Running Aimlessly Around the Countryside

For the first time in about 2 years single digit temps (Farenheit) hit where I live in the US Midwest. My employer opened a new fitness center (and outdoor track!) on our campus at the beginning of 2013, so it's been interesting to see who waits in line for the treadmills and who heads outside. I don't hate the treadmill,  I just like being outside and getting fresh air. Today it was 9 F when I headed out the door of the fitness center. As part of the opening festivities, today was planned to be "Pack the Track" day, but that was changed when the mercury dipped. I decided to stay on the track today instead of playing tag with the city stoplights, and was able to have the track all to myself. The medium wind made it a little cold on my face for the first half mile or so, but after that I was very comfortable. When I headed back in, I got to spend my stretching time being called "dedicated", "crazy", and "mental". I just tell people i...

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. This year, as we have for the past 4 years, my family got up on Thanksgiving morning to join with a few thousand others (17k this year) to participate in our local Drumstick Dash. The proceeds from this race go to a local mission, so that is a definite plus to participating. I'm thankful anytime the entire family willingly does anything together, but especially when it's running. We split up at the start, with the boys doing the 4.6 mile route (I know, weird distance) while the girls did the 2.5. I didn't have a timed number, but I slipped into the coral with my son who did. I've just gotten my training started up again after another bought with nagging injuries and he hadn't run since cross country season ended, so we weren't going to run too hard. We ran comfortably hard and pulled each other along for the first 4 miles, being satisfied with our constantly increasing pace. At the 4 mile marker I got stuck behind a...

Thirty years ago, I was just a youngster who wanted to do everything, all sports, playing music, etc. If I enjoyed doing it, it was game. Then one early summer day in 1981 while heading home from a church work project, something unexpected happened; the motor scooter I was driving made contact with rear of an AMC Gremlin (see photo). In the collision, the result was very clear - the moped and I lost...big time. After surgery and a few days in the hospital, I surrendered a summer of my life to sitting on my back side with my left leg extended in a cast. The cast was hiding 2 screws and 18 staples. My right leg was blessed with 11 stitches from the cut the license plate inflicted. As someone who was small and scrawny (see photo), it was amazing how much muscle atrophy could occur in just 4 weeks. By the time the cast came off, my left leg was noticeably smaller than my right. I spent the next 2 years trying to continue with the full list of activities, but things were more diff...

It's been a while since I've been here. I've been stuck on a single post for a number of months, just unable to get it how I want it. In the midst of that, I've stopped creating any other posts. My training is going really well this year, so I'm going to take a shot at getting back to this. Father's day this year was very special. I was given a couple small gifts (and none of them were neck ties). What I got was something I have been wanting for quite a while. The whole family went for a run together. We do start out at the same time every so often, but rarely do we run together as a group. And on Father's Day 2012, WE ALL RAN TOGETHER. We left home and stayed together for the first 3.5 miles, at which point Jil and Anna peeled off. Will and I continued on, although it took a little while for Will to break out what I'll call "Needs a Snicker" mode. He was just grumpy and whiny until he settled in around 5 miles. The two of us just cruised a...

Lately everyone in the family has been training. I've been running more and my knee seems to be holding up. My wife and her running partners are continuing with her routine. My daughter has rediscovered some of the joy of running while cross training during the swimming off season. And my son has been training with his middle school cross country team. So what happens? As soon as I am out of town for a business trip the rest of the family decide to go racing. They found a local race with the choice of a 5k and a 10k, and the kids lined up friends to run with. My daughter and her friend did the 10k, with everyone else in the 5k. I wasn't there, but wish I had been. My daughter and her friend ran together until close to the end and went 1-2 in their age group. My wife set a 50 second PR and placed 2nd in her age group. Then to top things off, my 12 year old son went 20:49, a 2 minute PR, 1st in his age group, and 5th OVERALL! I'm really bummed that I wasn't there, but...

Between all of this years travels (both business and family), track meets, baseball games, and wet weather I haven't been on my bike a lot, much less gone on a group ride. That's been pretty disappointing since Will's swim schedule lined up perfectly to remove any conflicts from that angle. Finally last week we got the chance to get out. I have to admit I was a little nervous. With the little of riding I have done, I was worried about my ability to stay with the group for 26 miles and with Will having ridden even less, I was more concerned with him. Last year he struggled to find his form on the shorter, slower ride and the first ride we did together a couple weeks ago showed some of the same signs. I had hope because our most recent ride left him strong and ready for more, not to mention how he dusted me on the hills. I think he may have been a little nervous as well. We showed up at the ride with plenty of time to get a parking space, which isn't always easy with 20...

Note: This post was drafted this while I was travelling 5 weeks ago. My blogging continues to mirror my  activity. Sporadic. After returning from my late March/early April travels, the weather improved and I was feeling good so I hit the roads...probably more than I should have. By the last week of April I had logged a 20 mile week and was en-route to another when I noticed a limp as I walked from the parking lot to my office in the morning. My knee had been bothering some throughout the month, but the limp was finally the sign that I needed to react. I promised myself at the beginning of the year that would listen to my body, so it was time to fulfill that promise. Did I do the right thing? Yes and No. Yes; I listened to my body and stopped. No; for a week I did NOTHING! After that I got back with the program, and did something. Not running, but something. I made it a point to get out on my road bike. I've been feeling good and am trying to slowly build up the length of my rid...