TIaRT - The Running Blog

Well, Take it and Run Thursday at the Runners' Lounge has hit another topic of interest to me: the Running Blog.

Believe it or not, when I started JogAmericaBlog, I didn't really know much about the on-line running community. I knew there were on-line communities for almost everything, but I just hadn't made the connection. Most of the blogs I read were political, with a few social blogs thrown in.

The idea of JogAmericaBlog popped out pretty suddenly. I was on a run, thinking about a new motivational trick. I hit on the idea of laying out my mileage on a map, which I guess is probably not the most original idea in the world. Then I thought about putting it on-line. And JogAmericaBlog was born.

At first, it was pretty lonely. I let a few friends and family know about it, and a few of them followed it, but I didn't get a whole lot of traffic. I still don't, but at least I have a few regulars.

The main thing that JogAmericaBlog has done for me is to provide motivation. I'm not just running. I'm running so that I can blog about it. Don't underestimate the power of bragging.

The flip side of that is that running always gives me something to post about. I'm sure that we all know bloggers who get "bloggers block", and go long periods without blogging, or quit altogether. That hasn't happened to me, because I've always been able to pick out the next landmark and photoshop myself into the landscape. OK, maybe it's not great literature, but it's something to write.

So, do I have any profound advice for potential running bloggers? Probably not. Other than to go ahead and get involved. You'll suddenly find yourself connected to all sorts of people that you probably would never meet in real life.

TIaRT -- Only in Running

It turns out that we can't move that much furniture tonight, because the seam glue needs to dry for 24 hours. So we continue to have our kitchen furniture in our living room.

This gives me a chance to participate in this week's Take It and Run Thursday at the Runners' Lounge. I haven't done the TIaRT lately, because I've been busy, but this one was easy:

Only in Running....would I wear these pants.

I knew I was a runner when....

This week in the Runners' Lounge, they are having a Free Stuff Giveaway. They have had a bunch of these, and I usually don't participate. But this week's theme looks pretty cool, and I really want some free running socks. So here goes.

I knew I was a runner when....

• Well, it might have been when I spent a couple of hundred dollars (between race fee, hotel, meals, and gas) to run 26 miles in the sun with a bunch of strangers. But I think it was probably before that.
  
• It might have been when I first started thinking seriously about running a marathon, like it was something that I could do.
  
• It might have been when I started blogging about running and reading about running and talking about running and basically spending more time thinking about running than I actually spent running.
  
• Maybe it was when they tore up the indoor track and I had to go six weeks without running, and I hated it!
  
• Maybe it was when I got my first running related injury.
  
• Maybe it was when I got my first race shirt.
  
• Maybe it was the first time I ran in the rain because I had planned to run, and hey, I was going to sweat anyway.
  
• I really think it was when I began to realize that I'm grumpier when I don't run than when I do.
  

Day 801 -- Bearmouth

From Waymarking.com, the historical marker at Bearmouth, MT. It's going to be hard to read, particularly with me in the way, so I refer you to the Wikipedia article on Bearmouth. It seems to indicate that Bearmouth is a ghost town. With no more mining in the area, there isn't sufficient trade to keep Bearmouth afloat.

I ran at the gym again this morning, another six miles. It was a little slower than yesterday, but still not bad. It looks like it might be warm enough in the morning to run outside, if I feel up to it. I'm feeling a little punk this evening. My stomach is unsettled and I have a headache. I hope I'm not coming down with something. I'm taking it real easy, trying to be sure that I don't.

In other news, I'm on a podcast. The theme for the podcast at Runner's Lounge this week is Virtual Races, and I was invited because of my involvement in the FFFK. I haven't listened to it, yet, because the connection here at home is so slow. I'll try to listen to it at work tomorrow.

Happy New Year...and one last look back

Happy 2009, everyone. We had our usual quiet New Year's Eve. We stayed up watching a movie, then played Catch Phrase until midnight, and went to bed at approximately 12:02. Actually, the medium Little Jogger went to bed at 11:45. He just couldn't make it any longer. We slept in a little this morning, and right now I'm just waiting for the football to start.

This week's theme at the Runners' Lounge is "Your favorite post of 2008." While I was digging around for the year-end meme, I found several that I liked. I thought about making a whole bunch of links -- my favorite race reports, my favorite virtual locations, my favorite birthday cakes -- but I settled on just one post. It was the only post that moved me as much to read it as it did to write it. So, if you weren't around JogAmericaBlog in August, read my Farewell to an Old Cat. I suppose that if that's the worst news of 2008, it wasn't a bad year, after all.

