Oh foam roller, you wonderful painful piece of foam I could not live without! Oh how I love, yet hate you all at the same time.
Needless to say, the foam roller is turning out to be one of my most important pieces of running gear I own. This was not always the case. I mean, I have always used the foam roller, but I didn't really usseeee it, if ya know what I mean.
In the past, my time with the foam roller was short and sweet, mainly because it hurt like the dickens. This should have been a sign to me that I needed to spend more time rollin. But honestly, I was never quite sure how I should have been using it. Or how long should I be using it???
About 2 weeks ago, I was talking to a buddy that is a super fast sub 3 hour marathoner (something I will never see) and we were talking about how my knees were starting to bother me. The inside part of my knee is what was bothering me. So we talked about this and he mentioned that it was probably my IT band that was causing the pain! He explained to me how the IT band could be affecting my knees. He went on to say how spends up to 2 hours on the foam roller. He will search and search until he finds that sweet spot and then just work it out.
I have never been on my roller for 2 hours!!!
So I went home and did about 20 minutes. Close enough right?
I rolled very slow and methodical and it hurt, but I could actually feel my IT band releasing after a few solid minutes on it. So I did the same thing the next night and the night after that. 3 straight nights I spent on the floor with my roller. And guess what?
My knees are feeling much better. So I am sold on it and I have been doing it just about every other night and I am loving it ( I really hate it, but you know what I mean) It's a lot like running, you may hate the mile you are on, but you love the end result. So if you do not have a foam roller, get one!
I know we have not really been seeing eye to eye lately and if I am being honest, you have been a real jerk the past few weeks. You have not really been inviting at all and you have been somewhat standoffish with me (Did I just make up a new word?) I have wanted to run, and I have really thought alot about you. You don't know this, but I have talked about you to my friends and even made plans for us to get together, but you always have had a way of ruining our plans.
Now, I know what you are thinking, "How can it be my fault?" Well, lately you have just sucked! You have not been there for me. I know I have had a cold, there has been bad weather and treadmills aren't really the same, but those are just excuses. Admit it! So that is why I hooked up with other exercises. Biking and swimming have been good to me lately, they treat me well and are excited to do things with me. So naturally, I have been spending more time with them. I also want you to know that I have been doing more strength training, and it has been great. I have not sweated like that in a long time!
But, if I am honest, I do miss you! That is why I wanted last week to be about me and you, just the two of us. The weather cleared up, and we got to get together outside, just like when we first met. We did some intervals together, we got to just run outside and it was fun! That is why I want us to give it another chance. I am committing to making this work, but it can't only come from me. I need you to committ to me as well. We can make a strong team, but we have to want it and we have to do it together. So, let me know if you want to give us another chance, I will be waiting for an answer...
P.S. Just so you know, today I bought you something black and lacy...new shoe laces as a symbol of my new committment to you!
As you can probably guess, I have a passion for running and endurance sports. I know I gripe about it a lot, but I really do enjoy it. I love the freedom it gives me. I enjoy the the way it clears my mind and the time it gives me to think. Sometime I can literally get lost in my run. I have even had moments where I miss mile markers, and that is a great feeling. You know we must love it or why else would we get up at dark thirty in the morning to do it?
So with this love of running, I of course want others to love and to see the value of it. Many people understand, others don't get it and many want nothing to do with it, and that is fine, but I have been looking for a way to share this love and hopefully get others off the couch and moving, and this is how it started.
I have never had a problem training I am very meticulous about it and I can tell what I am going to be doing 3 weeks from today. I also make time for it, sometimes getting up as early as 4:30 AM just to get my miles in. I had a good balance between my family, my work and my training schedule, but one thing I was leaving out was my spiritual life. It never really fit in, I mean I went to church and all, but that was the extent of it. And that's when I realized that I needed to get that area of my life in line.
So a few months ago, I saw an ad for a program called Run for God. It is basically a Bible study with running wrapped around it, basically a couch to 5K running plan with a focus on God. So I brought it to the attention of one of our pastors at church, and he suggested I lead it. Whooaaaaaaaa!!!! I am not what I would call a teacher, so I was scared to death to commit. The more I thought it over and prayed, the more I felt led to lead the group. We start Saturday.
