Running from my Injury...Slowly and Steadily

Prior to my Achilles flaring up on me a few weeks ago, I have to admit that I was starting to feel a bit like this...

Marathon Shmarathon...I'll Be Ready Next Week!

But when the tightness and pain hit my Achilles, I was definitely brought back to earth and felt a little more like this...

Why Don't I Just Sit Here and Watch the Big and Strong People Race?

Yes, I went from feeling on top of the world after my 13-mile training run and subsequent speedier runs (which was the problem, by the way) to feeling somewhat dejected and wondering whether I would be running in my upcoming scheduled races. Having had an injury that ended my college baseball career, I pretty much immediately fell into a "Will I ever come back from this?" mindset.

Fortunately, the pity party was short-lived, as neither my running friends nor my wife Michelle were going to let me stay down in the dumps; and at the end of the day, they all reminded me that I would, indeed, be running again very soon...and they were right!

While it has been a little frustrating pulling the proverbial reins over the last few weeks, with the help Trigger Point therapy four times per day, Eccentric Heel calf strengthening three times per day, and carefully-placed KT Tape, the ten-minute walk I took on Labor Day evolved into a couple of longer walks, then a couple of walk-runs, and ultimately five short runs (ranging from 2 to 4 miles) over the last nine days. I have definitely dialed down my speed substantially (by about two minutes per mile), but running a little bit slower is a lot more fun than not running at all. As such, I have to remember to just be happy to be running again and to be this guy for a little while...

Slow and Steady Wins the Race!

Since both of my "slow and steady" runs this week have been free of pain and discomfort, tomorrow morning I will be stretching the distance a little bit and will be running six miles. As with each time out since the injury, though, I am undertaking the run with the "if it hurts, I'm going to stop running" attitude / game plan. While I haven't had to employ that game plan to this point - and I hope I won't need to tomorrow - it is important that I hold to it should the need arise. Slow and steady wins the race...slow and steady wins the race.

I'll let you know how everything goes...and hopefully I'll be back next week to report on my now-revised marathon training plan.


Until then, be sure to enjoy your journey...

It's Not All About Me

A number of years ago, I was sitting in church, listening to the minister tell a story of his young child - around three years old at the time - who had recently gotten a T-Shirt that proudly proclaimed "It's All About Me!" across the chest. The minister went on to explain that when we're three years old, "It's All About Me!" is a pretty accurate proclamation. When we're hungry, someone gives us food; when we're tired, someone tucks us into bed; when we're messy, someone cleans us; and when we're hurt, someone is there to comfort us.

Walking out of church that day, I came to realize that during many moments of most days, I could pretty much wear that T-Shirt (in the proverbial sense) as that little three year old. And, since I'm being honest, I know I am still capable of falling into a mindset in which I see the world "according to Pete" and wonder why all of these people around me just aren't acting in accordance with the manner in which this world "should" operate.

In reality, I think we're all guilty of this from time to time (well, probably more often than that), but actually knowing and recognizing our own myopic vision is actually a sign that we are stepping away from these tendencies.

With my running, there is certainly a selfish aspect for me, and that feeling of self has certainly lifted its head a couple of times in the last two weeks as I've been overcoming my Achilles injury (progress is good, by the way...more about that next week). But there is also a very different side to my running, and it is this facet that has added dimension and enjoyment to my overall running experience. In short...

It's NOT all about me.

Four months from today, on January 12, 2014, I'll be running my first full marathon at Walt Disney World, and I certainly anticipate that this event will be one of those "Fence Post" moments in my life's journey.

But it's not all about me...right?

 As I indicate above, there is a undoubtedly a selfish element to embarking on this marathon journey, and I have personally benefitted by shedding over 100 pounds, by dropping my resting heart rate into the 50s, by overcoming nagging little injuries (like the one I've had over the last couple of weeks), by pushing myself to limits that I never would have imagined just a couple of years ago, and by achieving a positive sense of self I have never felt before.

 But it's not all about me....right?

Last September - right around this time, in fact - I watched in awe (from the confines of my office and computer screen) as my brother-in-law, Michael Corr, completed Ironman Wales in just a hair over 13 hours (not bad for 140.6 miles, Mike); but more compelling was that he raised an amazing amount of money for the Boomer Esiason Foundation for Cystic Fibrosis because both of his kids - my niece Anna and nephew Aidan - have been battling this disease their whole lives.

And it was on that day, watching Mike complete that Ironman, that I realized why I was back on the pavement after a twenty-five-plus year hiatus. I remember saying to my wife Michelle, "I need to do something like this...I don't know what exactly that is yet, but I really think I need to find the answer."

So after letting the journey run its course for a little while (pun intended), it turned out that the Disney Full Marathon was the answer; and it is through this event that I am raising money for Team Boomer and the Boomer Esiason Foundation...and I am raising this money not only for my own family but for anyone (and their loved ones) battling this disease.

