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!

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! 🙂

 

 

 

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………………………………

 

 

This is the end………………………………………………….

Last months post detailed the re-injury of my left knee. Now that the MRI has been completed, there is more bad news.

Two weeks prior to my annual golf tournament, I played a warm up round of 36 holes. I have only played nine holes of golf in the last year, so I figured I should get some practice in!

The first 18 holes went as well as expected. The second 18 was much better until the 16th hole. I hit my second shot on that hole from the rough in an awkward stance. I hit a fairly decent shot, however, there was tremendous pain in my left knee causing me to fall down.

The pain was eerily familiar to when I first tore my ACL, minus the “pop” sound. I finished the round, went home and iced down the knee. It was swollen, fluid was present and it hurt……a lot!

I made an appointment to see Dr. Baylis after I returned from my golf tournament, where I played 90 holes of golf in three days.

After seeing the doctor, we did an MRI, which revealed, that I stretched my ACL, loosened the anchor point, and tore my posterior cruciate ligament, as well as tearing several areas of meniscus.

Fortunately, no surgery is required…at this time. Rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory medication is the treatment in order to prolong the time until the next surgery is required. Sort of bad news, good news!

After doing the MRI, the next day, my left shoulder stopped working!!!! I had no strength, and couldn’t lift my arm above horizontal. It appears after the Tequila wore off, my shoulder is damaged. The Doctor thinks it is a torn rotator cuff. Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An MRI, yes, another one, I suspect I should be glowing in the dark fairly soon, was done Monday and I am awaiting the results. Hopefully, this won’t require surgery or if it does, it won’t be as extensive as the surgery on my right shoulder was in 2012.

The knees have simmered down to the point where there is minimal pain. I am wearing a pair of ACE knee braces whenever I do anything strenuous…….like walking!

What does this mean for the running career? It means that I will more than likely run/walk with my wife at the Disney Wine and Dine half marathon in November, then, hang up the running shoes.

The blog will then concentrate on cooking, cycling, events, and hopefully, if all goes as planned, “Project Barracuda”! 😉

Thanks to all of those that have followed me on this blog, Facebook and Linkedin. Your support is greatly appreciated!

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! 🙂

 

It has been a long time……………………………………………..

It has been over three months since my last post!

Something unexpected happened during the training for the A1A Marathon. The first of which, was, we bought a new house!

The 125 mile daily commute for the wife  and the two hours of my day being absorbed by taking Marshall back and forth to school, were beginning to wear us out. We were looking for a home for nearly six months, and finally, found one that was suitable in Palm City. We are very close to the water and the schools are some of the best in the State for Marshall. We don’t have a pool, but do have a hot tub!

We closed on December 30, 2013. During the last month and a half, I tore out the trim, had all of the walls textured, added new flooring, and painted the new home. Meanwhile, I still had to get the old home ready to move. It is amazing how much stuff you accumulate in 15 years!  We did the big move the 25th of January. We are almost settled in and the old house is almost ready for renting.

Marshall loves his new school and riding the bus……….which picks him up and drops him off right in our backyard!!! I get 2 hours of my life back!!! The 2 hours driven by my wife back and forth to work has been trimmed down to 14 minutes………with traffic! Not to mention, this place is paradise!

Since the last race, my right knee hasn’t gotten any better. I ran a total of three miles in the last three months. Fortunately, all the work and running around to both houses has kept the weight down. Race day weigh in was 228 pounds. And now…off to the race…..

Saturday: We went to the old house to set up the pull out couch/bed and then, went to the Expo which was at the Fort Lauderdale Convention center. As usual, the traffic was brutal even at 10:30 am on a Saturday. Once we got in, the Expo was great and we collected the most swag ever at an Expo!!

Next we went back to the old house to move a few things then to lunch. A little boy came to the house and started playing with Marshall….three hours later and no lunch, we took Marshal to his Aunts house and we went to Carrabbas for dinner. I had the usual “Johnny” and the mussels with a couple of glasses of Sangria!

We went back to the old home and went to bed watching “Interview with the Vampire” dvd on the laptop. In what seemed to be 10 minutes, it was 2:49 am…..time to get up!

