Closing Out A Mediocre Year

 

As 2023 comes to an end, I would love to say it was a banner year. I just can't say that.

For the most part, I struggled to get in any amount of mileage with any sense of consistent motion. Early in the year was gimpy time, and the end of the year was the same. In between, it was a matter of slow going, but going nonetheless. Between mid-May and the end of September I averaged about 40-45 miles a week. I did cross the 121,000 and 122,000 mile thresholds during the year, so that's always good.

With two more days to run, I will end up with 1610 miles, give or take a mile or two. That's not the worst year of my adult life, but certainly does not meet the 2000 mile standard for a "serious" running year. The year was/is split pretty evenly at 746 and 874. It could have been significantly better, but the last 7 weeks have been a mileage disaster. Oh well.....     

Only a single "race" this year. I did the 4 mile Greenland Trail Run. I was supposed to run the 8 mile, but a bad step mishap two days prior, required dropping down to the shorter distance.

Will end the year with 12 pounds of net weight loss. Now, don't get me wrong, that's a good thing. It's just far short of the goal. SO...... I'll do what any red-blooded American would do and move the goal into this next year.

Well, what about the coming year? Well, I hope to drop enough weight to make the running easier than it is presently. With apologies to all of the weight alarmists, lighter, in most every case, is better. So that will be priority #1. Miles? Well, I'd like to get back over 2000. In fact, if I could get to just a hair over 2100, I would hit another major lifetime goal: 200,000 kilometers. We'll see.

I'd like to ride my bike more, cross train more (yoga, pilates, riding, strength training), not to mention more vertical. I had applied for the Mont Blanc Marathon as a means of motivating myself to hit the mountains, but alas, was rejected (maybe old age discrimination - maybe Anti-American bias - maybe unlucky). I have some other wishes for the year. We'll save those for another time.

Mostly, I want to simply feel better: less vulnerable, less fragile. Someday this running thing will end, but not in 2024, and not voluntarily.

Thanks. Run on.

            

Just a DAY????? Happy Global Running Day!

So, another Global Running Day has arrived! Global Running DAY???? Why not Global Running Week or Month???? 

According to askwonder.com, about 621 million people in the world run. That's roughly 9% of the earth's population. And all we get is a DAY??? A day is like 1/3rd of 1% of a year. And all we get is a DAY???? Rip off. Moving on.

My own running has had it's ups and downs since we last visited in April. Early May was great, in fact I ran in the Greenland Trail Race in early May. Slow but steady. In fact the first mile and a half which was moderately flat was the worst part. I could barely breathe. Once we made the big turn up the big hill, big differences began. I've mentioned before that my crappy knee seems to like going uphill more than flat, well, it was on the uphill that I finally felt okay. Weird. I tried to blame the altitude, but we were at 6200 feet and I live at 6200 feet.

Post Greenland, my motivation dropped a bit as did the condition of the previously mentioned knee, as did my mileage for a couple of weeks. BUT, it's coming back a bit. 38 last week, about 43 or so this week. I like the longer light and warmer temps (although it is still CHILLY at night and early morning. And the RAIN!!!!! For the last decade, I have been positive that I was somehow transplanted from Colorado to what I will unlovingly call Eastern California. NOW, someone has stuck Seattle in the mix. Seattle, CA.......

I've been ignoring the strength machinery downstairs, as well as that pot of Kale and the protein shake. Despite my unwillingness to become a much better eater (I'm already better, just not MUCH better), I have dropped about 8 pounds since May 1. 50-60 more soon, please.

On the Grandson front, Mason finished his "junior" year at Colorado State University with a 10,000 meter Mountain Conference Championship. He took the lead from a lagging group with 10 laps to go and gradually tightened the screws, getting rid of everyone  but Ryan Johnson from the Air Force Academy, and teammate Lars Mitchell with a lap to go. Then Mason dropped a 57.6 last lap to get the win. Too much fun. 

On the "by the way" addition, his 28:38 at the Stanford Invitational qualified him for the NCAA Regional Championships as well as placing him 3rd on the All-Time CSU 10K list. A good year.

Ryan, my son and his wife Sarah ran the Bolder Boulder together. Sarah's first time. Ryan's first time in a long time.

So that's it. Coming up on the halfway point of the year and will probably land at about 830 miles or so. Then we'll see how the back half goes.

Run on.

So, What's REALLY My Marathon PR in Todays World of Cheater Shoes (errrr, shoe tech)?

Tiger Ohbori

Was on a run this morning listening to a podcast about shoe technology and it got me wondering....... What would my PRs be in today's super shoes?

But wait, first let's catch up. Since my last post and my optimistic return from the ortho Doc, I have slowly gotten back into some running (jogging). The main goal was/is to build slowly, lose some weight, and then explore the world of gel injections for my knee and running without as much discomfort. The 6 weeks since then have logged 23, 31, 34, 39, 36, 36 miles. An 8 mile run yesterday at Waterton Canyon felt really good and is catapulting me to this weeks 40+ mile goal. The last time I ran 40 miles in a week was May of last year. Yikes.

I've registered for three "races," mostly just for the fun. One, however, is a biggie. Maybe more on that another time.

