Thankful

After 26 days of running, I did something I was not quite ready for; I ran in my first race since March. This morning I ran in our local Thanksgiving 5K and ran a dismal 20:04. However, I did have a great time being back in the running community on this sunny frigid day and it made me reflect on why I am thankful I am a runner. So on this day that we pause and offer thanks for all our blessings, here is a list of my top 5 running blessings:

Number 1: I am thankful for my former high school teammate and friend Shannon. After 25 years, she still loves the sport, has passed it down to her son, Tommy, and always makes me laugh and smile with her outgoing personality. (Shannon, note that I did not mention you running with an iphone today and then stuffing it in your... oh wait, I guess I just did.)

Number 2: I am thankful for my guys that I coach! On a freezing arctic morning, they chose to get up at the crack of dawn, pay $25 and give it 110% for a good cause! Not only that, they had a great time racing some of the best open/college runners in our area. You guys are savages!

Number 3: Coach Dave Bronzan. What can I say, here is the man who introduce me to a whole new world of running with his passion for the sport and he was out this morning taking pictures and encouraging all past, current and future COS runners and more!

Number 4: Our current runners who are attending and competing for Adams State, Chico State and Humboldt State who came home and ran in our local race and provide a great example for our young runners to look up to. Through their hard work, dedication and commitment, they have taken their running to a whole new level. Keep it up fellas!

Number 5: Although it was slow, I was still able to run! I can still put one foot in front of the other, the way I love to do it best! I love this sport. It is part of who I am. I have been blessed with a healthy body and I still get to enjoy cold mornings, rainy afternoons, and sunny days out on a trail pushing my body to its limits.

So to all of my running friends, have a blessed Thanksgiving, eat well, and Thank You for being a part of my running life! As always, stay healthy and keep running!

That's All You Got?!!

"Poseidon, Poseidon! Is that All You've Got?!" You might think those words came from Odysseus from the Odyssey, however, those were the very words that dripped from my training partner Lino's mouth as we turned into the torrential downpour that occurred three miles into our afternoon eight mile run. As he conjured up the Greek mythological gods to taunt them in the midst of the deluge of Biblical proportions, we plunged forward into a whipping side wind that pelted us with liquid marbles as animals charged by us two by two! To say the least, we were having a blast splashing through puddles like little kids! It is days like these that make me glad I took up this sport. I love running in the rain!

Even though we were having fun, we were still clipping along at 6:30-6:45 pace for most of the run. It felt good to be running along at such a pace; the first time in a very, very long time. As I finished day 25 in row, I am ecstatic that I was able to do it at such a decent pace and in my favorite weather to run, wet and cold. So as I peel off my soaked tights and socks, I look forward to tomorrow's run and I hope Poseidon, Zeus, and Phidippides provide another opportunity to tempt the gods to an incredible day of running.

As always, stay healthy, stay dry, and keep running.

The Week that Was

I have now ran 23 straight days and this last week was the first week that I actually felt like a runner again. I ended up with a total of 43 miles for the week. Not too bad, considering I am fighting a cold and my wife has been sick all week, keeping me up most nights with coughing fits. As we head into Thanksgiving this week, my goal is to reach 50-55 miles. I hope by keeping this running blog-log it will help me formalize my training and give me a new tool in which to reflect on my journey as an older athlete as I record my training and racing in a new format. For those of you who read my blog, I just want to say thanks for your encouragement. I really do appreciate it. Sometimes just that simple response or word makes a world of difference on those days that "I just am not feeling it." Well, it is time to head out and make it day 24.

As always, keep healthy and keep running!

Techno Runner

My cross country runners surprised me the other night at our awards banquet with a super cool gift, a Nike+ Band. For those of you who are not familiar with this gadget, it is a sleek band that fits around your wrist with a small usb jump drive and a sensor that is placed in your shoe to keep track of how far you have ran, your pace, and how many calories you have burned! I can even log online and track my run and keep a record of all my mileage by plugging the little usb drive in my computer. So instead of a clunky Garmin on my wrist, which I do not own, I wear a device roughly the size of a Livestrong bracelet. This morning I ran 6.18 miles at 7:30 per mile pace and burned 880 calories! Melt away oh flabby flesh of man boobs!

Now, for anyone who knows me, knows that I am Mr. Old School runner, minus the tube socks and afro, and have shunned the heart rate monitor, ipod, Garmin, water belts, camel backs, and cross training. I run. I run in cotton socks and deal with blisters and take pride in my blood stained shoes. I wear cotton t-shirts and deal with bleeding nipples. If I get chub rub, vaseline works wonders. I have always said all I need is a good solid running watch, but I have to admit, this little gadget is COOL! After calibrating it yesterday, I was super excited to try it out today. The best part was that it confirmed that my internal gps is fairly accurate and I still know how to listen to my body to determine my pace. As I am falling back into the running life it is nice to have a device that allows me to accurately track my running, minus the watch. So to my guys, Thank You very much for such a cool gift. You guys are the best.

