2010 Resolutions

Since my right calf is still not healed, I'll post my resolutions for 2010.

1. Eat better, more healthful food (healthy food is food that isn't sick) in my daily diet. This really means eating a regular healthful breakfast and eating more frequently with smaller portions. And not eating after 7pm.
2. I would also like to switch from coffee to green tea and other teas. No more coffee.
3. Include a genuine warm-up, cool-down, and post run stretch session into each run.
4. Run on a plan. This means utilizing several different run types each week: long, tempo, interval, and speed, etc.. Also, at least one run per week will be a natural run with no electronic gizmos, no time, speed, distance, route plan --just run for fun. Strict adherence to 10% rule!
5. Build in cross-training including bike spinning.
6. Find and develop a running partner/group.
7. Volunteer at a race (at least one).
8. Health permitting, complete a marathon.
9. Health permitting, complete a stride and ride or similar biathlon event.
10. Continue to blog and be thankful for followers.

11. Spend more time with this guy.

12. That should do it. Any more and I'll wind up knitting my own clothes or something.

I took this past week off to try to let the calf rest. Went out this morning and it cramped up after one mile then I had to limp home. Two weeks ago I was slamming 6 and 7 milers. Not happy. Home-spun therapy continues. Anyone have experience with calf compression sleeves? I doubt it will be ready for RnR AZ. C'est la vie.

What Now??

The right calf again. Went for 6 miles this evening and the right gastrocnemus or possibly the soleus blew up at mile 3 so I got a 3 mile run and a 3 mile limp in. Not fun.

Doing RICE and my little electroshock gadget I got from a chiropractor a few years ago. It runs on a 9 volt battery and sends a pulse of electricity to two electrodes every few seconds.

You can set the intensity, and I go pretty high. I like to watch the muscle involuntarily contract, and it I think it helps.

Not sure what this does for PF Chang.

Major bummer.

Orange Juice

I'd like to invite all my followers (6 of you now!) and their friends to come over and take away some of the best juicing oranges ever. We have a tree that produces a huge crop every year. These are perfectly ripe right now through February. These oranges are guaranteed to improve your running, and keep away winter colds.

They are difficult to peel and have lots of seeds, so they aren't much fun to eat, but the juice is unbelievable. You can pick up a cheap juicer at about any store these days. We got ours at Ace Hardware a few years ago.

If you have family visiting or friends coming into town,  or just want to juice for your Phoenix family, send me an email (jgeyer66 at cox dot net). We live very close to 32nd street and Indian School. I'm off of work for the next couple of weeks, and we are being attacked by family from back East and Colorado, so I'll pretty much be staying put.

We usually end up giving bags of these away. Trust me, we have plenty. Take care followers!

Tri Berry and Beyond!

I tried the Tri Berry Gu. (Wow, if I had tried the tri during a Triathlon, it would have been a triple homogram.) It was really good and had the desired effect, but here is the strange thing. The gu is clear. I expected a red color. Are all gu's clear? Then I thought, why would they add coloring, your eating it literally on the run. And then I thought, "You lame-ass, is this the best you can think of for a blog entry?"

I just finished a hella week at the factory and I'm pretty burned. I need a day or two of R&R then I will be creative again. I did get two 6+ milers in at fast tempos (around 9 and negative) for both.

My spouse went to Runners Den this week to buy socks and an ITB strap -she has the ITBS now and has it pretty bad. she is out now running 10m with her running partner. Hope all is well!

I'm still partial to the vanilla bean, but have yet to taste the chocolate and coffee flavors. I anticipate gastronomical joy, but in the end, it is what the runner prefers during a race and I feel less guilty with a  citrusy flavor like lemon.

I will purchase Roctaine this weekend and give updated reports. I bet you can't wait!

Vanilla Bean Gu and the Improved ITB

Been rolling on foam and wearing a band and hoping for the best. The right ITB seems to be settling down. Now my wife has it in the left leg. Got 6.5 miles yesterday

--felt great but had to walk a few times for traffic. I'm stuck here for running in the Biltmore Arcadia locale, and you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a long stream of cars headed somewhere. But I got my HR up and was pain free for the ITB. Gonna try raising the mileage, especially on weekends. I want to try getting to 25 miles per week by RNR AZ 1/2 Marathon, then build from there for San Diego. Thanks for all the comments and I now have 5 followers (woo hooo to my followers!!) You guys are cool! I added a counter and a top commenter box to the blog.

Now that you have read my running drivel, I'll tell you about some of the best Gu available. Vanilla bean is  capital Y Yummy! Love it and will definitely keep some on hand along with the lemon flavor which is my all time favorite. I want to try the Roctain next. I also love the Clif Shot Block lemon lime. I had 1/2 a Vanilla Bean packet at mile two yesterday and the other 1/2 at mile 4. I ran negative splits except for traffic stops, and ran the last .62 at almost under 9. That's nice and fast for me, especially at the end of 6 miles. Was it the Gu or was it me?

Take care followers!!!

C1R0 Flu

After PR'ing in the Fiesta Bowl 1/2 last weekend I was struck with C1R0, the so-called 'runner's flu'. This malady affects mediocre runners all over America this time of year. Especially runners who are East coast football fans and from 2-couch households. C1R0 runners often justify and attempt to mask their symptoms by working in the yard, hanging Christmas lights, and exclaiming 'naptime!' several times during the weekend.

