Yippee-i-ay - Cow Patti!
Yippee-i-ay - Cow Patti!
She rode into town to find the man that killed her daddy!
Yippee-i-ay - Cow Patti!
I sang this in my head today in the last mile of what made a 25+ mile week (26.1) and felt good. It was the first time I could say or think that since 2007. It may seem like peanuts to all 100-mile week runners, but given that last October, I could care less if I ran again, this is GREAT!
I use the lyrics often when I am elated. People look at me and think it makes no sense. But this was a song by Jim Stafford released in 1980. I was graduating from high school, and some wild and crazy guy (not Steve Martin or me) suggested making it our Grad Theme Song. I went to school with a strange bunch, and I do not think anyone has changed, except I got older. If you want to see Jim Stafford perform this gem, see below:
Anyway, I was elated. The funny thing is the runs are nice and easier, but the weight is the same. I'm not even going to worry about that yet. Just keep running and enjoying the time outdoors and whatever will be... Then again, one of my favorite Minnesota River trails was underwater this weekend... I hope that is short-lived... My mind has been on my hometown of Fargo lately... I called the parents, and it appears the farm will make it through the flood. I recall as a youth, some of the floods, we had a basement filled with water... and we were 8 miles west of the Red River. It is just flat and flat back home! I used to run the overpasses for hill training.
I'm looking forward to what I hope is the last snow spit this week. I have to look at the positive side, but I would rather not have it like I have a choice. So next week, if things continue like they have, I will have a 29-mile week. And if I don't, that is alright as long as I keep having fun getting miles in.
Carry on...
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Third week of enjoyment...
I have three weeks in a row with over 20 miles a week, and I enjoyed it! Well, mostly. There were a few days I did not want to run. But I got through the first mile and was happy I went. Each week I increased 5% or more a week. This week, I will have a 10-15 percent increase over last week just cause it feels good and I have more time? I am still determining. There may be more bike riding as an option, depending on the weather.
I heard my pal Steve broke another bone. You would think, with all the news we hear about his neighborhood, that someone would hurt him other than himself? This may be a blessing in disguise. If he always has a broken bone, the thugs will leave him alone. Either way, I wish him well and hope he takes care of himself. He is a great guy. I need to keep up all the writing to keep me sane... or at least it is good reading.
I have a good friend in her mid-30s who has never been married and is struggling with a ticking clock (she wants kids)... She has had some hard times in the dating field, and I just do not get it, as she is a great person... Well, maybe I do... My advice to her is not to be so stressed over it, but I see her point. She meets nothing but folks who are over the edge. Some things I hear make me wonder if I am getting weird and the normal people seem weird or if the world is becoming more strange. What happened to manners, please, thank you, opening a car door, allowing yourself to love? A coworker told me of her daughter's boyfriend coming to the house and honking the horn or calling her on the cell phone so she could come out... Is this just strange dating habits becoming the norm, and am I a dying specimen? Anyway, I have so many questions whenever we speak about relationships that I need clarification on.
Anyway, enough broad-based information. Finally, week 4 is underway, with another 4-mile run tonight in the rain, but it was nice. I registered for Afton. As I said before, I am 95% sure i will not be running it and will just be donating to a great run if I don't, but if that 5% changes, I wanted my spot... And I saw Kent Neuburger is coming back. I'm curious if many of you know him. I have only met him twice but love his fight and desire.
Carry on...
I heard my pal Steve broke another bone. You would think, with all the news we hear about his neighborhood, that someone would hurt him other than himself? This may be a blessing in disguise. If he always has a broken bone, the thugs will leave him alone. Either way, I wish him well and hope he takes care of himself. He is a great guy. I need to keep up all the writing to keep me sane... or at least it is good reading.
I have a good friend in her mid-30s who has never been married and is struggling with a ticking clock (she wants kids)... She has had some hard times in the dating field, and I just do not get it, as she is a great person... Well, maybe I do... My advice to her is not to be so stressed over it, but I see her point. She meets nothing but folks who are over the edge. Some things I hear make me wonder if I am getting weird and the normal people seem weird or if the world is becoming more strange. What happened to manners, please, thank you, opening a car door, allowing yourself to love? A coworker told me of her daughter's boyfriend coming to the house and honking the horn or calling her on the cell phone so she could come out... Is this just strange dating habits becoming the norm, and am I a dying specimen? Anyway, I have so many questions whenever we speak about relationships that I need clarification on.
