Friday, May 27, 2011
I spent the day working, but Marie’s races were never far from my mind. I don’t know why it was stressing me out so much even if it had been my recommendation to run the mile, but it was. This was her last season…the end of her high school career and my time coaching her…and I wanted a great ending. There was nothing I could do at this point though…the hay was in the barn or it wasn’t. I knew it was…the trick was getting her to believe it.
I stopped in Twinsburg to meet up with John so he could go to the meet, as well. Though he didn’t know Marie well, he did know Kim from our camping trip to the Adirondacks…and that was reason enough. I told him being late was not an option, which is not something you should say to John when he’s driving. He did well though, and we made it with time to spare and no tickets.
Marie found me about 30 minutes before the race. It was clear that our conversation the night before had had the desired effect. She was confident and ready to win the 1600. We talked a little more about race strategy…holding back and being comfortable not leading and then outkicking the field to the tape. When the gun finally went off to start the race, I began to relax. I was watching on the backstretch – 250 meters from the finish line and the place I always stand. She came by running shoulder to shoulder with three other girls in the front of the pack. I could tell she was holding herself in check, but she is so fast that, even holding back, she was at the front. She went through the first quarter in 75 seconds…a perfect time and 5 seconds slower than she had run the week before when she had not felt strong in the later stages of the race. She continued to run about three yards behind the lead runner for laps two and three and there was little question that she would be finishing in the top four spots and qualifying to the state meet. As she passed me for the final time on the last lap, she accelerated past the lead runner to take the lead. That runner…not worried about running in the 800 in 30 minutes…responded and retook the lead in the homestretch. Marie stayed with her for a few strides, but knowing she had a lock on the state meet, elected to back off and try to save something for the 800. She finished second in a personal best 5:02, setting the school record in the process.
I pounded Kim’s back, who was standing next to me and jumping up and down screaming Marie’s name. After she calmed down, I asked her when she knew Marie was going to qualify. “When the gun went off,” she stated confidently. I knew what she meant. We’d been worried, but we knew how good Marie was and how hard she’d worked over the last year. It had to end this way. I saw Marie 15 minutes after the race and she couldn’t have been happier. They were calling the runners for the 800…which surprised her…and she asked me what she should be doing with so little time left to warm up. I went over the details, but could tell her heart was not in it. She had qualified in the race she wanted to run in the state meet and nothing else mattered. She went out slowly at the start of the race and was never a factor. The winning time was slower than she had run two days earlier when running her leg of the 4x800, but I was pleased that she had not qualified for both events. Now we had one thing to do…one job ahead…total focus on one race at the state meet.
John dragged me to dinner after the meet and I broke down and had lasagna…which was full of cheese and noodles and tasted delicious. I was sure I’d pay for it when I stepped on the scale the next day, but for that moment in time it seemed like the right thing to do.
I’d written to the doc earlier in the day and described the pain I was continuing to experience. He wrote back that he saw an MRI and surgery in my future…something I dread and will take steps to avoid…if it’s possible.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
"Expect to win"
Thursday, May 26, 2011
I arrived at the park for a run feeling better than I’ve felt about running in a long time. I suspect it was weighing in lighter than I’ve been since I started writing the blog, but I felt like if I wanted to run fast…today was the day. There was a slight drizzle falling (counts as a sunny day with the weather we’ve been experiencing), which felt great. My leg was a little stiff as I began to run, which has me wondering about if I’m healing or not. I decided to go without socks, something I always do when riding but never running. I knew my feet would be getting soaked and didn’t see the value in socks. Besides, my feet were pretty tough from the riding and I didn’t expect to have any trouble with blistering.
As is often the case when it’s raining, I was alone in the park. I splashed through the puddles as I headed for Squire’s Castle. Everything about the run was refreshing and I easily completed a 40-minute effort feeling like I could have gone twice as far. I retuned home to shower and verify yesterday’s weigh-in…actually hoping I’d be below 190. I wasn’t…but I was still at 190 and that felt pretty good.
I spent some time speaking with Marie about her regional races she’d be running the next day. She was experiencing a lot of anxiety about running both the mile and the 800. The mile is first and her concern was she wouldn’t make the top four (only the top four qualify to the state meet) and tire herself in the process to the point where she wouldn’t make it in the 800, either. We had been at the state meet the year before…as spectators…because she hadn’t qualified. Sitting around a camp fire in Alum Creek State Park the night before, she confessed that “I feel like I’ve wasted a year. I didn’t train hard enough to get to the state meet.” I reminded her that the only thing you could do about history was learn from it and that in a year, if she was willing to do what it took to be in a position to win a state meet, I’d put together the program to have her there. “If you could win any race, which one would it be?” I asked. She didn’t hesitate a moment. “The mile,” she said.
