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Training when you are Sick

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Today of all days? Seriously?

As I sit here and type this blog there is no simpler way to put it, “I feel like crap.” I have a cold. A nasty rhino virus has invaded the fortress. It started Friday night with a mild cough and a sore throat. Saturday I was low energy and had the full blown symptoms. And now there is today. Sunday. The day of my final long run before Disney. Right now I should be at mile 12 of my last 20 miler. It’s not happening today.

I spent the better part of 30 minutes hacking up a lung this morning upon waking. I had my PB & J for breakfast. I had my usual half cup of coffee. I went to the gym with all of my gear, gu, gatorade and gusto. I warmed up and tried to run. Energy reserve to run? Zero. Ability to breathe while running? Non-existant. Feelings of achiness, a raw throat, and huge sinus pressure? Those are in full bloom! It’s not happening today.

Live to Fight Another Day!

As I stood on the treadmill at 8:15am having ran the most painful half mile in some time and then stopping I realized I had to do something. So I walked. I walked for an hour then I went to the bike. I biked for 30 minutes. 3+ miles on the treadmill and 8 miles on the bike. All of it was easy. It’ll have to do.

Research tells us that after a bout of exercise our immune system takes a hit and isn’t as robust as it usually is at defending against little critters like a rhino virus. Don’t read too much into this though as research also tells us that people who exercise on a regular basis have stronger immune systems than those people who don’t exercise regularly. So for us regulars our immune system still takes a dip after a run or other type of exercise, but we are starting at a higher level of immune system strength. Still this is one good reason not to train at an intense level while you are sick. If your body is fighting something off and you decide to go ahead then you may prolong the time it takes to get over the cold or other ailment. If the symptoms are severe then I would take a rest day regardless. If the symptoms are more mild then just take it easy and don’t push it like you normally would. Cut your weights by 25%. Slow down your run. Live to fight another day.

Be Courteous to Others

One more thing. For the sake of others skip the group fitness classes when you are sick. It’s not cool to expose others to your germs just so you get a workout in for the day. If you are going to the gym like I did then wipe everything down that you touch. Every gym now days has the paper towels and the antibacterial spray. I made sure to wipe down my treadmill and bike both before and after my sessions today. I also tried to get away from people as much as possible by using the machines that were away from others. Yep, I was that guy way over against the wall today on that last treadmill. If we all did a little better job of wiping machines down when we’re finished then we’d all write a lot fewer blogs about training while we’re sick. Self serving I know, but this cold is making me irritable.  😉

Happy New Year! Happy & Healthy Training!

Brian

Marathon Training, runDisney

Taper Time for Disney!

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A Final Long Run

I have one more long run tomorrow and it will be time to taper for the Walt Disney World Marathon! Tomorrow is my 20 miler. I’ve done 15, 17, and 18 mile runs over the last few weeks building up to this final run for my usual “cross the finish line” training plan. I plan for it to take a full 4 hours. Unfortunately I caught a rhino virus over Christmas that decided to finally show up last night so Sunday’s 20 mile run should be interesting. As usual my long run will be slow or what runners call an LSD, a long slow distance run. If it were anything but the common cold I might have to skip the 20 miler and start tapering now, but we’ll see how it goes tomorrow. It may be that I do a 4 hour walk on Sunday which would be closer to a 12-13 miler, but regardless I am in it for a 4-hour time period.

I want to make sure that I am ready to stay on my feet and in motion for Sunday January 13th. I’ll be running the Disney Marathon with a friend who is going for her first Goofy challenge. It will also be her first marathon so having a couple people along for moral support will be a big help! You may even know her from the blog she writes! My friend is the force behind the We Wants the Redhead blog! Check it out!

We both run on the WDW Radio Running Team to raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation through the Dream Team Project. We run to grant a child’s wish to go to Walt Disney World, a worthy cause if ever there was one! If you have an extra $5 dollars I would greatly appreciate the donation. I will be happy to dedicate a mile or two to you!

The Taper

Tapering is always interesting as you reduce your level of training significantly to allow your body rest, recovery, and repair for the big day. Next week assuming my cold is gone I will still do a tempo run and a day of interval training, but I won’t go for the top end speed as I usually would for those types of training. I’ll also decrease the amount of strength training I do to just one or two days as that kind of training can make you a bit tight and tapering is also about getting loose for the big day.

