I need a plan and a race.
My back is much better, although still having some pain. I’m fine most of the time except when I’ve been sitting a while, particularly in an uncushioned chair. The pain is focused on the right side, and although it radiates down my leg a bit, it is clearly focused in my lower back. It kinda feels like it would pop if I straightened up too quickly, which is easily controlled by the intense pain. Self limiting.
I think I can go running again though. I just need to get myself a plan. This running 3 miles for nothing is hard to stay motivated for. I need a race target. I really, really want to be there for New Haven again this year, but its a long way off and I would like to have a nice 5K before then.
Notice: Confession time. :O
I ran for a bit when I was younger.
It didn’t seem to count to me though. I only did it for a few months when I wanted to lose some weight. I ran a mile every morning (7 minutes in those days!). At the end of it, I ran in the Troy Turkey Trot, which was 3 miles. I thought I was going to die because I ran the whole thing at the same pace as my one mile pace, and I had never run that far before. Finish time was 21:11. That was it. Oh, and I ran it the next year without any training and got the exact same time. Then I went to college and grad school and got very fat.
I brought this up because I was thinking about going back to that 1 mile in the morning thing. I think it rev’d up my metabolism and got me moving for the day. I could do it as fast as I wanted and since its only a mile, there isn’t much recovery time. Not much prep needed, and I can do it as the first thing in the AM and go right into my shower.
I seem to be having trouble getting out for running at night lately since my work keeps me pretty late (today I was there until 8:00). Maybe a morning run will hold off the fatty belly until I can get moved into someplace and get a routine down.
So I also need a race. I can’t seem to find some local races. Does anyone out there know a site or something that collects race schedules for upstate NY? I sure could use one.
July 11th, 2006 21:25
ahem…
http://www.hmrrc.com/index.cfm?method=Race.Schedule
http://www.albanyrunningexchange.org/links.htm
http://www.uticaroadrunners.org/pages/races.html
http://www.romanrunners.com/calendar.html
See ya at the races Daddy.
July 11th, 2006 22:05
Does active.com have anything? Maybe there’s a track/running club somewhere in the area? Moving and having to find new resources sucks.
Good luck finding stuff and re-establishing your schedule.
July 11th, 2006 22:28
a mile a day
pffft
lightweight
July 11th, 2006 22:44
I use Active and also Running in the USA - New York to find local races.
July 12th, 2006 00:54
Your thinking is right about doing something - even if only one mile - consistently, and picking a race to stimulate your training. Unfortunately I’m not much help in the upstate NY running scene. Good luck.
July 12th, 2006 03:05
Hey Jon you might try the following sites:
http://www.trailrunner.com/2006_calendar.htm
http://www.grtconline.org/Racecal.html (more western NY)
http://www.adksportsfitness.com/events_calendar/running.html (Adirondacks)
http://www.triplecitiesrunnersclub.org/y2006/calendar.html
July 12th, 2006 07:21
A mile a day is better than nothing, if it fits into your schedule. Though the CW is that you need to do at least 20 minutes to see the cardiovascular benefits.
Hooey, I say.
Chocolate Jon will take the 4 July boombox mile next summer.
July 12th, 2006 07:49
That’s pretty amazing on those times - esp. without training.
July 12th, 2006 15:27
Impressive times for so little training.
Your idea about a mile a day is a good one. Every step, every little bit makes a difference. How much are you planning to lose?
Let’s see… A mile a day with 165 lbs = 365 miles/year = more than 45,500 calories = more than 13 lbs. If you cut 100 calories a day (that’s nothing) then that would be another 10.4 lbs.
Then I went to college and grad school and got very fat.
I can SO relate to this. In my case it was “Then I went to college and grad school and worked for tenure and bought a house and started a family and got very fat.”
July 12th, 2006 20:13
You’ll find something! Just do the mile if that’s all you can get in for now. Just don’t get fat:)
July 12th, 2006 20:51
How about the Rochester, NY marathon or half? I think I’ll be there. http://www.rochestermarathon.com/
July 12th, 2006 21:27
Hey,, I know what you mean about needing a race or fun run to look forward to. Good luck finding one!
July 14th, 2006 13:12
I stumbled onto your blog when searching for something else. I’m not sure exactly where you’ve moved, but given that you mentioned that the Saratoga National Park (Battlefield) isn’t far, I’ll assume that your in or around Saratoga Springs. There are several very active clubs in the area. If you’re near Saratoga, there’s Saratoga Stryders (www.saratogastryders.org). They have some pretty good information about races, and have group runs in the Saratoga Spa State Park on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Great folks, and some of us can introduce you to good places to run (there are lots of them). If you’re closer to Albany, there’s Hudson-Mohawk Road Runners Club (www.hmrrc.com), with lots of info on their site. Finally, keep an eye out for a monthly free publication called Adirondack Sports & Fitness. It’s available in in many stores, especially sports-oriented and book stores.They also have a website, http://www.adksportsfitness.com. They probably have the most comprehensive schedule of races for the greater area. Hope that helps, feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
July 16th, 2006 17:19
Sorry, I don’t know much for upstate new york. I do know lots of stuff just north of that, though….
July 25th, 2006 14:16
I love the 1 mile in the morning thing. I can run a mile now… barely. I bet if I did it every morning then I would soon be able to extend that to 1.25,1.5, etc.
Problem is I need to do a 5k as the caboose of a sprint tri in 25 days. Crap.