Gettin' by....

I was a little nervous about this week. I sometimes get a bit fidgety if I know I'm going to have a rough week ahead of me. Chris has been on vacation this week, so I have had to work a bit more than I usually work. The work part of the week wasn't so much of an issue, but we also have my brother-in-law (who is 12) and niece (10 years old) here this week, so I thought it would be tough to get in my runs for the week. Well, everything has worked out fine. It's Friday, I feel fresh and strong, and I was able to get in a 7 miler on Tuesday and a 9 miler yesterday. I had a shorter day yesterday, and we were able to take the kids over to a local pool by my workplace. Once we got home, we were able to watch "Gameplan" and even got to watch a little bit of the Lakers vs. Celtics, last night. So now all I have to do is a 5 miler tomorrow, and a 12 miler on Sunday with Ben. My cousin and his family is coming up from Ft. Lauderdale today, and he has just recently started to get into running. Maybe he will accompany me on the 5 miler tomorrow... if he is up to it.
One of the reasons that I enjoy running so much is that I basically can eat whatever I want. I'm not saying this to brag in any way, but when you run as much miles as I am running... you really have to eat to keep your weight stable. The bad thing for me is that my stomach is very sensitive... actually it is quite unstable!!! So, for me I am trying to really get my nutrition down to the point that I am eating good food for my body, but at the same time not having Tofu for dinner... I would just strangle myself if I had to do that. So, that is what I am trying to figure out.... what is right for me? What can my body handle? What can I eat that will keep me healthy, but sane?
Any thoughts????

I need a Red Bull!!

Today starts my formal training for Chicago. As usual, I run on Tuesdays, but I usually decide to run in the morning vs. the evening, based on if I can wake up early enough Tuesday morning. For me to run, I have to get up by 4:30-4:45 am. It usually takes me 5-10 min. to get ready to go, and I usually run for at least 1 hour. I don't set an alarm, because, as I said in earlier posts, I just don't want to turn running into a chore. If I wake up, I go.... if I don't, I'll just have to run at night. Well, my daughter woke up in the middle of the night and crawled into our bed, so I couldn't sleep great after that. That was my sign to get up and go.
So, I did a 7 mile run + 10 x 100 meter sprints at the end. During the run, I was shocked to see two ladies that were walking around 5:30 am. It was nice to have a little company, even though you only see them for like a second or two. As I got to mile 3 or so, I started to envision the race and running with all those people. So cool... I hope I get to the starting line to really experience it. The run went great, and my body felt very good afterwards. I showered up and felt great on my way to work. Well, I'm not sure what has happened since then (maybe because I've now been up for 10 hours and it's 1 pm), but now I feel blah!!! My eyes are shutting down, and I thought I would feel better after lunch, but I am still yawwwwning!!!! Well... the good news is that I should be home by 4:00 pm. Ok... gotta go... my first patient after lunch is here.

So Here's The Plan....

I had a great run this morning. Ben, my new training buddy, met me at my house at 6 am. We drove over to the Suncoast Trail and went out on a long run. We completed 14 miles, and it was a very good run for me. I'm not sure if the weather was better than usual or what, but I was able to keep my heart rate down for much of the run. Even more importantly, I was able to keep my own pace, and even though Ben is much faster than I am, he allowed me to keep the pace, which kept me quite comfortable. The most beneficial thing about it is that he gave me so many good tips on marathoning and endurance sports on a whole. As much as you think you know, you can always learn off of someone's good fortune or mistakes of what they have done. I am very grateful for what he told me today. The good thing is that he told me about what he does with his marathoning training, and what he really focuses on during his training. I guess the really good thing is that he thinks that the program I am going to use is very good, and that my times should significantly go down based on the program. So... here is my plan for the next 4 months:
I will start my marathon program this upcoming week. It will start out at 32 miles/week, and will peak at 55 miles/week. I might add a couple of miles to my program, or bring up the intensity a little bit on my long runs if my body feels up to it. During the 18 week program, I will try to do 2 races (hopefully a half-marathon,10k, or 15k) to gauge where I am at with my training. Also, I am still quite new to races, and I want to feel much more comfortable with getting into "race" mode.

