Well THAT sucked

The day wasn't bad at all. It was fine / great until the afternoon. Work was busy and good. I left at 2:00pm to get the kids and that was fine. They did their homework, had something to eat, and were all good when I left at 4:10 to head to Horseheads for the varsity lax game between Horseheads & Union-Endicott. The game went okay, but I did have one or two hiccups - that's to be expected. The bad part was the field was horrible and my L ankle was hugely sore. I massaged it all the way to Corning and it started to feel better. Then it was on to the stadium for varsity Corning Hawks vs Ithaca. Again, for most of the game, it went fine. The third guy was a bit of a drag and there were some issues with communications and such, but the referee team worked it out.

THEN, the last 48 seconds happened. I was the trail official, as Ithaca was clearing. I knew the score was close but at the time I wasn't sure what it was exactly. The goalie came out, went to pass, was challenged on the pass and at most, bumped, and then the goalie hacked the Hawk kid and I threw the flag. Well that caused all sorts of pandemonium. Of course, that meant the backup goalie had to come in and the little red coach was furious. Then, the Hawks scored and it was tied. Then they scored again with 0.5 seconds remaining and won the game.

Just so happens that the president of the lacrosse officials board was at the game - I worked the earlier game with him and I knew he was in the stands, but I didn't know he was from Ithaca. Well I got a good talking to about the slashing call after walking off the field and going into the locker room. The thing that I'm not upset about is they weren't arguing whether or not it was a bad call, they were saying I shouldn't have made that call given the game situation. I didn't fight him on it, just took it. Had I argued, I'd be done for sure. I understand what he is saying, but I mentioned to Frank that I always thought we were supposed to call it the same at the end as the beginning. Not so, I guess. Not sure what's going to happen going forward, but it was not a good feeling. I don't feel upset or angry or anything, just pensive. It WAS a slash, for sure. Just a learning experience I guess. But I'm not certain I'll be able to make that adjustment - I'm just a black & white sort of person.

Day 12.1 - Monday - BFC - 4.4 miles

Didn't hit the road until 8:30am - shorts, no jacket, my blue Nike hat, and a long-sleeve shirt. Really throwing things crazy, I wore my NB sneakers instead of my Asics. I started at the fire dept, went right up Forest, left towards Walmart, and back up the Beartown hills - but not ending at the Fire Department. I then took a left onto Creekside and ran what I thought was a 2-mile route back to the FD, but it ended up being 1.8. I ran the Beartown 2.6 miles in 24:49 and the 1.8 in 17:06 for a total time of 41:55 which is a 9:32 pace. Not bad over 4 miles at this point. I'm dissappointed though because I thought I was running 5 miles. I felt great during the run and was glad to get out there as I'd taken off Saturday AND Sunday.

My left shin was hurting on the inside but it went away when I switched sides of the road and ran WITH traffic. I also spent some extra time warming up doing jumping jacks and lower-leg rotations - something I should definitely continue.

Day 9.6 - Saturday - Jones Rd - 35 minutes

I didn't get to run until 10:30am because Annie didn't feel well and Allison woke up early. I had to worry about heat for the first time in recent memory. I still wore my tights because I feel they help my legs and they feel great, but I definitely suffered some extra heat because of it - glad I wore a short-sleeve shirt. My Asics Kayanos were fabulous as usual - I should get another pair.

I parked at the Fire Dept and ran up Forest, onto Jones, and all the way to the metal gate in 17:30. The return trip was nearly identical. Right off the bat my calves hurt, but I stuck with it. My left shin, again, was an issue but it went away. It's sore now a few hours later - I did NOT take Alleve prior to the run so that may have something to do with it - I'll have to track it. Taking tomorrow off and then running on Monday. Not sure what the schedule will be since I'm reffing Tuesday & Thursday. I like the current rotation though - easy 30 min run day 1, timed fast run on day 2, and long run on day 3. I do have to keep my shins in order, though. Hopefully I can drop some weight and have a positive effect that way in addition to the stretches I'm doing. Maybe if Annie doesn't go to Florida I can add some strength training, too.

Day 9.2 - Tuesday - Jones Road

Just got back from VA last night and stayed up late, but my body wouldn't let me sleep in today. I had an easy run in my NB1224's along Jones road. As usual I parked at the Fire Dept and ran up and back. It felt a lot easier than my last run out there, but I think I covered about the same distance. My weight was up to 223.4 after the trip which wasn't too surprising, though I did do a good job of staying away from junk - didn't eat a single piece of cake!