TIaRT -- Giving Thanks

I haven't done a Take It and Run Thursday at the Runner's Lounge lately. Partly, it's been a lack of time, and partly, none of the topics have really turned me on. But this one, I can't miss, even if I doubt that I'm going to say anything truly original.

This week's topic is "Thank Goodness for Running". Where do I start?

• First of all, I'm thankful that I can run at all. Lots of people can't. As I think I've mentioned, my brother and my dad were among those physically unable to run, and I still think about them sometimes, and I'm grateful that I can.
  
• I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to run. I have a good job, in a safe neighborhood, in a great and generally peaceful country. There are lots of people in the world (and yes, in America, too) who are too busy just trying to survive. They don't have time to run just for pleasure.
  
• I'm thankful for the support of my family. No one in my family runs, but they all tolerate me going out and disappearing for hours on end, obsessing about the upcoming race, and spending way too much on needless running junk.
  
• I'm thankful for the on-line running community. I honestly don't know if I would be able to keep it up if it weren't for the encouragement of a bunch of people that I've never even met.
  

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

TIaRT - Running and Weight Loss...Or Not

Today's topic for Take It and Run Thursday over at Runners' Lounge is "Running and Weight". My contribution to the conversation is to note that running, in and of itself, is not enough to control your weight. I have run some 1400 miles this year, and I have not lost an ounce. I think I've gained a little. I hesitate to think of what I might weigh if I had eaten like I have and not run 1400 miles.

As I said after the marathon, I would like to lose some weight, to make running easier. I'm trying to get serious and get back under 200 pounds. But running alone won't do it. I've also got to control my intake.

The good news is, I don't need to control it that much. Since I am physically very active, I can eat 2200 - 2500 calories a day and still lose weight. I just need to do that.

I got yer recovery right here (and TIaRT) -- Update

After two long days in a row, I couldn't get myself going this morning. I slept in, rather than running. Oh, well. I'm supposed to be tapering, right? I'm going to chalk up another life lesson learned from running: No matter how carefully you plan things out, sometimes, plans change.

Which brings me to this week's Take It and Run Thursday at Runners' Lounge. I've missed two TIaRTs in a row, but I'd better do this one, because I suggested it. The topic is "Life Lessons That I Have Learned From Running," and I got a million of em:

• Preparation is far more important than talent. Nobody is talented enough to run a marathon without preparation. Lots and lots of us prepare enough to run a marathon without noticeable talent.
  
• Five in the morning is much more fun than 10 in the evening.
  
• There is good pain, and bad pain. Embrace the good pain. Treat the bad pain.
  
• When the going gets really tough, concentrate on little, reachable goals.
  
• Do the important things first.
  

OK, I have five of 'em. Six if you could the one about plans changing. If I come up with some more, I'll add to the list.

Update: On this morning's run, I came up with two more:

• Pace yourself. Life is a long run.
  
• You can't go hard every day. Some days, you just have to take it easy.
  

TIaRT -- Taper Madness

Sorry.

Day 687 -- My Run in Pictures

This week's topic on Take It and Run Thursday at The Runners' Lounge is "My Favorite Run, In Pictures."

I know, I'm supposed to have some beautiful, scenic route, along the beach, or through a misty woods, or high above a scenic gorge. I don't do that. My favorite run, my least favorite run, and all the runs in between, are all in town. So I thought I would just show you today's run.


Mile 1: I'm basically running east from my house, but right at the mile marker, I'm temporarily facing south. I will turn left at this corner, and run east most of the next mile.


Mile 2: I'm just about to the northeast corner of town. If I were to keep running straight here, I'd run out past the cow pastures that surround every small town in Wisconsin. I often bike out that way, but never run. I'll turn right in a short block and head south to downtown.


Mile 3: Just ahead is Main Street. I'll turn right and run on Main all the way back across town. Incidentally, the building on the right with the sign in front of it is the gallery where Mrs. Jogger works part-time. But they aren't open at six in the morning, so I won't stop.


Mile 4: Almost to the other end of Main. This is the hilly part of the run. When I hit Main right after mile 3, I ran a short but steep downhill, then a long, not so steep uphill. Now I'm on the tail end of a long, not so steep downhill, and up ahead, you see a short but steep uphill. I'm pretty tired, so it will be hard, but I'm not moving that fast, so it won't be as hard as it could be.