Admittedly, I've spent far too many moments on this life journey of mine thinking only about the guy I see in the mirror...but this isn't one of those times.

So if you'd like to help out, the website link for donations is below. I would be personally grateful for any donation with which you can come up...as they say, no amount is too small. I would also be appreciative if you would please pass the link to the website along to anyone you think might be willing to help. Sure, you can tell people the story of how a formerly obese smoker is now getting ready for a marathon...but please also remind them that one of the things that keeps him going is that it's no longer all about him.

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/peteolson/2014waltdisneyworldmarathon

Oh, and by the way, over the marathon weekend, I will be joined by a handful of others who are proud to be supporting Team Boomer along with me, and I'll be running more detailed features on this team of finely tuned athletes in upcoming posts...

Brother-in-Law Mike - Running Goofy (1/2 Marathon Saturday, Full Marathon Sunday)
Sister Sandy - Running the 1/2 Marathon on Saturday
My Wife Michelle and Daughter Mary - Running the Family 5K with me
Our friend Roger (who has a niece with CF) - Running the Marathon
Roger's wife Mary - Running the 1/2 Marathon

We all thank you in advance for any help you can offer.


I'll be back to talking about me (oh gosh...it's all about me again) and my positive Achilles rehab next week.

Until then, enjoy your journey...

Greek Mythology - The Story of Achilles...Uh Oh!

I told you in my very positive post about reaching my weight loss goal earlier this week that I would be speaking a little bit about Greek mythology in a later post...so here goes.

At the conclusion of my 6.2 mile run on Saturday, my classical education files in the back of my brain opened up, as I was (unfortunately) reminded of the story of Achilles...can you guess why? I'll get to that in a minute, but first the story.

In Homer's Iliad, Achilles is a powerful warrior, almost invincible, and his strength stemmed not only from formal training. When Achilles was an infant, his mother immersed him into the River Styx to give him immortality and to make him invincible in battle. Her grave error, though, was that she held Achilles by his left heel when putting him under the water, and it was this part of his body that was not submerged that was vulnerable and ultimately led to Achilles' demise when he was struck in this heel (yes, his Achilles Heel) with a poisoned arrow.

So while I wouldn't put myself into the powerful warrior class, I was reminded of this story as I finished off my run with some sharp pains in my left Achilles tendon (yes, it was my left one, too) over the last couple of miles. Like most runners, I didn't think much of the pains as they were happening, and I carried with me the "oh well - it will go away" attitude as I muscled my way through the run. And, to be honest, the pain wasn't constant...it actually was coming and going...so I wasn't thinking I was hurt.

Well, as the day progressed, the pain (and some tightness) continued to come and go...and I was no longer running. Fortunately, it wasn't coming and going when I was at rest, but I could definitely feel it when moving around.

So, in my brilliance, I decided that it would be a good idea to test it out on a 2-minute/2-minute run/walk (hey - it's just a run/walk, right?) on Sunday morning...well, that proved to be a mistake. Oh, I was fine during the walking portion - yes, there was a little tightness, but it didn't feel "bad"...except during the running intervals. Every time my left foot hit the pavement, there was a sharp pain shooting through my Achilles.

So I did the smart thing...I kept on running...umm...for a pretty educated guy, that wasn't too bright either.

Despite my idiocy, though, it looks like I'm going to be okay and that I caught this in time to recover and keep training for my upcoming races....there's just a little extra work to do.

After speaking with a podiatrist, a track coach, and a Trigger Point therapy guru from my local running store - The Jacksonville Running Company - it looks like I should be back to full speed in just a few weeks...and back on the pavement running at easy speeds as early as this weekend. In the interim, I've been able to continue to cross train on the stationary bike this week; and with the addition of Trigger Point deep massage therapy and calf strengthening Eccentric Heel Drop exercises, the last time I felt pain and experienced swelling in my Achilles was on Monday...the only pain now is muscle pain associated with my new routines, but muscle pain is welcome pain. But that makes me lucky...very lucky.

Oh, and by the way, if you experience Achilles problems, please don't take my advice as THE advice and please note that I've spoken with three others regarding my own situation...in other words, I'm not a doctor, a track coach, nor am I a trained massage therapist, so don't take this as professional advice (or end up suing me if something goes wrong).

Oh, and by the way, here's the most likely thing I did (or didn't do) that led to a hurting Achilles...and this is something that would probably be wise for any runner to avoid (especially when training for his or her first marathon). As you know, my distances have been increasing dramatically over the last month or two, but my mistake (especially in the last two weeks) was not allowing my body to recover appropriately from the long runs; rather, on my recovery runs, I started pushing my speed to new limits as well. Thus, in my case, as someone who has just been back on the road for a year and who is training for his first marathon...

