As much as it sucks to have to go through a running-related injury, it really is a good opportunity to learn a few things and my most recent injury was no exception. About 6 weeks ago I posted about the ins and outs of IT Band Syndrome and in the intervening time, I've learned several other things about that injury (in particular) and about preventing injury in general.
#1) Strength Training is Vital.
I'm not suggesting anyone go out and start doing 'Cross-Fit' tomorrow, that would probably be counter-productive. The goal of strengthening work for a runner is not bigger muscles. The goal is stronger muscles and muscle maintenance. The reason that strength training is so important is because the act of running itself makes certain muscle groups weaker. In particular, runners typically have weak hip muscles (hip abductors and adductors) because most of our running is done in a relatively straight-line and so the outside hip muscles never really get much work. If you think of the space between your hip and the bottom of your foot as a system, all the parts have to kept in good working condition in order for the system to work most efficiently. Any imbalance is going to cause other muscles to have to work harder and that compensation is what leads to injury.
#2) If you feel pain, take a day or two off. Listen to your body.
As I've progressed in my experience as a runner, I've become better at this, but this IT Band Syndrome was a good example of me not listening to my body. I ran for at least three days from when I first started feeling pain in my knee instead of taking a day or two off right away to let it die down. Because I ran on it, I quickly progressed from a mild case of ITBS to a severe case and that meant 6 weeks on the DL.
#3) Shoes are important.
I'm not about to re-join the Great Shoe Debate, but my thoughts have changed with regards to footwear. I still don't think that shoes can prevent injury. By that I mean, if you have bad form (heel-striker, over-pronator, etc) shoes will not fix the problem. However I now believe that if you good form, a shoe can injure you. I wish that I had gone to a shoe store that had the technology to take a good look at my gait. Most running specialty stores have this nowadays and if I had done that, I likely would not have ended up getting an arch-support shoe and would have instead opted for a neutral shoe, thus preventing this whole thing. Go get your gait checked if you haven't already. Most of these stores offer it for free and it's easy to do.
#4) Have a mind-set that is long-term.
As I got closer and closer to the date of the New York Half, I seriously questioned whether it was a good idea for me to attempt to run the race. The simple fact was that I hadn't been able to train properly for it and risked re-aggravating everything by attempting to do it. In the back of my mind I knew that the real goal was to run the Chicago Marathon next fall and that compromising that to simply participate in a half marathon seemed foolish. If it hadn't been for a couple of 100% pain free training runs during the week leading up to the half, I likely would not have run it. I could have tried but it wouldn't have been worth it to me. As much as it would have sucked to sit out, my goal is a) to run pain free and b) to complete a marathon.
#5) Find people you can talk to about it (other runners).
For me this was a life-saver. Between my wife, my buddy Stephen and my brother (among others) - I had people to talk to about the injury, to ask me how I was doing, to share the disappointment with and to ultimately share the triumph with when I was able to complete the race. I'll never forget when I had that first pain-free training run...I raced home and then immediately started calling people who'd stuck with me through the whole thing. It was really great to have support around to deal with the disappointment and setbacks.
#6) Keep doing research.
From the time that the pain started to when it finally went away, I was scouring the internet for answers. I was telling Stephen that I now know more about ITBS than I ever cared to know. I've talked to people about it, I've had runners I know talk to other runners they know about it, I've spent hours combing websites for information and I've learned a lot. For example, you cannot stretch the IT Band. It is connected to the muscles of your hip (tensor fasciae latae) and to the top of the tibia. You can't stretch your IT Band any more than you can bend your femur. You can stretch the muscles around it, but that's as good as you're going to get. Also, despite the fact that ITBS sufferers often feel the pain in their knee, the real problem isn't in the knee, it's usually above or below in the hip or feet.
#7) Keep your head up.
By accident I stumbled upon a blog entry a few months ago (before all this started) that said something along the lines of, "no matter what running injury you have, eventually it will go away." I wish I could link you to the blog post, but I can't seem to find it. Anyway - it's easy to get really down and the longer an injury wears on, the more it seems like maybe you'll never run again. Try to be positive and try to find other things that you can do. For me it was pool running, biking, lifting, swimming, etc.
I'm sure what I've had to say is nothing new under the sun. Being injured sucks but it's also a good opportunity to learn and if you're a blogger it's a good chance to learn and share that knowledge with other people. I was surprised to come across a couple of people that were also suffering with ITBS and it was really cool to be able to share things with them regarding what was and wasn't working.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Race Report: New York Half Marathon
I feel like I got away with something. Or stole something.
