Been a While

Run for the lobster and no more.

I was in Pictou and enjoyed a nice 5k with my son, an annual run called run for the lobster.  This was the 5ft of July and two weeks after I slowed my training due to heel pain.  I nursed myself and since I felt good, I ran it, and after I was fine.

Driving home from the Maritimes a week later my ankle started to swell, and get painful and lose mobility, This was July 14.  First I though, oh the swelling will reside probably from sitting too long, then I thought, well it might be my gout and ran a course of meds.  Then I saw a podiatrist who referred me to a doctor to get a scan.  The Doctor ordered Xrays and gave me great anti-inflamatories.  However there is still discomfort and occasional swelling, so..running season is scrapped.

The toughest part was accepting that I have an injury(or a condition) that prohibits me from training.  On this day Sept 16, 2015 - 2 months after the drive home.  I am still stiff with occasional pain.

The mystery continues.

If anyone reads this, Acceptance is the toughest most necessary thing, before accepting that I would have to DNS (Lachine half marathon and Montreal Marathon) I was obsessed with finding the right formula..."If I start next Monday, I can still run a shortened training plan", "If I squeeze 7 weeks of training in I may still finish the Montreal Marathon, hell I did one this year".

 The first week after Acceptance, was brutal, nothing motivated me, but slowly did I come out of the funk and started training for my winter sport.  6 months from now I will be gearing up for some race, I will have a diagnosis and treatment, and yes I actually will have to run-walk and rebuild from scratch.  NoT because I can't go out and run 5,  because rebuilding should be done from the ground up!

Bring on Curling season

Conquering the blue nose

May 17, Halifax, NS - a little over 5 and a half hours, and bang it was over.  I had a half hour negative split, and I was essentially done, out of gas by KM 35, but I managed, I survived and lived to tell.

Prior to my half marathon I had to slow my training, and this in turn, left me a little under trained...I asked for advice on chat boards and all said to drop out, I will burn out at km 32 and regret the last 10 k.  While not heeding their advice(I mean I drove 1200kms to participate), it did make me mentally prepared.

We left on a thursday night drove 400 Km to a small town called Riviere de Loup, where my wife swore she remenber a nice place to stay...She was wrong.

We arrived friday night and registered, what an atmosphere around the Halifax world trade center, I chose to take part in the Running Room's friendship run, to soak the atmosphere and get the lay of the land(my wife decided to save her energy)

Afterwards we drove our courses....hmmm thinking Halifax, ocean, must be long stretches of flat...WRONG! sooo Wrong.

Half Marathon, overcoming injuries and muddling foreward.

It has been a while that I have posted and on Sunday April 26 I ran the Montreal half marathon as part of my training.  It was a beautiful day , in fact I got sunburn...not expecting sunburn when the weather is supposed to be 5C and cloudy...

Late March thru mid april I suffered thru a heel injury that alternated between nagging and excruciating, I did limit myselfin my big upramp time for milage, as a result I was unsure of my half marathon results.

I was plesantly surprised when I found I was off by 36 seconds from my first, despite the interruption in training, and a little extra winter weight.  Also the day before I started having a gout attack

Tearing Down the Wall

Around Kilometer eight I thought I was done my pace bunny was outdistancing me and I thought I was done.   My legs felt like the stuff surrounding Hoffa, I felt as if I was a snail moving thru salt. but at kilometer 12 I hit a huge second wind and passed a hundred runners finishing a few minutes off my bunnies time.  I thought that was a testament to the training I did complete.

The Gout Conumdrum

Gout affects the joints and for me its my second toe joint, it becomes swollen painful and generally a drag.  Saturday I awoke with mild pain and took some meds, now the gout meds are actually a type of poison, and causes massive gastrointestinal discomfort, so I took them sparingly.  Sunday the pain was worse, and I limped in the morning, so here was my issue, do I restart the treatment knowing that I can royally wreck my run, or run with a lot of pain and lack of flexibility?  Since I was feeling no side effects, passing gas worse than baked bean night and stomach that hosted a party of Tequila, rum and beer.  I decided to take the meds and pray.

Balance of Training

Now 3 weeks out, fully in train mode, I have to respect my kilometers and yet squeeze a lot under me.  The training equivalent of having the cake and eating it too

Weights and mesures

I run on the beach in fear of harpoons.  While I am off my heaviest weight I feel 10lbs heavier than I did November, and I am scared to step on the scale.  Week 2 of my training is here, and of course I want everything now!  I want my 195 lbs body, I want my arobic capacity I want my speed, I want my endurance.  I suppose this is why many gyms empty out my Jan 15.

I am overall happy with my diet.  but I have to be worried my friend Beer.  Beer is a jovial king of fellow and in the right setting beer can be very helpful, but beer likes the good life.  Beer is like a newly retired dude, rediscovering life.  Beer likes to stay up late, and he loves his buddies.  While you are happy to have beer over sitting quietly in your stomach, beer is texting his buddies for a late night discussion, and soon more beer shows up.  Also beer gets peckish.  Beer waits for Will Power to go to sleep and bang now Junk food comes over.  Now Bam its midnight you have 3 or 4 beers in you and some 500 cal snack. 

Will Power wakes up and he is pissed, You are set back a day calorie wise and are tired bloated and dehydrated for your run/workout whatever.  And with Will Power being pissed all day at you your body looks for a comforting friend and thinks about inviting beer over after dinner...

The Air Hurts my Face

Jan 8, 2014

Roads caked with ice harder than concrete, light fluffy snow, -16C, -19C with windchill. This must mean its time for a 5k run...and a psyche evaluation.  Small Caveat here, I never ran in winter until this year, why? because its winter!!!!! and I live in Montreal, Quebec, where winters are like Moscow only in french.

Now I am not the swiftest runner (my pb in the 5k is 28:04)  but what a difference!  first of all the ground is both slippery and uneven due to the pitted sheets of ice.  This is harder on the stabilizers than running trails. And while I was dressed warm enough, the air hurt my face!  Why the hell do I live where the air hurts my face!???

So my final count 5.14 km in 40:22.  Otherwise I consider the run a success, and I am looking foreward to a 10k on saturday morning, even though it looks as though it will take me 90mins to run and I risk being overtaken by a glacier

My Big Fat Marathon Project

Happy New Year,

Time for resolutions( mine is 1280x780 pi).  For me the end of holidays means renewed focus on training.  The goal the Halifax Blue Nose Marathon on May 17.  That means 19 weeks to prepare,  19 weeks of hitting the road,  logging the klicks...one small problem I live in Montreal, and ITS MINUS A MILLION OUTSIDE!!!!!

This blog is about the trials of a once obese(now just fat) runner,  with injections of curling moments and real life.  No I did not weigh myself post Chistmas, but my belly resembles a Yule Log

Treadmill here I come