Couch 1 Runner 0 is a serious flu and should not be ignored. Seek running websites immediately and cast a blog out there. Other remedies include purchasing running gear and watching a Pre video. In extreme cases, C1R0 afflictees are ordered to review their BMI and undergo a lengthy visual self-scan in a well lit mirrored bathroom.

If you, or someone you know, is ignoring the symptoms of C1R0, seek help immediately. Go for a walk in your running clothes, go for a ten minute run, call a running partner and set an appointment, eat a salad, volunteer at a race -any race. You are not alone. Get help.

2009 Fiesta Bowl 1/2 Marathon

That's me on the right after finishing in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl 1/2 marathon. My goal was to finish strong and under 2:30. Made it in 2:20 and some change and am supremely happy about it all. I ran the whole way with Lauren (in the middle) and got to meet fellow blogger Rio. Both are really nice, and both are terrific runners. Lauren stayed with me the whole way and was the only reason I was able to run in the last 1/2 mile.
The race started out really positive -lots of 5K'ers and 1/2'ies hanging out and enjoying the cold Phoenix air. It was around 35 degrees at the start and stayed pretty cool throughout the race. The gun went off at 7:30 and we took off shortly thereafter. We kept a moderate pace in the first couple of miles and ran through our scheduled walk breaks. I didn't say anything, but my ITB started to call out at mile 4 and I was wondering if I would be able to finish the race. I decided to do the medically appropriate thing and ignore the pain. It worked and I kept going.
At around mile 5 or so, I decided to eat my pre-purchased lemon gu gel. Yummy. It was really good and a far cry from the Vanilla Gingerbread they were handing out for free --I refused to even try that flavor. Discarded el cheapo gloves and tied my jacket around my waist. We were in stride and making good time. We ran along side two of Lauren's friends for a while and chatted. At mile 7 we met up with my wife and two year old. They both were yelling for me and took some photos. Thanks family! Love you both!!

Was feeling good at this point and this was helped by a fairly long downhill stretch. Got to Hayden road and tuned south for 2nd half feeling good.

As we worked our way through the second half, my legs began to wobble a bit, but I wasn't worried. Sometime around mile ten, I grabbed a Vanilla Gingerbread gu but swore that I wouldn't eat it unless forced by race officials. Thinking 'only 5K to go', I tried to up the pace a bit to check Lauren's reaction, but quickly learned that I didn't have any increase left and a quick check to the ole Garmin told me that I was losing pace and was now at about 10:30......and fading!! We got into some turns and underpass swoops and then were in the final mile. I could feel my left hammy starting to cramp and stopped a few times to try to stretch. I even took a few bites of the Vanilla Gingerbread gu and thought that my finish photo would be me barfing right on the Chronotrack while my left leg cramp-twisted backwards over my head. I was head down running at this point and Lauren had to remind me twice to lift my head so she wouldn't have to listen to my wheezing/gasping. Seeing the balloons of the finish line lifted my spirits, but as you can see from the photo, I was not doing so good.

Look at how happy Lauren is and look at me. But my wife and HJG were waiting for me and were yelling when they took this photo which made me feel good. I finished (20 minutes faster than last year's PF Chang 1/2 marathon!!), went off to stretch and feel pretty good today. My second 1/2 marathon!! A little crampy in the left ham, and quads are a bit sore, but I will run tomorrow. I love running in the rain. Besides, I have another 1/2 coming up in Jan and a full in June. Thanks for reading. I'd love it if you would follow my blog and give me feedback.

Checklist

Here we go. I will again be running 13.1 miles tomorrow morning. I've tried to convince myself that it's just a training run, but I'm in the mode no matter what I try to do. I'll be running with 'When I get a little run run run' Lauren, and we will keep each other in check. My family is going to try to meet us at mile 6 or 7 and again at the finish. Here's my stuff for tomorrow:

• ITB strap
• Asics Cummulus 11, and lucky race socks
• RRS Shorts
• Sweatpants to wear on the ride over -supposed to be 35 degrees at start.
• Long sleeve t, and short sleeve t over top
• gloves - $1 el cheapos from Walmart, could discard if needed
• warm skully and cooler skully to change into after mile two'ish. Running hat to wear over top
• Garmin FR 305 and HR strap
• nip bandaids and glide
• gu -more for free on the course
• in case inhaler

I'll have 1/2 bagel with PB and some coffee in am. I'm pretty damn excited. More after the race.

Uuuhhhhhhhh Half??

A half marathon this coming weekend. Right. The Fiesta Bowl 1/2 marathon is Sunday and I've been avoiding the reality, but my training really is going well compared to last year. In Jan., I ran the PF Chang 1/2 in 2:39, and had never run further than a 5K. This year, I've put in lots of miles, and I've had some long runs this past month and am getting faster.

But this was 3.93 (who stops at 3.93 without going at least 4?? I do, that's who. I was at my house and I always use the driveway as the finish chute. Crap. About 20 more strides... wimp.) Anyway, I'm going out Sunday to run the 13.1 as a training run. I really need to do my normal long run training plan of .9/.1 at about 10:00 and keep myself from getting injured. The itbs is feeling much better thanks to the foam roller and a knee strap.

Hope to meet up and run with a few bloggers, and my family will be at the 1/2 way mark and finish line to cheer. Let's see what a 1/2 is like after some training.