Yesterday we went to the movies, which is a pretty rare occasion these days. We went to the matinee in the early afternoon, and did a little shopping afterwards. We arrived home in the late afternoon enabling me to get my five mile run in before dinner. It was a slow run down the typical running paths. The temperature was pleasant, and the run was just fine. I wanted to get my run completed in the morning because I needed to run a half marathon on Sunday. The temperature was suppose to be in the 90's in Lebanon on Sunday afternoon, so I should have completed my five mile run in the morning as well. Maybe I should have listened to my wife and just skipped the five mile run!
Today I went to the Lebanon to run the Run Away Pumpkin Half Marathon course from last year. I arrived around 9:30am, and I had my water, energy gel, and music ready to go. My goal was to beat my time from from the Corvallis Half since this course is flat. I set my pace for 6:46 min/mi, and within the first few miles I knew it was too fast. Around mile 3 I had to stop to let my heart rate recover a bit, and to drink some water. I acknowledged that this training run was going to be a walk / run 13 mile adventure.
The course is beautiful once you get out of town. It runs along Berlin road, to Waterloo, and then back to the start along River road. It was annoying having to stop and rest every mile or two, but I am to stubborn to reset the workout! I figured that I would treat it as a long interval training run to get my body use to the pace, muscle memory.
Around mile 8 a little deja vu came over me as was the same spot that I struggled through during the race last October. I tried to tap into using Shawna and Christina as motivation. I thought of the U.S. men in the 4x400 relay and the U.S. women in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. I thought of Mohamed Farah of Great Britain and Galen Rupp of the U.S. in the 5k and 10k. None of it really helped keep me running, time for another rest and more water.
I hit Waterloo, and started up River road. Only about four miles left and my pace was slowing to about 7:00 miles. I rested at the dam for a few minutes, and then prepared for the last two miles. Start, stop, start, stop! So annoying! I finally got to the finish. My time was 1:32:34, but the elasped time was 1:56: 54! I didn't think I rested that much! It was a tough training run, and in the future I plan to listen take my wife's advice and take the day off before these training races!
Please consider donating for my effort to raise $2,012 to support Christina during my run of the Portland Marathon in 2012.
http://gogetfunding.com/project/running-against-tnbc-portland-2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Slow 12 Mile Run
Today's run was a slow 12 mile recovery / long slow distance run. Again I found it difficult to map out a route that wasn't so familiar for two reasons: (1) it is boring; (2) knowing the exact route enables my mind to know when I am approaching the finish so I can take my foot off the gas! So I do have a GPS watch that tells me when I am close to the end of my workout, however I can choose to not look at my watch! For this run I choose to run on some familiar segments, but branched out to south of town hitting the trails at Willamette Park. I have only ran on these trails once because I don't like running on S. 3rd St. Today I made an exception, and I am glad I did.
The run out to S. 3rd was predictable and boring. The miles clipped off, and I hit the park around mile four. The temperature was in the mid 60's, and the sunny was out. It wasn't too hot, the shade on the trails was nice. Halfway through the trails I was getting a bit hungry, but I forgot to buy any cliff shots or energy gu. Luckily there were ripe blackberries throughout the trail! I picked and ate a couple of handfuls, drank some water, and continued on the path.
The scenery on the trail was beautiful! The Willamette river was running on the left surrounded by farm land and trees. I kept running down the path until hitting Riverside Dr, and then I ran from Riverside back to 3rd and back to the boring bike path! I ran behind the Corvallis Country Club on SW Brooklance Dr. I was about 1:20 minutes into my run, and needed more fuel. I found some more blackberries, and ate probably four or five handfuls this time. Later I found that Safeway sells about one half a hand full for about $6! I hit the gold mind I guess. I was about ten miles in at this point, and I was a bit spent. Include those ten miles I had run over forty miles in four days. I thought about walking it in, but I had motivation to keep pushing.
Going over the next couple of hills was tough, and I had to take a water break a few times. I made it past the hills, and coasted the rest of the way to the end of the course, 12.54 miles. I was relieved, and I felt good that I finished the course.
Tomorrow will be fairly easy, three miles at a brisk pack (6:58 - 7:18 min/mi) along with a one mile warm up and cool down.
Please consider donating for my effort to raise $2,012 to support Christina during my run of the Portland Marathon in 2012.
http://gogetfunding.com/project/running-against-tnbc-portland-2012
The run out to S. 3rd was predictable and boring. The miles clipped off, and I hit the park around mile four. The temperature was in the mid 60's, and the sunny was out. It wasn't too hot, the shade on the trails was nice. Halfway through the trails I was getting a bit hungry, but I forgot to buy any cliff shots or energy gu. Luckily there were ripe blackberries throughout the trail! I picked and ate a couple of handfuls, drank some water, and continued on the path.
The scenery on the trail was beautiful! The Willamette river was running on the left surrounded by farm land and trees. I kept running down the path until hitting Riverside Dr, and then I ran from Riverside back to 3rd and back to the boring bike path! I ran behind the Corvallis Country Club on SW Brooklance Dr. I was about 1:20 minutes into my run, and needed more fuel. I found some more blackberries, and ate probably four or five handfuls this time. Later I found that Safeway sells about one half a hand full for about $6! I hit the gold mind I guess. I was about ten miles in at this point, and I was a bit spent. Include those ten miles I had run over forty miles in four days. I thought about walking it in, but I had motivation to keep pushing.
Going over the next couple of hills was tough, and I had to take a water break a few times. I made it past the hills, and coasted the rest of the way to the end of the course, 12.54 miles. I was relieved, and I felt good that I finished the course.
Tomorrow will be fairly easy, three miles at a brisk pack (6:58 - 7:18 min/mi) along with a one mile warm up and cool down.
Please consider donating for my effort to raise $2,012 to support Christina during my run of the Portland Marathon in 2012.
http://gogetfunding.com/project/running-against-tnbc-portland-2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Hills x 14
Today the Garmin Calendar lists "Hills x 14." For my hill workouts I run on NW Withnam Hill Dr between NW Grant and NW Circle Blvd. It has about a 5% - 6% grade, which is ideal for longer hill intervals. The workout consists of a mile warm up, running up the hill for two minutes at 5k effort, jogging down for 3 minutes, repeating fourteen times, and then a mile cool down.
I decided to run from our house to the hill, which ended up being a 3 mile warm up, but it was relatively cool so I though it would be okay. As I started the repeats I quickly remembered why I dislike this hill so much; it starts off steep, levels off, the grade increases and stays the same for about 50 yards, and then it increase a bit more until it crests at the top. The last 20 - 30 yards are painful! After 4 or 5 repeats I was calling on a high power! I thought about Christina and Shawna, and how this is nothing compared to what they go through mentally and physically. I thought about the Olympic athletes and what many had to do to get the gold. Okay, I know that I have never been and will never be competing at the Olympic level, but it is still a good motivation tool while I am training. By the 6th repeat I counting down, "Just 7 more after this one, just six more after this one...." After I think the 12th I saw a couple of deer that I took a picture of, nice distraction and an excuse for an extra rest period.
