Now, if you’ve read my original post on doing pickups by heart rate, you know that I set a heart rate alarm on the Garmin that is slightly under my max heart rate.  My max heart rate had been running about 180-182.  When I first started running with the Garmin, I calculated my max HR (220 – 50; my age) at 170, but I measured my heart rate going to 180 when running flat out.  For a couple years, I’ve been using an alarm setting of 172.  When my HR gets to 172, I hear the beeps and run out the pickup for as long as I can hold, then slow down.

As long as I have run, that formula has worked just fine.  Until last Monday when I took off on my first pickup and kept going and going and going.  No beeps.  No alarms.  I look down and the Garmin says, “162.”  Ok, so slow down, jog a while and try it again.  My HR drops back to 130 and I start off again.  Maybe I didn’t run the pickup out fast enough?  You’re only supposed to reach about 80% of top speed.  Maybe I am just out of practice.  So, I’ll make this one faster.

I’m waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the beep.  None comes.  I’m going all out now and I look down, “164.”  What’s wrong?  Why won’t my HR go up?  I run the rest of my pickups by feel and just monitor the heart rate.  It never exceeded 167, and that was on the last one.  What has happened?  I know I’m fit.  Has something change?

Of course it has.  I’ve dropped 30 pounds!  And, I’m slightly older now.  OK, so my age only drops the max HR by 2 bpm, but when you go in with the idea that I’m now back to my calculated HR (220 – age), which is now 168, almost 167, you see the difference.  My extra weight artificially raised my max HR because of the extra stress.  Now, I need to figure out a new HR limit for pickups and try it again.

Of course, now, I’m not sure when that will be.  Tuesday evening I went for my regular swim.  Every time I tried to fully kick in the freestyle stroke, my left foot hurt.  I eased up on my kicking and could keep the pain under slight control, but at least once every lap, one strong kick would make me wince.

Just when I crossed 800 yds., it got worse.  Now it was throbbing and moving up the leg.  I stopped and made it back to the shallow end to see what was going on.  I could feel a large knot on top of my foot near the ankle.  It wasn’t hard and after a while, the know moved when pressing on it.  The pain was increasing.  My friend stopped to see how it was and I told him I was done for the night.

I hobbled home and put some ice on it.  I took some ibuprofen and wrapped it for the night.  It remained quite painful all night, but when I got up, the pain when down, the swelling went down, and I could walk.  I went two days at work with no real problems at all.  No problem walking.  I jogged a little coming home and didn’t feel anything either.  However, I got up this morning and could see a small bruise down near my toes.  That was odd.  I didn’t have any pain down there.

I thought I’d try spinning and see if that would be a problem.  For 52 minutes, it wasn’t.  Then it started again.  I got off and checked.  Sure enough, the swelling was back and the bruise had gotten larger.  Well, that bites.

Now, I am going to have to stick to my plan to do no workouts until Monday at least.  I can’t find any medical conditions exactly like it on the Internet.  The only one that is close sounds really bad.  I don’t think I’ve ripped a ligament or tendon.  That pain would remain…I think.

Well it happens.  You can’t get everything right.  I’ve gone a considerable length of time without an injury.  I guess you might say I’m overdue.  It’s just not a good time with a race coming up.  I’m going to be patient and wait until Monday.  Then, I’ll have to reassess whether this needs a doc or not.  I sure hope not.  They tend to go overboard when there is an injury.  And, my experience with a lot of docs is they aren’t all great diagnosticians.  But, we’ll just have to see.  Be careful and have fun running.

I put her off for about a year.  Then, I decided to actually run a marathon.  I thought it might be a good idea to actually do what the doctor said, for a change.  I got around to finishing the marathon before I got round to the stress test.  But, I got the referral, made the appointment, and today, was the day.

My doc had referred me to a cardiologist that did the stress test in his office.  In his office?  You have to know at this point, that I have spent 30 years or so in the engineering departments of hospitals.  No one could do a stress test in their office.  You had to at least go to an outpatient service, right?

Nope, this doctor had the gear in his office to take care of everything.  Dreadmill..I mean treadmill and even an echocardiowhatsitthingy.  So, off to the doctor I went this morning with my sweetie.  I also have to let you know that the cardiologist is..is, well, he’s either Indian or Pakistani.  No, it’s not a racist, “I can’t tell them apart.”  It’s an honest, “I can’t tell them apart.”  Both cultures are similar to an Anglo like myself and so it’s better to include both so as not to insult one or the other.

