Crossroads

When I ran my virtual half marathon a few weeks ago, I was hoping to run under three hours. My training had gone much better than the previous year's Twin Cities Marathon, so I thought I could do better than the 3:07 I ran there. 

Unfortunately, the last few long runs before the marathon my foot started acting up. At the marathon, it began to hurt at mile seven and by mile twenty-one I was ready to drop out of the race. You can read more about it on my race report.

Now, I'm getting tired of always being injured. I would say that I've joked before that running is just something I do between injuries, but it's not really a joke. Running is actually something I do between and during injuries.

So, after long consideration, I've decided to cut significantly back on my running. I'll use the extra time to work on strength and mobility as well as walking.

The hard part will be setting goals to stay motivated. Running fewer miles will most likely lead to slower race times, so I'll have to give some consideration as to how to structure my goals.

This decision-making process has given me conflicting feelings. Part of me feels optimistic and excited to be running without pain, but part of me feels disappointed that I'll most likely be running slower times. There is a remote chance that the extra strength and mobility work I'll be doing will make up for the reduction in running volume.

I'm interested to see how this goes. I know I won't enjoy it quite as much as running, but I will enjoy running injury-free (I hope).

Stay well.

Mental Health Day or Sick Day

It's a pretty common phrase: "I'm taking a mental health day." I don't know all the reasons people have for taking a mental health day, but generally it means that work is stressful and one needs a day off to mentally recuperate.

As someone with bipolar, were I to take a mental health day, it may be more complex. Unfortunately, most workplaces don't allow for mental health days, but they do allow for sick days, and this is where things get tricky for me. It was easier when I was a substitute teacher and I pretty much picked my own schedule, but before I substitute taught, there were times when I couldn't go into work because of bipolar symptoms.

Unfortunately, there's still a stigma attached to mental illness, especially bipolar, that keeps me from saying what the problem is that's keeping me from work. I don't feel comfortable saying, "My bipolar symptoms are really acting up, and I'm not going to be able to make it in today." Maybe that's partly on me, but I'd still feel more comfortable saying I had a cold or a headache that was keeping me from work.

And what do I do when I call in to work? If I had the flu, a severe cold, or a headache, I'd stay at home and rest. If I'm feeling bipolar symptoms, however, I'd much rather try to get myself moving to burn off some energy if I'm anxious or manic (within reason. Mania can be exacerbated by too much exercise), or to get a mood boost if I'm depressed.

It feels weird being on a run, at the gym, or out for a walk after calling in sick to work. It shouldn't. While resting is the best bet for some ailments, activity is better for others.

I hope one day it will be easier to call in sick to work and say, "I'm dealing with some mental health symptoms," and not feel ashamed doing it.

Stay well.

Gratitude

This time of year can come with a lot of anxiety and stress. Yes, the holidays can be fun and full of cheer, but it can also be stressful. Some struggle with preparing holiday food, organizing gatherings, and buying presents. Others face gathering with family with whom their relationships are strained. Still others find the changing season of more darkness negatively affects their moods.

In this pandemic, holidays look different for most people. Smaller gatherings and smaller meals may mean less stress in some ways, but it also means missing time with loved ones.

I've been struggling some with my mood. It's not unusual at all for me this time of year, and the shortening days and cloudy weather leave me feeling down.

But, one of the best things I do when I'm feeling down is to practice gratitude. When I'm feeling anxious and/or depressed, my thoughts often wander to the past or the future instead of staying in the present. I ruminate on past mistakes or future worries, which is not helpful at all. Instead, practicing gratitude brings me to the present and all the wonderful things in my life: a family, friends, faith in Jesus, and health are just a few things to be thankful for.

How about you? Do you practice gratitude in your life? What are you thankful for?

Buds or No Buds

In many ways, running is the simplest, purist sport there is. Shirt, (sports bra),  shorts, socks, and shoes, and you’re out the door. Or, in winter’s case, add some pants, jacket, gloves, and a hat. It’s simple, right?

Well, not completely. What about earbuds? The debates on the drawbacks and merits of earbuds are many. Just Google, “running with earbuds debate,” and you'll find articles that outline the issue, both positive and negative.

I have mixed feelings about running with earbuds. Those who say it’s dangerous to run while you're hearing impaired do have a point. If a cyclist is coming behind you and fails to give a verbal warning, you may not hear it in time to give the bicyclist space. During a race you could fail to hear an emergency vehicle approaching.

I now have a pair of Aftershokz headphones. They are bone conducting headphones that do not cover the ear, so it is still easy to hear surrounding sounds. Before that, when I ran with earbuds, I always used only one ear.

