GneissGuy » Fitness

The cost of running

admin — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 01:39:59 +0000

Today I was able to get out for my first full run after my surgery. I had to have a sports hernia repaired on Monday. About 27% of men end up with hernias. It doesn’t make me any happier about the surgery. My hernia is feeling much better, not really any problems since the surgery but my abdominal area had been killing me because the surgery involved inflating the area so the surgeon could move the mesh and scopes around. The process tore all of the fascia away from my abdominal muscles. Apparently, there are all kinds of nerve endings in that area. I suppose it will get better over time but the pain kept me from running for the better part of a week. Good run today though so I have high hopes to be ready for my four marathons in May.

More marathon training

admin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:11:56 +0000

Here we go again! I finished the Denver Marathon but it was nowhere near a PR. So at the urging of my running coach I am putting in a top springtime effort and I’m training for the New Orleans Marathon. This ones for a Boston Qualifier baby!! I have been training for a month now. I put in a 22 miles run on Saturday and I’m feeling strong. Look out NOLA!

Marathon training begins

admin — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:09:24 +0000

Last night I got my first taste of organized marathon training. My coach, Kathy, had us do some dynamic exercises first before the run. They are designed to help prevent injuries. Some of them, like butt-kicks and high-knees, I had done before but some of them were new to me and involved running on your toes and heels at different angles. We did a lot of strides before the actual workout. That made the 3×5 minute workout seem a lot harder than it should have been. Anyway, I am still looking forward to Saturday’s 8-9 mile run.

Recovery

admin — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:52:46 +0000

It’s a hard lesson to learn. Just last month I ran in my first marathon and did pretty well (3:36:32). About a week after the marathon I thought I was on track to keep up some light running until my next training started. Then the Achilles tendon on my right foot started hurting. I kept running on it thinking I just needed to stretch more. Wrong. I had to completely stop running for over a week and limp around with my bum ankle.

Now, after two weeks with not much running I am running healthy again. I’m pretty sure the injury was a product of over-training so I am now doing more cross-training to keep up my cardio without killing my legs. I just hope that this was enough of a lesson that I will listen to my body more if/when another injury comes up.

Ramping up to the Colfax Marathom

admin — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:59:43 +0000

Today was my first run back with the Denver Nike Run club. I am now offically into my summer running schedule and ramping up to the Colfax Marathon. I was able to keep with the fast group today for the first two miles and then I took the loop around Mile High Stadium. When we got back I got some good tips on other running groups geared toward marathons. I need to look up the Colorado Road Runners. They are supposed to be hosting some 20 mile runs soon. My mileage will be there after this next weeks 18 miler on the Highline Canal Trail.

Building up to a new year of running

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:38:30 +0000

Yep. I’m back at it. Watching what I eat and building up my running to half-marathon distances. Today’s run will be a 9 mile run. Next week 10 miles. I will probably leave my weekend runs at that level for a little while and work on speed from that point. I am already registered for the Colfax Half-Marathon and plan on running in the BolderBoulder and Denver Half-Marathon. I just cannot put in the time it takes to train for a full marathon at this point in my life. Maybe in a few years when my work life can handle it. The biggest problem I have with the training is that I have to run the same distance during the week as I plan on running on the weekend and to run marathon distances I feel you have to train at marathon distances. I don’t have the time to run two hours twice a week. I really do admire people that can put in the time and run like that.

Run like an human.

admin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:41:38 +0000

I am getting back into running. One thing that has always bothered me about runners is sometimes they are runners and sometimes they are just joggers that call themselves runners. Joggers can’t seem to stride out past where their knees straighten out. I know this is nit picking but those people are not runners, they are joggers. In order to speed up a runner just lengthens their stride, joggers have to speed up their pace because their stride length is fixed. To me, joggers are the reason that most people are not runners. Jogging kills your knees with all of the impact. A good running stride shouldn’t shock your knees much more than a brisk walk. Humans evolved strictly for the purpose of running. Not just sprinting, but full-on distance running. We had to run to track and kill anything in the hilly grasslands of Africa. Since we cannot out-sprint most African game we had to run it down over miles. That is our genetic heritage. Now we are just pencil pushers and couch potatoes. If you want to be healthy you need to embrace the runner in you. STOP JOGGING and run like an human.