After I go through the usual endless filling out of forms, and the waiting, I got to go into the office.  The nurse comes in to do the expected blood pressure check, and in this case, take a resting EKG.  Those two things seemed normal.  After a little bit, the doc comes in and starts on the history.  First question, “Didn’t I come see you in hospital?”

“What???” went the brain.  “No, I don’t think you came to see me in the hospital, since I haven’t been there.”

“OK…,” and then he went on with the rest of the history questions, which include me telling him my primary doc wanted me to have the test done as a baseline sort of because she was worried about something happening.  I didn’t volunteer yet that I was a runner or triathlete.  I had planned it that way.  I wanted him to find out the hard way.  He asked about drinking and smoking (a little and not since 30).  He was glad of that, especially about the smoking part.  He went on to listen to my heart and lungs to see what he could find out.  “Good…Good…Good…” was all I could hear.  I tried to make a joke about what he would do if he found something bad, but he didn’t get it.

I had to wait in the waiting room for quite a while until they were ready to do the stress test.  They were running another one before me.  The doc told me it would take about fifteen minutes, but I forgot to count in doctor minutes, so about a half hour later, I got called back.

Two young ladies were the techs assigned to me and they carefully explained what they were going to do.  First would come the echocardiowhatsit and then I would be put on the treadmill.  Right…soon comes the treadmill.  They wired me up and hooked me to the EKG and then had me lay on my side so they could “slime” me with the transducer for the echocardiowhatsithingy.

While the tech was deftly seeking the best picture with the transducer and working the keyboard of the scanner, she decided upon small talk.  “So, why are we seeing you today?”  O-kaay, so I figured she probably didn’t know why I was there.  I gave her the same story as the doc, which was true.  Didn’t seem to phase her at all, she just went on with moving the transducer around and getting readings from different angles, similar to a photographer looking for different angles for a picture.

After taking several readings, the techs finally let me sit up and clean off the “goo” from the transducer and one went to get the doc for the treadmill portion.  Oh, yeah?  The doc is going to run the treadmill test.  What a hoot!  Me the crazy runner against the doc controlling the treadmill.   But, instead, this machine was automatic.  The doc just started it up and watched the screens.

The doc warned me when it would start and off we went…nowhere.  Well, it’s still a dreadmill.  You don’t go anywhere and no amount of medical technology changes that.  It was OK at first.  Just an easy walk on a little incline.  No biggy.  After a little of this, the doc tells me that it will go “faster” in 10 seconds.  Oh boy, faster.  When it kicked up, I was expecting it to go to a run, and I prepared for that.  The doc says not to go to fast.  It should just be a walk still.  I slowed down and settle in as it was just a fast walk.  The doc tells me that he didn’t want me to get too tired too fast.  Nooo, certainly not.

A little while later and the doc warns me again of it going “faster”.  When it kicked up this time, I did have to go to a slow run, probably about a 12 minute pace or so.  I was noticing it get harder, but it wasn’t feeling like it was elevating.  Until, I noticed that the poster on the wall to my left was getting lower and lower on the wall.  Yeah, we were going up.  A little later and the doc tells me to hold it for one minute.  One minute?  Sure thing doc!  One minute it is!

Well, the dreadmill finally came to a halt and I got off.  No more fun.  The doc tells me in his sing-song voice, “You did 9 minutes!  Excellent!”  Nine minutes on the treadmill?  It better be excellent.  I finally told the doc that I was a runner.  “Well, of course you can run.  You are in good health,” the doc replies.

“Yeah, doc.  I think I can run since I’ve been doing that for three years now,” said with not too much pride.  The doc seemed pleased.  The techs pulled off all the leads (Ouch!) and I prepared to leave.  It seems we took so long that the office staff were now on lunch.  I waited at the desk to see what was next.  The tech started to mention I should return in three months, but asked the doc instead.  “No, no need to return.  You are in good health.  No problem.”  And, those were all the words I needed to hear.  Happy Running!

So, I signed up and “tweeted”.  It seemed innocuous for a while.  Until, I started getting followers.  That was cool.  Someone actually wanted to hear what little tidbits I had to say?  Seemed surprising to me until I got a follow from Bart Yasso.  Now, unless you’re a regular reader of Runnerhttp://www.runnersworld.comsworld.com, you might not know this guy.  But he is one of the Runnersworld writers and he often writes about things to improve your running.  He even has his own workout named after him that many runners hate to do during marathon season, but they do them anyway; the Yasso 800′s.  I won’t go into details.