Two things I will increase are my time on the elliptical and sleep!  I’ll do the elliptical to maintain my calorie burn for the week. The holidays have not been kind to the number on my scale so over the next two weeks I am focused on a structured nutrition program and getting a good calorie burn each day.

The week leading up to the marathon will be light and primarily just easy sessions on the elliptical along with a couple short runs of less than 5-miles at an effortless pace and no weight lifting. Rest rest rest is on the training agenda!

I’m really looking forward to running my 3rd Disney Marathon. This will be my 6th full marathon overall and my 8th runDisney race! I hope to see some of you at Walt Disney World in a couple weeks!

Happy Training!

Brian

You can also follow me on Twitter @TheRunningMan23

Goals, Inspiration, Marathon Training

Back on Track to being Motivated

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It’s been tough getting motivated to train over the last few weeks. My heart has just not been in it and with the holidays there is plenty to keep me doing other things than hitting the gym on a regular basis. One thing that motivated me two weekends ago was a fellow Daily Mile member who had asked for anyone who could run to go out for a mile or two since he was injured and “on the bench.” That day I managed to go outside and run an easy 5K.  Last weekend I managed a nice 10+ mile run at the gym. The miles were easy as I watched ESPN on the treadmill. This was a confidence booster as I hadn’t ran over 5 miles in several weeks. The next day I felt great with zero soreness giving testament to my enduring fitness level even though I had been taking it easy with only 1-2 workouts a week. Goes to show you that fitness does go away, but it doesn’t go away overnight.

This also reinforces that it’s okay to take some time off and cut back as long as it doesn’t turn into six months of doing nothing. I was hitting the gym 1-2 times per week getting a lot of extra sleep and recouping physically, mentally, and motivationally. Now it’s go time as I have a full marathon at Walt Disney World in 45 days!

Last Sunday I did my 10 miler. Monday I hit the elliptical and some light weight lifting. Tuesday I did some speed work on the treadmill with twelve 400m repeats. Today I duplicated Monday’s workout.

So I feel like I’m back on track, but with that being said I’d like to lend some advice on getting back on track to finding your motivation again when it gets lost in the woods.

Ways to Find your Motivation

  1. Start Small
    1. Just like when you first started being more active if you’ve been away for two weeks or two months don’t try to pick back up exactly where you left off. Go for a walk, a short run, ride a bike in front of the TV, play a sport you love, or walk your dog, but just get active again!
  2. Follow others to find motivation
    1. Someone you know likes to run, bike, swim, lift weights or play badminton. If you don’t have someone personally close to you then go out to Facebook, the daily mile, or the plethora of other websites and just watch those people go!  Many are willing to send you an “atta-boy OR atta-girl” for being active.
  3. Don’t think
    1. You can be your own worst enemy so quit thinking and start doing. Don’t sit there and talk to yourself about how busy you are for next 10 minutes. Instead use that 10 minutes to be active! A 10 minute walk is activity!
  4. Tell everyone about it
    1. Find some motivation by posting what you did on a website or start your own blog. If not then just tell the first person you see who asks, “How are you today?”  The response, “I’m good! I hit the gym this morning.” If you have a specific goal tell them about that too. Nothing motivates you more than knowing that everyone knows, you know?
  5. Find a goal
    1. Find something far enough in the future that you can train for it, but close enough that you need to start now.  Looking forward to a half marathon a year from now means you could slack for six months and still do it.  Registering for a 10K six weeks from now means you need to get going now!
  6. Daily reminders
    1. Put it on your calendar at work to remind you daily about your goal. Add an update to your mobile phone. Write a note and put it on the fridge!
  7. Find a buddy
    1. You don’t have to do the same workout, but just being accountable to someone else that you’ll show up at the gym does wonders.  You can’t let ’em down!
  8. Do your homework
    1. Subscribe to Men’s Health, Runner’s World, or some other fitness oriented magazine. Reading about exercise will keep it on your mind and perhaps motivate you to try new things.  You can also go to Amazon.com and find some great books on running or just about any other sport or form of exercise. Go for those inspiring stories that make you want to run out the door at 3am for a 10K run! No extra cash to buy these things?  No problem. Follow a few more fitness bloggers for free or “Like” a magazine on Facebook. Those sites put up free content all of the time!
  9. Get on a plan
    1. If you are returning and have a goal then write down a training plan even if it’s a simple one. Even if it’s a one week plan that you are going to repeat for the next four weeks that’s okay. Just get it down on paper.  And remember, write it in pencil.  Who knows, you may run an extra couple miles and need to edit!
  10. Talk yourself up
    1. I’ve written before about negative self talk or what I call the Voices of Doubt and I’m sure you’ve heard that voice in your head saying, “It’s too early just go back to bed.” or “Who cares about your run tomorrow when you can watch the American Idol finale now?” or worst of all “You’re not good enough. You can’t do this. You should give up.”
    2. When you hear those voices you should instantly say something positive. “I’m awake so I’m getting up.” or “I’m going to DVR American Idol, problem solved.” or “I am amazing!”  Positive self talk is a method used by both amateur and professional athletes so why not use it yourself.  Telling yourself, “I can do this!” is a great way to prove yourself right!