If you follow me on DailyMile, you know I've been going through a bout of IT Band-itis for the past month-and-a-half or so and that up until a week before this past Sunday's race, my ability to run this race was in serious question. That all changed in a matter of 5 days and on Sunday I was able to not only start the race, but run almost the entire thing and finish in a time I would never have thought possible considering how little I had trained.
The morning of the race was literally PERFECT. 48 degrees, 80% humidity, cloudy and little to no wind. Cool but not too dry, and cloudy...I don't think you could arrange more perfect conditions. We dropped off our stuff at the bag drops just outside of Central Park and headed to our corrals. Because I hadn't been able to properly train for the race, I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep up with my originally scheduled corral so I decided to start with my wife Leslie who was also running her first half marathon. After hitting up the bathrooms, we stood around and waited for the start...and then the gun went off.
And we waited.
And we waited.
And then we started walking towards the start line. It took us a full 28+ minutes to get to the start line and then we were off. The cool part about waiting so long to start was that the race leaders were emerging from Central Park just as we were starting so we actually got the see the leaders run by. I've never seen an elite runner in real life...I guess I would describe them as "gazelles". Effortless running.
Anyway, the first few miles were easy and breezy. I ran the first one with Leslie and then took off on my own, constantly dodging other runners. I figured that eventually the crowd would thin and I would be able to run, more or less, in straight lines, but that never happened. Miles 1 through 4 were pretty uneventful aside from one thing that will be burned into the eyes of my mind for as long as I live.
In between miles 3 and 4 I was innocently running along when I started to hear people yelling around me. I looked up from the pavement to see what was going on and I saw a guy climb the hill, turn so that his backside was facing the runners, pull down his pants and take a shit. Everyone was yelling "that's sick" or "duuude". I'm not gonna lie, I saw poop coming out of his butt. I can't un-see it. I had to kind of chuckle because I doubt if I will ever see something like that again. Couldn't you at least face your butt away from the crowd?
"The pain" started in between miles 4 and 5. It was that familiar IT Band pain that I'd been having for the past 6 weeks. It wasn't really pain as much as it was discomfort, but I immediately started trying to think of ways to alleviate it. I started by walking the downhills in Central Park, but it really wasn't getting any better. It also wasn't really get any worse either so during mile 5 I made a decision. I thought to myself, "I haven't trained for 6 weeks and I have no idea how this thing is going to hold up. I also know that it's going to be a major bitch to run/walk the final 8 miles." So I went for it. I just started running at a faster pace and figured that I would just keep it up for as long as I could. Miles 6, 7, and 8 went by and before I knew it, I was through Times Square and onto the Westside Highway. I made it to mile 9 and was petering out a bit. I walked a short stretch and for some reason, I kept thinking, "come on, you've only got 3 miles left." That, of course, was wrong.
Mile 10 of my race was dedicated to Keith Faxel, the husband of my wife's boss, who is an avid runner and has been sidelined by sinus issues for the last several months. He's also had a run of bad luck in his personal life and so I told him before I left that I would run mile 10 for him. After mile 10, the rest of the race is kind of a blur. I remember thinking after mile 12 that "hey, this is the longest I've ever run in my life." I must have been really motivated at the very end of the race because I finished the last .1 miles at a 6:24 pace. After I crossed the finish line, I got really emotional because I was so thankful to have gotten to that point. A week before I had been telling my mom that I thought it would be a miracle if I was able to run the race.
My splits for the race are below. I think it's pretty obvious where I walked. I was telling my wife that the race result is bittersweet. I'm beyond thankful that I was able to run and complete the race. The part that gets me down is the question of what it could have been had I been able to train for it. 1:30? 1:25? I know there will be future half marathons, but this was my first and more than feeling like I accomplished anything, I feel like I got away with something. I'm really looking forward to getting back into training and my next big thing is the Chicago Marathon in October which I will begin training for soon.
Mile 1: 8:53 Mile 8: 6:56
Mile 2: 7:59 Mile 9: 7:36
Mile 3: 7:30 Mile 10: 8:07
Mile 4: 8:07 Mile 11: 7:34
Mile 5: 9:32 Mile 12: 7:32
Mile 6: 7:27 Mile 13: 9:18
Mile 7: 6:54 Total Time: 1:45:02
If you follow me on DailyMile, you know I've been going through a bout of IT Band-itis for the past month-and-a-half or so and that up until a week before this past Sunday's race, my ability to run this race was in serious question. That all changed in a matter of 5 days and on Sunday I was able to not only start the race, but run almost the entire thing and finish in a time I would never have thought possible considering how little I had trained.
