Why Do I Run? Because I Can...Thanks, Iron Mike!

Sometime last Spring, as I'm sitting in my office, patting myself on the back for being smoke-free for a few months and for losing about twenty or so pounds, along comes a Facebook message telling me that my sister's husband, Mike, is going to be partaking in an Ironman triathlon later in the year. Furthermore, the message goes on to tell me that Mike's going to be swimming, cycling, and running ridiculously long distances (in the same day, mind you) not only to prove to his 50-year-old body that it still had some giddy up, but (more importantly) to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis, a disease with which both of his kids - Anna and Aidan - have had to live their entire lives.

I looked at the screen with a bit of awe and wonder at what my brother-in-law was about to undertake, and I thought about the reasons for him challenging himself. Mike had always been an amazing athlete, he never fell prey to the "letting himself go" trap as I had, and he certainly had nothing to prove athletically to anyone. Although he was no longer playing soccer or rugby (regularly anyway), and although he had undergone a hip replacement just a few years earlier, Mike remained relentless with his exercise, attending spinning classes multiple times each week, running, and just keeping himself as fit as any person you'll ever know...and that includes everybody you know, not just the fifty-somethings.

But this was bigger than conditioning. Yes, I am now in touch with the emotion of wanting to put one's body to the test, and what better test is there than swimming 2.4 miles, cycling 112 miles, and then finishing up the day with a full marathon of 26.2 miles? What's bigger than that? What test is greater? Well, this one...

 

Can there a more daunting race than having a couple of kids with Cystic Fibrosis and constantly racing the life clock to ensure that those kids live full and (mostly) healthy lives? Mike, my sister Sandy, and my niece and nephew Anna and Aidan have been racing this race their entire lives, and theirs is a daily challenge that casts a shadow over the challenge of an Ironman.

Mike's Ironman endeavor was another of those "hit me between the eyes" moments that brought me to the very ugly realization that I had spent most of my adult life in very sedentary fashion, smoking cigarettes, and letting obesity get ahold of me. Yes, I had quit smoking and was slowly losing weight...but at this moment I knew it was time to change everything. It was time to get off the couch and start moving. It was time to go beyond crash diets and "white knuckling" my way through weight losses and gains. It was time to be the completely healthy husband and father my wife and daughter needed and deserved. It was time to be a more supportive uncle to Anna and Aidan...It was time to start running.


Fast Forward a Few Months...

When Mike completed Ironman Wales in just over thirteen hours last September, all the while raising over $18,000 through his First Giving Website, as well as quite a bit more through outside donations, I had been hitting the pavement for about a month and a half and had worked my way up to just under two miles each time out. Having watched the following video about Team Boomer, I learned that a number of people with Cystic Fibrosis keep running for their health...and it's not uncommon when asked why they run, they answer, "because I can"...




So when asked why I run - and when I ask myself why I'm running, even when I don't feel like taking another step - I choose to steal that three-word answer...Because I Can.

In the next installment, I'll look to answer the "Where will I run?" and "How far?" questions that started going through my head...and I'll acknowledge (and thank) some of the other people that helped me to find those answers.

Until then, enjoy your journey...

Running Lesson #1 - Don't Go With the Cheaper Shoes

At the outset of one of my favorite movies, Forrest Gump makes a mistake that I made when choosing a pair of shoes last Summer. He looks, points, and utters...



"Those look like comfortable shoes!"

...and the woman replies, "my feet hurt."

I made the same mistake when picking out a pair of Adidas running shoes down at the Saint Augustine outlet mall. Now, don't get me wrong (and don't sue me, Adidas)...they are good quality shoes for everyday use, and I put them to use when going to places like the grocery store, my daughter Mary's swim meets (even when volunteering as a timer), etc. I'll go even further and say that they would be great running shoes for a young, skinny person going out and hitting the pavement...heck, I could have worn flip flops when I ran back in the 80s (in fact, I think I played a few games of ultimate Frisbee in flip flops). But for a 243-pound, 46-year-old, no-longer-an-athlete guy looking to get his body back in shape, these shoes started leading me down a path of injuries.

Great everyday shoes...But not good for me on the road

In an earlier post, I recapped my first run back on July 23rd, so I won't get into that again; however, I'll give you a quick recap of the first month on the road...

