Yes, I am Twisted. -Just a little bit.

Now, I haven't even gotten my bike in the mail yet, and here I am looking up cycling stuff. -WTH?
I found these sweet rides on the net.

From the looks of it, this could be one efficient ride. I bet I could win a few races with this one.

Now this bike would not only allow me to get a ride in, but it would keep my wife off my ass for not mowing the grass. Shoot, I bet I could make a few extra bucks and mow the entire neighborhood.

Progress being made.

I went to my PT appointment today, and made great progress. The flexion in my ankle has tremendously improved.
I'm still probably a couple of weeks away from fully running on it. It's all good. I'd rather take the time as opposed to continuously hobbling around and complain to you guys that my foot hurts all the time.
I've been hitting the upper body workouts and doing some cycling on the recumbent bike.

Thanks to SLB for putting the cycling bug into my head, I have purchased my first Road Bike.
A while back I was telling everyone of my Rides on my Mountain Bike, which seemed to take forever. SLB said something to the effect, that if I had a Road Bike, then the miles would fly by. Well, I never got that out of my head. Thanks Stewart!

Its a 2008 Specialized Allez. It is the basic "Double" model with Specialized Armadillo Kevlar tires. I didn't want to shell out the money for a middle of the line, let alone a top of the line Road Bike, and just let it collect dust.
This is a great entry level bike, and should work well for my cross training needs.
It won't be here for about a week, so in the meantime, I will kick back and relax.

I've been a real Shoe Hoe lately too. See, being injured causes you to shop a lot, and buy things.
I bought the following:
1 pair of Nike + Zoom Vomero 3
2 pairs of Nike Waffle Racer's
1 Pair of Nike Bowerman Series Track shoes. -They are all shiny and sweet.
....and I have a pair of Nike Lunar Trainers on order. These shoes are sweet as hell, and sold out everywhere.

Gotta Run..........

Take a moment tomorrow and send good vibes to Robin aka "Gotta Run". She is running Mountain Masochist Trail Run (Origianlly I meant Saturday) . It's a tough as hell race through the Virginia mountains. and is 50 "Horton miles" long, which equals to about 54 miles. David Horton created the race, and set out to make it 50 miles long. He is notorious for miscalculating distances, and the race ended up being 54 miles. -Great guy for sure.

Robin is one tough woman to even toe the line of this beast of a race.
I'm not man enough to run this one yet.

BEST OF LUCK ROBIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back at it. Ultra training begins. -Somewhat.


Foot feels a lot better. I'm probably at 60% right now. I've been really bored this past week, which has felt like three weeks.
I got the word today from my P.T. that I could start walking on my foot only with the cast on.

The P.T. workout went well. The stuff they had me do seemed to loosen up my ankle a lot.
I took that news they gave me and ran with it. Well, not really "ran", but I decided to head to the gym for an upper body workout. I started out on the hand cycle and did a mile. Actually, I became bored. Then it was off to do some abs, arm curls, and then upper/lower back.

This will probably be the routine for a little while until they release me to do some running.
I will probably sneak into the pool for some water running and laps.

I've been taking ice filled Dixie Cups, and massaging my foot/ankle. This is a really intense way of icing and I think it has helped tremendously.

This was the workout to kick off my 2009 Ultra endeavors.

Where from here.

That was the question I kept asking myself today as I was dying to go out for a run, ride on the bike, anything to just get outside.
My foot feels no better. Usually the day or two after you do something to your body you feel better. This is not the case.
I am planning my up coming weeks and have decided I am not going to let this sideline me. I will go to the gym and work my upper body and possibly do some pool running.

I will update the blog on my training as needed.
I'm bored so, I will spare no one when it comes to harassing everyone on their training. So keep it up, or else....

Photos from the Columbus Marathon.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Trailmudder/ColumbusMarathon2008?authkey=r73v6aRCC5o#

Kinda boring, kinda blurry, kinda crooked, but you get the idea.