Raceday: I got up and took a hot bath. The wife had breakfast, then took a shower. We got dressed and drove to the VIP parking lot. The VIP parking lot is at the finish line of the race, so you don’t have to lug a bunch of stuff to the UPS check-in, then retrieve it after the race. The Durango had all of our “post-race” supplies! 🙂

The only issue I have with this race is the restrooms…or lack of them. For some unknown reason, the City of Fort Lauderdale doesn’t open up the beach and convention center restrooms, so you are left with a bunch of port a potties, which even under the best conditions, are not something you want to deal with 15 minutes before the race!

The singing of the National Anthem

Speaking of which, this is the first race I feared I would experience a “fecal encounter of the worst kind”! I had my usual elimination at the house and felt that would be it. On the way to the parking lot, I felt the sensation of an impending explosion. I made it to the port a potty in the nick of time and thought I was done. When we got near the starting line, I felt the “feeling” again and had to wait in the lines for the port-a-potties at the starting line. I go in the potty and no toilet paper!!!!! Back out to a different line. I entered another potty, did what needed to be done, came out to hear “5 minutes to race start”!!!!!

The race:

As I had done no training to speak of for this race, I wanted to take it easy and  shot for a 13 minute/mile pace.

Mile 1: 12:46

Mile 2: 12:46

Mile 3:12:57

The sails at A1A and Las Olas Blvd, the 5K marker

Mile 4: 12:19

One of the few things I will miss about Fort Lauderdale, the morning sunrise on the beach!

Mile 5: 12:52

Mile 6: 12:31

Mile 7: 13:01

Mile 8: 13:12

Mile 9: 13: 21

Mile 10: 12:58

Mile 11: 12:59

Mile 12: 13:07

Mile 13: 13:48 There is an extra tenth of a mile here!

Endomondo Final time:   2:54:10       Pace:12:58

Official time: 2: 52: 57  Official pace: 13:12

Looking back on last years event, which was my personal best run, the time was 2:46:24 and a pace of 12:42. Only 6 minutes slower with no training!!

Back to the Durango for a snack and to wait for the wife to finish.

Left over steak and lobster for a post-race snack!

The race medal and a Redbridge beer to celebrate!

The aftermath:

Aside from a massive blister on my right side pinky toe, no injuries to speak of. The right knee actually feels better today than it did before the race. The left knee is fine as well. The bone spurs in both feet are a little sore and my quadriceps are also a little sore, but two trips to the hot tub and all is well.

The diet for this race was low carbohydrate as the two previous races have been. I had no fuel issues and ran across the finish line! The only thing different in this race from the others, was that I consumed three bottles of Gatorade two days before the race, drank more water than I thought was possible prior to the race, and then, at the race had at least two cups of water at every water station. I had five bottles of Gatorade on my fuel belt and ran out at mile 12.  At the expo I picked up this handy key holder, so I can add another bottle to my fuel belt which will make 7 total. At the next race, all will be filled with Gatorade.

After the cramping issues of the last two races, I decided to over-hydrate to try to prevent it from happening this race. That strategy seems to have worked as there wasn’t a hint of a cramp the entire race.

Some have said shoes don’t make much of a difference. For me, they do. Since switching to the Saucony Omni 12 shoes, I haven’t had even a slight bit of pain in my shins! My knees don’t hurt, and, these shoes seem to wear much better. To bad they are too small! Walking around in the 4E sized shoes, then switching to the 2E race shoes, there was an immediate difference!!! That is what accounted for the blister on my right toe. I will be looking into getting a stability shoe in size 4E that doesn’t weigh a pound each!

The next two weeks will be spent finishing off the two houses and then training will begin for the next race, hopefully in April. We may also run the “Halloween Half” in Stuart, then the Disney Wine and Dine race in November. For 2015, if all goes well, I will run the A1A Marathon! Really…I will! 🙂

The wife had asked me prior to the race, if I was going to turn for the half, or go straight for the full marathon when that point came in the race. As I approached that point, I was tempted to go straight, but brains seemed to have triumphed brawn and I went for the half. Could I have run the full marathon? Possibly………but looking at some of the people finishing at the 5-hour mark, perhaps not quite yet!!

