A1A Half Marathon wrap-up (day two)

Continuing from day one………………………………

“Never Trust a Fart”

That was a sign I saw while running the race. It had personal implications!

When I awoke at 12:00 midnight, I had severe cramps and an urgent desire to go to the bathroom.

This isn’t the exact sign, but runners will appreciate it!

Some may wish to skip the next paragraph or two as it is a bit graphic.

I ran to the bathroom where I experienced what is termed in the medical profession as, “explosive diarrhea”. The cause seems to have been those hot dogs mentioned in the day one recap as everything else I ate was gluten-free and fresh.

I continued running to the bathroom and returning to bed for the next 4 1/2 hours. A total of 26 trips in all…which has to be some sort of record!

The good news, when I returned home, I had lost 7 pounds over the weekend.

The bad news….the cause of an old nemesis reared its ugly head. 😦

The last words my wife said to me before I left for the race, “Remember to hydrate, as you are probably very dehydrated by now”. I hate it when she is right!

At approximately 4:55 am, I left the hotel and went to the VIP parking  lot located at the Bahia Mar hotel. Rarely do I have complaints about this race, but this time, I will make an exception.

In previous years, VIP parking for this event was located directly at the finish line. I would assume that the powers that be at the City of Fort Lauderdale no longer wanted the liability of cars parking where runners were finishing or wanted more money for the race promoters to use this area, or both.

In any event, the VIP parking was moved across the street to the Bahia Mar. Unfortunately, the staff at the Bahia Mar must not have been informed that a bunch of people would be using their parking lot at 4:30 in the morning. Eventually, I was able to find a parking spot at the very rear of the parking lot. That wasted about 15 minutes. Ever try to find a parking spot in a dimly to non-existent lit parking lot at 5 in the morning?

Now, it was time to walk to the bus pick up point. Which was probably further away from the VIP parking than our hotel! When I finally got to the bus pick up spot, the line was a lined up on a significant portion of the road running north on A1A. It took six buses to get the people in front of me loaded and on their way to the race. Finally, I got on the next bus and was on my way.

The ride to the start line was uneventful, unlike last year where we had to get off the bus on Broward Boulevard and run to the start line, but, I arrived, apparently, after the start of the race. It isn’t a big deal as your time doesn’t start until you cross the starting line, but still, I like to have some time just in case I had to use the bathroom….which at this time was my greatest fear!

I started the race and at my first interval, hear my pace of 15:40 and thought, “this is going to be fun”! My second interval announcement came 2 minutes later and was 12:52, so things were looking up.

Mile 1:    Time: 12:42      Pace: 12:42.

Mile 2:    Time: 25:21      Pace: 12:39

Mile 3:     Time: 38:13      Pace: 12:52

5K Time 39:10 A personal Best!!!

Making the turn up A1A the 5K mark.

I was running at a 12:45 pace and doing it quite easily!

Mile 4:     Time: 51:50     Pace:13:36

Mile 5:      Time: 1:05:26 Pace: 13:35

Mile 6:      Time: 1:18:56  Pace: 13:29

Mile 7:      Time: 1:33:08 Pace: 14:11

Remember that old nemesis I spoke of earlier? Well, here it is: Cramps!!  The cramps started out in my right calf. That continued for two miles, then, cramps in my left calf, then cramps in both calves…for the remainder of the race.

Mile 8:     Time:1:47:09      Pace: 14:00

Mile 9:      Time: 1:59:38     Pace: 12:28!!!

I had a brief respite from the cramps, or more accurately, this is after the cramps in the right calf stopped and before the cramps in the left leg started! This was also my fastest mile.

Mile 10:    Time: 2:14:24  Pace: 14:45 Ouch…here come the cramps in the left calf!

Mile 11:     Time: 2:28:10  Pace: 13:45

Mile 12:     Time: 2:43:08   Pace: 14:57

Ouch x 2 cramps in both calves. I had to stop and stretch. 😦

Mile 13:      Time: 2:57:08   Pace: 13:59

Mile .63 aka .1: Time: 3:05:46 Pace: 13:41

Final results:

Endomondo: Distance: 13.63 mi   Duration: 3:05:45 Pace:13:37

Official results: Distance: 13.1 mi Duration:  3:04:35  Pace:14:06

One issue was I ran an extra half a mile because some people still haven’t learned, that there are other people on the course, not just you! Dumbasses!!!!

The other issue was dehydration. And, boy, did I have that in spades! I barely sweat during this run, which even though the temperature was in the 60s, I sweat a lot and was pretty much dry at the end of the race.

I can’t be too upset with my performance as had I stayed on the pace of my first 3 miles, I would have had a pr and might have even broken the 2:30 barrier.