That’s it! 10 ways to stay motivated or get re-motivated. If you are state side I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. If you see me at Disney in January be sure to say, Hi!

Happy Training!

Brian

Follow me on Twitter @TheRunningMan23

Inspiration, runDisney

New Disney Marathon Course for 2013!

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Ok, so there I was sitting at my desk and an email hits my inbox from a friend of mine who is a fellow “runner of the world”.  The subject line of the email…”new wdw marathon course!”  Really?  I mean REALLY?!?!!? First, it’s the 20th anniversary of the Disney marathon and now runDisney tempts us with a new course as well???  Oh, come on!

Sorry….my fit is over now.

See the video of the new course!

And here’s the 2013 map!

A couple of cool additions to the marathon course AND a 20th anniversary medal!

Happy Training!

Brian

Goofy Training, Half Marathon Training, Marathon Training, Recovery

Recovering from being Goofy

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I’ve blogged before about how I feel that rest & recovery are just as important as the actual training sessions we do to prepare ourselves for any event. I’ve read about and witnessed too many fellow athletes who have pushed and pushed only to overtrain themselves to an injury when a simple day off could have prevented the “medically mandated and mandatory downtime”.

So with this in mind I want to share the methods I used during the Goofy Challenge Weekend to feel well rested and ready for the next event even after three back-to-back race days equaling 42.4 miles.

Nutrition

I want to talk about nutrition in two ways, the WHAT and the WHEN.

What: Protein & Carbs

A combination of protein and carbs is best for helping muscles, tendons, ligaments and the body as a whole recover from an intense session of training. My personal opinion is that the protein is most important, but that the carbs help increase the recovery of damaged systems. It’s fairly common knowledge that an exercise session does some amount of damage to muscles and that when recovery is allowed the muscles repair to a “bigger, stronger, faster” state.

From previous blogs you know that I am an EAS guy or a Pacific Health Labs guy. I like EAS because I can tolerate and even enjoy their ready-to-eat shakes as well as their powdered products. I would dare to say that EAS has the best tasting products I’ve ever had in the nearly 20 years that I’ve been drinking protein shakes. Every exercise session (cardio, race, weights, spin, run, etc) is followed by protein intake and many times carbs too.

When: Before, During & After

Before:

First let’s discuss carb loading. If you read a lot like I do then you know by now that the pre-race night spaghetti dinner is completely NOT needed except for the camaraderie of it all which IS important on the mental side of things. By all means go have fun chatting with fellow participants and make those connections with fellow athletes! Just don’t stuff yourself with too much pasta.

However, if you want to carb load then just sip on some Gatorade or Powerade throughout the day 24-48 hours in advance of your race or endurance event. To clarify, on the Thursday and Friday before a race I sip on Gatorade throughout the day and have a couple meals with a serving or two of carbs. This amount of carbohydrate is all that is needed to “top off the tank” before an event. Next, choose a combination of carbs and protein for your pre-race meal (breakfast usually) and stick with this for every event.  For me, I eat a peanut butter crunch cliff bar and drink some gatorade or water along with a half cup of coffee 60-90 minutes before a race.  That’s it…no big secret. This was my exact breakfast before each event of Goofy Weekend.

