Week 2 of Training Starts

OK week one of training for the Shamrock A is in the books. I felt pretty excited after doing eight miles in a span of 24 hours and not getting sore the next day. I did not run Sunday or today, which is Monday. However I did do an hour of DDP yoga this morning, since Monday is a cross training day. Tomorrow will be a tempo run, which is a mile of both warm up as well as cool down.

In between those two, I have a 25 minute run that I'm supposed to do at just below my race pace. I still don't know what my pace will be. I'm thinking I'll try to run at least 7.5 mph. I'm hoping to go at least 8 mph during the race, which will be a 40 minute total. I don't know if I can do it in 35 minutes like I did in 2014. I'm thinking if I can break 40 minutes, that would be OK with me.

Week 1 Goes On

Will my training schedule got turned sideways. My plan was to do an interval run on Thursday and then rest on Friday. But I got sick on Thursday and I knew there was no way I was going to be running that day. The advantage was I did have Friday off. So since I was feeling better today, I decided to try the interval run.

I started with a one mile run, which I ran at about 6 miles per hour. Then I started doing the intervals. I did four 4 minute runs at 7.5 miles per hour, and in between those, I did 3 intervals of 2 minutes each, jogging at around 6.3 miles per hour. Since I was feeling pretty good, I finished the last interval at 8 miles per hour period. Now that would be a pretty heavy pace and I don't know if I can keep that up. But I would have to run 8 miles an hour to come anywhere near what I ran three years ago.

My finish was three-quarters of a mile at around 6.30 mph. So in total, I ran 40 minutes, completed four and a half miles, and burned about 620 calories. That's right around the same pace that I ran on Tuesday. But it's important that I not push myself too hard too quickly. I need to build up my endurance. My thought is if I get my endurance going first, I can then work up my speed later.

Unfortunately, I had that dreaded leg pain in my lower quadriceps, starting about 24 hours after I did my Tuesday run and it lasted until Thursday. I'm really trying to stretch a lot to avoid having those leg pains. I'm hoping that as I run more come up my body will get used to the running, and the pains will dissipate.

First hard run done

Well I'm back in the gym. It's a pretty low brow place, there are no towels or locker rooms. But that's ok. For some of us, we don't need a lot of bells and whistles. The attitude is walk in, work out, and get out.

I did my first treadmill run and the plan was do to a reasonable ten minute warm up and cool down with a pretty vigorous 20 minute run in the middle. And by the tim I reached the 22 minute mark, it felt like it was taking forever. But I knew every step I took was going to make me a little bit better and a little more prepared for the big race. I completed 4.5 miles in 40 minutes.

Typically I'm feeling discomfort in my lower quads the day after a hard run. So I immediately came home and stretched for about 20 minutes. And before I hit the sack, I lathered my upper legs in Ben Gay. Right now, I'm feeling good, but I'm just hoping I'll feel good thorughout the day. Today it's Wednesday, so that means a little DDP Yoga and then tomorrow, I have interval interval training.

The journey continues.

Running again

We've had an unseasonable warm stretch of weather during February here in Chicagoland. So on Friday, with nothing much to do, I took a walk on my break during work. I walked north on Orleans St. As I got to Oak St, I looked up and saw a billboard for the Shamrock Shuffle 8k race on Sunday April 2.

I felt a desire stirring up inside of me again. The last time and the only time that I ran this race was in 2014. I ran the 4.97 miles in 35:01, which was a pace of 7:03. Out of over 30,000 runners, I finished. 1,259th. I felt really good about my performance and I knew I could get even better.

But then my dreams took a turn. Six weeks later, I was newly unemployed and I suffered a serious injury to both my legs, especially my lower right quadricep. Since then, I have only run occasionally on a treadmill, I have not run in a race. Rather, I've opted for doing DDP Yoga at home. Don't get me wrong, I love the home workouts. But I get this great feeling and satisfaction that I've really worked hard and accomplished something when I complete a vigorous run.

I decided I wanted to run again. And tonight I ran 2.5 miles in 20 minutes. Now if I kept that up, I'd finish in 40 minutes, which would be pretty good. But that's still five minutes slower than what I ran three years ago.

The only thing I need to figure out is where I'm going to train. There is a local gym that's offering $1 memberships and they're open 24/7. On the surface, that sounds great. But the question is how long does the $1 go for. Is it a day? Is it a week, a month? Basically I need to train for six weeks. I'm willing to pay a little bit, but I'll be very interested to see what the catch is for a $1 membership fee.

If the fitness club doesn't work, I can also try to work out at my old high school. They have a pretty good gym over there and I'm pretty sure I can use it since I'm an alumnus.

Now let's assume the training aspect comes together. I have a six-week training plan mapped out, where I run four days a week, cross train two days a week, and rest on one. I intend to leave a short post after every workout to not only track my progress, but to also keep me accountable. To maximize my effort, it is important that I not take one day off. And I intend to give this 8k the best I can.

