Welcome Back…

Why don’t we start with this:

Well it has been practically forever since I posted, and for a number of reasons. I guess the foremost reason for my major blog neglect was just not feeling like a runner anymore (or a corredor) and I was tired of posting my rants and raves about my doctors, or the disappointment and stress of not running, or the side effects that come along with not exercising while continuing to inhale Palermos like Takeru Kobayashi. But one thing is for certain, even though I’ve been on a running sabbatical since September, I’ve learned a lot about running (and all that surrounds it) in that time.

But first, where am I at today? Honestly, as far as running is concerned, I’m not totally sure myself. I know that I started to run again in December, without my Doctor’s recommendation (more on that later), and I had a few good, pain-free runs  just before finals. Then finals tied me up, I moved home, then Christmas, ski trip, New Years, then I started work. Contrary to my summer work schedule, I was fortunate to only be working 40 hours per week over Christmas break, but I still couldn’t find the motivation to get out the door and run. I think that if I had been training for a race I would have been much more motivated to hit the cold, dark country roads by myself every night after work, but I wasn’t, so I didn’t. Once, maybe twice a week was about all I could muster up while home on break. No treadmill, no indoor track, and zero motivation. I bought a headlamp the first week in January hoping that would spur my enthusiasm. I ran the night I got it, loved it (more on this later), and I never wore it again. So break came and went, and I still was not running. “When I get back to school, when I get back to school…” I kept telling myself. I’ve been back in Milwaukee for about ten days and I’ve run twice…only two times. What is wrong with me? Yea, I don’t know either.

Right now I want to run, I having running goals and dreams that I want to achieve, but, again, I just don’t seem to have the motivation and I really don’t know why. I have races planned out and times I want to break, but when it comes time to tie up my shoes, I back out. I think losing my mom has played a huge role in this (like every other part of my life) (duh). But seriously, I think a large reason why I ran was to make her proud, and to tell her about all that I had accomplished. The only things that mom knew about running came from me, so whatever I told her was the best she’d ever heard and it always felt so good to tell her. I realize I have dozens of people to tell my accomplishments to, and she still sees everything I do, but we all know that it is not even remotely the same as it used to be. Another reason I think I am struggling to run is I just don’t like the alone time anymore. When I’m alone my mind goes wild thinking about my mom, and what might have been. When I’m busy, my mind is busy, and it is a little harder to get derailed by the pain. The silence and time for my thoughts used to be two of my favorite things about running, but now it seems to be the opposite. Hopefully I can channel this into something positive moving forward. Me running in the future kind of depends on it.

How about we take an intermission to lighten things up a bit:

So the plan moving forward is to keep on trying. I have goals and if I want to meet them, I need to get in gear. What I’m looking forward to right now:

February 11th: Cullen 8k in Tosa - I’ve run this race two years in a row and I love it (free chili). I want to get back into a race a remember why I love running so much in the first place. Most likely won’t PR, but the chili never lets me down.

March 3rd: Point Bock Run, 5 miler in Stevens Point – This is only my second Bock Run, but this race has easily become my favorite. Partly because it is about as close to home as races get for me, and partly (mostly) because there is incredibly tasty Point Beer waiting at the finish. Hometown race, hometown brew, you won;t find me complaining. I’ve had this race circled since last year because I really want to excel here. Depending on my training in the next month, I would really like to stay below 36 minutes. Obviously much work is in store to reach that goal. Side note: Getting over 2,000 runners together in Portage County is almost unheard of, so it’s pretty cool to be a part of the Bock.

May 5th: Door County Half Marathon - Returning to the site of the best race of my life to defend my title against @BradKoenig. Great race, breath-taking views, much more on this later. Definitely plan to PR (again) here.

June 8-9th: Ragnar Chicago - I’ve wanted to do a Ragnar relay since I first heard about them, and thanks to the magics of Twitter, I am now connected with a totally awesome team and I’m really doing it! Again, more on this later. One step at a time…

Wow, I’m getting pretty pumped and motivated (there’s that magic word again) just writing this post! I think the first step was putting all of my races and goals down on paper, and now I can begin to work towards them. I’m done with just floating along, running once or twice a week and being disappointed in myself. It’s go time.