That was pretty cool and then I learned about hashtags.  They are a Twitter shortcut that you use to help identify what you are writing about so others can easily find your streams of thought on the same subject.  You create a hashtag by putting a number sign (#) in front of a key word in your tweet.  As an example, if you want others to know your tweet is about running, you would use #running.  If it is about cycling you would use #cycling.  Twitter also collects data on hashtags to determine what subjects are ‘trending’ or getting a lot of press.

And therein, comes the point of this post; the hashtag #runchat.  I had been on Twitter for a while and though I would find something good that a person would say or they might like something I said, I had yet to see Twitter as a conversation place.  Until I found out about #runchat.  There are currently two moderators for runchat, @iRunnerblog and @runningbecause (The ‘@’ symbol identifies a Twitter user).  They establish a time and date for a runchat and post it so that everyone can be ready.  At the appointed time, the moderator (or guest moderator sometimes) posts the first question, such as :Q1: What are your 2012 running goals? #runchat”.  If you are on Twitter, and you search the hashtag #runchat, your feed will include the question and the answers from the community because everyone adds the tag in their tweet, just like the question.  At predetermined periods, the moderator posts a new question and this goes on for five to six questions or so while everyone responds and commiserates.

It is a lively (and sometimes chaotic) discussion as we try to follow the questions, figure out our responses, and read everyone else’s along the way.  You have to be on your toes to know what is being said and who is responding to whom.  The questions are well thought out and allow the Twitter running community to discuss topics, comment on how they are doing, and gain other running friends.  Through runchats, I have picked up several new Twitter friends and it’s a good source of runner information, new tips, and most importantly, encouragement from other runners.

Yes, old dogs can learn new tricks.  Twitter is a good way to connect with other runners, cyclists, triathletes, or other interests.  You get to hear how they are doing the same things you are and then you can realize that we are all in the same boat together.  There is information, community, and encouragement available on Twitter and runchat is part of that.  It took me a while to get used to the technology, but I am glad I put in the effort.  I have now marked the next runchat on my calendar.  It’s at 8PM on January 22nd.  See ya there and happy running!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 6,500 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

My year has been topsy-turvy to say the least.  I have had significant changes in my work and career.  I am still trying to get used to some of the more recent changes.  I’m not one to dwell on failures so I don’t have a list of regrets.  Regrets also tend to be such a bad business anyway.  I guess the only significant foible this year on the athletic front was Hotter-n-Hell in August.  I had to DNF it because of a broken spoke.  That in itself doesn’t quite qualify as failure.  Yet, it did give me more initiative to learn how to overcome that problem through building (or rebuilding) my own wheel.  The proof in that pudding won’t show up until later in 2012, though.  I did have some sucesses as well.  I finally finished a ride that I had not completed in three years (Tour d’Italia – June).  I also completed my first triathlon and (ahem) my first marathon.  I’ve gotten to watch my kids grow up even more and learn how to deal with the world at large, and even to see my granddaughter at her school on grandparents day.  Yeah, I think there were plenty of good things happening in 2011.

I’m not sure when I decided to quit the whole ‘resolution’ thing, but I really don’t do those anymore.  I do prefer to set some goals for the year.  Resolutions are something you ‘resolve’ to do, but culturally and psychologically, they tend to be more judgmental and success/failure oriented than they should.  I also tend to think we set ourselves up with resolutions by making them unreachable then kicking ourselves for the failure.  Goals, on the other hand, don’t have to be that way.  Goals can be modified, adjusted, and reworked.  Goals can be delayed, if necessary.  One can measure efforts toward a goal as a percentage of success and then celebrate the percentage while making plans to continue.  I like goals.

I have finally gotten back to spending more time reading (grad school can really take that out of you).  I have several books lined up to read so far and I am going to try to keep at it.  I finally have back some of the desire to read more science fiction than I had in the past.  Hopefully, I’ll keep finding new works to read.  Spending more time reading is a good goal for 2012.

On the training front, I am already working on my eating habits.  I hope I can continue being diligent and will see my weight continue to drop.  I know that my speed in running and swimming has picked up because of weighing less.  I am also going to try and keep a longer long run going.  I am planning to do a 10, 12, 15-mile rotation beginning next month.  I had started doing 5-milers on Mondays.  I am not certain those will stay, but we’ll see.  I don’t plan on another marathon this year, but in 2013…we’ll see.  Running more miles with less weight is a good goal.