Here I am at the finish and note…”His hair was perfect”!  (WZ)

The aftermath: For the fourth race in a row, I am in little pain. Just a little soreness in my calves and that is about it. I have been to the gym twice this week and tomorrow will be a run day.

Bathroom issues: There were none to report during or after the race. The 4 Advil I took did the trick and I was “locked up” and didn’t have to use the restroom until I got back to the hotel! 🙂

We had lunch at the hotel, a drink or two, enjoyed the view and headed home.

A Mojito and a Cosmopolitan finish celebration drink!

The view from the pool deck…7 floors up!

Now that I have time to train, I can set my intervals to 1 minute run, 1 minute walk, up from the previous setting of 30/60.

This will help in the weight loss as well as endurance and eventually speed.

The next race on the calendar is the Disney Wine and Dine half marathon in November…..unless something else comes up first!

Stay tuned……………………………………..

Time to start training!

It has been quite some time since my last post. I have been busy with the holidays, Cub Scouts, and a whole host of other things….including, running the Disney Wine and Dine half marathon in November!

I was making great progress in my training and really felt good about this race. Unfortunately, due to severe weather conditions in the area, it was shortened to roughly 7 miles. This actually worked out well as I had plenty of time to take pictures of some of the characters on the course, as well as to run at a leisurely pace.

The shortened race also allowed myself and the wife as well as a couple of friends to enjoy the Wine and Dine portion of the event until 4:00 am!

There is nothing to really report with regards to that race. I barely broke a sweat and had no damage reported to equipment or myself. So much for old news!

Now, it is on to training for my 4th A1A Half Marathon! Hard to believe that someone who never ran and has the injuries I have, has somehow managed to run 9 half marathons and a 10 mile race as well!

As I do at least twice a year, I am finishing up the 7-day total body cleanse……..and boy do I need it!

It took nearly five days before I started to feel like “myself”!

Next week begins training for the A1A half marathon which will focus on cardiovascular training. This will be accomplished using a three day a week full body workout along with an hour of cardio on those days, split up into 2 half hour blocks, one prior to the weight workout, one after, and three running days.

The one thing I really like about the A1A Half Marathon is that is first thing in the morning. This means that I can do all of my training before 9:00 am, and that will carry over to race day.

I will try to update the blog once a week, hopefully, after a successful week of training!

A1A Half Marathon Wrap-up!

This was one of the best races and times we have had in a long time!

I will start with a trip down memory lane. But first……….

I decided to start Saturday morning with a soak in the hot tub!

The hot tub

 

Now, on to memory lane…..

This is the 11th Avenue Bridge. It is one of the few bridges here in South Florida, that turns instead of going up like a draw bridge. To the immediate left of this bridge, was a home owned by one of my fathers friends. He used to let me come over and crab off of his dock. Good times for sure!

The 11th Avenue bridge.

 

This is the Evergreen cemetery. It is the one of the oldest cemeteries in Broward County. Back when I was in high school, we used to jump the fence, which was lower than it is now, and have parties til all hours of the morning. The phrase was, we are having a party Saturday night…and everyone was dying to get in!

Evergreen Historic Cemetery

 

After driving around Broward County for a while, it was time to visit the Expo. As always, this Expo has just about everything you could want for running and fitness. We got our race packet, shirt, poster, sport beans, all in 40 minutes!

Expo

 

Expo

 

Expo

 

Lexus isle at the Expo.

 

Next, we took Marshall to his Aunt Rose Maries where he got to spend the weekend! After that, time to check into the hotel. When I went to get a hotel for this race, everything was booked, at least what was in our price range. So, we had to “settle” for the Ritz Carlton! The standard rate for this room was $599.00 per night……………unless……you have Marriott Rewards points! Since we use our Marriot credit card for everything, we have an abundance of points, so, 50,000 points deducted, and the room was free!! And what a room!

This has to be the best hotel room we have ever stayed at. Click on the link Ritz Carlton, just to look at the place. Below are a few pictures of our room and the view. As an aside, the service is unbelievable! Everything you want is a fingertip away!

The Bed

Bathroom vanity

The bathtub

The toilet room..with a phone………… and a TV in the bathroom!

The view from our balcony.

The view from the 7th floor pool deck.

After we settled in, we decided to have a few drinks on the patio overlooking the Intracoastal waterway. The Miami boat show was going on the same weekend, but we had our own private boat show!

Bridge opening…..

Sailboat.

A nice boat….

A real nice boat……

A really, really, really nice boat!!

After viewing our own private boat show, it was time for dinner. We decided to walk around to burn off a few drinks and ended up at the Quarterdeck Lounge. This is a place that as youngsters, we used to frequent. Maybe when you get older, you notice more, but this place was a dump. After waiting 20 minutes for service, and none ever came, and being subjected to a smoker who appeared to be in the final stages of some sort of death disease, we decided to eat elsewhere!