Whoa, I think we just had a major breakthrough. Thanks for being there for me

So what did I learn on my hiatus:

1.) Insurance isn’t free: All of my doctor visits, physical therapy appointments, my x-ray, and my MRI weren’t completely covered (as I thought). So after doing the dance and playing along with an inept orthopedic for three months last fall, I was greeted with $550 in medical bills when I returned to Milwaukee after Christmas break. Not the worst thing, I know, but for care that was not only not necessary but completely not effective, it was pretty disheartening. I think there was a reason why I didn’t go to the doctor two years ago?? Oh yea, that’s it. So lesson #1: be careful with your dad’s insurance card, it isn’t free money.

2.) Headlamps rule the world: After some heavy research and some great suggestions from those that proudly don cranial illuminating devices, I stepped up and bought one. I chose the Petzl E99 PG Tikka XP 2 Headlamp and I am very impressed. Like I said, I only wore it once but running at night under the moon without the fear of opossums, raccoons, or skunks sneaking up on you is wonderful. Lesson #2: if you’re on the fence about night running illumination, take the plunge.

3.) Running never ceases to amaze: The only possible motivation that I had after returning to running in early December was the Icebreaker indoor half marathon on January 21st. Unfortunately, I had to miss this race because I flew out to Washington D.C. an hour after the start time for the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, so I didn’t race and I didn’t train (so you may have heard). I was pretty bummed about missing the race (and the motivation to train) but running through the National Mall and up to the front of the White House was nothing short of amazing. Completely surreal to be in such a historic place, seeing so many incredible sights, and running carried me the entire way. Up to the Washington Monument, past 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and  around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Lesson #3: never give up on running, just when you think it sucks, it will always redeems itself.

I think it is about time to put a wrap on this novel. I definitely feel better than I did when I started typing. I’m going to map out my training for the next month as soon as I hit publish, and I’ll check in next week with an update (hopefully good). I believe it is about time for this corredor to stop relenting and start believing again (cheesy, I know). I will leave you with my favorite YouTube video of all time. (even though embedding it isn’t allowed, click through to YouTube)

Thanks for listening.

the rainbow

Yet another week, and…wait for it…I am still not running. Who would have guessed, right? Besides this blog being a whine-fest for me about how I am not running, I think it will also serve as an injury diary that I can look back on once I can run again. If ever I don’t feel like running I will read these posts and get in gear! So here goes another post chock-full of complaints about being benched and cheap shots at my orthopedic  for not getting me better…but wait! not so fast! I think we should switch gears a bit tonight because even though I don’t have running and it is driving me CRAZY, I need to take a second to realize how much I do have and should be thankful for.

First, it’s just my hip. Just one lonely hip with a little inflammation. Definitely not life threatening, long-term disabling, or something gross that people look at me weird for. Clearly there are countless other folks out there with much more to worry about and suffer through than some pain while standing or two physical therapy appointments per week. I’m still able to work out somewhat, so all is not lost. Contrary to popular belief, a hip that isn’t allowed to bear weight is not the end of the world. For this, I am very thankful.

Second, I have an incredible family and I need to make sure that I don’t lose sight of that glorious fact when I am bumming about being on the shelf. We have been through some very tough times, much more difficult than not being able to put in a couple of miles after a stressful day. My sister is one of my favorite people on this planet, and I am so thankful for her love and thoughtfulness each and everyday. The love of a family should never ever be taken for granted or discounted and I am extremely lucky to have been blessed with the one that I have.

This week I put together three scholarship applications, and I realized something: I’m not half bad! There is no doubt that I am my toughest critic, as I think most of us are, and I don’t think I give myself enough credit sometimes (most times). Looking back on my time at here UWM, I am proud of my hard work and what I have accomplished. I received a letter of recommendation from one of my former professors last night that had some of the nicest things that anyone has ever said about me (and they were all true!). I am by no means trying to gloat, because I have certainly had my struggles here as well, but instead just trying to remind us all to stop and take a look back on everything that we have accomplished in our lives. Believe me; I bet you’ll be proud of yourself too. So be thankful for all of your hard work and the fruits of your labor, I am!