“Do you remember what you told me a year ago? You wanted to run the mile. Well…guess what…I don’t care how fast you think those other girls in the race are. Fact is…their coaches are afraid of something…and that something is you,” I said, meaning every word of it. We went through the race strategy, which was pretty simple. “Hang back a little. Don’t be afraid to be in sixth place with a lap to go…with your speed over the final 250 meters, there’s no one you can’t catch. Trust in yourself and all the work you’ve done. You own one of those four spots, so go and take it. Toe that line expecting to win,” I concluded. She thanked me for talking her through it and hung up confident and focused – expecting to win.
Which, of course, puts me in the position of being responsible for what happens…at least in my own mind. I’ve been coaching runners for 25 years now and I’ve never felt such tension over a race. If it’s possible…I want her to get there more than she does herself. Its 24 hours away. We’ll know soon enough…
Run duration: 40 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 145 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 675.
I arrived at the park for a run feeling better than I’ve felt about running in a long time. I suspect it was weighing in lighter than I’ve been since I started writing the blog, but I felt like if I wanted to run fast…today was the day. There was a slight drizzle falling (counts as a sunny day with the weather we’ve been experiencing), which felt great. My leg was a little stiff as I began to run, which has me wondering about if I’m healing or not. I decided to go without socks, something I always do when riding but never running. I knew my feet would be getting soaked and didn’t see the value in socks. Besides, my feet were pretty tough from the riding and I didn’t expect to have any trouble with blistering.
As is often the case when it’s raining, I was alone in the park. I splashed through the puddles as I headed for Squire’s Castle. Everything about the run was refreshing and I easily completed a 40-minute effort feeling like I could have gone twice as far. I retuned home to shower and verify yesterday’s weigh-in…actually hoping I’d be below 190. I wasn’t…but I was still at 190 and that felt pretty good.
I spent some time speaking with Marie about her regional races she’d be running the next day. She was experiencing a lot of anxiety about running both the mile and the 800. The mile is first and her concern was she wouldn’t make the top four (only the top four qualify to the state meet) and tire herself in the process to the point where she wouldn’t make it in the 800, either. We had been at the state meet the year before…as spectators…because she hadn’t qualified. Sitting around a camp fire in Alum Creek State Park the night before, she confessed that “I feel like I’ve wasted a year. I didn’t train hard enough to get to the state meet.” I reminded her that the only thing you could do about history was learn from it and that in a year, if she was willing to do what it took to be in a position to win a state meet, I’d put together the program to have her there. “If you could win any race, which one would it be?” I asked. She didn’t hesitate a moment. “The mile,” she said.
“Do you remember what you told me a year ago? You wanted to run the mile. Well…guess what…I don’t care how fast you think those other girls in the race are. Fact is…their coaches are afraid of something…and that something is you,” I said, meaning every word of it. We went through the race strategy, which was pretty simple. “Hang back a little. Don’t be afraid to be in sixth place with a lap to go…with your speed over the final 250 meters, there’s no one you can’t catch. Trust in yourself and all the work you’ve done. You own one of those four spots, so go and take it. Toe that line expecting to win,” I concluded. She thanked me for talking her through it and hung up confident and focused – expecting to win.
Which, of course, puts me in the position of being responsible for what happens…at least in my own mind. I’ve been coaching runners for 25 years now and I’ve never felt such tension over a race. If it’s possible…I want her to get there more than she does herself. Its 24 hours away. We’ll know soon enough…
Run duration: 40 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 145 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 675.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Little brother joins me for a survival workout...
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
I was meeting my brother Jeff at the park to take him through the survival workout. He’d been listening to me talk about it long enough that his good nature required him to join me and see it first hand. I rode the bike to our meeting point and when he arrived, described the vents we were about to do. Jeff has been through quite a bit in the past couple of years. Treatment for prostate cancer left him very fatigued last fall while training for the New York City Marathon and caused him to drop from the race at the 16-mile mark. Since that time, he has found it difficult to do any physical task without getting exhausted rather quickly. He’s not anxious to return to the doctor’s early to complain of the situation and…for the first time in many years…is content to take it easy…and that’s what I’m all about.