After the intervals I ran about a mile for recovery, finding and eating some blackberries along the way. I decided after that too walk the rest of the way home. The entire workout without the walk ended up being over ten miles!
Tomorrow will be a slow 12 mile run, see you then!
Please consider donating for my effort to raise $2,012 to support Christina during my run of the Portland Marathon in 2012.
http://gogetfunding.com/project/running-against-tnbc-portland-2012
I decided to run from our house to the hill, which ended up being a 3 mile warm up, but it was relatively cool so I though it would be okay. As I started the repeats I quickly remembered why I dislike this hill so much; it starts off steep, levels off, the grade increases and stays the same for about 50 yards, and then it increase a bit more until it crests at the top. The last 20 - 30 yards are painful! After 4 or 5 repeats I was calling on a high power! I thought about Christina and Shawna, and how this is nothing compared to what they go through mentally and physically. I thought about the Olympic athletes and what many had to do to get the gold. Okay, I know that I have never been and will never be competing at the Olympic level, but it is still a good motivation tool while I am training. By the 6th repeat I counting down, "Just 7 more after this one, just six more after this one...." After I think the 12th I saw a couple of deer that I took a picture of, nice distraction and an excuse for an extra rest period.
After the intervals I ran about a mile for recovery, finding and eating some blackberries along the way. I decided after that too walk the rest of the way home. The entire workout without the walk ended up being over ten miles!
Tomorrow will be a slow 12 mile run, see you then!
Please consider donating for my effort to raise $2,012 to support Christina during my run of the Portland Marathon in 2012.
http://gogetfunding.com/project/running-against-tnbc-portland-2012
Long time no post!
It has been a number of months since my last blog post. Life can be overwhelming at times, and some things just fell to the wayside as life continued. I apologize for those that follow this blog, and are wondering what happened. First off, please visit Christina's blog to follow to get an update on her status and ways to help us fund her treatment. Next let me give you an update on the races I completed since my last post.
Our world changed in July 7th, 2011 when Christina was diagnosed with breast cancer. One of the remarkable and unimaginable phenomenons is the outreach and support from not only friends and family members, but perfect strangers impacted by this disease. Strangers that become friend and allies against this disease. Scott is one of those friends, and wife is battling colon cancer - read more on her blog Loving on Shawna. They set up a 10k fundraiser to offset her medical bills Shufflin-for-shawna-10k.
I signed up for the race, and the day of the race (Saturday March 24th, 2012) I asked my sixteen year old son Cole if he wanted to run with me in the race. Cole did run cross country a couple of years ago, but had not did any running other than condition for basketball in some time. He said, "Sure." Easy for a sixteen year old to just go out and run a 6.2 mile race without training, must be nice!
Christina, Cole, Jackson and I head to the race. Prior to the race we met up with Scott and Shawna, and we also were introduced to their family members, and other volunteers that setup the race. Christina volunteered to help with the timing, and Jackson was there to cheer us on. Cole was a bit nervous being that he didn't train, but the start was about to happen... On your marks, set, go!
The race was of modest size with an estimated total of 100 runners and walkers. Cole took off with the leaders while I hung back running my pace of about 6:30 to 6:45 minutes per mile. Cole started slowing down around mile 4, and I started gaining on him. Near the top of the hill on Walnut near MLK park I was about 20 - 30 yards behind Cole as he started to walk/run. My plan to run up beside him and give him some encouragement to finish strong with less than half a mile to the finish was thwarted when he looked back! Seeing his Dad coming up behind he was enough encouragement as he started running again creating some more separation. Game on! About 100 yards from the up hill finish I was gaining on Cole, and he didn't know that I was gaining on him. Jackson was near the finish and yelled, "Go Dad, you can beat him!", or something like that. Cole swiveled his head ahead around and saw his Dad within a few yard of him. His eyes widened, and started sprinting to the finish. Cole finished 3rd, and I finished 4th behind him.
Garmin Connect link to my run at the Shuffin' For Shawna 10k
The next race I completed was the Corvallis Half Marathon on Sunday, April 15th 2012. While training for this race, I discovered quite a few of my friends from work, old high school friends, and local acquaintances were running or walking in the race! Some I discovered after the race as I was very focused at kept to myself for the most part prior to the start of the race. During training I have ran the full course at least once, and parts of the course numerous times. The winner of the race this year (Craig Leon) was interviewed and said that it was a nice course and pretty flat! I guess for the most part that was true, however there is a gradual incline from mile 3.5 to 5.5 beside Bald Hill, and another tougher hill at mile 7 to mile 8.25 up Walnut Blvd. It was a tough section, but my training on those hills helped me power through them.
Around mile 10 I hit the wall; my heart rate started rising, I was dehydrated, and my legs felt like lead. I hit both water stations on Tyler at mile 10 and I think 11. After the second, I felt the water in the stomach gosling around. That second stop was probably a mistake! It was tough haulin' for the next couple of miles. According to my watch I was right about on target to finish below 1:30:00.
Towards the finish I spotted a target, a slower runner that I was gaining on. I picked up the pace enough to pass that runner, and then spotted another target as we headed towards the stadium. I didn't have much left in the tank, but I always seemed to be able to sprint the last ~ 200 yards to the finish line. I sprinted and tried to pass my target, but he sensed I was coming and pushed to the finish as well. After the race in the beer garden I met up with him, Kelly, who works for HP out of Vancouver. He thanked me for pushing him in the finish. I ended up finishing 55th of 1,640 overall, 50/581 of male runners, and 7/76 of M4044, and a time of 1:30: 34. Dang, just 35 seconds faster and to get under 1:30:00! My watch let me down here as it had my pace a bit quicker. I did beat my PR nearly eight minutes. All in all a good race.
After the Corvallis Half Marathon, I met up with a high school classmate Chris McCammon. He also works at HP, and we chatted in the HP fitness center about race and running in general. Chris had started training for the Lebanon Strawberry Festival 5k. I had ran that race in high school, and again in 2002 or 2003. After the Corvallis Half, I signed up for the Portland Marathon in October. My marathon training schedule does include some speed work, so I added this race to my schedule. I only had a few weeks to train for this 5k, and I didn't want to alter my marathon training activities too much. I did make an effort to hit all my speed workouts at or above target a little bit.