Besides being thankful for all of that jazz from yesterday, I am most thankful for all that lies up ahead. Most notably, I will be running sometime in the future! But seriously, Brooke and I better don our shades because our future together is totally super-nova status. Not to mention, I am one of the very lucky few to leave college with a full-time job waiting for me. Granted, the wheels won’t get started on that bus until mid-May, but I can’t help but be gracious for the opportunities.

Since I want to keep it simple and not bore everyone, that was just an abridged version of my ‘thankful for’ list. You know what I just thought of? Next week is Thanksgiving, and that seems like a pretty suitable time for a ‘thankful for’ list! I guess am one week too early, but not to fret, gratitude knows no calendar.

In other news, I had my first (ever) MRI on Tuesday and it wasn’t really anything to write home about. Thankfully since the MRI was taken of my hip, my head was outside of that tube and I could just relax and listen to the smooth southern jams of Alabama. If I was inside that tube the entire time, I might be writing a different story right now. One thing to note about the MRI: correct me f I’m wrong. but MRI is pretty much the best technology for what it does right? But yet it  crazy noisy. It sound like someone loaded the wash machine wrong, or maybe testing out a couple of concrete blocks in the dryer. f anything else in my day-to-day life sounded that bad, I would immediately unplug it and step away. I will learn my fate next Wednesday when I meet with my orthopedic doctor. I have my films, so naturally I inspected them today on the window: conclusion? I don’t have the slightest clue what I was looking at. All I saw was a pelvis and two beautiful hips.  Also, yesterday I received the TP Therapy ‘SMRT Core’ dvd’s and I have followed along for two days. I am feeling a pretty good core burn today so I will write a review after I use them a bit more.

I get bummed a lot thinking about running, or reading other people’s tweets and blogs about running, or thinking about races that I am registered for that I will not be able to perform well at; but taking a step back I realized that I don’t have it all that bad. Running will come back soon enough and I will love it even more than ever. My mom always taught me to be thankful for what I have and not envious for what I don’t. Coincidentally, losing mom has taught me an even greater lesson about how precious this life is, and how gracious we should be to wake up and take another breath each morning. I’m not the philosophical type, nor is that the intention of this blog; but just take a small step back, grab a deep breath, and be thankful for all for the day

my endurance is trashed

Another week is almost in the books, and still nothing has really changed as far as me putting on shoes and moving faster than walking. I started the week off with a visit to the orthopedic so he could assess my progress, and so I could complain about the lack of results. He laughed at me when I told him I hadn’t run per my restrictions, but I had dreamed about it. (Aside: Last night I dreamed that I ran a PR half marathon and it was glorious) Not only did my doc actually seem to care about my hip this time, he seemed a bit concerned with the lack of improvement.  So the verdict is to continue with physical therapy, no running whatsoever (obviously), and I will have the first MRI of my life on Tuesday to get a better look at that rat bastard bursitis.

As I hinted at in the title of my last post, my clothes aren’t getting any looser and bod isn’t getting any more appealing by not running. Simple mathematics will tell you that if I stop running for a month+ and continue to eat like a starved maniac with no regard for human safety said events will occur. Not only would I be much less appealing at the beach right now, but I am getting exceedingly out of shape. Again, this is obvious. Lifting dumb-bells a few times per week isn’t going to keep me from huffing and puffing at the top of the third floors stairs. Embarrassing.  Not for long though, my friends. Besides using my TP Therapy Grid roller for my IT band, I am embarking on the “SMRT Core” journey.  I don’t know a lot about it, but I ordered he DVD’s and I gonna start working my core while my leg muscles whither away. I will most definitely be posting details about the program.

Best of all, I am going home to see my family tomorrow for the first time since the semester began. I cannot even begin to describe my elation. Throughout my five years in college, I have never been away for this long, but this semester has just been insanely busy. I can’t wait to hit the road tomorrow!

