well, i did a slow and easy 3 miles yesterday before playing 9 holes of gold and then today i did a short track workout of 15 x 100 and 20 x 40 yards. nice and easy just to get the legs stretched out and even did some pilates stuff afterwards. then some golf practice and errands and the day is over. had 4 hours of sleep last night and must find a better balance of being awake and getting some sleep. have probably averaged 4-5 hours a night for the last 6 weeks. is it age? who knows?
madd 5k tomorrow. need 4 miles for a 2800 mile year-missed 26 days off this year, one every two weeks on average. probably not enough. and now i am trying to decided between running long and slow or trying to do more races and look for some speed. one way i get to eat and one way i don't-ha.... and where does golf fit in?
anyone have the answers?
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
day off
no run today- could have and slogged through it but i have bigger fish to fry and need some rest- did practice golf today for several hours though and that was ok. will admit that a day without running doesn't quite seem complete though-
eagles and ravens win big!! good for them...
tomorrow's another day..................
eagles and ravens win big!! good for them...
tomorrow's another day..................
Saturday, December 27, 2008
short tease of a post and 2788 miles so far this year
no real time to write about all of the stuff i want to right now so will just throw out a little bit of what happened. ran a 3 mile time trial yesterday at the track with each lap faster than the lap before for 12 laps and then threw in a fast kicked last 100 to make it 5k. legs have been weary and i knew it wasn't the best of ideas or at least wouldn't give me a quick time, but i wanted to start getting back into some speed stuff. never actually had strong enough legs to really stride out, but at least all of it was faster than a day-to day-run effort. still, only some of it was really speedwork at the pace i was going and i only managed to get up to 85% heart rate effort at the end. am plenty strong though and that was a good sign.
today i paid the price for it- went out before gail and got in about 3 slow miles and then met up and headed north on the trail. two miles north i was toast for sure and the bricks in the wall were tumbling down. but i did what i had to do to get back home and gail kept going north. slowly and right leg painfully i managed to get back to our street and decided i would try and provide some moral support so i turned back north and went looking for gail. knowing tomorrow's run would be a lost cause anyway, i ran up about 1 1/2 miles to the new bridge and not seeing her figured she might have come home by west blvd and i might have missed her. either way i knew i was not going to be much help to her as the legs did not want to run anymore- at this point i was almost at 9 miles. so back home i trudged not very prettily along a very pretty trail. step by step closer and closer-- remember that line? and finally home and i raked some leaves just to wind down and get rid of whatever lactic acid may have built up.
and then off to look for new bookcases and some other stuff as we try to replace the flooded out furniture. some golf practice and food and the day is over. but have two things to do before i even think of sleep so off i go-
the question remains- how much rest does an old runner need? will re-think the
schedule tomorrow. how do i get the stride longer and the hip flexors better? what can i do to get the right quad better? is it time to go back to ART?
congrats to the wiz who finally got a win! for me it is Caps time anyway.
today i paid the price for it- went out before gail and got in about 3 slow miles and then met up and headed north on the trail. two miles north i was toast for sure and the bricks in the wall were tumbling down. but i did what i had to do to get back home and gail kept going north. slowly and right leg painfully i managed to get back to our street and decided i would try and provide some moral support so i turned back north and went looking for gail. knowing tomorrow's run would be a lost cause anyway, i ran up about 1 1/2 miles to the new bridge and not seeing her figured she might have come home by west blvd and i might have missed her. either way i knew i was not going to be much help to her as the legs did not want to run anymore- at this point i was almost at 9 miles. so back home i trudged not very prettily along a very pretty trail. step by step closer and closer-- remember that line? and finally home and i raked some leaves just to wind down and get rid of whatever lactic acid may have built up.
and then off to look for new bookcases and some other stuff as we try to replace the flooded out furniture. some golf practice and food and the day is over. but have two things to do before i even think of sleep so off i go-
the question remains- how much rest does an old runner need? will re-think the
schedule tomorrow. how do i get the stride longer and the hip flexors better? what can i do to get the right quad better? is it time to go back to ART?
congrats to the wiz who finally got a win! for me it is Caps time anyway.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
happy holidays everyone!
hope everyone has a great holiday and they get whatever it is they want- family, friends, and health are what really matter- the rest of it is "stuff", though some good stuff is always nice to get.
yesterday i ran 9 decent miles along the trail down to the 7 mile mark and then back on the east blvd loop. i added the loop around the houses down by the river and then past the collingwood museum on the way back and then the usual little extra down to the hill sign at the 3 mile marker just to make sure i had the distance i wanted and to jog it in a little. the rest of the day was spent dealing with xmas and the house. all in all an ok day.
today we were up and out of here early enough it seemed like it was still dark, though barley. drove up to the track and did our first workout getting ready for some spring runs and races hopefully. my calendar right now is all over the place and i will need to make up my mind at some point. if i keep registering for things i guess the choice will be made huh?
at the track i tried to get my right leg more involved again. there's so much stuff going on here day to day that it is hard to keep up the really nice routine i had in oxford when i was running 57 miles a week and stretching really regularly. so the right leg has suffered some and it also misses running 70% of all my running on grass or dirt trails. but we did a decent enough workout to start with and i coached gail through her workout like i should have a coach get me through my own. she did a nice workout of 400's while i mixed up 100, 200 and 400's. not the perfect way to start, but good for my head and with 45 miles in the last 5 days, i wasn't really running on fresh legs. it takes so much longer to get the same mileage in as when i was younger and faster. fortunately my knees have held even if my hip flexors haven't done as well.
and now onto the holidays. always fun to run on xmas morning when the world is so friendly. a side note- was sorry to see that jim hage's column in the post has ended. jim has always been one of the good guys and as friendly as they come. shame the post needs the space for whatever else as thousands of runners read jim's articles. maybe he can blog it now instead or the post could offer him an online column. will see i guess- ho ho ho everybody!
yesterday i ran 9 decent miles along the trail down to the 7 mile mark and then back on the east blvd loop. i added the loop around the houses down by the river and then past the collingwood museum on the way back and then the usual little extra down to the hill sign at the 3 mile marker just to make sure i had the distance i wanted and to jog it in a little. the rest of the day was spent dealing with xmas and the house. all in all an ok day.
today we were up and out of here early enough it seemed like it was still dark, though barley. drove up to the track and did our first workout getting ready for some spring runs and races hopefully. my calendar right now is all over the place and i will need to make up my mind at some point. if i keep registering for things i guess the choice will be made huh?
at the track i tried to get my right leg more involved again. there's so much stuff going on here day to day that it is hard to keep up the really nice routine i had in oxford when i was running 57 miles a week and stretching really regularly. so the right leg has suffered some and it also misses running 70% of all my running on grass or dirt trails. but we did a decent enough workout to start with and i coached gail through her workout like i should have a coach get me through my own. she did a nice workout of 400's while i mixed up 100, 200 and 400's. not the perfect way to start, but good for my head and with 45 miles in the last 5 days, i wasn't really running on fresh legs. it takes so much longer to get the same mileage in as when i was younger and faster. fortunately my knees have held even if my hip flexors haven't done as well.
and now onto the holidays. always fun to run on xmas morning when the world is so friendly. a side note- was sorry to see that jim hage's column in the post has ended. jim has always been one of the good guys and as friendly as they come. shame the post needs the space for whatever else as thousands of runners read jim's articles. maybe he can blog it now instead or the post could offer him an online column. will see i guess- ho ho ho everybody!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
pretty cold and windy
ran a short 5 today after two decently long days in a row. it was probably about 16degrees wind chill when i ran, but it was pretty out and not too bad except for the iced over little balls of something on the trail that you don't want to step on. that said the run was ok despite somewhat tired legs. and back at home i climbed on the bike and rode another 26 to finish today's exercise. track and lift tomorrow.
didn't go to the range today and used my makeshift set up in the back to hit 100 24 yard pitch shots and some shorter chips. did some practice drill stuff full swings and called it an outside day. then putted some inside using my putting arc.
and then back to dealing with xmas and shopping and phone calls about orders, etc. i cannot seem to break out of this mood i am in and need to. but i did survive the lady who ran a stop sign and just missed me and then another driver 15 minutes later who decided to not turn left from the left turn only lane. whine, whine, whine i know.
oh well...........
didn't go to the range today and used my makeshift set up in the back to hit 100 24 yard pitch shots and some shorter chips. did some practice drill stuff full swings and called it an outside day. then putted some inside using my putting arc.
and then back to dealing with xmas and shopping and phone calls about orders, etc. i cannot seem to break out of this mood i am in and need to. but i did survive the lady who ran a stop sign and just missed me and then another driver 15 minutes later who decided to not turn left from the left turn only lane. whine, whine, whine i know.
oh well...........
Sunday, December 21, 2008
1st day of winter
for another 85 seconds or so it is the first day of winter and you may have noticed the sun went down just a bit later. at 5pm at the driving range it was still not quite dark. it was very cold however and practice was much shorter than usual.
backing up to this morning i was out later than usual due to the horrible weather and simply reversed the sunday newspaper and house stuff cycle to get that done first. then when it looked like the cold rain had stopped i went out. don't ever mind running in rain, but i figured the ground would be icy as the cars and wires were all frosted over. Ha! about 6 minutes into the run the sky went really gray and hail started beating down on me and bouncing off of the wooden bridges. always do enjoy the total empathy everyone else out running has for each other runner, but we all agreed it was still nice to be out.
gail came out later and eventually we ran into each other and then i ran her back towards the house and went back out for some more hill striders. two miles of those and then ran into an old friend while i was cooling down of sorts and ran with her towards her house and got 2 more miles in and then turned back home so a 6 mile run was suddenly about 10 with about 7 of some quality. stretching seems to have helped the quad a bit and will keep at it.
another week over- totals for the year so far are 2744 miles-about 54 a week; have missed 25 days so far. will miss two more or so due to the holidays and a race coming up. would need to run a little more than 8 a day to hit 2800, but it doesn't really matter so will keep to the schedule and see what happens. high week was 76 back in england and had 11 weeks over 60 miles. not a bad year. more to come i hope. one more 5k to run on new year's eve's day.
backing up to this morning i was out later than usual due to the horrible weather and simply reversed the sunday newspaper and house stuff cycle to get that done first. then when it looked like the cold rain had stopped i went out. don't ever mind running in rain, but i figured the ground would be icy as the cars and wires were all frosted over. Ha! about 6 minutes into the run the sky went really gray and hail started beating down on me and bouncing off of the wooden bridges. always do enjoy the total empathy everyone else out running has for each other runner, but we all agreed it was still nice to be out.
gail came out later and eventually we ran into each other and then i ran her back towards the house and went back out for some more hill striders. two miles of those and then ran into an old friend while i was cooling down of sorts and ran with her towards her house and got 2 more miles in and then turned back home so a 6 mile run was suddenly about 10 with about 7 of some quality. stretching seems to have helped the quad a bit and will keep at it.
another week over- totals for the year so far are 2744 miles-about 54 a week; have missed 25 days so far. will miss two more or so due to the holidays and a race coming up. would need to run a little more than 8 a day to hit 2800, but it doesn't really matter so will keep to the schedule and see what happens. high week was 76 back in england and had 11 weeks over 60 miles. not a bad year. more to come i hope. one more 5k to run on new year's eve's day.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
two more days, 12 mile run and kathy adams
i had a nice 12 mile run today all by myself and on the trail and through the streets with lots of hills. not bad as it went and i could have kept going as i had lots of energy at least though the right quad was still hurting. it will be this way forever to some degree i am guessing. did a lot of stretching afterwards and somehow i need to find a way of getting rid of the tight hip sensors and scar tissued from an old bike torn muscle quad. then spent the rest of the day shopping and out to eat dinner- should add that we went to one of our two favorite restaurants and it was shut down and for sale..... what a shame---
and on that shame note i move on to kathy adams- a 49 year old breast cancer survivor who was not hired by the state dept. foreign service after finishing 7th out of 200 candidates on their consular test. fighting for five years to get hired against some hiring discrimination because she could not get regular follow-up treatments and exams. and the state dept should be not be proud of their actions. as the courts said-..."both callous and unreasonable". AARP and the American Cancer society are now joining in to fight this bias ..."due to irrational fears and sterotypes." the article did point out that she found out she had the cancer after she was in the process of trying to be hired. clearly qualified she should be hired! and with a woman in charge of state dept- right...
i add here that i flew home every 3 months for a few days from the UK to have my four cancer followups. it would not be impossible for kathy to do this, but i have a hard time believing that state dept foreign service employees do not have or cannot get access to medical treatment if they need it. in all of their history does no-one ever get sick on duty? right...... i worked in civil rights and human resources and i have had cancer and also investigated other discrimination complaints, so i have my biases- men won't listen to women, won't take orders from women, they have babies, they miss a lot of work, etc etc- ..... will keep an eye on this case...
end of small voice rant- the world would be a much better place if people would just try a little harder to see the other side --- like take the time to say if this happened what would the consequences be?
and so with 53 miles of running and about 150 on the indoor bike it was an ok week of training. need to adjust the schedule and i have started on that. need to make some decisions and i am still a little stuck between short and faster or long and slower. long is more fun and short is more challenging. in the end the golf will lose out and frankly it is less fun all of the time.
cold rain due in the morning- should be fun running. 11 minutes from the first day of winter---and longer days too. can you hear the sound of baseballs in the air? listen harder!
and on that shame note i move on to kathy adams- a 49 year old breast cancer survivor who was not hired by the state dept. foreign service after finishing 7th out of 200 candidates on their consular test. fighting for five years to get hired against some hiring discrimination because she could not get regular follow-up treatments and exams. and the state dept should be not be proud of their actions. as the courts said-..."both callous and unreasonable". AARP and the American Cancer society are now joining in to fight this bias ..."due to irrational fears and sterotypes." the article did point out that she found out she had the cancer after she was in the process of trying to be hired. clearly qualified she should be hired! and with a woman in charge of state dept- right...
i add here that i flew home every 3 months for a few days from the UK to have my four cancer followups. it would not be impossible for kathy to do this, but i have a hard time believing that state dept foreign service employees do not have or cannot get access to medical treatment if they need it. in all of their history does no-one ever get sick on duty? right...... i worked in civil rights and human resources and i have had cancer and also investigated other discrimination complaints, so i have my biases- men won't listen to women, won't take orders from women, they have babies, they miss a lot of work, etc etc- ..... will keep an eye on this case...
end of small voice rant- the world would be a much better place if people would just try a little harder to see the other side --- like take the time to say if this happened what would the consequences be?
and so with 53 miles of running and about 150 on the indoor bike it was an ok week of training. need to adjust the schedule and i have started on that. need to make some decisions and i am still a little stuck between short and faster or long and slower. long is more fun and short is more challenging. in the end the golf will lose out and frankly it is less fun all of the time.
cold rain due in the morning- should be fun running. 11 minutes from the first day of winter---and longer days too. can you hear the sound of baseballs in the air? listen harder!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
another day done
an up and down day but about over-- today's obama picks were nothing short of What did he do? must be me-warren....right-
anyway- a track day finally- starting again slowly to see if the right quad can tolerate the workload while i keep stretching it to get it better- 25 x 100 and 4 x 200(all at 51). and then a two mile cooldown- hard to call it a call down when it is 36 degrees while you are doing it huh?
lots of errands after that and then to the golf range to practice yesterday's lesson. that went well enough and i spent 90 minutes at it, but then shifted to full swing and that went less well, though i did figure out a few things and will see if i can build on that the next time.
shopping day tomorrow. hate when i erase full paragraphs, but my mood doesn't always lend itself to writing about some stuff.
skipped the ride today and tried to give the legs a break. i was impressed by the pilates stuff a woman was doing at the track today, but i know my legs are too tight to do that right now. still, it would be nice to add some power stuff to the long and slow junk- meanwhile facebook provides some laughs and some old friends. smile!
anyway- a track day finally- starting again slowly to see if the right quad can tolerate the workload while i keep stretching it to get it better- 25 x 100 and 4 x 200(all at 51). and then a two mile cooldown- hard to call it a call down when it is 36 degrees while you are doing it huh?
lots of errands after that and then to the golf range to practice yesterday's lesson. that went well enough and i spent 90 minutes at it, but then shifted to full swing and that went less well, though i did figure out a few things and will see if i can build on that the next time.
shopping day tomorrow. hate when i erase full paragraphs, but my mood doesn't always lend itself to writing about some stuff.