The morning of the race was literally PERFECT. 48 degrees, 80% humidity, cloudy and little to no wind. Cool but not too dry, and cloudy...I don't think you could arrange more perfect conditions. We dropped off our stuff at the bag drops just outside of Central Park and headed to our corrals. Because I hadn't been able to properly train for the race, I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep up with my originally scheduled corral so I decided to start with my wife Leslie who was also running her first half marathon. After hitting up the bathrooms, we stood around and waited for the start...and then the gun went off.
And we waited.
And we waited.
And then we started walking towards the start line. It took us a full 28+ minutes to get to the start line and then we were off. The cool part about waiting so long to start was that the race leaders were emerging from Central Park just as we were starting so we actually got the see the leaders run by. I've never seen an elite runner in real life...I guess I would describe them as "gazelles". Effortless running.
Anyway, the first few miles were easy and breezy. I ran the first one with Leslie and then took off on my own, constantly dodging other runners. I figured that eventually the crowd would thin and I would be able to run, more or less, in straight lines, but that never happened. Miles 1 through 4 were pretty uneventful aside from one thing that will be burned into the eyes of my mind for as long as I live.
In between miles 3 and 4 I was innocently running along when I started to hear people yelling around me. I looked up from the pavement to see what was going on and I saw a guy climb the hill, turn so that his backside was facing the runners, pull down his pants and take a shit. Everyone was yelling "that's sick" or "duuude". I'm not gonna lie, I saw poop coming out of his butt. I can't un-see it. I had to kind of chuckle because I doubt if I will ever see something like that again. Couldn't you at least face your butt away from the crowd?
"The pain" started in between miles 4 and 5. It was that familiar IT Band pain that I'd been having for the past 6 weeks. It wasn't really pain as much as it was discomfort, but I immediately started trying to think of ways to alleviate it. I started by walking the downhills in Central Park, but it really wasn't getting any better. It also wasn't really get any worse either so during mile 5 I made a decision. I thought to myself, "I haven't trained for 6 weeks and I have no idea how this thing is going to hold up. I also know that it's going to be a major bitch to run/walk the final 8 miles." So I went for it. I just started running at a faster pace and figured that I would just keep it up for as long as I could. Miles 6, 7, and 8 went by and before I knew it, I was through Times Square and onto the Westside Highway. I made it to mile 9 and was petering out a bit. I walked a short stretch and for some reason, I kept thinking, "come on, you've only got 3 miles left." That, of course, was wrong.
Mile 10 of my race was dedicated to Keith Faxel, the husband of my wife's boss, who is an avid runner and has been sidelined by sinus issues for the last several months. He's also had a run of bad luck in his personal life and so I told him before I left that I would run mile 10 for him. After mile 10, the rest of the race is kind of a blur. I remember thinking after mile 12 that "hey, this is the longest I've ever run in my life." I must have been really motivated at the very end of the race because I finished the last .1 miles at a 6:24 pace. After I crossed the finish line, I got really emotional because I was so thankful to have gotten to that point. A week before I had been telling my mom that I thought it would be a miracle if I was able to run the race.
My splits for the race are below. I think it's pretty obvious where I walked. I was telling my wife that the race result is bittersweet. I'm beyond thankful that I was able to run and complete the race. The part that gets me down is the question of what it could have been had I been able to train for it. 1:30? 1:25? I know there will be future half marathons, but this was my first and more than feeling like I accomplished anything, I feel like I got away with something. I'm really looking forward to getting back into training and my next big thing is the Chicago Marathon in October which I will begin training for soon.