There is a photo in there of two ladies holding a sign for another "Nick". I told them I know it isn't for me, but I would take it anyway. They cheered me on even more.
The crowds and the bands were great. It was desolate in some places, but you'll have that in most marathons.
I have learned my lesson. I will wear my iPod next time. I don't care about the no headphones rule. Rediculous rule anyway.

Columbus Marathon 2008

Alright, here we go. The start was great. The temps were in the mid 30's but standing around thousands of other people made it a little warmer. The start gun went off, and I kept thinking about how much I have missed this.

My race plan was on track until about mile 19. I ended up finishing in 5:03. My longest Marathon time ever. In a minute, you’ll know why.

Fast forward to Bexley. My pace was steady and on target. I had been keenly watching my pace on the Garmin. The 1st 10k was in 1:00:16. Good enough for my goal.

Between Bexley and German Village, I came out of an aid station and slipped on a cup that someone threw down. I was fine, but noticed my hamstring was tightening up from the slip. Fast forward to the halfway: My stomach had been giving me troubles. I was eating what I normally do, I took in my electrolytes. I drank water only. Thought I was doing everything as normal. Not sure on this one. My time at the half was 2:12:40. Good enough for my goal.

By this time, my hamstring was burning.

Drama time:

Mile 19 coming out of Ohio State Campus, I felt a pop in my left foot, and then searing pain. I hobbled off to the side, threw some dirt on it and kept on going. This was repeated a multitude of times over the remainder of the course.

The pain in my foot was severe and resulted in me stopping to walk. With 2 miles to go, the pain intensified to where I nearly fell 3 or 4 times.

At about mile 22, there was this girl that was running ahead of me, instantly doubled over and was screaming “Oh my god” She stumbled off to the side of the road, and I went on by her. I felt bad and turned around to see if she needed help. When I got to her, she fell backward into my arms, and I lowered her to the ground. Otherwise, we were both going down. She was crying and screaming. People yelled for a medic. I waited a little while until the medic arrived and then took off.

I hobbled off the finish line and a guy grabbed me and said: you need to see a medic. I was hurting too bad to argue. I went off to the med station and the doctor and podiatrist there thought it could be a stress fracture. I decided to make an appointment today and see what could be wrong. The pain never let up.

They took x-rays and determined that it is either a stress fracture or a ruptured Peroneus Brevis tendon. The doctor said he actually hopes it is a stress fracture. The latter requires surgery if it gets worse. A stress fracture doesn’t actually mean a “fracture”.

Had I not slipped on that damn cup I would have been fine. It hurts quite a bit and right now have it in a soft cast. I may be out for up to 8 weeks.

Other than that the race was great. The weather was perfect. The last half of the race was better than I thought it would be. I cannot figure out Picasa to save my life or I would up load more pictures. I have tons of them.

Okay I finished. A little drama, but it was an interesting day for sure.
The not so good news, I had to visit the medical station as I could barely walk out the finish chute. I saw a medical doctor and a Dr. of Podiatry. They both concurred that things did not look good.
They suspect that I stress fractured my foot, but won't know until I get an x-ray.
My foot was hurting from about mile 19 on, and a few times nearly fell down because of the pain.
Right now, I am using a Swifer Wet Jet to get around. (My attempt to be funny)
Anyway,
I'm about to eat an entire CPK pizza, so I will post a race report a little later.

A little late I know, my apologies to the sponsors and to the host of the Worth the Weight Challenge.
Special Thanks to: SLB, Dirty Girl Gaiters, Wicked Fast (Recover-Ease) , Head Sweats.
I finally fulfilled my requirements of posting a picture of the swag I won from the Worth the Weight Challenge that SLB had put on back in August-September. I ended up placing 3rd place in the challenge, which I am proud of because I sacrifice a lot while on vacation, plus I have kept the weight off. -Somewhat.