My main goal as always is to stay injury-free, and be able to run Chicago.... that is the most important thing. I want to be able to experience what it feels like to run with 35,000+ people in the same race. Gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.

Second goal is to finish the marathon, with running/jogging the whole way. I want to demonstrate mental toughness, and run the whole way... not necessarily fast, but just continue to move... Ben told me today that usually once you stop... you're done. That is what I felt like at the Ft. Lauderdale race when I stopped... you just can't get back into the swing of things.

Third goal is to run a smart race....meaning that I can adjust my pace based on the weather conditions for that day, etc. I can't necessarily say that I have a specific goal pace yet ( I think I will wait for another month or two, when I do a time trial or race, and then I will figure it out from there), but I need to run smart.

I will always have fun. So that is not a goal. Running has always been fun for me, and my competitive spirit is what drives me to try to put together a good performance. Running keeps me focused and goal driven, which helps me with everyday life. When it stops helping me with staying focused and is no longer fun, I will stop it... Hasn't even come close to that. I love to run, and I am so excited to start my training.
For me, it is not only the actual race that I enjoy, but it is the journey and training it takes to get there.
As always, Thank you Jesus that you have blessed me with two legs that allow me to run, and have fun!!!

I got a "running" buddy!!!!!

This morning, I had no clue on to what pace I was going to run. I knew I wanted to run at least 10 miles, but with how hot it has been, I didn't know if I really wanted to run too hard. I didn't want to plop down somewhere on the trail... but I didn't want to run too slow. Anyways, I ended up going out fairly slow for the 1st 2 miles, and then I started to pick up the pace a bit. I decided to try to keep my pace around 8 min/mile or lower, and just see how long I could keep it up.... it's weird because at some points during the run, you feel pretty tired, and then it's like your body goes into another gear, and you feel good again. At the 5th mile, I had to take a potty break, and since I didn't bring any water with me, I decided to take a water break at that time also. I also decided to change my Ipod playlist.... so who knows... it could've been a 10 minute break or so. But whatever... I was able to get back into the swing of things within a 1/4 mile. So, basically I was able to run 8 miles under 8:00/mile with the rough heat. I was extremely happy with my run. The last mile was a little tough, and I could feel myself slowing down (I think due to dehydration), but I just did what my body told me... for me, unless it's a race, I'm not pushing the issue. So, I get to the 10th mile, which was my 8th mile of running hard, and then I went down to a very slow pace to start cooling down. All of a sudden, I sense someone sneak up right by me, and it startled me a bit... but the person started to run right next to me, and started to talk... I couldn't hear a word he was saying, so I took off my headphones. He basically introduced himself as "Ben", and he is from New Zealand. Apparently, he is visiting his brother for a few months here, and he is an avid runner. So we ended up running together for another 1 1/2 miles, and right before he came up to me, I was pretty exhausted..... once we started talking, I felt fine... I guess it took my mind off of my fatigue. So anyways, he just finished his 3rd marathon 1 month ago, and his time???? 3:00:08... WOW!!!!!! So, I told him that he was way above my league... and asked him if he was sure he wanted to run with me. He told me that he is not used to this heat and humidity, as New Zealand is nothing like this, so he has been struggling and needs to run a lot slower... so that sounds good to me!!!! I would love to learn off a runner that is that fast!!! He has run 2 other marathons, and finished both in 3:00: 48, and 3:00: 52.... so he wants to break 3 hrs... He has also completed a full Ironman, (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run). He is doing a 5k race this Saturday, and we decided to meet up to run on Sunday... we will probably run around 12-14 miles. I will take him on the Suncoast Trail, so he can see different areas to run around here. So, I am excited... always nice to have someone to talk to every once in a while when running. I like my alone time, but I also enjoy times when you can chat about stuff with people. Especially people you don't know... I am shy, but once we get in a conversation, I won't stop....
So... my plans for this weekend are to run 5 miles on Saturday... whenever, definitely not too early, and then do the big run on Sunday with Ben.
Should be fun....