skipped the ride today and tried to give the legs a break. i was impressed by the pilates stuff a woman was doing at the track today, but i know my legs are too tight to do that right now. still, it would be nice to add some power stuff to the long and slow junk- meanwhile facebook provides some laughs and some old friends. smile!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
11 miles and 9 holes of golf
got a late start after getting home late enough to not be able to get to sleep- but did get up and out and ran about 11 miles. think i was actually stronger at the end, but it went mostly ok- my runs generally depend on how bad the right quad is acting up- today i kept an eye on the left hip flexor also and will try hard to get more hip stretches into my routine- sort of routine anyway-
lots of stuff done around the house and then off to play 9 holes of golf at hilltop. played ok and was 5 over-- wind was not much help and i did the usual good and bad shots, but getting the clubs changed really did help and the shots were not leaking right.; actually almost hit two flags and that was nice-
golf again tomorrow and maybe wed. or thursday, but time to get going on shopping stuff and lots of errands to run.
notice that i used to describe the runs a lot more while in england but here there is really less to talk about. today we went south on the trail and then turned around and headed back. the river was nice and we didn't see the nesting eagles. back home gail went in and i went north and did the big neal street loop once off of the trail. did that twice actually and stayed out long enough to get the miles in.
track, golf and lift tomorrow.
lots of stuff done around the house and then off to play 9 holes of golf at hilltop. played ok and was 5 over-- wind was not much help and i did the usual good and bad shots, but getting the clubs changed really did help and the shots were not leaking right.; actually almost hit two flags and that was nice-
golf again tomorrow and maybe wed. or thursday, but time to get going on shopping stuff and lots of errands to run.
notice that i used to describe the runs a lot more while in england but here there is really less to talk about. today we went south on the trail and then turned around and headed back. the river was nice and we didn't see the nesting eagles. back home gail went in and i went north and did the big neal street loop once off of the trail. did that twice actually and stayed out long enough to get the miles in.
track, golf and lift tomorrow.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
gotta go
short and not so sweet- rode 27 miles on the trainer and then lifted weights and stretched. added 100 pitches and another 50 chips and 200 putts and that was the exercise for today. did watch the ironman as i worked on my fledgling little business. and now off i go.
my heart rate was 48 again this morning- has been elevated for almost three months now and i have this feeling i am in a constant state of fatigue- need a longer break than i have taken for sure and though i know i think of today as a day off with only 27 nice and easy miles, i guess it just adds on more fatigue.
really have to go-- more soon--
my heart rate was 48 again this morning- has been elevated for almost three months now and i have this feeling i am in a constant state of fatigue- need a longer break than i have taken for sure and though i know i think of today as a day off with only 27 nice and easy miles, i guess it just adds on more fatigue.
really have to go-- more soon--
Friday, December 12, 2008
8 more miles and some golf practice
followed up yesterday with 8 more miles today early in the morning before any rain, snow or cold weather. went 6 decent miles and then hit a small wall and just hung in until i got home. not a pretty last two miles. oh well-
ran a bunch of errands and went off to practice. by now it was very cold and windy, but met two friends at the range and we practiced some together. went pretty good on the green and so-so hitting. disappointed that it was nowhere near as good as wed. but worked at it and will keep trying. did get lots of short game and putting in- must have hit 100 pitches and at least that many chips plus about 200 putts.
and then back home to do some house and bank stuff there and just relax. was tired by now and really do need some rest. and off i go to get some.
ran a bunch of errands and went off to practice. by now it was very cold and windy, but met two friends at the range and we practiced some together. went pretty good on the green and so-so hitting. disappointed that it was nowhere near as good as wed. but worked at it and will keep trying. did get lots of short game and putting in- must have hit 100 pitches and at least that many chips plus about 200 putts.
and then back home to do some house and bank stuff there and just relax. was tired by now and really do need some rest. and off i go to get some.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
two hours in the rain
so the heavy rain changed the plans of the day and the forecast of snow in the morning only added to the change- actually thought i might take the day off and give the legs a break. has been 32 days since the marathon and i have run 200 miles counting today and ridden 280 on the indoor bike with one 5 mile race also. and one day off. i do know better really, but am no good at coaching myself right now.
and today was fun mostly-always liked running in the rain and i ran as many hills as possible, even repeating them when i could. the right leg always wants to stop as it just gets tighter and tighter the longer or faster i am out there. i did have about 90 seconds of what some would call runner's high-remember that old term?- when somewhere about 58 minutes into the run i just wanted to go faster and went with it. and then it was gone and i just slowed down all without thinking about it. i get that a lot and it doesn't surprise me anymore, but it is still weird when my legs want to go and stop by themselves without any input from me.
despite the rain while i did laundry i did some pitches and chip shots in the backyard over my self made bunker and then spread some mulch and topsoil. then in to read and here i am now.
dinner time approaches. not quite sure why i keep this sort of a blog up- but for now it helps my mind so i will stay at it. has turned into more like a log and not sure that is necessary. will see..... did spend half the run thinking of what i wanted to do next. have some thoughts to play around with and will. meanwhile will see if we get to run in the snow tomorrow.
real highlight of the day was the long conversation in safeway with nice woman who had moved here from alabama over thirty years ago -- shows that everyone you meet could be your next best friend or maybe, just a pleasant 15 minutes of conversation.
and today was fun mostly-always liked running in the rain and i ran as many hills as possible, even repeating them when i could. the right leg always wants to stop as it just gets tighter and tighter the longer or faster i am out there. i did have about 90 seconds of what some would call runner's high-remember that old term?- when somewhere about 58 minutes into the run i just wanted to go faster and went with it. and then it was gone and i just slowed down all without thinking about it. i get that a lot and it doesn't surprise me anymore, but it is still weird when my legs want to go and stop by themselves without any input from me.
despite the rain while i did laundry i did some pitches and chip shots in the backyard over my self made bunker and then spread some mulch and topsoil. then in to read and here i am now.
dinner time approaches. not quite sure why i keep this sort of a blog up- but for now it helps my mind so i will stay at it. has turned into more like a log and not sure that is necessary. will see..... did spend half the run thinking of what i wanted to do next. have some thoughts to play around with and will. meanwhile will see if we get to run in the snow tomorrow.
real highlight of the day was the long conversation in safeway with nice woman who had moved here from alabama over thirty years ago -- shows that everyone you meet could be your next best friend or maybe, just a pleasant 15 minutes of conversation.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
track and car repair
got up pretty early and went to the track like i wasn't sure i was going to do yesterday. pretty cold in the early morning and so there was no worry that the phys ed teachers would bring the kids out and end the workout. the legs were full of energy, but they were also still a bit tight after the 101 miles on the bike trainer. ran a controlled workout without ever really pushing for stride length so the quads would not rip or strain and just tried to keep things at below overall race pace. that worked ok and when the legs said to stop i did.
then spent the next many hours at toyota having the car worked on and repaired enough so that i could have it inspected. my guy george q is the best -the very best-and it is amazing how much they could fix and then i did pass inspection. the little bit of the damage left can wait for some better weather to deal with. it hardly looks bad at all now and the lights work again so i can signal and drive in the dark. and for only a bunch of money.
after that i headed over to the golf range to pick up my clubs and see how the new lie angle would work and i must say it is much better-at least in practice. i still worry about my chipping with my favorite clubs and will test that tomorrow as it was dark when i got the clubs. but i did hit them farther, straighter and higher-all good stuff and only leaked two out of the 110 balls i hit. not bad- one hook and two shanks also to be brutally honest.
and then home to do laundry and lift a little and get some putting in with my indoor drills. all good and am tired enough to wrap up. lots to do tomorrow. -probably in the rain. did miss playing today, but there was no choice really if i wanted to be able to drive-
rain beating on the window and the wind blowing doesn't foretell a pretty picture for runners and golfers. later-----
then spent the next many hours at toyota having the car worked on and repaired enough so that i could have it inspected. my guy george q is the best -the very best-and it is amazing how much they could fix and then i did pass inspection. the little bit of the damage left can wait for some better weather to deal with. it hardly looks bad at all now and the lights work again so i can signal and drive in the dark. and for only a bunch of money.
after that i headed over to the golf range to pick up my clubs and see how the new lie angle would work and i must say it is much better-at least in practice. i still worry about my chipping with my favorite clubs and will test that tomorrow as it was dark when i got the clubs. but i did hit them farther, straighter and higher-all good stuff and only leaked two out of the 110 balls i hit. not bad- one hook and two shanks also to be brutally honest.
and then home to do laundry and lift a little and get some putting in with my indoor drills. all good and am tired enough to wrap up. lots to do tomorrow. -probably in the rain. did miss playing today, but there was no choice really if i wanted to be able to drive-
rain beating on the window and the wind blowing doesn't foretell a pretty picture for runners and golfers. later-----
Monday, December 08, 2008
indoor century
very cold day out and i had to deal with the car damage so i ended up skipping my run and talking to toyota instead. then decided to just skip the day and spend it inside and get some work done. so dealt with some attic and shed and laundry room cleanup. hit some pitches and chips out back for a very short time and also skipped the driving range or playing. must be mentally tired....
but i did ride the indoor bike trainer for 101 miles. and that took some time for sure. just tried to ride steady at 85-105 rpm's mixing up the levels so i could work different leg muscles. was ok until about 88 miles and then my seat started to be a pain, but tuffed out the last 12 miles and then rode and easy 1 mile cooldown and got off and stretched. did cramp up a bit later despite drinking quite a lot while on the bike. watched the pga q-school final round for most of the ride and that was as good as always.
for the usual people who always ask how many miles of running does that equate to(i always say none as it is not running), i would say if you want to convert exercise worth it is probably about 16 miles. i know people love to say 1 to 4, but i believe it is closer to 1 to 7. was going to the track tomorrow but will put that off until wed. and do a short run tomorrow before going back to toyota. the car will not pass inspection until the lights are fixed.
also signed up for the shamrock race in va beach today. and then read some. a quiet day for sure, but a pleasant one despite the fact that i do not like being in doors. maybe it was a test.
anyway- will go at it again tomorrow. have a tee time, but it will probably get caught up in the toyota mess. stay warm everyone.
but i did ride the indoor bike trainer for 101 miles. and that took some time for sure. just tried to ride steady at 85-105 rpm's mixing up the levels so i could work different leg muscles. was ok until about 88 miles and then my seat started to be a pain, but tuffed out the last 12 miles and then rode and easy 1 mile cooldown and got off and stretched. did cramp up a bit later despite drinking quite a lot while on the bike. watched the pga q-school final round for most of the ride and that was as good as always.
for the usual people who always ask how many miles of running does that equate to(i always say none as it is not running), i would say if you want to convert exercise worth it is probably about 16 miles. i know people love to say 1 to 4, but i believe it is closer to 1 to 7. was going to the track tomorrow but will put that off until wed. and do a short run tomorrow before going back to toyota. the car will not pass inspection until the lights are fixed.
also signed up for the shamrock race in va beach today. and then read some. a quiet day for sure, but a pleasant one despite the fact that i do not like being in doors. maybe it was a test.
anyway- will go at it again tomorrow. have a tee time, but it will probably get caught up in the toyota mess. stay warm everyone.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
wie and rawson both make the lpga tour + a 9 mile run
way to go for both of them. i'll be happy about wie and my friends from oxford will be happy about rawson. sorry melissa reid doesn't appear to have made the full tour at least.
run wise i ran 9+ miles this morning on a very cold and slippery trail with the wind playing a major factor when i turned to run back north. i know you are supposed to run out into the wind and i tried that, but the bridges were still too slippery and i turned back and ran to mt vernon and then did the loop around west blvd trying to get to 10 miles, but i was really close to the house at a little past 9 miles so i decided to rest the hip and stop at just short of 10. not bad in what must have been a wind chill of 20+ degrees. was pretty along the river and though there weren't as many people out as usual, there were still some of the regulars empathizing with each other as we passed and said good morning. i did like running up some of the hills and turned and ran some of them twice. the quads are still a little tight and will keep an eye on them.
once cleaned up and fed i watched some of the q school scores on the web while reading the Post and then went out and hit some chips and pitch shots for awhile, i.e. the hands got very cold- then came in and watched the eagles shut down the giants. also signed up to meet some runners on saturday as we are training for the gw 10 miler in the spring. then did some facebook and ebay stuff and now need some food. a pleasant enough day so far. needed a more mellow day rather than running around and kept myself from going to the driving range just because i didn't want to drive anywhere today.
it's time for our country now to try and re-invent itself into something different of a global image. i watched some news while they argued the semantics of obama saying we were one of the world's leaders and shouldn't he have said we were the world's leader? amazing what people will argue about. do we really need to tell the world that we alone are the 800 pound gorilla on the earth? do we then take credit for screwing up the world's economy? for not doing enough about hunger and aids? and warming? and pirates? and darfur? and somalia? or as the leader do we get to sit back and elect fools who drive us into a near depression?
but i digress as i sometimes am wont to do. hey- another $10 a barrel down and gas can go under a dollar a gallon. maybe i can get that sequoia afterall. right.....
run wise i ran 9+ miles this morning on a very cold and slippery trail with the wind playing a major factor when i turned to run back north. i know you are supposed to run out into the wind and i tried that, but the bridges were still too slippery and i turned back and ran to mt vernon and then did the loop around west blvd trying to get to 10 miles, but i was really close to the house at a little past 9 miles so i decided to rest the hip and stop at just short of 10. not bad in what must have been a wind chill of 20+ degrees. was pretty along the river and though there weren't as many people out as usual, there were still some of the regulars empathizing with each other as we passed and said good morning. i did like running up some of the hills and turned and ran some of them twice. the quads are still a little tight and will keep an eye on them.
once cleaned up and fed i watched some of the q school scores on the web while reading the Post and then went out and hit some chips and pitch shots for awhile, i.e. the hands got very cold- then came in and watched the eagles shut down the giants. also signed up to meet some runners on saturday as we are training for the gw 10 miler in the spring. then did some facebook and ebay stuff and now need some food. a pleasant enough day so far. needed a more mellow day rather than running around and kept myself from going to the driving range just because i didn't want to drive anywhere today.
it's time for our country now to try and re-invent itself into something different of a global image. i watched some news while they argued the semantics of obama saying we were one of the world's leaders and shouldn't he have said we were the world's leader? amazing what people will argue about. do we really need to tell the world that we alone are the 800 pound gorilla on the earth? do we then take credit for screwing up the world's economy? for not doing enough about hunger and aids? and warming? and pirates? and darfur? and somalia? or as the leader do we get to sit back and elect fools who drive us into a near depression?
but i digress as i sometimes am wont to do. hey- another $10 a barrel down and gas can go under a dollar a gallon. maybe i can get that sequoia afterall. right.....
Armstrong and Contador train together for 3rd day - - SI.com
most of my friends know i just love the tour de france and watching lance is like watching tiger. already excited about lance and cotador on the astansa team and levi is still on the team also, though he is more like the phil m. of the team.
