Thought I heard footsteps chasing from behind on the run this morning.
Move out, pump it and get going. I attacked a hill even though it was early in the run and I should have remained in warm-up phase.
As I looked back over my shoulder I didn’t see any fellow runners on the road. But with all of the meteorological hubbub over the past 24 hours, I did envision the coming storm following in my tracks, trying to catch and overtake me.
The last weather report I read before I went to bed last night said we could get pounded with as much as 8 inches of the fluffy stuff today. Just checked again and they said, “Never mind.” Now it looks like we are in for one to three inches.
Either way, I sure enjoyed my dry pavement and a pleasant 29 degrees this morning.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
A gift from the Ozlings
Mrs. Oz had a bit of a fit Saturday morning.
“The fever has pretty much broken,” I protested as I pulled on running tights and a shirt.
“You came home from work early yesterday and spent most of the past 18 hours shivering with the chills from a fever,” she replied. “You should not go running.”
“But it’s the first day this season of the Saturday morning running group. I have been so excited about getting started.”
I was feeling better. At least a little. I thought.
After continuing to gather my gear, I tried to eat something. Got most of a banana down. Then my stomach started to churn. I did feel a little weak, I admitted – only to myself.
The boy Ozling had been fighting a fever earlier in the week.
Schools are not so much places for education. They are germ incubators. Children are not so much little people. They are Petri dishes.
Put them together? Parents are doomed, basically. Oh sure, we love the little creatures. But spend much time around the germ carriers and you can count on work schedules regularly being thrown into chaos. And you can count on picking up the flu, colds, strep or the other latest bug of the week from them. Sometimes it gets really serious. It can sideline your running.
“The fever has pretty much broken,” I protested as I pulled on running tights and a shirt.
“You came home from work early yesterday and spent most of the past 18 hours shivering with the chills from a fever,” she replied. “You should not go running.”
“But it’s the first day this season of the Saturday morning running group. I have been so excited about getting started.”
I was feeling better. At least a little. I thought.
After continuing to gather my gear, I tried to eat something. Got most of a banana down. Then my stomach started to churn. I did feel a little weak, I admitted – only to myself.
The boy Ozling had been fighting a fever earlier in the week.
Schools are not so much places for education. They are germ incubators. Children are not so much little people. They are Petri dishes.
Put them together? Parents are doomed, basically. Oh sure, we love the little creatures. But spend much time around the germ carriers and you can count on work schedules regularly being thrown into chaos. And you can count on picking up the flu, colds, strep or the other latest bug of the week from them. Sometimes it gets really serious. It can sideline your running.
This research study reported recently by Runner’s World heartened me at least a little. Apparently running – even in the chilly willy weather we have been seeing around here lately – can stimulate production of immune cells that fight of the nasties that would strike us down with illness.
“Little do they know that running--even in frosty conditions--strengthens not just our hearts and quadriceps but also our lymphocytes and neutrophils. These immune cells protect us against attack from bacteria and viruses that cause illness and infection. Indeed, a study from the University of South Carolina reported that people who exercise have 20 percent fewer colds than their sedentary counterparts,” a report in the magazine declared recently.
I do believe that I tend to fight off most cases of the crud thanks to my running. But this time, it was not enough.
Even Superman couldn’t fight Kryptonite.
I didn’t run Saturday, laying around the house for much of the day feeling just, “Blaah.”
Thursday, January 24, 2008
How low can you go?
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OK, I didn't know it at the time, but yesterday was...balmy.
I added the balaclava to my usual get up this morning. The extra warmth was appreciated, but it also sent my breath shooting upward, fogging my glasses and leaving me essentially blind as cars whizzed by while I tried to run on the shoulder of the streets.
So I risked a little frostbite and being T-boned by some careless motorist in the pre-dawn darkness. At least I got in a few miles.
No worries. Let's just say I eat danger for breakfast.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Brrrrr!
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As I ran into the wind this morning, it seemed to grab me by the shoulders, smack me across my face and suck the breath right out of me.
I'll think of this run on a sweltering summer day in July when I am suffering through a long run.
And smile.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Choices
I got a little wild and crazy with Mrs. Oz this past weekend.