As always, stay healthy and keep running!

Bloody Nipple!

I just finished my 7-8 mile run and I noticed the weather was a little chilly, but I was not expecting this! Feeling a little sensitive in the pectoral department, I reach to examine the area only to discover an excruciating electric shock from my nipple to my toes! Owwww! Not only that, a little stream of blood flowed from the hamburger that was once part of my anatomy. Man, I am even more glad than ever that I am a man and not a woman. My hats off to you ladies and all that you have to endure. It is bad enough being out of shape, but now my man-boobs are mocking me and protesting my efforts to eliminate them. But alas, oh sensitive fatty flesh, you will soon be dissolved and will taunt me no more. However, until then, I think I need to invest into some vaseline and band-aids or else it is going to be a long, bloody winter!

As always, keep healthy, keep running, and protect those sensitive areas!

Just Didn't Feel It!

I just wasn't feeling it today! The legs were achy, students got on my nerves, I was tired, cranky and just plain ol' didn't want to drag my big fat hairy out of shape booty out the door this afternoon! Just when I thought I would settle into the easy chair, contemplating which BBQ sauce to add to the pork, and a nice cold dark brown drink...Bam! Flashback!

Back when I was finishing up my final cross country season at Sonoma State I was having a lousy work-out one afternoon. Now I normally did not complain about doing a work-out, but this particular day I was just not feeling it. My legs were sore and achy and I had just ran one of the best races of my life the weekend before at the Stanford Invitational. My legs were toast. Burnt toast to boot. I remember stumbling through an 800 meter repeat and jogging up to my coach, who was waiting for me patiently and before I could say anything he says, "Not feeling too good? Tired? Well, you will be tired in races." Ahh man, how do I respond to that? All I could do was nod my head, fall in line and finish the work out. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't one of my most memorable interval sessions. Heck, I can't even say I finished feeling good. I still felt like crap. But I learned a lesson, runners don't skip out on the daily grind just because thy are a little tired and achy! That is what separates us from joggers.

So there I am sitting in the chair, enjoying the aroma of the roasting pig meat, salivating, and I have this decision, am I a jogger or a runner? Dang! So on with the shorts, t-shirt and adidas and out the door. It was not pretty. It was not the best run I have had in the last 19 days, but I got it done. I finished. I am still a runner. Now, time to eat some pulled pork sandwiches!

As always, stay healthy and keep on running! Even if you are not feeling it!

Nine or Ten

Today marked day 18 of the streak! However, rather than an easy 30-40 minute run, I went on a 9-10 mile run. This was not in the plan for another week or two, but my competitive nature and pride got the better of me today. Not wanting to run alone this evening, I texted a younger runner I run with, Lino, to see if he wanted to run in the afternoon. His response was, sure, lets go 11 and he would pick the course.

Now I was in a dilemma! Although I have been running, I am coming off several months of very little to no running and have just gotten comfortable running 4-6 miles at a time, but not 11! How could I turn down Lino's response? I'm a runner! A former darn good runner! I can run 11! I think. Maybe? Come on now Scott! You can do this. You use to run 11 everyday! How hard can it be? Crap! So I respond back to Lino, "yeah, I'll see ya at 3:45." Damn, I'm committed to it now.

To much of my surprise the first 30 minutes felt really good, until we came to the point in the course when I could wimp out and cut it to a comfortable 45 minutes or turn onto the canal and go the full course. As my heart pounded and my head screamed don't do it, I made the turn and committed to the whole distance! What was I thinking? Dude you are 43 and have not built up to this! It is a long, long, long way home if you crash and burn. Oh well.

Now when you are 15-20 years past your prime, 30 pounds overweight and gasping for breath, each step felt like I was in a Nazi Death March! Lino on the other hand is chatting away about how light his feet feel. Geez, and mine feel like lead boots! Now I'm praying, please don't let me have a heart attack or stroke out in public with snot hanging out my nose and slobber bubbling in and out with each breath! On second thought, death might not be so bad. The running gods did not hear my prayers, so I continued to slog away to the finish.

Needless to say, I finished the run. Fortunately, since Lino ran to my house and then home, it was 11 for him and between 9-10 for me. As I staggered into my back driveway I felt a sudden rush of euphoria as my aching legs came stiffly to a halt. Rubbing my raw achy nipples, never wear a cotton shirt on you first long run, I could not believe what I blurted out, "so, we will run again on Thursday?" You would think I would have been happy to roll over and die but no, insanity once again wins the day and I am planning my next 9-10 mile run in just two days! As stated earlier, I am a runner, therefore common sense is not part of my daily routine.

So Lino, thanks for dragging my old fat butt out there today for the best run I have had in over 6 months and I am looking forward to many more this winter. Although with a lot less snot, slobber and raw nipples!