Armstrong and Contador train together for 3rd day - - SI.com
Armstrong and Contador train together for 3rd day - - SI.com
Saturday, December 06, 2008
mini catch-up, run, philly and small, scary car accident
4 days since i last wrote; and no real time right now to really catch up either , but a mini version-
just back from philly tonight. on the way there a uhaul truck lost a piece of metal plating which hit my car and smashed the front end grille and lights- stopped to clean it up and take the rattling turn signal pieces out of the grill and drove on- will change my plans for a car inspection this week, but about $1000 and it should be ok- last trip i had my windshield broken as some will recall. what can i say? nothing like watching stuff flying at you with nowwhere to go to get out of the way.
the last four days exercise wise were light- three days of 6 mile runs and a day of 30 miles on the inside bike trainer doing hills. got some life back into the legs after wed.'s totally dead legged run by doing 100's and 200's on the track yesterday as the sun was coming up on a pretty cold morning. today we ran on the tookany creek trail in elkins park-22 degrees when we ran, but a pretty morning.
drove home and hit some snow- surprised by that for sure but not by the sooners crushing mizzou or fla. beating alabama. poor longhorns lose out i am afraid.
not much golf the last several days either and maybe the break will be good for me as mentally i was tired but also psyched to keep plugging away at it- did get to do some indoor putting drills- really cold weather will get in the way this week but we shall see what we can get in- so much easier to run in the cold- another track run or two also coming up-
all good- staying positive- back tomorrow to get caught up some more--
good luck to jim mellody who is having by-pass surgery; maybe he'll be able to run fast again soon; or at least be really healthy again.
some nice emails from old friends also and will get to them tomorrow. always need sleep when i get back from my mom's as i can barely sleep there no matter how much i try- good food though....
almost spring training time- and can we not have a snow-less winter?
just back from philly tonight. on the way there a uhaul truck lost a piece of metal plating which hit my car and smashed the front end grille and lights- stopped to clean it up and take the rattling turn signal pieces out of the grill and drove on- will change my plans for a car inspection this week, but about $1000 and it should be ok- last trip i had my windshield broken as some will recall. what can i say? nothing like watching stuff flying at you with nowwhere to go to get out of the way.
the last four days exercise wise were light- three days of 6 mile runs and a day of 30 miles on the inside bike trainer doing hills. got some life back into the legs after wed.'s totally dead legged run by doing 100's and 200's on the track yesterday as the sun was coming up on a pretty cold morning. today we ran on the tookany creek trail in elkins park-22 degrees when we ran, but a pretty morning.
drove home and hit some snow- surprised by that for sure but not by the sooners crushing mizzou or fla. beating alabama. poor longhorns lose out i am afraid.
not much golf the last several days either and maybe the break will be good for me as mentally i was tired but also psyched to keep plugging away at it- did get to do some indoor putting drills- really cold weather will get in the way this week but we shall see what we can get in- so much easier to run in the cold- another track run or two also coming up-
all good- staying positive- back tomorrow to get caught up some more--
good luck to jim mellody who is having by-pass surgery; maybe he'll be able to run fast again soon; or at least be really healthy again.
some nice emails from old friends also and will get to them tomorrow. always need sleep when i get back from my mom's as i can barely sleep there no matter how much i try- good food though....
almost spring training time- and can we not have a snow-less winter?
Friday, December 05, 2008
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
run, golf, bike
ran a short and easy 3 miles today just to go over 80,000 and then went off to play golf with the guys. the legs were in need of a rest and 3 miles didn't hurt them much. the golf went ok - i had some really nice shots and some less than nice - parred all of the par 3's and so i hope there is hope that i can find my swing somewhere.
after golf i went to pick up some stuff i am hoping to get to the first tee people and then got in some practice hitting a bucket of balls and doing some chipping and putting. then finally back home-
welcome to traffic - is the rush hour all day now? took forever to get home. have to love sitting still- stopped to get gas as i was going nowhere anyway- $1.85. better than that $4+ for sure.
at home i did the usual stuff for awhile and then rode the indoor bike for 33 miles with short sprints at 110 rpm's. legs were not fresh enough to really get the heart rate up, but it was a nice little easy workout and burned some calories at least.
now for the next 20,000 miles- at 40 miles a week that would make me about 72 years old. doubt i will average that for the next 10 years, but will look forward to each day along the way. on that note i was re-reading dr bob rotella last night and i always learn more each time i look at his books. somewhat inspiring actually. was thinking that it would be nice to have the passion he talks about and thought about some of the people i know who have that about something. three people came to mind and one was a golfer. will see how it all effects me in my most recent attempt at re-invention. time to add something in the time that is left.
family, friends, and health- and a passion for something.... a good positive attitude...be a happy person... take what i already do and extend it out- let's see how it works.....
what is it about a nice high 5 iron shot flying towards the green that is so pretty?
sorry martin lost the run-off, but knew he would. the country is in somewhat of an economic toilet and hopefully these guys can work together to get us back on a forward track. is there a difference between a bailout and a recovery loan?
after golf i went to pick up some stuff i am hoping to get to the first tee people and then got in some practice hitting a bucket of balls and doing some chipping and putting. then finally back home-
welcome to traffic - is the rush hour all day now? took forever to get home. have to love sitting still- stopped to get gas as i was going nowhere anyway- $1.85. better than that $4+ for sure.
at home i did the usual stuff for awhile and then rode the indoor bike for 33 miles with short sprints at 110 rpm's. legs were not fresh enough to really get the heart rate up, but it was a nice little easy workout and burned some calories at least.
now for the next 20,000 miles- at 40 miles a week that would make me about 72 years old. doubt i will average that for the next 10 years, but will look forward to each day along the way. on that note i was re-reading dr bob rotella last night and i always learn more each time i look at his books. somewhat inspiring actually. was thinking that it would be nice to have the passion he talks about and thought about some of the people i know who have that about something. three people came to mind and one was a golfer. will see how it all effects me in my most recent attempt at re-invention. time to add something in the time that is left.
family, friends, and health- and a passion for something.... a good positive attitude...be a happy person... take what i already do and extend it out- let's see how it works.....
what is it about a nice high 5 iron shot flying towards the green that is so pretty?
sorry martin lost the run-off, but knew he would. the country is in somewhat of an economic toilet and hopefully these guys can work together to get us back on a forward track. is there a difference between a bailout and a recovery loan?
Monday, December 01, 2008
DC Road Runners Club - Turkey Trot 2008 Results
will post the results of the trot race despite the fact that they have my own time exactly two minutes off. funny that the three people i ran with or around the entire race had their times correct. oh well and really doesn't matter-
DC Road Runners Club - Turkey Trot 2008 Results
DC Road Runners Club - Turkey Trot 2008 Results
morning duathlon
can you hear marion raven singing in the background?
anyway- up and out this morning despite how cold it seemed- ran out with gail and we did the east blvd long loop. meaning we took west blvd to get there instead of the bike path. just felt like taking a break from being on the path and in this way i could check out the gardens of the houses on west.
legs were still tired and screaming for me to take a day off, but i plowed on having my own little plan for them and hoping i will be wise enough to keep an eye on the little tweaks. got around ok though i could feel race soreness lingering-after no races in a few years i have now raced twice in the last 3 weeks.
ran gail home and got a drink and went back out and down to west blvd and ran the hilly loop down west and up neal st all the way down to ft hunt road and then back home through the neighborhood. stayed out long enough to get my two hours in and also leave myself just short of 80,000 and headed home to the bike.
had planned this last night and despite being tired i knew i would get a drink and revive on the bike- rode the hill workout for 35 minutes and then switched to bike mode so i could get some fartlek spinning in and got 29+ miles in and stopped. had planned to stop at 26.2 and knew i had to get off of the bike or i would go to 36 or 50- my favorite stopping points.
now golf time- day is warming up and will get to 46 degrees and i can even see some sun out as celine dion duplicates the singing of raven. nice but different sort of voice.
should mention i found cowherd radio on the espn radio and watched that as i rode. he had a decent show this morning as i like his around the globe thing or whatever he calls it when he has reporters from other cities chime in about their teams and then trent dilfer did his analysis of football and the ny giants.
isn't it time for the BCS to change how they rank? does it matter as it is "college sports"? when does baseball season start?
back later- 24 more days until xmas.....
anyway- up and out this morning despite how cold it seemed- ran out with gail and we did the east blvd long loop. meaning we took west blvd to get there instead of the bike path. just felt like taking a break from being on the path and in this way i could check out the gardens of the houses on west.
legs were still tired and screaming for me to take a day off, but i plowed on having my own little plan for them and hoping i will be wise enough to keep an eye on the little tweaks. got around ok though i could feel race soreness lingering-after no races in a few years i have now raced twice in the last 3 weeks.
ran gail home and got a drink and went back out and down to west blvd and ran the hilly loop down west and up neal st all the way down to ft hunt road and then back home through the neighborhood. stayed out long enough to get my two hours in and also leave myself just short of 80,000 and headed home to the bike.
had planned this last night and despite being tired i knew i would get a drink and revive on the bike- rode the hill workout for 35 minutes and then switched to bike mode so i could get some fartlek spinning in and got 29+ miles in and stopped. had planned to stop at 26.2 and knew i had to get off of the bike or i would go to 36 or 50- my favorite stopping points.
now golf time- day is warming up and will get to 46 degrees and i can even see some sun out as celine dion duplicates the singing of raven. nice but different sort of voice.
should mention i found cowherd radio on the espn radio and watched that as i rode. he had a decent show this morning as i like his around the globe thing or whatever he calls it when he has reporters from other cities chime in about their teams and then trent dilfer did his analysis of football and the ny giants.
isn't it time for the BCS to change how they rank? does it matter as it is "college sports"? when does baseball season start?
back later- 24 more days until xmas.....
Sunday, November 30, 2008
oxford's weather comes to alexandria
did get my five hours of sleep and went out to run in a cold gray rainy morning. this is the weather that was so typical of what i ran in back in oxford, with the small exception that it might have been colder here.
but at any rate i headed north and ran the east blvd loop seeing so many less people than are usually out on a sunday morning. coming back i turned and headed north back towards the alexandria st. bridge to get 7 miles in and ran into the 85 year man i see sometimes who walks 8 miles every sunday. a one time runner marathoner he now just walks he said- but he was out there in the cold rain getting his exercise in.
the legs weren't bad today but not ready to really run yet. i moved down the trail and every once in awhile threw in 20-40 yards of quicker strides and that felt ok.
back home the day turned into a washout. at 35 degrees the cold rain didn't make any outside golf practice seem appealing and in truth, i didn't even feel like driving anywhere. another day ....
spent the time cleaning out the attic and basement and office. time to get things put back together and am still in the process of throwing things away simply because there is no room for the stuff in the house. seems like a waste, but it won't matter in the end. everything seems depressing somehow.
did watch the end of the world cup in golf and my pick of karlson and stenson won so i won my little pool. not a hard choice for sure- all they had to do was play like they can and they did.
back to work- it is getting late fast. the phones which were not working earlier are back on. at least we didn't lose the rest of the power. with golf scheduled for tuesday i may not run that day and then wed. will become the 80,000 mile day. so what i say to myself- not a good mood i am in for sure.
but at any rate i headed north and ran the east blvd loop seeing so many less people than are usually out on a sunday morning. coming back i turned and headed north back towards the alexandria st. bridge to get 7 miles in and ran into the 85 year man i see sometimes who walks 8 miles every sunday. a one time runner marathoner he now just walks he said- but he was out there in the cold rain getting his exercise in.
the legs weren't bad today but not ready to really run yet. i moved down the trail and every once in awhile threw in 20-40 yards of quicker strides and that felt ok.
back home the day turned into a washout. at 35 degrees the cold rain didn't make any outside golf practice seem appealing and in truth, i didn't even feel like driving anywhere. another day ....
spent the time cleaning out the attic and basement and office. time to get things put back together and am still in the process of throwing things away simply because there is no room for the stuff in the house. seems like a waste, but it won't matter in the end. everything seems depressing somehow.
did watch the end of the world cup in golf and my pick of karlson and stenson won so i won my little pool. not a hard choice for sure- all they had to do was play like they can and they did.
back to work- it is getting late fast. the phones which were not working earlier are back on. at least we didn't lose the rest of the power. with golf scheduled for tuesday i may not run that day and then wed. will become the 80,000 mile day. so what i say to myself- not a good mood i am in for sure.
facebook, running, bald eagles, etc
quick note as it is late and i have 5 hours before i have to be up- had joined facebook way back while living in england as a possible way of staying in touch with friends, but never got it off the ground and used the blog instead. but a few friends finally found me now that i have moved back- another interesting internet tool. curious to see how it develops-
ran 5 miles yesterday and 7 today though neither run was of any quality. finding out that i just don't recover from races like i used to and i will need to really find out for myself what i am going to have to do to get the proper rest. sleep is not one of my friends these days. still it was nice to be out on the trail and today we
saw a pair of nesting bald eagles. watching them fly around was nice and we soon had a small crowd wondering what we were looking at.
fun day with a little golf practice, some gardening, cleaning out the shed and attic and dinner with daughter beth. all in all an ok day-
back tomorrow- still lots to do but nice to have the entire house back working again-
ran 5 miles yesterday and 7 today though neither run was of any quality. finding out that i just don't recover from races like i used to and i will need to really find out for myself what i am going to have to do to get the proper rest. sleep is not one of my friends these days. still it was nice to be out on the trail and today we
saw a pair of nesting bald eagles. watching them fly around was nice and we soon had a small crowd wondering what we were looking at.
fun day with a little golf practice, some gardening, cleaning out the shed and attic and dinner with daughter beth. all in all an ok day-
back tomorrow- still lots to do but nice to have the entire house back working again-
Friday, November 28, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
turkey trot 5 miler, etc
ran the turkey trot 5 miler today in 43:09-from the line- probably 20 seconds from the gun or so. actually ran really well and it shows how much running with people helps and also that a little rest can help the legs bounce back some.
having hardly raced at all over the last several years as i continued to slow down and fight the right leg issues, i was really pleased to get under 45 and would have been happy to have gotten under 50 actually. it helped to bump into debbie margraff at the start and we ran together for maybe two miles and she took off. my pulse was already high and i settled in to make sure i finished. also saw nina t. out there and ran with her and a friend for a bit and then they also went on. i was 22:30 for the first half and just under 21 for the second half and each mile was a little quicker than the one before it and i will call it a good race.
and it gave me an idea of what i have to do to try and get a little faster. an interesting note - my heart rate hit 175 at the finish line and i ran most of the first half about 156 and then went into the 160's and before hitting 170 at 4 miles. my last treadmill test 5 years ago said my max heart rate was about 173. 10 years ago it was 178. not an exact science as it depends on me staying on the treadmill, but i can figure it is about 177-178 now i think. will chart out the training heart rates tomorrow. funny that my morning heart rate that was 39 or so in my heyday and 43 recently enough, had climbed to 46-48 the last month. was 45 today. i need to re-think how to get more rest and still train and not gain back weight.
this week has been 9, 4, day off and the race with about 3 more miles of warm-up and cool-down. and nothing feels that bad. the right quad tightened up some of course, but never got as bad as usual. will keep up the stretching and decide about having some more ART work done on it.
wanted to mention that gail ran really well today also in her first race in a long time and she seems motivated to do more also. she stayed tough the entire run and did well. she is always tough mentally.
a good time and a really nice social event. next up is the MADD 5k in a few weeks after xmas. lots to do before that. will hit 80k next week.
more soon. want to catch up on the India terror stuff.
having hardly raced at all over the last several years as i continued to slow down and fight the right leg issues, i was really pleased to get under 45 and would have been happy to have gotten under 50 actually. it helped to bump into debbie margraff at the start and we ran together for maybe two miles and she took off. my pulse was already high and i settled in to make sure i finished. also saw nina t. out there and ran with her and a friend for a bit and then they also went on. i was 22:30 for the first half and just under 21 for the second half and each mile was a little quicker than the one before it and i will call it a good race.
and it gave me an idea of what i have to do to try and get a little faster. an interesting note - my heart rate hit 175 at the finish line and i ran most of the first half about 156 and then went into the 160's and before hitting 170 at 4 miles. my last treadmill test 5 years ago said my max heart rate was about 173. 10 years ago it was 178. not an exact science as it depends on me staying on the treadmill, but i can figure it is about 177-178 now i think. will chart out the training heart rates tomorrow. funny that my morning heart rate that was 39 or so in my heyday and 43 recently enough, had climbed to 46-48 the last month. was 45 today. i need to re-think how to get more rest and still train and not gain back weight.
this week has been 9, 4, day off and the race with about 3 more miles of warm-up and cool-down. and nothing feels that bad. the right quad tightened up some of course, but never got as bad as usual. will keep up the stretching and decide about having some more ART work done on it.
wanted to mention that gail ran really well today also in her first race in a long time and she seems motivated to do more also. she stayed tough the entire run and did well. she is always tough mentally.
a good time and a really nice social event. next up is the MADD 5k in a few weeks after xmas. lots to do before that. will hit 80k next week.
more soon. want to catch up on the India terror stuff.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
60 miles to 80,000
four miles yesterday and 9 more this morning so only 60 to go to hit 80,000. don't you just love meaningless numbers? went short and slow yesterday still trying to get some bounce in the legs. later in the day i played 9 holes of golf in the cold and wind and it probably wasn't the best idea i ever had. but i am learning more stuff every time out now and it seemed easier to play than hit balls. i did get to do some short game outside and hit 200 putts in the family room working on the new grip.
and i played ok actually. can still block and hook and am figuring it out as i go how not to. the deal is to keep doing the swing the pro wants me to do and not worry about where the ball goes. that works better on the range than on the course, but playing alone i can do it ok and not hold anyone up and actually i only hit a couple of what i would call bad shots, though not every straight shot was hit like i wanted it to be hit at least they went straight. funny card as i started out 3, 3, 6, 3, 3 with one double and one birdie- finished 4, 5 , 4, and 4 ; 3 over for the 9 holes. with 4 par 3's the course is short but tough.