So far there are 25 people signed up for this 12 week class. 25 people that have decided they want to grow closer to God and to also start running, it is going to be a beautiful site to watch their progress. I know I have the running part down, but I pray that I also will have the leading part down as well. My wife and friends are going to help. I have some great people with great life stories lined up to help as well. I am hoping for it to be a special time.
In 12 weeks, I am hoping to have 25 people run a 5K that might not have believable it was possible before! And I will cheer them all on, except for the ones in my AG, they are on their own!!
I should say this is the 1st of many love/hate relationships I will have with my training in 2013! It just happens. I think we all go through some point where we have a love/hate relationship with our training. It will be the run, or the bike soon, but for me right now it's Master's Swim Class!
I have been trying to hit a Master's Class a week now for about a month. For me, it is usually a good chance to get in a lot of speed work and it actually pushes me knowing that here is a coach on deck giving instructions and timing us. The coach also would give me some tips to help my swim stroke. It was always a great swim workout that I remembered in the past.
However, there is a new Master's class coach.
This new coach is not a bad Master's class coach at all, so I am not complaining about the level of coach or anything, but...
We are doing things in there that I am not sure I want to do. For example, we usually start off the class with some 100's on 2 minutes. I am usually the second to finish in the class and have plenty of time to prepare for the next set. Then we move on to kick sets, which is not my strong point, but I try. Last class, we then went into a backstroke drill called the L drill, where I almost drowned! Again, let me say, I do not backstroke. I train swimming freestyle because that's what I swim when I race. I understand that learning different strokes will help me be a better swimmer, but we all know a race is not won in the swim right? In the video below, the L drill is demonstrated at the 1:12 mark or so. The only difference is we did not switch hands, we went the length of the pool with the same hand pointing to the sky and then went back with the other hand pointed up! Two things I learned, 1. I hate this drill and 2. When I did get close to doing it right, I can not swim it in a straight line!
It was hard. I thought I was going to drowned, but I tried my best. It was tiring, so I took a break at one point when the coach came over and said she "noticed I only breathed on my left side". I also breath every stroke, it works for me. Well she said she is going to get me breathing bilaterally!
I DO NOT WANT TO LEARN TO BREATH BILATERALLY!
So our next drill, it was a bilateral breathing drill! DOH!! We were suppose to do a 3 count breath for a length and a 5 count breath back for 400 yards using the pull buoy and paddles. Remember, I breath to my left every stroke, so I knew it was going to be tough, but I also know that this will be good for the lungs somehow (not exactly sure how?) so I tried. For me to go from breathing every stroke (or every time my right hand goes into the water) to a 3 or 5 stroke slowed me way down. It really made me feel awkward in the pool and yeah, I did manage to get some breaths on my non breathing side, but I was also took in a lot of water. I basically was holding my breath until I could get to breath on my left like normal.
I guess what I really want is to go back to the days where we swam 3000 yards fast, furious and freestyle. I heard that the others in the class complained that freestyle was boring and that they wanted to learn other strokes. Which is cool, I mean it is a free class for members. I love the workout I can get, but I hate the other strokes, so I must decide what to do. I am only swimming twice a week because I am good with my boring unilateral breathing freestyle swimming. I guess my options are to dump the Masters class and do my own drills one day and endurance swims the other or to learn these other strokes.
I think as triathletes, we all fall into two mindsets when we are training for a race. We either love it or hate it. I am not sure I have ever been in the position of loving all three segments at the same time. I have loved running and swimming, but hated biking and I have loved biking and running, but hated swimming. Currently, I hate running!!
Yes, I hate running, and I think I figured out why! Lately I have been so anal about following my training plan to the letter, that I have been trying to hit every pace listed, every timed interval and every cool down, just like it says, and this includes running, swimming and biking. My runs have been anywhere between 5 and 9 miles to date (this is for a HIM in early Sept) with the distances increasing, and I have been doing 90% of my running on a treadmill. 7 miles on the treadmill?? Yes you read it right. I think that is sucking the joy of running out of me.