Finally, I do use gels and my product of choice is Accel Gels by Pacific Health Labs due to the 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein. Taking in a small amount of protein along with carbohydrate has been shown to reduce exercise induced muscle damage which is an inhibitor of performance and endurance in long distance events. This also helps reduce recovery time as there is less damage to recover from after an event.  Make sense? I pop a gel 15 minutes before my race to get a good kick start. I did this before each race on Goofy Weekend except the 5K…no need due to the shorter distance, but could have if I wanted.

During:

Not much to type here that I didn’t just type in that last paragraph. I use gels, Gataorade, Powerade, Accelerade, etc during a race or other endurance event. I used them during the Goofy Challenge as well.

One other thing I used during the full marathon was chocolate covered espresso beans. Sounds odd I know, but a handful of chocolate covered espresso beans will give you quite the mental and physical kick when you need it the most. If you want to try this be sure to see how these wonderful little magic beans interact with your digestive system BEFORE race day. In fact, I would test them several times on a long run (15-20 miles) before employing them for an event. I had my wife carry them and hand them to me around mile 11 of the course from the sidelines. Talk about a rush of mental clarity!

Finally, I did ingest a single salt packet during the marathon on Sunday (like you get from any take-out restaurant) to make sure my sodium levels were replenished in the Florida heat and humidity.

After:

Post race nutrition is many times overlooked by recreational athletes. They accept the bag of chips, cookies and bananas that the volunteers are handing out on the way to get their picture taken and call it a day. What you should be doing is realizing that as soon as you cross the finish line a stop watch starts on a window of opportunity for maximizing recovery for damaged muscles.

30-60 minutes is the window. If I have a “cheer squad” with me that day then I’ll have them carry an EAS shake to hand me as soon as I finish with my picture (Hey, I still get the pic, but I’m just thinking about the nutrition!).  If I am solo that day then I will stash an EAS shake in my gear bag at the bag check and be sure to grab it as soon as I finish. Combine the EAS shake with the free banana (or other easy carb) at the finish line and you have a combination that gets you on your way to a speedy post race recovery. You could also stash or have someone carry any other type of protein shake/recovery drink besides EAS…I just like that brand personally and EAS uses whey protein which absorbs into the body faster than other types of protein.

R.I.C.E

R.I.C.E.? Isn’t that an acronym used in first aid?  Yep! It’s also the best means by which to recover from extended exercise in my humble opinion. Though I rearrange the letters to I.C.E.R. which is slightly more difficult to remember and is only technically a real word. What is an “Icer” anyway? Sometimes a football coach is an “Icer” when they call a timeout before the opposing team’s field goal attempt. According to Webster’s dictionary an Icer has to do with baking or covering food with ice…so yeah…captain tangent…..apologies…Webster’s pushing it I think.

Ice:

Or ice bath rather. WHAT?!!? Yes, you read right. I will swear on a stack of runner’s world magazines that “taking the plunge” will do more for post-race recovery than…well…I don’t know, but it really really helps! An ice bath reduces inflammation BIG TIME and almost immediately. I take a 20 minute ice bath as soon as I can after finishing a race. I did this right after the half and full marathon on Saturday and Sunday. It made a big difference for me.

Here’s what you do.

  1. Grab a stop watch or wear a watch.
  2. Draw a bath with cold water only. Fill the tub enough to cover your legs completely.
  3. Throw in a bag of ice from the corner grocery OR just dump the entire ice container from the freezer in there.
  4. Get in for 20 minutes.

That’s it. Take a deep breath and take the plunge. I did this every Saturday after every long run for almost a year when I first started running and I truly believe it helped me recover from those long runs.

Compression:

There are many products on the market for compression including a simple ACE bandage from the drug store. I go a little more high tech with mine and use Zoots compression gear. I’ll admit they are a bit expensive, but they are designed for triathletes and are at the top of the list for quality.

The story behind compression gear is that it forces lactic acid and other waste products out of the lower limbs for a faster recovery. As an example compression socks are used in hospitals post surgery for the same reason. A good product will have enough pressure to even raise your heart rate a bit as it will need to work harder in order to force blood flow into the lower leg. If you happen to have any cardiac or blood pressure issues it would be advisable to check with your doctor before using these products for recovery.