Mile 1: 8:53 Mile 8: 6:56
Mile 2: 7:59 Mile 9: 7:36
Mile 3: 7:30 Mile 10: 8:07
Mile 4: 8:07 Mile 11: 7:34
Mile 5: 9:32 Mile 12: 7:32
Mile 6: 7:27 Mile 13: 9:18
Mile 7: 6:54 Total Time: 1:45:02
Monday, February 6, 2012
Aw Snap (VO2Max News)
"Whoa snap yo." That's what my friend Stephen said when I showed him this piece about a new-fangled way of measuring VO2Max that is making some scientists scratch their heads. Thank you to Sweat Science for leading me to this article. Very interesting stuff.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
IT Band-ter
Sorry for the title - I'm trying too hard to be clever. This post is about the IT Band and, more to the point, IT Band Syndrome which is my latest injury. My training for the New York Half Marathon had been going great up until last Tuesday when I started to notice some very slight pain on the outside of my left knee. I didn't think much of it -- I'm pretty clumsy sometimes and end up hitting my knee on things like the living room table, so I figured it might just be a bruise from such an incident. On Wednesday the pain got worse, but it still didn't rise to a level where I was all that concerned about it. On Thursday I had a speed workout planned and the farther I ran, the more it hurt...but then at a certain point the pain disappeared and I thought, "hey, maybe it's gone." Then I got off the treadmill...and I could barely walk - it was a very sharp pain that hurt even when I was gingerly walking along. It killed to walk down steps, it killed whenever I would get up out of a chair, it was tender to the touch. It was then that I thought I should probably do some investigation so I went to the trusty interwebs and learned more than I cared to know about IT Band Syndrome.
If you've been a runner for any longer period of time, IT Band Syndrome is not a new term in your vocabulary. It is one of the most common running injuries and is caused by a wide variety of factors. The IT Band (iliotibial band) is actually a very long tendon that runs from your hip to your knee and IT Band Syndrome is essentially a "tendonitis" of sorts -- an inflammation of that tendon. It can be caused by an IT Band that is too wide or too narrow (genetic), it can be caused by overuse (most common) and it can be caused by faulty running mechanics (excessive over-pronation, etc). The most common cause, as I said, is overuse and by that I mean an increase in miles or intensity of training that is done too quickly. In my case I thought I was being somewhat conservative in my training, but as I look back at it - along with a marked increase in miles was an ambitious increase in intensity which I think it what did me in.
The number one treatment for IT Band Syndrome is a runner's least favorite word -- and that's rest. I hate that word. Rest is a euphemism for "don't run" and I feel like with every passing day that I don't run, I'm losing valuable training time. I have just over 6 weeks until the New York Half and I really want to be in tip-top shape. That being said, it is nearly impossible to run with this pain and I would really like to be rid of it before I continue with my training schedule. Fortunately for me, there are a number of things I can do to help speed my recovery.
#1) Ice. A runner's best friend. Almost every article I've read on IT Band issues suggests making icing a priority. 15-20 minutes, 3 times a day (at least).
#2) Use a foam-roller. I didn't have one prior to Friday, but my wife and I bought one and I've been using it ever since. There's a good video on how to use it specifically for the IT Band here on YouTube.
#3) Stretch it out. There are a couple of good stretches in that video as well, but if you do a quick Google search on IT Band stretches, there are many and stretching is key to loosening up your IT Band. IT Band Syndrome is a result of that Band being extremely tight.
#4) Strength Training. As I've read, it's probably not a good idea to start strength training if you're still having pain - but once the pain goes away, the key to preventing future IT Band issues is to strengthen a few key muscle groups. Many of us runners, myself included, can be tempted to completely neglect strength training. This can lead to a whole host of issues and one of them is IT Band Syndrome. Runners tend to be weak in predictable areas and one of those areas is the hips. For more information on specific strength training that can be done to prevent IT Band issues, read this article.
My pain has slowly decreased over the past few days to the point where I may try a get short run tomorrow. I've been icing when I can, foam-rolling a few times a day and stretching. I also was looking around online and found this handy little tool, called the Patt Strap, that I'm hoping will also help. I just bought it today so I'll let you know if it works (or even helps). I'm hopeful that this injury won't sideline me for long, though I am prepared to take the necessary time off in the event that the self-therapy I've been using proves ineffective. I know that this is the type of injury that can linger for a long time if not addressed and in my mind, that would be the worst-case scenario. I would love to hear from any of you out there who've also had experience with this injury to know what helped (or didn't help) you overcome it. Cheers.
If you've been a runner for any longer period of time, IT Band Syndrome is not a new term in your vocabulary. It is one of the most common running injuries and is caused by a wide variety of factors. The IT Band (iliotibial band) is actually a very long tendon that runs from your hip to your knee and IT Band Syndrome is essentially a "tendonitis" of sorts -- an inflammation of that tendon. It can be caused by an IT Band that is too wide or too narrow (genetic), it can be caused by overuse (most common) and it can be caused by faulty running mechanics (excessive over-pronation, etc). The most common cause, as I said, is overuse and by that I mean an increase in miles or intensity of training that is done too quickly. In my case I thought I was being somewhat conservative in my training, but as I look back at it - along with a marked increase in miles was an ambitious increase in intensity which I think it what did me in.
