running

I have to start running again soon

I have to try....

Life can sure be challenging.  A couple of months ago I went to a physical therapy/ chiropractor place to make a concerted attempt to finally fix my ongoing plantar issue.  It didn't work.  I probably needed to go longer but simply could not afford it.  As of Oct 1 I had maintained my 20 mile weeks for 19 years and 4 months.  The big goal was 20 years but it was not to be.  I officially threw in the towel mid October when I realized my plantar was going to prevent me from anymore running.  I resigned myself to no more running.  I had a nice fall back with morning and evening doggie walks.  That is actually going pretty good.  As of today I/ we have 23 miles so far this month.  Pretty darn good if you ask me. 

This past Saturday morning Misty, doggie and I did the short 3 mile version of Kens and afterwards I couldn't get trails and endurance off my damn mind.  The rest of the weekend I was envisioning myself hiking/ walking the 25k at Bandera in January.  I even fantasized about hiking/ walking the 50k.  I guess my trail life may not be over with yet.

I'm going to really attempt to be aggressive and start working that knot in my foot with the lacrosse ball.  It hurts like hell but I have to try......

kilometers

So my 57 for 57 plan didn't quite work out as planned.  Life and my right foot conspired to shift the plan to 57 kilometers instead.  Oh well, that's the way it seems to go lately.  I'll just keep on trying to keep on I suppose.

15

Had a great 15 miler at Barton Creek this morning.  I finished in 3:30, hiking the HOL in under 10 minutes.  Very encouraged with today's run however my plantar is pretty flaired up post run today.   I've decided that I'll do the 25k at Warda.  Our upcoming weekend schedule only allows me one long run between now and the race and that's not enough.  That will work fine.  I have plenty of time to build up my mileage and hill strength for Bandera and continue to work on getting my plantar fixed too.

black

I left out that the one friend is WHITE, everybody else is black

minority

I get so fucking tired of being in the minority all the time.  Gun control, politics, race, Confederate flag, anthem kneeling, our fucking dangerous, idiotic President....thankfully I have one friend who sees things the way I do....I'll keep biting my tongue.....

20.0059464817

1 mile doggie run/walk followed by 10 miles at Townlake this morning.  Operation 57 for 57 is alive.  However, I did have a hitch in the giddyup and missed my 4 miler yesterday morning.  I purposely got an earlier start (4:45a) than originally planned to possibly get back one of the miles I missed yesterday.  That was not it be though.  10 was it for today.  Oh well, I'll get caught up.  Even with a lot of stretching my plantar is hurting pretty good post run this morning.  I'll get it figured out though.  A little funny though.  The last 2 months I haven't gotten my minimum miles to quite maintain my 20 mile weeks, or so I thought.  As of yesterday I'm at 20.0059464817 miles per week.  I almost laughed out loud when I saw that number.  Anyway, I'm hanging in there.  As of today I need 599 miles by 6/1/18 to get my 20 miles for 20 years.....

57

1 mile doggie walk and then 10 miles at Townlake yesterday and a 4 mile doggie walk in the 'hood this morning!! 

I have a 4 day weekend for my birthday next weekend so I've been trying to plan something interesting runningwise to celebrate my birthday.  During yesterday mornings run I figured it out.  I'm going to try and get in 57 miles miles the first week of October to match my years on earth.  I sat down yesterday afternoon and worked out a plan.

Sun  4 mile doggie walk
Mon   1/2 mile doggie walk, 4 mile run
Tue  1 mile doggie run, 10 mile run
Wed 1/2 mile doggie walk
Thu  1 mile doggie run, 10 mile run
Fri  13.5 mile run
Sat  12.5 mile run

I think it's real doable if I can really focus on eating well and good recovery in between runs.  And yes, there will be some walking along the way but this is about endurance and not speed. 

patience

My running pals bailed on our weekly run so I stayed home and did 3 miles with doggie and 4 solo miles.  All in all a good morning.

I'm not sure if my foot is progressing or not.  I know it was in pretty bad shape to begin with.  I'm really trying to be diligent about doing my exercises.  Patience really does seem to be a virtue....

fun

Had a very good 7 miler at Townlake this morning.  I started off nice and easy and then did a series of several speed ups I'd guess you'd call them.  Basically just running faster than normal.  Across I-35 I ran a lot faster than normal.  I mixed in some tempo speed, really slow shuffle and some walking and finished 4 minutes faster than my run with Steve last Thursday in 1:15.24.  I wasn't trying to run faster than last Thursday, not even looking at my watch once during the run but, I did find it interesting that I was substantially faster.   Anyway, that's going to be my new Tuesday morning routine and I'm going to call it Freestyle.  Freestyle in that I'll just do whatever I want to break up the routine of going slow. I really think it will be beneficial for my overall running fitness and it's fun!!

doggie

Had a good weekend of running.  Saturday we started the day with a one mile doggie walk and then Lovie and I did 4 miles in Barton Creek.  Sunday started with another one mile doggie walk and then 8 miles at Forest Ridge in Bull Creek.  Doggie helped me cut the grass in the backyard Saturday and she and I also ran an errand to Petco for some doggie glucosamine!   Life is good!!