So, shoes...... My first marathon was in 1973. I ran 2:58:24. I died like a dog. Today with a 4% super shoe discount (I wore Tiger Ohbori's at the time - very light and nothing to them), my time might be 2:51:12. Oh, that's better, but let's dig deeper. I ran this time in Gainesville, FL and at the finish the temperature was just a tick under 80, WITH Florida humidity. So, let's knock off another, what, 5 minutes, maybe 10? Then let's factor in bad coaching. The week before my race, I was placed in the Motor City Marathon with the intent to race 20 miles as a test for the marathon. The result was a 1:50:05, 5:30 per mile average, and I felt great when literally pulled off the course by my coaches. I'm assuming I could have held the pace through the end, but let's say I dropped to 5:45. I'm still finishing around 2:26 or so. Instead I pass through 20 in Florida in 2:09 going backwards (BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP). So, I don't know, I think I'm getting hosed here.

NEXT...... my 3:10:33 as a fabulous 49 1/2 year old. Well, first the weather was good, no adjustment there. I ran a negative split, so no stupidity adjustment there. But the shoes, yes the shoes. I get 4% (that's what Nike says). So I'm in as a 3:02:59. I'll take it. Can we update that, please?

You know what, let's do them all..... 5K, 10K Half Marathon...... 

Nah, never mind. Where can I buy some shoes? and a knee.....

Run On!

Hope is Good

About a month ago, I slipped and fell in the Target parking lot and through a variety of contorsionistic moves was diagnosed with "an acute avulsion fracture of the deltoid ligament at the medial malleolus as well as the anterior capsular." Translation: the ligaments in my foot were stretched so far that they tore off some bone chips. I was given the boot and sent on my way. My parting gift from the Parker Adventist Hospital was the ortho follow-up with Dr. Alex Romero a few days later and again today. Today was my four week foot follow-up.

So, he had an X-ray taken and found that all is well in the foot world. Just keep adding movement steadily and expect occasional flair up issues for up to 4-6 months. It'll heal completely slowly.

Then, I bravely asked, “can we talk about my knee?” It had been briefly discussed four weeks ago, but mostly tabled for the future.

The last time anyone medical said anything decent about my knee, it was 2015. Today, that changed.

We began reviewing my knee history, quickly made it to the micro fracture surgery that never happened because, as the Doctor (who will remain nameless) said at the time, “WAY too much arthritis in there to do that.” So, she scoped around, charged me a bundle and it hurt within 8 months. 

A few years later came the ortho surgeon guys (who will also remain nameless) in Denver. “There’s a lot of arthritis in there. The best thing you could do is get it replaced.” We actually scheduled that little "procedure" twice, first time cancelled by me, second time by COVID. And I should make this clear: I was NEVER comfortable with the idea of a replaced knee.

Dr Romero then asked, have you had an X-ray lately? Uh, nope. So, he poked and prodded, twisted and played, then sent me off to x-ray. In the end, here is what we discovered today: the italicized stuff is from his notes:

“Examination of the left knee demonstrates that the patient's skin is intact. There is no significant soft tissue swelling or edema. There is negative patellar grind. There is range of motion from 0-125.  There is tenderness to palpation peripatellar medially. There is a ligamentously stable knee and a grossly normal neurologic and vascular examination distally. 

Other than my range being off, supposed to be 0-135, all of that stuff is pretty “normal.”

Then came the biggie: The patient's left knee he has underlying moderate grade osteoarthritis greatest in the medial compartment.  Today we discussed multiple different modalities to help him continue running.  We discussed the option of having an off loader brace utilized.  He has expressing some interest in this but is not ready to commit.  We also discussed the option of viscosupplementation (gel injections) versus PRP.  He would like to wait until he is closer to returning to running after rehabbing his ankle before he makes a decision on injection therapy.”

SOOOOO…… he said that the surgeons I had visited were mostly interested in doing what most surgeons are interested in doing which is surgery. He thought a strength program, along with weight loss (duh?), and then trying the gel injections might lead to a return to pain free running. The early key: cycling. He said it’s the quickest way to build strength in the knee, increase circulation, and help with range of motion. So set up that bike trainer!

I have spent the last, almost, decade, being without any concrete hope. Today, I have some. 

Hope is good.

Run on, maybe?

Could NOT Have Been Much Worse

2022 is over. AND.... it's taken me 29 days to post on here about what a disaster it was. First, I ran 1730 miles. That's certainly not what I would call a good year, but it isn't the worst. BUT it was.

I have bad running years before. I've been injured before. I've been unmotivated before. But until 2022, I've never just flat out given up before. And that's what I did last year. Somewhere around the end of August all of the moving, ladder climbing, painting, tree planting, and the whole rest of it became too much for my back, my hips, and my knee. It could not have been worse (slight exaggeration). Enough said.

Fortunately it's a new year, filled with new days and new optimism. This cloud of disaster year has lifted and I'm back at it. One realization of the change in the calendar was that two years ago, when I ran 2500+ miles, my knee didn't feel any better than it does today. I simply ran through it. I ran through it because I was motivated to do so. Maybe that's back.

Goals? Well, I have a few, but they're not tied to miles or runs or races. I want to simply get healthy again. I want to feel good in my clothes and not be embarrassed to be in public. I want to turn the health boat before it hits the iceberg. I guess that's a good goal.

Run on..... and lift, and ride, and do yoga, and pilates......