Sometimes we need to take a time out from the hecticness of the things we do.

A few weeks ago, the running community lost a runner. Micah True, or Cabllo Blanco, as was his nickname, died while out on a 12 mile trial run. For those who don’t know the story, he is an experienced ultra-marathoner who was the subject of the book Born to Run. To honor Micah, runners have been urged to go for a long run, leave your watches and electronics behind, and just enjoy the adventure. So that is what I did on Sunday, Easter Sunday.

I ran down to the local park, about 3 miles away and ran some trials. There is a nice trail system there. It is challenging in places, but not too bad. It did take my watch though and I am glad I did. I got turned around and needed to use the compass heading on my watch to make sure I did not get too lost. I was nice to be in the woods, with the fresh spring air, glorious sun, and just enjoy being out there.

I got about 11 miles in including the run home. I was tired when I got home and a little muddy. Not bad. And feeling good to be able to just get out. 13 months ago

Being sick this week was the final straw. I have lost a week of running and even though i feel much better, it still may take some time before my lungs are clear of all the congestion.

I tried, but I just could not overcome all the challenges this time. Since my daughter-in-law backed out a couple weeks ago, not having a running companion was a big factor. The long runs are even longer when you run them alone. Not being able to overcome a few nagging injuries does not help either.

There are plenty of events locally coming up, so there are lots of things to do. Training rides for the Missing and Exploited Children’s Ride start soon. I am looking forward to that. There are a bunch of other events too.

So maybe sometime in the near future I’ll get this marathon in. 14 months ago

Training has not gone great over the last few weeks. I got sick for about a week and did not get any miles in. Skipped 2 long runs in this time period. It is early enough in the training I should be able to make it up. I just have to be smart about it.

On the good side, I got a 14 mile run in today. It was a great day to run; sunny, very little wind. It was cold out, about 23 F. but I was dressed fine. On the bad side, my hips hurt like hell during the last 3 miles and I had a couple extra walk breaks. It was still good to get this done on such a perfect winter day.

I have also changed my training plan a bit. The plan had me running 5 times a week. I have finally realized I cannot run 5 times a week. My body cannot take the pounding. So I’ll run 4 times and do something else one day a week; maybe cycle or do an elliptical workout.

One ending note, I finished mile 14 at the end of my street and walked the rest of the way home. In this stretch, a high school aged girl passed me running so smooth and with all the energy of someone young. “Nice day to run huh”, I said as she passed me. She just smiled and I could almost hear her thoughts, “It sure is old man” and off she bounded down the street. Youth is wasted on the young. But right now I am rewarding my run with a nice cold beer. She will have to be satisfied with Gatorade. Beer is much better. More carbs…. 15 months ago

Hills are hard. The air was cold, but the sun was shining.
And that’s all I’ve got for today.

_{Time and training will make them flatter. I know this.}15 months ago

We are ending week 5 of marathon training this week. So far things has been going well. The mild weather has helped. Not having to run in a major storm or stay indoors to run on a treadmill has been great.

The longer runs are coming up, 12 miles tomorrow, so we will have to see how all those go. I did have a minor set back last Sunday. I took part in a trail race in a park near my home. I did this last year and it was nice. This year the trail was icy in spots and I fell, landing on my hip. Of course it hurt a bit, but I also did something to my knee. I didn’t think I landed on it, but I do have a small gash. It has hurt all week.

I did skip a couple runs and that should help the healing. I’ll just have to be careful on the 12 mile run and be ready to stop if I feel the pain getting worse. I don’t think it is something to try and run through, but stopping in the middle of a run due to pain is not something I normally do. I just have to be a little smart. 16 months ago

The day after Christmas my new daughter-in-law and I both registered for the Gettysburg marathon which takes place April 29. That gives us a full 18 weeks of training starting this week. Both of us are excited.

But then, my DIL catches a nice cold over the weekend. Any workouts she had planned are put on hold. At least now is a better time to be sick than 10 weeks from now.

I did a couple tough trail runs last week and now, having registered, I feel every little ache and pain is now exaggerated. My ankles are stiff, my hips ache and my back has some pain. Hopefully I can stretch it all out and just do some lighter workouts so nothing gets worse. At least my knees feel OK.

Training in the winter is fun and offers a few special challenges. The journey to Gettysburg should be interesting, a little different and challenging.

Let’s go!!! 17 months ago

I did this run back in May, but never posted anything on the results. I don’t know why. Maybe because it was so utterly grueling that I just wanted to forget the whole thing.

But now as I look back, and consider running another marathon, there were a lot of good things that came out of this race.

The grueling part was that even though it was a nice day weather wise, the area had rain for about 5 days straight previously to the race. The trails were then all mud, ankle deep and running with water for about 23 of the 26 miles. The hills to the check points were nearly impassible due to the high grass and giant puddles. I slipped into one and went up that went up to my hip. On top of the 2500 ft of climbing, it was really tough.

Everyone was soaked and mud caked by the end. But the good thing was that with everyone battling the same elements, everyone encouraged each other to battle through and not give up. At the 22 mile mark, I caught up to a friend who is a good trail runner. She was way ahead of me, but had to stop due to fatigue and headaches. When I got to her, I asked if she wanted to finish. Of course she did. We agreed to stay together and take it slow and get to the finish. We were so close. Those last miles we walked a lot and ran less, but we did finish. Almost 8.5 hours after the start, we were done.

The picture is the finisher award. It is just an arrow head on a string with some beads. It is one of my most cherished awards. Not many did this race and all that started did not finish. This was one that felt very good to have accomplished. 17 months ago

In every goal, keeping up the motivation is always key. I went to bed early the other night and had to record that night’s airing of “The Biggest Loser”. It is one of my favorite TV shows, mainly because I was all those people.

The show was the marathon race. To see how all these people have progressed and now to be able to run a marathon, it brings tears to me. They have all turned a corner in their lives and are going to have new lives. All they needed was some help and encouragement. They needed to be taught the right way to eat. They needed to have some dedication thrust on them. And they all rose to the effort.

The transformation in all of them, both mind and body, is what amazes me. These are just regular people, just like you and me, and they rose to great heights.

It makes me realize another marathon is in me. I just have to want it. 17 months ago

My soon to be daughter-in-law (15 days from today) asked me about running a spring marathon with her. She wants to do one. And I guess, knowing I have run a couple and show an interest, figured we could train together to do one in spring. Good idea!!!! Training through winter works out great for me. The next thing is to find a mutually agreeable venue.

PS I realized I never made an entry here on the Segahunda Marathon I did last May. While not the greatest result, it was a great effort. Not just from me, but from all who ran. 19 months ago