All in all, I am very pleased with the outcome. I made the run in a respectable time, and when they announced my name crossing the finish line as a marathon finisher, I had to yell “No…it is only the half”, which was kind of funny! The wife finished the race, with no training either, and experienced no major injuries. Great job honey!!! 🙂

Maybe it is the beach or the fact that this is our home track, but if they had a race next month, we would run it! It is so far, my favorite race!

Now that the move is complete, I can get back to blogging and hopefully some fishing as the boat is the last thing left to move!

Race week simulation

This week is  race week simulation of the upcoming Wine and Dine race, three weeks from now.

But first, the weekend!

I got a call from my good friend Paul that he was making a trip to his Keys house and I was asked to go. A weekend of diving and fishing in the Keys…I just can’t pass up! So, seven of the “usual suspects” were rounded up. Some went by car, others, like myself, accompanied Paul down from Lighthouse Point to Islamirada by boat.

Here we are under power:

Time for a little fishing:

Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera when we took a little ride into the inlet to watch the sunset, but, here is Sunday mornings sunrise:

All in all a relaxing weekend. Thanks again Paul!

Of course, there always has to be at least one incident. While I was putting away my dive gear in the back of the boat, the large hatch fell and landed directly on the joint of my big toe. Here is the result of that:

I suspect right around mile 10 of the Wine and Dine race, my toenail will fall off!

Tomorrow will be a quick, hopefully, three-mile run and this Saturday, we have the Breast Cancer Awareness run/walk in the morning, then I will attempt to run 13.1 miles Saturday night.

If you wish to donate, please follow this link: Donations

I’ll post the results of that run Sunday, if all goes well.

It would also appear, that I probably shouldn’t have eaten the delicious fried grouper, redfish, and snapper Saturday night. I thought I got all the breading off, but alas, yesterday started the violence that is being “gluten-ized”. The bloat, weight gain, and bathroom issues are in full swing. Hopefully, by tomorrow, everything will have “cleared” my system. If not, the three-mile run will be very interesting!

The diet this week will be very low carbohydrates and a minor variation of the Atkins diet. This will help with losing the 8 pounds I gained in three days and also help get my system working so I will be burning fat  during the run Saturday night.

Until Sunday………..Run, run, run run run…..

Back in Black!

Since I wore my black Tower of Terror shirt to the gym, that is the title of the post today!

Speaking of the gym:

EXERCISES	Calories	Minutes	Sets	Reps	Weight
Strength Training
Seated Biceps Curl			3	15	70
Shoulder Press			3	10	90
Shoulder shrugs for traps			2	20	35
Standard Bench Press			3	12	155
The 21’s			3	7	15
Triceps Pull-down			3	12	95
TOTALS:	0	0	17	76	460

A very nice workout, with no pain. So far, I have managed to have a workout and a round of golf with no pain! I can’t wait to start running next month. Seeing the wife come back from her six-mile run yesterday really got me antsy!

In preparation for my return to running, I am on a full-blown Atkins induction diet for the next two weeks. After that, I will be in Sebring for almost a week for my annual golf tournament. I’ll try to stay on the diet………………………………….. 🙂

This is a big week for young Marshall as he has orientation Wednesday and his “entrance exam”, really, an entrance exam for kindergarten, Friday. All we had to do was show up! He is excited because we went to his new school, Renaissance at University, last week to drop of his medical clearance, and doesn’t want to go to his “crappy” old school anymore. Saturday we got uniforms for him..another $200.00! We have to get all of his school supplies this weekend.

Tomorrow would be a run day, but, as I am still under the doctor imposed ban from running, I’ll have to find something else to do. The last three months, and in particular, the last two weeks have really added a few unwanted pounds, which will be gone in a short week! I think a round of golf may be in the works as nine holes in a year really isn’t a good tune up for 100 holes of golf!

The food diary will be posted tomorrow along with whatever type of “cardio” workout I decide on.

Everyone have a great day!