MLB Predictions

After the two worst World Series in the history of baseball, nothing is acceptable this year except a Mets World Series championship. Nothing. And I feel horrible for having that mentality. Championship or bust does not allow for any element of happy surprises. But between Satan winning another Super Bowl and the Scrubs winning a title that they don't deserve, I seriously wonder how much torture I can endure as a sports fan.

National League
East
NY Mets 90-72
Washington  89-73
Miami  80-82
Atlanta 76-86
Philadelphia 72-90

Central
Scrubs 95-57
St. Louis 86-76
Pittsburgh 83-79
Milwaukee 74-88
Cincinnati 71-91

West
Los Angeles 96-56
San Francisco 89-73
Colorado 86-76
Arizona 82-80
San Diego 74-88

American League
Boston 98-54
Toronto 92-70
New York 86-76
Baltimore 78-84
Tampa Bay 76-86

Central
Cleveland 92-70
Kansas City 86-76
Chicago 82-80
Detroit 77-85
Minnesota 73-89

West
Texas 88-74
Anaheim 85-77
Houston 83-79
Seattle 82-80
Oakland 76-86

ALCS
Boston over Cleveland

NLCS
NY Mets over Los Angeles

World Series
NY Mets over Boston

Confronted

So I was at an event tonight. At a church. I knew there was a chance she would come. And if she did come, it was all but guaranteed that he would be there too. The fiance. With the fat ugly jerk. Well, five minutes in, she came in. And he was there.

As I saw him walk in, with her trailing behind, I really wanted to walk out. But I stayed and tried to focus on the music on the Lord. It's important to block out the distractions. But I knew pretty quickly that my own efforts would be futile. As the band played on, I found myself unable to sing. I couldn't bear to focus on the horror that was just ten feet to my right. My thoughts were just focused on my place in life and where I'm going now.

I think so much about leaving the midwest. But I wonder if it's really the answer to my problems. If I moved, would my life really get better? Are these hurts and pains and oppression something that could be rectified by leaving the Midwest? I'm not asking for a sure thing. But is this a risk worth taking?

I'm feeling incredibly reflective now. And I know I have to get to a point where I can really know myself, the good and the bad. It's a very uneasy feeling to approach those dark places of myself and analyze them. But you can't cure cancer by putting a Band Aid on it. You have to find the cause of the cancer and cut it out. I feel that I need to take similar action on the dark parts of my life. 

As I sit here, I'm 35 years old. I have a lot more confidence in myself than I did even two years ago. At the same time, I have far less faith in people and the world than I used to. I wonder more and more how a 30-something conservative Christian who is passionate about NY sports, justice, and Jesus fits in a world that is getting more and more liberal all the time. If that means losing a few friends because I'm willing to speak my mind and be honest, that's their problem, not mine.

Life could not be worse

This world is so evil. The bad guys always win. Just when I thought the World Series was the worst thing that could have ever happened when the shitty Cubs did what they did. Now this Super Bowl, the worst of all time. The only justice would be the New England Patriots plane crashing. I wish I was dead instead of Brian.

RIP Brian

I was having a fine Saturday. I donated my plasma at a blood center then had a great burger with some friends in Brookfield. We then went to a huge arcade and played games for four hours. I hadn't played Super Mario Bros in maybe 20 years. It was a great way to spend an afternoon.'

Then I began my hour drive home to St. Charles. At a red light I checked my phone. I saw a post from my friend Jennifer, who recently move to Houston. The post began with these words...

RIP Brian Geddes.

In essence, he developed blood clots in his lungs and it turned out to be a fatal situation.

Now Brian was one of the best friends I've ever had. I met him in 1997 shortly after I moved to Illinois. We were in the same church small group. Within a couple of times of meeting, I knew we had a certain chemistry. It was one of those connections where I would say something and he'd just run with it. He'd say something and I'd pick up on it immediately. Even if no one else in the room got it, we'd be laughing.

Even after I went away to college and later came back, our friendship remained. He was running in some different circles, but I didn't think anything of it. I had heard he was planning to move to Dallas and go to seminary down there. As I recall, he was there for a short time and came back. I don't know the story and I don't even care to know. What matters is that he cut off contact with all his friends who were Christians and went to church. And that included me. I tried calling a few times and he never responded.

I respect that he lived his life how he chose, but I'm still disappointed in the way that he chose to do it. I believe our last contact was in 2006 or 2007, I'm not even sure anymore. So it's safe to say I didn't expect to ever speak to him again, but I always held out a little bit of hope that we might come back together. Now I know it will never happen.

As for my feelings, well, I'm still making sense of that. My world isn't rocked by it. I haven't cried, I don't know if it's really sunk in. I guess it's a feeling of disappointment and the recognizing of a friendship that should have lasted a lot longer than it really did. But it reinforces the fact that a relationship of any kind needs both parties to care.

I'll just put it this way. There are only three phone numbers I have memorized to this day. Mine, my mother's, and Brian's.

So long Geds. I pray that the God you grew up serving and loving now takes you home.