Sick week of rest

Posted on April 6, 2015 by besaroboy

When I say that I really mean it, I really was sick. It seems the allergies caught up with me and I have been fighting a nasty head cold and sinus hell all week. I felt a lot better last night and this morning I thought I might go for a run. I even put on my compression shorts instead of regular underwear. But as the morning wore on I thought better of it and decided to take another day off, plus I needed to go food shopping and that is about all I could deal with! My hope is to try again tomorrow. Hopefully…

Consistently speedy

Posted on March 18, 2015 by besaroboy

I initially thought that I would just title this entry “consistency” as my run today was 9:19 (new 2015 PR!) and I thought my last two runs had been at a 9:20 pace. As it turned out once I looked at the Training Center program that records my times I actually had two 9:40 runs in between today and the two 9:20s. But I still feel that these runs were consistently “speedy” compared to what I have been running this year, so there you go.

I was really happy with today’s run. It was an injection day so my PR might be caused by the bump I usually get from the rebif injection. However I got there I am happy with my the effort. I didn’t kill myself at all and just felt fairly comfortable with my pace and breathing. Better yet I don’t feel tired now (three hours later) at all which inspires me to run on days I have to play music (which I have been avoiding as my focus just isn’t really there). Last night I played for two hours with the big band after a four mile run and had no real problems. My plan is to still do shorter runs on my music days so I can see how that goes. I think it will be fine.

My heart rate monitor band is worn out. I can get it to stay in place if I stretch it to its limit, but the problem is that it loosens as I run. Today it ended up around my belly which explains the 59 BPM I registered on mile four. But on the miles it was actually in place I did really well. Even at the fast pace my HR was right around 144-148 BPM, and my final mile came in at 153. But I have a plan for its continued use, a safety pin! I have thought about this literally for months and never implemented it. If I do nothing else today I have at least pinned my HR strap into place! We’ll see how long this lasts or maybe I’ll try to get a new one if they are even made (my Garmin is pretty old, five years?)

Less sick, more quick

Posted on March 14, 2015 by besaroboy

A day after my surprising run I went out and did it again. I still felt a bit under the weather, but I did feel a bit better. So I did the same basic run with one exception I was five seconds faster overall, same 9:20 pace. I wasn’t really trying to go as fast I did, but once I was right on track after a couple of miles I was pushing it to keep up with the pace.

I am feeling like I have made improvements in the shorter faster runs. I still haven’t managed a long slow run in long time but I am feeling one coming. I thought about adding one in this week but I am already aver 20 miles for the week and this weekend is supposed to be drenching wet so I think I will wait until next week for that. I have also felt the pull of some speed work at the track,probably have to get some of that in as well!

Sick and quick

Posted on March 12, 2015 by besaroboy

I am a huge proponent of the concept of listening to your body. If your body says don’t do something you probably shouldn’t. This goes against the nike logic of “just do it” and listening to your body has the potential to keep one from doing what they should and want to do. Our bodies and minds should be the best indicator of whether or not we should or can do something. Our bodies and minds should know better about most things than any doctor, real or googled. If only we’d just listen.

So today I woke up from a crumby night’s sleep after an evening when I overate late with the feeling of a cold’s onset squeezing my head like a dog’s squeaky toy. I hadn’t run yesterday and I didn’t want to start falling into the pattern that I have been of late of missing several days, then weeks, then… in a row. So against my better judgement, with my body saying don’t run and head throbbing from sinus pressure, I geared up and walked out the door to hit the streets. How does this jive with my emphasis on listening to my body? Doesn’t. At all. Obviously the decision to run was a blatant slap in the face of my exercise/health philosophy. But my desire to run had won out. Valid mind and body arguments to take it easy be damned! So I decided to embrace the fool-hardy nature of pushing my body and just go with it. What the hell, a slow sloggy run would at least amount to something good. If I took it easy on my run, then maybe the destruction I would wrought wouldn’t be so bad. I had some good arguments in mind as I took those first initial steps along my route.

The first thing I should say is that it was a beautiful day out. The kind of day that has no place in the Pacific NW in early March. The kind of day that we and the region will be paying for this summer when the droughts hit from no winter rain/snow. But for the moment (and aren’t we all supposed to live in the moment? Who cares if it rocks right now?) So embracing the now and ignoring the future I relished the warmth and soon stripped off my jacket after the first mile or so. My pace at the start of the run felt ok. Nothing great but it certainly didn’t feel “sloggy” (whatever that is?) I took a peak at my watch and it said I was clipping along at 9:15 pace! WTF? I am supposed to feel crappy. Why am I moving so well? I thought it was an anomaly, perhaps brought on by the slight downward slope into East Moreland. Then my first mile past and I got notice from the watch that I had done it at 9:36. Huh? Second mile came through even quicker as I was now embracing my quickness rather than a potential bonk, 9:18. Damn, I was cooking, so I just kept it up. Third mile – 9:18 again. Consistency seemed to now be the word of the day. Great, but my fourth mile was coming up, a normally slower paced portion of my normal route due to some twists and turns, exhaustion and unaware students at reed. All I had to do was keep it up until the hill out of the reed campus and up to Woodstock. I had decided that would walk that as I have been prone to do of late. I hit the hill portion with a few tenths to go before I hit a mile marker to check my pace and what did I see?