This is sad, I know. It’s not sad that we would resort to such activities, but it is sad that our version of wild and crazy these days consisted of…
going over a spreadsheet with the family budget. Yes, sad indeed.
It would be nice, though, if the cash going out came closer to matching – or even better – falling short of the cash coming in. Chalk it up as another goal for 2008.
This allegedly is a running blog – I say “allegedly” because the running, and frankly the blogging, has been a bit limited lately – so I am not going to digress much further into the world of personal finance.
I bring this up at all, though, because of thoughts the budgeting exercise triggered.
What is budgeting, really, besides making choices? It’s about how we choose to spend our money.
Sometimes the choices we make are not so good. We can be wasteful. Other times it’s not so much frittering away bucks on self-indulgent junk, but just meandering and not paying much attention to how we spend our money. Going out to dinner a lot, eating out for lunch too regularly, frequent visits to Starbucks, partaking frequently from iTunes and other splurges leads to a lack of focus that doesn’t leave much cash left over for what’s truly important. It’s a poor way to save and stretch for a bigger goal. Maybe a cool vacation. Real good college educations for the young’uns. Or that new gas stove I sometimes lust over.
There’s definitely a financial aspect to my running. I go through at least a couple pairs of shoes a year. To pinch some pennies, I pushed this last pair closer to 400 miles. My feet had been hurting lately, but still I waited. Then I went out this morning for the maiden voyage in a brand new pair of Mizunos…..aahhh…it was like running on pillows.
I also am shelling out some cash for my running group. It seems like a worthy investment to get regular water stops on hot summer days in Kansas, camaraderie with some fellow goal-seeking runners and the accountability of the group that helps keep my weekly running on track
As much as anything, though, my running is about how I budget – make choices – about the way I spend my time. Getting up at dawn and blasting out for a morning run sometimes makes the morning rush of getting lunches made, the Ozlings off to school and me to work a little more hectic. Bugging out for a couple hours or more for a weekend long run also can impose a burden on the family.
Lately, since the half marathon way back in October, really, when I do run, it has been more of the meandering variety. I’ve been logging a fair amount of miles and hours on the road, but I have not really been getting much back in return. I definitely enjoy my runs for the running – the crisp feel of a morning breeze, quiet early-morning streets that feel like they belong only to me, the occasional treat when an owl hoots or a fox darts across the road and the satisfying feel of my healthy heart pounding away when I am running hard. But I enjoy them most when I can take satisfaction from the moment, but know also that I am investing the exertion and discipline for something down the road, a longer race.
So, with a little focus and more deliberate spending of my time and money, I might just finish 2008 with a couple of completed half marathons, maybe a full, and…a gas stove.
This is sad, I know. It’s not sad that we would resort to such activities, but it is sad that our version of wild and crazy these days consisted of…
going over a spreadsheet with the family budget. Yes, sad indeed.
It would be nice, though, if the cash going out came closer to matching – or even better – falling short of the cash coming in. Chalk it up as another goal for 2008.
This allegedly is a running blog – I say “allegedly” because the running, and frankly the blogging, has been a bit limited lately – so I am not going to digress much further into the world of personal finance.
I bring this up at all, though, because of thoughts the budgeting exercise triggered.
What is budgeting, really, besides making choices? It’s about how we choose to spend our money.
Sometimes the choices we make are not so good. We can be wasteful. Other times it’s not so much frittering away bucks on self-indulgent junk, but just meandering and not paying much attention to how we spend our money. Going out to dinner a lot, eating out for lunch too regularly, frequent visits to Starbucks, partaking frequently from iTunes and other splurges leads to a lack of focus that doesn’t leave much cash left over for what’s truly important. It’s a poor way to save and stretch for a bigger goal. Maybe a cool vacation. Real good college educations for the young’uns. Or that new gas stove I sometimes lust over.
There’s definitely a financial aspect to my running. I go through at least a couple pairs of shoes a year. To pinch some pennies, I pushed this last pair closer to 400 miles. My feet had been hurting lately, but still I waited. Then I went out this morning for the maiden voyage in a brand new pair of Mizunos…..aahhh…it was like running on pillows.