Have a wonderful weekend!!

my jeans are getting tighter and my patience are running short

Okay, enough is enough already.Something has got to give. I haven’t been running since October 11th, I’ve been doing physical therapy since October 20th, and I have yet to see anything even closely resembling progress. Please realize I am not an orthopedic surgeon, nor do I play one on TV, (always wanted to mix that into a post somewhere) I am just a pissed off runner complaining about my inability to do my favorite thing and my doctor’s inability to help get me there. I know there are things with far greater importance in the world, but this is my blog so we will discuss.

The original diagnosis was no running for 6-7 weeks, PT for 4-6, and a second visit with the doc sometime along the way. Also well documented on this blog, no running or riding as well in that time frame. The eagerness to lace up my Brooks has been there all along, but the annoyance of not getting any better is new. For the past two years my hip pain has progressively getting worse. Really bad. Like taking away special times with my friends and family because I couldn’t stand anymore bad. That is what got me through the beautiful fall days when all I wanted to do was run, but knew it was best for me to sit inside. The problem now is the pain in my hip is exactly as it was some 4 weeks ago, and I have sacrificed my endurance all along. Have I been wasting my time? The orthopedic was so certain he knew what was wrong, but was he right?

Just  a couple of days ago I said, “screw it, I’m running today and the streak is over.” But before the day ended, my hip hurt me so bad that I was eating ibuprofen like candy while being reminded why I was on the streak in the first place. Again, I don’t know, I’m not the doctor. I realize that things take time to heal, completely understandable. But without any running or cycling for nearly a month, wouldn’t some progress begin to develop? My frustration level is at an all time high, and I don’t see it being relieved anytime soon. I can deal with not running if my hip is going to get better, but everyday that I feel the pain makes believe the professionals don’t have a clue.

The Icebreaker indoor half marathon is about three months away, so if things don’t start to turn around soon, I am going to scrap this stupid plan, train for the HM and worry about my hip later. I must to defend my honor against @BradKoenig in January, and if hip discomfort is the price, then so be it. I’ve dealt with it for two years, what’s 3 more months?

My plan is Tuesday to let my main man Eric (super cool PT by the way, I don’t blame him for any of this) know that I am done with physical therapy because I feel that I am wasting my time. I want to consult with the orthopedic before moving forward with anymore treatment. Depending on what he has to say, I will then most likely set up an appointment to see an orthopedic again. I say “an” orthopedic versus “the” or “my” orthopedic because the first one I saw was, putting is politely, an arrogant asshole. He was not only extremely cocky throughout our very brief visit, and I never got the impression that he completely listened to what I was dealing with before making his assumption. My dilemma is whether to go back to him because he knows my situation, or try to find someone different that may take a little more time with me. Any suggestions?

Life on the shelf completely sucks and has become really stressful. Ironically, my main source for stress relief: running. Wonderful.

living life on the shelf

It’s hard to believe that it has been nearly a month since my last post, but I picked a wonderful day to get back up on this horse. My fifth year of engineering school has me loaded down WAY more than I expected. Thankfully I have a night off  to do a little updating.

Lets take it back a week, and begin there. As I’ve mentioned a few times, I’ve been dealing with pain in my left hip for about two years. I tried different shoes, a ton of stretching, swimming, cycling, yoga, medicine, natural supplements…you name it, I tried it. Sadly, with little relief. So last Tuesday I did what I probably should have done about 18 months ago, I saw an orthopedic. Thankfully my x-rays were clear, but he did diagnose me with…DUN DUN DUN: hip bursitis. Totally lame, I know. What’s even more lame? He took running and cycling away from me for 6-7 weeks.

As they say in baseball, I’m on the shelf.

Fortunately, my condition isn’t real serious: no long-term problems, surgery, etc. But still, roughly two moths without running and cycling was a major bummer. Obviously I love to run, it solves all problems, and when I don’t feel like running, I get on my bike! The only alternative allowed by the doc? Swimming. Cool, right? Everyone loves swimming! Yeah, well not me. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE grab a cooler of pops and your buddies-throw your trunks on-head to the lake in July swimming, just not the googles-Speedo-pool-everyone is better than me swimming. I know I shouldn’t be self conscious, but I have about a 10% clue about what I should do in the pool. I tried swimming twice in the past week. The first time I spent 20 minutes in the pool trying to look like I knew what I was doing. The second time I made it to the pool door, saw half of the UWM swim team in there, and went back to my locker. I’ve always wanted to do triathlon, but couldn’t get myself in the water consistently. I thought originally that my mandatory running hiatus would kick-start my triathlon dreams, but it’s going to be a bit more challenging than I first planned. Needless to say, swimming is a work in progress.