The number one treatment for IT Band Syndrome is a runner's least favorite word -- and that's rest. I hate that word. Rest is a euphemism for "don't run" and I feel like with every passing day that I don't run, I'm losing valuable training time. I have just over 6 weeks until the New York Half and I really want to be in tip-top shape. That being said, it is nearly impossible to run with this pain and I would really like to be rid of it before I continue with my training schedule. Fortunately for me, there are a number of things I can do to help speed my recovery.
#1) Ice. A runner's best friend. Almost every article I've read on IT Band issues suggests making icing a priority. 15-20 minutes, 3 times a day (at least).
#2) Use a foam-roller. I didn't have one prior to Friday, but my wife and I bought one and I've been using it ever since. There's a good video on how to use it specifically for the IT Band here on YouTube.
#3) Stretch it out. There are a couple of good stretches in that video as well, but if you do a quick Google search on IT Band stretches, there are many and stretching is key to loosening up your IT Band. IT Band Syndrome is a result of that Band being extremely tight.
#4) Strength Training. As I've read, it's probably not a good idea to start strength training if you're still having pain - but once the pain goes away, the key to preventing future IT Band issues is to strengthen a few key muscle groups. Many of us runners, myself included, can be tempted to completely neglect strength training. This can lead to a whole host of issues and one of them is IT Band Syndrome. Runners tend to be weak in predictable areas and one of those areas is the hips. For more information on specific strength training that can be done to prevent IT Band issues, read this article.
My pain has slowly decreased over the past few days to the point where I may try a get short run tomorrow. I've been icing when I can, foam-rolling a few times a day and stretching. I also was looking around online and found this handy little tool, called the Patt Strap, that I'm hoping will also help. I just bought it today so I'll let you know if it works (or even helps). I'm hopeful that this injury won't sideline me for long, though I am prepared to take the necessary time off in the event that the self-therapy I've been using proves ineffective. I know that this is the type of injury that can linger for a long time if not addressed and in my mind, that would be the worst-case scenario. I would love to hear from any of you out there who've also had experience with this injury to know what helped (or didn't help) you overcome it. Cheers.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Quiz -- Yay.
I have to credit my wife for finding quiz - and for finding the Run GingerFoxxx, Run blog and the super-cool Chicago Running Blogs page. Anyway - I have a post coming about IT Band Syndrome (damn running injuries), but for now:
1. Why do you run?
The first thing that popped into my mind was, "because I'm good at it". I guess if I wasn't good at running, I probably wouldn't have stuck with it...that's become a secondary reason though. I would say that now I run because a) it helps me relieve stress, b) it helps me focus my energy and c) I love racing.
2. What other athletic things do you enjoy?
I enjoy watching almost all sports (except NBA basketball). I love to play golf and I love to be outside in general (hiking, camping).
3. Where did you grow up?
Brooklyn Park, MN - northwest suburb of Minneapolis, MN
4. Why do you currently live where you do?
Interesting question - I met my wife Leslie when we were in college and she was a couple of years behind me in school. I knew when I graduated that I wanted to marry her so I stuck around, got a job here and have been here ever since. We bought our first house last April so now we're stuck here in a way.
5. Where is your favorite place in the world?
I love being wherever the people I love in this world are. I love being at home with my wife, I love spending time with her and my families and I love spending time with our friends.
6. Do you know how to do something that not everyone can do?
I can play the cello? Does that count?
7. What foods do you hate?
Papayas, they taste like garbage.
8. What kind of car do you drive, and why did you buy it?
I drive a black 2009 Kia Optima. I bought it because it got good gas mileage, it looks decent and it was in our price range.
9. Have you ever quit anything? Why?
I've quit things yes - the reason was that I wanted to make myself a better, more productive person.
10. What was your major? If you could go back in time, would you pick something else? (If you didn't go to college, what would you major in if you did?)
My major was Psychology - I started out as a Cello Performance major but switched. If I could go back, I would go for Business, Finance or some other pursuit where your degree can actually be used for something. I loved studying psychology - but my degree is pretty worthless otherwise.
