Zen or Einstein Revisited...

Runner's World magazine is great media. It always gets me to thinking.

I read the article on associated/disassociated thinking while running. It immediately reminded me of being a Zen runner or an Einstein runner.

I remember Moab in April (I'm headed there again next week). The trail runs there are easy, breezy and oh so free. I place music I love on the iPod while I run and just enjoy the music, the run and the environment. It is so easy there. I completely disassociate during those runs. Running is fun and the miles just seem to fly by.

Then there are training runs. Today, for example, i put a podrunner music at 173bpm and ran concentrating on holding Molly in check and maintaining my pace and sensing my body. Definitely an Einstein run.

What do you think about as your run?

The Race Bibs Are Available!

Yes, they are available as of right now!

Sign in to the World Wide Half website and get your bib!

I'll add "Team Elijah" when I print it out to wear.

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I ran another tempo run today. I was able to run one mile at an 8:30 pace. Whew! Tiring!

I ran a total of 6.60 miles in one hour and 59 seconds. I ran the 10K in 57:57.

Tempo runs are hard but beneficial!

Recent Runs

I ran 42.47 miles last week.

Training continues. Not only for me, but also for my running mate Tom and the dog Molly.

My long runs are also becoming long runs for both of them. They ran 5.7 miles Sunday. Longest for both of them. Molly is getting used to the leash and the run control that is expected of her.

I ran 11.5 miles yesterday. I did it in 2 hours and 4 some minutes. Getting better! After all, the Phedippidations World Wide Half-Marathon is only 3 weeks away!

Have you read Greg's blog recently? He is using a novel concept to present his blog along with running information and sharing something of himself. His blog is called, Philly to LA on Foot. He is running his miles and putting them on a map to show the distance that can be covered in our personal runs. He presents it as a run from Philadelphia to Los Angeles. Very interesting and unique!

In his most recent, he tells everyone how running has changed his life for the better. Quit reading this now and go check his blog out!

Faster Tempo Runs

I've set a goal to run faster.

I have worked at tempo runs. I do a mile or so at a comfortable warm up pace then I run a faster tempo. It is tiring but it is working for me. I ran my first training 10k at less than 59 minutes. I also ran my fastest mile ever (at least since my Army days as a teenager)!

I may not always appreciate training, but I do appreciate the results!

A Medical Poem

I'm getting older, though you may not know.
My Doctor informed me that it is time to go
For a certain medical procedure for older men
So, I got a referral and set the when.

The new Doctor poked and prodded my derriere,
Making this first Doctor visit a little bit strange,
We discussed the need for this routine medical fare,
A date was determined and a prescription arranged.

A clear liquid diet the day before?
Take the prescription and stay near a restroom door?
This might be a procedure that I may deplore
And all because doctors think it wise to explore.

The good news on the day before the task
Only a half day at work did I need to pass,
I got back to the house and drank the first half,
My stomach soon gurgled and I felt the need to pass.

Repeatedly and often I went to that room,
With a regular rhythm not too bad and no gloom,
It ended soon after (boy was I glad)
And I thought to myself that it wasn't so bad.

Again in the morning I arose and did drink,
The self-same solution that started this stink.
A repeat of the night just passed led me to think,
This might not be so bad as I sat on my butt and stared at the sink!

I arrived at the surgery center a little bit queasy,
Hoping, after all this anticipation that it would be easy.
After check-in and signing away my very soul,
I was banded and set to wait patiently, under control.

I waited and waited, what was taking so long?
Maybe with his first patient something had gone wrong.
I looked at the door and thought that maybe I should go.
As I worked up my courage to leave, you know.

Oh No! They called my name!
The time is now. Let's play this game!
I was taken to the back and gave them my stats
I was given a gurney and asked to strip (oh rats!)

I was given the shirt and asked to lay down,
Then she had a needle and started to warm up my arm.
I looked away as she put the needle in
The first time was not charmed, my patience wore thin.

She had to get help to get the IV in good
The second one found it and improved my mood.
I was quite nervous and she helped me calm down,
Then all too soon, I was in the Operating round.

I met the staff as they finished the prep,
The Doctor said Hi, then asked me to turn on my side.
He asked if I was ready. I told him I was
Then they administered the drugs and that was the last I realized!

I was being wheeled out to a recovery room,
Where crackers and soda lightened my gloom.
After a while I became much more aware,
And a friend handed me papers explaining my care.

Diverticulosis and polyps were found there,
Biopsies were taken for analysis and further care.
I survived this procedure! I was actually coping!
I have been through my first colonoscopy!

As they sent me packing through that back door,
They told me they'd see me in just 5 years more!

Health and Running!

As many of you know, I got into running for health reasons. I wanted to continue to live!

