Happy New Year 2015!

I have decided to start blogging again.  A new year's resolution of sorts.  Too much of my creative energy has gone into small posts at Facebook and elsewhere.  Those posts seem meaningful at the time, but fall into meaninglessness and are forgotten.  Too much of my creative energy has gone into online courses working towards my Associate School Library Media Specialist certification.  One can spend more time on discussion boards for online classes than it takes to attend physical classes.  All the reading response and writing for those classes, and all the things learned that need to be applied, are easily lost.  I am hoping that organizing, aggregating, and curating my many areas of thinking and living can be centralized on this old blog.  I suppose some of it will be copied and pasted from other virtual places I put down text and pictures in the Internets.  I suppose some of my writing here will remain original.  I suppose some of it (or most of it?) will be this stream-of-consciousness sort of stuff that I was taught and practiced in high school.

Three 2nd Places in Three Weekends

11/1 - Mendon Trail Run 30K: 2nd place Age Group 50-59
11/9 - Giralda Farms 10K: 2nd place Age Group 55-59
11/15 - Colonial Park 5K: 2nd place Age Group 50-59
11/23 - Philadelphia Marathon: 2nd place Age Group 55-59??????
(Unlikely, but perhaps the patterns of the universe will shine on me?)

Photo below from the Colonial Park Turkey Trot 5K today -

Post by Race the State-NJ.

What's Up With That?

I have been complaining about feeling bad this week, that I picked up something last weekend that made my insides feel sick. Also, my legs have felt heavy and dead on short runs. Last night with RVRR was a little better, and the insides have settled. I have also complained about doing nothing but tapering and recovering from long efforts. Looking at my last 6 weeks of training, it looks nothing like that, save for the week before The Boston Marathon @ 21 miles. With a 50 miles slated to get done on Sunday, this week is going to total more than 60. Maybe that kind of explains some of the lingering fatigue.

Really, this isn't mega-mileage.  In my younger days, 50 mile weeks were shorter than my norm.  But, the graph from DailyMile.com of my mileage clearly reminds me that fatigue is cumulative, so even though weekday mileage may be short, those long weekends and long races add up over time to create lingering stress on this aging, yet hot, bod.  ;)

113 Days

On January 29, 2014, I started a running streak.  I have not missed a day yet.  I was inspired by a conversation with 25 year streaker, Mark Washburn.

584 miles = 5.26 miles/day average.

My State of Running Address

2013 was a fantastic year for me, full of running accomplishments, and I thought I really messed it up at the end. On the first ski day of my vacation, Sunday December 22, I wiped out at a fairly high speed. Since I ski fairly fast and aggressively, I had my bindings release set at "7", even though binding release calculators put me at a "6". I can replay that split second in my head when I heard and felt something rip in my right knee just before the binding finally released. I took the next day off from skiing to ice and elevate the entire day. It didn't swell much. The pain was on the inner side of my knee, which, according to the Internet, indicated that I had an MCL tear (Medial Collateral Ligament) or "sprained knee", caused by the sudden extreme twisting force. Much better than the dreaded ACL tear. I got myself the best neoprene knee brace I could locate in upstate Margaretville, NY, and hoped both my ski vacation and running future were not ruined. I actually skied easily on it for the next few days, wearing the brace, release setting backed down to 5.5, not pushing it on the hill, being very careful - even though I had to hop down steps and limp around a little when I walked. I continued to ice, and massage of the area seemed to feel like it was helping. As the week progressed, I skied increasingly longer and harder. By last weekend, skiing felt 100%. BUT I HAD NOT GONE OUT FOR A RUN. I wanted to start training for Boston, but I have been putting it off because I still have some pain when I bend my leg up under the power of my hamstring alone, and when I squat, and it feels a little generally unstable. This week I ran a twice to try things out. I am hoping to get 4 days in next week.

My Top 10 Running Shoes of All Time

Saucony Kilkenny

Reebok Circa Waffle

1. Saucony Kilkenny XC Flat 2007 (Now updated and not as good)
2. Nike Sting 1973 (Long gone)
3. Onitsuka Tiger Racing Flat 1973 (Long gone)
4. Nike Terra TC (Long gone)
5. Nike Waffle Racer 1977 (Long gone)
6. Reebok Circa Waffle 2007 (Gone)
7. Merrell Trail Glove (original) (Now updated, and the upper is not as durable)
8. Merrell Sonic Glove (Gone)
9. Merrell Mix Master 2 (Still available)
10. New Balance MT110 (Still available, but probably on its way out)