We started with the push-ups with me again setting a pr…moving past the big fifty mark and collapsing at 51. I was psyched for the rest of the workout, to say the least. We headed down the trail where I introduced him to Mr. Rock and Mr. Log. We climbed the steep hill off the horse trailer parking lot, and talked as we went. “I’m not sure why I get tired so easily, but I don’t really want to find out, either,” he told me. I wasn’t noticing any fatigue and told him so. “Maybe its not fatigue…I mean who wants to tear out grass around a garden…maybe you just aren’t motivated to do it and you’re giving in to the early fatigue everyone feels when they start doing something physical. I’m not noticing you’re having any trouble with the workout so far,” I said. He pondered this and admitted that there could be some truth. “Having cancer puts a whole new perspective on how you want to spend your time,” he concluded.
He did everything I did and only struggled when he was working against gravity…like the picnic table hop and the high skips. He’s gained some unnecessary fat (as if anyone ever gains ‘necessary’ fat) over the past 8 months and it has a way of reminding you it’s there when you start running, jumping or doing anything vertically. In any event, he got a taste and enjoyed the environment and being able to use it to get a total body workout.
I rode the bike home with an eye to the blackening skies in the west. I don’t know how I managed it, but I pulled into my driveway and rolled into the garage as one of the season’s more violent storms descended on Highland Heights. I went inside to grab a shower and decided to do something I haven’t done in about a year…I weighed in. I figured I’d be down since my clothes were slipping down on my waist. I was pleased to see the tally…190. I know I’ve gained some muscle mass, so the fat weight is down even more. I believe the diet has made the difference. I’ve eaten more fresh fruits and vegetables in the last six weeks than I would normally consume in a year. Eliminating the desserts almost entirely hasn’t hurt either.
Survival Workout duration: 70 minutes. Bike workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm for workout, 130 bpm riding.
Calories burned during workout: 700 for survival workout. 900 biking.
I was meeting my brother Jeff at the park to take him through the survival workout. He’d been listening to me talk about it long enough that his good nature required him to join me and see it first hand. I rode the bike to our meeting point and when he arrived, described the vents we were about to do. Jeff has been through quite a bit in the past couple of years. Treatment for prostate cancer left him very fatigued last fall while training for the New York City Marathon and caused him to drop from the race at the 16-mile mark. Since that time, he has found it difficult to do any physical task without getting exhausted rather quickly. He’s not anxious to return to the doctor’s early to complain of the situation and…for the first time in many years…is content to take it easy…and that’s what I’m all about.
We started with the push-ups with me again setting a pr…moving past the big fifty mark and collapsing at 51. I was psyched for the rest of the workout, to say the least. We headed down the trail where I introduced him to Mr. Rock and Mr. Log. We climbed the steep hill off the horse trailer parking lot, and talked as we went. “I’m not sure why I get tired so easily, but I don’t really want to find out, either,” he told me. I wasn’t noticing any fatigue and told him so. “Maybe its not fatigue…I mean who wants to tear out grass around a garden…maybe you just aren’t motivated to do it and you’re giving in to the early fatigue everyone feels when they start doing something physical. I’m not noticing you’re having any trouble with the workout so far,” I said. He pondered this and admitted that there could be some truth. “Having cancer puts a whole new perspective on how you want to spend your time,” he concluded.
He did everything I did and only struggled when he was working against gravity…like the picnic table hop and the high skips. He’s gained some unnecessary fat (as if anyone ever gains ‘necessary’ fat) over the past 8 months and it has a way of reminding you it’s there when you start running, jumping or doing anything vertically. In any event, he got a taste and enjoyed the environment and being able to use it to get a total body workout.
I rode the bike home with an eye to the blackening skies in the west. I don’t know how I managed it, but I pulled into my driveway and rolled into the garage as one of the season’s more violent storms descended on Highland Heights. I went inside to grab a shower and decided to do something I haven’t done in about a year…I weighed in. I figured I’d be down since my clothes were slipping down on my waist. I was pleased to see the tally…190. I know I’ve gained some muscle mass, so the fat weight is down even more. I believe the diet has made the difference. I’ve eaten more fresh fruits and vegetables in the last six weeks than I would normally consume in a year. Eliminating the desserts almost entirely hasn’t hurt either.
Survival Workout duration: 70 minutes. Bike workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm for workout, 130 bpm riding.
Calories burned during workout: 700 for survival workout. 900 biking.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Running the track in the light of the moon...
