Pushing myself

As of tonight, I have ten days to go until the Shamrock shuffle. So I'm about 70 percent done with the training period. But more than that, I'm almost done with the intense section. It started last weekend and continued into Tuesday night. I ran 5.75 miles in 44 minutes. 19 of those minutes were actually what I would call a hard jog, my warm up and cool down.

The jog pace was around 7.2 mph and I could definitely maintain that pace for five miles. But for the tempo run, I went between 8.2 and 8.8 mph. I did that for maybe 3.5 miles. I think that pace will be pretty brutal to keep the entire time. What I think I can do is give one all out sprint for the last 3/4 mile. I remember three years ago the appearance of the finish line caught me off guard. This time, I will know the course. I will know when to push hard.

There was one concern I had afterwards. I was pretty caught off guard when I removed my right shoe and black ankle sock and saw blood on the nail of my third toe. I didn't feel any pain at any point during the run. And I don't feel any discomfort 24 hours later. But I'll be making sure that toe is clean and won't cause issues on April 2.

On Thursday, I have one final interval run. I'm supposed to just do two 4 minute sprints. But because I had to cut last week's short from five intervals to two, I may add one or two extra intervals tomorrow night.

4 Weeks of Training Down, 2 To Go.

Well, this has definitely been my most challenigng week of training. As I've mentioned previously, my blister took a full layer of skin off the bottom of my foot, about the size of a nickel. I knew this weekend would be a pivotal point into what kind of performance I can put into the Shamrock Shuffle. With the race only two weeks away, there isn't much time to push hard before the necessary period where I back off a little bit to make sure that I am at my best condition.

I actually had to take Ibuprofen Thursday afternoon just to get through the work day. My right hip was starting to not just feel tight, which it has for a few weeks, but it was causing me a good amount of discomfort. I knew I had a rest day on Friday, and I knew I was going to need it.

All I can say is thank the Lord for liquid bandage and Blister band-aids. Thursday night, I stopped at Walgreen's for those two items and they made a huge difference.

The plan was to complete 5.5 miles on Saturday and 3 on Sunday. I had applied several coats of liquid bandage during the 36 hours leading up to this first weekend workout. And I have to stay it's a very effective product. Granted it made my foot feel a little scaly and sticky, but when I walked or ran, I could feel the additional protection on my foot.

So how did I do? I didn't just run 5.5 miles, I ran 6. The one aggravating aspect is I hit the stupid safety button thirty minutes in, which shut down the whole workout. So I had to start up again. But I'm prtty sure it was six full miles in about 47 minutes. That translates to a 7:50 mile, which would have me finishing in about 39 minutes. My hip and foot felt good for the most part when I finished. About two hours later, I noticed a little twinge at the top of my right foot, but nothing that is alarming me.

I ran again this morning and I went a little harder. I finished 3 miles in 22 minutes even. I was running about 8.3 mph, which had me around 7:20 per mile. If I could keep that pace up the whole race, that would be okay with me. So for the weekend, I ran nine miles total.

There are two weeks between now and Race Day. This is my last week where I'm training hard. Since I have a job interview, I don't think I'll be training Monday, so my next activity is a 25 minute tempo run on Tuesday night. Maybe I'll get up early on Tuesday morning and do some DDP yoga though.

I can say that my confidence is growing again. I know I can finish the race at a decent time. The only thing I'm not sure of is how fast of a pace I can keep up for five full miles outside.

Week 4. Two Weeks Till the Race and I'm Not Feeling Right

Guys, I'm getting worried. My right hip has been giving me problems for three or four days. Then  on Tuesday, I felt the blister on the instep of my right foot really open up. I managed to persevere and finish over 4 miles. But when I tried to run again today, I was missing a layer of skin. It got this bad that I planned on doing five sprint intervals and I could only get through two.

I had to go to Walgreen's this afternoon and buy liquid bandage as well as band aids that are designed for blisters. It's becoming pretty costly for me to run this race, in terms of my time, my money, and my physical well-being. I don't know if I'll be able to do this race again. I really don't. But I'm commited to running the best damn race I can on April 2.

I know I have the endurance to finish. I just have to get that speed up. And even if that means I ahve to get on the elliptival for a day or two to give my foot a rest, then that's what I'll do. This weekend's training could prove pivotal to the level of my performance in the race.

Week 3 of training goes on

Well I'm still feeling good. I ran two times this week so far. 5.25 miles in 44:30 and 5 miles in 41 minutes. The first was a straight ahead run and the second was an interval run. But each time I'm opening and closing by fast jogging a mile. The problem was Tuesday night, I developed a blister on the bottom of my right foot near my instep. So after Thursday, how do I put this delicately...I did waht I had to do so it would nobe as much of a hindrance anymore.

This weekend, it's 4.5 miles and 3 miles. I'll go harder on Saturday and try to break 36 minutes. Sunday will be more casual and I'll probably do some lighgtlifting as well.

Milwaukee return

I'm in Milwaukee tonight for WWE Fastlane. This is definitely a better trip than my last time in this city with my now ex, which lasted about an hour when we couldn't find a lick of parking.

Anyway enough bad memories. I had to go over to Frank's Diner in Kenosha for breakfast. It's basically become a tradition for me to stop there for breakfast every time I drive to Eastern Wisconsin. Which is pretty impressive, considering Kenosha doesn't exactly have a lot to offer.

There isn't much room, as it's an old dining car, but that's the advantage of going alone. I was able to get a seat at the counter after waiting about twenty minutes. I ordered a full garbage plate, with peppers, onions, and hash browns, with veggies, plus cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, jalapenos, two slices of thick buttered homemade toast and a slice of cinnamon roll French toast. It ain't healthy, but it's amazing flavor, and one of the best breakfasts I've had.

