The Last Man to Run

It's been a bit of time since I have had time to publish on here, which is too bad because I had one of my most exciting experiences ever. I went for about 5 miles a couple of weekends ago. And while I paid for it later, I will say it was well worth it. My knees were actually inflamed by the end of the day. In my inexperienced opinion, I must have been doing something wrong, something incorrectly with my form. That was a fair price to pay for the exhilarating experience that is Runner's High. My friend Will got me to push myself yet again. I was really worried and afraid to go for 5 miles because it sounded intimidating but more than anything I didn't want to be lame and slow Will down.Fortunately he's very good at dealing with my rookie-ness. This allowed me to push past mile 1, then uphill onto mile 2, then down hill for mile 3 and then... boom!! There it was. I remember thinking "I feel good, I'm feeling pretty good right now" then I just kept g...

This week I have tried to go hit it hard, but after only half a mile, wear out sets in, it becomes a mental battle just to keep going for that first mile. Mile 2 seems almost unreachable. At least that's how it was 3 days ago. I ran again last night, it was cold, and that made it a bit more painful than usual. Because I've never done that before, my chest became yet another thing to battle; another element to try to push out of my mind. I tried to go for a fast mile and after less than half a mile it became painful to breathe. You know, that blood taste feeling in your mouth. It was hard and discouraging. However, I did another 8 minute mile, which is my fastest mark to date and I hadn't done that in a few days. That was a little encouraging but just a little, after all I am not training for a sprint but for endurance and distance. Does anyone have any tips for running in the cold? I'm still feeling its effects in my esophagus. Thanks for the comments and advice....

It is totally logical to rest and the concept of recovery. However, I have found through unfortunate circumstances that even what seems like just a little rest can be detrimental. I was sick for almost a week and then I traveled for work for almost a week, back to back. This made for 1 run in almost a week and a half. I tried going for a quick 2 mile run last night and after the first mile was done, so was I. The side shin splits were burning so bad, and it didn't matter how much mental toughness I wanted to apply the pain got me. Last time I ran I did a fulfilling 4 miles, and I swear it wasn't much harder than last nights 2 miles. The moral of the story: Resting does have value. Too much rest seems to have no value. At least not for starting amateurs such as myself. I did read an article about Bernard Lagat, the U.S. Olympian who's pushing the boundaries of running and age. Most people figured he'd be out of his prime and competitiveness because he's 37. Yet,...

I had an interesting thought today. I went out for a run, predetermined to push myself a bit more than I had in the past. I set a distance goal in my head and then went for it. 2 things happened: ONE: I made it in better fashion than expected. I went from point A to point B without stopping - something I didn't think I was ready for at least for a couple of weeks. And TWO, when I shared my accomplishment on Facebook, someone commented "I wish I could do that too"; which evoked a series of thoughts in my head, leading to this one in specific: there are no rules when you go running. Anyone can do it, but you have to want to. I didn't just wish I could do it, well, maybe once upon a time I did but that was never enough. I decided I would go as far one way or another. I didn't worry about the details i.e. my speed or how often I would stop. I just started reading a book my friend, running partner and volunteer trainer Will lent me - Runner's World Complete B...

Sometimes you should push yourself as much as you believe you can handle, because you know what you can do and when it's too much. Sometimes. Then sometimes, you should find a way to be pushed and find out just how far you can really go. Especially if you're not being honest with yourself anymore. I might have been at that point, maybe, maybe not; however I ended up being pushed and I'm glad it happened. The same friend who took me to get a gate analysis, and get my awesome shoes, tells me he can get me ready for a half marathon in a month. Ok. I'd love to see that. I'd LOVE to do that, so here we go. I'm going to let him push me and see how far I can get; because honestly speaking I never would have pushed myself that hard. We went out for a run at 6:45 which is a push in and of itself - it's the first time I've been up before 7am in a LONG time - and hit the chilly pavement on a chilly morning yesterday. By the time everything was said and done we...

I finally was able to run 2 miles non-stop. Not a big deal for most, but a big deal for me. The farthest I had done without stopping was maybe 1.2 miles. This time it was actually closer to 2.2 miles. It was also the last time I ran in my Fila Skeletoes (I got my new Brooks PureContact the 2 days later). In the book Born to Run, Caballo Blanco tells Chris McDougall that the first step to running like him (caballo) is to make it easy. That is what I focused on this time. I wasn't worried about time, or speed or what anyone thought. I was only worried about making it easy. This meant going very slow and really concentrating on my form. Slow and steady wins the race? Maybe. Maybe not. But I dare say that because I didn't do any recovery walks I actually ran the 2 miles faster than I have before. It is also worthy of mention that I did this mainly because of how much my feet had been hurting, probably mostly from using my skeletoes - which saddens me because I loved them so ...

THE NEXT NEEDFUL STEP: In my last posts I've shared how much my feet hurt. It could be that I was too much gone-hoe about running, but I don't think that's it at all. It could be that I went recklessly gone-hoe. Yeah, I can go with that. The thing is, when you're going to do something you've never done before and that you're not a fan of, it's hard to go at it half-heartedly; you have to overcompesate - I think - and go bold. That being said, there probably is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. I might have gone a little too far into the extreme when I decided to go barefoot style. For someone who hadn't ran before - as in the sport of running; running for an extended period of time or distance - it might have been a wise deed to ease my way into the whole thing. Barefoot style running does have its advantages and it got me excited enough to start running, but for a newbie, it is just too much too early. They gave me a good running form (this ...