Mile 5: Almost home. Chez Jogger is just ahead on the left. I'll actually run past it, all the way to the corner. All my runs begin and end at that corner. Longer runs are concatenations of 3, 4, and 5 mile loops, each of which begins and ends at that corner.

Now is the time to admit that I didn't take those pictures on my run this morning. I took them yesterday, from my bike. It was too dark this morning, and, as it turned out, rainy. It's been raining steadily all day. They say that this is the remnants of Hurricane Gustav. In any case, between the rain and being still sore from three rather hard days in a row, I didn't feel much like running this morning. But I did. My body has been taken over by some alien force that makes me run whether I want to or not. That is, as long as the schedule says to run. Since the schedule says to take tomorrow off, I hope the aliens will sleep in.

TIaRT -- The Middle Miles

Today's topic on Take It and Run Thursday at The Runners' Lounge is "The Middle Miles." This has a dual meaning. It can refer to miles 8 through 14 of an 18 mile run, or it can refer to weeks 8 through 14 of an 18 week training program. Either way, you're in the same boat. That first rush of energy and enthusiasm is over, but the goal is still pretty far off. You're tired, you're sore, and you just want to pack it in. So what do you do?

It helps to have a bit of a stubborn streak. Distance running in general, and marathon training in particular, are not for those who give up easily.

It also helps to have a support system. I don't run with anyone, since I haven't found a partner who wants to run my pace and distance. But I do have plenty of running friends, who can be counted on to ask how my training is going. When I have to tell them (as I did this spring) that my marathon has become a half marathon, it's a little embarrassing.

And, of course, I've got my on-line support system. If I give up on a long run, or give up on my marathon training, I have to post it here, for all the world to see. It's one of the oddities of life in the 21st century that a whole lot of people whom I have never met know more about my running life than my wife does.

Ultimately, what has kept me going during these hard weeks is the following thought. I'm earning my marathon finish now. If I meet my goals in October, it will because of the miles I ran in August. You can't cram for a marathon. So, keep on running.

Somebody remind me of that about mile 12 on Sunday, will you?

TIaRT -- Six Words

This week's theme for Take It and Run Thursday at Runners' Lounge is "Your Six Word Running Memoir". Amy and Tom have both cheated, by submitting multiple six-word memoirs, but I'm a purist, so I've done just one. (Plus I didn't think of it.)

Old, slow, fat -- but running anyway.

The Tough Stuff

The theme for this weeks "Take it and Run Thursday" at Runners' Lounge is Overcoming the Tough Stuff.

For me, the Tough Stuff is humidity. I'm a big guy, and I work up a sweat even in cool, dry conditions. When it's hot and humid, look out. My headband gets saturated, and sweat runs into my eyes. Sweat soaks my socks and makes my feet squish. My "moisture wicking" shirt gives up in agonizing defeat. And I still have five miles to run.

I know most of the tricks. I have a couple of mantras that I use for the tough times. My favorite is "I'm a marathoner," repeated to the beat of your feet. Lately, I've also picked up the simple word "Hammer." I have been using it in increased rhythm -- every four steps, then every other step, then every step. I don't think I actually increase the pace of my running, but it feels like it. I also try to use my mantras occasionally when I'm feeling good, so that they aren't an automatic signal to my brain that I'm in trouble.

I also know not to try to take those five miles at once. Concentrate on the next landmark. Make it to the corner. Then to the park. Then to the water fountain.

I've been known to count out the next 100 steps, which is sort of a combination of those two techniques. The counting gives my brain something to do, and the 100 steps keeps my horizon pretty short.

For all that, sometimes I fail. Last Wednesday, I just broke about four miles into a seven mile run. I couldn't make it. At that point, there's nothing to do but to get back on the horse the next day. The one thing that you don't want to do is to dwell on it. Since then, I've had five good runs, and I'm doing OK.

The bottom line is that Tough Stuff is part of running. If you're a runner, it's going to get you. You have to stay strong, learn to deal with it, and survive to run another day.

TIaRT -- The Over-Training Blues

This week's topic on Take It and Run Thursday at Runners' Lounge is "Over-training." I have already given -- and taken -- my advice this week: Don't be a slave to the schedule.

I love my schedule. I have every day planned out through the marathon on October 19, fourteen weeks away. Want to know what I'm going to do on August 9? Nine miles pace. September 11? Five miles easy. October 6? Cross training. I like having it all laid out, and I like knowing that it's building me up for a good marathon.