The day of the race the temperature was nice, in the 60's. Before the race I saw some high school classmates, my track and cross country coach (Marty Dannen), and some HP friends. The course is a flat out and back along Main and South Main in downtown Lebanon. My goal was to get under 20:00, which is under 6:26 min/mi. Now that I know my watch tracks my pace I bit quicker than reality, I set the watch to keep my pace between 6:10 and 6:15. The 5k felt more like a sprint after running in the half, and training for the full marathon! I kept my pace between the targets, but hitting toward the high end. My family wasn't at the event, but I did hear a few calls of my name during the race. Around the 1 mile mark, my shoe came untied, so I had to stop and retie my shoe. At the end of the race I saw a man probably about 50 yard in front of me, and I knew I could catch him. My heart rate was well into the 200's, but I sprinted hard... spectators were saying, "You can catch him! GO! GO! GO!" I caught him right before the finishing chute! Time, 19: 29 - 6:16 min/mil!
After the race I chatted with coach Dannen. There were several former students talking to coach Dannen including the winner that was 18 years old and ran a 16:31 @ 5:18. Coach Dannen congratulated me on my time, and as we chatted he told me he often used told a story to he former track runners. I was the only runner that every false started in the 3,000! That wasn't exactly the form of legacy that I wanted to be remember for, however that did trigger a memory of how much I despised that race in high school.. and that I probably false started on purpose. Marty though so too.
Our world changed in July 7th, 2011 when Christina was diagnosed with breast cancer. One of the remarkable and unimaginable phenomenons is the outreach and support from not only friends and family members, but perfect strangers impacted by this disease. Strangers that become friend and allies against this disease. Scott is one of those friends, and wife is battling colon cancer - read more on her blog Loving on Shawna. They set up a 10k fundraiser to offset her medical bills Shufflin-for-shawna-10k.
I signed up for the race, and the day of the race (Saturday March 24th, 2012) I asked my sixteen year old son Cole if he wanted to run with me in the race. Cole did run cross country a couple of years ago, but had not did any running other than condition for basketball in some time. He said, "Sure." Easy for a sixteen year old to just go out and run a 6.2 mile race without training, must be nice!
Christina, Cole, Jackson and I head to the race. Prior to the race we met up with Scott and Shawna, and we also were introduced to their family members, and other volunteers that setup the race. Christina volunteered to help with the timing, and Jackson was there to cheer us on. Cole was a bit nervous being that he didn't train, but the start was about to happen... On your marks, set, go!
The race was of modest size with an estimated total of 100 runners and walkers. Cole took off with the leaders while I hung back running my pace of about 6:30 to 6:45 minutes per mile. Cole started slowing down around mile 4, and I started gaining on him. Near the top of the hill on Walnut near MLK park I was about 20 - 30 yards behind Cole as he started to walk/run. My plan to run up beside him and give him some encouragement to finish strong with less than half a mile to the finish was thwarted when he looked back! Seeing his Dad coming up behind he was enough encouragement as he started running again creating some more separation. Game on! About 100 yards from the up hill finish I was gaining on Cole, and he didn't know that I was gaining on him. Jackson was near the finish and yelled, "Go Dad, you can beat him!", or something like that. Cole swiveled his head ahead around and saw his Dad within a few yard of him. His eyes widened, and started sprinting to the finish. Cole finished 3rd, and I finished 4th behind him.
 |
| Shawna & Christina at the Shufflin' for Shawna 10k |
The next race I completed was the Corvallis Half Marathon on Sunday, April 15th 2012. While training for this race, I discovered quite a few of my friends from work, old high school friends, and local acquaintances were running or walking in the race! Some I discovered after the race as I was very focused at kept to myself for the most part prior to the start of the race. During training I have ran the full course at least once, and parts of the course numerous times. The winner of the race this year (Craig Leon) was interviewed and said that it was a nice course and pretty flat! I guess for the most part that was true, however there is a gradual incline from mile 3.5 to 5.5 beside Bald Hill, and another tougher hill at mile 7 to mile 8.25 up Walnut Blvd. It was a tough section, but my training on those hills helped me power through them.
Around mile 10 I hit the wall; my heart rate started rising, I was dehydrated, and my legs felt like lead. I hit both water stations on Tyler at mile 10 and I think 11. After the second, I felt the water in the stomach gosling around. That second stop was probably a mistake! It was tough haulin' for the next couple of miles. According to my watch I was right about on target to finish below 1:30:00.
Towards the finish I spotted a target, a slower runner that I was gaining on. I picked up the pace enough to pass that runner, and then spotted another target as we headed towards the stadium. I didn't have much left in the tank, but I always seemed to be able to sprint the last ~ 200 yards to the finish line. I sprinted and tried to pass my target, but he sensed I was coming and pushed to the finish as well. After the race in the beer garden I met up with him, Kelly, who works for HP out of Vancouver. He thanked me for pushing him in the finish. I ended up finishing 55th of 1,640 overall, 50/581 of male runners, and 7/76 of M4044, and a time of 1:30: 34. Dang, just 35 seconds faster and to get under 1:30:00! My watch let me down here as it had my pace a bit quicker. I did beat my PR nearly eight minutes. All in all a good race.
 |
| My Finish at the Corvallis Half Marathon 2012 |
After the Corvallis Half Marathon, I met up with a high school classmate Chris McCammon. He also works at HP, and we chatted in the HP fitness center about race and running in general. Chris had started training for the Lebanon Strawberry Festival 5k. I had ran that race in high school, and again in 2002 or 2003. After the Corvallis Half, I signed up for the Portland Marathon in October. My marathon training schedule does include some speed work, so I added this race to my schedule. I only had a few weeks to train for this 5k, and I didn't want to alter my marathon training activities too much. I did make an effort to hit all my speed workouts at or above target a little bit.
The day of the race the temperature was nice, in the 60's. Before the race I saw some high school classmates, my track and cross country coach (Marty Dannen), and some HP friends. The course is a flat out and back along Main and South Main in downtown Lebanon. My goal was to get under 20:00, which is under 6:26 min/mi. Now that I know my watch tracks my pace I bit quicker than reality, I set the watch to keep my pace between 6:10 and 6:15. The 5k felt more like a sprint after running in the half, and training for the full marathon! I kept my pace between the targets, but hitting toward the high end. My family wasn't at the event, but I did hear a few calls of my name during the race. Around the 1 mile mark, my shoe came untied, so I had to stop and retie my shoe. At the end of the race I saw a man probably about 50 yard in front of me, and I knew I could catch him. My heart rate was well into the 200's, but I sprinted hard... spectators were saying, "You can catch him! GO! GO! GO!" I caught him right before the finishing chute! Time, 19: 29 - 6:16 min/mil!