I absolutely love each prize I received. The recover-ease, well, I speak of it any chance I get. This stuff works. The HeadSweats hat which is perfect for me since it says on the front: "A Snail's Pace" and on the back it says: "U Trail a Snail". This hat says it all since I am a snail anyway. Also, if you have not tried the hats, go out and buy one. They really wick away the sweat. I've used all but the Dirty Girl Gaiters since I have not been running trail at all, but I will soon enough.

I’ll be using the Head Sweats hat during the Marathon and the Recover-Ease after.
I know it's hard to see, but my Recover-Ease bottle is by my pup, and my Dirty Girls are on my feet, and my HeadSweats hat on my head.

Alright Darrell:

Suspect Sponge Bob Square Pants sponge.

Don't ask me why I kept the damn thing.

Slow Down Sonny.

I went out for my final run (2 miles) tonight in preparation for Sunday. My Garmin was set up to monitor my average pace and distance, and I found myself running a lot faster than my anticipated marathon pace.
My fastest pace was 7:54 and my slowest pace: 10:05 (from when I was turning around).
My average pace was 9:14.
I've actually been running at this pace for all my runs, but I am not sure I will be able to hold that pace the entire marathon.
I need to slow down and run the first half of the race in 9:50 - 10:00 per mile time range.
I'm hoping to use others around me to help pace myself since I'm not out for a PR at all. My goal is to run this and be somewhat comfortable. I know what your thinking. But, to me this is being treated as a training run to kick off my 2009 Ultra season.
I've been checking the forecast for Sunday, and the low in the morning (race time) will be about 39 degrees, with a high of 64.

I think I'm going to predict my time at 4:22 for this one.

The past week's taper:
Monday: off
Tuesday: Bike Ride 3 miles, Pose Running drills
Wednesday: Bike Ride 5 miles
Thursday: 2 miles
Friday: Off
Saturday: 1 mile run 1 mile walk with pup
Sunday: finish marathon

Totals for tonight: 2 miles...hard
Ave HR: 166
Max HR: 185

Tapering sucks....

But, I've used all the pent up energy to get a few things around my house completed.

This list is long, but I was able to get my fence power washed and stained before winter of 2012 sets in.

I built it a year ago out of cedar. I have a few thing to tweak on the gates, and I need to buy the rest of the copper post caps. Other than that, it is done.

I was able to get my shed that I have been working on for way too long finally completed.

I was going to go for a run tonight, but I had a horrendous headache when I woke up. I'll go for a run tomorrow and then again on Saturday.

I'll recap later on what all I did this week.

Oh man, I need to get my picture posted for the Worth It's Weight Challenge....SLB I didn't forget, and now that I have a camera, I have no excuse!

Boring Marathon Memories:

Okay, so this Sunday will be my 5th marathon. Not a great feat, but still it is my 5th.
Looking back on the painful memories….Did I say painful? Hmmm. Marathons are supposed to be fun but not painful. Or, can they be both? I think so. So why all the pain? Why do I keep coming back for more?
My wife says I am stupid. (In a nice way of course) Well, I would agree to an extent.

My first Marathon:
Columbus Marathon 2004:
I have a friend who is just as nuts as I am when it comes to running. Actually, I am crazier than she is for sure. She was cutting my hair one day and she said she was a marathoner and was going to run one in the coming weeks.
I was enthralled by this and said; hey I have been running 5k’s and 5 milers etc….
She said, if you want the ultimate in running experience, that I should run a marathon. Well, I wrote about this briefly in my previous post so I won’t bore you with all that. -Too late, I know.
Anyway, finished that marathon and couldn’t wait for the next.

Cleveland 2005:
I was in the best shape of my running career (LMAO –running career). Anyway, I was hoping for a decent time which never happened. My friend whom I ran Columbus with held me back from breaking 4 hours. That’s why I run races by myself from now on.
I think I finished in 4:13.