As soon as I dried off from the ice bath I put on my Zoots compression socks for the remainder of the evening. I even slept in them the night of the marathon.

Elevation:

For ninety minutes to two hours I elevated my legs with a pillow after each Goofy event. This is just a common knowledge practice. Use gravity to help return blood to the heart and help to remove waste from the legs. I also (as much as possible) tried to sleep with my legs elevated…at least I started off sleeping that way.

Rest:

This goes right along with the elevation piece. Notice I didn’t go walk around the parks Saturday night…I rested.  Yeah, it killed me to do so for the second straight year…I need more park time that doesn’t include stopping for Biofreeze! 🙂

So anyway, I rested after the half on Saturday and then had a nice early dinner, caught a sit down show (Cirque du Soleil) then went to bed shortly after 9:00pm. On Sunday I did all the previous and then took a short nap before heading to EPCOT in the afternoon.

On a rest side note I also took it easy on Friday before the half marathon and I went to bed early. Rest isn’t always about recovery.

Finally, after I completed the Goofy I have taken it easy for a week afterwards in regards to running and training in general. I was planning on getting back to the gym a week ago, but have been sidelined by a nasty rhino virus after my own mandatory week of recovery so I ended up with two weeks of inactivity (rest) before initiating training for my next race. I’m back in the gym this coming week though and ready to start training for the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon. I’m hoping for a PR this year!

So that’s it. I feel that I have a good recovery regimen for endurance events. That being said I am always looking for something to add so I can recover better or faster.

Happy Training!

Brian

Goofy Training, Why we train

The 2012 Goofy Challenge Recap

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This is my first multi-page post (fancy I know). Please click the title of the post above if you don’t see the page numbers at the bottom of the first page.  🙂

The 2012 Goofy Challenge is over and I am happy to say I arrived on the other side of 39.3 miles (+3.1) unscathed!  Kate and I arrived at Disney World on Thursday this year and went straight to the Expo after dropping by the hotel to see if our room was ready (it wasn’t). We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacation near the Vineland Premium Outlets just a 5 minute drive from Disney property.  Why stay off property you ask?  Two words…Jacuzzi Tub, but more on that later!

While at the Expo I picked up a new wardrobe of running shirts as each of the three races came with a shirt and I also purchased Goofy Challenge memorabilia and two coast-to-coast challenge shirts as I’m doing the Disneyland Half Marathon in September. Be sure to register on January 18th, 2012 if you missed the registration at the Expo!

One of the best things about the Expo was getting to meet a long time twitter follower, Facebook friend, and Disney Mom’s Panelist…Deborah Bowen also known as @DisneyDeborah on Twitter!

I met Deborah for the first time Thursday!
Deborah after crossing the Marathon finish line!

Deborah is not only a fantastic person and friend, but also completed her first full marathon on Sunday!  So proud of her!

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FIRST Training Program, Goofy Training, Marathon Training, Uncategorized, Weight Loss

Dealing with “the voices” of Doubt

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So there are only a few days left until the big event. You’ve trained relentlessly (at times) for your [insert your race distance here] and you are ready to go!!  ….but now come the voices of doubt.  You know them all too well and they can strike at any time including both before and during a race. You’ve even heard them before while training. The voices are fueled by self doubt, lack of confidence, good old fashioned worry, and a host of other things that may or may not be real except when those voices start whispering. They are silent at times but are always sitting there on your shoulder right or left (right for me).  They can get down right nasty at times too!  I think mine drinks.

The voices say all sorts of things about a plethora of subjects…they include your previous training, how you’re feeling right now, “Is your knee feeling ok?” “Did you taper too soon?…not soon enough?” “Is that sneeze from the pepper on the potatoes or are you getting sick? You don’t have time to get sick!”  “Did you hydrate enough?  You should drink another glass of water just in case…dang you have to pee again?…fourth time this hour.” “Did you do enough speed work?” “What if there are hills??  Indiana is flat!…you didn’t train for hills!!” “What if you come in last?” “Was that 20 miler long enough for the longest long run?” ” What if the “lagin wagon” catches you??” “How can THAT GUY have passed you?? …you’re half his size?!?” “Should you use the GU now or wait until the time dictated on the package?? You could use one now, right?!?” “Will 10 GUs be enough for the full-marathon?” “Should you wear your iPod on the right or left?” “Do your shoes have too many miles on them for this event?…not enough miles??”  “Will you have enough time to stop for pictures AND maintain the minimum pace? You have to pee yet again???  You shouldn’t have had that 6th glass of water.”