We walked around some more and ended up back at the hotel to see about getting dinner reservations. All booked up. We walked back down “the strip”, and ended up at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Looking at the menu, there wasn’t much that appealed to me, so we moved on. Eventually, we arrived at the H20 Cafe.

The wife used her phone to look up the reviews and most were positive, so, we decided to eat here for our Valentines dinner.

We were seated immediately and our waiter asked for our drink order. My current training drink is Jose Cuervo tequila and diet Sierra Mist. It is a zero carbohydrate drink and not as fattening as my normal Tequila Sunrise. Since they had no Diet drinks of any kind, we had to improvise. Tequila, Seltzer water, lemon, lime, and Splenda!

With the drinks out of the way, time to order food.

First was the appetizer, Cozze Posilipo….which is “Mussels in a light tomato wine sauce with red onions and a touch of fresh tomato and basil.”

Cozze Posilipo
Mussels in a light tomato wine sauce with red onions and a touch of fresh tomato and basil.

This was absolutely fantastic! I was tempted to get another order, but seeing the portion size, figured the dinner would be plenty!

Speaking of which, I had the NY Strip Steak and the wife had the Risotto Champagne. Both were outstanding! I highly recommend this restaurant if you are ever in the area.

New York Strip Steak

Risotto Champagne
Risotto with baby shrimp and asparagus in a champagne cream sauce.

The view of Fort Lauderdale Beach from our dinner table!

Time to head back to the room to watch the sunset and go to bed around 8:30 pm.

Sunset…

Sunset….

Nite nite……..

What is that sound? Ah, the alarm…..it is 3:00 am!!!

Remember that hotel service I mentioned earlier?

Can you send us up a pot of hot coffee?

Although it was 20 dollars, it was worth it!!!!! And, it arrived 10 minutes after the call and was fresh and hot!!

Now it was time to bathe, get dressed, and do everything else that you have to do before you head out to a race. We made a phone call to the valet, yes, it is mandatory valet parking, and when we got downstairs, our car was waiting for us! We even picked up a girl runner who was waiting for a cab, and we offered her a ride to the race.

Five minutes later, with a little “creative” driving, all routes to and from the hotel were blocked off and I had to navigate several cones, we were at the VIP parking lot, which is at the finish line. So far, so good.

Next we got on the bus and headed to the starting line, which is normally a 15 minute ride. Unfortunately, due to construction, several of the “usual” roads were blocked off and our driver seemed to have a hard time understanding what some of us locals were trying to tell her! Eventually, we ended up near the starting line, the driver pulled off to the side of the road, and we all got off and made our way to the start.

The Starting Line!

We only had to wait 20 minutes until the Star Spangled Banner was played on a saxophone. Then the wheeled racers were off. At 6:00 am, the race started. This race, unlike the Disney races or any other race we have run, is a mass start race. Everyone gets into position by markers for their projected pace. The only issue with this is that some of the slower runners, jump to the front of the line, which, later in the race, causes some runners, to have to weave around these other runners after you catch up to them.

In any event, I preferred this start as I only had to wait 6 minutes to get to the Starting line as opposed to the half hour or more at Disney.

As I started to run, I realized that I felt really good. I had no pain and also, no tightening up of my calves. I was running effortlessly, but still trying to keep a 13:30 pace.  For the first nine miles, I never was slower than a 13:29 pace. The first 4 miles were run in an average pace of 12:55!

5K time:38:48, which is  a personal best! The view of the 5K marker, which is now a castle instead of the previous sailboat.

5K castle.

Running along, at miles four and five, the sunrise….

Sunrise…..

Now it was time to focus on running. I was running at a consistent pace, 13:04 or so for a majority of the race. At mile 10, I finally had to urinate as I had been holding it for six miles! Miles 10,11,and 12, were my slowest miles. I was fighting a toe cramp in my left foot, as well as pain in my left hip. Luckily, those pains went away and to my surprise, and I didn’t know this until I looked at the tracker later, my fastest mile was my last! Mile 13 was at a 12:51 pace!

Here are the official and unofficial results:

Endomondo:

Distance: 13.27 miles

Duration: 2:57:09

Average Pace: 13:20

 

Official time:

First Name	Last Name	Age	10k	Gun Time	Net-Time	Pace
Eric	Van De Ven	54	1:18:46	3:03:50	02:56:38	13:29

Not a personal best, but considering I was 15 pounds heavier than last year, I was only 2 minutes slower. And, no pain except for a little soreness.

Also, using the run/walk interval method and the low carbohydrate diet, I felt fresh after the race.

While waiting for the wife to finish, I took a few pictures of the beach and surrounding areas.

