a photo of the bling and emailed it to Jason. All I wrote was: "I KNOW you want this medal."

I expected an email back saying "What is this? How do we even get this?" Nope. What I got instead was: "No, I want this one" and got a different picture in return:

Gasp! He knew about the Heavy Medal series. I was in trouble. When it comes to a pissing contest with Jason there was no way to come out alive. I quickly looked again online to see how many of these Heavy Medals existed and it goes all the way up to running 11 half marathons in a year. Yikes.

So, before Jason had a chance to up the ante again I decided to take a stroll to his desk and talk it over before we had a "triple dog dare" (or worse) on our hands.

"Ok Jason. Which three are we running?" We took a look at the schedule. Nashville was a no-brainer. We live in Nashville. New Orleans was close enough to drive to and Chicago would make for a great trip with the wives.

Alright, we had our initial gentleman's agreement. Well that didn't last long at all. In fact, it would only take a few hours before Jason had me back at his desk for another "discussion".

You see, Jason had planned on running a half marathon in Austin in 2012. Unfortunately for Jason's heavy medal glory this half marathon was not part of the Rock N Roll series. If he was going to run four half marathons in 2012 he wanted to get credit for it.

So I walked up to his desk and saw that very familiar (and terrifying) smirk on his face. The first things out of my mouth were "What? What? What are we doing now?" And on his screen was this beautiful image:

Oh my. That was a beautiful medal. Not only was I happy that it was such a nice trophy but I was especially happy I only saw the number '4' on it and nothing more. "Ok Jason where to now?" He explained to me that having our first half marathon in New Orleans (March 4th) would mean that we would slack off during the holidays and we should shoot for something earlier to get us going. Phoenix in January was our first target.

I quickly drew up a friendly contract that stated that we would both sign up (and not back out) for these four races on a major registration discount day. November 11th, 2011 (11-11-11). We had our lineup. We had our schedule. What in the hell did I just get myself into?

Never Running Again

2012-01-09T21:07:00.000-08:00

Yep. That’s me. Completely winded. Mentally and physically beat. Good news: I was finally finished with my first, and easiest, leg of the 2011 Tennessee Ragnar Relay. Bad news: I had two more legs greater in distance and difficulty. What’s the deal? I did so much better in the 2010 relay. In the 2010 Tennessee Ragnar Relay I knocked out the longest leg (8.9 miles) and carried our team in the most distance (22 total miles) and did so with a great pace. And here I was a year later reading the feature article of ‘Towel Magazine’.

My folly was quite obvious: I didn’t train for this. I ran once a week. I didn’t eat healthy. I totally brushed the relay off. But why? I am better than this. When I get my mind set on something there is no stopping me. Take our June 2011 Vegas trip for example. As soon as January 1st, 2011 hit I was ready to roll...

“What’s that? We are going on vacation in six months? Terrific! See you at the gym.” Before my Spring 2011 Vegas trip with my lovely wife I would spend lots of time at the gym gearing up for that whole “click-wink” look at the pool. Man do I miss those muscles. They went great at the Treasure Island pool where you are guaranteed to hear “Party Rock Anthem” 6 times every hour. It was “Jersey Shore – Desert Edition”.

Anyways, the Vegas trip eventually ended and so did my training. In 5 short months my body would be called upon to run 15 miles in support of my co-workers and friends in the 2011 Ragnar Relay. With another goal in place I should be ready to hop up and hit the pavement. Right? Right?

Wrong. Something else happened instead: I got cocky. I thought I could just schmooze my way into this relay doing the bare minimum. “Pffft! It’s just a social run. I will hop out of the van, jog 5-6 miles, hop back in and enjoy a protein bar while everyone else marvels at my awesome and powerful calves.” WRONG-O. Weeks before the race my body was sending me signals. My poor training leading up to the race became apparent as I pushed quicker paces and longer distances too soon. I was starting to hurt a bit and I got frustrated. And on numerous occasions before the relay I told my colleagues and friends: “This is the last time I am going to run. This event will be my last.”

Boy, was I wrong.