I realized some time ago that the voices never go away…they just get a tad bit quieter over time.  I’ve also compiled tips for combating these infernal conveyors of bad tidings.

I call it “My Ten Tips for Combating the Infernal Conveyors of Bad Tidings.” Catchy title right?

  • Train regularly. Have a plan and stick to it!
    • The plan should be written down…in pencil. If you can’t get your scheduled 5 miler in then do a 1 miler…
  • Keep track of your numbers so you can celebrate every victory no matter how small.
    • Weight, speed, distance, time, heart rate, eating breakfast every day…whatever you want to track!
  • Plan your training to be a part of your life not a temporary substitute for it.
    • My day includes training. Doesn’t feel right without it!
  • Practice smiling while you train. <– This one small act may be the most important.
    • Do this especially when you’re having a rough go of it during a training session.
    • I always smile any time I run over 10 miles…can’t help it.
  • Tell people about what you’ve got planned.
    • It’s amazing what you can do when you’re accountable to others.
  • Positive self-talk.
    • This is an actual technique used by professional athletes. Tell yourself how awesome you are…try it now.  Feels good doesn’t it!?!?
  • Visualize your Win.
    • This is another technique used by professional athletes. See yourself crossing the finish line.
  • Have multiple goals for an event.
    • A PR is nice, but won’t happen every time. Enjoyment CAN and SHOULD be a goal. Consistency can be another. If you run a half or 5K at the same speed two years in a row then you’ve maintained a good level of fitness so congrats!!
  • Have a planned routine for race day.  I call it my “pre-game”.  Stick to it!
    • I even bring my own cereal with me to overnight events so as to have my pre-game breakfast
  • Relax.
    • There are 20,000 other runners who are also in no danger of winning the race. We all get the same medal and nearly every one of those 20K will say, “congrats” when they see it hanging around your neck. I will. You do the same!

Bonus Tip!

This one is a little strange. At some point the voices will come calling…they always do. My advice is to have a reply ready. Mental preparedness goes a long way to putting a muzzle on self doubt.

Examples:

The Voices: “It’s too cold out here.”  The reply: “Better get running to warm up then.”

The Voices: “The knee is feeling stiff today.”  The reply: “I’ll take a little longer warm up and it’ll loosen up. Give it time.”

The Voices: “You’re not ready for this race.” The reply: “I’ve trained for this day. Worst case, I just cross the finish line and I’m OK with that.”

The Voices: “You need another 10-miler before the race next week.” The reply: “It’s taper time now so I’m sticking to the plan. Better to be over rested than over trained.”

I hope these tips help you when the voices just won’t do the right thing and shut-up.  😉

Happy Training!

Brian

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

-Marianne Williamson

Goofy Training, Marathon Training

Goofy (Dopey) Packing!!

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The time has come to make the packing list for the 2012 Disney World Marathon Weekend!  This year is a bit different for me since I’m packing for not one, NOT two, but THREE RACES!  I must be well…..Dopey!

The List:

  • Running Waivers x2 – I can print them at the Expo, but why have an extra step…I want my BIBs NOW!
  • Running Shoes x 2 –  A single pair may not be dry by the time the marathon rolls around at 3am after completing the half the previous day!
  • Running Socks x 3 pair – I use Under Armour Socks
  • WDW Radio Running Team Shirts x3 – Gotta Represent!
  • WDW Radio Running Team Bandanas x 3 – Still Representing!
  • Under Armour Cold Gear – 2 tops & 2 bottoms – It’s usually in the mid-30s on the morning of the races and one year there was freezing rain…
  • Combos Snacks – Pizza or Cheddar Cheese Flavor (I just like ’em)
  • Running shorts x 3 – A little extra warmth and wind resistance…down there.
  • Gels – I use Pacific Labs Accel Gels since they have a little protein to improve endurance
  • Body Glide – A must for multiple races!
  • EAS Shakes x3 – For recovery…of which there is very little between these races so nutrition is extra important!
  • iPod – Gotta make sure I can shuffle everyday
  • iPod arm case – I’m not carrying it for 42.4 miles…it’ll get heavy!
  • yurBuds – Gotta have these or I can’t use my iPod…small ear lobes
  • Knee braces x2 – What? I’m not superman….it’s 42.4 miles!!
  • Extra safety pins for pinning on the bibs (I need 8 total)
  • Bio Freeze – Good to have Saturday….praying there’s some left Sunday…
  • Ibuprofen – For Monday….and the rest of the week too.
  • More ibuprofen….
  • BlackBerry – For updating Facebook & Twitter along the course as well as camera purposes
  • Large Trash Bags x 3 – For extra warmth – Hefty Hefty Heeefty!
  • Fuel Belt – To carry gels and such
  • Sport watch or GPS device – If you so desire!