After the race I chatted with coach Dannen. There were several former students talking to coach Dannen including the winner that was 18 years old and ran a 16:31 @ 5:18. Coach Dannen congratulated me on my time, and as we chatted he told me he often used told a story to he former track runners. I was the only runner that every false started in the 3,000! That wasn't exactly the form of legacy that I wanted to be remember for, however that did trigger a memory of how much I despised that race in high school.. and that I probably false started on purpose. Marty though so too.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Slow 20M ~ Long slow run
Today on my Garmin training center calendar it listed "Slow 20M." That simple description makes it seem easy, just run for 20 miles at a slow pace. I completed my longest run of 19 miles last weekend, so tacking on just on more miles should have been a piece of cake right? Well, I guess it was fairly easy the first 14 or 15 miles, but after that my legs felt a little dead. I hurt the top of my left foot during the 19 mile run in the Mac forest, and I could feel it a bit during the run. It wasn't painful just there if you know what I mean; my left shoe felt tighter. After showering I noticed it was a bit swollen. The hardest part of the run, at least the most time consuming, wasn't the run at all.. it was the preparation.
There are miles of bike paths and lanes in Corvallis, however after running here for nearly a year I have followed many of the same routes for longer runs. Many of the loops consist of the bike path along Philomath Blvd connecting to 53rd and to the waterfront, the path around Bald hill, and the path up Walnut by MLK Park and then down to HP. I also run south of town down Bellfountain to Airport, and go east and west dependent on the miles required for the run. My trip to the Mac forest via Oak Creek last weekend was a first, and the hills were not my favorite for a long run. So for the 20 mile run I spent hours trying to map out a new course that was fairly flat, off of the roads as much as possible, and someplace that I hadn't ran 50 times! In the end I gave up and just extended my Philomath / Corvallis loop.
About 7 miles into the run on a part of West Hills road that I hadn't ran before, and man was coming down a gravel driveway I was about to cross. He looked at me at his right, looked to his left, and then started coming out just as I cross the front of his 1980's K car. I held both hands out as to try bring the car to a stop, warning the driver he as about to hit a pedestrian, or brace myself for a stop-get-dropped-and-rolll of the top of this guys car! He stopped and looked very annoyed that I didn't yield him the right of way! Maybe they are use to seeing runners out in the country!
Only 13 miles to go after that incident. Now I am back on my regular training routes, and heading around Bald Hill and up Walnut. My pace is fine, hydration is good, and heart rate in check. As I round from Circle to Hwy 20 (mile 14-15) I started dragging a bit. I stopped just short of the HP entrance on Hwy 20 under some trees to get some water and let my heart rate get back to recovery levels. I then pushed it in the last 4-5 miles.
There are miles of bike paths and lanes in Corvallis, however after running here for nearly a year I have followed many of the same routes for longer runs. Many of the loops consist of the bike path along Philomath Blvd connecting to 53rd and to the waterfront, the path around Bald hill, and the path up Walnut by MLK Park and then down to HP. I also run south of town down Bellfountain to Airport, and go east and west dependent on the miles required for the run. My trip to the Mac forest via Oak Creek last weekend was a first, and the hills were not my favorite for a long run. So for the 20 mile run I spent hours trying to map out a new course that was fairly flat, off of the roads as much as possible, and someplace that I hadn't ran 50 times! In the end I gave up and just extended my Philomath / Corvallis loop.
About 7 miles into the run on a part of West Hills road that I hadn't ran before, and man was coming down a gravel driveway I was about to cross. He looked at me at his right, looked to his left, and then started coming out just as I cross the front of his 1980's K car. I held both hands out as to try bring the car to a stop, warning the driver he as about to hit a pedestrian, or brace myself for a stop-get-dropped-and-rolll of the top of this guys car! He stopped and looked very annoyed that I didn't yield him the right of way! Maybe they are use to seeing runners out in the country!
Only 13 miles to go after that incident. Now I am back on my regular training routes, and heading around Bald Hill and up Walnut. My pace is fine, hydration is good, and heart rate in check. As I round from Circle to Hwy 20 (mile 14-15) I started dragging a bit. I stopped just short of the HP entrance on Hwy 20 under some trees to get some water and let my heart rate get back to recovery levels. I then pushed it in the last 4-5 miles.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Week of March 5th–Corvallis High School Boys Basketball 5A Champs!!
I decided to start posting weekly instead of daily as I was finding it difficult to keep up. This week was full of exciting basketball games, tough workouts, personal breakthroughs, and lots of work. Let’s kick things of with the Corvallis HS boys basketball team. The championship series was held at Matthew Knight Area in Eugene. We travelled down as a family to each of the games to support the Spartans. The games were exciting, especially the semifinal game against Benson and the Championship game against Milwaukie. You can see the brackets here. The Spartans cohesive teamwork is the main ingredient behind there success, and it showed this week. Congrats Spartans! We are looking forward to seeing the basketball players at the “Shoot’n for Christina” 3-Point Contest held next Saturday, March 17th 2012 at the Corvallis High School Gym! Christina and Jenny Smith have been working extremely hard in planning this event, so please if you are local, come check it out! Proceeds from Shoot'n for Christina will benefit the Corvallis High School Basketball Program and Christina's Real Talk breast cancer fund.
Throughout this journey it has been difficult for me to turn down the HP burner to strike a healthy balance between my professional and personal life. I use running as one tool to reduce stress, but really that is more reactive than proactive. It is a temporary solution that doesn’t necessarily address the underlying issues. This week I took a couple of steps to address the underlying issues. The first is that I decided to see a therapist to just talk about things. Although Christina and I talk all the time, and I do have friends I use as sounding boards, I wanted to sit down with a professional to give me some more tools to work out some of my internal struggles. Secondly, I visited a webcast on how to get control of your inbox derived from David Allen’s Getting Things Done, and Michael Linenberger’s Total workday Control / Manage Your Now. I plan to incorporate these tools into both my personal an professional life enabling me to be more effective and efficient at work, dedicate more time to the family, and make running more recreational than therapeutic.
This week’s running workouts were tough! My Achilles injury has healed nicely putting me at about 90 – 95%. I am still icing after my runs as a preventative measure. I was able to give nearly 100% on each workout. The Hills and 18M workouts were the toughest be mile! I had to really dig deep on both of these workouts. The hill work was suppose to be 2 minutes running up hill followed by 3 minutes down repeated twenty times. I decided to use a hill on the Corvallis Half Marathon course near Martin Luther King Jr. park to build up my muscle memory as hill is 1.5M long with slight but increasing grade. Around the fourth or fifth interval I knew I wasn’t going to be able to gut it out to twenty, but I thought I could do ten. After the seventh I decided it was enough as my back was a little sore, and my right hamstring was tightening a bit.
The 18M run was another beast altogether! The first five or six miles were on pace. As the grade increased around Bald Hill I struggled to keep up the pace. Around mile 9 ran up the same part of the route that I did hills on earlier in the week. My pace dropped off by about 10 seconds, but made it up on the downhill. Back on the flats around mile 12 I had to fight to keep pace at the high end of my pace. I took a few rest stops between mile 12 and the end of the Corvallis Half Marathon Finish (Mile 15). I stretched my back and hamstrings for a few minutes, and then decided if I wanted to complete my planned router or take the shorter route home. I thought about Shauna and Christina once again, and decided to push forward and complete the route. I did have to stop a few more times, but completed the run. It was a tough run, and I am schedule to get a massage to workout some kinks in my lower back and tightness in my hamstrings.