11. Where did you go to college? Why? (And if you didn't go, why?)
Went to Wheaton College. At the time I was applying I thought I wanted to get into Music, and I liked the cello professor at Wheaton the best, he ended up leaving after my freshman year and I ended up leaving the Conservatory.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Restoring Faith in Humanity
This isn't really a running related post. This past Saturday I had the privilege of serving at a food pantry with a group from my church and I wanted to share some thoughts on it.
Several weeks ago someone in our small group at church had the good idea of serving at a local food pantry and it was just the kind of opportunity I'd been looking for. I don't know how many of you out there have looked on your own for volunteer opportunities before, but they can be awfully hard to find at an individual level. Volunteer organizations (Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child, Feed my Starving Children, etc) typically only accommodate groups of people so unless you're involved with a bigger group, it can be hard to find places to plug in. Anyway, I digress. We showed up at the People's Resource Center in Wheaton, IL on Saturday morning which, despite having gone to school mere blocks from this place for 4 years, I never even knew was there. PRC exists to help people in DuPage County by providing them with everything from food to computer and job training classes. Their food pantry is open almost everyday and anyone in the county can come and gather a load of groceries, no questions asked. PRC gets it's donations from individuals and business in the area and is also a member of the Northern Illinois Food Bank which gathers food from all areas of the state and distributes it to food pantries all over the state. The goal of the pantry is to provide people with food so that the money they might have otherwise spent on groceries can be freed up to be spent on other things like rent, medication, etc.
There were already people lined up waiting for food at 8:30am and after a short-orientation on how the whole process works, we were quickly busy helping people fill their shopping carts with food. During orientation, the leader asked for volunteers for various jobs and when there was an opportunity to work outside, my hand shot up. Sure it was only 25 degrees out and sure there was a biting northwest wind, but hey, the sun was out and being outside is almost always better than being inside. Besides, I had gloves, a coat and a hat. A handful of others joined me and our job for the subsequent 4 hours was to help people bring their food to their cars, load it into the car and take the cart back so another person could go through the line. It was a pretty simple job - nothing flashy.
In observing the people coming through the line, it was fairly obvious that many of these people are quite poor. It's probably not a stretch to assume that many of these people work tough and thankless jobs just trying to get by. Several of the families looked to be immigrant families and perhaps do not have jobs. I thought the coolest part of my job was that for a few minutes on a Saturday morning, I got to serve these people who are often likely the ones tirelessly serving other people and their own families. I'm just guessing, but I would imagine it takes a certain swallowing of one's pride to go to the food pantry and I made it my mission to make those people feel loved and appreciated.
More to the point of my post, helping at PRC really restored some of my faith in humanity. For one thing, there were a TON of volunteers there. Everyone did their best to stay busy, but often there were more than enough hands to help out on a given task. Also, the pantry was absolutely FULL to the brim with donated food. There was canned food stacked in boxes along the wall waiting to be used, the bread bins were overflowing and there was even some food being kept outside (so as to keep it cold and out of the way) until it could be used. During the 4 hours that we were outside, I would estimate that about 8-10 cars pulled up with donations of clothing or food. One guy stopped by and said that a group at his kid's school had conducted a food drive the night before and he was there to drop off several bags of canned goods and other items. A pickup truck pulled up and had a flat-bed full of food, flowers and other frozen goods from the local Trader Joe's. Another van pulled up with bread from Panera....and that was just in one morning.
More than helping the people - it was nice to see all of the generosity around. Every day I talk to people who are all about themselves. To be honest, I'm all about myself a lot of the time. You see road-rage, rudeness, bickering on TV, the back-and-forth in modern-day politics, the "if it bleeds, it leads" mentality in the media...that all gets exhausting. It's life-sucking. But this, this was life-giving and left there with more energy than when I came. Other people is what life is about, helping other people, putting them first, giving the extra that you have to make up for the deficit that others face. I plan on going back to PRC - I found out that they don't just operate with groups, you can show up any day of the week and help. Sounds good to me.
Several weeks ago someone in our small group at church had the good idea of serving at a local food pantry and it was just the kind of opportunity I'd been looking for. I don't know how many of you out there have looked on your own for volunteer opportunities before, but they can be awfully hard to find at an individual level. Volunteer organizations (Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child, Feed my Starving Children, etc) typically only accommodate groups of people so unless you're involved with a bigger group, it can be hard to find places to plug in. Anyway, I digress. We showed up at the People's Resource Center in Wheaton, IL on Saturday morning which, despite having gone to school mere blocks from this place for 4 years, I never even knew was there. PRC exists to help people in DuPage County by providing them with everything from food to computer and job training classes. Their food pantry is open almost everyday and anyone in the county can come and gather a load of groceries, no questions asked. PRC gets it's donations from individuals and business in the area and is also a member of the Northern Illinois Food Bank which gathers food from all areas of the state and distributes it to food pantries all over the state. The goal of the pantry is to provide people with food so that the money they might have otherwise spent on groceries can be freed up to be spent on other things like rent, medication, etc.