torture

When I woke up Tuesday morning to my right foot hurting I'd finally had enough.  Years ago John Kuss recommended Performance Wellness to me so I gave them a call and Tuesday evening found myself on the table getting worked over good.  They are primarily chiropractic care but also do sports therapy.  Dr Olsen said he'd seen many cases of plantar fasciitis and went right to work on the knots in my right calf.  He had me squirming and cursing but I took it.  Then he said he was going to do something that would hurt real bad for one minute.  I told him to do whatever he needed to do.  He got a flat piece of hard plastic and began scrapping the tender spot where the heel and arch meet.  There's a knot of scar tissue in that spot and he worked it hard and it hurt like hell.  He's going to see me several times a week for several weeks.  A couple of bits of good news. My foot already felt better the first morning after the initial torture session and he say I can continue running too!  They are also going to help me with some exercises to get my glutes back on track and firing too.  I'm really excited about this positive step forward.

Me and doggie got in an easy early morning 4 mile run/walk this morning too and doggie went over 300 documented miles this morning too!!

breathe

Shan and I had good 7 mile run in the hood this morning.  We went Duval/ Santa Cruz across Jollyville almost to the end of Floral Pkwy and back home.  The feel like temp was 58 this morning!  We ran it in 1:17 and we were able to breathe and talk while we ran!!  Looking like summer is history around here!

licked my face

Easy 3 mile run/walk with the doggie this morning!!  She nearly licked my face off this when I got home from my 3+ day vacation yesterday!!  This month is gonna be another tough mileage month.  Not only did I miss the first weekend of the month but we'll be completely tied up next weekend AND Saturday the 16th. Oh well, I'll get it figured out.  The cooler months for higher mileage are just about here!!

chunk of life

Trying to scramble and get in some miles the last part of the month.  A big ugly chunk of life got in the way the first couple of weeks of the month and some beer took over.  This morning I started with a 1 mile doggie run/walk and then did 5 more in the hood.  I know we need the rain but was disappointed to see that Saturday is looking rained out.  Oh well.  As far as my 6/1/18 goal I'll be in a deficit after this month but I'll be able to regain those miles in the more temperate part of the year.  I'm not too concerned.  During my run this morning I told myself that from now on I shouldn't worry about any sort of major mileage from mid May to mid September.  85-90 maintenance miles a month will do it.

idiot

On a whim I entered the Habanero 30k last Saturday.  The 100 mile and 100k started at 12 noon and the 50k and 30k started at 12:15.  That means the back of packers in the 100m and even some 100k'ers were going to have to be in peak heat twice!  The temp at start time was 96.  When I dnf'd after 12.4 miles the temp was 102.  I checked out a heat index table yesterday.  With the 35% humidity the feel like temp was 109ish.  I saw something else that said to add up to 20 degrees if you're in direct sun (95% of the course was in direct sun).   That means that for all intents and purposes it felt like 125 degrees Saturday.

I used to think I wanted to do Badwater, 135 miles through Death Valley.  Well I was a fucking idiot. I never felt real bad Saturday.  I felt like I was pretty smart drinking V8 and Clamato the day before to load up on sodium.  Drank some more race morning and after the first 6 mile loop, also used a tablet and a half of NUUN tabs in each bottle, even peed during the first loop but I still think I had some heat exhaustion.  I worked around the house (mostly inside) all day Sunday and didn't feel bad but didn't sleep well at all Sunday night and felt like crap all day yesterday.  I read that it takes up to 48 hours to recover from heat exhaustion. Maybe it's taken me a few more than that since I'm not exactly a spring chicken anymore.

Today I'm feeling much better.  I had planned on doing a one mile run/ walk with doggie this morning and then add up to 7 miles to that but still felt a little rough first thing this morning so we did a 3 mile walk instead.  I may get in a short easy run tomorrow morning and then back to a normal Thursday morning with pals.

My miles this month have gone to total shit but that story is for another post....

head

5 mile walk/run at Ken's to clear my head.  We've been under some unbelievable stress the last few weeks.  Their may be some resolution soon though.  We need to get back to our normal lives....

Floral Pkwy

Got August started in a good way with a solid 7 miler in the hood after a 1 mile doggie walk this morning!!  I ventured over to Floral Pkwy and actually ran some of the hills coming and going!!

hopeful

3 miles of run/walking this morning, 1 with doggie and 2 solo.  First 100 mile month since last November.  Pretty excited about that.  Still working with a nagging plantar and tingly feet but I'm persevering.  Still very hopeful about finishing my 40th ultra at the end of September and some long events this winter. 