After ‘Santa’ brought me a Park Tension Meter for Christmas, I have succeeded in getting my Trek back together.  The rear wheel certainly feels solid and the statistics of the tension meter says I have a strong wheel.  Time will tell on that point.  It would be really nice to be able to ride my Trek all year, and my plans are to finish the 100-miler at Hotter-n-Hell again this year.  More riding is certainly a worthy goal for 2012.

I certainly enjoyed the triathlon I did this past September.  I am making it a goal to go back to that one come September 2012.  I am also going to work on the Olympic distance triathlon this year.  There is one in Waco in July that sounds good.  A 1500 meter swim in the Brazos river in July ought to be a hoot.  Two triathlons are good goals for 2012.

This next year, I will turn 52.  I do know that one of my goals for 2012 is to cease worrying about stuff.  If you know anything at all about me, you’ll know that is very hard for me to do.  But it’s a goal, nonetheless and one I am biblically commanded to do.  And, speaking of that general area, I am going to try and keep my mind open concerning theology this year.  I know that I am certainly becoming much more liberal in both theology and politics of late.  It’s rather refreshing sometimes, but it brings me into conflict also.  However, I think I am getting old enough I can just say to the…well, you know.

A new year is a time for us to reflect on the past year, and to prepare for the next.  I’m not quite sure why we do this just because it’s January 1, but it’s not a bad idea.  I do think it’s important for us to take our new year with a grain of salt.  Even with my plans to run, race, read, and worry less, I still have to factor in that I am not in control of all things.  God has designs that I don’t always know about, and it is important to be flexible.  He is the one that controls my steps and sometimes my plans run counter to His.  It’s always good to not let our goals take over everything.  Rigidity is not a pretty sight.  But, I look forward to seeing how 2012 will work out.  Some of it will be like I planned and some of it won’t.  In the end, I think I will look forward to the New Year.  How about you?

Did you get any good ‘toys’ for Christmas?  Did Santa bring you something you could ‘play’ with for a long time?  Did you give yourself a good ‘toy’ for Christmas?  I hope so.

But, I don’t mean the kind of toys we often think of when we talk about big people’s toys.  I’m not talking of fancy cars or big screen TV’s and such.  For some, those may be ‘toys’, but I fail to see the real connection.  A fancy car is quite nice, but unless you can really ‘play’ with it, it won’t bring all that much enjoyment.  Do you have a track where you can play with your new ‘toy’ car?  Possibly.  And, if you do, then go play with your new fancy car, but most won’t have this ability.  Cars are for transportation and we have to have them to get around.  TV’s are good to watch, but can you really play with them?  Not often, unless of course, you like video games.  Then the big screen TV can become your new ‘toy’.

No, I’m thinking of things you can ‘play’ with (pardon the dangling participle, but it’s the right choice of words).  I got some good ‘toys’ for Christmas.  Santa (and my family) have been quite good to me this year.  I know that I wasn’t exceptionally good this year, but grace plays a big part in it.  I also am learning, just like The Penguin, that it’s important to learn how to play again.  As we grow older, I believe we forget that little bit of logic way too soon.  We have to play every now and then.  It keeps us sane and normal, whatever that is.

I got to try out two of my new toys this morning.  Since it’s Tuesday it is trainer day.  With the day off, I would have liked to take the bike out for a spin, but when I saw the 33 on the thermometer–the trainer will do.  I have a brand new pair of Specialized Elite shoes that I gave myself and a new pair of Speedplay pedals.  Boy, were they good choices.

My old Shimano shoes and Look-style pedals were good, and they have given me several good years of service.  But these newer ones are really good.  I picked the shoes partly because they matched the yellow tape on my Trek handlebars.  Yep, I know that’s petty.  However, the shoes have a much better fit and have some nifty technology to reduce one of my biggest problems, hot foot.  When I take a long ride, about two or three hours out, I get hot foot.  It’s a burning sensation just under the ball of the foot.  These new ones are supposed to overcome that and I hope they do.  I can’t tell with just an hour on the trainer, but I could tell my old shoes had met the end of their natural life.  I think they have a good chance for hours of long playtime.

I had also been wanting to get a pair of pedals that I didn’t need to look at to clip into.  My Look-styles held my feet fine, but they either would be half up or half down when I needed to clip in.  Taking my eyes off the road to clip in is a safety problem and a time problem, especially in a triathlon transition.  I had seen quite a few riders with Speedplay pedals and heard how they would clip in at any angle.  So, I thought I’d give them a try.  Once again, until I get out on the road again, I still have to wait on the final answer, but it looks promising.  I got the pair that has adjustment in the play.  With my old pedals, the play wasn’t adjustable and it was hard to keep them from rubbing on my crank arms.  The new Speedplays are adjusted to keep my feet clear of the arms.  That saves wear and tear on my shoes, and will help improve my playtime later this Spring.

