"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go"
T. S. Eliot

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Ashton X and Sutliff

Ran this morning with Ben. We met at the Ashton X country course and did two laps. No pain and a nice pace! I hope to continue doing this great.
Rode my motorcycle with a few other guys from church (and four other bikes). Had lunch at Sutliff and chatted for a while (Marlin and Marsha). Nice beautiful country roads.  Hot, but fun.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Lap Swimming

Decided to give it a try to lap swimming. It is the toughest thing I have ever done!  Did about five laps and gave up.  Too hard.  Decided I need some learning, so I signed up for an adult intermediate swimming. It will be twice a week, starting Tuesday June 4. I think it will be great cross training. It will help me develop my upperbody.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Sports Medicine

Went to see the sports medicine doctor.  They made me run on a treadmill. But no pain!  I know, it only appears when I run on pavement!  They suspect a few things, and they are thinking about an MRI.  They asked me to come back on Friday, bring my shorts and tennis shoes and they'll make me run on pavement. They want to know exactly where the pain is.  They said no more running for one month (June 23?  I will be in PA).

Monday, May 21, 2012

The Flu

I feel terrible this morning. My whole body aches and I feel feverish. I am coughing a lot, and it hurts. I hope it goes away, but I know I should get some medicine.
I will see a doctor at the Sports Medicine Clinic on Wednesday to see what is wrong with my foot. I hope they can help me with some exercises and don't tell me I cannot run.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

South Route

Felt good in the morning. Started running at 9 min/mile, then I speeded up a little bit more.  Things were going just fine, no pain. Until mile 4...  Returned on Mile 5.  Had to walk/run on grass as much as I could to avoid the pain. Talked to Joe at RunningWild and he advised me on talking to a sports medicine doctor.  I will make my appointment as soon as I can.  He also gave me some information on minimalist shoes and injuries. from the Division of Sports Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Synergy Gymnastics

I ran with Karen in Ashton Cross Country course this morning. Then, I took Sophia to her gymnastics class in North Liberty.  There were these young girls standing on her hands, and walking and turning around just with their hands. Amazing how strong they are! Sophia did a wonderful job as always.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Ashton Cross Country and same-sex couples

Thursday morning run, 4.4 miles, 10:20 pace. Felt tired and worried about the feeling on my left foot. Foot still weak. Nice running on the grass. Didn't see animals or runners today. Had all the field for myself.
Talked to Assen this morning about same-sex couples. I tried to explain to him that church does not allow this type of relationship. I explained to him that several decades ago, women were not allowed to vote. People sometimes make wrong choices, but they can correct them later. We believe same-sex couples have the right to live a normal live and should not be treated differently. It's time to correct this.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Ashton Cross Country

Ran from home to Ashton CC, around, and back, that was 4.4 miles.  Tried to run on turf as much as I could.  My legs get tired, but I think they will eventually get stronger. I will bike tomorrow and give some rest to my feet. Saw an oposum with about five little ones on her back!  what a moment!  Never seen anything like this before!  I also saw a deer crossing the course.

Monday, May 14, 2012

X-Training

Decided to give some break to my feet and went on the bicycle this morning. Used the cadence pod... it seems like to Garmin stopped when satellite reception was not good and relied on the cadence pod...  Not sure what works best.
Talked to Assen about school, what happens when you finish Elementary, and Jr-High, and High School.  Talked to him a little bit about college.
In the afternoon, walked about 1.2 miles with Karen and Sophia. Sophia used her scooter.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Ashton Cross Country

No pain when running on Ashton Cross Country with my Merrell Trail Gloves this morning! So, it is the banging of my foot against the hard pavement that make my metatarsals hurt! I will try to run on the Cross Country field as much as possible, so my feet get stronger.  I should wear more padding when running on pavement.
Running on grass is hard, but that's OK with me.  I know this hard training will pay off during road races. I am a happy dude today!
Mother's Day in the US. Happy Mother's Day!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Bicicleta

Decided to get up and go out for a bicycle ride this morning. Trying to give some rest to my foot. Received a message from Runblogger and suggested I should go see a physician about my possible stress fracture.
Everyweek, I log in a list of words in SpellingCity for Assen. He likes to practice vocabulary matching.  I think it is a great idea to develop his vocabulary (and mine).

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Metatarsal Stress Fracture?

I went out running this morning and felt a terrible pain in my left foot, by the joint where my big toe attaches to the rest of the foot! I thought about stop running and go back home. I continued running  on grass as much as possible and slowed down my pace. It was a lot better to run on grass than on the cemented trail. I think I should give my feet some rest from running (or switch shoes). Time to get that bicycle out!
Here are some interesting readings on metatarsal stress fracture:
runblogger

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Ronald McDonald House 10 Miler

Second time I run this 10 Miler. I had the chance to talk to Ryan and Ben before the race. I was telling them how hard it is for me to run at a fast pace during my training, but when I am racing, I get some energy from somewhere and I can push hard. It looked like the beginning of the race was a bit different from last year. Then, I felt it was all familiar. Running uphill on the trail was necessarily with good form. I could feel my forefront of the feet hitting the pavement going uphills. My Garmin was letting me know I was going at a good pace. I ran in with a pack for most miles. The pack was dissolved by mile six or seven. Tried to finish strong at the end. I didn't let any runner pass me at the end. I finished in 1 hr and abou 17 min. Pretty much the same time than last year. I am so amazed oh my body's memory to run at the same pace than last year.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Cinco de Mayo

Ran about 4.5 miles this morning practicing negative split. I started running at 9:37, and finished at 8:02. I felt like I put lots of energy. However, the average pace was only a 9:07. Is this normal?  How can I attempt to run 10 miles at less than 7:40 tomorrow?  Is the adrenaline going to do all the extra work?
Not sure if I should just take it easy and run with Gene and Bill. I am more tempted to set my Garmin to 7:45 pace and run a real race. The question is if my body is ready for it.