anyway- ran 9 miles today in a wind chill of 18 degrees. felt pretty good until near the end and then it seemed like i hit a small wall and had to slow down to finish, but i did. afterwards i did some garden work pruning and replanting and then hit 100 pitches and chips and called it a day as my fingers were getting pretty cold.
and that brings me to now. dinner and texas tech and maryland games tonight plus some house administrative stuff and maybe take the time to pick out the next marathon.
back later i hope.
and i played ok actually. can still block and hook and am figuring it out as i go how not to. the deal is to keep doing the swing the pro wants me to do and not worry about where the ball goes. that works better on the range than on the course, but playing alone i can do it ok and not hold anyone up and actually i only hit a couple of what i would call bad shots, though not every straight shot was hit like i wanted it to be hit at least they went straight. funny card as i started out 3, 3, 6, 3, 3 with one double and one birdie- finished 4, 5 , 4, and 4 ; 3 over for the 9 holes. with 4 par 3's the course is short but tough.
anyway- ran 9 miles today in a wind chill of 18 degrees. felt pretty good until near the end and then it seemed like i hit a small wall and had to slow down to finish, but i did. afterwards i did some garden work pruning and replanting and then hit 100 pitches and chips and called it a day as my fingers were getting pretty cold.
and that brings me to now. dinner and texas tech and maryland games tonight plus some house administrative stuff and maybe take the time to pick out the next marathon.
back later i hope.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
8,9, and 11 mile runs the past hree days
hard to believe it has been three days since i posted. i am so out of touch with any kind of routine back here in the usa and really do miss my little oxford schedule. has been three up and down days and even knowing that things are ok doesn't make me feel that way- more on that later maybe.
so i have run 8, 9 and 11 miles the last three pretty cold days. various type of runs mostly designed to get some easy miles in and get some stretching and recovery back into my life. the legs are slowly coming around as i have just not given them enough of a break from the marathon. despite what appears to be a slow marathon time, i hadn't gone over 17 miles in training and had not done even that lately so toughing out the last 9 miles was a good effort, especially once the quads went south on me. i was really glad to see that i could still stay tough despite not racing hardly at all and now it's a matter of getting recovered enough to start actually training again.
and at least the runs were done in pretty scenery along the river. yesterday an old friend came by on his bike and rode next to me as i ran for awhile and that was nice; and then today i ran into another old friend out for her 4 miles and we did that together and then i headed home along the hilly route and did twenty second pickups and that felt good.
and then after some of the usual house stuff i headed over to the golf course and played 9 holes and shot a 40- which was pretty decent. hit some nice shots and a couple of hooks, but figured out a few things also and some good chipping and putting kept the scoring to a minimum at least- 15 putts for the nine holes and parred the par 5 last hole for a good finish of 4 pars in a row. given the cold and wind it was a nice outing and as there were so few people playing it only 95 minutes.
and so on we go. trip to philly this weekend was put off so my mom could get over her flu/cold. still lots to do we'll work on that and maybe grab a movie and calzones or something. the days are just zipping by each sort of like the other and many dependent on the weather and traffic. the extra 45 minutes to get home tonight got me home in the dark instead of earlier so some stuff had to be put off. no big deal i know. feel like i need to live somewhere where i don't need the car except sometimes. worked ok in oxford.
dinner time - almost 10pm. will do the rest of this later. maybe clinton and palin can go on vacation together so the country can get a break from their lives of drama. the market crashed again today and i have been following the series on how it is affecting retirees. scary for most people, but sometimes we all just have to do what we have to do and depend on ourselves. me too i know. no criticism meant here for sure, but i hope i don't have to depend on social security to save me.
and the front door opens and it really is dinner time now. don't most people eat dinner at 9:44?
worst news of the day was that utley needs surgery! and that mussina retired.
so i have run 8, 9 and 11 miles the last three pretty cold days. various type of runs mostly designed to get some easy miles in and get some stretching and recovery back into my life. the legs are slowly coming around as i have just not given them enough of a break from the marathon. despite what appears to be a slow marathon time, i hadn't gone over 17 miles in training and had not done even that lately so toughing out the last 9 miles was a good effort, especially once the quads went south on me. i was really glad to see that i could still stay tough despite not racing hardly at all and now it's a matter of getting recovered enough to start actually training again.
and at least the runs were done in pretty scenery along the river. yesterday an old friend came by on his bike and rode next to me as i ran for awhile and that was nice; and then today i ran into another old friend out for her 4 miles and we did that together and then i headed home along the hilly route and did twenty second pickups and that felt good.
and then after some of the usual house stuff i headed over to the golf course and played 9 holes and shot a 40- which was pretty decent. hit some nice shots and a couple of hooks, but figured out a few things also and some good chipping and putting kept the scoring to a minimum at least- 15 putts for the nine holes and parred the par 5 last hole for a good finish of 4 pars in a row. given the cold and wind it was a nice outing and as there were so few people playing it only 95 minutes.
and so on we go. trip to philly this weekend was put off so my mom could get over her flu/cold. still lots to do we'll work on that and maybe grab a movie and calzones or something. the days are just zipping by each sort of like the other and many dependent on the weather and traffic. the extra 45 minutes to get home tonight got me home in the dark instead of earlier so some stuff had to be put off. no big deal i know. feel like i need to live somewhere where i don't need the car except sometimes. worked ok in oxford.
dinner time - almost 10pm. will do the rest of this later. maybe clinton and palin can go on vacation together so the country can get a break from their lives of drama. the market crashed again today and i have been following the series on how it is affecting retirees. scary for most people, but sometimes we all just have to do what we have to do and depend on ourselves. me too i know. no criticism meant here for sure, but i hope i don't have to depend on social security to save me.
and the front door opens and it really is dinner time now. don't most people eat dinner at 9:44?
worst news of the day was that utley needs surgery! and that mussina retired.
Monday, November 17, 2008
winter is here, indoor bike ride and nancy dietz.
quick morning post- ran 8 yesterday and got 45 miles in last week after running the marathon on sunday. always a matter of individual taste and i know everything you read says to take one day of recovery for each mile of race and many others say to take 4 weeks to recover and yes, i am not recovered. But, my personal preference is to be very careful and pay attention t any possible damage and just go out and do something easy. i take longer to recover this way and i don't coach my runners to train this was, but none of my runners have done 185 marathons either. in the old days of a younger larry when i was running a marathon a month, it didn't take that long to recover. these days everyone wants to run marathons with as little training as possible, mostly due to time constraints and the big push for marathon participation has been great for the population as a whole, and the economics of marathons as well. racing itself has suffered somewhat maybe, but the more people the better. it may be true that the more you train the faster you will run and the easier you will recover. i also like, as i did this time, to walk 45 minutes after the marathon, but not everyone will do this. it is easy to walk and drink and have a yogurt and banana or a mustard pretzel or grapes and the walk does wonders for the legs. and you get to bask in your accomplishment. but what do i know? there are a zillion theories on how to train and how to recover.
my coaching philosophy has been to do no harm to my runners. i think long term. not for everyone. generally only the people who don't listen get hurt. 5 x 800 in 4 minutes means that, not 3:45; 4:14; 3:56; 4:28; 4:12. but most people would do just fine listening to hal higdon, like i did and his speedwork training was the basis of my earlier training.
so today in an attempt to rest the legs a bit from some of the pounding, and after a morning heart rate of 46, i got on my indoor training bike and rode a 26.26 mile ride of hill intervals at 65% heart rate. does this sound like rest? usually would do a 31 mile workout at 85% so at least it was less and still felt like i did a decent little workout listening to old bob dylan and jackson browne stuff.
i am old so i still believe in that old school way of training- "run more". i don't give a thought to converting the bike miles to running miles. why bother? it is not running. there is some exercise and fitness n]benefit, but still, it is not running.
you don't become a better putter by lifting weights or doing pilates for golf. you putt everyday for an hour and you start to get better. you putt straight and left to right and right to left and uphill and downhill. you make sure you can make 4 footers and 12 footers and you get better with your chipping because you know you can make the putts you leave. same with running.
once long ago when i was much newer to this i used to run where i had a very tough hill about 5 miles into my 8 mile run and i just could not get up that hill. one night at a running dinner i had the great fortune to meet nancy dietz, a terrific marathoner and nice as can be person. i asked her how she dealt with tough parts of her training and explained my hill problem. she told me the next time i got near the hill to just tell myself i owned that hill and nothing could stop me from going right up that hill.
and right up it i went the next time and every time thereafter. i just said to myself that i owned the hill and i was going right up it and i did. still do actually, and this past week at harrisburg when i got to the "hill" i did the same thing and just went up it. some barriers are mental. when i finally broke 3:10 i never had a problem doing it again- not every time of course, as some days are just not great days.
oh well, onto the day. warm enough to go play golf. spent two frustrating hours working on furniture yesterday and not today thank you. lots of free time as gail has an overnight at school. later....
thanks again nancy. hope you are still running well.
my coaching philosophy has been to do no harm to my runners. i think long term. not for everyone. generally only the people who don't listen get hurt. 5 x 800 in 4 minutes means that, not 3:45; 4:14; 3:56; 4:28; 4:12. but most people would do just fine listening to hal higdon, like i did and his speedwork training was the basis of my earlier training.
so today in an attempt to rest the legs a bit from some of the pounding, and after a morning heart rate of 46, i got on my indoor training bike and rode a 26.26 mile ride of hill intervals at 65% heart rate. does this sound like rest? usually would do a 31 mile workout at 85% so at least it was less and still felt like i did a decent little workout listening to old bob dylan and jackson browne stuff.
i am old so i still believe in that old school way of training- "run more". i don't give a thought to converting the bike miles to running miles. why bother? it is not running. there is some exercise and fitness n]benefit, but still, it is not running.
you don't become a better putter by lifting weights or doing pilates for golf. you putt everyday for an hour and you start to get better. you putt straight and left to right and right to left and uphill and downhill. you make sure you can make 4 footers and 12 footers and you get better with your chipping because you know you can make the putts you leave. same with running.
once long ago when i was much newer to this i used to run where i had a very tough hill about 5 miles into my 8 mile run and i just could not get up that hill. one night at a running dinner i had the great fortune to meet nancy dietz, a terrific marathoner and nice as can be person. i asked her how she dealt with tough parts of her training and explained my hill problem. she told me the next time i got near the hill to just tell myself i owned that hill and nothing could stop me from going right up that hill.
and right up it i went the next time and every time thereafter. i just said to myself that i owned the hill and i was going right up it and i did. still do actually, and this past week at harrisburg when i got to the "hill" i did the same thing and just went up it. some barriers are mental. when i finally broke 3:10 i never had a problem doing it again- not every time of course, as some days are just not great days.
oh well, onto the day. warm enough to go play golf. spent two frustrating hours working on furniture yesterday and not today thank you. lots of free time as gail has an overnight at school. later....
thanks again nancy. hope you are still running well.
alexandria, va -america's marathon capital
Alexandria is America’s Marathon Capital
Study says area has the most marathon participants in the country, but why?
By Mark Giannotto
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
It was 1976 and 11-year-old Alexandria native Jim McGrath was having his first of many encounters with the marathon.
He had just watched American runner Frank Shorter get the silver medal in the marathon event at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, four years after Shorter had become the first American to win the event at the 1972 games in Moscow.
Simply put, the prospect of running for sport had been transmitted into his living room.
“It was the first time anyone knew an American who had run and it was the first time it was ever on television,” said McGrath. “That was a big moment.”
Inspired by his new Olympic hero, McGrath went out and bought his first pair of running shoes and “started jogging down Duke Street” as a new way to stay in shape. A short time after that, he started running his own races, finishing the Marine Corps Marathon in four hours and forty-four minutes as a 13-year-old.
Thirty years later the phenomenon that got McGrath hooked is still around and stronger than ever in the Alexandria area. Last spring the May 2008 issue of Running Times Magazine concluded that Alexandria was the top marathon city in the United States based on race finishers per 1,000 residents.
IT’S SURPRISING to some when the notion of Alexandria being one of this country’s pre-eminent running cities is brought up since common sense says a place with nice weather year-round would be more conducive to such activities.
But the list of towns considered marathon havens is littered with much more northern cities like Ann Arbor, Mich., Minneapolis, and Portland, Ore. It turns out there are a number of factors that contribute to the popularity of running and this area appears to have a near-perfect confluence of them all.
Just last Saturday morning more than 300 people came out despite overcast skies at Cameron Run Regional Park for the Biliary Artesia (BA) 5K. Many there had run in marathons before and were simply out to get their legs moving after a long week at a desk or to keep up with a legacy of weekend runs.
“It kind of keeps my life in order,” said Arlington resident Jesse Johnson, who finished first in the BA 5K. “I think in general (this area) just has a lot of type A personalities that like to keep fit.”
“I grew up in a family where my dad was always doing marathons,” said Alexandria resident Jenny Goransson, who ran in her fourth marathon three weeks ago at the Marine Corps Marathon. “I always thought he was crazy, but then I ran track in high school and college and when I graduated college I said I was going to give it a try. I thought I’d just do one, but then I really loved it.”
Aside from getting exercise, Alexandria’s affluence also plays a large role in how popular running has become over the years. Generally speaking, people in the upper middle class of America are the ones that have the time and the money to spend running for exercise.
According to Chris Farley, owner of Pacers Running Stores, the blend of wealth and the importance placed on exercise in the area is what draws many into the marathoning scene.
“I think it’s really part of the culture, and we see it in our business, it starts at an early age,” said Farley. “Meshed with that fact that Alexandria is an area where people are very educated, upper middle class, those people are the ones who have the opportunities to run."
Farley also points to the sheer amount of events that take place throughout the area every weekend. His store sponsors events as small as the BA 5K and as large as the annual George Washington Parkway Classic and Potomac River Run Marathon, and is out in the community almost every weekend putting on races.
In addition, Pacers has their own running club that meets almost every day of the week. According to the company’s event coordinator, Kathy Dalby, a runner in the club can take part in up to 21 training sessions throughout the week and their club sees as many as 700 runners participate in at least one session a week.
“It’s really a great social activity, especially in such a transient area,” said Dalby. “It’s such an inclusive sport. Running, you can be as slow as molasses and still be okay in a race.”
Many of the area’s running clubs are designed to train participants for the area’s most well-known race, the Marine Corps Marathon held every October. Many of the runners in these clubs originally sign up just to stay in shape, but end up taking a much more vested interest.
“You see other people doing it, and you’re like if that girl can do it, I can do it,” said Alexandria native Judy Abid after finishing the BA 5K last weekend.
THE PHENOMENON of marathons in this area doesn’t seem to be slowing down, either. According to Dalby, Pacers has seen a 35 percent increase in participants for its No. 1 race — the GW Parkway Classic — just in the last three years.
Although that race is only 10 miles, it’s viewed as one of the big tune-ups for the Marine Corps Marathon. This year’s Marine Corps race had more than 650 finishers who listed their hometown as Alexandria.
The Potomac River Run Marathon, held in Alexandria every May, has seen its participation numbers more than double since the race began in 2003. Race director Jay Wind said registration and interest is up so much for this year’s event that 40 people (more than five percent of last year’s total participation) signed up the first day possible.
And Farley thinks even the tough economic times this country is going through won’t slow down the city’s burgeoning infatuation with running.
“We’ve maybe seen some flattening out on the retail side, but with the races people are still signing up for the races,” said Farley. “So regardless of what the economy is doing, people still have a great outlet.”
Now a 43-year-old teacher in Hampton, Va., McGrath thinks it makes perfect sense that Alexandria has evolved into such a marathon city considering “one of the biggest is right in our backyard.”
A Bishop Ireton graduate back in 1982, running has remained a central component of McGrath’s life ever since he purchased that first pair of shoes. He coached cross-country and track and field at his high school alma mater from 1987-1989, 1991-1995, and in 2002 and has watched as an Olympic novelty transformed into one of Alexandria’s favorite past times.
“I’m definitely proud because (my friends and I) were definitely running during the early stages of it,” said McGrath. “It just stuck in Alexandria for some reason.”
Study says area has the most marathon participants in the country, but why?
By Mark Giannotto
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
It was 1976 and 11-year-old Alexandria native Jim McGrath was having his first of many encounters with the marathon.