As always, stay healthy and keep running!

Bugs

I have seen and experienced a lot of weird and strange stuff while running. I have had a 'possum hiss at me, coyotes jump out of sagebrush, stepped over a rattlesnake, seen bucks rutting, wild turkeys, dog bit, stung by a bee, girls yell ( I always love that one), people yell out the weather forecast, as if I didn't know it was raining, ran over by a kid on a bike, mooned (although not by a beautiful woman, some hairy dude) and at various times told I was crazy. I am a little bummed I have never found a dead body like runners do on tv shows. I won't go into all the types of roadkill and the various discussions I have had with teammates trying to figure out the poor brute's species before meeting its demise. Yet one thing that seems to happen to me at least half a dozen times a year or more, is the ol' bug in the mouth! I hate when that happens.

Now when I get the bug in the mouth, it is never a small little bug that I could just wipe from my teeth or spit out. Oh no, I have to get the pterodactyl kamikaze bug that heads straight for the throat! This leads to the inevitable bending over mid-stride as the gag reflexes fly into full force, twisting me into a mad man convulsion, trying to cough the booger up. As I make the sound of a beaver in heat, drool flowing from my gapping mouth, the darn thing taunts me by flapping his wings making me gag all the more before I can finally manage to swallow it down into a vat of stomach acid to finally dissolve it into extra protein for muscle mass. Even then, I swear the thing is trying to crawl back up to freedom and the gagging rages again! No wonder people hurl comments at me for being "crazy." That might also explain why I don't get women honking their horns at me either. Darned bugs.

As I head out the door for day 17 of my streak, I am praying that the cold weather will keep the nasty little varmints out of the air and I can make it through the run without a third world delicacy.

As always, stay healthy, take care of your body, and eat a banana, granola bar, power bar, anything but a bug for a snack.

My Adidas

I'm about to make that maiden voyage in my brand new pair of Adidas Supernova Sequence. As a lifelong Nike fan, I do believe I am becoming a convert of the three striped vintage brand of sport footwear. Not that I had a falling out with my first running love that cushioned each strike of the pavement, dirt and track on those pillowy clouds of air bags, it is just as I have gotten older, I have noticed that my foot has changed as well as my hairline and waistline. But we will not talk about those. Besides, the hairline has made me more aerodynamic! With the changes in my foot, making the right choice of shoe is even more important than ever.

So as I prepare to head out the door to keep the streak going, the first and most important element is to make sure my feet are properly taken care. After trying on several pairs of Nikes, Asics, New Balance, Brooks and Mizunos, it was the Adidas that stole the affection of my 10 little piggies as they all want to run to the market. Having spent much of the last six months dealing with one little nagging injury after another, it finally occurred to me, I was not making the best choice in footwear for my current condition and bio-mechanical needs. As a coach, I preach the importance of choosing the best shoe for the athlete, yet, I was a brand guy and not only that, I wanted a stylish shoe! After all, the shoe says so much about the runner. Did I want to be seen in a clunky jogger shoe? Hell No! I'm a serious runner baby. I need the lightest, sleekest, fastest looking shoe there is.

Unfortunately, I am no longer the lightest, sleekest, fastest me. Geez, where did he get off to? Is he coming back? He will, but it will be a light, sleek, slower 43 year old me with a different body than that one that used to tear it up at 25. As I head out the door to chisel off the fat and work on the ol' leg turn over, my little piggies will be crying wee wee wee all the way on the run! So keep those feet healthy and happy and choose the right shoe and I hope to see you at the races!

As always, stay healthy and keep running!

Back in the Saddle

It's been a long time since I last blogged and much has happened in that time. But rather than dwell on the past, it is time to set my sights on some readjusted goals and move forward as an athlete.

Tonight I attended my 25th High School Reunion. It was a blast! And one thing is for certain, I am so glad that even though I have suffered many injuries these past few years, I am thankful that I have remained active and fairly fit for my 43 years. It was in high school that I feel in love with the sport of running as a skinny, big red afro sporting, knee high sock wearing, and clueless freshman finding his way on the varsity squad. Here I am 29 years later, still trying to push my body to new challenges. Which reminds me, I am not going to dwell on the past, especially when I wore a name tag with a picture of me that should have been burned, but what I am focusing on today.

Since my first running love is the track, it is there that I am focusing my training for the next 8-9 months. In July of 2011, the top masters track athletes from all over the world will be convening in Sacramento for the World Masters Championship. Therefore, my goal is to compete in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters on the track.

As I saddle back up, this time I am keeping the goal and focus simple; train for the World Masters Track Championships. This is my goal and the first order of business to accomplish that goal is to once again run 100 straight days to establish good, strong and healthy training habits. And, to help me obtain my goal, I will once again keep a blog about my training. So for all of those who follow and read my blog, I greatly appreciate your support as I once again challenge myself as a master athlete.