I had a .75 mile marker to which I would run/walk, and for the entire first month, that was the distance I would go. Each time out I would try to run a little farther than the previous time out...and I was actually able to do so all the way to the point in late August where I actually ran the entire mile and a half without stopping...Yippee!! In addition, over the course of this first month, I lost five pounds and had dipped under 240 pounds (to 238.3), which was a welcome change from the weight loss plateau I had hit over the preceding months.

Sounds good, right? But here's the rub...I was in incredible pain every day, and it wasn't the muscle soreness that I had expected. Oh, that muscle soreness thing happened the first week, and it was tough sitting down and even tougher standing back up, but that subsided after the first couple of weeks.

The pain that arrived, though, was joint pain in my knees and then in my left foot...no, not in my ankle, but in the ligaments across the top, outside part of my foot, which I thought might be a stress fracture. By the end of the first five weeks of running, Aleve, ice, and heat became my best friends...and it certainly felt like my body was crumbling under me. I might have talked a tough game, but inside I wondered whether I would be able to keep this up.

The pain in my left foot got so sharp after every run that I knew I had to go see a podiatrist. Fortunately, I didn't have a stress fracture, but he gave me a few "to do" items to undertake right away:

1. First, he told me to slow down. You see, I had tried to get back to the pace that I had run back in the mid 80s, but my body was no longer conditioned to run sub 8:00 miles. As such, he told me to make a conscious effort to take shorter strides, focus on each step, land lightly, and lower my mph!
2. Second, he told me to rest more. I had started myself on a pretty aggressive, five-day-per-week schedule (M-T-W-F-Sa), but two days rest were not enough for my old bones and joints...so I switched to running just every other day.
3. Third, he told me to go get custom fit for a pair of running shoes. He explained that the shoes I had didn't have the support I needed and that the folks at the running store would help me find just the right shoe for me.

So off I went to the Jacksonville Running Company to get this first pair of custom fit running shoes...

Now that's more like it!

With these shoes, along with slowing down and giving my body days of rest between running days, the joint pain and foot pain subsided within the next week or two. Now, I'd be lying if I told you that I run pain-free today, as I still get nagging aches and pains today that go with running (especially during long runs)...but nothing is permanent (and Aleve or other pain medications are no longer required).

So, in short, don't skimp on the shoes. Go support a local running store...the folks at the Jacksonville Running Company are terrific, and I'm sure there are people in stores just like it in your cities and towns as well.

With new shoes, less pain, and a fresh outlook, I started to see that running was becoming much more than just losing weight and getting back in shape...it was becoming something that had a purpose, that had meaning...and without even knowing they were doing so, a few people were showing me through their own actions what that purpose was.

But more about that next week. Until then, enjoy your journey...

The Gate River Run 2013...In the Books!

I promised all of you a race update last week, so here you go...

Last Saturday, March 9, I had the chance to put my body and a few months of race-focused training to the test at the Gate River Run, a 15K race held in Jacksonville, FL. With an eye on the prize, a (hopefully) prepared body, and a little anxiety, I crossed the starting line a little after 8:38am and was off to the races...well, the race anyway.

The Prize!

The first mile or two took us all through downtown and then over the St. Johns River for the first time via the Main Street Bridge. At this point, I would say that we were all feeling pretty fresh and really enjoying the sites, sounds, and company of our fellow runners. In fact, I ran about a quarter mile next to a friend I hadn't seen in a couple of years; and it was nice to get a boost when he told me that he hardly recognized me because I had lost so much weight!

For the next three or four miles, we had fun interacting with the spectators through some of Jacksonville's fun and rowdy neighborhoods...I mean, when's the last time you were offered sausage and beer during a road race? While I didn't see anybody take the beverage, I did see a few of my fellow runners chomping on pieces of sausage...and though I was tempted, I opted to stick with my gel blasts for my energy.

Right around mile 6, although I wasn't going to see it for a couple miles, visions of the Hart Bridge starting coming to mind, and I slowed my pace a little to conserve some energy. After leaving the expo a couple days earlier, I made the stupid decision to drive across the span, and it is, indeed, beastly...a mile long "Green Monster" that just seems to go up, up, and up forever.

I'm very proud to say that upon arrival at the Hart Bridge on ramp, although I had slowed, I hadn't broken my running stride, and by gosh I wasn't about to do so now! Although it was certainly a slow-and-steady effort, I kept running up, up, and up all the way to the top...the bridge training had paid off!!!