I did get some other good toys this Christmas, and I think they’ll help me play better also.  But, I think the most important thing is to really recognize that I just like to play with my bike.  I like to run and it’s play to me, even when it’s hard sometimes.  I like to play when I swim, and I am thrilled when I improve.  Not just because I’m faster or go farther, but because I can have more fun.  I think The Penguin really has something there about playing with our ‘toys’.  It’s hard to say what is a ‘toy’ to each of us, but I do think it’s important to find that special ‘toy’ that we like and then to go out and play with it.

The Long Run.  Yes, I capitalized it.  It’s a proper noun to me now that I have finished my first marathon.  When I heard runners talk about it before me, I heard them speaking in capital letters, “Had a great Long Run this morning.”  The image I saw above when I ran one this week is just one of the many benefits of the Long Run.

First, I’ll tell you what the Long Run is not.  It’s not necessarily long in miles.  Runners at many different levels of experience and ability will run the long run and the length will vary greatly.  A beginning runner might run a long run that is only 4 to 6 miles long.  An intermediate runner might run long runs from 8 miles and up, while experienced marathoners will run 15-milers and up.  Ultrarunners might not even start counting their long runs until they are over 20-miles.  It’s not the length.  It’s the time and the pace.

I’m no expert, but I would say that the Long Run should be over one hour in length.  In my case, I would consider anything from 1.5 hours and up to be a long run.  When I was preparing for some of my half-marathons a year ago, my long runs might be 8 or 9 miles in length, but they would take me near two hours to complete.  This fall, my marathon training plan had me doing long runs from 12 to 20 miles in length.  The shorter ones took over two and a half hours and the 20-milers would require five hours to finish.  Yet, when I first began running, a 6-miler would take an hour and a half.  So, it’s more about time than about length and the other criteria is pace.

There are easy runs and speedwork runs, taper runs, and tempo runs.  Each of these has a pace specific for what you are trying to accomplish.  The long run should not be too slow, like an easy run.  It should not be too fast, like speedwork.  It should be about thirty seconds behind what you would run in a long race.  If you’ve not run a long race, such as a half marathon or even a 10K for some runners, it’s hard to tell.  If you can normally hold an 11-minute pace during most runs, then try for about 10:30 on your long runs.

Now, if your not a clock watcher, or just don’t want to wear one, then don’t worry.  Just as there are ways to tell what you are running for tempos or pickups without using a clock, the same can be said for pacing a long run.  It’s called the ‘talk test’.  If you can still talk or hold a conversation while running, you are at the right pace.  If you are running out of breath and can’t talk, slow down.  If you can sing a song while running, you are going too slow–pick up the pace.  Admittedly, this takes practice, but hey, that’s why we train, right?

Long Runs give us real time to ‘test our metal’ so to speak.  They keep us out running for a while and can really make a difference in our ability and our confidence.  It can really feel great the first time you come home or back to your start point and realize you just ran X miles for the first time ever.  Long Runs can be social or solitary.  I prefer the solo long run.  It’s up to you and your schedule.  In addition, it’s a good idea to run one of these each week.  Many runners like to use their Saturday or Sunday for long runs, but any day will do.

Running the Long Run gives you a new perspective about wherever you are.  I like to be outdoors and the long run allows me to see the changes in my city, the weather, and the seasons.  That’s where the picture above comes from.  I’m an early morning runner by trade.  I like to get up and run to race the sun.  I generally lose the race, but that’s OK too.  As my route usually takes me into the dark west first thing out the door, I had a pleasant surprise on this day as I turned back to the east to see this view of the moments just before sunrise.

Unless you’re on a strict schedule, it’s also good to be flexible on a long run.  Very often, I am on a schedule, but since I had finished my marathon training, this run was at my own discretion.  It was just a long run to get back into the pattern.  I had planned to run 8 miles and was prepared for 9 if I felt good.  When I started out, my pace was quicker than usual.  But, I was still able to talk and felt like it was time to see where it went.  I passed my turning point and decided to finish out the 9-miler.  I was still holding the quicker pace and at the end point, my garmin read 9.78 miles.  I like round numbers.  I kept on for a little bit more to get an even 10–flexibility.

Long Runs aren’t about long miles.  They are about long times (which often equates to long miles, relatively speaking).  Long Runs are about a pace just under what you might run in a race of the same length.  There are many benefits to the runner that keeps the long run in his or her armory of training.  They build stamina and confidence for races and for gaining even more ground as you develop.  Don’t forget to run the Long Run regularly.  Happy Running!