Still, as far as the safety thing goes, I think it’s good enough to have the volume at a reasonable level and/or have one earbud out. 

Another issue the anti-earbud crowd picks up is the lack of attunement to one’s body. Earbuds, they say, take away from the body’s natural signals of pace and effort. I agree somewhat with this one. I don’t wear earbuds when I’m doing an interval workout or a tempo run. I do, however, often wear earbuds during easy runs and sometimes long runs. I’m confident in my ability to run at an easy pace with or without earbuds in my ears.

I also tend to wear earbuds when I’ve gone a long time running without company (which has been a lot this year). After spending a lot of time in my own head, it’s nice to take a break and listen to a recorded book or podcast without having to listen to my own internal monologue.

How about you? Do you run with earbuds? Why or why not?

Virtual (not) parkrun

 

This year, with no in-person races, I ran several (not) parkruns. The (not) parkrun is the virtual version of the weekly free event, parkrun. Parkruns are all over the world, and one takes place in Eagan. Laura and I have raced it quite a few times.

After the pandemic, parkrun began hosting a virtual event. It's pretty simply — all one has to do is run a 5K and then upload the results on the (not) parkrun website. The time then appears with other runners of the same parkrun on the website.

Since my goal for the year was to run a 5K in under eighteen minutes, I decided to use the (not) parkrun as my race.

After taking off all of March due to injury, I gave my first (not) parkrun a shot in July with a time of 20:13. It looked like breaking eighteen minutes for the year would be a pretty tall order, but I knew I was a long way from being fit, so I wasn't too discouraged.

From there on I went from 20:13 and mostly improved my time each subsequent race I did around every three weeks. 

Then, on October 12, I ran 18:02. It was agonizingly close to breaking eighteen minutes. The thought also crossed my mind that I could have counted it for breaking eighteen minutes if I had stopped my watch at 3.10 miles. Instead, I stopped my watch at 3.13. On all my (not) parkruns (and most 5Ks in general), my GPS has read between 3.12 and 3.15 miles because one never runs the tangents perfectly and GPS isn't as precise as a wheel measured course.

I'm still going to take a couple more shots at breaking eighteen minutes for the 5K this year. After I feel recovered from my marathon, I plan on running two (not) parkruns before the end of the year. I'm using the McMillan's advice in "Turning Marathon Fitness into 5K/10K PRs" to structure my training. We'll see what happens.

I'd highly recommend the (not) parkrun. It's free, and you can track your progress over time. You can also see other runners results and see your age grade%. You can sign up at About parkrun.

Run well.

Ran a (Half) Marathon? Run a 5K or 10K

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In my last post I wrote about building a base for the spring racing season and running slowly after finishing up a fall race. If, however, you want to get a little more mileage out of your fall fitness, consider racing a 5K or 10K several weeks after a longer race.

While most in-person marathons have been canceled this year, many of you have completed a marathon or half marathon virtually. If you feel like you need another race to motivate you, there's an excellent article on the McMillan Running Website called, "Turning Marathon Fitness into 5K/10K PRs."

I've used this method in the past, and while it hasn't led to any PRs (mainly because my 5K PR was when I was in the best shape of my life), it's a solid plan to squeeze some more performance out of a marathon training cycle.

This year I did a virtual marathon in early November, so I'm trying McMillan's plan again. Unfortunately, completing the plan would mean a long shot at meeting my 5K goal for the year. I'll probably race a virtual 5K the last Sunday of the year and hope that somehow I can eek out a sub-18:00.

Run well.

Running Slowly

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Most people are headed into the running offseason. There aren't too many fall races on the schedule other than a few Turkey Trots, and winter isn't the ideal time for racing. Without training for a peak race, now is the perfect time to train slow. There are two types of slow that are helpful for building a base: increasing mileage slow and running slow.

Training slow is great for building a base while avoiding injury.

If you’re starting to increase your mileage after a fall race, be conservative. Don’t return to the mileage you were running before the race right away. I’d recommend running one fewer day per week than you had been before your race and about 50% or fewer miles.

As you increase y3our mileage, make sure you're running slowly. There's really no such thing as running too slowly while you're building a base. I was listening to a podcast with a professional running who has run a 2:34 marathon, and she was doing some of her easy runs at nine minutes a mile pace. If she can run that slowly, I'm guessing many of us likely have room to slow down.

I've made the mistakes of increasing mileage too quickly and running my easy runs too fast several times. I get antsy to return my fitness to where it was before I was on a break. I know from experience too much, too fast, too soon is a recipe for injury, so don’t make the same mistake I have.

Stay healthy.

The Social Distancing Run Marathon: Race Report

I don't write race reports for every race anymore as I have already written over fifty. But, since this race consisted only of me, I thought I'd write a little recap for me to look back on.