2 months down, 10 to go in my quest for 20 for 20!!

morning

17 miles at Townlake this morning in 3:43.  My original plan was 20 miles but I pushed a bit harder than I should have on the first 10.  That's okay.  I was at 12:30 mile pace for the first 16.5 and then walked the last half mile.  Very good morning of running considering the time of year we're in!!

not too shabby

7 miles in the hood this morning in 1:22.  Not too shabby....

fucking hurting

I can't take anymore of these Thursday morning runs in this humidity.  It's become too much of a suffer fest for me.  It takes me so long to get warmed up lately.  I enjoy seeing my pals but I can't even join in any conversation.  I'm trudging along just barely keeping up and fucking hurting doing it.  When we finish I can't even talk, I'm totally spent.  Starting next week I'm just going to keep up as long as I can and then mix in some walking, I don't know what else to do.  My life is stressful enough already.  I need my running to be fun, enjoyable and something to look forward to.

lovie

Up at 4 for a 1 mile run/walk with doggie and then an easy 4 with Lovie!!

20 for 20 and beyond....

How a person defines themselves is an interesting thing.  What do we think of when a person comes to mind.  Who are they?  What do they do that's interesting or different from the herd?  Running is how I've come to define myself.  As a young teen I can remember thinking that that was how I wanted to be remembered.  I've put together a crazy streak of running the last 19 plus years.  How does a person do that?  2.86 miles a day for 6984 days straight?  How does that happen? It seems impossible!  A big chunk of life and living have passed by during those years.  I really haven't taken particularly good care of myself.  I've eaten a ton of fast food, drank an unbelievable amount of beer.  Surgeries, my parents getting sick and then the long grieving process afterwards.  Lots and lots of little niggling injuries along the way that needed to be figured out without missing too many miles.  Lots and lots of water and very little soda have been a big positive.  But my running diary (now blog) has been my conscience and a voice of reason.  I've always had that to answer to.  That voice saying, "you've got to get out there and get some miles logged down".

When I started running I can remember thinking that "this thing could get out of hand".  With the way my mind works I knew that if I began writing it down in a running diary that I'd be tied closely to it.  Sure enough that's exactly what's happened.  There was never a particular time or long term mileage goal in the early years.  It was just getting each run documented.  It was a simple way to track the mileage on my shoes and have a reference to look back at.  The early years were the high mileage years.  I'm glad I had those in the bank because until last year I'd only made the "minimum" 20 mile weeks in 3 of the previous 10 years.  4 of those years were really close so they didn't hurt the overall average too badly.  I must  have been 6-7 years in when I took the time to see what my average weekly miles were.  It was at that time that I thought maintaining 20 mile weeks for a long time would be a cool number.  Now that I've made it to the 20,000 mile point it's time to look ahead to the next goal.  I'm 10 months and some days shy of 20 consecutive years of 20 mile weeks.

Having a very supportive and understanding wife has been hugely helpful.  If I'd had a wife that made a big deal of my getting up super early on Saturday mornings to head out in the woods for hours on end there's no way I'd be where I am with this streak.  She realized right away how happy it made me and has never given me any grief at all about how high I prioritize my running.  Along the way I've made some excellent running friends too.  There are a particular few that I'm close with that have achieved some astounding things.  I've had those friends to look up to and to try to emulate.

I have to give some credit to the city we live in too.  Austin has a very active feel to it not to mention plenty of places to get your run on.  Townlake downtown, Barton Creek and Bull Creek.   All wonderful places to run with lots of options for long mileage or whatever suits you that day.

For years all things seemed possible.  Nowadays that doesn't always seem to be the case.  Sometimes now I feel like I'm just holding on.  I've got some physical issues I can't seem to get past that are holding me back from going very long anymore.  I haven't given up hope though.  I have a few ultra races on my radar.  I do wonder though, if I'm at the point where I need to forget about doing anymore long races and risk injury, or just focus on maintaining 90 mile months and making sure I get my 20 for 20 and beyond.....

10th Annual Rick Memorial Run

Last Saturday was quite the big day.  Misty, Shan, Sam, Mark and  and I ran the Toughest 10k in Texas in Lampasas.  It was a morning filled with heat, humidity and camarderie.  The race date coincided pretty closely with the 10th anniversary of us losing our good friend Rick Gastelum.   I think we've only missed one year doing some sort of special run for him.  Through the years we've done varying distances but this year was the first time we haven't done at least an out and back (15 miles) on the Barton Creek Greenbelt.  Several weeks ago during a Thursday morning run it occurred to me that the 10k we'd all signed up for might be a fun and different way to remember Rick.  Everyone agreed.

An interesting twist had Shan pushing 8 month old Sydney in her baby jogger AND Mark pushing 10 year old Lily in her baby jogger!  I think we pretty much knew Sam was gonna lead the way.  I sort of thought I might be able to keep up with Mark and possibly Shan but it was not to be.

For the record here's how we finished;

Sam       56:59    19th overall 1st in his age group

Shan      58:32    27th overall 1st in her age group

Mark     59:49     34th overall 1st in his age group

Jeff        1:02:19  38th overall 2nd in my age group

Misty    1:12:17  56th overall of 73 finishers

I guess we're all pretty critical of ourselves but I feel like I was the low performer.  Oh well, I did give it everything I had for that particular race and day.  