9:24.

Killer.

After the walk up the hill I just had to crush the final mile. The first portion of it was up hill and the watch said I was on track for an 11 minute mile. While I would certainly come in under 10 (first time in awhile) I really wanted better, so I pushed it. It didn’t take long before my avg pace dipped below 10, then below 9:30. And as I made my way through Woodstock Park and the fifth mile clocked I was at 9:14. Wow. The last quarter mile back to the house dropped me even further overall as I managed a 8:21 pace (didn’t seem like I was trying that hard, I just mostly wanted to get home). Overall for the day, a 2015 PR on 10k(ish) of 48:18 with an avg pace of 9:20.

All I have to say is that today my mind and body listened to me instead of the other way around. I had no idea I was speaking so loudly.

A break, a return, a wall

Posted on March 10, 2015 by besaroboy

Soon after I was so excited about running all the sub 10’s in a row and hovering and even surpassing 9:30 consecutively I guess it was time for my psyche to take another break. Not a long one, but just over two weeks. And enough to crush my physicality gains. But that’s ok, I am used to coming back! And overall that is what I have done. Looking at my training center program I see I have run 7 out of the last 8 days. Many of them have been shorter runs and all of them have been slower than 10 min miles, but they felt good for the most part. Several of them have been a challenge to get through, but I managed with the exception of one.

First a break, then another return but in the middle of all this was “the wall”. On Sunday I decided to go for a run against my better judgement. I had rehearsal that night, I hadn’t really eaten the day before and I was an emotional wreck (big part of the reason for all the running.) About 2.5 miles in I could not go any further. No energy at all (ummm yeah, no food no sleep idiot). I could barely walk home. I tried to run again a couple of times and made it about a block before I just had to stop. This was the first time for me hitting that “wall” that runners talk about so much. in all my 60 mile a week marathon training days I never got there (close though with hallucinations!) like this. Just dead on my feet. And the feeling lasted for the rest of the day too. I ended up getting somewhat lucky as the rehearsal was cancelled after a two hour band meeting. But at least I didn’t have to play! Such a weird feeling.

I got a call yesterday from the university that is doing the exercise ms study that I participated in last fall, this will be the second round (I think it is three total trials) of wearing the step tracker for a week. The first time I didn’t run at all and was very sedentary. This next week should be different if I keep the running up which I have the best laid plans to do so.

One other thing. Several years ago I got into drinking green shakes which were comprised of spinach, bananas and yoghurt as a base and then a variety of other seasonal fruits. I loved them. They made me feel great and gave me a large boost of energy whenever I had them. I would have at least one a day, sometimes more. They look terrible especially when berries get mixed in with the spinach, yoghurt base, kind of a purplish grey. But are they ever good. So I stopped cause I think the seasonal fruits at one point were no longer any good. And I think I got lazy and the mess pissed off the household (though I always thought I was being careful when I made them.) So point, please. I decided that I need to add some decent foods to my diet and I have come to terms with frozen fruits! So away I go! Green drinks are back on the menu!

9:22 (need I say more)

Posted on February 10, 2015 by besaroboy

I guess I could seeing as this is my blog and there is supposed to be more than a entry title. Today I managed to complete my 5+ mile run at a 9:22 avg. This is the fastest I have run my regular route this year, feels pretty darn good. I have been so happy with my running these last several weeks, its pretty encouraging, now to make the tight red shirt look a little better. So far it does fine under my jacket, but today I had to tie the jacket round my waist. Not really a pretty sight! I don’t know that I’ll ever actually get to “pretty” but 15-20 pounds from where I am right now will look a lot better! For me the extra weight I am carrying around makes my speed increase even more impressive (to me). It certainly has been an encouragement.

I am thinking the next challenge I face will be increasing my mileage a bit. The five milers are feeling somewhat easy. Perhaps I should get back to doing a longer lower run like I used to do quite regularly. It would certainly help me increase my miles in terms of a weekly running amount and it could allow me to gracefully and purposely break the string of sub 10s before I do it myself on an exhausted run.