Chicago 2005:
Best Marathon I’ve ever ran. At this point, I was nursing a nagging injury that continues to haunt me to this day. The race was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
It was my first visit to a “Big City”

New York 2005:
Loved the city, not the race. It could have had something to do with my now debilitating leg injury at that point, or the fact that it was a warm mid 70 something degrees. Very unseasonably warm for November.
I was miserable from Queens to the finish.
My fondest memory was remembering when I was on the Queensborough Bridge that if I didn’t lube up soon, I would have quit for sure. I was chaffed from here to there. As I exited the bridge and was running down the ramp into Manhattan, there were these people with these big boards of Vaseline on them. I mean, there were giant globs of lube on there. I ran by and swiped a huge handful. Thank goodness I did, because I never saw “The Lube” again being handed out.
I had a hole rubbed through the skin on my stomach from a Sponge Bob Square Pants sponge that they had dunked into ice cold water and handed out to people as they ran by.
I grabbed one and stuffed it in the waistband of my shorts. Oh man, it was cold!
I forgotten all about it and by the end, it was too late. I was bleeding badly.
This sponge was a scratchy one: Brillo pad one side, sponge on the other. Well, the scratchy side was against my skin. You get the idea.
Turned out to be a bad day all around. I will probably never run NY again.
My friends’ fiancé was waiting for us at the finish with a bottle of Glenlivet. This definitely took the pain away. Amazing how easy it is to drink in public in NY City.

OK Yall, I am running The Columbus Marathon this coming Sunday. It's gonna be slow, gonna be painful, but I will finish.

This race for me will server one purpose: To Finish.
I'm not worried about time, although I think it will be between 4:00 -4:30 time wise. I am slow as dirt. You would be too if you were 200 pounds. Although I have seen some heft flying down the trails before so go figure.
I just need that experience to rekindle what I had found 5 years ago.

It was just that 5 years ago, my friend asked me if I wanted to run The Columbus Marathon with her. I said no way; I have at most run 5k's and 5 mile races. She asked me what my longest distance was and I said 12 miles. She then looked at me and said, if you can run 17 miles, you can finish a Marathon.
So, that night, like a dumbass, I went to the gym with that goal in mind: "gotta get 17 miles in", picked out a treadmill, laid all my Gatorade, gels, and everything else I would need, and started running. I watched TV the whole time. The treadmills would only go up to a certain distance and shut down. I'd then restart it and back on my way down the treadbelt.
About 15 miles in, I noticed that burning sensation in my nipples, then I looked in the mirror and noticed a reddish streak running from my chest. My damn nipples were bleeding and killing me. Stupid cotton shirts. I was about 1/4 mile away from achieving 17 miles when they told me the gym was closing. WTF? Time flew by, and I told them, please let me finish this out. Sure enough, I did. I don't recall my time, but I did it.
Two days later I had a 5 gallon bucket of ice water soaking my legs 10 minutes on 10 minutes off -all because of shin splints. After that, I never had them again.

You would think tapering for a race would be easy. I am friggin about to go nuts.
I refrained from running on Sunday, although I was going to run a 5 k. I woke up late and that race never happened.

I might go out for a quick 3 mile run tomorrow.

The Last night of On-Call duties till December.

Thank goodness too cause this 5 mile running is for the birds. Actually, since my marathon is next week, I should be tapering anyway.
One good thing I have noticed is that my times are steadily decreasing regardless of the route.
Another thing I've noticed as well is that when I wake up in the afternoon (I work 3rd shift) I simply cannot wait to go out for a run. I hope this trend continues.
Choosing this marathon I'm running next week was no happy accident. I knew by having something to train for would allow me to get back into that "groove" I once had.
Training smart, proper nutrition and allowing for adequate recovery (Recover-Ease) is crucial.

I haven't had the opportunities to take many good pictures since I have been running through my 'hood, and well, there is nothing interesting about that. I was able to snap a photo of my shadow while running. Kinda looks like I have a dress on, but I can assure you that I didn't.

I'm planning on going camping this Saturday and possibly running a 5k on Sunday. Won't be much to report until then. Everyone have a great weekend.

Totals: 5 miles.....Road....9:08 pace (moderate)
Ave HR: 170
Max HR: 184

Another 5 miles tonight. Then came home to walk the pups.