The most important take away from Saturday is through all these years we are all sticking close together as friends and that's the best way for us to keep Rick's memory alive.  

rough

For whatever reason I think the heat and humidity is affecting more profoundly this year than in past years.  Our Thursday morning runs are fucking rough these days.  I've already requested we cut the run short by 2 miles and I still needed to walk this morning.  Oh well, it is what it is I suppose.  I'll hang in till it's not fun anymore then I'll walk....

rough

This time of year is rough.  I try not to take our Thursday morning run times too seriously in the summer.  I try to keep telling myself this time of year to just "make it through".  I was really happy with our 5 mile run this morning (51:05) until I compared it to some recent 7 milers.  Ugh, this morning we actually ran slower than Sam and I ran May 25th and virtually the same pace as our 7 miler 2 fricking weeks ago.  Oh well, thankfully no one is complaining about dropping down to the 5 mile.  I'll just keep doing the best I can I guess....

1 month down, 11 months to go for my 20 miles per week for 20 years!

good doggie

Another 3 mile run/ walk with doggie in the hood this morning. We stopped 3 times for water.  She drank 10oz total!!  She's a good doggie!!

donating

The Farrell family had a productive morning.  Misty got up and went to boot camp but no one was there.  By the time she got back home me and doggie were about ready to head out for a short run.  Misty joined us and we did three miles. That seems to be a good distance for doggie.  We stopped to give her water twice too.

When I got home from work yesterday there was a roll of green trash bags on the front porch for donating clothes/ housewares etc.   We got busy and loaded up four bags of stuff and put it at the curb.  I had time to go through all my jeans and shirts and got rid of several pairs of shoes too.  I had already washed 4 old pairs of Misty's workout/ run shoes to take to Goodwill so they got loaded up too.

What a great way to start the day!!

together

13 miles in Barton Creek in 3:40 yesterday.  Misty and I did the first 6 together and the last 7 I was solo.  Great run!!

comaraderie

Shan, Mark and I ran the 7 mile loop this morning.  Today was the first Thursday in quite a while we've had 3 people running!  I sure was pleased Mark was hanging back today, he didn't seem to mind the 3 short walk breaks I requested.  I really look forward to the warmer months of year but Thursday mornings are a bitch this time of year.  We ran 1:11.43 this morning.  Shan and I ran right around 1:11 even last week.  I feel like I weigh 300lbs and have someone standing on my chest this time of year.  The only thing good about Thursday mornings this time of year is the comaraderie and actually finishing the run.....

hood

6 mile hood run this morning

lesson learned

Got in a 4 mile family run in the neighborhood this morning.  Unfortunately we over did it with doggie.  I took her 20oz bottle and water bowl in my empty pack this morning and we stopped and let her get a good drink twice but she still got over heated.  She flopped right down on the cool tile as soon as we got in the front door.  Misty had a great suggestion to hose her off outside so that's what I did.  That really seemed to revive her.  I checked the weather on my phone, 75 degrees with 85% humidity.  Lesson learned.  I was already thinking along the lines of going easy on her this morning by planning for 4 miles instead of 5 too!! From now on we'll stick to an easy 3 during the hotter months.

groove

Samuel and I had a great 7 mile run at Townlake this morning.  It took me a while to get into a groove this morning but at least I found it for a change. We ran along the north side of the trail to start and Sam allowed for us to walk the ramp up at I35.  We kept it slow across I35 but when we got down to the boardwalk Sam picked up the pace a little bit and I stayed with him.  We kept at a pretty fast pace all the way to about the .75 mile mark and I was totally spent.  I told Sam that I needed a walk break and he agreed!  We only walked for about a minute or so and then ran it in.  Sam pulled away in the last half mile or so but I caught him and passed him on the Mopac footbridge!!  It was too funny!!  Our time was 1:08:44.

11:06

I was a brave man this morning.  I put myself in harms way by going downtown to run in what could have been very rainy conditions.  I was strong and persevered and did not get rained on during my 1:51 10 miler!!  Very happy with that time and negative split.  My 5 mile split was 57 minutes.  11:06 minute miles is what it's come to now.  Oh well, I'm working on it.

doggie training

Saturday Misty, doggie and I went down to Barton Creek for some water training.  We went down the POS to the dam.  Before Saturday doggie had never really been in any water.  We crossed the dam okay and she did fine, getting a little wet but not submerged yet.  We took a left after the dam and attempted to do the inner stuff that lead over to the outer loop but I missed a turn and we got sort of lost.  It was great, I knew we weren't really lost but it was really neat being on some unfamiliar trails for a change.  If I've ever been on those trails before I have no recollection.

We meandered around mostly under cover of trees making snap decisions about which trail to take.  It was great.  After about 30-40 minutes we stopped and gave doggie a good drink.  When Misty asked if we should bring some food for doggie I said probably not.  Well doggie Mommie packed up some Milk Bones and sure enough doggie scarfed down a bunch of them.  

