Into the Wind

I went for a run last night. That's TWICE in the same week! Amazing!

To be truthful, it wasn't what you could call a run, and I really didn't want to go, but I pretty much HAD to. My wonderful wife told me that she was having "Book Club" at our house, and that was my incentive. For those of you who don't know what "Book Club" is, it's when a bunch of crazy old women from our church get together to discuss the "book of the month"...whatever that is. Try to picture 15 nutcase old women with absolutely NO social life getting together once each month, reading their favorite passages from whatever book has been selected for the month, cackling with their old women voices at whatever witty comments get tossed out for review. After about an hour of absolutely pointless chatter, they stumble into the dining room for the goodies that the hostess has provided for the evening's festivities. Get the picture? Believe me, it's not something you want to experience first hand.

Back to the run...it was brutal. We had 20 mph sustained winds, with gusts reaching 30 mph. The wind was directly out of the east, which makes for a difficult run if you're doing an out-and-back on a trail that runs west to east. No matter which direction you head, you're going to be fighting the wind for half the run. We lived in The Dalles (Columbia Gorge...Windsurfing Capitol of the World) for 3 1/2 years, so I'm somewhat familiar with running in the wind, and know that it's better to head into the wind when you're fresh. Because of that, I switched the direction I normally run in hopes that the second half of my trip would be with the wind at my back, and a little less unpleasant.

It worked. At least as far as the return trip being less unpleasant. When I left the parking lot I ran with the wind at my back for the first 500 yards to the nearest mile marker, so I'd know how far I was running. With the wind at my back I felt good, but when I hit the mile marker and turned around, presto chango! I felt like I was trying to drag my truck. I don't believe the winds were 20 mph. I think they were closer to 60! I only ran 2 1/2 miles, but the 1 1/4 into the wind made it feel like a ran a half marathon. There were a couple of times when I was fighting the wind that I felt like quitting, and had to really fight to keep running, but I managed to pull it off and "ran" the whole way. The biggest mistake I made was that I timed myself. Not good. I won't bother to share my time with you. It was too ugly. Let's just say that I won't be timing myself again any time soon....but I WILL be going for another run.

Starting Again...Hopefully!

I decided last night that it was time to start running. A couple of weeks ago I managed to go 3 days in a row and could still walk, so there's no legitimate reason to not go. I had to pick Janet up when I fed the horses, so I decided that instead of giving her a ride home I'd just run from the barn to Reeder Road (where I normally start), and she could pick me up.

I had no idea how far it would be, but decided that I'd give it a shot and walk if it got too tough. The weather wasn't too bad...about 36 degrees with a minimal tail wind...no snow, no rain...perfect for running. The really nice thing was that since we had a couple inches of snow earlier in the day and it was about 5:30 when I started, no one was on the trail so I didn't have to worry about looking good. I could just pound along the trail doing the "Old Man's Shuffle" (thanks Tom...now everytime I go for a run I'm worried about being one of the "Old Men" that you referenced in your blog), run at my 20 minute mile pace, and not have to share the meager oxygen supply on the OC&E Trail with other runners.

The run was actually almost pleasant. It had a gentle downhill for the first 1/4 mile, was flat for the next mile, had another downhill for about half a mile, and then finished with a gradual uphill. I don't have any cool things that compute mileage like Laurie, so I had to resort to Google Earth to figure out how far I went. I think it's about 2 3/4 miles. It was a relatively pleasant run for the first 2 1/4 miles. In fact, for about 100 yards I actually almost felt like I was a RUNNER and managed to finish the run before Janet showed up to pick me up.

Doug has a game tonight so I don't think I'll get to run...I'll give it another shot tomorrow.

Slacker

Okay, it's been quite some time since I last posted. When I went for a run on Thanksgiving my Achilles wasn't too bad, so I was pretty sure that I was okay to get back in the game. Since that little run I made my way back to the OC&E Trail and ran 3 days in a row. My tendon was tender each day when I first started, but after a couple hundred yards felt okay.

My major problem now is that I'm fatter than I've ever been, and extremely out of shape. I ran during lunch and only went 2 1/2 miles each time, but my times were atrocious, and I now know what it feels like to run while you're pregnant. Other than the fact that I don't actually have a baby inside kicking my bladder, I definitely have the weight and look the part...if I were to wear a wig on my next run people would be amazed that a woman my age could get pregnant!


It's now been about 2 weeks since I last ran, and I no longer have excuses not to go on a regular basis. Hunting has ended, my Achilles seems to be healed, Doug's games are all at night, and other than the 5 inches of snow we got yesterday the weather's not bad.

Time to quit being a slacker!

Thanksgiving Day Run

A quick post...went for a 2 1/2 mile run Thanksgiving Day and SURVIVED!!!! Went really slow, but managed to run (I'm going to call it "run") the whole way. My Achilles was a little bit sore, but I think if I'm careful I can start putting in some miles now and then. It's colder than I want (about 8 degrees this morning), and I have a nasty cold that I picked up from someone, but when it warms up a little bit and I'm healthier I'll start hitting the trail.

YAY!

Relay for Life

We (the radio station) did the Relay for Life last weekend. It was kind of fun...I wound up walking non-stop for about one hour and forty five minutes at about a 4 mph pace. It doesn't sound like much, considering I've gone on runs that were almost that long, but it almost killed me.

I did find out that my Achilles is definitely not in any kind of shape to exercise for an extended period of time. It wasn't as bad as when I run, but it wasn't exactly a stroll in the park either. I'm now really worried about my upcoming elk hunt...I won't be able to do anything to get in shape, and I'm afraid I won't be able to be as mobile as I need to be to really enjoy the hunt. Guess we'll just have to see wait and see what happens!

4 Weeks

It's been 4 weeks since I last ran...and the same amount of time since I last posted. My Achilles has improved quite a bit, especially in the last week. We had to get 6 tons of hay last week, and it bothered me after we finished, but hasn't hurt at all the last couple of days. I think I'm at the point where I need to be very careful...I want to go for a run, but don't think that that's a wise choice. I'm afraid that if I succumb and head out on the trail, I'll re-injure the stupid thing and be back to where I was a month ago.

I only have two months until we leave for the Frank Church Wilderness in Idaho, and my physical condition is not really conducive to climbing around at 8500 feet. I need to do something to get my legs and lungs in shape, but I'm hesitant to risk straining my Achilles again. I think the best course of action is to follow Laurie's 6-6-6 advice...wait 2 more weeks, and then go for a very short, slow run and see what happens.

I probably won't write again until after that...so if you're holding your breathe waiting for my next post, you'll have to hold it for about 2 weeks.

Limping Along

I went for another little jog last night on the OC&E trail, and other than the fact that I'm extremely out of shape actually felt fairly good. I headed west from the parking lot on Reeder Road so I'd have the wind at my back on the return trip (it was a pretty stiff wind), and ALMOST felt like a runner. My Achilles only hurt for the first 200 yards, and my right knee loosened up after about 600 yards. It wasn't what I would call pleasant, but I felt that MAYBE I'd be able to continue running on a more consistent basis. When I got home I still felt good...no major pains, no stiffening up...good signs that perhaps I didn't do too much too soon.

Today is another story. I just walked the 2 1/2 short blocks from our parking area to the office, and it was brutal. My Achilles is definitely not healed. In fact when I got to the office, I seriously considered calling my wife to see what doctor I should make an appointment with. I probably won't visit a doctor, but I don't know that I'll be running for awhile.

I was planning on an every other day running schedule for a couple of weeks...maybe I should back it off to every third day, or every fourth day, or maybe just wait 6 months and hope that I don't look like a hippo by that time.

Any advice?