During the run not much bothered me until about the 18th minute when my left shin - I know the spot - which I hadn't felt all run, suddenly was stabbingly painful for 2 strides, and then it went away. It felt fine thoughout the day so maybe it finally "popped" itself back into place. I'll find out tonight as I have a game to ref.

Day 7.3 - Wednesday - Lots of shin / calf pain

Didn't run today because my legs hurt so much. I did a game in Bath last night and my shins / calves hurt so much I was frequently out of position. I walked for 10 minutes and will try to do that a couple times today as well as the lower-leg exercises recommended on Runners World. I'll keep you posted. I wore my new InSport tights and the new Asics Kayano 15 and they were great - at least for a walk they were.

Day 5.6 - Saturday afternoon

Actually, not sure if Saturday has been day six or day seven in past posts, but from now on, I'll try to remember that the "running" week starts on Monday so indeed, today was the 6th day of the week.

Today I ran around 2 or 3pm because of the hectic birthday & playdate schedule. I had it pretty easy, really, as Annie did all the running around. Because it was so late in the day I didn't know where to run to avoid traffic and on my way out to Forest Drive I settled on Old Canada road which turned out to be perfect. The jogging stroller affected my stride a bit, but the mileage was comparable. I used my NB 1224's without the RRS inserts and my legs don't feel nearly as tired as the other day. My calves & shins were painful at the start, but probably because I just spent 10 minutes crouching while giving Brennan his bottle.

Aside from that, it was fine. The tights & Nike jacket w/ short sleeve shirt were the perfect combo as there was a headwind at times that required me to zip up all the way, but on the way back I was so hot I nearly took the jacket off. My weight is still at a 224 or 225 plateau but I got some more nutritious food and will start taking Fish Oil supplements - hopefully that will help, too. I do keep reminding myself as well that I'm still not at the point of my runs where weight loss should occur - I need to be running longer and faster to make that happen.

Hiatus Nearly Over

I ran last Tuesday & Wednesday and had a good time outdoors. Friday rolled around and it was too cold for outside and my shins were hurting so I skipped. Saturday was a no go because the baby kept me awake too late. And he's been sick ever since so I haven't gone running. I was up until 3am last night. Now, refereeing starts on Wednesday and I'm torn about when I should start running again. Wednesday? But I've got a scrimmage - don't want to do too much, too soon. Not tomorrow, Tuesday, either - it's 11:30 at night for goodness sakes, and that would throw my schedule off. I think I'll just go Wed morning at the 13 minute run level. My weight is okay - 225 - so I just have to be careful about not screwing up my legs. Knock-on-wood, my ankle feels nearly normal!

day 5.2 - daylight savings time

I didn't run on Monday because Brennan had a rough night and I was still trying to get used to daylight savings time. Last night was even worse and since Brennan had me up at 4, 4:20, and 4:45, I decided to go running anyway. On the brighter side, I was able to start early because I ran outside instead of in the Y.

I started in the parking lot, went West towards Bridge, then left onto Williams - I think - towards Corning Gas. I made it all the way past the FastTrac before my 12 minutes was up. After walking for 1 minute, I continued to the Route 17 overpass and then headed back. I stayed on Pulteney until CMoG and ended my run at the Y. I had a relaxed few minutes to stretch, the shower was all mine, and I made it home by 6:30 on the dot. My shins bothered me only slightly and I wore my Brooks Adrenaline. I'm glad I'm tracking this so I can determine if the Saucony's are hurting me or not.

It felt good to run, but I've been going downhill ever since and I've got the kids all to myself tonight. I'm so beat I'll probably sneak in a nap before picking up Allison. And probably just get McD's for the kids.

3.6 - Crappy Outside Run

Crappy run today.

Yesterday it was in the 50's. This morning it was below freezing, there was a nasty headwind coming off the hill, and I didn't run until 8:30am instead of my normal 5:30am. To top it all off, it felt like I was constantly gliding down a hill (resting in other words) or sprinting up a hill which is not good for my achilles. I couldn't find any sort of rhythm to either my breathing or my stride. It was annoying. From now on I'll have to drive / bike down to Market street and start there. I hate to use the gas, but it's less important than my health.