The temperature was colder than I expected. The weather reports all week long had been saying the temperature would be around 60 degrees. It never even got above 45. So my half mile walk had me wishing I wore my winter hat and gloves.

I went into Discovery World, which is like the Milwaukee version of the museum of science and industry. The highlight for me was the Les Paul Guitar exhibit. Les Paul was a legendary guitar player and maker. It was so insightful learning about his recording, mixing, and playing techniques that helped to revolutionize music. There was a booth playing some classic tracks, including a duet with Paul on guitar and Nat King Cole on piano. What a treasure! I especially enjoyed my first time producing a song, as I added the drum, bass, and rhythm tracks to the song "Brazil."

Another memorable moment was laying on the bed of nails. I had to just lay flat as possible on this plastic table which and thousands of tiny holes. I pressed a green button and I could feel the nails lift me up. I released the button and the nails lowered me back to the table. No I didn't get cut, but now I think I know what acupuncture feels like.

I also went into the Sportology room. It was a dark room with stadium seating where I could test my different physical abilities. They had spots for flexibility, baseball pitching, wheelchair racing, hand grip, high jump, a hanging station, and hand eye coordination. I was really good in the wheelchair, flexibility, and hanging. The pitching and hand grip... Not too good.

I then drove west from downtown over to Marquette University. I saw a statue of the missionary whom the University whom named after and he had a golden eagles scarf wrapped around him. They had a little chapel where took a few minutes to pray.

After prayer, it was time for beer. Off a recommendation from a local writer, I tried a new brewery called Third Space, which is on the west side, not far from Miller Park. I started with a flight, since I had an hour to kill until the tour between. The beers were all pretty good, but nothing that blew me away initially. But the tour included two free beers, so I used one on something different. During the flight, my favorite was the upward spiral, which is their IPA. It's funny to think I never would drink an IPA even two years and now it's my go to during cold weather. So this place has a double hopped upward spiral. I tried it and I could not believe how good this beer was. It was drinkable like a pale ale but had the smoothness and boldness of a stout. I never drink stouts, but this was incredible. In fact, I used my second drink ticket on the same beer.

I also stopped in a small park called Valley Park. The highlight was watching a dog chasing a tennis ball that his master was slinging around. The amazing part was seeing the dog drop the ball at the person's feet. I could never get Hogan to do that. He'd just growl at me!

After the beer, it was over to the Milwaukee Brat House for some grub. More local beer and two brats. The first one I had was the German with kraut, onions, and brown mustard on a pretzel roll. Excellent. The fully loaded was the star, topped with kraut, onions, red peppers, mushrooms, and giardiniera. Awesome sausages.

WWE Fastlane was widely panned by the critics. I have to say it wasn't the best show I ever saw. Many people who should have won lost and vice versa. Plus there was just way too much filler.  It didn't help that I had a piece of shit next to me in a disgusting Cubs hat

The weekend comes... find fades all too fast

So this weekend, I ran two straight days. Even if my race speed and endurance aren't where I want them, I'm building up my resilience in quick order.

On Saturday, I completed 4 miles in 32 minutes. That gave me a good deal of confidence. I really want to finish the race in under 40 minutes and that pace would have me right on track.

Then earlier this morning, I went a little slower. I knocked out three miles in 34 minutes. I was still running over seven mph, but it wasn't overly strenuous.

The key is after each of these runs, I had practically no discomfort in my quads, knees, or ankles. The only issue was after the Saturday run, I felt a hot spot on the instep of my right foot. I had to take one of those shower stones to my foot to make sure it didn't blister.

This week, my focus is going to be getting to where I can run 8.0 mph for a decent length of time. Now what do I mean? I did several intervals last week at 8.0 where I made it for four minutes. But at the end of each of those intervals, I felt like I needed to slow down to a jog. So if I can get up to seven or eight minutes of running at that race pace by Saturday, I would consider that a good accomplishment.

The weekend comes and I'm feeling good

So I ran both Tuesday and Thursday. I did my Tuesday tempo run, finishing 4.75 miles in 40 minutes. That's about an 8:25 pace total. But 2 miles of that were run at around 6.7 miles, so the 20 minutes that I did run at around race pace were pretty intense. I think I went around 7.5 mph for those 20 minutes. I think the only issue was a little tightness in my right calf. My quads felt fine.

I took Wednesday and Friday off. Thursday was the interval run. I ran 10 minutes at around 6.5 mph. Then I ran my four 4-minute intervals at 8.0 mph with three 2-minute intervals at 6.8 mph. This was the first time I tried to run an extended time at 8.0 mph. I have to say it was a struggle to keep up. On my first interval, I could feel a little bit of a side stitch. There is pretty much no feeling I dread when I run as much as that pain in my side. Thankfully I was able to shrug it off.

That 4-minute interval was about as much as I could handle at 8.0 mph. I had just enough energy to get through it each time. At this point in my training, I'm not capable of maintaining an 8.0 mph pace for five miles. But for the first time in three years, I did run five miles. It took me 42:00 to get it done. And if I spent two of those miles warming up and cooling down, I have every confidence that I can keep a slightly faster pace than that and finish the race in under 40 minutes.

So I'm scheduled for a 4.5 mile run and then a 3.0 mile run this weekend. I'm thinking I'm going to push pretty well for the 4.5, maybe going around 7.0 mph. I feel ready to push my speed a little bit this. Let's see what happens.

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.