First of All...
I ran 41.50 miles last week. I have run 26.25 this week. I have upgraded my tempo runs to include a faster run time. It seems to be working! I finished my 6.60 miles in 66 minutes! Want more details? Go to my training log located further down on this page. It sure seems to be working.

I don't want to be slowing my fellow bloggers down if I ever get to run with them (like Peter).

Health
My Doctor prescribed running for me. In November of 2005, I was given a script to exercise vigorously for 60 minutes a day. I still exercise to that extent on most days.

I cannot extol the virtues of what that alone has done for me.

To be a runner, though, you have to adopt the lifestyle of a runner. Nutrition comes to mind with that. Eat veggies, fruit, milk, protein and carbs. Your body needs that!

By subscribing to all of that, what did I get? A slimming down. Overall, I've lost 60 pounds. The kicker? I've kept it off! Friends have mentioned that I run enough to qualify as training for a marathon. In a way, I am. I want to continue running for a long time. The rest of my life. Hopefully, an extended life from the previous path that I accepted.

Yesterday, I had surgery. It was supposed to be a routine screening. It was a colonoscopy. Things were found. There were polyps in two areas of my colon. Biopsies were taken. The Doctor is sure that they are benign. He also found Diverticulosis.

What is Diverticulosis? Many people have small pouches in their colons that bulge outward through weak spots, like an inner tube that pokes through weak places in a tire. Each pouch is called a diverticulum. Pouches (plural) are called diverticula. The condition of having diverticula is called diverticulosis. About 10 percent of Americans over the age of 40 have diverticulosis. The condition becomes more common as people age. About half of all people over the age of 60 have diverticulosis. I am 54 years of age.

I am one of those people. Generally, it can be attributable to ingesting a low fiber diet. I can't change what is, and my case is not bad. They are there but at this time it is minor.

Compete! It allows you to train. Training teaches you a lot about success. Success in running is not just getting out there. You have to begin to think of how to run, how to improve, about hydration and nutrition! It can really help you to improve your overall life!

It doesn't matter what kind of competition you sign up for. It doesn't matter (for us middle-of-the-packers) where you place. The individual you are competing against is in your own skin!

Then you race. You can feel the pre-race jitters. Your friends and family are there to support you. There is an atmosphere at a competition that is unequalled anywhere else. You can get tired and feel the gamut of emotions as you run. There are people along the sidelines that "Woot!" for you when you are so drained that they drive you on. You can also experience the excitement as you finish. Then you celebrate with everyone else at the after-race celebrations!

Just enjoy the running, the cross training, the nutrition and all facets of this thing we call running. It is good for you. It can extend your life! Embrace it!

OK, now I am getting off of my soap box.

Longest Run!

Yesterday was my longest run to date! I ran 14.15 miles. I started out running 5 miles along the 'River Run' with Tom.

He dropped out after that - His longest run yet, also!

I continued on to run to Harvard Gulch Park. It was a lot of fun until about the 11th mile! That is when I sustained my very first running injury!

When I fasten my laces, I double tie them. That way they tend to stay put and not cause any problems. Until yesterday, that is. Somehow, the right shoelace loosened. I had noticed it, but decided to wait until it was convenient to stop and tie it again. Well, I waited a bit too long. I was running along, stepped on the lace and I tripped and fell. As I was falling, I tucked my body into a roll, but I still skinned my right knee!


The roll was not easy to do and I am muscle sore from it. I thought it was a quick response to a troublesome situation and probably stopped me from getting more 'road rash' than I had experienced.

Maddy, Petra, myself and some others are in a Nike+ iPod chip system challenge. These ladies are brutal! They are motivating me to train for results! I appreciate the competition and the results that we are acheiving! They are also kicking my butt.

Finally,
I ran 41.50 miles last week. I have run 19.65 miles so far this week. Yes, I know! I really shouldn't have run today, but I am taking a day off tomorrow. My muscles were so sore today that I wanted to do a slow, easy run to work out the kinks and the stiffness.

The Labor Day Weekend...

First of all, my count for last week is still 36 1/2 miles. I did take Saturday off.

So far this week? 20 1/2 miles. An eleven mile run yesterday. Next weekend? A 13.1 mile run!

LABOR DAY WEEKEND
Wow! What a great weekend!

The Jeep is back up and running.

I did not run Saturday, but I made sure that we had a 3 mile run on the way back to Denver on Sunday. We stopped on the East end of Glenwood Canyon. There is a recreational path that goes the length of the canyon. We ran 1 1/2 miles to the West and then came back. Molly ran with. 3 miles is about her limit, but she ran it well!

I went to Pearl Pass again this weekend. The before picture of my logo was taken there three years ago. I had to have that picture taken again. Here it is -
A little bit of difference, ey? You can't tell me that running is not good for a person!

Some of the things that we saw -




Of course, when we did get home, my little blind buddy, Bowie, just acted like I was disturbing him...


I love the Colorado back-country!