There were already people lined up waiting for food at 8:30am and after a short-orientation on how the whole process works, we were quickly busy helping people fill their shopping carts with food. During orientation, the leader asked for volunteers for various jobs and when there was an opportunity to work outside, my hand shot up. Sure it was only 25 degrees out and sure there was a biting northwest wind, but hey, the sun was out and being outside is almost always better than being inside. Besides, I had gloves, a coat and a hat. A handful of others joined me and our job for the subsequent 4 hours was to help people bring their food to their cars, load it into the car and take the cart back so another person could go through the line. It was a pretty simple job - nothing flashy.
In observing the people coming through the line, it was fairly obvious that many of these people are quite poor. It's probably not a stretch to assume that many of these people work tough and thankless jobs just trying to get by. Several of the families looked to be immigrant families and perhaps do not have jobs. I thought the coolest part of my job was that for a few minutes on a Saturday morning, I got to serve these people who are often likely the ones tirelessly serving other people and their own families. I'm just guessing, but I would imagine it takes a certain swallowing of one's pride to go to the food pantry and I made it my mission to make those people feel loved and appreciated.
More to the point of my post, helping at PRC really restored some of my faith in humanity. For one thing, there were a TON of volunteers there. Everyone did their best to stay busy, but often there were more than enough hands to help out on a given task. Also, the pantry was absolutely FULL to the brim with donated food. There was canned food stacked in boxes along the wall waiting to be used, the bread bins were overflowing and there was even some food being kept outside (so as to keep it cold and out of the way) until it could be used. During the 4 hours that we were outside, I would estimate that about 8-10 cars pulled up with donations of clothing or food. One guy stopped by and said that a group at his kid's school had conducted a food drive the night before and he was there to drop off several bags of canned goods and other items. A pickup truck pulled up and had a flat-bed full of food, flowers and other frozen goods from the local Trader Joe's. Another van pulled up with bread from Panera....and that was just in one morning.
More than helping the people - it was nice to see all of the generosity around. Every day I talk to people who are all about themselves. To be honest, I'm all about myself a lot of the time. You see road-rage, rudeness, bickering on TV, the back-and-forth in modern-day politics, the "if it bleeds, it leads" mentality in the media...that all gets exhausting. It's life-sucking. But this, this was life-giving and left there with more energy than when I came. Other people is what life is about, helping other people, putting them first, giving the extra that you have to make up for the deficit that others face. I plan on going back to PRC - I found out that they don't just operate with groups, you can show up any day of the week and help. Sounds good to me.
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" -- Matthew 6:26
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Back in the Saddle
It's been too long - this always seems to happen, I get all excited about blogging and for a few weeks I post and post and post...and then real-life gets in the way and I disappear for awhile. In my defense, I took about a 3 week break from running so there wasn't much running-related material to talk about. Over the break Leslie and I found out that we won spots into the New York City Half Marathon which was pretty exciting once I got over the sticker shock ($128pp...yikes). Anyway, the best part of this whole thing is that our friends Stephen and Emily from NJ also won spots in the race so all four of us are running the race together. Personally I'm probably more excited just to hang out with them for a weekend than I am to run in the actual race (though that is also exciting).
Once we found out, I immediately set about formulating a training plan to prepare for the race. If you've read this blog before, you know that I've been reading Jack Daniels' book (Daniels' Running Formula) and throughout the book he gives training templates for races of various distances. I was hoping to find a half-marathon training template, but alas, I had to settle for a marathon program - which I then modified to suit my needs. The basic premise of Daniels' training formula is that two days out of every week are devoted to what he calls "Quality" (Q) workouts. For longer distances one of the Q days is devoted to a long run, usually done on either a Saturday or a Sunday, and the other Q day is typically devoted to a speed workout. The rest of the days in the training schedule are devoted to easy-to-moderate running with an emphasis on getting miles in and letting your body recover from the Q days.