Even though I’m not drawn to the pool, I still have an incredible overabundance of energy. It is ridiculous how much I want to run. Especially since I can physically do whatever I want, I will just have to pay for it later. The other day for example, I ran across the street and I probably could have run straight up the wall of a building. My legs feel so fresh; they might just spoil

I have found a one thing that I enjoy tho: morning, bass bumping, dumbbell workouts. What is that you ask?? Basically I wake up, turn on some sweet jams on Pandora, grab some five and twenty-five pound dumbbells and do any upper body lift that I can think of multiple times until, either the music gets lame, or I get tired. Here is one jam that I found, thanks to Pandora, that I honestly cannot get enough of:

**WARNING: The moment this song blesses your ears, you will feel an urge to run to your local iTunes store and buy it.

(skip to 0:37)

 

 

It’s not the greatest workout routine ever created, but its pretty good for me right now. (and it’s a helluva lotta fun!) As long as we are talking about music, I have one more thing to say. I don’t normally run with music, and clearly can’t run at all, but when I hear “Moves Like Jagger” I wish I could. That song REALLY makes me want to run every single time I hear it. We’ve all heard it, but give it another spin and put a smile on your face

 

 

I have a lot of awesome things to look forward to( Icebreaker Indoor Half Marathon, Ragnar Relay)  but I’ll save them for later because this post is quickly becoming a novel. To be blunt, not running sucks. I know it’s not THAT bad, and its good for my future, and all of that jazz but it just sucks. Especially this time of year. This kind of cold, but not too cold, weather is my favorite. Oh well, I’ll keep hanging here on the shelf and hopefully come back stronger and more motivated than ever in December!

My first 2,000 miles

**Disclaimer: This may or may not be a cheesy “running changed my life” post, but at least you were warned.

It all started with a super sluggish, basketball shoe thumpin’ 2.39 miles on September 11, 2008 and I conquered 2G’s with my run this morning. I know 2,000 miles isn’t the biggest deal ever, but it is a really big, round number and I’m proud of it. I haven’t been the most consistent runner throughout my the past few years, whether it was injury, lack of motivation, or a combination of both. All self-deprecating aside, 2,000 does give a great opportunity to reflect back on what I’ve accomplished, what I have failed to get done, and where I’m headed in my unrelenting running journey.

The official proof (or as official as it gets) compliments of Runners World Training Log

I definitely didn’t break any records for the amount of races run in my first 2 grand, but I’ve run some great ones and thankfully haven’t had any bad experiences.  My PR’s to date:

5k – 20:18 (4/16/11)

8k – 36:30 (2/13/10)

10k -45:27 (6/11/11)

10 mi – 1:18:46 (12/5/09)

Half Marathon – 1:33:54 (5/7/11)

Marathon – 3:44:20 (10/3/10)

But more than numbers an PR’s, I have had some incredible times at races both personally and with my family. I’ve been fortunate to have awesome support at almost every race that I’ve run (mostly from the beautiful Brooke) and always someone there to hold my sweats and gear. My best race performance came this past May in the Door County Half Marathon. You can read all about it here, but this is a quick peak at what the cat looked like on his way to a PR.

I worked as hard as I’ve ever worked in preparation for the Door County Half, and it absolutely paid off. But my greatest memory from my first 2,000 miles came about one year ago at the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon. I decided early in the spring of 2010 that not only was I going to run my first marathon, but I was also going to do it as a member of the American Cancer Society’s “DetermiNation” team in honor of my mom, then a breast cancer survivor.  I didn’t train the best for the race, but I did  double my fundraising goal of $1,000 for the American Cancer Society. Ready or not, I took off from Grafton high school on that chilly Sunday morning last fall, headed to Veterans Park in Milwaukee. When I reached the finish line, all the pain, all the agony, soreness, and struggle became worth it when I caught a glimpse of my mom crying as she watched me finish. I tried to fight back the tears, but when I made it to my mom, I lost it. We lost it together. I’ve accomplished a lot of great things in my life, and my mom was there for all of them, but I’m not sure if she was ever more proud of me as she was that day. This is a memory that I’m so thankful that running gave me, and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life. That was the last time that mom ever saw me race because her cancer was already too strong for her to make it to Door County this spring.