Ok, if I sat here longer I could probably think of other things to add to the list but these are my minimums for MY trip.

Hope to see some of you down there at Disney either running beside me or cheering me on as I run by!

Happy Training!

Brian

Goofy Training, Marathon Training

Tapering for the Dopey Challenge

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It’s that time in my training to start the tapering process and I couldn’t be happier.  The Monumental Marathon in early November did something to my left knee so I’ve been babying it ever since. I actually started last week (1 week early) due to the knee.  I finished up my last long run of 20 miles a couple weekends ago and then ran the Jingle Bell Run last weekend.

Today I ran my first 4 miles with zero pain, twinges or other knee maladies! Woo!  Still I have a short 10-12 miler this weekend and I’m hoping between my rehab efforts and my knee brace I will get thru just fine. I also switched back to an older pair of shoes I had that seemed to help a bit.

In other news I am working out in the mornings again for a few weeks and have even done a couple two-a-day workouts to get a little more weight lifting and easy cardio in for the holiday season.  My wife and my mother are both excellent cooks so I have to burn some extra calories somewhere!  🙂 Christmas is the time to go ahead and have that slice of pumpkin pie or a few more slices of turkey…just run an extra mile or two to make up for the splurge!

My next post will be all about packing for the trip down to Disney World.  I’ll need a bit of equipment to get thru 42.4 miles!

Happy Training!

Brian

Goofy Training, Marathon Training

Jingle Bell Run 2011

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Before I go into my race day description of the Jingle Bell Run (JBR) in Indianapolis I want to tell you a bit about the organization I ran for this past weekend. The Arthritis Foundation puts on the JBR and is a non-profit that supports research for all types of arthritis of which there are many. I run this event and take part in other Arthritis Foundation events since I have family who suffer from arthritis every day and because it is a very misunderstood chronic disease that afflicts not only senior citizens, but also children and people of all ages. Arthritis is not just something you get when you get older!

And back to the race!  The day started out chilly as usual, but even colder than last year’s JBR as it was a brisk 19 degrees at the start.  I waited as long as I could inside before venturing out to the start line.  The event starts and finishes at Conseco Fieldhouse where the Indianapolis NBA team plays. The race started at 9:00am and nearly 2000 runners surged ahead for a quick run around downtown Indianapolis. After 2-3 blocks we came upon our first turn and came directly into a construction zone.  The city is doing a lot of construction in preparation for Super Bowl 2012 and we got to run through the “progress” for that event. The pack of runners narrowed into one lane forcing everyone to slow and even some to walk…I was a tad unhappy at this since we all hope for a PR for any event whenever we can get it.

A few blocks later the road opened back up and we were off at top speed once again. The course takes runners through the Mass Ave shopping district to cut over to Meridian Street, back up to the City Circle where we made our final cut back over to Pennsylvania Street for the big finish in front of Conseco.

I wish I could say the day ended with a PR, but my 00:27:24.7 this year will have to do. Last year my time was 00:27:04.8 so just a little faster.  I would loved to have seen what my time would have been without the construction zone delay, but I’ll keep this post positive and not go down that track of discussion. Still, missing a PR by less than 20 seconds is a tad disappointing.

This is my last race of 2011 and it was a good one for a good cause.  My next three races all happen in one weekend next month when I travel South to tackle the Goofy Challenge (+5K on Friday) at Walt Disney World!