My pack is inadvertently perfect for running with doggie.  The pack part holds at least one 100oz bladder for plenty hydration for me AND it's got a slot on the bottom that a 20oz bottle slides into which is perfect for carrying water for doggie.  Also her portable water dish folds up nicely and fits easily into one of my front zipper pockets.

We meandered around for a while and then ended up very near the dam again. This time I picked up doggie and carried her into the water and submerged her and she had her very first swim.  I did that several more times to make sure her core temp was cooled down really well.  After her swim we headed back towards cedar chop but continued straight to Lost Creek Blvd.  We got to the creek there and doggie plunged right like it was no big deal.  I was very happy to get her past that hurdle.  We headed back over to the dam, crossed and headed to the base of the HOL.  We got there and Misty checked our mileage.  We were almost at 6 miles.  I sort of wanted to get in 7 but I could tell Misty thought that wasn't a good idea.  Doggie was in great shape not lagging at all so I figured Misty was right, lets head on up the hill and doggie finished strong.

One more new situation remained.  I knew that she wouldn't be able to ride inside my truck after getting wet and muddy so last Saturday I put her big cage in the back of the truck and drove her around the 'hood for a while to give her a little taste of back of the truck riding.  She seemed fine so I got out on Duval and got up to 45mph and she was good.  The folding cage is so handy.  I had it folded up in the back of the truck, got it set up quickly, loaded doggie up and we took off.  She did fine on the drive on 360 to home.  

 

All in all a great morning on the trail.  An easy 6 miles and lots of good doggie training.

fuzzy foot

Mark and I had a good 7 mile loop at Townlake this morning 1:13.30.  We've had plenty of togetherness the last several days.  He managed to only insult me twice this morning and not once during our 2+ hour run Sunday.  Oh well, source considered.

On a positive note as of today I've got 35 miles this month so far.  The bonus is that I'm pretty healthy.  I wore the Soles this morning to give my right heel just a bit more cushioning and it worked very well.  I didn't do any buildup for the neuroma and got away with that.  Almost forgot, we did ZERO walking this morning too.  If we'd walked at all I'm sure the neuroma would have flared.  I like the Soles but they give me that weird fuzzy foot feeling that I think turns into that burn that I started experiencing a couple of years ago.  I get none of that with the factory insoles.  Maybe Thursday morning I'll try the old trusty green Spenco inserts that worked so well for years.  Oh, the combinations of things we do to keep running....

south austin

Mark L and I had a solid 10.5 run in some trails in south Austin near his house yesterday morning.  We did it in 2:15.  Mark set a nice pace and we did no walking but we did stop several times at overlooks and intersections.  My heel was bugging me some but not too badly.  After we finished I went home and got doggie and we did a 2 mile hike on some Kens trails.  This morning doggie and I got in an easy 3 mile run/walk in the hood.  Great last couple of days running with an old pal and doggie!!

full stop

Another great Thursday run is in the books.  Mark, Shan and I started but Mark bailed at Congress so it was just Shan and I for the remainder.  It felt like we had a pretty decent pace going so I asked Shan to tell me when we got to the 6 mile mark so I could check our 10k time.   59:52!!  I'm sorry to say that I was pretty happy with that time.  We walked up the ramps to I-35 and then actually stopped at the 6 mile point.  Shan wanted to stretch a bit, then we walked a little bit too AND our total over all time was 1:10.23!!  Very happy with that.  That matches last week with the walks and the full stop!!  I'm definitely starting to get in shape.

morning

Great 5 mile run with Mark and Sam this morning in 49:44.

recover

I'm definitely making some progress towards getting in shape.  I'm fairly sure I was around 1:10 or so this morning for the 7 mile loop at Townlake.  I forgot to start my watch at the start.  I could really tell I felt stronger but the weather was much cooler and less humid than last week.  Regardless, I'll take it!!  I'm shutting down this month with 77 miles.  For the months of Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb and March my grand total was 153 miles.  The last 2 Saturday's we've done 9 and 11 miles.  I gonna get in a few rest days and let my body recover.  I'll be ready to get fired back up next Monday.  I'm barely hanging onto my 20 mile weeks but the streak is intact.  I need to make sure I maintain that for 13 more months.  That will be 20 full years of 20 mile weeks!!

Ruska

Misty and I got in 11 miles on the Goodwater Trail at Lake Georgetown last Saturday.  It's almost always a good time exploring new trails and we sure did have a good time.  There were some hikers but not too many.  We're definitely going to go back.

This morning me and doggie went looking for Ruska and Samuel on our 5mile hood run but we unsuccessful.  We had a good run anyway!

running

Out of shape but I'm running!!  Samwell and I did the the Mopac/ I-35 7 mile loop this morning in 1:15:20.  Pretty darn slow but I'M RUNNING with seemingly no ill effects!!  I'll take it!!

I think I'm a runner again...

Time for an update, I've been super busy the last week.