That’s what one of my friends that ran the White Rock Half Marathon had to say about the weather this past Sunday.  He was right, and for me, running the full marathon that day, he was doubly right.  While my friend got to finish in 13.1 miles, I endured the weather for another 13.1.  Yet, I wouldn’t trade this run for any other.

We started getting “iffy” weather reports from the news folk about Wednesday–high rain chances on Saturday with some chances of rain Sunday and temps in the 40′s (F).  Then those reports gradually descended into higher rain chances on Sunday and temps heading down in the afternoon.  Things were not looking good, but I was hopeful it would actually be sort of dry.

No such luck on that point.  Saturday, it rained all day long.  The temps did climb some during the day, but started dropping in the evening.  I awoke to 42 deg. and light rain on Sunday at 5AM.  We had three hours to start time and I was hoping it would taper off.  But, that didn’t happen.  The rain varied up and down, but held steady.  At the gun, there was still light rain coming down.

I had added an extra tech-T that I could throw off, with a light jacket and even a trash bag on top of that.  At the start, I felt pretty good.  I chucked the trash bag right at the gun, and that was my first mistake.  We didn’t get two miles in before the skies opened up.  My jacket was overcome and everything got soaked.  However, I had actually run a race in the rain before.  I ran the Bix 7 in July 2010.  With it being cold, things were going to get worse, but at least I knew what to feel when wet.

By the time I was entering the area between downtown and Turtle Creek, the rain was light again and I chucked the second shirt.  I tied the jacket around my waist and checked my pace.  I was doing more than I wanted at 12:00-11:30 mins/mile.  However, I was comfortable and it kept me moving on.  I was just going to hold it and see how things developed.

Except for not being able to see (I wear glasses), things were uneventful for the next several miles.  I was stopping at the aid stations to get a drink and walk, but no more.  My pace was doing find and holding steady.  I really felt bad for all the volunteers, but I am sure glad they were there.  Even with the weather, they all kept smiling and encouraging us on.  The fans on the sidelines were still well in force also.  Things were about to change.

Somewhere about 8 or 9 miles, the marathon splits from the half.  That cut down my neighborhood quite a bit.  There weren’t as many runners around me now.  I kind of expected this and at first, it was good to run more or less by myself.  I had my tunes on and things were going OK.  I was getting colder and wetter however.  My gloves were soaked through, but I knew if I took them off that I would never want them on since they were so wet.  I put my jacket back on as we entered the White Rock Lake area.

With cold north winds, White Rock Lake paths can be chilly…and they were.  White Rock isn’t a big lake, but it can certainly change the weather on it’s own shores.  I could cover my hands with the sleeves of my jacket and that helped.  It must have really been chilly because normally I can’t go a quarter mile in my jacket without taking it off.  Today, I was glad I had it.  My pace was slowing some, but 13:30′s were still good.  About the time we past the halfway marker, a squall came up.

We were pelted with rain that was being wind-blown.  It didn’t feel good at all.  This kept up for about 30 minutes and by then, things were starting to come undone.  I was still going alright, but getting even slower.  As we started down the east side of the lake, I started to walk some.  I knew it would come up, but I was hoping to not use run/walks until after 20 miles.  It was at this point I finally decided my hands would be better off without wet gloves on them and took off the gloves.

I had also managed to avoid stopping for a potty break until this point because they all had long lines.  I just wasn’t going to give up time standing in line.  By now though, with the wet, the cold, and the distance, I wasn’t going to stop for one either.  I didn’t think I would come out again.  So, I did the runner thing…I pissed my pants.  Well, at this point, I wasn’t going to get any wetter and actually, for just a little while, at least it was warm.

Finally, the 20 mile marker and we left the lake area.  The aid station at 20 miles gives out Clif gels and I was ready for them.  I had been told to look out for some hills that everyone called the “Dolly Parton hills”.  I expected them to come up while we were on the lake path, but they are actually just as you leave the lake near the 21 mile mark.  I was getting tired by this time.  They were the only hills I remember that I walked.  I wasn’t going to waste everything and not finish.  I had completed 20 miles in 4:46, 15 minutes faster than I had in training.  If I kept my head and ran smart, I could still finish without a problem.

However, I was in undiscovered country.  Marathon training always runs you to 18 or 20 miles.  You have to run the last miles during the race.  I had never run this far before and each step was a new distance record.  But, you don’t feel that poetic while you are doing it soaking wet and tired.  You just keep going.