BTW, here is my run from today.

Trying to fight it off...

This whole week, I have felt like garbage... just haven't been able to completely get over that cold I was dealing with last week. Sometimes I feel right, sometimes I feel weak, and it has obviously affected my running. I'm usually a morning runner, but because of the way I have felt, I have not been able to get myself out of bed to run.... by the end of the day I'm usually better, and I will go out and just test my body out. As usual, running makes me feel better, and I end up doing more miles than initially projected. So... here are my runs for the week...
Tuesday Run: Easy effort - 7 miles
Friday Run: 10 miles (Felt like an eternity): 10 miles
Saturday Run: 10 miles (Next to the clinic)
I decided to switch it up this weekend, and run next to the clinic, since I had a meeting this morning there. It helped to have different scenery this morning, and I ran fairly slow, but it was my best run for the week.
So, I have been able to run 27 miles so far this week... hopefully tomorrow, I can finish off the week with a 3-5 mile easy run... take off Monday, and start again on Tuesday.

Even though this hasn't been a great running week, it has been a great week overall. Adryana just finished preschool. It has really been a monumental week for us, because we realize that our little girl is getting bigger and bigger. Adryana is also doing swim classes, and really starting to overcome her fear of the water.... very proud of her.
We also had family come in town last week and spend 4 days with us over the Memorial Day weekend. We had a good time with them.... always nice to be around family. I only have 1 week left before I officially start my training for Chicago. I am praying for good health throughout my training cycle. Let's see how it goes.....

Push the limits.... a little

This is my run from this morning; it started out great and ended.... ok, I guess??? My body still hasn't gotten used to the heat yet, but it is starting to slowly adapt to it. One thing that I tend to do is use a heart rate monitor to keep track of how my body and my heart is working on a given day. As you have noticed, I have been really happy with how my body has been performing at these faster paces while keeping my heart rate in check. Well, those days are over... at least for now. The heat and humidity has made my heart rate climb up like it was at this time last year... its just that my speeds are about 1 minute/mile faster than last year. So today I decided to do just run my long run pace that I have been running before the weather got disgustingly hot like it is now. For me, that is at around a 9:00 pace for the first 7 miles, and then at an 8:20/mile for the last 5 miles. I just turned my Garmin screen to not show my heart rate... and I just wanted to see what happened. I periodically checked it during the 1st 7 miles... and it was in the mid-high 160's... which was fine with me. By time I finished the first 7 miles, I was on the Suncoast Trail, and it was time to pick up the pace. I knew I was hydrated well, and ready to give it a shot.... and the first 2-3 miles at the new pace felt pretty good... so I thought it was going to be a walk in the park for the last 2 miles. Once I got to the end of the Suncoast Trail, I have to open a gate to get back to where my house is... and it was amazing with me just stopping to open the gate, and attempting to start again was so difficult. The last two miles were a bear!!! It really took a lot of focus and concentration to keep my pace up, and maybe I could've pulled out another mile if I desperately needed to, but I'm glad I didn't. After looking at my watch when I finished, I saw that my HR hovered around the mid-high 180's for the last 3-4 miles... whoa!! But it's all good... I guess there are few things I might do different next time.... like start a little earlier, but overall I think I handled it quite well. The one thing that brought a little concern to me today was that last mile reminded me of the last couple of miles of the marathons that I have done so far... not too pretty... but this time around the last mile was the fastest... still felt like crap... but hey, I finished strong, so its all good!!!!