The last couple of weeks I've been experiencing some really severe pain in my lower left back and left hip.  Very unusual for me.  I didn't know if it was my office chair, my new truck or our bed.  I made 2 trips to Richard M. but that didn't seem to do any good.  I thought a thorough massage from Renie might help so she worked me over really good Thursday morning.  I was fine the rest of that day but by Friday I was in some pretty bad pain again.  I went ahead with our run plans for Saturday with Misty and Karah.  We did a super easy 9 miles in Barton Creek.  I had no difficulty running at all and did some very thorough stretching and foam roller afterwards.  By the time we got ready to leave for Bulverde that afternoon I felt pretty good.  My foot felt fine, my back and hip were a bit tight but not bad.  After the drive to Bulverde my back and hip were hurting again.  I started getting scared that it was my truck seat bothering me but I'd driven a 400 mile round trip to Lake Livingston in the days right after I got the truck and I made a 1000 mile round trip to Arkansas the next weekend with no ill effects.  I was pretty dumbfounded and frustrated.  We stayed the night in Bulverde Saturday night and slept well on their spare bed.  I woke up with minimal back and hip pain.  That made me seriously question our bed.  We drove back to Austin that afternoon and I felt pretty good which really made me wonder about our bed even more.  A very good development was that my foot felt pretty well okay.  Still not perfect but much much better than it has been. 

After we'd been home for a while Sunday I started wondering if my back and hip could be a strength issue.  I did some lunges Sunday evening and then doggie and I had an easy 3 mile run Monday morning.  I did more lunges Monday morning after our run and what do you know.  About halfway through my Monday morning I realized I'm just about pain free in my hip and back!!  I have to chalk it up to the lunges!  That confirms that I have to keep doing lunges regularly!

I've been concerned about keeping  doggie hydrated on some longer runs so we did something new on a little neighborhood adventure this morning.  My big UD bladder pack has a vertical sleeve on the bottom for a 20oz bottle along with room for at least a 100oz bladder.  I put doggie's fold up water bowl in the outside portion of the back of the pack and took a 20oz bottle of water specifically for her.  We stopped at the 2.3 and 4.1 points for water breaks for doggie.  The first time I took my pack off  completely but the 2nd time I just rolled the bowl up and it fit fine in one of the zip up front pockets!!  I'm really glad I have a system now for keeping her hydrated on our morning runs.  She did great too by the way.

I think I've just about got my right foot fixed.  I'm pretty well pain free now most of the time now but will keep wearing the plantar boot at night.  I think I'm a runner again!!

she doesn't even know

3 mile run in the 'hood with Mrs. Farrell and doggie this morning.  My plantar pain has mostly moved into my heel so I'm trying to figure that out too.  It was a bit painful this morning so we cut our run short.  I'm going to have a one hour Thai floor massage with Renie tomorrow morning and we'll work on my foot too.  Doggie's next run gets her over 200 miles since we got her and she doesn't even know.....

weekend

Had a good 10 mile weekend.  Misty and I did 7 in Barton Creek yesterday morning.  Yesterday afternoon doggie and I did a 1 mile walk in the 'hood and this morning after cleaning carpets me and doggie did the 2 mile version of Ken's.  I experimented last night with not wearing the plantar boot and it didn't go well, my foot hurt this morning.  Back to the boot every night.  No worries, it's not a big deal.

shape

Mark L and I did the Mopac/ Congress loop this morning in exactly 50 minutes.  I'm definitely out of shape after my layoff.  Mark took it pretty easy on me.  I think my foot is okay....

run like the wind

Me and doggie got in a solid 5 miler in the 'hood this morning!  We saw Samuel and Ruska walking along Duval and snuck up on them.  I'm sure they were very impressed when they saw me and doggie running like the wind right by them!

baby steps

This morning me and doggie mostly repeated what we did Tuesday morning.  I did run a bit more than Tuesday though.   One big difference from Tuesday is I got a new pair of Altra Lone Peak's yesterday.  After running in the Vans the Altra's felt like Hoka's this morning!!   I've decided to get more aggressive with using the lacrosse ball and icing afterward.  My foot felt a bit weird off and on yesterday evening but I decided to go ahead and run this morning anyway and it's feeling okay post run.  Baby steps....

minimalist

I couldn't stand it.  I had to get out and try the foot this morning.  Me and doggie headed over to Schroeter Park and did 2 miles.  We alternated walking one length then running one length for 4 loops.  I did it in my Vans with a thin pair of socks on, so very minimalist.  As I sit here several hours later I can say that my arch seemed a little tight at home afterwards walking around barefoot but now seems just fine.  I'm icing it now and iced it at home and plan on icing at least 2 or 3 more times today.  Another big change I've made is no more bare foot icing.  I'm wearing a sock when I ice now.  I plan on doing the same thing Thursday morning.  I'm really trying to ease into this.

nothing to lose

My plantar has not responded to anything I've done over the last 7 months so I've decided to drastically change what I'm doing to fix it.

Misty had a conversation during her Saturday morning run with a longtime local trail runner about my ongoing plantar issue.  He suggested that my feet were weak.  He said he fixed his plantar years ago by running in Vibram Five Finger shoes for a while.  He said that by running in these for a while he was able to strengthen his arches/feet and his plantar issue went away.

