Be patient – big increases can cause pain.

Saturday is “long run day” for me as it is for many runners.  That’s the day I push further than usual.  During the week I vary my miles from two to five depending on the day, but this time of year, on Saturday I could set out to do six, seven or eight miles.  The problem is now that the weather has started to at least resemble Spring (40 degrees is a start) I want to push further.  This past Saturday was a perfect example.  The training plan I’m following to get ready for a late May 10k called for eight miles on Saturday. I was on the road before 8:00AM and feeling good.  I went through downtown Royal Oak, past the coffee shops where early risers were reading their newspapers, past the grocery store where SUVs were already jockeying for parking spaces and past the golf course where small piles of snow were still visible in the shade of the bushes.  Four miles out I turned and started back but my mind was already telling me I should go further.  I felt good, the weather was clear and dry, and I had time.  As I got closer to home I was very tempted to add a mile on to the end of the run.  Or maybe go for ten.   But, I knew from articles in Runner’s World as well and from past personal experience that would be a mistake.  Whenever I increase my mileage by more that about ten percent in one week, my knees ache the next couple of days.  And as I get older the pain is worse and lasts longer.  So, as much as I wanted to press on and add mileage, I decided to listen to the experts (and my body) and stop after eight miles as planned. 

The next day when my knees were fine I was glad I had been patient.  Increasing mileage slowly over time is not always easy to do but it is good advice.       

Finally, dry roads!

It’s been a long, cold winter.  But that’s not really the problem for most runners.  Oh, sure, I’d prefer a nice sunny, 72 degrees but I don’t mind cold weather running either.  It’s the ICE and SNOW that’s the killer.  I can’t count the number of times this winter when I planned to run outside only to wake up to snow and ice covered roads.  As a younger runner I headed out into the white stuff without a second thought.  Now that I’m in the Masters division of the local races, I find myself being a lot more cautious of my footing on slippery roads.  That caution makes me change my running form and posture and that’s not good.  So, I’ve been logging a lot of my miles on the treadmill this winter.  Until Saturday.  At 6:00AM Saturday the roads were clear.  So I headed out for the best run in weeks.  And that crisp 30 degrees never felt so warm!   

Do it because you said so.

Don’t let yourself down.  If you tell yourself you’re going to do something, do it.  I run 4-5 days a week. I decide the night before if I’m going to run the next morning.  Then in the morning I don’t have to decide. If I said I was going to run, I run. Some mornings that’s easy but today it wasn’t.  I was up later than usual last night, had a busy day ahead of me today and there was new snow on the ground.  So this morning I was tempted to hit the alarm and catch a little more shuteye.  But, I had told myself last night I would run.  If I had told a friend I’d meet them for a run I wouldn’t have stayed in bed and let them down, so why let myself down?  So I chose to get up and run my four miles.  I admit the first one was a little harder than usual but after that I was glad to be running.  And the rest of the day went great.  It might not have gone so well if I felt guilty all day about letting myself down. 

It’s all about choices. 

Musical Memories

It’s funny how music can take your mind back to a specific time or place.  I didn’t have time to run this morning and it snowed this afternoon so I ran my 6 miles this evening on the treadmill.  I usually listen to my ipod on the treadmill but for some reason tonight I decided to turn on the radio.  The station it was on was playing songs for their “Saturday Night Dance Party”.  So, for the next 57 minutes (today was a slow pace day) I was at The Alibi in Mt. Pleasant, MI circa 1977-79 with ”Working at the Car Wash” and “I’m just a love machine” getting people to the dance floor.  The 6 miles flew by as I thought about those days 30 years ago sitting at the table laughing with my roommates Steve and Jeff and trying to get up the nerve to ask a girl to dance.   

I’d never want to go back to those days but I also hope I will never forget them. 

Hello world!

A friend of mine said anyone can write a blog, just write about something you’re passionate about.  I’m passionate about running.  And Life.  I figured Life encompasses a lot so that might translate into entries about my family, faith, work, friends, and more.

I’m not sure how often I’ll update this.  Probably weekly but if something seems interesting in between then I’ll try to update it more often.

I’m guessing that if you’re reading this you probably already know me. Maybe that’s not the case.  Maybe there really are people that just search for blogs on different topics and read them.  If that’s you then Hello.  Nice to meet you.  Feel free to add comments and get dialogue going.  I hope some of what I put on this site will make you think.  I also hope some of it will encourage you to start running or keep running.  It’s your choice.