Fort Lauderdale beach!

More beach….

In the instruction manual of our new Canon camera, it says not to look at the lens if you are taking a picture of a bright object…like the sun!

The Bahia Mar hotel..

A cargo ship…that was probably at least a half a mile away. That zoom really does work!

Wishful thinking!

Almost there!

The finish line! I took this picture while running with the wife to the finish!

The best thing at the finish…ice cold low fat chocolate milk!!!!!!

Victory!!!

Now that the race was over, what to do? We got an extended checkout, so, went up to the room, rehydrated, and packed. We called the bellman and they took our luggage downstairs and held it for us. Meanwhile, we went to the pool patio deck and had lunch. But first, drinks!! Now that the race was over, carbohydrate fever! A Mojito for me and a Bahama Mamma for the wife!

Mojito and a Bahama Mamma!

A quick burger and Mahi Mahi sandwich..time to enjoy the view!

Bacon cheeseburger.

Mahi Mahi sandwich!

Bye bye Lauderdale…… 😦

This was a fantastic trip. No injuries and no drama..except for nearly missing the race! 😉

We are already planning for the race next year and it may be a 2-night stay this time!

Next race up….Disney Wine and Dine 2015!

 

 

 

Two weeks later……………………

This time two weeks ago, I was gearing up for what would be the worst race, performance wise, I have ever run. The good news is that I had low expectations entering the race to the extent that I didn’t know if I would finish. The fact that I finished is an accomplishment in itself!

The last two weeks I have been slowly adding distance to my training runs. I am, for all intents and purposes, starting over as far as training for the A1A Half Marathon in February goes.

The first run after the Wine and Dine was the following Sunday.

• DISTANCE:   1.46 mi
• DURATION: 18m:43s
• AVG. PACE: 12:49 min/mi

I have changed the run/walk settings on Run/Walk Interval to 45 seconds run/50 seconds walk. As I get faster, I will change the settings, but for now, I want to get to at least 10 miles with these settings and stay in the 12 minute mile pace range.

The next run was this Thursday.

• DISTANCE:   3.29 mi
• DURATION: 43m:15s
• AVG. PACE: 13:10 min/mi

This run was at a slower pace, but getting used to the new settings is always a bit of an issue.

Todays run, Saturday, was the best so far since completing the Wine and Dine race.

• DISTANCE:   4.25 mi
• DURATION: 52m:54s
• AVG. PACE: 12:27 min/mi

I could have gone to five miles, but I had to return to the home as the wife had to leave. The good news about this run, is that since I started taking Potassium, my cramping issues seem to have been resolved. Also, I am only running with four bottles of water/Gatorade. That removes a little weight as normally I run with 8 bottles. Speaking of weight, I ran the Wine and Dine race at a staggering 251 pounds! Since we have returned, my weight has gone down to 239 pounds as of today. I am going to continue to run, cross train, and stay on the Atkins diet. The goal is to lose another 39 pounds by February.

The biggest issue for me, is that when I can’t train, I resort to poor eating habits, which adds weight very quickly. Dealing with the pain of injuries also is an issue as alcohol seems to quell the pain the best! Unfortunately, it is also responsible for a lot of weight gain!

I plan on two runs next week as it is Thanksgiving, then back to two or three runs a week. Short runs during the week and a long run on Sunday mornings. This is in preparation for the A1A race which unlike the Disney races, is in the morning…Sunday, February 15, 2015 morning to be exact! 🙂

The next update should be in two weeks barring something spectacular!

Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon 2014 (race day)

It would appear, that Thursday night dinner would be the high-point for this weekend!

Marshall was a bit Grumpy when he woke up this morning and wanted to “postpone the run until he was better rested”!

We loaded up and drove to Wide World of Sports for the Kids races.

The required picture under the ball at Wide World of Sports!

Marshall ready to run…..He is getting some last minute advise from his coach!

A few trips through the obstacle course, and Marshall was warmed up!

Marshall finishing. If he didn’t trip at the start, he might have finished first in his wave!

Marshall and EJ at the finish.

Now it was time to take Marshall to his grandparents. We got back to the room and ate and tried to rest.

As I was on a gluten-free and mostly low carbohydrate diet, I made six cheeseburgers before we left. They came in handy for race fuel!

We got ready and headed to the bus in front of the hotel at 7:00. We arrived at around 7:45.

We mingled with some friends and got a picture taken:

The air was crisp, temperature around 65 degrees, and a slight wind…..when we arrived at Wide World of Sports!

That changed.

Right around 9:45, it started to rain. Just a slight drizzle. It never stopped!!!!

On to the race……

I was using the backup phone wrapped in a sandwich bag. The apps running were: Endomondo, Run/Walk interval, and Winamp for music.