In 10 days, I officially start my training program for the Chicago Marathon. My goal is to run a strong marathon. All the way!!! I want to run the whole way.. no walking... just for water and fluids... but not because I'm just tired and beat. I have some time goals, but I won't share those just yet... I think the harder goal is to be able to run the whole way... cramps, no cramps... doesn't matter... just run a smart race. This weather that we are dealing with here can only help in the whole process. My goal is to run the paces I am running now, but with my heart rate about 8-10 beats lower than what it is now by the end of the training period.

Puts things into perspective....

That is the email message I got from Chris about 2 hours ago. He was referring to this. Steven Curtis Chapman, a very popular Christian recording artist, had a tragic family accident yesterday, in which his 5 year old daughter was struck by a SUV in their driveway and was killed. It is obviously a very tragic event, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

When I initially started this blog, my intent was to write about my running endeavors and rehab as it pertains to running. It has been close to 8 months since starting it, and the focus of the blog has turned more to running, instead of rehab, based on my frequent reader's request... Very few times I have talked about my wife, kids, etc. but every once in a while, I just have to say something about them, because they are so important to me. This blog post will not pertain to much about running, so if that's what you came here for... don't leave!!! Just read on...

Right now, the economy stinks, gas prices are high, homes are foreclosing all over, and jobs are being lost left and right... and I am not discounting any of those things... because they are important... but if you put things into perspective, you can really realize how blessed we all are.

In 1997, about 4 months before I started PT school, a tragedy happened in my family. My cousin, Brian Runcie, was killed on his way into a club in Kentucky, where he just recently moved to. Brian and my older brother were extremely close, and did everything together. Brian got me my 1st job at TJ Maxx, he was my older brother's roomate in college for 4 years, they started their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd business together... basically he was like my older brother. Brian was also extremely brilliant. He was a computer genius and got his 1st "corporate job" with IBM in Kentucky, immediately after graduating from Florida A&M. Even though he was very grateful for his job, he was extremely lonely in Kentucky, because he had no family or friends there. One night, he was on the phone with his girlfriend, and said he was going to go out. The club he went to was in a storefront and after he parked his truck, he walked his way to the entrance of the club. On his way to the entrance, he looked to his right and saw a young teenager through a glass window stealing something at a convenience store. The teenager came out of the store, and the details are a little sketchy from here, but witnesses say he pulled out a gun and shot Brian in the center of his head. Brian was dead by time he got to the hospital. This was an extremely hard time for many of us in our family. After a time of serious grieving, I actually was able to put many things in perspective. I no longer looked at getting older as "Oh my, I'm getting older... this stinks" I am now so grateful for every birthday that comes my way. This situation that happened today with Steven Curtis Chapman's daughter has again made me look at the big picture on stuff that is really important. So, here is my reality check that I do sometimes if I start feeling sorry for myself or my situation:

Am I alive?

Do I have at least one family member or friend that I have the potential to confide in?

Did I have food within the last 48 hours?
If not, am I still alive?

At least a few times times a year, I tend to think about Brian, and wonder if he was alive, what would he be doing now? What company or companies would he have owned? Would he have kids? Would he have gotten married by now?

As much as my wife doesn't like when I talk about this, I realize that at any time, this could be my last day on this earth. It could also be one of my kids last day, or my wife, or any of my family members or friends.... I mean its gonna happen, right? I know... this is not something we want to address... but the truth is, you gotta live life!!! Thank God for your blessings.... don't leave anything on the table... take advantage of everything that comes your way, and make an impact in something.

To some of my co-workers, friends and family, I frequently come off as very impatient... wanting to do crazy things... now!!! People always say, "Greg, you have all the time in the world... you're young." But who says that my last days are not just around the corner? If you knew you were going to die in two months, would you do anything different? Would you reconcile a broken relationship with someone? Would you try to work harder, in order to set up a future for your kids? Or lay back on work a bit to spend more time with your family because you have been absent in major parts of their lives?

My point is that if you are reading this blog, I am assuming that you have been living for at least 4x as long as Maria Chapman... and her life has ended here on earth. Unfortunately, her time expired without her getting a chance to experience a lot of the things that we are experiencing.... don't wait... do it now!!!