Today’s Goal: 4 miles
Actual Distance: 4 miles
Time: 39:23
Weather: Cloudy; A few drizzles at times; 70 degrees
Time of Day: 1 PM
Notes: A lot on my mind, which affected my motivation; Ran strong overall.
Tomorrow’s Goal: 6 miles
Round 1:
Today’s Goal: 3 miles
Actual Distance: 3.2 miles
Time: 30:51
Weather: Sunny; not too humid; 82 degrees
Time of Day: 12 Noon
Notes: Energy was low after yesterday’s migraine; ran the distance with two momentary stops to drink water and blow my nose.
Round 2:
Actual Distance: 4.1 miles
Time: 40:00
Weather: Mostly sunny; 80 degrees.
Time of Day: 6:00 PM
Notes: Energy was pretty good; legs sore from the earlier run; ran the distance with two or three momentary stops to drink water and blow my nose.
Total Distance for the Day: 7.3 miles
Tomorrow’s Goal: REST DAY
I am usually wiped out the day after a migraine. I refer to it as “migraine hangover.” No energy. A dull headache. Nausea. Sensitivity to light… a lot of the aspects of the migraine that are dying down.
Typically, I can’t find the motivation to do much on these days. Just getting out of bed is an effort. Sometimes I can go for a walk. After I had a migraine last week while at the shore, I managed to walk 7.5 miles along the boardwalk. But I didn’t run. And I was not happy.
Today I was determine to win back some of the running miles the migraine stole from me yesterday. I was really dragging my wagon in the morning. But I ate well and psyched myself up to run at lunchtime. I was hoping to do 5 miles and just punch the migraine right in the face (or the ass, since it was on the way out). But my time was limited due to meetings. So, I managed to squeeze in a 3 mile run. Correct that: a 3.2 mile run.
The minimum mileage I ever settle for is 3.1 miles. That’s a 5K! Running 3.1 has a great psychological effect on me! While I’m out there I think, This is great! I only have an hour and I’m running a 5K race! That psyches me up. I remember how good I felt completing past races. I hear people cheering. It becomes nearly as satisfying as actually running a race. All that’s missing is a free t-shirt at the end!
So I ran a little more than a 5K at lunch and my time was exactly 30 minutes. In my current physical condition and with a migraine handicap, I’ll take that time!
I had a crazy idea while running at lunchtime. (As if hearing people cheering while running alone on a country road isn’t crazy enough.) I had the idea to run again after work. I know some people who often run twice in a day, but I’ve never done it. Recently, I had read an article about the benefits of running twice in one day. http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/pros-and-cons-running-twice-day The article inspired me. Today it looked like I would have the chance to run with that inspiration. (Pardon the pun.)
My day worked out such that I had the time to do a run after work and, surprisingly, I had the energy. These migraines I get usually start to wear off after 24 to 36 hours. I think pushing through my first run and then eating a good lunch (salad with grilled chicken) helped me shake off most of the lingering migraine symptoms. When I ran at 6 PM I felt good. My legs were sore, but my energy level felt good. I set out to do at least 3.1 miles again. (The imaginary crowds cheered like wild goons!) Again my solitary-5K time was 30 minutes on the nose. So, I decide to “go the extra mile” and run to 4.1. (Again, pardon the pun and the worn out cliche.) I even finished with the last 2 tenths being uphill. (Oh, what a friggin hero.)
Today, I fought back and feel like I achieved something. I ran twice. I did a double. Take THAT, migraine! I just “dropped a deuce” on ya! (No apologies for that one.)