He had just watched American runner Frank Shorter get the silver medal in the marathon event at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, four years after Shorter had become the first American to win the event at the 1972 games in Moscow.
Simply put, the prospect of running for sport had been transmitted into his living room.
“It was the first time anyone knew an American who had run and it was the first time it was ever on television,” said McGrath. “That was a big moment.”
Inspired by his new Olympic hero, McGrath went out and bought his first pair of running shoes and “started jogging down Duke Street” as a new way to stay in shape. A short time after that, he started running his own races, finishing the Marine Corps Marathon in four hours and forty-four minutes as a 13-year-old.
Thirty years later the phenomenon that got McGrath hooked is still around and stronger than ever in the Alexandria area. Last spring the May 2008 issue of Running Times Magazine concluded that Alexandria was the top marathon city in the United States based on race finishers per 1,000 residents.
IT’S SURPRISING to some when the notion of Alexandria being one of this country’s pre-eminent running cities is brought up since common sense says a place with nice weather year-round would be more conducive to such activities.
But the list of towns considered marathon havens is littered with much more northern cities like Ann Arbor, Mich., Minneapolis, and Portland, Ore. It turns out there are a number of factors that contribute to the popularity of running and this area appears to have a near-perfect confluence of them all.
Just last Saturday morning more than 300 people came out despite overcast skies at Cameron Run Regional Park for the Biliary Artesia (BA) 5K. Many there had run in marathons before and were simply out to get their legs moving after a long week at a desk or to keep up with a legacy of weekend runs.
“It kind of keeps my life in order,” said Arlington resident Jesse Johnson, who finished first in the BA 5K. “I think in general (this area) just has a lot of type A personalities that like to keep fit.”
“I grew up in a family where my dad was always doing marathons,” said Alexandria resident Jenny Goransson, who ran in her fourth marathon three weeks ago at the Marine Corps Marathon. “I always thought he was crazy, but then I ran track in high school and college and when I graduated college I said I was going to give it a try. I thought I’d just do one, but then I really loved it.”
Aside from getting exercise, Alexandria’s affluence also plays a large role in how popular running has become over the years. Generally speaking, people in the upper middle class of America are the ones that have the time and the money to spend running for exercise.
According to Chris Farley, owner of Pacers Running Stores, the blend of wealth and the importance placed on exercise in the area is what draws many into the marathoning scene.
“I think it’s really part of the culture, and we see it in our business, it starts at an early age,” said Farley. “Meshed with that fact that Alexandria is an area where people are very educated, upper middle class, those people are the ones who have the opportunities to run."
Farley also points to the sheer amount of events that take place throughout the area every weekend. His store sponsors events as small as the BA 5K and as large as the annual George Washington Parkway Classic and Potomac River Run Marathon, and is out in the community almost every weekend putting on races.
In addition, Pacers has their own running club that meets almost every day of the week. According to the company’s event coordinator, Kathy Dalby, a runner in the club can take part in up to 21 training sessions throughout the week and their club sees as many as 700 runners participate in at least one session a week.
“It’s really a great social activity, especially in such a transient area,” said Dalby. “It’s such an inclusive sport. Running, you can be as slow as molasses and still be okay in a race.”
Many of the area’s running clubs are designed to train participants for the area’s most well-known race, the Marine Corps Marathon held every October. Many of the runners in these clubs originally sign up just to stay in shape, but end up taking a much more vested interest.
“You see other people doing it, and you’re like if that girl can do it, I can do it,” said Alexandria native Judy Abid after finishing the BA 5K last weekend.
THE PHENOMENON of marathons in this area doesn’t seem to be slowing down, either. According to Dalby, Pacers has seen a 35 percent increase in participants for its No. 1 race — the GW Parkway Classic — just in the last three years.
Although that race is only 10 miles, it’s viewed as one of the big tune-ups for the Marine Corps Marathon. This year’s Marine Corps race had more than 650 finishers who listed their hometown as Alexandria.
The Potomac River Run Marathon, held in Alexandria every May, has seen its participation numbers more than double since the race began in 2003. Race director Jay Wind said registration and interest is up so much for this year’s event that 40 people (more than five percent of last year’s total participation) signed up the first day possible.
And Farley thinks even the tough economic times this country is going through won’t slow down the city’s burgeoning infatuation with running.
“We’ve maybe seen some flattening out on the retail side, but with the races people are still signing up for the races,” said Farley. “So regardless of what the economy is doing, people still have a great outlet.”
Now a 43-year-old teacher in Hampton, Va., McGrath thinks it makes perfect sense that Alexandria has evolved into such a marathon city considering “one of the biggest is right in our backyard.”
A Bishop Ireton graduate back in 1982, running has remained a central component of McGrath’s life ever since he purchased that first pair of shoes. He coached cross-country and track and field at his high school alma mater from 1987-1989, 1991-1995, and in 2002 and has watched as an Olympic novelty transformed into one of Alexandria’s favorite past times.
“I’m definitely proud because (my friends and I) were definitely running during the early stages of it,” said McGrath. “It just stuck in Alexandria for some reason.”
Saturday, November 15, 2008
two days of not much
wish i could say i got more done these past two days but it was actually a bit nice just doing some normal stuff without much stress and only some time spent sitting in traffic.
way to go penn state and u of maryland on their wins today. also texas and did fordham win too?
so when do the baseball teams start getting into gear and make some moves. always one of my favorite times of the year- baseball free agency.
seems the quad strain is getting better. it still is very tight but there is no pain just for being alive like there was a few days ago. and to that end i went about 5 miles yesterday and 9 miles today. it went much better today despite finishing in the rain. hope to really ramp up the stretching this week, but don't want to get hurt stretching again so i will be more than careful. in the past 6 days since the marathon i have covered 38 miles and done one ride of 22 or so. probably not enough recovery, but my style through 185 marathons has been to do too much too soon and just take longer to recover. i do want to build back up and add some more speedwork while i try to decide what's next. most likely some shorter races and another marathon in the spring, maybe an old favorite like the B&A or else pick out one i haven't done yet. some of this will depend on the pending eye surgery and as always, my cancer checkups. i mention that only because my dr has guaranteed it will come back.
golf wise i hit the ball really well yesterday and my short game is coming around again finally. hitting a few hundred putts and chips almost everyday now. was cut somewhat short today as the rain poured down while i was on the green. got my 200 putts in and many chips-no pitches though. did hit a bucket of balls and that went ok. always hard making grip and swing changes, but am trying.
and life goes on for now- still lots of emails to catch up on. started to putt some of the house back together again and will continue to toss stuff away. also signed up to go to NC to play golf for several days after the new year's. sort of a birthday present for myself.
more soon-
way to go penn state and u of maryland on their wins today. also texas and did fordham win too?
so when do the baseball teams start getting into gear and make some moves. always one of my favorite times of the year- baseball free agency.
seems the quad strain is getting better. it still is very tight but there is no pain just for being alive like there was a few days ago. and to that end i went about 5 miles yesterday and 9 miles today. it went much better today despite finishing in the rain. hope to really ramp up the stretching this week, but don't want to get hurt stretching again so i will be more than careful. in the past 6 days since the marathon i have covered 38 miles and done one ride of 22 or so. probably not enough recovery, but my style through 185 marathons has been to do too much too soon and just take longer to recover. i do want to build back up and add some more speedwork while i try to decide what's next. most likely some shorter races and another marathon in the spring, maybe an old favorite like the B&A or else pick out one i haven't done yet. some of this will depend on the pending eye surgery and as always, my cancer checkups. i mention that only because my dr has guaranteed it will come back.
golf wise i hit the ball really well yesterday and my short game is coming around again finally. hitting a few hundred putts and chips almost everyday now. was cut somewhat short today as the rain poured down while i was on the green. got my 200 putts in and many chips-no pitches though. did hit a bucket of balls and that went ok. always hard making grip and swing changes, but am trying.
and life goes on for now- still lots of emails to catch up on. started to putt some of the house back together again and will continue to toss stuff away. also signed up to go to NC to play golf for several days after the new year's. sort of a birthday present for myself.
more soon-
Thursday, November 13, 2008
a little bit of everything and a lot of rain
up early and out the door and tried to run a little between walk segments to see how everything felt and the legs didn't feel bad. went slowly and stopped to stretch very carefully every 20 minutes and stayed out long enough to get in about 6 miles. but bad surprise at home later as the right quad was clearly strained somewhat by the stretching. i get hurt stretching much more than i ever do running. iced it down and went about the days work noting here that the rain was really heavy by now and that golf with the group was a washout for today and rescheduled for next week.
i spent about 50 minutes putting on the family room rug while washing clothes and then started in on putting the house back together now that most of the work is done. at some point i will start repairing the stuff that the work crews messed up- mostly painting.
then took advantage of a break in the heavier rain to go out and hit balls for awhile and do some short chipping. raked some more leaves as i was already wet and came in to get some reading done. will do emails over the weekend though i have two luncheons scheduled.
took a chance and rode the indoor bike at a nice easy 22 mph at 84 rpm's just to see how the right quad was doing, and put some heat on it afterwards. felt better than this morning, but was not like it had been a mirage of my mind and something was still there. will deal with it gently and keep an eye on it.
gail came home late and we took a break and had some dinner and watched an old movie we both liked and now here i am wrapping up the day. a sort of decent day that overcame an earlier down feeling i could not quite put my finger on. i know there is post marathon race stuff that one could feel, but never have in my other 184 marathons.
can the world just let sarah palin quietly re-gather herself and move on for a bit? good enough that the right team won and now maybe the world can deal with the global economy, lack of energy and the coming heat wave. maybe we'll have less snow this winter.
hang in there everyone. get some exercise.
i spent about 50 minutes putting on the family room rug while washing clothes and then started in on putting the house back together now that most of the work is done. at some point i will start repairing the stuff that the work crews messed up- mostly painting.
then took advantage of a break in the heavier rain to go out and hit balls for awhile and do some short chipping. raked some more leaves as i was already wet and came in to get some reading done. will do emails over the weekend though i have two luncheons scheduled.
took a chance and rode the indoor bike at a nice easy 22 mph at 84 rpm's just to see how the right quad was doing, and put some heat on it afterwards. felt better than this morning, but was not like it had been a mirage of my mind and something was still there. will deal with it gently and keep an eye on it.
gail came home late and we took a break and had some dinner and watched an old movie we both liked and now here i am wrapping up the day. a sort of decent day that overcame an earlier down feeling i could not quite put my finger on. i know there is post marathon race stuff that one could feel, but never have in my other 184 marathons.
can the world just let sarah palin quietly re-gather herself and move on for a bit? good enough that the right team won and now maybe the world can deal with the global economy, lack of energy and the coming heat wave. maybe we'll have less snow this winter.
hang in there everyone. get some exercise.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
walk, run, golf
a simple day spent doing a walk/run very early in semi darkness so i could be home when the furniture repair guy showed up to cut up our new sofa and then re-assemble it on a different floor level.
ran some and the legs are coming back some- made another mental note to really start stretching more and more once the legs are ready for it. spent the next few hours with the sofa guy and then headed over to the 9 hole course and played ok. not there yet, but got away with some so-so shots; best part was that my misses stayed in play and i chipped really well. even birdied the tough par 4 3rd hole when a really so-so 2 iron hybrid shot bounced up onto the green and stopped 3 feet from the hole. made that putt and was lucky on that hole.
but what the golf gods giveth they also take back- on the next par 3 hole i actually hit the flagstick with my 5 iron tee shot only to have it bounce off the flag stick and go into the back bunker for what turned out to be a bogie 4. some good and some so-so shots but scored well with a good short game and only 15 putts for the 9 holes. then spent two hours practicing the short game and putting. had already hit 100 balls earlier before i played.
spent the evening doing stuff around the house and reading after some phone calls trying to arrange a few things. may or may not play golf tomorrow as the rain is supposed to hit around noon.
and then it is time to put the house back together and get on with whatever is next.
more soon.
ran some and the legs are coming back some- made another mental note to really start stretching more and more once the legs are ready for it. spent the next few hours with the sofa guy and then headed over to the 9 hole course and played ok. not there yet, but got away with some so-so shots; best part was that my misses stayed in play and i chipped really well. even birdied the tough par 4 3rd hole when a really so-so 2 iron hybrid shot bounced up onto the green and stopped 3 feet from the hole. made that putt and was lucky on that hole.
but what the golf gods giveth they also take back- on the next par 3 hole i actually hit the flagstick with my 5 iron tee shot only to have it bounce off the flag stick and go into the back bunker for what turned out to be a bogie 4. some good and some so-so shots but scored well with a good short game and only 15 putts for the 9 holes. then spent two hours practicing the short game and putting. had already hit 100 balls earlier before i played.
spent the evening doing stuff around the house and reading after some phone calls trying to arrange a few things. may or may not play golf tomorrow as the rain is supposed to hit around noon.
and then it is time to put the house back together and get on with whatever is next.
more soon.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
useless sort of an ok day
up and out for a 5 mile walk and some slow jogging. legs still not really ready to run and i wasn't intending to try, just to test the muscles a bit. but a beautiful morning and i enjoyed the walk part and the time spent with neighbors on the trail.
then came home and finished this year's planting and did some more leaf raking. ran a bunch of errands and did some inside stuff and went off to practice some short game and hit a bucket of balls-so-so, but never do that well after not hitting for 5 days. my heart and head are just not into golf right now. need to re-think what i am doing with it as i have no cogent strategy for getting my game back and also having some fun with it just now.
spent the rest of the evening trying to motivate myself to so some work, but ended up reading all night. will try again tomorrow. one more worker coming to wrap up for now i hope. then we can get back to putting it all together again.
short and sweet, the blog will take on a new view soon. 70 days to obama time.
79,857 miles down and 143 to go for 80,000. only a number i know.
with 185 marathons done now, do i focus on 200 or just do what comes up? can i get faster? a few more days off and than a restart.
then came home and finished this year's planting and did some more leaf raking. ran a bunch of errands and did some inside stuff and went off to practice some short game and hit a bucket of balls-so-so, but never do that well after not hitting for 5 days. my heart and head are just not into golf right now. need to re-think what i am doing with it as i have no cogent strategy for getting my game back and also having some fun with it just now.
spent the rest of the evening trying to motivate myself to so some work, but ended up reading all night. will try again tomorrow. one more worker coming to wrap up for now i hope. then we can get back to putting it all together again.
short and sweet, the blog will take on a new view soon. 70 days to obama time.
79,857 miles down and 143 to go for 80,000. only a number i know.
with 185 marathons done now, do i focus on 200 or just do what comes up? can i get faster? a few more days off and than a restart.