But.

Some days, your body just isn't on schedule. It happened to me this week. I had a hard run on Monday, and though the schedule said three easy miles on Tuesday, my body said, "No." Forcing yourself to "work through it" is, in my opinion, the easiest road to over-training. Missing a day, or cutting a medium run or a long run down to a short run, is not going to sabotage your plan. Getting injured from over-training is.

TIaRT -- T-shirt

Today's topic for Take It and Run Thursday at Runners' Lounge is "That is a Great T-Shirt." My t-shirt is kind of specialized. You can only honestly wear it once in your life. But for those of you for whom that occasion is still in the future, I highly recommend it. In case you can't tell (underneath my medal!), my shirt says "First Marathon". It was hand-lettered by the oldest and newest Little Jogger. It did attract a lot of attention throughout the whole marathon. A lot of people saw it and cheered for me, and believe me, that helped. It helped so much, I'm considering wearing it for my second marathon. Who would know?

TIaRT -- Lessons from Tai Chi

As part of Cub Scout Camp yesterday, we had a Tai Chi lesson. I know, you don't normally think of Cub Scouts and Tai Chi as being compatible. I told the speaker after that she was a pretty brave woman to even try it. She did a good job. She introduced it to them as "Super Slo Motion Karate", which sounded cool. Anyway, most of them tried it, at least a little.

Why I bring it up here is because of something she said that may become my new running philosophy. She didn't make a big deal of it. It was almost a throwaway line. She said, "Just because you are moving slow doesn't mean you aren't working hard."

Anyway, that's my contribution to this week's Take It and Run Thursday. I'm not sure that it really answers the challenge posed, but it is 13 words or less.

TIaRT -- 5K and 10K races

I've recently joined the on-line running community Runners' Lounge. One of the many cool things that they do is Take It and Run Thursday, where the moderators throw out a topic, and different members of the community post about it on their own blogs. I can't wait to join in.

One problem is that this week's topic, "Tips for 5K and 10K Races," isn't exactly my area of expertise*. I have run, in my life, four organized 5K races, one 8K, and one 10K. For some of these guys, that's a good month. But, if I were the type not to post something just because I don't have anything interesting to say, this blog would certainly be a lot shorter.

So, here's my advice for all runners of 5K and 10K races, especially those new to racing: Don't forget to enjoy.

My best races -- the ones that are most memorable -- are not always the ones where I ran the best times. My best races are the ones where I remembered that I run for fun. They are the races where I took to time to schmooze with my fellow runners. They are the races where I remembered to look at the scenery. They are the races where I forgot about the clock and just ran for the heck of it. Sometimes that coincided with a PR, sometimes not.

*My area of expertise, in case anyone is interested, is Virtually Running Across the Country, Even Though You are Old, Slow, and Fat. Amy, if you want to do a TIaRT on that topic, I'll be all over it.

Yoga

I can't do this. I am not a yoga master. In fact, I have never taken a formal yoga class. I mostly learned from the videos Basic Yoga Workout for Dummies and Beyond Basic Yoga for Dummies, both starring Sara Ivanhoe. I've done a little reading, and occasionally I'll borrow a different yoga workout video from the library. But the point is that I'm not an expert.

Oh, and I hate stretching. Always have. The guy who got me started running insisted on stretching before a run, so I did, reluctantly. Then I read that you aren't supposed to stretch cold muscles, so I gleefully dropped my pre-run stretch. Sure, the article also said to stretch after a run, and I did. A little. Sometimes. For a while.

I actually went through a period where I ran and ran and never stretched at all, and, looking back on it, I can't believe that I was that dumb. I was definitely getting tight, and it was cutting into my running.

So, relatively recently, I have gone back to yoga, and it really does help my running. I'm definitely looser, and much less sore. So I won't go into tomorrow's workout tight from today's, which means tomorrow's run will be better.

How much time does it take? Twice a week, on my non-running days, I do the full workout, the "Daily Dozen," which takes about 40 minutes. On running days, I do about six poses after my run, plus a few non-yoga stretches, which takes maybe 10 minutes. A full yoga practice increases strength, flexibility, and balance, but I concentrate on flexibility for the post-run workouts.

So, if you hate stretching, but want to keep loose and make your running better, try yoga. It really can help, and you don't have to twist yourself into a pretzel. I promise.