The Motorola wireless headphones were also used.

Mommy ready to race!

Yours Truly

And we are off………………………………

The Start

Right off the bat, I knew this would be a slow race. Between the large amount of participants, especially in the corral I was in, I knew I would be lucky to finish this race.

Mile                            Pace

Mile 1:                     14:55

Mile 2:                     13:33

Mile 3:                     13:26      Fastest lap! But, problems developed!!! 😦

Mile 4:                     13:56

Mile 5:                     14:02

Mile 6:                     14:13

Mile 7:                     15:01

Mile 8:                     14:41

Mile 9:                     15:05

Mile 10:                  15:31  More problems!!!!!!

Mile 11:                   15:55

Mile 12:                   16:11

Mile 13:                    16:51

Endomondo:      3:13;20     Pace: 15:04

Chip time:            3:21:37     Pace: 15:23

Considering the conditions, and the fact that I weighed 245 pounds at race start, I guess I can live with the results.

Problem one developed right after mile three. The insert inside my shoes, started to move and eventually, was crinkled up under my foot. I tightened up the laces on my right shoe, and that seemed to solve the problem, for that foot! The left shoe, however, was still having problems all the way to the end of the race. I tightened the laces three more times and it got better, but about every mile and a half, I had to stop, take off my shoe, straighten out the insert and re-install it. This cut into my time.

Problem two developed around mile 11. I get a warning that my battery is low in my headphones. Shortly thereafter, no headphones!! I managed to finish by counting on my fingers to forty for the run intervals and 50 for the walk intervals. At some point, it was quiet enough where I could hear the commands from the phone speaker. So could everyone else!

Problem three: While tying my shoes around mile eleven, I got a cramp in my left calf! Great!! The previous races “up north” I have cramped badly. This race I took special care to prevent that from happening. I was taking potassium, drinking a bunch of water and Gatorade, and doing everything to prevent cramping. The good news, was that when I got up to run, the cramps went away. The bad news, I had to adjust the insert three more times! Each time, I feared the cramps would return, but they didn’t. 🙂

After I crossed the finish line, I grabbed my bag and headed to the after-party. I met my wife and we decided that since I was shaking uncontrollably, we should go back to the warmth of our room! Once back to the room, I took a hot shower and then crawled under the covers!!

The aftermath………………………

As with all of these races, it is a battle between your mind and body. Your body keeps trying to find ways for you to go and lay down. Your mind says no. This year, the mind won as going into this race, I didn’t know if I would finish. After the race, I am pain-free. Nothing hurts and I could go out for a run today. I have never felt this good after a race. No pain in the shins, no pain in the knee or feet. I am actually quite surprised as after the race, due to the awkward running style caused by the failed insert, my left knee hurt. Sunday it felt fine and today, you couldn’t even tell I just ran one of the toughest half marathons in my life!

What’s ahead?

Depending on what happens regarding the wife, she fell at mile three, hurt her knee, and continued to mile 7, before finally surrendering to the pain, the next run will either be a local 5K and/or the A1A half marathon in February.

I wish to thank all of those who cheered us on at the event, and those that have wished us well on the blog, and Facebook pages.

Stay tuned……training resumes Tuesday! 🙂

 

 

 

Wine and Dine 2014 1/2 Marathon wrap up (Pre-Race)

Another race in the books!!!

This years race was one of the more enjoyable events, as well as the most painful! We will start off with the enjoyable part first!

Thursday:

We arrive bright and early to our hotel, the Caribbean Beach Resort. Checked in and then, got to the Pirate Room! Thanks Jen!

Now it was off to Epcot for the Wine and Dine portion of this trip!

I had to be careful as to which countries we ate at due to my gluten issue.

We started off in New Zealand, where I had the Steamed Green Lip Mussells. I forgot to get a picture! Next, we skipped around until we got to Morocco for some sangria. Which was the best sangria, hands down at the event. Then we went to France for the Braised Short Ribs and some Cabernet Sauvignon wine. Delicious!! Next, Brazil for Crispy Pork Belly and Black Beans. I had the Frozen Caipirinha…whatever that is!! It was very refreshing! We finished up the eating portion with a trip to Puerto Rico where I had a conch salad and sangria. We ended the Wine and Dine portion in Mexico where I had the third sangria.

Braised Short Ribs in France

Pork Belly and Black Beans in Brazil

Conch Salad in Puerto Rico

Bye Bye Epcot….for now!

We went back to the room, had a snack, yes, hard to believe we will still hungry, and then, to soak in the hot tub.

Time for dinner! Every time we visit Disney, we try to eat somewhere new. This trip, we went to the Contemporary Hotel and ate at “The Wave“.

