Gravel Grinder!

Fun awaits!

New road bike with disc brakes and now equipped with gravel tires. Looking forward to Washtenaw and Wayne County dirt road riding on Sunday!

Quote I Relate To

Sometimes I think about why running and triathlon are important to me. I suppose there are lots of reasons but when I read the following quote, it spoke to me in connection to my why:

"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." ~ Norman Cousins

I love living and experiencing everything that life has to offer. I endeavor to feel it all....good and the rest.

Sometimes I think about or notice how life has changed since being a kid. Not surprisingly, things that make me happy or are fulfilling in some way never get old. Running is one of those things for me. It all started with Dad as a 10 year old. Cycling is another. I still love the feeling of getting out and exploring on my bike. Running and cycling are connected to my soul I guess.

Shared this with SJCK. She related too sharing, "yeah, I'm still waiting for the parachute (from elementary gym class) to come back out."

That's my 10-minute reflection for the day.

Boston Marathon Gear

Here's what I'm wearing at the Boston Marathon tomorrow. Look for me if you are on the course!

There are two pictures. After I took #1, I decided I should reorient my socks to make more clear what gear I would be wearing...so took #2.

Leaving for Boston!

It is 5 AM and I am ready to leave for Boston! Can you see the Creamsicle orange Boston marathon jacket from 2014 that I only wear for this weekend? I love it.

I am reminded that this weekend was a dream that started in the spring of 2017 as I was recovering from a plantar fascia tear in my left foot. That injury had kept me on the sidelines for more than a year. As I build myself back up I had hoped to qualify to run Boston this weekend at the Chicago Marathon in the fall of 2017.

Happily I achieved my goal of qualifying and made my 50th birthday celebration connected to running Ironman Lake Placid 2018 and the Boston marathon 2019.

Even though a second plantar fascia tear-this one in my right foot-will cause me to walk more than I run this weekend, I am so excited to be going to Boston and having the chance to be a part of the oldest running marathon in the world for a third time! Looking forward to this fun.

I want to thank the family and friends who have always been supportive and encouraging of me. Most of all thanks to Stephanie, Ryan, Mom and Dad!

Current Foot Recovery View

Not missing Michigan coldness.

Nate Karr = Bad A$$

We all have our bad ass sides. This one popped up in my FB feed today from the record board at Pioneer High School. Nate Karr ran 1600 meters (i.e. the mile) in 4 minutes, 8 seconds. Nate is a bad ass.

So What’s Up? Injuries Galore!

So it has been a winding journey leading up to Boston 2019. Like 2015, the road has been littered with the type of potholes called injuries. Let me recount them for you: 

1. December 2018: The now infamous broken collarbone and resulting in surgery and a super cool stainless steel plate being implanted in my left shoulder area (i.e. screwed in with a DeWalt 18 volt). 

2. February 2019: Pulled hamstring. Sometime that month, I visited the surgeon for a follow up visit and heard "yeah, go ahead and run."  So I did...like right out the gate I ran hard.  Bad idea. Left hamstring yelled back at me and caused me to slow down for about a week. 

3. March 2019: Plantar fasciitis (or maybe even a small plantar tear).  This is the one that that put me over the edge.  Did a ten miler at marathon pace on a Saturday. Then the Sunday run was supposed to be 20 at about 9:15 pace. I was having some foot pain but decided to push it...it is the Boston Marathon. I always go for it. I started out the Sunday run and felt the tension and pain every step on the left foot but figured things would loosen up - like they always do. Well, it didn't loosen up. I finished the run putting in about 2 hours 50 minutes and went home and got on the couch. My foot was sore but I thought it would be fine. Long story short...I knew I had a problem 5 days later when my foot still hurt. Now two weeks later, I haven't run again. 

But...will I run (or somehow finish) at Boston?  

Are you kidding me?  Hell yes. It is Boston. 

Here's the plan right now: 

- I've been keeping all training intensities where they should be....but on the bike. It is the best I can do. Some visuals of those workouts are attached.  

- The foot is improving. I'm doing PT exercises everyday frequently. Yesterday and today my foot feels a little like it could survive a little running. But I'm not going to push it.  I will wait a few more days and decide then what might make sense in terms of the next run. I might not run until Hopkinton. I might even walk Boston if it means being healthy for tri season. 

I'm proud of myself for slowing down for this injury. In the past few years - Boston 2015 is an example - I would have just pushed through and likely made the injury worse.

Stay tuned. I will let you know how things go between now and Patriots Day 2019. Peace.