I decided to start the program pretty conservatively with a couple of weeks of fairly low mileage since I was coming off of a 3-week break. I didn't want to jump in and immediately start tallying 30-40 miles a week so as to avoid injury, while at the same time getting my body used to running on a regular basis again. So far I've really enjoyed the structure of it. I've noticed that I really anticipate the Q workouts because for the rest of the time, it feels like I'm really holding back...the quality workouts are really my only chance each week to "let it fly." I really like knowing exactly what I am going to be doing each day because it takes a lot of the guesswork out of training and really focuses me on what it is I'm trying to accomplish.
My goal for the NY Half is 1:30:00. Not to toot my own horn, but I feel like it's an ambitious goal because a) I've never raced (let along run) that distance before and b) to run sub-7:00/mile for 13.1 miles would be equal to the pace of my fastest 10K to date. That being said, I am confident that if I stick to this training program and keep my end goal in mind throughout - I will be able to do it.
Leslie chose a different training program which I also find interesting; she is using Hal Higdon's Intermediate Half Marathon training program which is very similar to the Daniels' formula. My brother is currently training for another marathon and he's using The Hansons' method which emphasizes the consistency of your training (i.e. maintaining high weekly mileage totals throughout the course of the program). I'm struck by how many different ideas are out there on how to train for longer distance races. I don't tend to think that any one program is better than another, but from person to person one may work better than another.
Long-term my goal is to run in the Chicago Marathon this coming fall. With that in mind I tailored my training program for slightly higher weekly-mileage totals than is probably normal for half marathon training. The idea behind the higher mileage is that I over the course of the next 10 weeks or so I will get my body used to running 35-40 miles per week which is pretty much the starting point for marathon training. I'm very pleased with how this year has started in terms of running and I'm excited to see how my body responds to this program.
I would love to hear about other people's programs and goals. If you're a veteran of longer races, how did you figure out which program was best for you? Did you seek out a program or develop one on your own based on experience?
Once we found out, I immediately set about formulating a training plan to prepare for the race. If you've read this blog before, you know that I've been reading Jack Daniels' book (Daniels' Running Formula) and throughout the book he gives training templates for races of various distances. I was hoping to find a half-marathon training template, but alas, I had to settle for a marathon program - which I then modified to suit my needs. The basic premise of Daniels' training formula is that two days out of every week are devoted to what he calls "Quality" (Q) workouts. For longer distances one of the Q days is devoted to a long run, usually done on either a Saturday or a Sunday, and the other Q day is typically devoted to a speed workout. The rest of the days in the training schedule are devoted to easy-to-moderate running with an emphasis on getting miles in and letting your body recover from the Q days.
I decided to start the program pretty conservatively with a couple of weeks of fairly low mileage since I was coming off of a 3-week break. I didn't want to jump in and immediately start tallying 30-40 miles a week so as to avoid injury, while at the same time getting my body used to running on a regular basis again. So far I've really enjoyed the structure of it. I've noticed that I really anticipate the Q workouts because for the rest of the time, it feels like I'm really holding back...the quality workouts are really my only chance each week to "let it fly." I really like knowing exactly what I am going to be doing each day because it takes a lot of the guesswork out of training and really focuses me on what it is I'm trying to accomplish.
My goal for the NY Half is 1:30:00. Not to toot my own horn, but I feel like it's an ambitious goal because a) I've never raced (let along run) that distance before and b) to run sub-7:00/mile for 13.1 miles would be equal to the pace of my fastest 10K to date. That being said, I am confident that if I stick to this training program and keep my end goal in mind throughout - I will be able to do it.
Leslie chose a different training program which I also find interesting; she is using Hal Higdon's Intermediate Half Marathon training program which is very similar to the Daniels' formula. My brother is currently training for another marathon and he's using The Hansons' method which emphasizes the consistency of your training (i.e. maintaining high weekly mileage totals throughout the course of the program). I'm struck by how many different ideas are out there on how to train for longer distance races. I don't tend to think that any one program is better than another, but from person to person one may work better than another.
Long-term my goal is to run in the Chicago Marathon this coming fall. With that in mind I tailored my training program for slightly higher weekly-mileage totals than is probably normal for half marathon training. The idea behind the higher mileage is that I over the course of the next 10 weeks or so I will get my body used to running 35-40 miles per week which is pretty much the starting point for marathon training. I'm very pleased with how this year has started in terms of running and I'm excited to see how my body responds to this program.
I would love to hear about other people's programs and goals. If you're a veteran of longer races, how did you figure out which program was best for you? Did you seek out a program or develop one on your own based on experience?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)