I’ve learned so much about myself in the first 2,000 miles and  I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for me and my Brooks. Goal number one is to get over this hip injury that has nagged me for about 18 months, and really start pumping out miles. Consistently. Consistency is the main goal that I want to carry out moving forward. I’ve learned that no matter why I stop running, or for however long my hiatus is, I always come crawling (or running) back. But this isn’t cutting it, I need more consistency. Whether it’s 50 miles per week, or 15; I want to keep at it.

I can do anything I want if I train for it,and I can always go the extra mile when my mind says I can’t. I haven’t loved every step of my first 2,000 miles, but I have most definitely enjoyed the journey.

Here’s to the first 2k, the next 2k, and hell! all the 2k’s between now and the nursing home!

Runners rule, cyclists drool.

Now I don’t dislike all cyclists, but I’m finding it very tough to find one that I do. I know you’re asking yourself, “but Dusty, aren’t you a cyclist??” No I am not. Common mistake, but even though I’ve put plenty of miles on my Trek in the past few months, please remember that I’m a runner that chooses to ride a bicycle to cross-train.

B.A.M.F. biker

The thing that annoys me the most about 99% of the cyclists (on Lake Drive in MKE at least) is that they never wave at me or do anything except stare straight ahead. Now I know that they’re looking out for traffic and riding fast and blah blah blah, but so am I. When I’m riding I still find a way to spread a bit of good will with a quick finger lift or head nod. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t have European company logos plastered all over my 0.1% body fat frame, my cycling shorts don’t ever match my jersey or I don’t have custom Lance Armstrong Oakleys, or maybe it’s because I’m just not fast enough for acknowledgement from the Milwaukee professional bike gang. I understand that to be successful on a high level in cycling, or anything for that matter, you need to take it very seriously. I get it; I’ve done the same thing with running, but I still find the energy and kindness to give a little “howdy-do” to my neighbors out there bustin’ it with me. Whatever it is, I’m over it. Cyclists creep me out anyways.

All that I know is that when I’m running around town, 99% of runners acknowledge me. It might be as little as an eyebrow raise or a smile, or sometimes it’s a full fledge wave! But runners almost always shout out to one another. It doesn’t matter if you’re three times faster than I am, or if I’m twice as fast as you; we’re out there running and we are all part of the wonderful running family, and by God I’m gonna give you a holler!

To be fair, while I was out riding Tuesday and thinking about writing this post one cyclist did actually wave at me. But he was a nice old man in a unsponsored jersey, so I guess that the streak of the pros ignoring me continues.

Runners rule, cyclists drool.

The Relenting Corredor

The worst summer of my life is quickly drawing to a close, so maybe it is time get back to my severely neglected blog. I have worked too much to find time to blog and losing my mom in late June left me with little ambition for anything. Maybe writing about the past two months will help me cope and come to grasps with everything that has taken place in such a short amount of time.

Way back when in mid-May, my blogging and my running game were at their peaks, and I was flying high off of my best semester to date. Everything could not have been better but then it quickly came crashing down. Mom found out in April that her breast cancer was back, except this time it was extremely aggressive and spreading very fast. On one of my proudest day as a runner, May 7th, 2011 at the Door County Half, mom was already stranded at home because her body was struggling to overcome her treatments and the rapidly spreading cancer. I spent a great deal of time with mom in the hospital, driving home from Milwaukee at least once a week throughout the last 4 weeks of school.

As June rolled around, mom continued to get worse, I worked long days and spent the nights taking care of her so running took a back seat. I planned a dream 2011 race lineup in May, but when mom was sick nothing else mattered. I tried to sneak out to relieve some stress, but those times were few and far between.