It wasn’t too long after we left the hills that the road started to level out.  From mile 23 to the end, it is virtually flat.  Thank God for that.  I started walking more and running less.  I knew now that whatever my time, the finish was in sight.  When we finally turned onto Haskell, we were on our way home.  However, that was the longest mile I have ever done.  After going under the I-30 bridge, I picked it up just a bit and kept it going (barely jogging) into Fair Park and across the finish line.  I was done and DONE.

The gun clock showed after 7 hours, but my garmin put me in at 6:28-ish.  There weren’t many people around, but they still ushered us around and into the building where several volunteers were still waiting to give us our medals and take our pictures.  Those will look wonderful (sarcasm).  I walked the entire length of the pavilion to get my finisher’s shirt.  Then I found a dry spot near a trash can and got out of my wet shirt and jacket and put it on, not so much because I finished, but because it was the only dry thing I had.  Stopping the run made me cool down way too much and I was freezing.

I hobbled my way back to Fair Park Coliseum where we waited that morning.  My sweetie had waited 8 hours or more in the car for me to run.  She is a charm.  I texted her to see if she could drive up to the Coliseum and she did.  I just didn’t have any more left to walk out to the far lot.  It was just too cold and wet.  Later, another friend that ran the same marathon felt she was having PTSD about the cold.  I could understand.  The rest of Sunday and even all day yesterday it felt extremely cold when going outside.  I would tense up remembering the time spent outside on Sunday.

Nasty.  Yes, the weather was nasty.  I don’t guess we get any extra points for that, but the medal and the T-shirt are the same.  Everyone that finished can now call themselves marathoners.  It will take a while to sink in and we won’t all realize what it means for some days.  We are hobbling around still and I have become adept at the “marathoners stair climb” routine.  It is funny, but it is no joke.  I feel pretty thankful because I got home with no other injuries; no blisters, no cuts, no falls, no chafing.

The official times have been posted now–06:28:54 was mine.  98% of the runners finished ahead of me, but that was expected.  I’m just glad to be one of the finishers.  Especially, on a day like Sunday.  I didn’t completely plan it this way, but I am glad I have the week off to recuperate.  No running.  No swimming.  No biking.  At least, not until Saturday morning.  The marathon is finished, but running will still be here for a long time.  I have a half-marathon scheduled in February, and maybe even a race in January (if I feel like it).  For now, I’m not considering any next marathons.  I know the weather was a factor, but it was much tougher than I expected.  I will need to lose some more weight and really improve my half times before I can think of another.  When I started this path, I thought that running for six and a half hours was just crazy, and yes it most certainly was.

Now, to non-runners this may seem comical.  We are still running and of course, we run so that we can eat.  However, during taper we who await the marathon are lowering our runs in both length and intensity.  Therefore, we must be careful what we are eating because those weeks of mucho miles have disappeared.  This week is a very low mileage week and the next is our marathon week where we will run very little.  Thanksgiving is sandwiched right in the middle of both.  It won’t mean that I can’t eat at Thanksgiving, but I will not be able to throw caution to the wind either.  I think a sadist dreamed up the dates for the White Rock.

On the other hand, I am thankful to even have such a dilemma.  I am glad that I have been blessed this year with both the energy and strength to be able to train.  I am thankful that I have a family that supports my running (albeit tongue-in-cheek most days).  My sweetie has become my best coach during this year.  She often has the right words to say and the better choices for me to make that have led to improvement.  I am thankful that I have a job that both allows me the time to train and provides for my families needs.  I am thankful for my friends, both close ones and those I know only on-line.  Many of them are also runners and triathletes.  It is good to hear of their successes and also to know they endure the same things as I.

I am thankful for my church.  Not only is it a place where we all can grow closer to God, but it is a safe place where love is shared and hope is given.  Not only does it provide me with work to do, but many of my brothers and sisters are as much my family as…my family.  I am thankful that I have the knowledge and strength to help support our ministers in their work.

I am thankful for my aches and pains when they come and the injuries I had this year.  In all of the difficulties I have endured both on the road and in daily life, I am thankful because these things teach perseverance, endurance, and patience.  I hope that I have learned some of these lessons.  I am thankful that I have grown older this year.  Not only does it get me free sodas in some places and free swimming, but I hope that it makes me more useful to others.