See you next week.
| Monday | Tuesday |
| Wednesday | Thursday |
| Friday | Saturday |
| Sunday | |
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Back from an injury
Several weeks ago I injured my left Achilles tendon and calve from over-training. My goal is to bet my half marathon PR and get below 1:30. In October of last year I dropped about two and a half minutes of my PR (1:38:12) at the Run Away Pumpkin Half Marathon. This was my first race since Christina was diagnosed, and we had just returned from Oregon. I only trained for about two weeks, and it was a tough race. I planned to training fully for the next half marathon.
Enter the Cascade Half Marathon. This race was scheduled far enough in advance to allow for a ten week training schedule. I set my training schedule using the Runner's World UK Schedule For Your Garmin site with a target of 1:30. The paces in the workouts felt about right. The distance workout were fine, but the speed workout were tough! The race was one of the toughest half marathons I competed in as I really had to push myself to keep my pace within range, but I did nearly hit my target. I knew in the next race I would be able to break the 1:30 mark!
After the race, I searched for my next race. I found the Corvallis Half Marathon scheduled for April 15, 2012. I went to the RW site to setup my new training schedule. I decided that since I was able to cut nearly eight minutes from my previous PR it would be reasonable to set a target of 1:25. After a couple of rest days, I started my new training program. The new workout were felt a little fast, and the speed workouts really pushed me to my limits. After a few weeks my Achilles and calve said enough is enough! Time for RICE - (Rest, Ice, Compression, & Elevation).
The last few weeks have been tough not being able to run. The stress of work and life keep coming, but I can’t run? Not fair, but I did have it coming. The over-training certainly contributed to the injury, however my injury prevention program… what a second… what is an injury prevention program? Is that what all the warm up jogs, stretching, and calisthenics were all about in high school? I never liked doing them, and as an adult I didn’t have to follow the rules. Oops! Needless to say, I have started to follow an injury prevention program.
Over the last week or so, I started to run again. I backed my training schedule back down to a sub 1:30 half, and started a preventive injury program. I warm up, stretch, run, cool down, and stretch again in every workout. I may incorporate some Yoga at some point, but for now that is the extent of my stretching.
| Yesterday I ran a 10k practice run at race pace. I ran the last part of the Corvallis Half Marathon course starting at the finish, up to the course 3.1 miles, and then back to the finish. This was my first speed workout since my injury, and I took a few extra seconds at the traffic lights to catch my breath. The last couple of miles were tough, but the slight downhill grade helped. I need to register for the Shufflin’ For Shawna: 10k fundraiser which is scheduled for Saturday, March 24th at MLK Jr. Park in Corvallis. It will fit nicely with a scheduled workout around that time. Christina and Shawna have connected through mutual friends, and we want to support Shawna and her family. If you are local you can sign up for the 10k run/walk and there is a free 1k for kids. See you next time! |
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Running in the Sand with Cole & Carlos
| Today
is Saturday, January 21st 2012, time for a trip to the beach!
I have been encouraging Cole and Carlos to start running to
help them with their conditioning for basketball and wrestling
respectively. They have been dragging their feet on this
subject, well kicking their feet up would be a better expression.
So it was much to my surprise when I asked them if they
wanted to run on the beach with me they both said yes! Jackson had
other plans, so it was a bonus for Christina as she had the house to
herself for a couple of hours. Cole ran with me the whole way, and
Carlos wasn't too far behind us on the at the half way point.
On the way back Carlos' feet were hurting, and he walked part
of the way back. See you next time! Keywords: 310XT, cancer, Corvallis, garmin, running, TNBC, Newport, Oregon, Coast, Cole, Carlos |
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Run through the flooded waters
| Today
is January 20th 2012. The mild temperatures in the
mountains and torrential rain led to rivers cresting their
banks, and flooding in many citiies in the valley. I decide
to go for a run near Mary's River and the Willamette to check it out.
I took a few videos along the way. I hope you enjoy. See you next time! |
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Water logged
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As many of you know, the flooding conditions in the valley are getting
pretty bad. Around our neck of the woods the Willamette river
is very high, and there is some major flooding in Philomath causing
some road closure. After the half marathon last Sunday, I
completed a couple of runs out in the rain trying to avoid the small
ponds in the roads, overflowing culverts, and oncoming vechicles
dousing with road grim as they plow through the aforementioned ponds in
the road. The plus side is that the temperature has risen, so the runs
have been pleasant. With all the rain, I haven't created in
new videos for fear to water logging my camera/phone!
Yesterday I ran 9 miles at a pretty good
pace, 7:38/mi. My workout schedule doesnt' start for about a
week, however I felt good so I ran at a best that felt good. Today I
decided to switch it up and go to the gym at the HP site, free is a
really good price! I hit the weights, and did the elliptical. Over the last couple of days, Christina have been talking more about creating our own race. Something came to be the other day; what about having a race at the beach? We love the coast, we were married at the coast, why not have our race there? Christina though it was a great idea, and we are making a few calls to see what it would take. If you know of someone that has created a 5k/10k fundraiser, please let us know. In the meantime, we are going to the coast this weekend and I hope to do a run on the beach. I'll post some videos weather permitting. See you next time! |
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Monday, January 16, 2012
Half Marathon, Snow in Corvallis, How to start our own race
| I
completed another half marathon this weekend, hooray! A few
days leading up to the race, the event website noted the forecast for
the race as I shared previously. The forecaster was dead on!
We saw the snow on the ground the night before, and in the
morning I tested my footing as I went to warm up the car.
Yip, there was ice under the snow, so I fear for a very
slippery race. As traveled to Turner for the race, the
weather cleared up outside of Albany. Unfortunately as we
entered Turner the snow was blanketing the streets. Runners
in the gym were all hoping the snow would melt off before the 9AM
start. Close to race time the snow started to fall again!