Monday, November 10, 2008
day after harrisburg marathon
so the marathon went pretty well actually given my less than usual long run training, though i ran more miles than ever in the past year. and that strength carried me through despite the tightness in the quads late in the run. the cement certainly didn't help and though there were so pretty decent hills, i had done plenty of hill work and ran up all of the hills without any walking at all, though i certainly did slow down some.
statistically i ended up 18th in my age group and 569th out of 769 finishers-today i found that the chip time was faster than i had it on my watch by several seconds. funny but i remember telling gail that i was in pretty decent 17 mile shape and that i would just tough out the rest and in fact, the 18th mile was uphill and that is where i started to slow down some- 33 seconds and then 19 was another 25 seconds s the hill got bigger and then i stayed there for awhile until 24 and 25 when i lost some more seconds, but at least i was able to speed up for the last mile and get it over. they had one of the finishes where you go past the finish line and do a loop back to it and that just seemed long, but i ran in pretty well at least.
thanks again to christina, katherine, nikki and brandi from morgantown, pa who helped me a bunch by letting me run with them for about 16 or 17 miles when they didn't slow down and i did. nice to be young, but they were really nice also. and then the usual chase after people helped me for awhile and the women singing big and rich was pretty entertaining also. as the end approached you find yourself around the same people and there is some mental camaraderie to getting it over as you pass and are passed by the same people as you each suffer at different points.
one funny thing to me was my heart rate and how high it got right away - even the first mile was run at 156 and for me that is about 84%. every mile until 18 was run in the 150's with 18 hitting 163 and 19 at 166-those included some hills also. mile 22 was at 160 as was the last mile at 162. so 166 was the high heart rate that i noticed at least. i did walk about 2.5 mile cooldown to let the lactic acid slow down and that always helps and including the walking at the end the watch said i burned 4244 calories with 25% of that coming from fat. will see what that means later. i spent 4hours, thirty seven minutes and 34 seconds above my 70% heart rate. may not have been the smartest way to go and not what i had intended, but probably started too quickly trying to stay with the the women from morgantown and at least i found out that i could run 4+ hours at that heart rate-something i never do in training.
and so marathon #185 is in the books. a little lingering tightness, but no apparent injuries. some sore toes maybe- i did run in asics 2140's the new shoes just out and i did have it long enough to run some in it before the race. asics are usually just fine out of the box, though even i wouldn't try that unless desperate.
lots of shopping and raking of leaves today and a little bit of chipping and putting and eating and feeling ok. got the bookclub book done and sent in my comments to the UK. miss that bunch.
and so onto golf tomorrow i hope. i was disappointed at how cold i felt today and hoping that is not my future as i noticed that starting to change in oxford also. age or Renaud's? time will tell.
veteran's day tomorrow- thanks to all of you! glad i was able to serve also.
now to pick out the next race.
statistically i ended up 18th in my age group and 569th out of 769 finishers-today i found that the chip time was faster than i had it on my watch by several seconds. funny but i remember telling gail that i was in pretty decent 17 mile shape and that i would just tough out the rest and in fact, the 18th mile was uphill and that is where i started to slow down some- 33 seconds and then 19 was another 25 seconds s the hill got bigger and then i stayed there for awhile until 24 and 25 when i lost some more seconds, but at least i was able to speed up for the last mile and get it over. they had one of the finishes where you go past the finish line and do a loop back to it and that just seemed long, but i ran in pretty well at least.
thanks again to christina, katherine, nikki and brandi from morgantown, pa who helped me a bunch by letting me run with them for about 16 or 17 miles when they didn't slow down and i did. nice to be young, but they were really nice also. and then the usual chase after people helped me for awhile and the women singing big and rich was pretty entertaining also. as the end approached you find yourself around the same people and there is some mental camaraderie to getting it over as you pass and are passed by the same people as you each suffer at different points.
one funny thing to me was my heart rate and how high it got right away - even the first mile was run at 156 and for me that is about 84%. every mile until 18 was run in the 150's with 18 hitting 163 and 19 at 166-those included some hills also. mile 22 was at 160 as was the last mile at 162. so 166 was the high heart rate that i noticed at least. i did walk about 2.5 mile cooldown to let the lactic acid slow down and that always helps and including the walking at the end the watch said i burned 4244 calories with 25% of that coming from fat. will see what that means later. i spent 4hours, thirty seven minutes and 34 seconds above my 70% heart rate. may not have been the smartest way to go and not what i had intended, but probably started too quickly trying to stay with the the women from morgantown and at least i found out that i could run 4+ hours at that heart rate-something i never do in training.
and so marathon #185 is in the books. a little lingering tightness, but no apparent injuries. some sore toes maybe- i did run in asics 2140's the new shoes just out and i did have it long enough to run some in it before the race. asics are usually just fine out of the box, though even i wouldn't try that unless desperate.
lots of shopping and raking of leaves today and a little bit of chipping and putting and eating and feeling ok. got the bookclub book done and sent in my comments to the UK. miss that bunch.
and so onto golf tomorrow i hope. i was disappointed at how cold i felt today and hoping that is not my future as i noticed that starting to change in oxford also. age or Renaud's? time will tell.
veteran's day tomorrow- thanks to all of you! glad i was able to serve also.
now to pick out the next race.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
harrisburg marathon 2008-#185
just back from harrisburg where i ran 4:40:40- my first marathon in several years and number 185 overall. had a very nice time and met some really nice people. seemed to have gotten over a virus i have had this past week just in time as my temperature was 98.2 and my morning heart rate was 48. very briefly i ran pretty well and even better than i had hoped to. the biggest problem was the quads tightening up around 18-19 miles as i just was not used to running that hard for so long without any walking at all. will try to figure out a way to deal with that better but at least i was able to keep going though slowing down and toughing it out. and it went much better than the 5:15 i thought i would run.
enough of that for now but back to it soon. have been up for over 18 hours and need some rest. the past several days here were spent dealing with the house and workers and also a computer that was not working correctly as norton made a mistake and stopped my virus protection and i was afraid to send out emails on this pc. got that fixed as they realized eventually that i had renewed my stuff a month ago.
back on the computer tomorrow after a morning walk. the legs will get a little rest before i run again. thanks to the women from near philly who let me run with them and enjoy their company for as long as i could stay with them and also to the many really nice people i met their. the three other relevant words for this marathon were wind, cement and hills.
enough of that for now but back to it soon. have been up for over 18 hours and need some rest. the past several days here were spent dealing with the house and workers and also a computer that was not working correctly as norton made a mistake and stopped my virus protection and i was afraid to send out emails on this pc. got that fixed as they realized eventually that i had renewed my stuff a month ago.
back on the computer tomorrow after a morning walk. the legs will get a little rest before i run again. thanks to the women from near philly who let me run with them and enjoy their company for as long as i could stay with them and also to the many really nice people i met their. the three other relevant words for this marathon were wind, cement and hills.
Friday, November 07, 2008
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
and obama wins!!!
a day that started for me by voting at 7am after waiting in line and then going to the track and running a nice smooth track workout of 100's and 200's and ended with barack obama winning the presidency was a decently good day, despite the rain. even had a surprise visit by the door people which cost me my golf game but i squeezed in a very little bit of practice; did have the lock guy come and do his usual great job -why are some people so competent and others are so nottttyttttt?
after 4 hours of sleep last night and not a lot going to happen tonight i will be back tomorrow and wrap this up. still raining out. the run went well. in good shape for a decent 5k but it will have to wait 6 more weeks. the groin muscle is still torn and don't i scream inside when i turn the leg by surprise- the pain is incredible and yet if i don't turn wrong it never hurts at all- weird?
more tomorrow---
after 4 hours of sleep last night and not a lot going to happen tonight i will be back tomorrow and wrap this up. still raining out. the run went well. in good shape for a decent 5k but it will have to wait 6 more weeks. the groin muscle is still torn and don't i scream inside when i turn the leg by surprise- the pain is incredible and yet if i don't turn wrong it never hurts at all- weird?
more tomorrow---
5miles and some golf
tapering continues- 5 very easy miles this morning followed by some work in the garden and walking 9 holes of golf- played really so-so again and have just no confidence in my game right now. despite several hooked tee shots and poorly struck balls i also had three birdies; what an up and down half round, but the truth is the game i once had is gone for now at least- question is -do i want to spend the time and money trying to re-find it?
some more garden work and chores followed by some golf practice- not quite ready to give up totally yet.
spent the evening reading and catching up on bill paying plus some phone calls and some planning for the next few weeks-
am really frustrated by my own lack of motivation right now and the overwhelming amount of stuff i need to get done, but i will buckle down and get it done- does it really matter anyway?
a new beginning is coming, but first i have to get up and go vote in a few hours-
back later-
some more garden work and chores followed by some golf practice- not quite ready to give up totally yet.
spent the evening reading and catching up on bill paying plus some phone calls and some planning for the next few weeks-
am really frustrated by my own lack of motivation right now and the overwhelming amount of stuff i need to get done, but i will buckle down and get it done- does it really matter anyway?
a new beginning is coming, but first i have to get up and go vote in a few hours-
back later-
Sunday, November 02, 2008
searching for answers-will the harrisburg marathon provide them?
yanni in the background playing reflections of passion- nice soft background music-
ran track this morning just trying to put some life back into the legs and knowing i would take lots of time off this week to do basically a one week taper rather than my usual three weeks. but i usually train right also and didn't this time. though i did put in lots of miles and a little speedwork and some hills-
short workout working on leg turnover --- 20 x 100 and 3 x 200 (48's- still some leg speed despite the pain and torn muscle) it is easy to forget the muscle is still torn as it doesn't bother me when i walk or run no matter how hard- but later today i accidentally caught it on the edge of the door and the leg turned around d the groin didn't and it was like being stabbed really deeply- i know what that feels like also)
but the workout went well and i came home and had a nice pancake breakfast and then worked on the new rock garden for shade container plants i am creating- using a 160 pound rock as a center piece; should be nice if it works out like i want.
the rest of the day was pretty typical- gail went off to ride and i went to practice some short game and hit some balls- then back home to paint and do laundry and deal with house stuff- this week and the next one will be spent on getting the house back in some sort of order and maybe, just maybe, someone will show up and finish the work on it they started -hahaha i am sure-
and then to figure out what is next. am very disappointed in myself and how things are working out or not as they say- seem to be caught in the middle of several things right now and have to work them out- will see how the week plays out...
will be curious to see how harrisburg goes- not the race itself, but the experience. with 184 marathons behind me and maybe another 30 ultras or more, i used to really enjoy going to races and seeing old friends and then racing and also seeing the sights where we were. will see how this one goes. time to make some new friends; will get into the running club when we get back. maybe...... it does seem fruitless right now as i am barely a runner despite the miles. i can live with being slower; there are no more sub 3 hour marathons in me or 4 or probably 5 hours, but figuring out a way to train and eat and live somewhat in balance has been a challenge i am failing at. need the guidebook for old athlete wannabees..
2140's;;; got a pair of new 2140's and they are great; without looking up the stats i can just say that they feel a little lighter than the 2130's but just as stable and i always liked that i could take a pair of asics out of the box and just go run in them.
the running list is into one of the usual threads that come up about who is and isn't a runner. the young guns think they have the answers, but they don't - a few will be proven to be genetically gifted and slow down more slowly than most; but most will get slow and tight and sore and stiff and just old. they won't be able to do the middle mileage hard runs that really keep you in shape. everyone can go long and slow, and maybe short and fast, but not in a decent training program. and then one day suddenly you are old with tight hip flexors and piriformis muscles and quads and ,,,, why bother.. stretch and lift seem to be the answers and control the weight and keep racing. instead of going longer go shorter and faster. maybe that is the answer- but everyone needs to find out what will work for them. they should save their comments and re-read them in 25 years.
i can remember running fast also. and the pace i ran a 6 hour race at i cannot do now for 4 miles. so what? i ran 2970 miles last year and most people on my running list would say i was not a runner because i ran so slow. but i also have 50 marathons under 3:10 so was i just a runner then? i digress i know- i become a bigger believer in the bell curve everyday- i must learn to live with and somehow enjoy getting old -ha on that, but i will seek a peace with it that i just don't have yet..
still searching for answers..............
congrats to paula radcliffe for another nyc marathon win!
ran track this morning just trying to put some life back into the legs and knowing i would take lots of time off this week to do basically a one week taper rather than my usual three weeks. but i usually train right also and didn't this time. though i did put in lots of miles and a little speedwork and some hills-
short workout working on leg turnover --- 20 x 100 and 3 x 200 (48's- still some leg speed despite the pain and torn muscle) it is easy to forget the muscle is still torn as it doesn't bother me when i walk or run no matter how hard- but later today i accidentally caught it on the edge of the door and the leg turned around d the groin didn't and it was like being stabbed really deeply- i know what that feels like also)
but the workout went well and i came home and had a nice pancake breakfast and then worked on the new rock garden for shade container plants i am creating- using a 160 pound rock as a center piece; should be nice if it works out like i want.
the rest of the day was pretty typical- gail went off to ride and i went to practice some short game and hit some balls- then back home to paint and do laundry and deal with house stuff- this week and the next one will be spent on getting the house back in some sort of order and maybe, just maybe, someone will show up and finish the work on it they started -hahaha i am sure-
and then to figure out what is next. am very disappointed in myself and how things are working out or not as they say- seem to be caught in the middle of several things right now and have to work them out- will see how the week plays out...
will be curious to see how harrisburg goes- not the race itself, but the experience. with 184 marathons behind me and maybe another 30 ultras or more, i used to really enjoy going to races and seeing old friends and then racing and also seeing the sights where we were. will see how this one goes. time to make some new friends; will get into the running club when we get back. maybe...... it does seem fruitless right now as i am barely a runner despite the miles. i can live with being slower; there are no more sub 3 hour marathons in me or 4 or probably 5 hours, but figuring out a way to train and eat and live somewhat in balance has been a challenge i am failing at. need the guidebook for old athlete wannabees..
2140's;;; got a pair of new 2140's and they are great; without looking up the stats i can just say that they feel a little lighter than the 2130's but just as stable and i always liked that i could take a pair of asics out of the box and just go run in them.
the running list is into one of the usual threads that come up about who is and isn't a runner. the young guns think they have the answers, but they don't - a few will be proven to be genetically gifted and slow down more slowly than most; but most will get slow and tight and sore and stiff and just old. they won't be able to do the middle mileage hard runs that really keep you in shape. everyone can go long and slow, and maybe short and fast, but not in a decent training program. and then one day suddenly you are old with tight hip flexors and piriformis muscles and quads and ,,,, why bother.. stretch and lift seem to be the answers and control the weight and keep racing. instead of going longer go shorter and faster. maybe that is the answer- but everyone needs to find out what will work for them. they should save their comments and re-read them in 25 years.
i can remember running fast also. and the pace i ran a 6 hour race at i cannot do now for 4 miles. so what? i ran 2970 miles last year and most people on my running list would say i was not a runner because i ran so slow. but i also have 50 marathons under 3:10 so was i just a runner then? i digress i know- i become a bigger believer in the bell curve everyday- i must learn to live with and somehow enjoy getting old -ha on that, but i will seek a peace with it that i just don't have yet..
still searching for answers..............
congrats to paula radcliffe for another nyc marathon win!
Saturday, November 01, 2008
very short post-79,795 miles done
am back in town again after time in philly again- more on everything later-- phils win- ran my 79,795 mile- almost at the meaningless number of 80,000.
house almost done and about to start putting it back together-lots to do there but over time.
harrisburg next week. then baltimore maybe or richmond or va beach-
then head to the west coast sometime next-
back later- just wanted to let people know i am still alive. cataract surgery still not scheduled yet. legs were truly dead this morning and will really cut back this week.
elections finally are about here. will be good to know bush is almost done. maybe....will be a good test for our country and also for the people who take polls. also want to see how the red and blue map chaanges or doesn't.
house almost done and about to start putting it back together-lots to do there but over time.
harrisburg next week. then baltimore maybe or richmond or va beach-
then head to the west coast sometime next-
back later- just wanted to let people know i am still alive. cataract surgery still not scheduled yet. legs were truly dead this morning and will really cut back this week.
elections finally are about here. will be good to know bush is almost done. maybe....will be a good test for our country and also for the people who take polls. also want to see how the red and blue map chaanges or doesn't.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
track and golf on gail's birthday-ron griswold's also
up and at the track while still dark. had a 10:12 tee time and needed to be done the workout as early as possible. mostly just wanted to stretch the legs out a bit and see how i felt. whatever i had seems to have passed or else it is lingering quietly inside and at least not bothering me daily as it did last week.
did a short walk/jog warmup in sort of a surreal setting as there were two pole lamps over by the baseball field on and they cast some light onto a water laden and puddled up track. since i only wanted to run 100's and maybe a test of a couple of 200's this did not cause any problems.
ran sets of 6 like i did in oxford and stretched every 6. the goal was to stretch out the legs and not just beat myself into the ground. basically each 100 for about the first 12 went a little faster as i got looser and more warmed up, a sign that i really need to warm up more-like i used to be capable of doing. this is mental to some degree, but i know i only have so much running in me before the leg starts to tighten up and i hate to waste it warming up- as a coach i know this makes no sense. my runners may remember that i always said i coached myself differently than i coached them- must be like being your own lawyer and having a fool for a client.
through the puddles i ran. at 45 degrees it was nice running- the wind was tough, but so be it. i did each set in a different direction so that i ran with and against the wind for training purposes. the sun came up sort of behind some clouds, but the wind picked up. was not raining yet, but it would be. after 23 x 100 i ran a 200 in 51 and then another in 49. heart rate was 157 for the 49; had been 151 for the 51.