On the brighter side, I stuck with it and did the full 30 mins. I kept thinking of this weeks motivational quote by Henry Ford: "Obstacles are those frightening things that become visible when we take our eyes off our goals". I also remembered reading that we should expect good days with running and bad days, too, just like with everything else so upon reflection, the thing to focus on is that I did it. My shoulder is feeling better, the pain in my back is gone, and my shins aren't bugging me. I did notice that when going downhill I tended to let my left leg take most of the impact and just slid my right leg alongside - sort of like going downhill sideways. Once I noticed that I switched and I think my left shin feels better than it usually does.

My weight spiked a bit as I'm up to 225.4 this morning, but we had a dinner party last night with some excellent lasagna and I even allowed myself some dessert. Plus I was famished all day for some reason and ate too many crackers w/ cheese and not enough fruit because I hadn't brought enough with me. Getting back on track today plus some smart planning next week and 220 is definitely in sight. The schedule gets crazy next week with repeats of 8, 9, 10, and 11 minutes so my intensity should be going up, too.

3.5 - Friday morning

Late night with Annie, but still managed to drag myself to the gym and ran 6mins, walked 1 min (4 times) and ended w/ a 2 min run. I picked up the pace a bit on some of my laps and before my last set felt / heard a small pop in my left shin. I immediately slowed it down and didn't feel any further discomfort, but that does seem to be the area where I might be developing shing splints, though 3 hours later, I barely feel any pain, even when pushing on the spot. I also have a sore spot on my back near my right kidney. I probably just slept wrong, but gotta keep accurate records.

All in all, it was a good run. I weight 223.4 this morning and I'm continually motivated by my weight loss. Hopefully I'll be down around 215 (or less) when referee season starts. Looks like I'll have a week of rest coming up as Annie is headed for a week-long work assignment out of the area. It might be a good idea to take a break.

3.2 - off schedule, but back on track

This is off schedule, I know, but I ran today. It was supposed to be a walk day but hey, I hadn't run since Saturday and I was itching to get back into it. I used my New Balance 1224's and they were great as expected. Why did I ever try Under Armour????

The cycle today was 5 repeats of run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute. I ran just under a 10 minute mile consistently throughout the workout. As I recall, this is the same sort of pace I was running back in the early 2000's - I used to run 8 miles at a time, ya' know. My weight is steadily improving and I'm happy to say I'm at 225.4 this morning - I think yesterday was 224.8 so no big deal and actually, pretty good since I hadn't exercised in so long. Sleep is definitely key. Brennan wasn't very good last night, but I went to bed early enough that I overcame it.

Today, a bagle w/ cottage cheese for breakfast w/ 8 oz of apple juice. At work I've been snacking on 4 x Polly-O 2% cheese sticks, some 100% whole grain wheat thins and an orange. I've got another orange and a pint of strawberries for later / lunch.

The schedule has me running the same cycle tomorrow. My shins didn't bother me this morning and I only felt them a few times so hopefully this won't be a problem.

End of Week 2

Another week down I'm happy to say. It was tough today - the baby was up 4 or 5 times and we were up late getting ready for a birthday party. We woke around 6 and I griped about not being able to run before Annie basically forced me out the door - thank God for her! It was a tough run on the hills of Corning, but it was worth it to stick with the program. I continue to feel better and lose a few ounces each day - I'm down to 224.4. Not sure how the food at the birthday party will affect me, but I hope to drink lots of water and be conscientious about it.

I tried to run in my Under Armour Renevant sneakers, but again experienced the pain on my toes from yesterday so they never made it out of the door. My Brooks Adrenaline trail shoes were great, though. It's amazing the differences between running inside and outside. You can spit when you need to which is nice, but there are so many other variables - the road surface, the wind, the cold making your eyes tear...Week 3 starts on Monday with 5 min run, 1 min walk repeated 5 times. My shins are sore after runs, but fortunately that doesn't carry over - hopefully that trend will continue.

Initial Entry - My First Blog

Yeah! Day 2 of week 2 of the Runner's World 8-Week Beginning Runner's Training Program (http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-380-381-386-9397-0,00.html). It seems sort of silly given that I've been running on & off since I joined the Army in 1992. But given my recent weight gain (230 lbs!) and my ankle injury, I'm thinking it's best to take it slow. The baby has been good about sleeping well (finally!) and my wife has been a cheer leader even though it interferes with her sleep sometimes (I run in the morning). At this point, everything is going better than I expected. I'm still getting shin splints a bit, but hopefully stretching and the rest days will take care of that. My ankle bugged me last night for the first time in quite a while - maybe because I sprinted a bit on the track?