When the cattle bells rang, big flakes of snow floated across
the starting shoot. Fortunately the roads were not too terrible, patches of ice and slush, and patches of bare wet pavement. I set my watch to alert me when my pace was outside the range of 6:54/mi and 6:34/m. I started easy ensure I could get good traction, and once I was more comfortable I settling into a pace of about 6:54/mi. My watch buzzed every few seconds telling my to "speed up!", until I finally got my pace within range. The air was very cool with blasts of 8-10mph winds every once in a while, but after about 2 miles my body was heated up to the point that I didn't notice the cold too much. I picked off quite a few runners in the beginning, and settled behind a small group of runners that were about twenty yards head. As the runners ahead of me passed the turnaround, I counted them to determine were I was placing. I was in 31st or 32nd place out of ~880 runners! That was motivation for me to keep pushing, and keep my pace within range. At the turn-around we headed into the wind gusts. This slowed me down enough for my pace to fall below 6:54, and my watch told me to speed up! My body was telling me to slow down, take a break, take it easy, or even to stop and walk. My brain was telling me to keep pushing, you are past half way, and this is nothing compared to battles others are facing. It is hard to put into words of the actual movitating thoughts, but that is the best way I can put it. I notice I had a picked up a drafter at about mile 5 or 6, and he drafted behind me for a couple miles. He passed me on a straight stretched a mile or so after the turnaround. I don't like being passed, and in my younger years I would have tried to keep pace with him so I could pass him back. Today I just let him go and continued to run my race. I noticed another runner about 100m heading of me that I was closing on, but I just continued to run my pace. As I started to pace him he started speeding up, but he couldn't keep the pace and would slow down, and then speed up as I started moving past him again. This lasted about a 200m, and then I just had to stride out to pick up my pace a bit because he was throwing off my pace. That was at about mile 11. Two miles to go. My abs were tighening a bit, legs were a little heavy, and my breathing was I bit labored. Two miles is nothing I told myself, and thought about when or if I was going to start my kick. The one mile mark? Half mile? Finish chute? As I came through a series of s-curves, I looked back briefly to see if there was anyone close to me. The guy that I passed was about 200 to 300m behind me, and the guy that passed me was about 300 - 400m ahead of me. Since I had no feasiable target, and no immediate threats I decided to start picking up my pace a touch with about one mile before the finish. With about a quarter of a mile to go I shifted into fourth gear, striding out, and picking up the tempo. Going into the last turn, a volunteer was waving me in, yelling something, but I had my earphones in so not exactly sure what he was saying - I am sure something like, "Your almost there, good job, keep it up!" I was now in fifth gear, didn't have the RPM's for sixth ;-) Breathing was tough, heart rate threw the roof, and legs feeling like cement, I kept pumping through the finish line! Clicked stop on the watch, and looked for my family. My wife and kids congradulated me, and I just wanted water. I was really driven to hit 1:30, so I didn't stop at the water stations. I was a little nauseated from the tough race. Jackson went to the car to get my gatorade, and then we went to the post race area to get some food. I chatted with some racers, got some food, and left. Later I found online that I was 31 of 396 runners, and 9th of 44 in my age group! Pretty good I guess. "31 253 Curtis Garrett 44 M 9/41 M4044 Corvallis OR 3 0:07 1:31:25 6:59 1:31:32 7:00" Christina and I met with our neighbor the sponsor a 5k run about how to create our own run to raise funds for Christina's treatment, and to raise awareness of the benefits of alternative treatment modalities. Amy gave us some resources to help us get started, and offered her assistance when or if we decided to create our own race. Very exciting stuff! My next race is in April, the Corvallis Half Marathon. I have created a new workout plan that will start on the 25th, until then I will just do a few easy runs. See you next time! |
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Friday, January 13, 2012
4M Steady, Two Days before the Cascade Half Marathon
| Today
Christinas was in Eugene most of the day, the kids were at school, and
I spent most of the day in my office working. Tonight we went
to Cole's basketball game at West Albay High School. We won
by around 10 point, but it was a pretty close game up to mid way
through the forth quarter. Cole played really good both
defensively, and directly his team from the point guard position. His
shots attempts were limited, but he did hit a three point buzzer beater
at the end of the third quarter! We are just two days from the Cascade Half Marathon! Here is the weather report, " Weather forecast as of 1/13: Outside - Snow showers likely before 10am, then rain and snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. South wind between 8 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. . Inside the gym - 72 & dry, chance of hot soup and hot showers - 100%" Start times:Half-Marathon (early start)...........8:00 am Looks like we are going to have to bundle up a bit, and maybe break out the snow shoes? How often does it really snow in the valley? We will see. I hope to break 1:30, but if there is snow that will slow me down. Wish me luck! Today is was cold, but not 36 degrees cold! I ran a 4 mile steady run, slower than race pace at 7:19/mi. I felt good, relaxed, and thought about the race. |
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Thursday, January 12, 2012
3M Brisk Run, Busy yet neventful day
| Today
was farily uneventful, I worked hard most of the day, took some time
out to go for my run, and now I have a late night meeting.
We'll keep this post short for today, I am sure tomorrow will
be more eventful. Today's run was a 3 mile brisk run, meaning 7 minute miles fast. That is a pretty good pace, a little above my planned race pace for the half marathon on Sunday. I ran a pretty flat course, and felt good the entire run. See you tomorrow! |
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6M Easy Run, Connecting with a friend
| Yesterday
I was a good day in that I was able connect with a friend from work,
Jana. We worked together on a big project a few years ago,
and we have remained friends since. We general talk about
career aspirations, balancing work and life, and some personal stuff.
It is always great talk with her because we struggle with
some of the same things, and we keep each other honest. I
came away from that conversation feeling better about my
current job responsibilities and plans for the future, thanks Jana :-) Yesterday was just a nice easy 6 mile easy run, hitting west hills road. I had a little twinge in my right knee at the beginning of the run, which led my mind down the path of , "I hope I didn't just injury myself just days before the race!". Throughout the run I focused on keep my pace slow, listening to my body, and enjoying the nice cool pacific northwest weather... brrrr. |
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Home Alone, Hitting The Track
| Recently Christina went to visit a new friend that has colon cancer. The woman is very young with young childern, and the outlook is not very good. It amazes me everyday by the number of people affected by cancer, and now that we are in the population how it seems to touch our lives directly and indirectly every day. We talked about the struggles that cancer patients go through, and it is very difficult to say the least. Christina has an immense capacity to give, even while battling cancer. She visits friends that are having a bad day, talks with other women various forms of cancer, continues to mother our many childern both near and far, and of course is the most amazing wife. Today Christina went to visit her friend Leslie up in Newberg, and later we will both attend our son's basketball game. What a woman! While Christina was visiting, I took a break around lunch time to run some intervals. During the many laps around the track at Corvallis High my mind was lost in just trying to keep my pace, I didn't think about work, about cancer, or about anything else really. I was so focused that after the run I forgot to capture my post run video! Anyway, it was a good workout and I hit my laptimes within pace. | |
Long night, Easy Run
| Last night I needed to do some work in preparation for the next week. I had to run into the office earlier in the evening to get a computer back online so I could access it remotely. After the computer was online I headed home to finish the work. I finished my work around 2:30AM Monday morning, not exactly how I planned to spend my Sunday night. Work life balance is difficult in current position, especially at night as I frequenlty meet with people in Singapore in my evening hours. I am working on fixing this for 2012 as I need to be available to my family in the evenings. | |