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
What’s it been…four weeks since something went wrong with one of the cars? Gotta’ be…and so I was overdue. The Honda had been fine all day and I’d been parked down at Mimi’s for the past couple of hours while I was doing some painting on her porch. I finished and did the short drive back to the house with time to get in a workout. I pulled into the garage and turned off the engine. I could hear what sounded like a big wheel kid’s toy on cement and got out of the car looking in the driveway for just such an item. There wasn’t one…but the noise…which I now identified as coming from the front of the Honda…was still there. I walked to the front of the car and was dismayed to discover that the noise was coming from under the hood and was the gurgling of hot fluids bubbling in the radiator overflow. Well…poop.
Naturally, I called Dan and described the situation. He walked me through some process of elimination things…like making sure the electric fan; designed to cool the radiator…was kicking on when the engine began to heat up. It was. He had me checking for leaks and the rigidity of hoses…stuff like that…and then had me put some fluid in the radiator and let it run to see what happened. What happened was it fixed itself…though I’m not completely convinced even after taking a ride out to his place just to make sure.
Of course I stayed out there until after dark, talking ‘Paleo’ diet and survival workouts…interesting stuff like that. As I was driving back, I called Holly and asked her to meet me in the park for a moonlight hike. She declined the offer, so I decided I’d just go there and do a run on the bridle paths. When I arrived there and turned off my headlights and peered down the trail…which was darker than the inside of my shoe…I decided running trails wasn’t such a good idea after all. I had one option left…the Mayfield track.
I’d forgotten just how great it can be to run a track with only the light from a clear night sky to guide you. I’d done some workouts there last summer when I’d been training for the Adirondacks and had been climbing the bleachers with a 60-pound pack on my back. This night though, was just for running. I put in four and a half miles in 36 minutes (Kim runs six miles on the track in that time) and truly enjoyed getting lost in my thoughts. There are few external distractions when you’re running in the dark and it’s a wonderful time to think. I don’t think I could have put in the mileage nearly so easily if it had been daylight…and I won’t know because I’m not going to try. By the time I finished, it was almost 11 p.m. and I was so pleased with myself for rediscovering the track at night and getting in a workout when things seemed to be stacked against me and doing nothing was such a real possibility.
Run duration: 36 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 145 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 615.
What’s it been…four weeks since something went wrong with one of the cars? Gotta’ be…and so I was overdue. The Honda had been fine all day and I’d been parked down at Mimi’s for the past couple of hours while I was doing some painting on her porch. I finished and did the short drive back to the house with time to get in a workout. I pulled into the garage and turned off the engine. I could hear what sounded like a big wheel kid’s toy on cement and got out of the car looking in the driveway for just such an item. There wasn’t one…but the noise…which I now identified as coming from the front of the Honda…was still there. I walked to the front of the car and was dismayed to discover that the noise was coming from under the hood and was the gurgling of hot fluids bubbling in the radiator overflow. Well…poop.
Naturally, I called Dan and described the situation. He walked me through some process of elimination things…like making sure the electric fan; designed to cool the radiator…was kicking on when the engine began to heat up. It was. He had me checking for leaks and the rigidity of hoses…stuff like that…and then had me put some fluid in the radiator and let it run to see what happened. What happened was it fixed itself…though I’m not completely convinced even after taking a ride out to his place just to make sure.
Of course I stayed out there until after dark, talking ‘Paleo’ diet and survival workouts…interesting stuff like that. As I was driving back, I called Holly and asked her to meet me in the park for a moonlight hike. She declined the offer, so I decided I’d just go there and do a run on the bridle paths. When I arrived there and turned off my headlights and peered down the trail…which was darker than the inside of my shoe…I decided running trails wasn’t such a good idea after all. I had one option left…the Mayfield track.
I’d forgotten just how great it can be to run a track with only the light from a clear night sky to guide you. I’d done some workouts there last summer when I’d been training for the Adirondacks and had been climbing the bleachers with a 60-pound pack on my back. This night though, was just for running. I put in four and a half miles in 36 minutes (Kim runs six miles on the track in that time) and truly enjoyed getting lost in my thoughts. There are few external distractions when you’re running in the dark and it’s a wonderful time to think. I don’t think I could have put in the mileage nearly so easily if it had been daylight…and I won’t know because I’m not going to try. By the time I finished, it was almost 11 p.m. and I was so pleased with myself for rediscovering the track at night and getting in a workout when things seemed to be stacked against me and doing nothing was such a real possibility.
Run duration: 36 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 145 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 615.