49.3 actually and that is 6:36 pace. i used to run half marathons at a faster pace, but it also shows that not all of my speed is gone. i know i need to take more time off and do other things as well to get faster if i want to do that. i have the head of someone who has run 184 marathons and about 35 ultras. my head is a 50 mile guy, but is my body doomed to be a 5k runner? will need to sort that out instead of fighting it.
with 24 x 100 and 2 x 200 i did a 20 minute cooldown and stretched and headed home. just enough time to shower and eat a healthy breakfast and head off to the golf course. the wind had picked up and it was pretty cold. a drizzle was on and off. at the course i was the first golfer of the day. i knew the staff and they seemed happy to have someone show up. i walked 18 holes alone and only saw two other guys out there behind while i played. did so-so with only two birdies and 11 pars. didn't hit the ball that well, but got around and tried to get used to the new glasses prescription. very strong and the ball seemed weird when looking down on the tee box or putting. need to get used to that.
finished up and stopped by the nursery and picked up the last plant of the season- like to put one final one in before the ground freezes, my own little tradition. picked up a nice abelia with white flowers and also got a very large rock to start a new island around in the spring. and then home.
did some painting and cleaning up and started to put the laundry room back into shape. hit a bucket of pitches and chips in the backyard and then did some laundry and after dinner here i am. another day done-
today is gail's birthday, but she is at school and by now on her way home. back to philadelphia tomorrow. have driven a great deal lately for sure.
one week until the election and will be glad to have it over i hoped!
happy birthday to ron wherever you are- my emails come back to me.
did a short walk/jog warmup in sort of a surreal setting as there were two pole lamps over by the baseball field on and they cast some light onto a water laden and puddled up track. since i only wanted to run 100's and maybe a test of a couple of 200's this did not cause any problems.
ran sets of 6 like i did in oxford and stretched every 6. the goal was to stretch out the legs and not just beat myself into the ground. basically each 100 for about the first 12 went a little faster as i got looser and more warmed up, a sign that i really need to warm up more-like i used to be capable of doing. this is mental to some degree, but i know i only have so much running in me before the leg starts to tighten up and i hate to waste it warming up- as a coach i know this makes no sense. my runners may remember that i always said i coached myself differently than i coached them- must be like being your own lawyer and having a fool for a client.
through the puddles i ran. at 45 degrees it was nice running- the wind was tough, but so be it. i did each set in a different direction so that i ran with and against the wind for training purposes. the sun came up sort of behind some clouds, but the wind picked up. was not raining yet, but it would be. after 23 x 100 i ran a 200 in 51 and then another in 49. heart rate was 157 for the 49; had been 151 for the 51.
49.3 actually and that is 6:36 pace. i used to run half marathons at a faster pace, but it also shows that not all of my speed is gone. i know i need to take more time off and do other things as well to get faster if i want to do that. i have the head of someone who has run 184 marathons and about 35 ultras. my head is a 50 mile guy, but is my body doomed to be a 5k runner? will need to sort that out instead of fighting it.
with 24 x 100 and 2 x 200 i did a 20 minute cooldown and stretched and headed home. just enough time to shower and eat a healthy breakfast and head off to the golf course. the wind had picked up and it was pretty cold. a drizzle was on and off. at the course i was the first golfer of the day. i knew the staff and they seemed happy to have someone show up. i walked 18 holes alone and only saw two other guys out there behind while i played. did so-so with only two birdies and 11 pars. didn't hit the ball that well, but got around and tried to get used to the new glasses prescription. very strong and the ball seemed weird when looking down on the tee box or putting. need to get used to that.
finished up and stopped by the nursery and picked up the last plant of the season- like to put one final one in before the ground freezes, my own little tradition. picked up a nice abelia with white flowers and also got a very large rock to start a new island around in the spring. and then home.
did some painting and cleaning up and started to put the laundry room back into shape. hit a bucket of pitches and chips in the backyard and then did some laundry and after dinner here i am. another day done-
today is gail's birthday, but she is at school and by now on her way home. back to philadelphia tomorrow. have driven a great deal lately for sure.
one week until the election and will be glad to have it over i hoped!
happy birthday to ron wherever you are- my emails come back to me.
Monday, October 27, 2008
three days with a world series game thrown in
in a nutshell, it is three days since my last; email has been down sort of as today i found 80+ emails sent directly to my blocked folder- will have to deal with them tomorrow and finish this also-
starting in the middle- last night after running a decent track workout in the morning and driving to phila i went to game 4 of the world series with my brother and his son and bre, david's wife; despite the cold we had a pretty good time and the phils won to go up 3-1; as i type they are in a rain delay tied 2-2;
friday i had an ok though tired run before going to work at the golf course- no workers showed up as they were going to. my morning pulse was 54- that is way off for no apparent reason and i didn't fell sick or tired so i have no idea why- if i die unexpectedly it will have been a sign i suppose- hope not- today's pulse was 47 on almost no sleep and many hours on my feet and or driving and also with not that much food. who knows? i did have a really nice little 7 mile run today and was surprised at that as i was not as hydrated as i should have been and should have been really tired.
so for last week i got 54 miles in to cap a stretch of 58, 55, 59, 52 and 54- and only one day off- just not enough long runs; best was 17 and also a 14 plus 3 twelve's and an 11 and some 10's. oh well--- 2 weeks until harrisburg one way or another.
no golf at all but am supposed to play tomorrow while gail teaches on her birthday- rain may change that-
we did the austin grill thing tonight and it was nice- has been awhile;
more tomorrow---peace
starting in the middle- last night after running a decent track workout in the morning and driving to phila i went to game 4 of the world series with my brother and his son and bre, david's wife; despite the cold we had a pretty good time and the phils won to go up 3-1; as i type they are in a rain delay tied 2-2;
friday i had an ok though tired run before going to work at the golf course- no workers showed up as they were going to. my morning pulse was 54- that is way off for no apparent reason and i didn't fell sick or tired so i have no idea why- if i die unexpectedly it will have been a sign i suppose- hope not- today's pulse was 47 on almost no sleep and many hours on my feet and or driving and also with not that much food. who knows? i did have a really nice little 7 mile run today and was surprised at that as i was not as hydrated as i should have been and should have been really tired.
so for last week i got 54 miles in to cap a stretch of 58, 55, 59, 52 and 54- and only one day off- just not enough long runs; best was 17 and also a 14 plus 3 twelve's and an 11 and some 10's. oh well--- 2 weeks until harrisburg one way or another.
no golf at all but am supposed to play tomorrow while gail teaches on her birthday- rain may change that-
we did the austin grill thing tonight and it was nice- has been awhile;
more tomorrow---peace
Friday, October 24, 2008
an ok day of stuff done and undone
up this morning after 9 hours of sleep, the most i have had in a long time, and found my pulse to be at 54. just cannot remember the last time it was that high-maybe when i had the flu or after one of my surgeries- but it was not a good sign that on a day after i basically took it as easy as i could and slept as much as i did that my weight was down a couple of pounds and my pulse was just horrible.
given that scenario and not quite sure what to do as i didn't feel sick and am hoping there is no deep down hidden health, once you have cancer you think every weird thing happening is the cancer returning-it doesn't help me that my drs have promised me a relapse at some point given the 100% chance i have of a recurrence statistically.
but out the door i went and ran and took some walk breaks to try not to push it too much and did a little over 5 miles. legs started ok and tired after 3 miles. not good. skipped the bike ride and did some yard work and then went to work when the work crew did not show up as planned. did the afternoon shift at the golf course and a little bit of practicing afterwards and came home. feel worse and am mad that i was dumb enough to skip my vitamins this week a couple of times for no real reason other than i just didn't take them. lack of routine ....
email is back up and will catch up tomorrow before i head back out to penna. would be really nice to be back in oxford right now. gail's birthday this week, a world series game to go to and my brother is coming in from oregon. this plus more house stuff should keep the week busy enough, not to mention all of the driving ahead. and here comes the rain, faking oxford perhaps.. kidding--
still trying and failing to catch up but have a new plan i will put into action tomorrow as it is almost tomorrow right now.
given that scenario and not quite sure what to do as i didn't feel sick and am hoping there is no deep down hidden health, once you have cancer you think every weird thing happening is the cancer returning-it doesn't help me that my drs have promised me a relapse at some point given the 100% chance i have of a recurrence statistically.
but out the door i went and ran and took some walk breaks to try not to push it too much and did a little over 5 miles. legs started ok and tired after 3 miles. not good. skipped the bike ride and did some yard work and then went to work when the work crew did not show up as planned. did the afternoon shift at the golf course and a little bit of practicing afterwards and came home. feel worse and am mad that i was dumb enough to skip my vitamins this week a couple of times for no real reason other than i just didn't take them. lack of routine ....
email is back up and will catch up tomorrow before i head back out to penna. would be really nice to be back in oxford right now. gail's birthday this week, a world series game to go to and my brother is coming in from oregon. this plus more house stuff should keep the week busy enough, not to mention all of the driving ahead. and here comes the rain, faking oxford perhaps.. kidding--
still trying and failing to catch up but have a new plan i will put into action tomorrow as it is almost tomorrow right now.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
progress??? run, bike and golf....
two days later now and i am just not keeping up-- like tonight i got home late last night and then have to do so much to get ready for the next day that there is not much time to blog or do much of any of what i once considered real life- knowing that it is all part of real life doesn't help when the time is spent dealing with house construction stuff-
yesterday started with a short run and then house stuff and then just went to play 9 holes of golf. met up with three other guys doing the same as me and we had a nice enough outing together. played ok despite still not striking the ball that great and ended up 3 over par with two birdies. happy enough though given the state of my not practicing like i would like.
then drove to meet gail at the HMO for her tests and that went ok-now wait for the results of course. and then home. hit some chips in the backyard and putted a bit and then spent the night trying to put some order back into the rooms which were worked on. needed to find some winter clothes to run in as the weather is clearly turning towards winter and we may have seen the last of any warm days. then jumped on the indoor bike and rode 25 miles just trying to spin at 90-95 rpm's without really trying to ride hard. that went ok and watched the phils game as i rode. and then went back to work on house stuff knowing the guys were coming at 7am this morning and things had to be moved around.
exercise wise yesterday included 4 miles of running, 3 miles of walking and 25 miles of indoor biking plus some golf practice and 9 holes of golf. today started off differently as i knew i couldn't run and be home by 7am. so i moved the cars out of the way( as i just moved them back) and then did some garden work,some laundry, and started to clean out the shed. by 8:30 nobody had shown up and i put a phone call in to find out they hadn't really planned on coming. some miscommunication there for sure but they decided to come by 1pm.
so off i went to run and did a pretty solid 8 miles on the trail and road trying to just run steady. a very pretty morning and quite chilly, but it was nice to be out there along the river. got home with a little time to spare and rode the bike waiting for them to show up. got 23 miles in and they came as i was stopping. worked out as ok as it could have but i also knew that both doors were not getting put on today ( and as it turns out not tomorrow either).
the crew worked until after 5pm and i did some cleanup work and then went to hit some balls. a long slow ride to the range, but got lucky and had a chance to work a bit with a pro there who showed me why i was hitting the ball thin like i had been. hit 100 balls working on that and then chipped and putted for awhile and then hit some more balls working on the drills he gave me. must say it was a big help and i was making better contact almost right away and hit many really good balls. not all of them of course. need to keep going and work out the rest of it now. showed me the problem with trying to stay behind the ball the way i was doing it and how that kept me from hitting down on the ball like i should be doing, though it did keep me from blocking.
and then home. but first i saw a car accident on the way home where someone just cut out the car two cars in front of me and the guy had to moved and ended up hitting the barrier trying not to get creamed-the bad driver guy didn't stop and the good driver honda guy had a smashed in right front side-a shame the other guy just drove away. he had to know he caused an accident.
9:30 almost as i got home and moved the cars back into the driveway and tomorrow we will have to move them back again i guess. also have to work at the golf course. have a lot to do before i go to philly.
and life goes on- this is all peripheral stuff and as long as we are healthy for now we are ok. the house will get done no matter how slowly and at what cost. need to better about dealing with the ups and downs of the affect it has on my life better mentally and am trying to roll with it , but doing only so-so at that.
the next few weeks will be really busy with lots of driving and some good and bad stuff happening. will hope for the best and try to deal with it all. maybe the couch will even come. maybe the email will work - cox kept me out again today. the new norton stuff has changed something and i will try to work it out very soon. i type so slowly anyway that trying to maintain contract and relationships over email can be trying, though it is very practical with overseas friends.
winter is coming. more soon-
yesterday started with a short run and then house stuff and then just went to play 9 holes of golf. met up with three other guys doing the same as me and we had a nice enough outing together. played ok despite still not striking the ball that great and ended up 3 over par with two birdies. happy enough though given the state of my not practicing like i would like.
then drove to meet gail at the HMO for her tests and that went ok-now wait for the results of course. and then home. hit some chips in the backyard and putted a bit and then spent the night trying to put some order back into the rooms which were worked on. needed to find some winter clothes to run in as the weather is clearly turning towards winter and we may have seen the last of any warm days. then jumped on the indoor bike and rode 25 miles just trying to spin at 90-95 rpm's without really trying to ride hard. that went ok and watched the phils game as i rode. and then went back to work on house stuff knowing the guys were coming at 7am this morning and things had to be moved around.
exercise wise yesterday included 4 miles of running, 3 miles of walking and 25 miles of indoor biking plus some golf practice and 9 holes of golf. today started off differently as i knew i couldn't run and be home by 7am. so i moved the cars out of the way( as i just moved them back) and then did some garden work,some laundry, and started to clean out the shed. by 8:30 nobody had shown up and i put a phone call in to find out they hadn't really planned on coming. some miscommunication there for sure but they decided to come by 1pm.
so off i went to run and did a pretty solid 8 miles on the trail and road trying to just run steady. a very pretty morning and quite chilly, but it was nice to be out there along the river. got home with a little time to spare and rode the bike waiting for them to show up. got 23 miles in and they came as i was stopping. worked out as ok as it could have but i also knew that both doors were not getting put on today ( and as it turns out not tomorrow either).
the crew worked until after 5pm and i did some cleanup work and then went to hit some balls. a long slow ride to the range, but got lucky and had a chance to work a bit with a pro there who showed me why i was hitting the ball thin like i had been. hit 100 balls working on that and then chipped and putted for awhile and then hit some more balls working on the drills he gave me. must say it was a big help and i was making better contact almost right away and hit many really good balls. not all of them of course. need to keep going and work out the rest of it now. showed me the problem with trying to stay behind the ball the way i was doing it and how that kept me from hitting down on the ball like i should be doing, though it did keep me from blocking.
and then home. but first i saw a car accident on the way home where someone just cut out the car two cars in front of me and the guy had to moved and ended up hitting the barrier trying not to get creamed-the bad driver guy didn't stop and the good driver honda guy had a smashed in right front side-a shame the other guy just drove away. he had to know he caused an accident.
