Have I quit?

Okay, if you have been following this you may have noticed that my run logs have not been updated in quite some time. However, this is not due to my lack of running.

To be honest my running frequency has decreased because of my foot trouble, however tomorrow I will be getting my feet cast for my orthotics, but I will also be getting another wrap job done so I will once again be able to run pain free. However, I have been running!

So if I am running then why are my logs not updated? Well, you must first understand that I am exceedingly cheap (thanx to my wife's 9 years of training me) and the last thing I will do is spend money that I do not need to. A week ago, I made the unfortunate mistake of leaving my bag on the train while on my way home from work. This story is a very long drawn out one that I am not going to go into here. All you need to know is that in that bag was my only iPod cable. Without that cable I cannot sync my iPod to Nike with my runs. I have been using my Nike data to then also carry over to my running ahead log.

Now I have not gone out and bought a new cable simply because I am told by the train lost and found that there is still a slight bit of hope that I may see my bag again. So until my bag is returned or that bit of hope is taken away I will not be syncing any of my runs.

So with that, Happy running, and have a very Disney day!

Wrap It Up...I'll Take It

First off for those of you who may not know, the title of this songs comes from the title of a song by The Fabulous Thunderbirds. I highly recommend checking them out if you get the chance.

Anyway, on to the post itself...

So for the past 6 months I have experienced pain in my heal after kickboxing class. I assumed it would get better, it didn't. Then when I started running, it turned from on occasional pain to a daily pain. So I broke down and made an appointment with a local podiatrist.

So after the x-rays I was able to find out a great deal. While the very initial diagnosis of Planters Fasciitis was indeed correct, the reasoning why came clear with the x-ray. On my left heel, I have a heel spur, which is basically an extension of the heel bone, unfortunately for me what this does is put more strain on the ligament running from my heel to my toes. So when I do things on the ball of my feet like kickboxing this ligament gets torn from the spur.

All in all it is not horrible. Basically the biggest problem is that through walking running and whatever else, this tear never gets an opportunity to heal.

At the appointment he taped up my foot, which feels phenomenal.



I keep this taping on for 3-4 days and take an anti-inflamitory medication. Next week I will go back and get fitted for orthopedic inserts. Once these inserts are made the torn ligament will have the opportunity to heal despite my daily activities including running.

The other interesting thing I found out was that I have very high arches. The biggest drawback of this when it comes to running is that I run less efficiently then I would without the high arches. Also, this inefficiency could put more strain on my back.

Choosing a master?

As a guitarist one of my favorite movies of all time is Crossroads. In the beginning of the movie we find our hero being reprimanded by his instructor at a privileged classical music school. Here he is in trouble because while tending to his classical studies he also has an interest in the blues. The words from his instructor were simply "don't serve two masters". His point was simple, you cannot excel at one thing if you do not put everything into it.

Now, I see a good point in that, but I also choose to defy it. I am also serving two masters. For right now I stand here with the goal of completing the 2011 Disney Marathon. However there is another goal for me. If I stay on course 2011 will also be the year I test for and receive my black belt in karate.

One one hand I don't see a problem with this at all, as I am merely getting my black belt and merely completing the marathon. I am not winning the marathon. But at the same time I find it a little strange that this fat old man could possibly complete two lofty goals in the same year. I mean while there are tons of people who run marathons, completing one is still a huge thing that the majority of the population will never come close to achieving, as is receiving a black belt in karate.

Currently I see it as a blessing. Last week it was raining and snowing all week, however I could take a few extra karate classes to get a decent weeks workout in. And the two compliment each other well. Karate does not leave me too drained to run and running doesn't not leave me too drained to go to karate. Further more the added flexibility I receive from karate definitely aids me in my running.

So yeah I serve two masters, and yeah I will get my black belt, and I will complete a marathon...

Snow and body aches...

Okay, first off there should never be snow on the ground in the end of March, certainly not after have 2 weeks of 50 degree days. Aside from the snow, last night was a rough run. See I noticed something recently. In high school and college when I ran, the next day I would be sore. My muscles would be killing me. But now the next day I am still sore, but it is the joints far more then the muscles. My knees feel like they are gonna give out, and my heel....yes my heel.

So I was about 6 months into Karate when I started Kickboxing. Funny thing about kickboxing, while it is a phenomenal workout, every time I do it the next day my heel hurts really badly. Initially I thought that my foot was not used to the exercise and that it would lesson in time. I wasn't concerned about over-working it because I only do the kickboxing a couple times a week. But here I am 6 months later and I still have this pain, every time, like clockwork the day after kickboxing.

So I ran on it anyway, funny thing about that though. When I exercise, none of these pains bother me in the slightest....then a half-hour after I am done they all start to attack. Now, my knees, not sure about that one, but I am pretty sure I will be seeing a podiatrist within the next month or so about my heel.

Is that my breath I see?

So last night I decided to take another run. I was coming off of a 4 mile run at a good pace, so I didn't want to kill myself, plus it was already 11:00pm before I started. I decided to try and run 3.0 miles. Well this was the first time I really felt soreness in my legs. My pace was slow, and my legs just plain hurt. Funny though, the soreness in some kinda strange way felt good.

Really the only complaint I had of last nights run was the fact that from like 7pm to 11 it dropped about 20 degrees. It was just plain cold. See your breath cold. And I was completely unprepared wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

Note to self, check outside temperature before leaving for a run!

New Kicks...Kick it Old School!

Okay so I have officially sold out to the Nike corporation. Today I ran with my new Nike shoes combined with the Nike plus sensor transmitting to my iPod. All of this is a bit overwhelming. One issue though, for some reason on the read out of my iPod it displays my run in km while labeling it as miles. So for this run afterwards it displayed 6.46 mi. Now the reality of it is that I ran 4.0 miles and 6.46 km. Yet even more confusing is the whole run it would announce accurate distance markings to me, it would say I have completed 3.0 miles even though the display was showing my distance in km with the mi after it....weird!

Aside from that it seems to be exceedingly accurate. Now for the run, I actually ran past my old high school. Kind of a strange feeling to be honest. I mean hear I was listening to the track I Was Wrong by Social Distortion. Now on one hand, being that I ran Cross Country and Track all 4 years of high school running here kinda felt at home. While it has been many years, the streets are the same and those memories come back real quick. On the other hand running by the school was a bit strange as I passed the doors where I would sneak out to smoke during the school days. Honestly this is the first time I have gone past the school as a non-smoker since back then. Not really sure how to describe it, but I am sure an ex-smoker would be able to relate somewhat.

Anyway, I listened to the album White Light, White Heat, White Trash... by Social Distortion and quickly realized why this has been one of my all time favorite albums for so long. This was the perfect running album, I was able to immerse myself in it completely....I am pretty sure there was even a bit of air guitar and air drumming in the middle of my run too!

Mixing it Up!

So tonight, as I tied my Dean Markley Guitar Strings bandanna I was fighting with myself over whether to run 3 miles or 2. I didn't really feel that I had the full 3 in me, at the same time I wanted more then 2 miles.

So after some debate and being cautious not to burn myself out, I chose the 2 mile route. Then halfway through the run I decided to make a different turn. Now I don't know exactly how far I ran, but my best guess would put it at about 2.5 miles. But the whole idea of changing the route, not knowing it exactly was really nice. The idea of not knowing every nueance of your route nor it's distance was very cool....albeit a bit hard to explain.

For tonights listening pleasure I tuned in the album Motherf*$&ers Be Trippin by the Supersuckers!