Contemporary Hotel

The Wave

I started off with Steamed Florida Cedar Key Clams with Chorizo Sausage, Fennel, and Smoked Paprika, which was tremendous!!!

Steamed Florida Cedar Key Clams
with Chorizo Sausage, Fennel, and Smoked Paprika

That was followed by Herb-Salt Seasoned Beef Tenderloin Caramelized Field Mushrooms, Organic Green Beans, Potato Mash, and Sauce Bordelaise. This was also delicious!

Herb-Salt Seasoned Beef Tenderloin
Caramelized Field Mushrooms, Organic Green Beans, Potato Mash, and Sauce Bordelaise

For dessert…and this isn’t on the menu, Gluten-Free Carrot Cake!!! I also ordered a Chocolate martini. This was one of the best desserts I have ever had! If you are ever at the Wave, make sure you order this combination. I was almost tempted to order a “to-go” version!!

Gluten-Free Carrot Cake with a Chocolate Martini

After dinner, we watched the fireworks and the castle got “Frozen”!

Frozen Castle

We went back to the hotel and to bed! Day one was tiring!!

Friday:

Friday started off with a trip to the race Expo at Wide World of Sports. We had to get our race packets, bibs, run tracking, and a few supplies. Then, it was off to Animal Kingdom.

Marshall and Mommy at Wide World of Sports

Marshall and Daddy at Wide World of Sports

Marshall in the dugout.

Home plate!

Sports Expo

Off to Animal Kingdom…….

I finally got to see the walking tree lady!!

The Tree of Life

Marshall riding a dinosaur!

A large lizard…………

A lurking bat…..

Mt. Everest

After lunch at the Flame Tree Cafe, we headed back to the hotel. Had a few drinks, relaxed, then it was off to dinner.

Dinner was at the Flying Fish.

A Blood orange margarita

The only picture worth posting is the one above. The food was pedestrian at best. The service and mass confusion was also a contributor to an overall forgettable experience. With such high ratings, we surprised by the experience. Young Marshall did enjoy the mussels though!

Time to return back to the room and rest up….

Next post….Race Day!!!!

Race week..Wine and Dine 2014 is here!

It seems only a few short weeks ago, we moved into this house and now suddenly, it is 10 months later!

Time to pack up the tribe and head north to Disney for our third Wine and Dine 1/2 marathon. All of the packing is done, well, most of it, and thanks to our Mousekeplanner, Jennifer Upton, our upgraded room should be ready when we arrive early Thursday morning.

On the training front, last Saturday night was supposed to be a simulation run for the race. The temperature dropped into the 40s and I was painfully reminded, that surgically repaired bones do not perform well in the cold! Back in 2010, I was wandering aimlessly around Disney in one of the coldest times of the year. The result of that trip was surgery number 5 on the left knee! It was the beginning of the “floating debris” that has been accumulating in my knee. The end result is that the back half of my knee locks up……which is detrimental to running!

Saturday night, the same thing happened. I was able to work it loose, and continue to run, but, I decided to cut the run short at 4 miles. There was swelling in the knee, which has since subsided. I guess the voodoo doll is back from vacation!!

Prior to the 2013 A1A half marathon, the temperature dropped into the 30s, which for us native Floridians, is close to arctic conditions! The workaround was to put the cold/hot gel packs in hot water then apply them to my knees. That worked and there were no problems with either knee. Hopefully, as the temperatures are supposed to be in the high 50s, I shouldn’t have to use the gel packs, but I am bringing them!

The weight loss is coming along, but I will still be running at the heaviest weight, probably 235 pounds on race day, that I have ever run at. I’ll just have to make the best of it. I am going to run a conservative race and shoot for a 14 minute/mile pace. Anything faster than that will be a bonus.

My playlist is done and I have three hours and seventeen minutes of music. Hopefully, I won’t need it all!

All that is left is to make the trip north.

Thursday will be Wine and Dine day as we eat and drink our way around Epcot.

Friday will be race packet pick up, Animal Kingdom, and possibly Magic Kingdom. Park orders are subject to change…and most likely will! 🙂

Saturday is race day and starts with Marshalls race in the morning followed by a day of relaxation and then race prep and the race for Teala and I.

Sunday will be a day where depending on how we feel, either a visit to a theme park or, an early return home…hopefully uninjured!!!

Wish the team luck!!!

 

A funny thing happened……

On the way to running retirement! Pain free runs!

Since the last post, I got the results of the latest MRI and it is more of the same, torn rotator cuff, partially torn biceps tendon, but no torn labrum. So, an injection or two, and the left shoulder is returning to service.

Meanwhile, I have been training for the Disney Wine and Dine 1/2 marathon. Since switching shoes to the Saucony Omni 13s, I have had no pain after any run. The mileage has been creeping up starting with one mile and getting to 7 miles last week. A brisk 3-mile run yesterday was also pain-free and the fastest run since I resumed training.