Now, I did find a new love for the treadmill this winter while doing intervals, because I easily always knew the time left, and I could control the speed to whatever pace I needed, and I have had success with the treadmill so far this year in speeding up my runs. However, the runs up until lately were all under 6 miles. I think that is about my limit on a treadmill. An hour. I have realized that a treadmill can be comfortable. The fan blowing on me feels nice, the TV is always on ESPN and a bathroom is always nearby. There is always a spot for my towel to wipe the sweat away and a place for my water bottle to sit, always within reach. COMFORTABLE, TOO COMFORTABLE!
So to break out of this funk, I tried watching some YouTube videos of running, and I realized that not a single one of them had anything to do with a treadmill. IMAGINE THAT! So I am going to quit worrying so much about making sure my pace is where the plan says it suppose to be, and I am going to get outside and run more. Screw the geese! (Which by the way had zero impact on me not running outside, I ain't afraid of a goose) I am working out early enough that the heat should not be a huge factor except on Sundays. So I am changing things up and expecting different results. I am already getting excited about my next run since I decided to drop the dreadmill (I mean, I will not totally avoid the dreadmill, but I will not plan on using it unless I have too). This will hopefully change my mindset of dreading my run to a looking forward to MY run. Yes I meant to capitalize MY, because it is my run, watch this!
This is my run
There are many others like it
But this one is mine
My run is my haven
It is my life
I must master it as I must master my life
Without me, my run is nothing
Without my run, I am nothing
I must run this road's true
I must run faster than the stress of the world that's working to drag me down
I noticed that when I post a comment on another blog, it seems like a lot of the times it starts off with "I also have a love/hate relationship with..." So I figured I would just do a post about all the things I have a love/hate relationship with. This post has been in the making for a few days to make sure I didn't miss any.
Admit it, you either done or thought about it!
Foam Rollers- I love the way my leg muscles feel after using the foam roller, but I know it is ALWAYS going to hurt.
Waking up early- My morning workouts would be so much better if they were at a different time of day. Once I am up, I am good and I love the peaceful, quiet mornings, I just hate that they start so early.
Dogs- In the yard playing fetch=love, being chased and barked at while running=hate em
Ice Baths- Another aspect I know will make my leggs feel better, but man do I dread sitting in that cold water
Reality TV-Survivor, Amazing Race and Celebrity Apprentice= love Jersey Shore, Springer, Dance Moms and the Kardashians=hate
Soreness- I really do like waking up and feeling the soreness which means I had a good workout, but I hate the way it makes me walk like an old man until I get loosened up.
Stretching- Hate to stretch before a run, love to stretch afterwards ( I know I should do both)
Chiropractors- Love getting cracked, adjusted and stretched, hate having my neck adjusted, think I have seen to many Steven Segall movies to relax enough
Treadmills- Love treadmills for interval workouts, hate them because its a treadmill!
Trainer rides-I love the trainer, it gives me extra time in the day to allow me to ride, but again, its the trainer. I do not go anywhere.
Race photos- I love having photographic images of my races, I hate that the race photographers all suck and can never get a decent shot of me
Resolutionists-Love that hey help keep my gym dues down, but hate that they get in the way! Yeah I said it, so what??
The Stick- See Foam Roller
Brick workouts- If you are reading this, you know why I love/hate them.
Discussions on the best way to counts laps at the pool- I love that this is a forum favorite topic, I hate that people can;t figure out how to count 1, 2, 3, 6, 4, 8, 9, 7...
SWAG bags- I love packet pickup and getting the swag bags and going through them and I hate how I am always disappointed, just a bag full of other races to do.
Shaving- I love the way it makes my leggs look muscular and chiseled, hate that I shave my leg to begin with.
Race Fees-I love hitting that submit button, know I am officially paid and registered, hate how expensive races are getting.
Taco Bell- Yo quiero Taco Bell on non run days. Yo no quiero Taco Bell on afternoon run days.
Toe nails- I love the "Badge of Honor" of losing a nail and then being classified as a runner, hate the way they turn purple and hang on forever!
So tell me, what have I missed? What are some things you have a love hate relationship with? I could probably go on and on if I gave it enough thought, but I am sure I missed something!
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