New push-up record.
Monday, May 23, 2011
So…I took the magnesium and crossed my fingers. It was sunny and since rain was predicted for the rest of the week, and I wanted to get in another ride…and see if I’d cramp again, so I decided to ride to meet Jeff in the park for our survival workout. I headed back out on the same course I’d ridden Sunday when I’d cramped, but had no trouble until I reached the one-hour mark. My left quadriceps began to twitch in a bad way, so I backed off and finished the 80-minute ride with no further incident. I did manage to get a couple of pictures of a huge snapping turtle by the side of the road in Waite Hill. I’m guessing he was headed for the road…and certain death…after I left the scene. I hope not.
Jeff was waiting in the park and he’d come in shorts this time. He has now lost 33 pounds since beginning on his journey and continues to want to increase the workout intensity. I was prepared to help him with that. We started with the push-ups…I don’t know how many he did because I was in the process of going for my record…46. I hit 46 and thought I could make it to 50, but as I pushed through my 48th, I knew I was in trouble. I did half of my 49th – the half going down – and planted my nose into the turf with nothing left.
We went off into the woods and hit the usual stations for lifts and climbing. Jeff did much better with the high skips and lifting, and almost got up the concrete bunker half way up the hill behind the pavilion. When he reached the top of that hill…its really steep…he had little gas left in the tank. I descended through the woods on the other side and had my abdominals and a set of biceps done when he finally emerged from the underbrush at the bottom of the hill. “That climb up the hill really got me,” he said…and it will. When he’s had a little more training, he’ll find that we’re doing two and three times in a workout. Right now, he’s still working against gravity, but as the pounds continue to come off, everything will be easier.
Jeff had been going through a slight commitment problem lately…work was getting in the way. I reminded him that one of the best ways to stay on task was to work out with someone. It’s easier to crap out on yourself than to let down a workout partner. “Yeah…I thought about not coming tonight because my calves were so sore from playing ball over the weekend…we had our first game…but knew the amount of shit you could give me and decided I’d better come,” he admitted. And yes…I would have given him tons.
When we returned to his truck, I could tell he was shot. It was raining and since there was lightning and thunder, I tossed my bike in the back of his truck and hitched a ride home. “John…I’m having trouble turning the steering wheel,” he said…which made me happy. I like it when I provide a good workout.
Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes. Bike workout: 80 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm for workout, 130 bpm riding.
Calories burned during workout: 600 for survival workout. 1200 biking.
So…I took the magnesium and crossed my fingers. It was sunny and since rain was predicted for the rest of the week, and I wanted to get in another ride…and see if I’d cramp again, so I decided to ride to meet Jeff in the park for our survival workout. I headed back out on the same course I’d ridden Sunday when I’d cramped, but had no trouble until I reached the one-hour mark. My left quadriceps began to twitch in a bad way, so I backed off and finished the 80-minute ride with no further incident. I did manage to get a couple of pictures of a huge snapping turtle by the side of the road in Waite Hill. I’m guessing he was headed for the road…and certain death…after I left the scene. I hope not.
Jeff was waiting in the park and he’d come in shorts this time. He has now lost 33 pounds since beginning on his journey and continues to want to increase the workout intensity. I was prepared to help him with that. We started with the push-ups…I don’t know how many he did because I was in the process of going for my record…46. I hit 46 and thought I could make it to 50, but as I pushed through my 48th, I knew I was in trouble. I did half of my 49th – the half going down – and planted my nose into the turf with nothing left.
We went off into the woods and hit the usual stations for lifts and climbing. Jeff did much better with the high skips and lifting, and almost got up the concrete bunker half way up the hill behind the pavilion. When he reached the top of that hill…its really steep…he had little gas left in the tank. I descended through the woods on the other side and had my abdominals and a set of biceps done when he finally emerged from the underbrush at the bottom of the hill. “That climb up the hill really got me,” he said…and it will. When he’s had a little more training, he’ll find that we’re doing two and three times in a workout. Right now, he’s still working against gravity, but as the pounds continue to come off, everything will be easier.
Jeff had been going through a slight commitment problem lately…work was getting in the way. I reminded him that one of the best ways to stay on task was to work out with someone. It’s easier to crap out on yourself than to let down a workout partner. “Yeah…I thought about not coming tonight because my calves were so sore from playing ball over the weekend…we had our first game…but knew the amount of shit you could give me and decided I’d better come,” he admitted. And yes…I would have given him tons.