Saturday night is a scheduled 10-mile run to simulate race-day, then one more 3-mile run Tuesday, and that will be it for training.

The goal is a 13 minute/mile pace. The Wine and Dine has always been a problem race for me, between the crowds and cramping, I have never performed well there. I am hoping that will change this year. Moving to Palm City, it was apparent immediately, that somehow, there is more humidity here than back in Coconut Creek. This is evidenced every morning when everything outside looks like it just rained! The good news, is that I have as of yet, not experienced any cramps during any run. I am hoping that trend continues during the race, if so, I may kick things up during the last 5 miles of the race. I have also not experienced any pain, and by that, I many any pain, after any run. I suspect whoever was playing with the “Eric voodoo doll” has put it away for a while!

After this race, I will reevaluate everything, to determine if I will continue. Right now, it is a very good chance I will keep running. I am not sure about running the A1A race in February this year, as it is down in Broward, but who knows.

I will be posting the playlist next week and a final race-day post.

Stay tuned………………………………

 

 

The pain at wounded knee returns…………………………….

For those that follow this blog as well as my friends, you are all aware of my damaged left knee. For those that aren’t, the gory details can be found here: The Pain at Wounded Knee.

The long and short of it is, due to a botched surgery in 1998, I ended up tearing my ACL, MCL, PCL, meniscus and cartilage. In other words, just about as bad a knee injury that there is.

A timeline for surgery has been established at roughly every five years. The last surgery in 2010 was extensive and, there was a piece of something, lodged in the back of my knee. On occasion, this piece would wander around and every once in a while, lock up my knee. A little massage and the knee was back to normal. This never occurred when running so, I kept running. Unfortunately, other issues have shown up like the massive stress fractures in both legs, the broken bone spur in my left foot, and recently, the partial tear of my Achilles tendon in my right leg.

Monday night while sleeping if you can call it that, as there are a whole host if things that go “bump” in the night around here, starting with the blood curdling scream from our son at 2 am, followed by Samantha massaging my bladder and then ending with Sophia with her big head and loud purr in my face at 4 am, the wife was somewhat surprised to hear loud screaming coming from our bedroom, from me!!

Whatever the wandering piece of debris was, it has now broken free from its mooring and wandered its way into the middle of my knee. I couldn’t move my left leg below my knee in either direction. The pain was intense and for those that know me, that is a lot of pain! After 20 minutes of massage, I was able to move my knee a little bit. Yesterday, it was swollen and very stiff. Today, it locked up on me at the gym….which I would expect if I was working out legs, not chest and arms!

In two weeks, I am attending my annual golf tournament in Sebring, Fl. This will be the 20th year for this event. The question is, “How am I going to play 100 holes of golf…when I can barely walk”? I could pay Dr. Baylis a visit, but he will say two things. 1) You need another surgery to clean this knee out. 2) Stop running. I can deal with the first statement, but not the second. He may also say something else which I do not want to hear, and that is, that the time has come, to stop prolonging the inevitable.

When I first saw Dr. Baylis in 1998, he told me then that if we were extremely lucky, we would be able to prolong the eventual knee replacement for possibly 20 years. If my math is correct, we are at year 16. Can another surgery be done to get to 20 years? When will it have to be done? That is the big question!

If I get the surgery done after Spring Lake, the 3rd week in August, it will take approximately six weeks to recover, depending on how bad things are. That will put me into October which would allow me 5 weeks of training for the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon. Although I ran the A1A Half Marathon with virtually no training, at least the Wine and Dine was only two months prior to that race. It will be at minimum, 8 months since the last run if I start training in October. I could always defer the race until next year, but by then, who knows what will happen. I still have torn meniscus in my right knee to correct at some point in time. I could also just run with my wife at the Wine and Dine, and end the running career after that…………….

The next month will be very interesting so stay tuned!!

Disney, Darth, and Diversity!

Since injuring my Achilles tendon, I have had to back off on training for the Disney Wine and Dine race in November.

To celebrate our son being “promoted”, and believe it or not, some aren’t, to first grade, we went to Disney World for Star Wars weekend!

To start off with, I have to give thanks to our Mousekeplanner, Jennifer Upton! For those that follow this blog, you already know I always give a “shout out” to Jenn and the reason is, she does a great job! If you are planning anything Disney related, click on the link and contact Jenn first!

Since we moved, we are now much closer to Disney, in fact, two weeks ago we went up for the day and it only took an hour and forty-five minutes to get there! I had to use up my last day of a three-day pass on that trip. At the suggestion by Jenn, the decision was made to purchase an annual pass for me as the wife and Marshall already have their own. For the annual pass to be effective, you need to spend at least five days at Disney. This trip was three and the Wine and Dine is four, so, I am already 2 days ahead!!!!!