Today’s Goal: 5 miles
Actual Distance: 0 miles
Time:
Weather:
Time of Day:
Notes: MIGRAINE
Tomorrow’s Goal: 3 miles
My day was wrecked by a migraine at 9 AM. It started at the exact moment I walked through the door into work. I kid you not. By the time I walked from the door to my desk, my vision was half distorted already. All day, I thought of how I was going to overcome the situation and run. I survived at work until 1:30, which included an hour long mid-year review discussion with my boss (which left me rather bothered). Then I had to call it quits and go home. I thought, If I sleep a few hours, maybe I’ll have more energy to run later. Nope. First, it was tough to get to sleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about several unfairly negative things my boss had to say. (Is it any wonder I get migraines?) After I did sleep, I awoke as a zombie. (Still not much improved at the time of this writing.) And, well, rather than write more descriptions of this condition, here’s a drawing to depict how I felt. A picture is worth a thousand words. In this case, “barf,” “decay,” “slime,” are a few of the sunny ones that come to mind.
Today’s Goal: 3 miles
Actual Distance: 4.1 miles
Time: 42:06
Weather: Sunny; no humidity; 83 degrees
Time of Day: 11:45 AM
Notes: Energy was lacking today. Hamstrings are super sore from Sunday’s long run. Had to walk a few times. Got into a pretty good groove after mile 2.
Tomorrow’s Goal: 5 miles
Here comes the cat…
Since I started running with a fair amount of consistency close to four years ago, I have found that I have thoroughly enjoyed running 5Ks a handful of times per year. Having a race on the calendar within my foreseeable future motivates me. That race day is a goal to work toward that offers the reward of achievement – and usually a free t-shirt and bagels!
This makes me want more. And by “more” I mean “longer.” I need more miles. I have run two 5 mile races within the past year, one on a really cold day in November, and the other over hills that were more than I had bargained for. But I need more.
So, where’s the cat, Snyder?
Just before I open the bag, let me say that I was registered to run a half marathon in New York this past March. But I couldn’t pull it off. My 12-week training plan started January 1 and got clobbered by snow and ice left and right. Attempting to train through winter for my first long distance race was not a good idea. However, a bigger obstacle that I could not overcome was a lower back/hip problem that I seemed to have inflicted upon myself after a night of bowling, of all things! I have always hated bowling, mainly because it presents a high risk of public embarrassment. Something I have experienced first hand. The harsh memory of crowds of strangers laughing at me as my grandfather’s old 16-pound bowling ball slipped off my hand and skidded backward away from the alley some thirty years ago should have been enough to keep me miles away from any bowling establishment forever. (That notch carved out in the thumb hole may have worked well for Pop in his day, but it became the cause of my public demise… lurking there for years… waiting… coaxing me to slip my thumb in and give it a whirl. It was a thorn of kryptonite in my achilles tendon, so to speak.) So, last December, I gave into peer pressure. I went bowling. Bowling won again. I could barely walk the next day and running became unpleasant. Add to this my stubborn resistance to seeing a doctor for three months and it all equals race failure in March.
Now, I let the cat out of the bag…
With the advent of warmer weather, abstinence from bowling, and an anti-inflammatory prescription for what turned out to be sciatica, I was able to nurse myself back into shape for consistent running. I have since registered for my second half marathon. Well, the second one I’ve paid for, the first I will actually run – provided I avoid doing anything stupid like bowling. Sunday marked 9 weeks to go until race day.
So, what’s the big deal, Snyder? Who cares?
What? You don’t like my cat, man?
The deal, regardless of how big it is or isn’t for anyone other than me, is that I need a means of accountability. And this gosh-dang website is going to serve as the forum for that, since I own this place. Read it, if you want. Leave comments. Make all the Forrest Gump wisecracks you want. Tell me I’m dumb. Tell me I suck at bowling. (Like I haven’t heard that before.) This is more for me than it is for you. So there.
The cat is out of the bag. My intention is to post a daily update of my progress (in the above format) from now until October 19, or the day thereafter, if I survive the 13.1 miles. If I can get to that day without injury, I think I can make it to the finish line… with my mantra being, “T-shirt and bagels! T-shirt and bagels!” or maybe, “It’s better to run than bowl!”
