One lesson learned from Saturday's 5K was not to blog too soon after an event. What can I say, I'm a passionate guy and I don't always hide my disappointment well. While I'm an authority on finding the silver linings and bright sides when someone else is bummed out - finding my own way is a different story. But all is well now and in case any of you were concerned the Earth might stop its rotation - it didn't. And I had nothing to do with the earthquake in California. Looking back expressing disappointment with an overall win was stupid. In 20 years of running I've won four races and two of them were this month with the Waldensian 10K a few weeks ago and the Knights 5K on Saturday.
I think one of my reservations about blogging in the first place was opening up to an extent and how I might be perceived by folks that don't know me that well, or at all. Generally speaking I'm not comfortable talking about myself. Unless of course you're part of my inner circle which is a very small handful of guys I've known since high school and then it's pretty much all about me. So while I can't say that I'll never throw another pity party I'll try to keep them to a minimum.
I pretty much spent the rest of Saturday with my head in my, yeah, that. I had every intention of going for a run later that day but I just wasn't feeling it. Our annual fantasy football draft was scheduled for 7:00 that evening so why not just top things off with a night of pizza, chips, a few beers, and more chips. By midnight my Saturday had produced a very nice winners plaque, a poorly written blog, a sore foot, a bloated stomach, and what will very likely be the best fantasy football team ever assembled by man. Yes, in that order.
With Sunday being the last day before school it was important to spend a little quality time with the boys. We had taken the ice bucket challenge on Friday, and Saturday, and there was talk of doing it again but a third cold water shower really wasn't on my agenda. So first I agreed to play little Black Ops which I still don't completely understand so it's safe to say that I totally suck at it. Of course I think being able to beat me senseless in anything is always a big draw for the boys. Then, against my better judgement we were off to Chuck E. Cheese, but not to eat - just to play games. Shortly thereafter we were eating pizza then getting ice cream to go. I mean after eating like crap on Saturday why not just entirely blow it out - right?
I was determined to get a run in Sunday just to clear my mind and eventually around 8:00 I was able to get out but not before changing my playlist and deciding that it was time for some new running shoes. I mean what better way to get back on track that to switch up the song selection and get some new kicks. I don't vary my workouts that often, probably to a fault, and opted for old faithful - an 8 mile tempo run. It's basically a loop that takes me from my house down 127 through Union Square and around Lenoir-Rhyne before heading back home. This really gave me the time I needed to reflect on the summer that was coming to an end what a great year it's been so far.
I've consistently gotten faster for the past two years, been running pain and injury free for the most part, and I've really gotten to know some of the guys that I've seen for years at various events and out running the streets. After a few miles of reflection I realized that I was feeling really comfortable running a pace just under 7:00. Clearly the new playlist was working. I mean with a list that includes Audioslave, Rise Against, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Lorde, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Five Finger Death Punch, The Pretty Reckless, and Shinedown how can you possibly go wrong?
One of the problems about being an older runner is that sometimes without warning, something will just start hurting and for no good reason. I've gotten in the habit of having internal conversations with myself because it really feels like my toes, feet, knees, quads, and hamstrings are all free thinking parts of my body that periodically torment me just for fun. Normally I can just say something like, "alright toes, I know I came off that curb awkardly but I won't do it again" or "sorry hamstring, I promise I'll stretch next time - just don't nag me for the next 2 months". More times that not it's my knees saying you better not forget to ice us but this time it was my foot. Apparently my left foot just decided it would much prefer a leisurely walk on a nice summer night and since I had been giving in all day -- why not cave in to my feet as well.
There was a time that come hell or high water, once I started a run I was going to finish that run as intended without deviation from set upon mileage and I was going to finish it running.....end of story. Now that I'm older and wiser (the latter is very much up for debate) I've been known to shut it down on a training run in the spirit of self preservation. It's very rare and I realize 'self preservation' might be a bit melodramatic but you get the idea. Anyway, about 7.25 miles into my 8.0 tempo run I decided to stop the watch and walk / jog it in. Not to be confused with JITFO for those of you that get the reference to the popular Blue Ridge Relay team. Like most runners I have a high tolerance for pain but I think it's important to understand the difference between running through pain and injury. Running through pain is not a big deal. Running through injury is a good way to end up on the shelf. And if I end up on the shelf I am going to be 47 shades of irritable and that won't be good for anyone. I'm certainly not injured but I had gotten in a quality 7 miler and there's nothing wrong with a little cool down afterwards.
What this really does is support the notion that I must get new shoes and fast. I mean it was obviously a sign that as I write this there is not one thing more important than addressing the needs of my foot which consist of adequate support, comfort, and of course style to get me through the bulk of my fall training. And as if it wasn't already written in the stars - I just got the call from Fleet Feet that a new shipment had come in and there was a box of shoes in the back with my name on it.
At some point in the near future I hope to actually provide something of value to this blog - links to helpful sites, race calendars, and blogs from guys that actually know what they are talking about. In the meantime I'll continue to muddle through this whole blogging thing until it looks like I know what I'm doing...
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