Move or Bust (Bust a Move)

As this blog has been geared for the plus 40 crowd of runners, we can see or feel that some days are more difficult to get moving than others. My daughters got me motivated to get out for a long run on Sunday,  followed by my youngest son wanting to go for a walk and then my wife wanting to play tennis in the afternoon. All of which had their hurdles for this oldish man.

To my surprise my body was able to handle all of the activity in a relatively short period of time. Can’t say I will be doing a triple like that again anytime soon, but the point is that one won’t know what one is capable of until one gets out and does it.

The next day was a bit a chore to get moving again, but I was able to get for a 4 mile lunch hour run, so I must not be too bad off.

Keep plugging, keep running.

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Habit of Bad Habits

To say I like to over do things I like to do would be an understatement. A lot of the good and even more of the bad. If I didn’t run I would probably weigh 300 pounds. Running makes me not want to do the bad things, but I still over eat from time to time and a day off from running makes me hungry or bored or both.

We all have different reasons to run. I love it and it loves me. At least that’s what it has been telling me lately. From the books I have read and the hills I have climbed, it has all come together to make it the most life affirming choice of this life.

The book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall notes that the ability to love and running do have a connection. Looking back on my life, I was not capable of love before I started running. Not sure if the connection runs that deep, but I am willing to run with it. Oh golly!

I didn’t care much for myself, before I starting running. I couldn’t maintain a relationship before I started running. I was only successful at escaping from my problems before I ran with them and worked them out.

Run far and find….yourself.

Bix 7 Run Preparation

Living in Mt. Vernon, Ia, I am fortunate enough to be relatively close ( a morning drive to the race) from the Bix 7 road race. Mt. Vernon is hilly, which makes it the perfect locale for training for the Bix. Sweating it out on the hills in and around  MV is a luxury and not a burden. I can’t imagine training for Bix in a city like Chicago where you are lucky to live near a foot bridge with any kind of evaluation to it. I have gone for training runs on the shores of Lake Michigan, which are an awesome sight and very relaxing, but if I want to be prepared for Bix, give me some hills.

Now I have trained in the foot hills of the Rockies in Colorado and I must admit that is where I truly enjoy running the most. Once the kids have grown maybe I will move there, but for now I will take the hills of MV to get me to where I want to go, the finish line at the Bix 7.

(see previous blog for more Bix 7 gushings)

Bix 7 Mile Race

One week from the best run road race in the USA, the Bix 7 in Davenport, IA, one of  the Quad Cities on the border of Iowa and Illinois. A challenging seven mile course, which features hills to bust lungs and test your guts. Sound fun? Well the test of the race is rewarded not with A grades, but with an awesome post race party with more food and beverage than even a big city marathon.

I could go on and on about the Bix, but words do not do it justice. Just trust me and try it sometime soon. Maybe even next Saturday July 3oth at 8:00am CDT.

So Hot Hot Hot

As I ventured out for a run this morning, my wife asked me, “Is it hot outside? We are supposed to be under a heat advisory through Thursday.” I really didn’t have a good answer for her until I got home from what turned from a 12 mile run into a 9 mile run with some recovery walking thrown in. “Yeah, it’s hot.”

My friend Ivy, who runs sub 3:00 marathon trains in the New Orleans, LA area, so I can’t really complain about the heat and humidity. I will take what I can get for long runs during this most recent heat wave and hope that the suffering done now will result in a prepared runner for the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 9th.

The years I have suffered on long runs have been the years I had my best marathons, so I will stay positive and feed off the confidence and knowledge of the past. Race day will have all the benefits handled to you: Water, Gatorade and GU shots. Maybe an orange slice or banana. Training runs always have less of the good stuff, so race day will always be better, at least we can continue to tell ourselves that.

Keep the positive thoughts and the results will follow.

Sturgis Falls 1/2 Marathon

Run 440 plus will be at the Sturgis Falls Half Marathon in Cedar Falls, IA this Sunday June 26th. I will signing autographs and taking pictures with my fans after the race. Right, if I had fans that is.

Seriously, I am looking forward to a training run on a race day. 16 miles with 13.1 being part of the race and the rest being warmup and cool down. My hamstring has been tight lately, so my race goals are not very high. It will be a race day decision whether to push for a faster start corral qualifying time for Chicago or just taking it easy and finishing the race.

 Oh well, such is the life of a 40 plus runner. Dealing with the limp of the week.

Hot Day Hangover

When one hot day follows another followed by another and so on, running can put one into a state of dangerous dehydration. I am not quite sure if I hit hangover type symptoms, but I did feel weak, delirious and the sunscreen in my eyes had me staggering all over the road like a bad flashback sequence.

Cutting a workout or run short can be the right decision when  the temps just don’t allow for a healthy situation. As much as I like to push through pain and discomfort to maximize my conditioning, playing it safe when necessary is just the right thing to do for my health and my family’s security.

Question for the day: What training mistakes have you made that would help others make better training discisions?

School of Run

If Jack Black was born to play Dewey Finn (Ned) in School of Rock, I was born to run and write about it tongue in shoe, er, cheek. Being able to run is a gift and sharing that gift with others is an even bigger gift. Running is like a hilly road as it has many peaks and valleys. Setting big goals are important as goals will help keep you on the road when maybe you just don’t feel like it on a rainy day.

Sometimes those goals are met and sometimes you may could up short like I did at the Fargo Marathon. I took sometime to cry in my oatmeal, a couple of days, and then I got back to training for the Chicago Marathon. With a 18 week training program set for Chicago, I only had one week to get myself back together and get back on the horse. Mentally I feel refreshed and as determined as ever to qualify for Boston.

That is just how it works, give it your best and if your best was less than expected, get back to work, make some adjustments and  be better the next time around.

Honest Effort

Whether it be sport or work, honest effort should go a long way. Now with the reports of cheating in both athletics and in the corporate world, it is  just nice to be considered a recreational runner. No need to get crazy and try to juice up to hit more home runs or garner insider information to make another billion. Training for a marathon just to complete it is good honest hard work.

It may not get me a promotion or fame, but I can spread wellbeing and raise a little money for cancer survivor programs. We can help others and our selves though honest effort.

2011 Team LIVESTRONG Run – General Donation

6:50 6:42 6:46 6:54 Splits

With the struggles of being an over 40 endurance runner comes the realization that you may never regain the speed of yesterdecade. I know my top speed was so 20 years ago. That being said I was encouraged by my speed workout tonight. The winter was long and frustrating. Today changed all that. The mile splits listed in the title turned months of dubious results into feelings of hope for a successful marathon.

With a goal marathon pace of a modest 7:20 per mile, the speed workout reveals the can do nature of the goal itself. If the game day magic comes through and 7:20 feels easy in the first half then I will notch it up for a second half negative split. I have learned from too many slower second halves to get too aggressive in the first half and then not have enough guts left to finish strong.

Lessons are learned hard in the marathon. Prepare, plan and hope. Be under control in the front for a better finish.

2011 Team LIVESTRONG Run – General Donation