15:16 half minded

Wendy and I ran the East Peoria FOLEPI four miler last month for our season ender. I went out with a 44 minute time and she got a cool 37 minutes. Exercise tolerance on my part has gotten to its worst levels I can recall most likely due to my medications. If giving up was an option I'd sign up! However we are looking forward to 2016 with a half marathon already on the radar and training slated to start in February. Wendy continues to train indoors on the treadmill as I have shifted my focus to spin and rpm classes along with weight training. I'm scheduled for another semester at Southern Illinois University, am more actively then ever pursuing a career change, and will also expect my guitar playing and gun range time to increase putting yet more stress on my exercise schedule but my goals are not going to drop. I'm currently injury free and will just be hoping for a breakout year as I usually do, packed full of planned changes. I plan to go with new inserts and a more expensive USA made shoe collection for the year along with the usual round of supplement cycles and taping/banding to increase exercise tolerance and reduce physical injuries/flares. I received a hydrocortisone shot yesterday for inflammation not related to my usual back and knee injuries but should help. I don't plan to have them regularly. I did receive over 25 Sarapin shots in my lower back, had over 10 physical therapy sessions and started inversion treatments to keep my back online. Fingers crossed. I also hope to get my daughter into the kids series running circuit again and maintain my biking mileage. Happy trails!

No tricks, No treats 2015

I've managed to hit 140 miles running and 430 biking so far in 2015. I'm pretty happy with those numbers given my state of periodic injury. I started lumbar shots with Sarapin a couple weeks ago, some chiropractic and physical therapy also was started. I will be going on a maintenance plan in two weeks and keeping up on my knee also. I still have some unreasonable days, but the light is coming. Wendy and I ran the Das Bier 5k last month and received decent times. I came in around 32 minutes and she clocked a 29 minute finish and won third place for her division. I also ran the Morton pumpkin festival 10k the day before in about an hour and four minutes. That was a fun race and my first time doing it. For a longer course I really enjoyed the scenery and breakfast afterwards. Now we are training for a 5k fun run put on by the Peoria brewery company at the end of this month and we both hope to pull off the magic number 29. We shall see. After that we will be eying our annual Jingle Bell 5k, and possibly a Folepi hit. We still have decided not to commit to another half marathon, but I would be lying if I said I didn't think about the St. Jude Nashville one every other day! The idea of overcoming my personal battles and getting a personal best at that race is a pretty strong one. Never say never. Happy running!

Short and Unsweetened----2015's 1000 mile journey.

I'm way off my favorite parts of my annual cardio goals in running and cycling with 273 miles biking (260 in may!) and 98 miles running (45 in may). I don't track resistance, circuit or cardio classes other then RMP, so it is not a complete snapshot. At the end of 2014 I reached 500 combined miles and need a 1000 combined miles by the end of this year. I'm not ruling out making goal this year as I plan to ramp up production to 46 (20r/26b) miles a week starting this week. I'm coming off a great 18 mile week in which 13 where biking and 5 were running. While not great numbers by any means, I have no sign of my knee injury and I have started my focus on breathing exercises and supplementation to increase endurance. Feels good to be at 90% again and holding!

Half there, Half training

I'm doing much better then my last post! My knee injury is 80% healed, I have no more blood clots, and my back is holding up but I have struggled with resting high blood pressure most likely due to my training plunge and bad habits!. Its always something. I landed my pw's for the 4 mile steamboat and the firecracker 5000. Those times were at 45 and 34 minutes. That was expected on my part given blood pressure numbers at 170/110 and my training has been modified. Wendy however did really well banking a 39 minute time at steamboat and a 29 minute one at the firecracker 5000.

Today we will start the IVS half marathon training and focus on high mileage. My focus has gone away from times and shifted to just being able to run without missing to much work! That has been quite a challenge since I got slammed with plantar fasciitis and blood clots back in November and my outlook on running and exercise demands have forcefully been changed as I struggle to just keep up. Its a mild speed bump and I look forward to attempting another half and/or a relay, especially after having real threats that put pressure on me to stop running this year!

Garage days-- re visited

The Nashville Country Music Half Marathon is tomorrow and Wendy and I won't be running it this year as was planned. We hit a very rough patch in mid March and decided to cancel it and focus on the Steamboat Classic 2015 4 mile race along with rejoining team steam and the IVS half marathon groups for the year. Wendy continues to train at a great pace and is already at 38 minutes on the 4 mile test runs and with my track testing last week, I am around 42 minutes.

Yesterday I was forced into a prompt care to have my knee pain examined. I have dislocated my left knee multiple times over my active years and it was getting hard to walk at work and also hard to run after medication and while wearing a support band. I was told what I have heard since I herniated my lower back discs at work 10 years ago... "You need to stop running". Every time I hear that a piece of me dies, and no its not the fat part! My response was as usual and I explained that I am not ready to quit yet, but that I did start indoor RPM biking classes last winter. That is my backup cardio for running as I age and take on more injuries, which I have become prone to. 2014 was full of them. Compartment syndrome in my shin (almost dropping me out of our half marathon), herniated disk flares (not uncommon), blood clots, plantar faccitis and a knee dislocation. 2015 has finally started with me being temporarily finished. Since that word is not in my vocabulary, I will continue to run on "good" days as I gear up for my umpteenth MRI and prepare for the upcoming Steamboat Classic. My diet has went south a little bit. My coping mechanism has long been known to be booze. Those weekly unit numbers are up and I started using electronic cigarettes again during this stressful period. Also since I now live by myself most of the week I eat more processed foods and do not follow a healthy eating pattern. I have to re adjust all these new/old trends as I gear up for more RPM classes and low mileage weeks running.

I'm in the garage for repairs physically and emotionally, but that is life at times. Sometimes we don't even make it out. Its important to count my blessings and get this year in high gear. If this was a blog about my family life including my 10 year old (going on 20) daughter and I, it would be much longer!

Happy running!

E.J.

Crossed Toes

The off season is in full swing for Wendy and I! She continues treadmill work and circuit training as I continue my cross training with biking and weights.

With the "designer steroid act" of 2014 my favorite substance to cycle on for training is much harder to get. With that said I have started pro hormone cycling and at my last race I purchased some new balance 880v4s for long distance training. The shoe is a step up from my 870s and offers comfort with mild stability control. It is a neutral foot placement shoe that is also light and very comfortable. I've done a couple successful test runs in them.

This year I'm more focused on my damaged leg veins (from a clot/knee dislocation/ankle sprain) and back injury then in the past and will be adding compression socks, and a more strict pre race anti inflammatory regiment right after I cycle off adding leg strength and other gains and during any extreme back flares. 2014 was a bad year as far as injuries and times. I had my best 4 miler time, but my worst half and 5k race. The focus this year is to keep injuries from causing such horrible time issues by trying to stay ahead of them and treat them better.

Other new things this year to help will be off time interval bike training, added leg resistance training throughout the on season, a longer lower dose pro hormone cycle, heart rate monitoring on most runs, more long distance untimed runs and joint stabilisation.

My supplementation has taken a few changes. Milk thistle, creatine, echinacea, and arginine have been boosted to 2x dosing to help with liver function, red blood cell health and muscle growth. I will also be having full blood work done after this pre and post cycle phase to ensure proper organ rebound function.

As we look forward to April I will start lessoning resistance training, take the bike miles up to January levels (80 miles a month), slowly re introduce 10-15 mile weeks of running, and move up to 20 mile weeks in mid April up until after half marathon.

My toes are crossed... This will be a make it or break it year for me as I gear up to possibly accept slower running times as I age.