I also am shelling out some cash for my running group. It seems like a worthy investment to get regular water stops on hot summer days in Kansas, camaraderie with some fellow goal-seeking runners and the accountability of the group that helps keep my weekly running on track
As much as anything, though, my running is about how I budget – make choices – about the way I spend my time. Getting up at dawn and blasting out for a morning run sometimes makes the morning rush of getting lunches made, the Ozlings off to school and me to work a little more hectic. Bugging out for a couple hours or more for a weekend long run also can impose a burden on the family.
Lately, since the half marathon way back in October, really, when I do run, it has been more of the meandering variety. I’ve been logging a fair amount of miles and hours on the road, but I have not really been getting much back in return. I definitely enjoy my runs for the running – the crisp feel of a morning breeze, quiet early-morning streets that feel like they belong only to me, the occasional treat when an owl hoots or a fox darts across the road and the satisfying feel of my healthy heart pounding away when I am running hard. But I enjoy them most when I can take satisfaction from the moment, but know also that I am investing the exertion and discipline for something down the road, a longer race.
So, with a little focus and more deliberate spending of my time and money, I might just finish 2008 with a couple of completed half marathons, maybe a full, and…a gas stove.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Conspiracy?
Apparently running only a couple times a week – and then on one of those days going for 7, 8 or more miles – isn’t too smart.
Or so my right foot has been telling me.
Twinges and tenderness on my forefoot are symptoms of an overuse injury. My shoes have north of 350 miles on them so that probably isn’t helping anything.
It’s mostly been a scheduling thing.
Take this week, for example.
I ran long on Sunday. So on Monday I wanted to take a day off. Then the boy Ozling woke up ill with a mild fever that lasted for two days. Mrs. Oz and I took split shifts – I stayed home in the morning and she worked and then we switched for the afternoons.
Mrs. Oz needed to leave extra early on Tuesday, so that prevented me from getting out without causing major disruptions for the family.
On Wednesday I had to hit the road around 6 a.m. to make my way to Topeka for a business meeting.
Today we got dumped on by a mere three inches. It was enough to cancel school, however. The wimps. By the time I got the driveway shoveled, the cars cleaned off and a strategy worked out for what to do with the Ozlings (daycare is also closed on snow days. No, we didn’t leave them home with the cat. Hmmm. That’s an idea to keep in mind for the future, though.), again, no time to run.
On Friday, I have to get to work in the pre-dawn hours to work on a project.
I am starting to wonder whether there is some sort of conspiracy to keep me off the streets.
All of the rest seems to have done my foot some good. It’s not hurting nearly as much today as it was earlier in the week.
The really good news is that my running group sessions start up in another week or so.
I’ll pick up a running schedule for a spring half marathon or two. It will give me a daily guide to keep me a bit more consistent and lock in a weekly appointment for a long run.
I can’t wait.
Or so my right foot has been telling me.
Twinges and tenderness on my forefoot are symptoms of an overuse injury. My shoes have north of 350 miles on them so that probably isn’t helping anything.
It’s mostly been a scheduling thing.
Take this week, for example.
I ran long on Sunday. So on Monday I wanted to take a day off. Then the boy Ozling woke up ill with a mild fever that lasted for two days. Mrs. Oz and I took split shifts – I stayed home in the morning and she worked and then we switched for the afternoons.
Mrs. Oz needed to leave extra early on Tuesday, so that prevented me from getting out without causing major disruptions for the family.
On Wednesday I had to hit the road around 6 a.m. to make my way to Topeka for a business meeting.
Today we got dumped on by a mere three inches. It was enough to cancel school, however. The wimps. By the time I got the driveway shoveled, the cars cleaned off and a strategy worked out for what to do with the Ozlings (daycare is also closed on snow days. No, we didn’t leave them home with the cat. Hmmm. That’s an idea to keep in mind for the future, though.), again, no time to run.
On Friday, I have to get to work in the pre-dawn hours to work on a project.
I am starting to wonder whether there is some sort of conspiracy to keep me off the streets.
All of the rest seems to have done my foot some good. It’s not hurting nearly as much today as it was earlier in the week.
The really good news is that my running group sessions start up in another week or so.
I’ll pick up a running schedule for a spring half marathon or two. It will give me a daily guide to keep me a bit more consistent and lock in a weekly appointment for a long run.
I can’t wait.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
992 to go?
Since happily being united with Garmito, my little Garmin Forerunner running buddy, last March, I managed to hoof it 721 miles.