When we returned to his truck, I could tell he was shot. It was raining and since there was lightning and thunder, I tossed my bike in the back of his truck and hitched a ride home. “John…I’m having trouble turning the steering wheel,” he said…which made me happy. I like it when I provide a good workout.
Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes. Bike workout: 80 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm for workout, 130 bpm riding.
Calories burned during workout: 600 for survival workout. 1200 biking.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Leg cramps from hell...
Sunday, May 22, 2011
It was stinking hot when I went out to do some landscaping. Holly had been asking me to quarter and dig up four of our oriental grasses, but I was waiting for the perfect time…the time when she’d forget.
I tried to kill those things the last time she asked me to divide them up…but they’re indestructable. They get so thick at the base because each year new grasses sprout between last year’s dead ones…which I cut down in the spring…and they reach a point where it’s quite difficult to dig them up. I take a large cross cut saw and quarter the plant…kind of like you’d quarter a pie (what’s the point of making a pie more than four pieces – they’re not a manly size if you do) cutting down through the middle and into the dirt. Then I grab my shovel and dig under until I’m sweating and cursing up a storm…as I was on this day. I got them done and Holly came out to help decide where we should put the parts I’d dug up. “How about I just move them to the tree lawn for garbage day?” I was loaded with good ideas. She suggested we dump them on a neighbor we didn’t like too much, but she’s always cooking food and bringing it over…so that was out. We walked the yard and came to the conclusion that we already had too many things growing out of control and what would be the point of adding another six or eight…or any.
On the off chance my neighbor would want them, I walked over and asked. “Oh…that would be great, John. You guys are so thoughtful,” she said. And she’s right. “How bout I grab the wheelbarrow and drag the suckers over here right now?” My generosity was overflowing. Actually, I’d palmed them off on her the last time I’d done this…and she really likes them. I suppose they are pretty neat…and they cost a bundle…so free is good.
That task behind me, I headed out on the bike. I was planning to do the ride John and I had done the day before because I thought it was a challenging, quiet (few cars) course. I was riding comfortably when I reached the first climb in Waite Hill. As I rose out of the saddle to climb, both of my quadriceps began to spasm and cramp. I immediately retuned to the saddle and reduced the gear for easier peddling, but it wasn’t helping. The cramping became so bad on the next hill that I thought…for the first time in my life…I was going to have to dismount my bike and walk up a hill. The other option was letting the cramps completely take over which would cause my thigh muscles to stop firing, pitching me forward, and off, the bike. It was an easy decision…I continued to ride. If I crashed…I crashed. At least I wouldn’t be giving in to the hill…and my crazy, spasmodic legs.
I crested the hill still on the bike, but I was 45 minutes from home. It was either ride through this hell or call Holly to pick me up. She was preparing dinner for company and asking her to come out and get me because I had some leg cramps could put me at risk of going through another kind of hell, so I stayed with the bike and rode slowly.
At no point did things improve and I must admit that after 45 years of long distance riding, I’ve never had this happen. I started considering what I’d done that could have led to the cramping and decided it was likely a result of the combination of sweat and electrolytes I’d lost over the past two days. When I finally arrived back in my driveway and dismounted, I immediately pulled out the phone and called Bob the Nutritionist…he’d know. I described the situation and included the fact that my calf muscles had been twitching non-stop for the previous 24 hours.
“Magnesium,” he said. Now…I’d suggested potassium and sodium…I scrape a pound of crusted salt from my body every time I ride and I’m not putting nearly as much back since I began following the Paleo diet. “Nope…its magnesium. You lose it in your sweat and since no one sweats like you, I think you might want to supplement. He’s never steered my wrong before, so I grabbed a bottle from the grocery store when I went to get the Italian bread for our spaghetti dinner and popped a pill. We’ll see….
Bike duration: 80 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1000.
It was stinking hot when I went out to do some landscaping. Holly had been asking me to quarter and dig up four of our oriental grasses, but I was waiting for the perfect time…the time when she’d forget.
I tried to kill those things the last time she asked me to divide them up…but they’re indestructable. They get so thick at the base because each year new grasses sprout between last year’s dead ones…which I cut down in the spring…and they reach a point where it’s quite difficult to dig them up. I take a large cross cut saw and quarter the plant…kind of like you’d quarter a pie (what’s the point of making a pie more than four pieces – they’re not a manly size if you do) cutting down through the middle and into the dirt. Then I grab my shovel and dig under until I’m sweating and cursing up a storm…as I was on this day. I got them done and Holly came out to help decide where we should put the parts I’d dug up. “How about I just move them to the tree lawn for garbage day?” I was loaded with good ideas. She suggested we dump them on a neighbor we didn’t like too much, but she’s always cooking food and bringing it over…so that was out. We walked the yard and came to the conclusion that we already had too many things growing out of control and what would be the point of adding another six or eight…or any.