Sunday, January 8, 2012
21 Miles , 199LBs, & 6 - Month Diagnosis Anniversary, What a Weekend!
| This weekend seemed to fly by after having the extended holiday break. On Saturday I ran 12 miles, and Christina, Jackson, and I went on a 5 mile bike ride. The weather was pretty nice considering, and we had a fun time. I weighed myself after my run,and I can now say that I weigh less than 200 pounds! Just a couple of years ago I weight 269 pounds, and the beginning of last year I was at 230 pounds. It has taken a while to lose the extra weight, but I think I did it in a healthy way by adjusting my lifestyle, and set realistic goals. After my brief celebration I gave Christina a massage, and relaxed the rest of the day. Yesterday, January 7th, was the six month anniversay of Christina's diagnose. We chose to celebrate this day by living life to the fullest, and took a trip to Newport. We were married at the Oregon Coast, and love visiting every chance we get. Corvallis was socked in with fog, but just a few miles outside of Philomath the skies were blue and fog free. The coast was beautifully sunny, but a bit chill. There were a bunch of surfers hitting the waves decked out in wet suits. We had fun running around on the beach with the kids, taking a few pictures, and taking in the beauty of the Oregon Coast. After getting back home I went out for my 9 mile steady run. It was foggy and chilly, but a farily nice and easy run. This amounted to 21 miles over the weekend, which is amazing to me because today I felt like it was just another 9 mile run. Crazy, a couple of years ago I could not run one mile under 8:00 minutes! It is one week from the Cascade Half Marathon, and I am better prepared than my last run in Lebanon in October. Tonight we will relax, eat a little cake, and give my beautiful wife a nice long massage. Please post your comments! See you next week! | |
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Christina's Blog
Thursday, January 5, 2012
3M Brisk Run ~ Just another day in the fight against TNBC
| Today was fairly quite at work in that I spent the morning answering email, and trying to resolve a couple of issues. I looked forward to going for a run around noon, and around 1PM I started getting ready to hit the road. As I was leaving Christina was a bit distraught after comparing her blood count levels with those from previous test.They were in range, just lower than previous tests for a couple of markers. It is something we will have to keep an eye on. I know that there wasn't anything I could say or do in order to make the numbers look any better, but I thought I would give her a massage after my quick little run. This run was 3 miles with a 1 mile warm up and cool down, running at 7:05/mi to 7:25/mi. I decided to run the path down past Avery Park, to the waterfront, and back. It was pretty cold, and Iwas just wearing shorts and a long sleeved shirt so I ran on the fast side of the range average about 7:04/mi for the three miles. It felt good besides the cold. After my run, I gave Christina a nice long massage on the massage table I gave to her on Mother's day a few years ago. She was very appreciative :-) See you next time. | |
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
6M Steady Run ~ First day back to work after the holiday break, looking forward to a nice steady run on a flat route
| Today was one of those days in which you really need to get away from the office. I spent most of the moring and early afternoon tryingto get back into the swing of things at work, while trying to wade through the mountain of email in my inbox! Around 2:30PM I was finally able to get out to do my 6 mile run, but I didn't decide on exactly where I was going to run, just that I need to get it done before I started getting dark. This time of year that is around 5PM. So I just started running from sunset park thinking I would just make a loop around the OSU area. I hit SW Reservoir Ave around the 2 mile mark. None of my previous routes used this road, so no time better than the present right? There went my goal of having an easy, flat run! If you click on the "View Details" in the Garmin Connect link below you can see the elevation profile, which is steadily uphill until about 3.5 miles. After all the 400's yesterday my quads where not liking the hills that much. I had to call on my inner strength to push me through to the turn around point. These are the times I test myself, and the times that I am apprectivite to have the ability to be physically active while many others do not. On the downhill, I just put on the cruise control and relaxed for the rest of the run. All in all it was a good run. | |
Christina's Blog
January 3rd, 2012 ~ 12 x 400m Intervals ~ Fast
Where these any easier in high school?
Visit Christina's Blog
| Christina took two of the boys up to Portland to visit some friends and family today. I am always amazed by Christina's generosity! When her friends are having a hard time, she does what she can to help them through it. Sometimes that mean picking up the phone, other times it means making a trip to sit down my visit. I thought about this during my workout, and I am so proud to have a wife that is so compassionate. My workout was really pretty easy, just cruised around the track a dozen times. | |
Running Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) - A Husband’s Journey
January 1st 2012 ~ First Run of the New Year !!!
15 Miles ~ Loop starting near Country Club Road to Corvallis
High, Crescent Valley High, Up Walnut, and back to Country Club Road
Visit Christina's Blog
July 2011, my wife Christina was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). This was devastating news for our family. When Christina first told me her diagnosis, I was literally in shock. The feeling was very similar to witnessing a traumatic event like a car accident followed by being punched in the stomach. Christina and I have a great marriage, and we have overcome a great deal of challenges throughout the years, but this is was a huge hurdle to overcome. After recovering from the initial blow (if this is ever really possible to recover 100% as it seems that the emotions involved in dealing with this disease always seem to ride just below the surface), we started battling against TNBC.
Christina does a wonderful job on her blog http://christinasrealtalk.blogspot.com detailing everything from the initially diagnose, research articles, featured guest articles, and various other topics. Please visit her blog to get more details of her journey, through her eyes. She is a very good writer, and her posts will move you.
Running Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) – A Husband’s Journey is about my journey, as a husband of a wife with a TNBC diagnosis. Why did I start this blog? Let me give you a brief overview of my running experiences over the years. When I was in middle school in the late 70s, I realized I was not going to be the next Tony Dorsett, Julius Erving, or Reggie Jackson. I did not quite have the hand–eye coordination, natural athletic ability to good in football, basketball, or baseball. I did however, learned that I could run long distances easily and I did not have to do anything with a ball! I ran road races until I could join the track team in 7th grade. I continued to “try” to play football and basketball in 7th and 8th grade, and then ran track and cross-country all four years in high school. In 1985, by the end of my senior year, I became burned out on running, vowing, “never to run again!”
In 2005, twenty years later and about 75 pounds heavier, I decided it was time to get into shape. The best way I knew how to do that was to run and lift weights; I started running with some former high school friends. I fell in love with running all over again. Running enables me to let go of all the stress of the day, burn some calories, and catch a runners high – activating endorphins while mentally and physically pushing myself. I registered for the 2006 Portland Marathon to keep me motivated, and it worked. I dropped about 40 pounds and my long run was up to 20 miles. Unfortunately, during a 30k race I pulled my hamstring and could not compete in the Portland Marathon.
While I was healing and shortly after my friends raced in the Portland Marathon, I met Christina around Thanksgiving in 2003. There were many things going on during this time both personally and professionally, therefore my running took a backseat. I learned one of the many benefits of being married is eating well! The pounds came back on, and in 2007, I hit an all-time high of 269 pounds! OMG! We had just moved to Houston Texas, which is one of the hottest and most humid places I have been to in all of my life! I decided to stay indoors for my workouts initially hitting the weights and the elliptical machine to shred a few pounds. Eventually I had to start pounding the pavement [running] again to break the 250 mark.