Chilly sub-10

Posted on January 31, 2015 by besaroboy

Funny thing about today’s run was that I have become so focussed on running faster than 10 minute miles that when I felt a bit lethargic this morning the fear of not being able to run under 10s almost kept me home. How freakin’ ridiculous is that? Add on 32 degrees and I am very surprised to be writing in the blog today. But I managed to get myself out the door. Mostly it was a recognition that if I didn’t go now that I might not later in the day despite the promised 20-25 degree increase in temp. If I had sat around I would have eaten lunch and more than likely that would have been it. So in many ways I had no choice but to try for another sub 10 run. Actually I told myself that it really didn’t matter and that I could look past the stats and take the good I would get from a run at any pace. My first mile seemed really slow. I just felt like I was plodding along. But in reality I was right on track and managed a 9:50 or so. Once I realized that the rest of the run fell into place. I had forgotten to take a half an aspirin before the run and I was feeling a little tight in the chest (all in the head I believe) and my lungs were feeling somewhat congesty. But all went well. The run felt like it was a tough one that required a pretty substantial amount of effort and I feel it.

The bottoms of my feet have been feeling angry at me for starting running regularly again. Today I was thinking maybe I should change out my insert especially since they gave me two sets with the shoes, but I don’t think it has been that long since I got the new shoes. I just don’t think the new models of Altras are as comfy as the last ones I had. Story of my life, new and improved is usually anything but.

Picking up the pace

Posted on January 28, 2015 by besaroboy

I hadn’t intended to be writing about increasing my pace but after my fourth sub 10 minute mile (three days in a row too) run I guess I don’t really have a choice! The first time I was like oh look, 9:50! The second day I surprised myself again. The third day I was efforting the sub 10s and today I pushed through some tired legs and busted out 9:30 over four miles. It is feeling good to see an improvement in my conditioning, now I just need to keep it up which I am feeling like I will. The desire to loose some pounds is too great! Running will be a big part of that, all I really need to add to that (or subtract as the case might be) is stopping eating at night which I have sort of been doing though failure has its way of losing out to the munchies.

Last week I took off from running cause I had that pinched back thing again. This time it didn’t seem too bad (though it still hurts and I am slow in the morning). The first couple of days after it happened I took some pain pills my doc prescribed (vimovo) but then migrated to acetaminophen, but only for a couple of days. I also took advantage of my medical MJ to enjoy/use some indica which also helped out I think.

I don’t think I want o push the pace much more than 9:30. Right now it feels like a good balance of effort and conservative running so I think I will stick to it. Slower will be ok, but faster no, not for now.

Third run in a row

Posted on January 5, 2015 by besaroboy

I wanted to write yesterday and title my post Secondi. But even though the run happened the post didn’t. Thirdi didn’t sound so great, so you get what you get.

Today was actually somewhat warm – 52. I layered up cause it felt cold and quickly began to take off layers. My thighs were a bit sore but I pushed through it. I Might try some foam rolling tonight though it is the fronts of my thighs which are harder for me to roll as well. Still, anything is better than nothing! I’ve gone on and on about the benefits of running four days in a row to kick-start a return to running. I probably will run tomorrow to make the four, but I make no promises. My pace today was just over 10:30 so nothing great, but not so bad either.

As I approached the big hill out of the reed campus there was someone walking ahead of me. I had been planning to walk the entire hill but I didn’t want to freak out the guy so I decided to keep running past him and made it up most of the hill before I decided to walk the last 20 or so yards. Overall the run felt really good.

New year, time to run

Posted on January 3, 2015 by besaroboy

First off I just noticed that none of the posts I made this fall/winter have actually been published. They were sitting in drafts but they only had the first sentence. What’s up WP? Hopefully this one will find its way to the Internet and my reader(s?).

In what has become the main consistency in my running, it is time to get back into running again. I am feeling rather large at the moment weighing in at 190+ or so. When I was at my fighting weight (175) I was feeling a little thin especially when it came to rebif injections. The extra flab has made the shots easier (less painful, easier to absorb) and I have really liked that, however it is extra flab and I don’t like that! Clothes have been a bit tight and it is time for that to be reversed, Running on a regular basis is a huge part of that, also cutting out eating at night (nothing after 7 seems to works really well for me).

I am just gonna scrawl some quick notes as I need to get on putting christmas decorations away. I have stopped taking Ibuprofen and Acitominifen (sp?) when I take my shots. Hasn’t seemed to make a difference not taking one of each with each injection. Perhaps my body has normalized around the rebif as I don’t get any flu-like symptom/headaches. I feel good about not stressing my liver as much. New insurance this year under the ACA. My healthnet policy I had last year was cancelled by healthnet as they don’t want to participate in the ACA and instead want to continue the health care crisis. Must be more profitable for them! But my new policy will work really well for us. Last year I took on a platinum plan in order to get a low max out of pocket expense so I could afford the rebif. In talking with the mslifelines (the pharmaceutical company that makes rebif, actually phizer) I found out about there plans to help people afford the meds which will cover the co-pay costs for under-insured peoples. This allows me to get a reasonable silver plan and will save me about 50% each month, decent! In addition, with mslifelines covering the copays, it actually counts as if I were paying towards my max out of pocket which once I hit it, all prescriptions will be free. Extra decent! In other meds news I am opting out of the med marijuana program this year as it costs $200 and pot will be legal come July in OR.

Ok, time for decoration moving.