On the off chance my neighbor would want them, I walked over and asked. “Oh…that would be great, John. You guys are so thoughtful,” she said. And she’s right. “How bout I grab the wheelbarrow and drag the suckers over here right now?” My generosity was overflowing. Actually, I’d palmed them off on her the last time I’d done this…and she really likes them. I suppose they are pretty neat…and they cost a bundle…so free is good.
That task behind me, I headed out on the bike. I was planning to do the ride John and I had done the day before because I thought it was a challenging, quiet (few cars) course. I was riding comfortably when I reached the first climb in Waite Hill. As I rose out of the saddle to climb, both of my quadriceps began to spasm and cramp. I immediately retuned to the saddle and reduced the gear for easier peddling, but it wasn’t helping. The cramping became so bad on the next hill that I thought…for the first time in my life…I was going to have to dismount my bike and walk up a hill. The other option was letting the cramps completely take over which would cause my thigh muscles to stop firing, pitching me forward, and off, the bike. It was an easy decision…I continued to ride. If I crashed…I crashed. At least I wouldn’t be giving in to the hill…and my crazy, spasmodic legs.
I crested the hill still on the bike, but I was 45 minutes from home. It was either ride through this hell or call Holly to pick me up. She was preparing dinner for company and asking her to come out and get me because I had some leg cramps could put me at risk of going through another kind of hell, so I stayed with the bike and rode slowly.
At no point did things improve and I must admit that after 45 years of long distance riding, I’ve never had this happen. I started considering what I’d done that could have led to the cramping and decided it was likely a result of the combination of sweat and electrolytes I’d lost over the past two days. When I finally arrived back in my driveway and dismounted, I immediately pulled out the phone and called Bob the Nutritionist…he’d know. I described the situation and included the fact that my calf muscles had been twitching non-stop for the previous 24 hours.
“Magnesium,” he said. Now…I’d suggested potassium and sodium…I scrape a pound of crusted salt from my body every time I ride and I’m not putting nearly as much back since I began following the Paleo diet. “Nope…its magnesium. You lose it in your sweat and since no one sweats like you, I think you might want to supplement. He’s never steered my wrong before, so I grabbed a bottle from the grocery store when I went to get the Italian bread for our spaghetti dinner and popped a pill. We’ll see….
Bike duration: 80 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1000.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
A special day for a determined runner...
Friday, May 20, 2011
Day three after cortisone injection…and also the day I’m allowed to start running. I’ve been pain-free for three days now and more than a little nervous about what would happen when I started running. I’d told Nilesh I’d only do a 30-minute run, which he felt would be fine, so when I put in three extra minutes, I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal. Maybe I was being a little jumpy, but just before I arrived back at the car (I was really going for 35 minutes) I felt a little twinge. I stopped immediately and walked it the rest of the way. The true test I felt was not so much what happened while running, but whether I’d have pain later…after sitting for a spell and then getting up.
I drove home thinking of all I had to do…and quickly…if I was going to make it to the District Track Championships by 6 p.m. – starting time. I’d spoken to Kim (Marie’s sister) earlier in the day and she was riding her bike to the meet, which was at Mentor High School. I’d given her my thoughts on the route she should ride to avoid heavily traveled roads and was driving that route to see how far it was. I was heading down Little Mountain Road when I saw her riding towards me…up a steep hill. She noticed me and I pulled over. “So Kim…just where are you going?” She was breathing pretty heavily on the new bike she’d just purchased for her trip to Colorado. “Umm…the track meet?” She’s bright…we were heading in opposite directions so one of us had to be messed up. “Yeah…some bad news. You just rode up that hill for no good reason…it’s that way,” I said pointing back down the hill…the direction I was headed. “Oh maaaan…why couldn’t you have come five minutes earlier and caught me at the bottom of the hill?” This from a girl who was going to be riding thousands of miles in a couple of weeks…including some time in the Rocky Mountains.