After Misty related this to me I've done some thinking about my shoe history.   Up until last August I had at least 3 straight pairs of the very padded Hoka brand shoes.  I had been having persistent trouble with my neuroma/ metatarsalgia so I bought a pair of Altra Lone Peaks.  I'd had some success Altra's in the past but went to the Hoka's because I felt like I needed more cushioning.  Altra's are sort of the anti Hoka, zero drop with moderate cushioning.  Sam and I had a 10 mile run planned in our neighborhood that Saturday morning.  I wore the Altra's and later that day as I'm sitting in my recliner I felt some pain/ tenderness in the arch of my right foot.  Well, from that day forward I haven't been able to totally get rid of the plantar problem.

While I was on the road to Arkansas and back this weekend I've had plenty of time to think about all this.   During the year and a half of wearing the Hoka's my feet basically had a break from any hard work and were weakened.  It only took a single day of less padded flat shoes to expose that weakness and that's where I am now.

The plan going forward is to go barefoot in the house, wear either my cowboy boots or Van's sneakers for everyday wear but continue wearing the Hoka's while running.   I feel like I can strengthen my feet with some exercises, going barefoot at home and the minimal daily footwear.

The way I'm looking at it is that nothing else has worked so far, I'm not running anyway, I may as well try something drastic.  At this point I have nothing to lose.....

train

Great 5 mile run with doggie in the 'hood this morning!!  Thankfully we were about 100 yards away when the train started across Duval.  She WOULD NOT have been happy if we'd had been any closer.  I had trouble holding her in place as it was.  She's definitely a little fraidy cat.....er, doggie.

excited

Shan, Mark and I had a good run this morning.  We did the 4.82 Mopac/ Congress loop in 49.21.  I suggested we stick to that loop and see if we can bring our time down substantially and the agreed!!  I have no idea what a goal should be but surely 9 minute miles for us together should be doable??  I'm excited, we'll see if our missing friend will be joining us on a regular basis?!

doggie

4 miles with doggie yesterday afternoon and 3 miles with doggie again this morning.  My back was unusually tight this morning.  I'm wondering if it's the new orthotics?  Yesterday and today are the first times I've run in them.  Plantar seems to be cooperating.  I have a weird rash on my achilles that was itching with the boot on last night so I took it off.  I tossed and turned all night worrying how my foot would feel this morning but after a little stretching before putting weight on it it felt okay so I went ahead and ran.  One day at a time....

hole

I just need to accept that the hole that was created all those years ago will never be filled by anyone or anything......

connection

We almost had the whole band together this morning.  Shan, Steve, Sam and I did the Mopac/ I35 loop.  We were only missing Mark L. this morning.  Things are back to normal after 6 months of missing Shan and then my 2 month layoff.  We all had such a good time this morning.  We are so damn fortunate to have each other.  I'm glad that we've all put in the effort to keep our connection strong.

On top of us all being back together our run was great too!!  Our time was 1:09.36!!  I'm super happy with that!!  Steve and I led the way for the 1st 5 miles having a good chat and then the last couple it was Sam and I together while Steve and Shan caught up.  I was fairly successful in focusing on my belly breathing in between talking.  Another very positive thing is I've had zero issues with my feet since I've been back running.  It seems I've made a good adjustment with the tape placement in my Spenco inserts for the neuroma in my right foot.  I did get the over the counter orthotic Tuesday and have been wearing that in my everyday sneakers.  They are the very best over the counter orthotic made and the pedorthist added a big buildup for the metatarsalgia/neuroma in my right foot and also for my left foot too.  I'm feeling like I'll be able to run in them soon but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to take them back in for an adjustment on the left foot.  It's just too much of a lift in that foot and, I have no real need for any buildup at all in that foot.  One of these days I'd like to throw down the 300 bones it would cost to get some custom ones made!!

Last but not least the plantar issue in my right foot seems to be under control.  I'm off the regular ice and Ibuprofen for a several days now, and, I've been doing a ton of stretching throughout everyday and some stretching while I sit on the side of the bed before I put any weight on it in the morning.  I'm going to continue wearing the sleeping boot indefinitely I think.  I've gotten pretty used to it.  Well folks, that's my story and I think I'll stick to it!!

faster

Stop the presses!!!  Me and the doggie did some speed work this morning.   Schroeter Park was the scene of the crime.  It's super convenient (1.5 miles) to our house.  Over the YEARS as I've contemplated some faster running workouts my plan has always been to get in an easy run to the park, do whatever and then an easy run back home.  That would have been too many miles for doggie right now so we drove over there this morning and got 'er done.  It's roughly a half mile loop.  We did and easy 1 mile warm up and then ran 220, walked 220 for 2 loops (4 repeats).  I know the doggie was thinking, "wow, my master has never run this fast before"!!!

pal

10 miles at Forest Ridge and St Ed's with Misty and Sam yesterday.  More great times with my pal and Lovey!!