Anyway, enough broad-based information. Finally, week 4 is underway, with another 4-mile run tonight in the rain, but it was nice. I registered for Afton. As I said before, I am 95% sure i will not be running it and will just be donating to a great run if I don't, but if that 5% changes, I wanted my spot... And I saw Kent Neuburger is coming back. I'm curious if many of you know him. I have only met him twice but love his fight and desire.
Carry on...
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Getting caught up?
Getting caught up is always challenging. Writing in the blog is one of the things I need to catch up on. I think we all have such busy lives, economic strains, relationship pressures, and weather changes to bring us down, but we have exercising, March Madness, great friends (old and new), looking forward to the warmer weather, and seeing things optimistically to lift us up.
The last post expressed excitement about a 20-mile week as an enjoyable week. That was followed by a 21.3-mile week last week and much enjoyment in the runs. This week started great with the weather. I ran 4.1 miles at lunch and walked 2.1 miles after work Monday; yesterday, I rode my bike to and from work, ran 4 miles at lunch, and walked 2 miles after work again. I feel so tired; I struggled to get the 5K out of the way during lunch? Well, we can not always expect great runs… The first mile was filled with "turn around and quit" thoughts, but then I got into a groove and still struggled.
I have had almost a week to mull the movie Beyond the Epic Run through my mind. It was great to see the ultra runners there, and I was glad I went. I will see it again, as it left me with some thoughts that may have been covered in the movie, but I may have missed them. I may purchase the diary as well…
At the movie's end, we were asked to summarize it in three words. That was hard for me as I saw the film as a phenomenal production that took me through as many human emotions as I thought I could experience all in one sitting. I used the words "depressing, humbling, and motivating."…
To me, it was many stories! A strong story of love… The love between Serge and Nicole, the passion for running, the love for a challenge, and the love for general humanity. It was an eye-opener for the variety of world conditions we often only think are made for television promotions for "feed the children". It was a tragic story as at the start I saw two young, vibrant people who looked so old and worn at the end… It was a life experience story where people often support you and then, for some reason, change their minds. It was a story of hope. They were positive no matter what they encountered (at least the movie shows such). So many more stories in this story! The more I think about this remarkable story, the more I think about it, which makes me think about much more than a run.
I got an e-mail that
Looking forward to volunteering at Chippewa this year. I just received some information about my assignment. Looks like fun.
I only have an occasional tennis match to officiate for the next three weeks. Less than 4-5 hours a day max for this weekend and only one assignment the next two after that! Looking forward to getting some weekend workouts in for a change.
Maybe I'll see some of you out there… if you run slow enough for me to keep up?
Carry on!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Heart Rate Monitor use / Stress
In a past post, I wrote about wearing a heart rate monitor every time I run. There was a correlation between life stresses and the impact on the heart rate. Some suffer heart attacks and other issues as we age. As we lose the ability to understand, our internal organs may not be willing to keep up with our demands, and they crash.
I had a tough weekend. Last week was over a 75-hour work week, much of which was very high stress over the weekend. Although the excitement is I ran and enjoyed 5 runs totaling 20 miles in a week for the first time this year… My running miles per week to date:
So, last week was filled with limited sleep, increased workouts, and a weekend from hell. So, at lunch today, I laced up, put on my heart rate monitor, and prepared to go for a 4-mile run. I felt good. Then, less than 3 minutes into the run, I looked at my watch… 158 BPM. I was doing just over a 10-minute mile. I stopped. Within a minute, it dropped to 130. I started again. My heart rate rose fast to the high 150 BPM. Again, I stopped, it dropped quickly. I used my watch to check my pulse. I counted, and it was within the range of what the monitor stated. I felt like I was not even working out. My muscles felt fine, but my heart was not…
So I ran again, doing whatever it took to keep my heart rate no more than 145. I slowed to a 12-minute mile to accomplish this goal. Last week, I started the week with just under a 10-minute mile and an average HR of 136 BPM. So why the increased heart rate? The stress in my job and the very stressful 30-hour weekend officiating tennis took a toll on my internal organs. They need to recover.
Many say I am crazy for having such a theory mentioning this situation. However, this is not the first time my heart rate monitor has given me reason to be concerned. In the heat of the Afton 50 K in 2007, at about 20 miles, my HR went to 170 BPM, and I was walking. I took some ice, iced me down, and walked. Slowly, my HR reached the 120s, and I could run the last 7 miles. I believed my heart was stressed due to the increased body temperature from the heat?