She made it to the meet after turning around and like me, and everyone else in the stadium that day, was treated to a very special performance by Marie. She started what is one of the toughest doubles in high school running…the 1600/800 meter races…by winning the 1600. It’s such a tough double because of how close the races are to each other in the order of events. Most distance runners choose the 1600 and the 3200 meter races, which allows another 30-40 minutes of recovery time. Not Marie. She was cooling down from the 1600…which rolled right into a warm-up for the 800 where, running against fresh competitors, she waited until the backstretch of the second lap, before striking. She moved past the front runners and with a strong surge, left them gasping as she cruised to a 3-second victory.
Her day wasn’t over, though. She was anchoring the 4x400 team and received the baton…and a great deal of pressure as she began to run. She was in fifth place and only the top four team’s advance. Additionally, the girl from Mentor was running second and she needed to catch her. Mayfield had the team lead for the District Championship coming into the race – Mentor was two points behind – which meant that if the Mentor runner could stay ahead of Marie they would wrestle the title away from Mayfield…and Marie…and most everyone in the stadium…knew it. Marie surged around the first turn and by the 200 meter mark had closed the 10-meter gap between them. They ran side-by-side as they rounded the second turn and headed into the home stretch…but it was really never a contest. Marie is a girl on a mission who hates to lose. She slowly moved ahead…the Mentor girl had nothing to offer…and she hit the tape ensuring the championship for her teammates and advancing the squad to next week’s Regional Championship. She’ll have a tough time there…competing in four separate races, but the girl knows what she wants and my money is on her.
Run duration: 33 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 145 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600.
Day three after cortisone injection…and also the day I’m allowed to start running. I’ve been pain-free for three days now and more than a little nervous about what would happen when I started running. I’d told Nilesh I’d only do a 30-minute run, which he felt would be fine, so when I put in three extra minutes, I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal. Maybe I was being a little jumpy, but just before I arrived back at the car (I was really going for 35 minutes) I felt a little twinge. I stopped immediately and walked it the rest of the way. The true test I felt was not so much what happened while running, but whether I’d have pain later…after sitting for a spell and then getting up.
I drove home thinking of all I had to do…and quickly…if I was going to make it to the District Track Championships by 6 p.m. – starting time. I’d spoken to Kim (Marie’s sister) earlier in the day and she was riding her bike to the meet, which was at Mentor High School. I’d given her my thoughts on the route she should ride to avoid heavily traveled roads and was driving that route to see how far it was. I was heading down Little Mountain Road when I saw her riding towards me…up a steep hill. She noticed me and I pulled over. “So Kim…just where are you going?” She was breathing pretty heavily on the new bike she’d just purchased for her trip to Colorado. “Umm…the track meet?” She’s bright…we were heading in opposite directions so one of us had to be messed up. “Yeah…some bad news. You just rode up that hill for no good reason…it’s that way,” I said pointing back down the hill…the direction I was headed. “Oh maaaan…why couldn’t you have come five minutes earlier and caught me at the bottom of the hill?” This from a girl who was going to be riding thousands of miles in a couple of weeks…including some time in the Rocky Mountains.
She made it to the meet after turning around and like me, and everyone else in the stadium that day, was treated to a very special performance by Marie. She started what is one of the toughest doubles in high school running…the 1600/800 meter races…by winning the 1600. It’s such a tough double because of how close the races are to each other in the order of events. Most distance runners choose the 1600 and the 3200 meter races, which allows another 30-40 minutes of recovery time. Not Marie. She was cooling down from the 1600…which rolled right into a warm-up for the 800 where, running against fresh competitors, she waited until the backstretch of the second lap, before striking. She moved past the front runners and with a strong surge, left them gasping as she cruised to a 3-second victory.
Her day wasn’t over, though. She was anchoring the 4x400 team and received the baton…and a great deal of pressure as she began to run. She was in fifth place and only the top four team’s advance. Additionally, the girl from Mentor was running second and she needed to catch her. Mayfield had the team lead for the District Championship coming into the race – Mentor was two points behind – which meant that if the Mentor runner could stay ahead of Marie they would wrestle the title away from Mayfield…and Marie…and most everyone in the stadium…knew it. Marie surged around the first turn and by the 200 meter mark had closed the 10-meter gap between them. They ran side-by-side as they rounded the second turn and headed into the home stretch…but it was really never a contest. Marie is a girl on a mission who hates to lose. She slowly moved ahead…the Mentor girl had nothing to offer…and she hit the tape ensuring the championship for her teammates and advancing the squad to next week’s Regional Championship. She’ll have a tough time there…competing in four separate races, but the girl knows what she wants and my money is on her.
Run duration: 33 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 145 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600.
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