Running a race where there were no parking or traffic issues, and I could do my warmup exercises at home before riding with the family to the start (five minutes away) was nice. Once I got there I set up my aid station of fluids and gels, my wife and four year old counted down, and I was off.

The course consisted of eleven 2.4 mile laps, most of it along the perimeter of Eagan's Central Park. The course probably wouldn't be considered a fast course — it had 1,626 feet of elevation gain — but it wasn't an overly difficult course either. The hills were pretty gradual and on the backside of each loop was a long downhill.

The best part of the race was that I had a group of friends who showed up to cheer. For almost the entire race I got to see them each lap.

As for the racing part, things didn't shake out quite as I would've liked. Around mile seven, my foot started acting up. It's an old injury that occasionally flares up, and it had during a couple of long runs, but it had been pretty manageable and hadn't hurt on most runs.

Unfortunately, as my race went on, it started hurting more and more. Even if it hadn't hurt, I don't think I would have run the time I wanted because I was feeling pretty tired around mile 18.

At mile 21 or so I called Laura and told her I didn't think I'd finish. She said, "Oh I'm sorry. You're so close." Thinking about how close I was made me re-think dropping out. I decided to walk for a few minutes and try running again to see if it were tolerable.

When I started up again, it still hurt pretty bad, but I thought I could make it five more miles.

My foot was varying degrees of painful after my long walk. There was a lot of walking for the last five miles, but the walk breaks kept my foot feeling just well enough to finish the race.

My friends and family set up a toilet paper finish line. It was pretty cool breaking the "tape." I finished first (and also last), and I was happy to be finished.

I'm glad to have finished the marathon. It was my 19th marathon and I've now run a marathon every year since 2009.

Thank you for all your support and especially thank you to those who donated to World Vision. It really made the marathon worthwhile.

Marathon Race Day

 

This morning I'll be running my first ever virtual marathon. I don't really know what to expect as far as how it will feel. I have a few friends and family members who are coming out to cheer a bit, but other than that the course will be spectator-free.

It'll also feel a little strange to have no other runners on the course. I might come across a couple runners and will definitely see a few walkers, but otherwise I'll have the paths to myself.

It's funny — I have been treating this virtual race as a real race pretty much since I started training for it. I've raced a marathon every year since 2009, and I didn't want to go a year without one, so I decided a virtual race would "count" as my marathon for the year.

My course is eleven 2.4 mile laps along the outside of Eagan's Central Park. I figure running 26.4 is close to what I'd get if I ran an official race, so I'm going to go the full eleven laps.

Eleven laps sounds a little monotonous, but I've run about half of my long runs there this training cycle so I can leave water at one spot and not have to carry it.

I enjoy the course. It goes through a short wooded section with a marsh and most of the route there's a view of the Sperry Tower for most of the run.

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Since there won't be much of a race day atmosphere, I decided to do something I've never done before — run with headphones. I won't be listening the entire way. I've got a playlist to play one song each lap. It might pump me up a bit and will be something to look forward to.

Thanks to everyone who donated to World Vision. I'll have a wrist band to dedicate a mile to each person or family who has donated.

Wish me luck!

Birds

Turkey in our yard

My friends have joked with me in the past that I am an old man. While there are a variety of reasons for this which I won't get into, one thing I get teased for is my love of birds.

Birds have always interested me. I remember sitting at my Great Uncle Harold's cabin when I was young and looking through his bird books. I still enjoy looking through bird books.

Often, I type my blog while sitting at the kitchen table and occasionally glancing at the two bird feeders out my window. Watching for and noticing birds while running is also something I enjoy. Sitting here, typing this blog post, I can distinctly remember many instances of birds I've seen while running.

One of the most interesting was when I was running with a buddy on the Minnesota River Bottoms trail when we spotted a raptor sitting near the river. I walked pretty close to it and got a nice view of its curved, sharp beak and its black, penetrating eyes. I couldn't tell exactly on kind of bird it was, but I would guess a juvenile bald eagle. 

Another time I was running on the Big River Regional trail. The trail climbs up on the river bluffs with a view of the river and the tops of trees below. One day, as I was running, I heard a loud squawking sound. When I got closer, I could make out below me a small bald eagle, perhaps calling for its meal.

I could go on, and if you read this far you might be interested in birds, so one more story: On a run from my house to a trail along the Minnesota River, I heard a bird that sounds a little like a monkey. I scanned the trees, looking for the source of the sound and saw a pileated woodpecker on someone's bird feeder.

If enjoying bird watching, whether on a run or watching the birds that come to my feeders, make me an old man, pass me some prune juice.