The night before I went out and ran my first 5 miles in the Pose Method.

I could really feel a difference when running in Pose versus the run I did tonight which was my normal way of running. I really felt that the run last night was more relaxed and the effort was reduced and my pace was a little faster for this route.

There is always this debate on whether or not you should fool with your natural running style. I for one say, if it works for you, then do it.

Back when I was training for my 3rd and 4th marathon, I found myself constantly nursing injuries from running high mileage. After analyzing many pictures of me while running, you can clearly see that I strike heel first.

Take a look at that picture above with me running on the beach. Look at the picture at the bottom of this blog with me running with my dog.

What do you see? Heel Strike!

I noticed last night while running, that my hips did not hurt at all, and that nagging inner thigh pain was gone as well.

Now, I have not mastered Pose yet, and that will take some time to do. I bought the Pose Method book and have been reading through it. There is a lot involved in converting over to this style, but seems to me the effort is warranted.

Pose is the running form of choice for Crossfit, so it's gotta be good right? RIGHT!

My calves are more sore, and the arches of my feet are sore today, but my quads and back were not.

Totals: 5 miles....road

Max HR: 182

Ave HR: 171

Alright, First off, I've been on call since Friday, and all 4 or 5 of my Blog readers know that when I am on call I get near zero running in. When you work for a very large bank..... it happens.
I missed my 10 miler I had planned on Sunday because I was on calls all morning and afternoon.

Anyway, I bought a new camera today. I lost my previous one to the Atlantic Ocean while on vacation. Salt water is not good for electronics.
It's pretty much the same camera as before but in 10 mega pixel form. Below is a picture I snapped half way through my run tonight.

The temp was nice tonight, about 60 degrees. I know I was complaining last week of the cold. But when you go from 80's down to 50's, some one is bound to start bitchin. It just happened to be me.
Since I've not ran on the road since last week, it seemed I was breathing a little harder than normal. My pace was slightly harder than "comfortably hard" which seemed about right to me.


Totals: 5 miles.....road
Ave HR: 177
Max HR: 189

Turning Pansy or What?

I am not sure if it is pre-winter blues setting in or what. I simply hate the damn cold.
Seeing how it is Ohio, we may have temps in the high 80's tomorrow even though it is 56 degrees right now. That's just how it rolls around here, and it would be just fine by me.

I knew I wanted to go for a run tonight, but I dreaded going out into the "cold". Now, I know what you are thinking, what the hell am I going to do when it turns 10, 20 or maybe (gasp) 0 degrees? Not sure. I hope I acclimate to the cold. I got a lot of training to do.

Suck it up Dude!

Anyway, enough of the bitchin.
I decided to open my garage door and pull my treadmill close to the opening and run a little bit and just get a feel of the "cold".
Now, it's embarrassing enough to tell you that I think it's "cold", but if I can possibly redeem myself by telling you that once I got going, I wanted to rip my long sleeve shirt off because I got a little warm...does that help redeem myself?

After I got done, I came in a grabbed a bowl of my famous Sam Adams Octoberfest Beer Chili
and kicked back to write this boring-assed Blog entry. Not that anyone is reading anyway.
I start my on-call rotation tomorrow, so it may be more of the treadmill for the next week or so.

Totals: 5 miles...treadmill
HR data not available.

Starting to get too cold here......

I went out for a quick run tonight, and decided since the temperature was 55 degrees, that I would stay in and run on the treadmill.
I had no real plans on distance tonight; just an easy pace was in need. I'm dreading this coming winter, and feel that I will be logging a lot of miles indoors on the treadmill.

My right leg has been bugging me, and I knew the cure for this would be a few dead lifts. My back has always been weak, and since I have stopped all weightlifting and Crossfit workouts, it has gotten a lot weaker.
I did 3 sets of cinder block dead lifts while standing on a jump box. I woke up today and felt it all over my back.

Totals: 3 miles
No HR info available.