Increased Distance + Increased Speed = Increased Likelihood of Injury.

So this week is a bit of a sabbatical from the marathon training, but here are last week's results (with the recovery runs pushing my speed limits), as well as what I've been up to this week:

Marathon Training Week Nine (August 26 - September 1)

Monday - Stationary Bike (45 Mins, Hills, Level 9), Abs (4 Exercises, 3 x 12 Reps)
Tuesday - 5.07 Mile Run (10:05 Pace)
Wednesday - Stationary Bike (45 Minutes, Hills, Level 9), 30-Minute Cybex Circuit
Thursday - 4.12 Mile Run (9:26 Pace)
Friday - OFF
Saturday - 6.22 Mile Run (10:35 Pace)
Sunday - 2.65 Mile Family Run
Total Miles on the Pavement - 20.12 Miles (Includes Warm Up and Cool Down Walks)

Total Marathon Training Miles - 190.47


Marathon Training Week Ten (September 2 - September 8)

Monday - 10-Minute Walk (0.63 Miles) - COMPLETE
Tuesday - Stationary Bike (45 Mins, Hills, Level 9), Abs (4 Exercises, 3 x 12 Reps) - COMPLETE
Wednesday - 20-Minute Walk (1.39 Miles) - COMPLETE
Thursday - Stationary Bike (45 Minutes, Hills, Level 9), 30-Minute Cybex Circuit - COMPLETE
Friday - Walk 30 Minutes
Saturday - Walk 45 Minutes
Sunday - Run/Walk Intervals (as long as all is okay)

In addition, I have been (and will continue to be) doing the Eccentric Heel Drop exercises three times per day, as well as the Trigger Point therapy four times per day. These will continue all the way through to the marathon in January.

So a great warrior I am not, but the last week has shown me that I do share a vulnerability with one of the greats of lore. Let's just hope that I don't share a similar fate...DOH!

In all seriousness, a good triathlete friend of mine told me earlier this week that this is just a bump in the road, and as long as I don't rush myself - which is already getting tough because my Achilles feels pretty normal again - I'll be back on schedule and getting ready for my races before I know it. Thanks for that advice, Andrew! It came at the right time!

I look forward to having good news about hopefully being back on the training road next week.

Until then, enjoy your journey...

September Weigh In - Made It!

I know I usually wait until Wednesday for my blog posts, but this one's pretty important to me! Later this week, I'll be writing a little bit about Greek mythology and the River Styx, but you'll have to wait to find out how that topic is relevant to my own journey.

As I've stated in the past, it was January 7, 2012, when I (at 275.6 pounds) really made the commitment to weight loss; well, I kinda sorta made such a commitment. The problem was that I had not defined how much weight I wanted to lose; rather, I had basically set my sites on "about fifty or so" pounds.

It was not until January of this year - when I weighed in at 226.6 pounds - when I arrived at two realizations:

1. I saw that a loss of 50 pounds (well, 49) still left me in the "Obesity" category; and
2. I knew I needed to set a "Healthy" category goal weight

As such, I decided then and there to set a goal weight of 175 pounds, and I chose this number not because it was 100 pounds from where I started but rather because it would put me comfortably under the "Normal" ("Healthy") weight line, which for someone my height and age falls somewhere between 180 and 185.

Fast forward eight months, and here's what my scale screamed out to me this morning...

I Stepped on it Three Times to Make Sure!!!

This number was actually pretty amazing to me, for although reaching the goal this week/month was anticipated, I did not expect to have fallen this far below 175...but I'll certainly accept it!

So today is a day of mini celebration...but it's not a day to go out and eat everything in sight. Although weight loss is no longer the goal, I've now moved into a lifelong weight maintenance stage. You see, I've lost weight in the past (not anywhere close to this much, though)...and I've gained it back (I think they call that a yo-yo dieter); so I have absolutely no intention of changing what I've been doing to get here. I'm still going to track my intake and my exercise; the only difference is that my daily calorie target (my points total in Weight Watchers) has climbed a bit because I'm no longer tracking to lose weight but am instead tracking to maintain my weight.

As a safety net, I have a very close friend/accountability partner who has promised to come down to Florida and kick my butt if I were to ever start packing on the pounds again...thanks for that, Roger...and thanks for all the support as we've watched the weight loss happen over the past year. What helped the most was the tough love you offered when I gained some weight around the holidays, and you'll never know how thankful I am that you didn't allow me to get away with any excuses!

So there you have it, everyone...102.4 pounds in just under twenty months.

Was it easy? Absolutely not!

Was it worth it? Every second of it.

And as I've said many times to many people over this past year and a half...

If I can do it, ANYBODY can do it! So whether it's 100 pounds or 10, go get started! You can do it, too! You CAN!!!


Tune in later this week to see how Greek mythology relates to my marathon journey.

Until then, enjoy your journey...