I am thankful for all of the riches I have been blessed with and I trust they are used for the right purposes.  For, I know that there have been many that have suffered greatly this year, both our service men and women and their families as well as all those that have suffered loss of jobs or loved ones this year.  Our times are tough and their seems to be a lack of compassion and mercy going round these days.  I hope that those things will change for the better very soon.

So there you  have it.  Thanksgiving is much more than just great food and families getting together.  It is a time to reflect upon where we are and how we have been cared for during the year.  I’ll watch my calories tomorrow and over the weekend and be thankful that I still get to swim, bike, and run.  I look forward to my marathon in a week.  It’ll be time.  Happy Thanksgiving!

I am quite tired of listening to the complaints that the protesters are just out for a free ride.  That’s bull-(and you can fill in the blank yourself).  I believe they are pissed off at the status quo we are currently living through.  It does not take a rocket scientist to realize that in the past twenty odd years, the balance between the haves and have nots has steadily increased.  We have seen the rape of our economy by the financial institutions without so much as a hand slap from the feds.  The distance between CEO pay (which does spread through the whole of corporate structure) and median income is just ridiculous.

I have listened to many folks say that the protesters are ‘picking on the rich’ that make all the jobs.  Excuse me, Elvis!  If you are rich and can’t stand the criticism, sell your money and give it all to the poor was one good idea I heard recently.  Besides, I am sick of hearing about job creators that aren’t creating any jobs.  As I understand it, the OWS protesters are seeking a level playing field where merit counts for everything and financial shenanigans and political crony-ism don’t.  Some critics claim that they worked hard for their money and it shouldn’t be taken away to give to others.  So do I, but I don’t get to keep very much.  And, I don’t consider pushing numbers around and playing betting games with other peoples money and lives as ‘hard work’.

Hard work is getting your fingers dirty.  Hard work is sweating.  Hard work means you actually built something or made something that is useful to folks.  Hard work means getting through at the end of the day and having a sense of accomplishment that you can look at what you did and know it will be there again for many tomorrows.  That is what hard work is.

But, enough of my soap box.  That’s not why you are here.  I just want folks to know that the act of protesting a bad situation is as American as apple pie.  Never dis a protest just because you don’t agree.  Believe they are doing right just by the act of protest.  The rest will work out as needed.

Last Saturday was the annual Cool Run 10K/5K as I reported previously.  It was a grand race.  The weather was very cool that morning and just right for running.  I put out a very good first 5K, turning the half way point in a little over 31 minutes.  I still had a little trouble with the big hill, but not too much.  I was able to finish up in 1:06:10, which was a 10:30 average pace.  Not only a new 10K PR, but the fastest pace I have done in any race.  I guess my training is working.

And, so is my calorie counting.  I started about a month ago counting calories for each day in order to see if I can bring my weight down.  I really didn’t want to toe the line at White Rock at the 270 lbs. I had been at for a while.  Also, MapMyRide.com added a very good calorie counting feature to their web site.  It makes it pretty easy when I can just look up what I eat in a search engine and actually find most counts available.  So far, I have brought my weight down to 255 and would like to see it dip a bit more before marathon day.

I have been on vacation this week, but it was more of a week to catch up on things that were behind than for fun.  I had several projects to try and get done this week.  One was really important.  We needed a new front walk since the original owner had just made a wooden walk laid on dirt.  It hasn’t held up well.  So, my task this week was to lay a new walk with pavers.  It went pretty well and it sure beats the old one in durability and looks.  It only took several trips to the home center to get everything.

However, today my sweetie did take me out to Richardson Bike Mart to get new spokes and nipples for my Trek’s rear wheel.  After reading and studying my spoke breaking syndrome, I stumbled across a book on line by Jobst Brandt.  It’s not for the faint of heart, but I believe I found my answers there.  At least, I know which parts of the wheel are not the problem.  I am settling on replacing all my rear wheel spokes with new, butted spokes and will be getting a tensiometer to make sure I have the  tension just right.  It might take me a while to get everything done, but I am hoping to get the Trek back on the road after the first of the year.

On a side note, I also managed to get to attend the Bike Lane Task force meeting for my city.  I am pleased that we have a plan to put forth that can help everyone round these parts to use bikes more and for all of us to be able to travel safely on the roads.  There’s more work to be done, but it’s good to see things moving forwards.  It just takes a little revolution.

It has been a busy week.  Lots of things are going on right now, but it is good to just sit down and write out what’s up.  I don’t know where this catharsis of protest and politics will get us.  I am hopeful that common sense will soon prevail.  Until then, I’ll just have to keep running and riding for the only thing I know to do is more than just occupy the road, but to be going on down it instead.  Happy running!