band

Great run this morning!!  This was my first Thursday run since 11/10.  My layoff didn't produce all the results I intended but my body did get a rest from the pounding.  I didn't do any rehab with my plantar during the layoff thinking that it would simply heal on it's own.  It didn't, so I'm back to rehabbing it now.  I've researched some things to do on Youtube that are already helping.  I'm also scheduled for an appt at Instep for a new orthotic that will hopefully take care of my neuroma and provide support for my plantar.  This morning we did the 5 mile Mopac/ Congress loop.  None of us timed it but it sure felt like the pace was decent.  I'm really, really happy about having a pain free run.  It's been a very long time since I've enjoyed one of those!  This was the first time Shan, Mark and I have run together since mid August.  It was great getting the band back together!!  Next week we'll step it up to the 7 mile loop!!

thursday

Doggie is getting back in shape, 4 miles in 46 minutes this morning in the 'hood!  It's still January by the way.  34 this morning!!

Marine

One of my Marine buddy's sent us some old pics from our days in the Suck (Marine Corps) yesterday.  One of them was my 2 roommates Mark H  and Jay H.  A wave of nostalgia came over me all of a sudden.  I sat for a minute and thought about the time I'd spent with those guys.  Mark and I were roommates about half or more of my 4 years.  Jay was a year ahead of us and became my A Chief when I became section chief.  He was my right hand man.  He was a pretty manic dude too, always up to some kind of mischief but a great artillery man.  Mark was a brooding sort of guy from Ft Smith Arkansas who was still madly in love with a gal from home.  He spent a lot of time talking about her.  He also liked to eat the occasional tab of acid.  One day he ate some during the work day and had a bad trip and escaped to our barracks room and climbed the walls for hours he told me later.  Thankfully for him no one missed him that day.

The internet and FB are amazing tools.  In the span of an hour I researched both Mark and Jay.  I found Mark's daughter on FB, friended her and then sought out Jay.  What I found was his obituary.  He passed away last spring.  After some more searching I found his brother on FB and chatted with him.  Apparently Jay died in his sleep after years of using pain meds for ailments he suffered from for years.

One of my main memories was of listening to a lot of Crosby, Stills and Nash and Neil young in our barracks room with with those guys.  Oh and lots and lots of beer and weed too....maybe that was the breeding ground for my love for that music now.....

I need to make sure I continue cultivating the relationships I have with my Marine buds.

life

Another family 3 miler this morning!  Afterward I did 120 crunches, 40 push ups and a bunch of stretching!  Life is good!

beautiful

Misty, doggie and I did a good run/walk for 3 miles of Kens trail yesterday.  What a fantastic weekend it was to get back to some easy running. Beautiful weather!!  I've done a lot of post run stretching and am feeling pretty darn good, besides the plantar.  Yesterday on the short downhills at Kens I could really tell how much stronger I am from doing the lunges the last 2 months.  I can't remember feeling that stable in my knee and quad area on the downs!!   When I made up my mind to get back to running my plan was to run for at least several months before resuming the lunges but I think I've changed mind.  I think it would be a great idea to do some after every run that way rest days are rest days.

cortisone

Misty and I did the Pleasant Valley to Lamar loop yesterday morning in 1:37.  Pretty slow but that's to be expected since this was my 2nd run in 8 weeks.  I felt pretty good overall.  Felt sort of heavy but it'll get better.  I did a lot of stretching yesterday evening and feel pretty good besides my plantar that's not healed.  I really find it hard to believe that after only very easy walking the last 2 months that it hasn't just healed on it's own.   It was actually quite painful yesterday evening.  I'm kicking myself for not getting the cortisone shot already.....

thursday

2 mile doggie walk and 20 reverse lunges this morning

wednesday

50 burpees in 30 minutes this morning

streak

I'm going to start running again Feb 1.  My feet won't be healed but I'm going for it anyway.   I've decided that my 20 mile per week streak is too important to let it simply fade away.  I'm at 19'538 now.  I'm gonna get to the 20k mark and reevaluate then.  All I need is 87 miles per month to hang on.  As of Feb 1 I'm at 20.03 miles per week since 6/1/98.  So, this'll take me past the 19 year mark and shortly after that I'll pass the 20k mark.  I've always included any walking I've done so it won't necessarily be all running.  I'm really excited about starting back running!!

resolutions

My New Years resolutions are going well.  I've eaten a cup of oatmeal with blueberries and banana in it for breakfast every day this year so far.  I'm really enjoying it!  That was my Mom's breakfast every day.  Seems right to carry it on.  I haven't meditated every day but am in a good weekday routine with it.  We'll see what the results are down the road.

200 crunches this morning

sunday

70 lunges and 70 pushups in an hour on Sunday!!

cold

Cold ass early morning doggie walk.  22 degree wind chill!!

5 sets each of 10 lunges and 10 pushups!!

thursday

Lots of jumping jacks and leg lifts!! Lower abs getting stronger!!

tuesday

1 mile fast walk with doggie this morning.  130 high butterfly kicks, 40 lunges and 30 pushups.