The next matter was to get a room.  There are very few places in Disney that we have not stayed. In the short-term, the “value” resorts seemed OK, but upon further review, bumping up to a moderate was the better choice. Jenn got us a good rate and we stayed at Coronado Springs Resort.

The rooms were nice and had sliding doors to separate the bathroom/sink/storage area from the rest of the room. It also had a desk with receptacles on the top of the desk

The laptops were only out for the first day!

We never did get to eat at the restaurant as we had already made reservations at other places. We also selected all of our “fast-passes” online and they were uploaded into our magic-bands. Speaking of which, the magic-bands are fantastic. You almost don’t need anything else! They get you into the park, you can pay for dinner and drinks with them as well as purchasing gifts. There is a commercial where people are trying to use their magic-bands in grocery stores……..I predict that someday, this will be a reality! 😉

Marshall claims this was a hot tub! The water was warm!

With my affinity for Tequila, this would have been fun!

We spent the morning/early afternoon at the resort pool. Then…off to Epcot

We, as usual, went “Around the World” at Epcot! We visited every country and ended up eating in Japan. We almost made it to fireworks……..but some members of the team were worn out. It wasn’t me! Even though I spent the trip in a walking boot and knee braces!

Japan

The little drummer boy

Sunset…

The above picture is the “diversity” portion of this post! Although I received numerous strange looks, I am happy to report that I had no pain at all during the weekend or the days after we returned home!

Day two began with breakfast at the resort. It is a treat to actually eat with real utensils!!! Unfortunately, we needed to acquire a spoon or three for yogurt we had brought. We made this remark to the maid and when we got back from the park, there was a Ziploc bag full of spoons, forks, and knives!!!

Off to Disneys Hollywood Studios and Star Wars Weekend!! We walked around, saw a bunch of characters and registered Marshall for his surprise……The Jedi Training Academy!

Storm-trooper

Princess Leia

Darth Vader

 

Time to go back to the pool..but first…………………..

Drinks!

More drinks!!

Somehow, the wife got an early dinner reservation, which actually worked out quite well as Marshall’s Jedi Training was to begin at 6:00 pm. We had dinner at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, which is one of my favorite restaurants in Disney! They have snippets of old “B” Sci-Fi movies playing while the seats are cars with bench-seats.

A few classics:

?????????

Coming Attractions

Plan 9 From Outer Space

Robot Monster

The Gila Monster

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, it was time for Jedi Training! We have a video, but it is too large to post here. A picture will have to do!

This is actually how Darth Vader lost his hand!!

After the Jedi Training, we went on some more rides and then got our spot for Fantasmic! Marshall loved it and Daddy is still scared to death of that dragon!!!!!!

We didn’t get to see the fireworks….or so we thought! While we were waiting for the bus back to the resort, we were in perfect position to watch the fireworks show! A perfect ending to a perfect day at Disney!!!!

Sunday, we went to Animal Kingdom, saw the usual group of animals, and got to eat at my favorite place in Animal Kingdom, The Flametree Cafe!

Lunch at the Flametree Cafe

This is by far, the most enjoyable trip to Disney ever!!!

While we were there, we had our Mousekeplanner book our rooms for the Wine and Dine race in November. With our accumulation of points on our Disney Visa card, we should end up with a day or two free!!!

Speaking of the Wine and Dine, As I am currently sidelined with the Achilles tear, and the torn meniscus in my right knee, I am concentrating on losing weight. While I was at the pool bar getting another drink, I was speaking with a guy who is also a runner. He was telling me that every 10 pounds lost equates to a 1 minute per mile increase in speed. I can certainly believe that as in drag racing, if you do nothing else to the car, every 100 pounds shed equals a 1/10 of a second gained in elapsed time.

Prior to the cleanse two weeks ago, the scale nearly broke as it registered 252 pounds when I stepped on it! Since then, I have lost 14 pounds. I suspect most of it was water..err…tequila weight! 🙂

I am also going to start riding the bicycle as I am not permitted to run for another three months. I rode one mile yesterday at an average speed of 17 mph, which isn’t bad for the first time out. I will increase the distance while maintaining a 15-17 mph speed. This should help with weight loss while at the same time, strengthening my legs and prevent further injury to my legs.

I have looked at all of my running times and I am stuck at 2:45 for a half marathon as the best and slower when the cramps show up. My goal for this years Wine and Dine is to finish in the 2:15-2:30 hour range. If I finish in that time-frame and don’t hurt myself, I will register for the A1A Marathon……unless the rumors are true about a Star Wars Imperial race at Disney World! 🙂