9:30 almost as i got home and moved the cars back into the driveway and tomorrow we will have to move them back again i guess. also have to work at the golf course. have a lot to do before i go to philly.
and life goes on- this is all peripheral stuff and as long as we are healthy for now we are ok. the house will get done no matter how slowly and at what cost. need to better about dealing with the ups and downs of the affect it has on my life better mentally and am trying to roll with it , but doing only so-so at that.
the next few weeks will be really busy with lots of driving and some good and bad stuff happening. will hope for the best and try to deal with it all. maybe the couch will even come. maybe the email will work - cox kept me out again today. the new norton stuff has changed something and i will try to work it out very soon. i type so slowly anyway that trying to maintain contract and relationships over email can be trying, though it is very practical with overseas friends.
winter is coming. more soon-
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
4 days worth/computer back up for now at least
no telling at what point my norton protection will crash again but for now i am working online.. was afraid to do too much in case i could mess someone else up- am so far behind now on emails, but the house is moving along- in a nut shell as i had 4hours of sleep last night trying to get the computer to work correctly--
ran 9, 9, 6 and 8 respectively in the last four days plus did 2 indoor twenty mile rides on the bike. had a really good run sunday and today, despite this morning's heart rate of 52--- hasn't been that high in a very long time and usually indicates that i am sick as it is even too high to show that i am just tired. last 4 weeks running mileage was 58, 55, 59 and 52. getting it back up though not doing anything long enough to train for this marathon and am now in taper time mode; counting on the old 3 hour runs getting me through. biggest problem i have is the legs just getting tight. at night they have been cramping way too often despite all of my usual time tested methods of not letting that happen.
we also attended an history dinner on saturday and caught some of the texas win over missouri and the saturday night live show with sarah palin- won't get into what i thought of that; then sunday we went to our friends don and judy and met roy and barbara and had a pizza party while we watched their presentation of the past summer's normany trip that they and gail went on together. a good time.
monday and tuesday i fit my stuff in and around the guys working on the house and dealing with yet a new bathroom leak in our third bathroom. what a house!
and this weekend i have the world series game i hope as we have tickets. will need to figure out how to get them to everyone so that we can all get in. will call-----
a little golf practice, but no playing other than 9 holes at hilltop one evening after the workers left. will decide what to do about golf really soon.
and now to put the house back together and get the rest of the shopping we need to do done and replace the furniture and stuff we threw away due to the flooded conditions.
more to say but it will have to wait. 79,707 is where i stand at the moment. less than 300 to go to hit 80k. big deal it is not i know, but another round number milestone. needing 293 miles, but also needing to taper for the race in penna. and with so much travel coming up- at least several driving trips- will be lucky to run some days. normally that would be less than 6 weeks, but would hope to hit it in about 7 weeks, putting it right around pearl harbor day, ironically i suppose.
will do some emails tomorrow if the pc is still working. the electric is back on as is the water. 2 doors and some painting to go -
the election is almost here and gone and the fate of the world awaits it. they really need another solution to the electoral college. but i digress. peace people. make sure you all vote- the vote and the boycott are two of our only tools.
ran 9, 9, 6 and 8 respectively in the last four days plus did 2 indoor twenty mile rides on the bike. had a really good run sunday and today, despite this morning's heart rate of 52--- hasn't been that high in a very long time and usually indicates that i am sick as it is even too high to show that i am just tired. last 4 weeks running mileage was 58, 55, 59 and 52. getting it back up though not doing anything long enough to train for this marathon and am now in taper time mode; counting on the old 3 hour runs getting me through. biggest problem i have is the legs just getting tight. at night they have been cramping way too often despite all of my usual time tested methods of not letting that happen.
we also attended an history dinner on saturday and caught some of the texas win over missouri and the saturday night live show with sarah palin- won't get into what i thought of that; then sunday we went to our friends don and judy and met roy and barbara and had a pizza party while we watched their presentation of the past summer's normany trip that they and gail went on together. a good time.
monday and tuesday i fit my stuff in and around the guys working on the house and dealing with yet a new bathroom leak in our third bathroom. what a house!
and this weekend i have the world series game i hope as we have tickets. will need to figure out how to get them to everyone so that we can all get in. will call-----
a little golf practice, but no playing other than 9 holes at hilltop one evening after the workers left. will decide what to do about golf really soon.
and now to put the house back together and get the rest of the shopping we need to do done and replace the furniture and stuff we threw away due to the flooded conditions.
more to say but it will have to wait. 79,707 is where i stand at the moment. less than 300 to go to hit 80k. big deal it is not i know, but another round number milestone. needing 293 miles, but also needing to taper for the race in penna. and with so much travel coming up- at least several driving trips- will be lucky to run some days. normally that would be less than 6 weeks, but would hope to hit it in about 7 weeks, putting it right around pearl harbor day, ironically i suppose.
will do some emails tomorrow if the pc is still working. the electric is back on as is the water. 2 doors and some painting to go -
the election is almost here and gone and the fate of the world awaits it. they really need another solution to the electoral college. but i digress. peace people. make sure you all vote- the vote and the boycott are two of our only tools.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
12 miles and no dust plus golf
not even sure what i wrote about yesterday as i was not in a very good mood and so today with nobody able to come work on any part of the house i got up early and went out to run with gail. we ran north on the tail and did the east blvd loop in both directions rather than stay on the trail and came back through the neighborhood rather than get back on the trail. we even added the pretty loop around the horticulture center taking in their version of the secret garden we came to really like at Blenheim palace in woodstock, uk.
i ran gail back to the house and went back out for some more running. was disappointed that my were so tight, but they loosened up some along the way and the second half of the run was better than the first half as is my usual custom. and also as usual it ended with a thud as suddenly my legs say it is time to stop now. the bike riding is so much fun for me but despite every attempt to ride in different levels and rpm's i cannot keep it from tightening up the quads, even with extra stretching. but still, a very pretty day and i stayed out long enough to get 12 miles in. just cannot make myself stay out loner right now and i will pay for that later.
this was to be the erie 12 hour run weekend, but the car being towed thursday night put a damper on any long distance travel as well as the house work getting in the way and the need to go to the store tomorrow to get the parts so that the broken shower can get fixed- as much as i like our new indoor fountain water noise-.
met some of my new and old neighbors after the run and ralph and i went back to my house and i dug up a 3-4 foot holly tree for his wife to plant next to their others and finish the row. will do better in their garden as it could not get enough sun in ours. and now i have a spot for another mahonia i hope.
then took a tour of stefanie nick's kitchen to see where their walls were knocked down as i want to do something similar with our walls to open up the space. they have the cutest little daughter, ella. an actual enjoyable morning....
then home to do a little yard work and laundry and then off to the driving range and played 9 holes of golf. did some short game practice and hit a badly hit bucket of balls. i have no idea it seems when it comes to my golf swing anymore since we went to england and my handicap has doubled. need to get some help, bu schedule wise it has to wait until after the major house stuff is behind us. all in all i played better than i practiced which is nice, but almost funny.
even had two birdies, but no confidence on the course unless i was chipping. and even though i putted ok, it has been many months now since i have been comfortable with my grip which just feels all wrong. still, made an 8 and 9 foot putt for the two birdies. shot 36- 5 over par-had one double when i came out of a bunker long and had to pitch back. was in 4 bunkers today-not at all the usual.
but after when i tried to hit a little bucket of balls hitting only my 56 degree wedge and my 5 iron, i was putrid. i will not play golf this way for the rest of my life and will find a way to fix it or stop. would rather just garden.
quiet enough restful evening. tried to do some emails but they had all been removed from my inbox and transferred to my other account- will have to get this straightened out this week as well as hook up the new printer.
and life goes on. all good-even the bad stuff- not cancer and nobody is shooting at me and i am not living in a tent trying to dodge rats and insects and waiting for mortars. not living in my car either though that experience taught me several things at the time. how dumb can a smart person be at any one time.... all in one's perspective- but time to add some value and balance. soon i hope. the dancing bear is restless.
have world series tickets for one game and that should be fun despite the driving involved and the cost.
playing a mix of yanni, mana and reo in the background.
fun weekend ahead- back later.
i ran gail back to the house and went back out for some more running. was disappointed that my were so tight, but they loosened up some along the way and the second half of the run was better than the first half as is my usual custom. and also as usual it ended with a thud as suddenly my legs say it is time to stop now. the bike riding is so much fun for me but despite every attempt to ride in different levels and rpm's i cannot keep it from tightening up the quads, even with extra stretching. but still, a very pretty day and i stayed out long enough to get 12 miles in. just cannot make myself stay out loner right now and i will pay for that later.
this was to be the erie 12 hour run weekend, but the car being towed thursday night put a damper on any long distance travel as well as the house work getting in the way and the need to go to the store tomorrow to get the parts so that the broken shower can get fixed- as much as i like our new indoor fountain water noise-.
met some of my new and old neighbors after the run and ralph and i went back to my house and i dug up a 3-4 foot holly tree for his wife to plant next to their others and finish the row. will do better in their garden as it could not get enough sun in ours. and now i have a spot for another mahonia i hope.
then took a tour of stefanie nick's kitchen to see where their walls were knocked down as i want to do something similar with our walls to open up the space. they have the cutest little daughter, ella. an actual enjoyable morning....
then home to do a little yard work and laundry and then off to the driving range and played 9 holes of golf. did some short game practice and hit a badly hit bucket of balls. i have no idea it seems when it comes to my golf swing anymore since we went to england and my handicap has doubled. need to get some help, bu schedule wise it has to wait until after the major house stuff is behind us. all in all i played better than i practiced which is nice, but almost funny.
even had two birdies, but no confidence on the course unless i was chipping. and even though i putted ok, it has been many months now since i have been comfortable with my grip which just feels all wrong. still, made an 8 and 9 foot putt for the two birdies. shot 36- 5 over par-had one double when i came out of a bunker long and had to pitch back. was in 4 bunkers today-not at all the usual.
but after when i tried to hit a little bucket of balls hitting only my 56 degree wedge and my 5 iron, i was putrid. i will not play golf this way for the rest of my life and will find a way to fix it or stop. would rather just garden.
quiet enough restful evening. tried to do some emails but they had all been removed from my inbox and transferred to my other account- will have to get this straightened out this week as well as hook up the new printer.
and life goes on. all good-even the bad stuff- not cancer and nobody is shooting at me and i am not living in a tent trying to dodge rats and insects and waiting for mortars. not living in my car either though that experience taught me several things at the time. how dumb can a smart person be at any one time.... all in one's perspective- but time to add some value and balance. soon i hope. the dancing bear is restless.
have world series tickets for one game and that should be fun despite the driving involved and the cost.
playing a mix of yanni, mana and reo in the background.
fun weekend ahead- back later.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
back from philly in time to whine
seems like the days are still spent dealing with the house and contractors, but we did take a break and go to philly for my mom's birthday and had a very nice visit with too much food and not enough exercise, but a nice trip, including a stop at the nike outlet store. fortunately the ride up and back went much better than usual and we didn't sit in construction for hours. even gas was cheaper there.
and back home to the continued mess which we call our house. can you hear the plumber and the carpenters in the background, while others just paint quietly. a shower leak, two broken toilets and new doors are being dealt with as i type. next week we are back to tile and painting. with some luck most of everything will be done but the storm doors- one was ordered ad one mistakenly not -- more mistakes there i won't get into.
run and golf wise not much has happened. squeezed in what little i can by going out in the dark, but today they were here at 7am and rode the bike indoors instead. may even go run tonight if people are out of here early enough. am many weeks behind on the marathon training and will hope that all of the 3 hour runs in england will carry over some. did do 12 twice and one 15 here but not enough and not enough longer runs either. can 184 marathons of experience help- the mind maybe, but not he legs.
also my golf handicap has doubled since we left for england. squeezing in a little practice, but nowhere near enough and not playing hardl at all-as my friends are at penderbrook playing today and i am here cleaning tile.
what i have become is a good indoor bike rider-ha on that huh? rode 27 good miles while watching our future president -who???- one of them anyway- during the debate last night and another 26 this morning. morning heart rate is stuck on 48, much too high. do notice that the legs can ride easier than run as the tight quads and hip flexors and the torn abductor muscle don't seem to affect the bike spinning like they do the run striding. am hoping it helps a little bit- heart rate wise i can get it up into the 75% range if i ride real hard. mostly the rate is more like a very slow jog or a fast walk.
didn't help gaining a bunch of weight at my mom's, but it did prove to me what i have really know for some time-i have no metabolism. any eating at all of more than my most recent senior type diet causes weight gain- 4-6 pounds goes right on and takes forever to come back off. back to fruit and veggies.
all for now. with no power as they turn it on and off i have lost several emails and just stopped trying. with no computer at my mom.s either i am just way behind. fighting an urge to just do nothing sometimes i need to somehow keep myself motivated and sometimes i do and sometimes i cannot. the goals are getting squashed and so the really good stuff is hard to keep doing, though i try and i do some little stay in touch stuff. not enough and i am not winning the fight the way i used to win it. to play lousy golf and run so poorly it takes more motivation than i have sometimes, so i wear myself out gardening, while they work on the house and i perfect my little chip shots in the back yard- a week now since i hit a wood and days since i putted. will change that i hope.
whining a little i know. tired of lousy work done on bad schedules for lots of money. it is like eating out in oxford-so-so food for lots of money and slow,bad, unfriendly service. everyone seems to expect you to just live with what they offer as they know you can't do better.
time to talk with the plumber, who seems like a good guy. the whining stops for a little bit.
and back home to the continued mess which we call our house. can you hear the plumber and the carpenters in the background, while others just paint quietly. a shower leak, two broken toilets and new doors are being dealt with as i type. next week we are back to tile and painting. with some luck most of everything will be done but the storm doors- one was ordered ad one mistakenly not -- more mistakes there i won't get into.
run and golf wise not much has happened. squeezed in what little i can by going out in the dark, but today they were here at 7am and rode the bike indoors instead. may even go run tonight if people are out of here early enough. am many weeks behind on the marathon training and will hope that all of the 3 hour runs in england will carry over some. did do 12 twice and one 15 here but not enough and not enough longer runs either. can 184 marathons of experience help- the mind maybe, but not he legs.
also my golf handicap has doubled since we left for england. squeezing in a little practice, but nowhere near enough and not playing hardl at all-as my friends are at penderbrook playing today and i am here cleaning tile.
what i have become is a good indoor bike rider-ha on that huh? rode 27 good miles while watching our future president -who???- one of them anyway- during the debate last night and another 26 this morning. morning heart rate is stuck on 48, much too high. do notice that the legs can ride easier than run as the tight quads and hip flexors and the torn abductor muscle don't seem to affect the bike spinning like they do the run striding. am hoping it helps a little bit- heart rate wise i can get it up into the 75% range if i ride real hard. mostly the rate is more like a very slow jog or a fast walk.
didn't help gaining a bunch of weight at my mom's, but it did prove to me what i have really know for some time-i have no metabolism. any eating at all of more than my most recent senior type diet causes weight gain- 4-6 pounds goes right on and takes forever to come back off. back to fruit and veggies.
all for now. with no power as they turn it on and off i have lost several emails and just stopped trying. with no computer at my mom.s either i am just way behind. fighting an urge to just do nothing sometimes i need to somehow keep myself motivated and sometimes i do and sometimes i cannot. the goals are getting squashed and so the really good stuff is hard to keep doing, though i try and i do some little stay in touch stuff. not enough and i am not winning the fight the way i used to win it. to play lousy golf and run so poorly it takes more motivation than i have sometimes, so i wear myself out gardening, while they work on the house and i perfect my little chip shots in the back yard- a week now since i hit a wood and days since i putted. will change that i hope.
whining a little i know. tired of lousy work done on bad schedules for lots of money. it is like eating out in oxford-so-so food for lots of money and slow,bad, unfriendly service. everyone seems to expect you to just live with what they offer as they know you can't do better.
time to talk with the plumber, who seems like a good guy. the whining stops for a little bit.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
two more days gone by
what can i say? i just cannot seem to find time to do everything i want to and my emails and blog entries have suffered for sure, and will continue to for some short time period into the future as i don't always have access to my computer/electric power.
but the last two days flew by quickly and i have to be up in a few hours to drive to penna. so in another little nutshell- ran 7 miles yesterday and was pretty tired, but added 21 miles on the indoor bike and then spent the days running errands and working on house stuff, before leaving for the usa-cuba soccer game and meeting gail's faculty friends for dinner beforehand. all went well enough and the usa
won 5-1 before 20,000+ people at rfk stadium.
home late and skipped blogging- then up early and ran 6 miles and rode another 20 and did errands and house stuff again before going to the range and getting in a very short practice session. short game went ok, hitting 65 balls went less well. always feel rushed these days there as i do most everywhere right now.
legs are dead and will take some time off. need to make a fast decision about the next few weeks schedule. will try to resolve some stuff at my mom's.
and off i go- skins lost, cowboys lost also- not sure of the eagles and the phillies are playing now.
i will get caught up eventually. no work crews this week for the main stuff, but the new doors will be here and done later this week i am told. meanwhile another plumbing problem has begun upstairs and will just have to wait until we are back and we can hope for the best until then.
chicago marathon was today also but i have no idea what happened. must be better than last year i do hope.
but the last two days flew by quickly and i have to be up in a few hours to drive to penna. so in another little nutshell- ran 7 miles yesterday and was pretty tired, but added 21 miles on the indoor bike and then spent the days running errands and working on house stuff, before leaving for the usa-cuba soccer game and meeting gail's faculty friends for dinner beforehand. all went well enough and the usa
won 5-1 before 20,000+ people at rfk stadium.
home late and skipped blogging- then up early and ran 6 miles and rode another 20 and did errands and house stuff again before going to the range and getting in a very short practice session. short game went ok, hitting 65 balls went less well. always feel rushed these days there as i do most everywhere right now.
legs are dead and will take some time off. need to make a fast decision about the next few weeks schedule. will try to resolve some stuff at my mom's.
and off i go- skins lost, cowboys lost also- not sure of the eagles and the phillies are playing now.
i will get caught up eventually. no work crews this week for the main stuff, but the new doors will be here and done later this week i am told. meanwhile another plumbing problem has begun upstairs and will just have to wait until we are back and we can hope for the best until then.
chicago marathon was today also but i have no idea what happened. must be better than last year i do hope.
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