So I do not run without the HR monitor, and some think I rely too much on an electronic device. My question to many of you is, is using an HR monitor an excellent way to monitor potential issues during high-stress times? I really think so, and when people ask why I have this belief… My response is, “I want to live…”
Carry on…
I had a tough weekend. Last week was over a 75-hour work week, much of which was very high stress over the weekend. Although the excitement is I ran and enjoyed 5 runs totaling 20 miles in a week for the first time this year… My running miles per week to date:
3 miles13.6 miles15.9 miles0 miles15 miles17.8 miles4.9 miles0 miles14,4 milesand last week 20.2 miles -- YIPEE
So, last week was filled with limited sleep, increased workouts, and a weekend from hell. So, at lunch today, I laced up, put on my heart rate monitor, and prepared to go for a 4-mile run. I felt good. Then, less than 3 minutes into the run, I looked at my watch… 158 BPM. I was doing just over a 10-minute mile. I stopped. Within a minute, it dropped to 130. I started again. My heart rate rose fast to the high 150 BPM. Again, I stopped, it dropped quickly. I used my watch to check my pulse. I counted, and it was within the range of what the monitor stated. I felt like I was not even working out. My muscles felt fine, but my heart was not…
So I ran again, doing whatever it took to keep my heart rate no more than 145. I slowed to a 12-minute mile to accomplish this goal. Last week, I started the week with just under a 10-minute mile and an average HR of 136 BPM. So why the increased heart rate? The stress in my job and the very stressful 30-hour weekend officiating tennis took a toll on my internal organs. They need to recover.
Many say I am crazy for having such a theory mentioning this situation. However, this is not the first time my heart rate monitor has given me reason to be concerned. In the heat of the Afton 50 K in 2007, at about 20 miles, my HR went to 170 BPM, and I was walking. I took some ice, iced me down, and walked. Slowly, my HR reached the 120s, and I could run the last 7 miles. I believed my heart was stressed due to the increased body temperature from the heat?
So I do not run without the HR monitor, and some think I rely too much on an electronic device. My question to many of you is, is using an HR monitor an excellent way to monitor potential issues during high-stress times? I really think so, and when people ask why I have this belief… My response is, “I want to live…”
Carry on…
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Good week/weak
I finally adjusted from the trip. It's nice to be back, but I miss seeing my son daily. This weekend and the next two weekends are 25-30 hour weekends officiating tennis, so training will be limited. Then I have 7 of the following 8 weekends with little tennis needs. Great time to set the base. I need to determine the 2009 race schedule other than Grandma's marathon. My main focus is not doing anything to make my 25th consecutive Grandma's Marathon challenging.
Over the past 2 months, I have tried to enjoy running and look forward to the chance to run... although I found it hard to run 12-minute miles and felt like I was working so hard doing so. Could it have been the snow and ice? Could it have been the extra shake in the mid-section? So, this past week, I decided to run at least four (4) or seven (7) days with nothing slower than 10-minute miles. I had thought this would be hard as I have been struggling.
Here is what I accomplished:
To many who read this blog, a 15-mile week is only a daily jaunt. However, I am pleased... and I was surprised. Tuesday was pure hell, but I enjoyed it. This is the first time in months I felt good about running. In the scope of things, this is less than a 15-mile week.
This is after a lame start to 2009: 16 runs and 47.5 miles (average pace 12:10) for January and 10 runs and 37.1 miles (average pace 11:32) for February. But the last week of February was good. I am looking forward to March. That's good!
Carry on!
Over the past 2 months, I have tried to enjoy running and look forward to the chance to run... although I found it hard to run 12-minute miles and felt like I was working so hard doing so. Could it have been the snow and ice? Could it have been the extra shake in the mid-section? So, this past week, I decided to run at least four (4) or seven (7) days with nothing slower than 10-minute miles. I had thought this would be hard as I have been struggling.
Here is what I accomplished:
Monday 3.2 miles at 9:20 pace Max HR 158
Tuesday 3 at 9:57 pace Max HR 165
Thursday 4 miles at 9:15 pace Max HR 153
Friday 4.2 miles at 9:17 pace Max HR 151
To many who read this blog, a 15-mile week is only a daily jaunt. However, I am pleased... and I was surprised. Tuesday was pure hell, but I enjoyed it. This is the first time in months I felt good about running. In the scope of things, this is less than a 15-mile week.
This is after a lame start to 2009: 16 runs and 47.5 miles (average pace 12:10) for January and 10 runs and 37.1 miles (average pace 11:32) for February. But the last week of February was good. I am looking forward to March. That's good!
Carry on!
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