After reaching the bridge's apex, it's literally all downhill to the finish...the visions of the Jaguar's stadium (a.k.a. Everybank Field) and the cheering crowd at the Finish Line - although still close to a mile away - are welcoming and exciting, and it was at this point that I knew I was going to make it.

At the end of it all, I ran the 9.3 miles in 1 hour, 50 minutes, and 13 seconds; and even though I missed the high-end of my time goal by just 13 seconds, I felt absolutely terrific! The post-race Facebook post probably best sums up the feelings of the day...and I think the smiling guy in the picture certainly shows those feelings!

Gate River Run 2013 in the books!

Run went really well...haven't seen my "official" results yet, but at the end of it all, regardless of the time it took, I started running at the Starting Line and didn't stop running until I reached the Finish (9.3 miles later) ! Considering that a year ago, even after a couple months of dieting, I weighed about 55 pounds more than I weigh today; and considering that running wasn't even on my "to do" list yet last March, I think I can chalk today up as a huge accomplishment...and I'm looking forward to the next "Big" race!



Wearing the Prize!

Next week, I'm going to take a step back in time again and talk about the first few months on the pavement last Summer and Fall...as well as the importance of good running shoes!

Until then, enjoy your journey...

Where I was...and Where I am

I know the title sounds a bit existential, but tonight has brought upon some quiet reflection about how far I have come since I started back running some seven-and-a-half months ago.

As mentioned at the end of my last post, in late June I purchased a pair of Adidas running shoes, but the primary reason was because I was heading to Universal Studios for a couple of days in the parks. Running a distant second was the idea that I was going to start walking/running "in the very near future."

You see, although I was losing weight, I kept saying that "once I get to a certain weight, I'm going to start walking and then get back into running." The funny thing is, though, that I didn't have a target weight in mind...it was just some arbitrary statement (which others might call an excuse) I was making to put off exercise for just another week.

Sometime around July 20th, my wife Michelle finally gave me the push I needed...because I think I was making the "I'm going to start walking and running very soon" statement again. She just said - point blank - that "I need to stop thinking about the right time to do it and just go out there and start running." And she was absolutely, undoubtedly correct.

Here's the disclaimer part (so you can't sue me) - If you're thinking about an exercise program and aren't certain about your physical condition, please consult a health care professional prior to starting a routine. I had undergone a life insurance physical not long before last Summer, and since my blood pressure and all my vitals were normal (even though I was still obese), I was comfortable that my body was ready for some run/walking.

So on Monday, July 23rd, 2012, I went for a run/walk for the first time in about twenty-six years. Because the highs were going to be in the 90s, I got up at 5:15, got dressed, drank about 12 ounces of water, and was stretching in the driveway by 5:30.

Not knowing any differently, I started jogging right when I got to my mailbox...and boy did I feel differently than I had back in the 80s! First of all, weighing in at around 240, the first thing (or things) I noticed was that I had a lot of lumpy parts bouncing around with every step...in fact, I was glad it was dark because I would have scared small children had it been daytime. I probably most closely resembled a running Stay Puft Marshmallow Man or perhaps the Michelin Man. Second, and this goes hand-in-hand with the first point, lifting my feet for the subsequent paces was much more of a chore than it had been in the past. Third - Wow was it tough to breathe! And fourth, what was that pounding thing in my chest?

So after these thoughts went through my head for the first ten yards, I then started wondering how long I could keep this up. I was planning on running a little bit, then walking, then running again, etc. Well, I am proud to say that I pushed myself and ended up running for about a quarter mile, but then I huffed and puffed while walking for about a half mile, at which point I turned around, walked the same half mile again before finally pushing myself to run the quarter mile back home. And I was pretty darned tired.

So let me fast forward to the present. Tomorrow morning, I am running in Jacksonville's Gate River Run, which will be my first 15K (9.3 Miles). While I am nervous about the distance, I have been training for this race for quite some time now (more about training in future posts), and I'm excited about crossing the Starting Line in the morning. Yes, the Finish Line is important, too, and I have personal goals for the race, but at the end of it all, I've spent the night reflecting on the fact that none of us can finish anything unless we decide to start...and I'm glad I took Michelle's challenge and got started last July.

I'll tell you about the race next week...hopefully it'll be fun as I'm anticipating!

Until then, enjoy your journey...