I was running earlier in the year, but my record keeping was shoddy. So I’ll just go with what the Garmin recorded.
Many other runners may run many more miles, but I am striving for a pace that offers the enjoyment of regular runs, the benefits of steady training, the mind-clearing and stress-relieving impact of exercise – all without doing so much my body starts to crumble.
So, if I could do 721 over 10 months, would it be possible to log a nice round 1,000 with a full year of training?
What the heck. Let’s give it a go.
I got 2008 off to a decent start thanks to the Kansas City Track Club. They put on an annual New Year’s Day Fun Run – complete with donuts and hot cider at the end. SeeKCRun chronicled the event with great photos.
I was thinking Topher of I’ll Run for Donuts might show up, but, alas, he showed better judgment than to tackle the snow- and ice-covered trail. It definitely was slick in spots, but I just slowed down and took my time.
Indeed, it was a fun run. I got in 8 miles. Plus, a free donut. Chocolate topped with a cream-filled center. Mmmmm.
What a great way to start the day – and a new year of running.
With 1,000 miles of running – or somewhere in the vicinity – that should leave me in decent shape to run a race or two. Hmmm….. choices, choices, choices….
I definitely want to enjoy some of the area’s iconic events. Everybody keeps talking about the Groundhog Run. A 5K or 10K through an underground network of caves in someplace called the Hunt Midwest Subtropolis offers 70-degree running temperatures in January. Some fellow runners have mentioned feeling claustrophobic, but it’s definitely a race I want to try at least once.
The Trolley Run in April is four miles of fun in April that winds through some of Kansas City’s beautiful neighborhoods down to the Country Club Plaza.
The Hospital Hill Half Marathon in June certainly is something to shoot for. My only question is whether I might also squeeze in another half marathon earlier by doing 13.1 in Lawrence in April or in Lincoln, Nebraska, in early May.
So this gets me through the first six months of the year.
I’ve still got unfinished business when it comes to 26.2. An injury-induced DNF after 19 miles in 2006 planted a marathon monkey, make that a gorilla, firmly on my back. Could this be the year that I shake him off? If so, where and when?
I was running earlier in the year, but my record keeping was shoddy. So I’ll just go with what the Garmin recorded.
Many other runners may run many more miles, but I am striving for a pace that offers the enjoyment of regular runs, the benefits of steady training, the mind-clearing and stress-relieving impact of exercise – all without doing so much my body starts to crumble.
So, if I could do 721 over 10 months, would it be possible to log a nice round 1,000 with a full year of training?
What the heck. Let’s give it a go.
I got 2008 off to a decent start thanks to the Kansas City Track Club. They put on an annual New Year’s Day Fun Run – complete with donuts and hot cider at the end. SeeKCRun chronicled the event with great photos.
I was thinking Topher of I’ll Run for Donuts might show up, but, alas, he showed better judgment than to tackle the snow- and ice-covered trail. It definitely was slick in spots, but I just slowed down and took my time.
Indeed, it was a fun run. I got in 8 miles. Plus, a free donut. Chocolate topped with a cream-filled center. Mmmmm.
What a great way to start the day – and a new year of running.
With 1,000 miles of running – or somewhere in the vicinity – that should leave me in decent shape to run a race or two. Hmmm….. choices, choices, choices….
I definitely want to enjoy some of the area’s iconic events. Everybody keeps talking about the Groundhog Run. A 5K or 10K through an underground network of caves in someplace called the Hunt Midwest Subtropolis offers 70-degree running temperatures in January. Some fellow runners have mentioned feeling claustrophobic, but it’s definitely a race I want to try at least once.
The Trolley Run in April is four miles of fun in April that winds through some of Kansas City’s beautiful neighborhoods down to the Country Club Plaza.
The Hospital Hill Half Marathon in June certainly is something to shoot for. My only question is whether I might also squeeze in another half marathon earlier by doing 13.1 in Lawrence in April or in Lincoln, Nebraska, in early May.
So this gets me through the first six months of the year.
I’ve still got unfinished business when it comes to 26.2. An injury-induced DNF after 19 miles in 2006 planted a marathon monkey, make that a gorilla, firmly on my back. Could this be the year that I shake him off? If so, where and when?
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