In order to stay motivated I decided to start participating in road races again, back to my running roots. I started with 5k and 10k races. I used a Timex watch with heart rate monitor for the first year or so in Texas; running close to home or on the treadmill in the gym. Eventually I got bored with those routes, and not knowing Houston very well, I decided to get a Garmin Forerunner GPS watch (310XT). Now I had the ability to map out running routes – preventing me from getting lost, again! I love the watch as it keeps tracks of my routes, time/pace, heart rate, weight (with additional scale), and I can share my workouts on Facebook! I also started using running workouts from www.runnersworld.uk. This technology customizes the settings according to my race goal this data can be imported into Garmin’s Training Center and then into my watch, how cool is that? Enough with the history lesson, what is going on today?
When Christina was diagnosed with TNBC, I had been running for a couple of years, and just completed another half marathon. I was in pretty good shape, weighing in at 220 lbs. Needless to say, my running activities stopped completely for a couple of weeks following her diagnosis. I just could not be away from Christina at that time, I needed to be there for her in any way she needed. I often consulted with my friend Jana about work issues, but during this time, I leaned on her [Jana] for emotional support… to be a sounding board for me. Beyond this, I knew I needed to burn off some stress, but felt some guilt for doing something for “myself”. She encouraged me to get back to running because it would put me in a better place to be able to be there for my wife Christina. I also talked to a couple of other friends that have wives with breast cancer, and I received the similar words of encouragement. With Christina’s blessing, I started my running routine again.
Today my running routine is the same in that I am stilling scheduling road races, and training 5 – 6 days a week. I am very thankful to have running in my life at this point as it gives me the space to reduce my worry, stress, and be there for Christina. I am learning even more about my own inner strength. During my runs when I think I cannot go any farther or push any more, I think of Christina or our friend Angela, or Lisa, or anyone else battling cancer and I say to myself, “Compared to that fight, this is a piece of cake”, then I go farther, push harder, and finish strong!
15 Miles ~ Loop starting near Country Club Road to Corvallis
High, Crescent Valley High, Up Walnut, and back to Country Club Road
| Today was the my first run of 2012. We had a great Christmas and New Year holiday with family and friends. During this run there were a few challenging hills, check out the Garmin player link and you can see for yourself! Christina is my encouragement as I move up the hill, and as I finish I always know that she will be proud of me :-) | |
Visit Christina's Blog
July 2011, my wife Christina was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). This was devastating news for our family. When Christina first told me her diagnosis, I was literally in shock. The feeling was very similar to witnessing a traumatic event like a car accident followed by being punched in the stomach. Christina and I have a great marriage, and we have overcome a great deal of challenges throughout the years, but this is was a huge hurdle to overcome. After recovering from the initial blow (if this is ever really possible to recover 100% as it seems that the emotions involved in dealing with this disease always seem to ride just below the surface), we started battling against TNBC.
Christina does a wonderful job on her blog http://christinasrealtalk.blogspot.com detailing everything from the initially diagnose, research articles, featured guest articles, and various other topics. Please visit her blog to get more details of her journey, through her eyes. She is a very good writer, and her posts will move you.
Running Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) – A Husband’s Journey is about my journey, as a husband of a wife with a TNBC diagnosis. Why did I start this blog? Let me give you a brief overview of my running experiences over the years. When I was in middle school in the late 70s, I realized I was not going to be the next Tony Dorsett, Julius Erving, or Reggie Jackson. I did not quite have the hand–eye coordination, natural athletic ability to good in football, basketball, or baseball. I did however, learned that I could run long distances easily and I did not have to do anything with a ball! I ran road races until I could join the track team in 7th grade. I continued to “try” to play football and basketball in 7th and 8th grade, and then ran track and cross-country all four years in high school. In 1985, by the end of my senior year, I became burned out on running, vowing, “never to run again!”
In 2005, twenty years later and about 75 pounds heavier, I decided it was time to get into shape. The best way I knew how to do that was to run and lift weights; I started running with some former high school friends. I fell in love with running all over again. Running enables me to let go of all the stress of the day, burn some calories, and catch a runners high – activating endorphins while mentally and physically pushing myself. I registered for the 2006 Portland Marathon to keep me motivated, and it worked. I dropped about 40 pounds and my long run was up to 20 miles. Unfortunately, during a 30k race I pulled my hamstring and could not compete in the Portland Marathon.
While I was healing and shortly after my friends raced in the Portland Marathon, I met Christina around Thanksgiving in 2003. There were many things going on during this time both personally and professionally, therefore my running took a backseat. I learned one of the many benefits of being married is eating well! The pounds came back on, and in 2007, I hit an all-time high of 269 pounds! OMG! We had just moved to Houston Texas, which is one of the hottest and most humid places I have been to in all of my life! I decided to stay indoors for my workouts initially hitting the weights and the elliptical machine to shred a few pounds. Eventually I had to start pounding the pavement [running] again to break the 250 mark.
In order to stay motivated I decided to start participating in road races again, back to my running roots. I started with 5k and 10k races. I used a Timex watch with heart rate monitor for the first year or so in Texas; running close to home or on the treadmill in the gym. Eventually I got bored with those routes, and not knowing Houston very well, I decided to get a Garmin Forerunner GPS watch (310XT). Now I had the ability to map out running routes – preventing me from getting lost, again! I love the watch as it keeps tracks of my routes, time/pace, heart rate, weight (with additional scale), and I can share my workouts on Facebook! I also started using running workouts from www.runnersworld.uk. This technology customizes the settings according to my race goal this data can be imported into Garmin’s Training Center and then into my watch, how cool is that? Enough with the history lesson, what is going on today?
When Christina was diagnosed with TNBC, I had been running for a couple of years, and just completed another half marathon. I was in pretty good shape, weighing in at 220 lbs. Needless to say, my running activities stopped completely for a couple of weeks following her diagnosis. I just could not be away from Christina at that time, I needed to be there for her in any way she needed. I often consulted with my friend Jana about work issues, but during this time, I leaned on her [Jana] for emotional support… to be a sounding board for me. Beyond this, I knew I needed to burn off some stress, but felt some guilt for doing something for “myself”. She encouraged me to get back to running because it would put me in a better place to be able to be there for my wife Christina. I also talked to a couple of other friends that have wives with breast cancer, and I received the similar words of encouragement. With Christina’s blessing, I started my running routine again.
Today my running routine is the same in that I am stilling scheduling road races, and training 5 – 6 days a week. I am very thankful to have running in my life at this point as it gives me the space to reduce my worry, stress, and be there for Christina. I am learning even more about my own inner strength. During my runs when I think I cannot go any farther or push any more, I think of Christina or our friend Angela, or Lisa, or anyone else battling cancer and I say to myself, “Compared to that fight, this is a piece of cake”, then I go farther, push harder, and finish strong!
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