I’ll save the sad, tearful details of how everything went down in late June for another sappy post, but I lost the greatest friend I will ever have on June 29th, 2011. The hole left behind gets bigger every single day and I have yet to find a way to stop it from growing. Not one second of any day goes by that I don’t think about my mom or feel the deep pain of not having her here with me.

Mom and I after the 2010 Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon

I will cherish forever running across the finish line last October and seeing my mom watching me with tears streaming down her face. As soon as I got to her, she gave me a huge hug and we both cried like babies.

Since running brought next to no joy to my life anymore, I bought a bike and started cycling again. I have found in cycling I am able to get out in the peaceful country air, alone with only my thoughts and words for my mom. In honor of my mom, I rode in the 2nd annual Susan G Komen Ride for the Cure in Ann Arbor, Michigan earlier this month. Much more to come on that too.

Along with everything in June, getting things straight in July and moving out of Mom’s apartment before August, I have averaged over 60 hours per week at work. Great for putting some change in my pocket, but not so great for putting the pieces of my life back together.

So this is where I’m at today. Two weeks from my last year at UWM, riding 3-4 times per week and jogging maybe once per. Hopefully when I’m done with work and back at school I can hit both of those things harder. Maybe blogging about everything that I’m going through will help a little, and maybe there is somebody out there who has been in my shoes and can help me through.

Peace,

Dusty

the greatest day

Yesterday was a long day. A REALLY long day. Originally the plan was to bring my mom over to St Joseph’s hospital in Marshfield to have a chemo port  (an ommaya reservoir) surgically placed in her head. We made it to Marshfield, but when we got here mom was not feeling so hot and we ended up spending the day in the ER getting her back on course. Her surgery was obviously scratched yesterday and rescheduled for today. She spent the night in the hospital and I spent the night at a nice little cheap hotel in town to try to get some rest for another big day today.

Yesterday I was itching to run, but there just wasn’t any time to sneak out with all of mom’s tests and procedures and tests and procedures. By the time I got to the hotel, it was way too late for this scaredy cat to hit the streets, so I took a dip in the pool and promised to get up early and get on the sidewalks.

This was a simple idea but a pretty lofty goal since I am NOT a morning runner. No matter how sound my intentions are, I just cannot get out of bed and into my kicks. I’ve gotten up at all hours of the night/day for work and other obligations, but running has never been able to muster up enough heave to rouse me from the sheets regularly.

But this morning was different. This morning was coming on the heels of a super stressful day at the hospital and was leading into another. I needed to get my tail out of bed to keep my sanity. When my alarm went off at 6:30, there was no question where I was headed. I geared up and hit the streets before I even had time to second guess my grogginess. I didn’t know where, how far, or how fast I was going to go. All I knew is that I was gonna run and it was going to make everything better. I stepped out of my hotel and directly into this glorious day. I only ran a quick seven but they were seven spectacular miles. I wasn’t fast and I wasn’t slow. I just cruised and I enjoyed every second. The majority of my run was on Central Avenue, which is the first project that I ever worked on as an intern for Gremmer. I also scooted  across town and sailed down Lincoln Avenue, my second project as an intern. I know it’s probably really nerdy, but it was super cool to go back a couple of years later and see the roads that I spent so much time on as an engineer.

since all posts need pictures, here is beautiful Central Ave in Marshfield post construction

I made it back to the hotel drenched in humidity induced sweat and ready to dominate this day. After a quick shower I hustled to the hospital to see mom. She was so much better this morning, just adding to my delightful mood. Soon enough, Mom was whisked away to surgery and  was exiled to the waiting room. I spent about five hours in the waiting, my anxiety pleasantly calmed by my early morning jaunt.

Mom’s surgery went as planned and she is doing wonderfully. With everything going on today, I have honestly never felt better. Mom and I are now relaxing in her room, preparing to take on the weekend. It’s truly amazing how a simple little run at the top of your day can turn every grey cloud into sunshine and take all angst away. Running has never let me down and today it went above and beyond. I love you running.

PS: I just found out my sister and her boyfriend are now engaged!!! What a tremendous day! I’m very blessed to have such a great guy take my sister’s hand . This cat is a cool as they come. Congrats Kailee and Trav!

how do you recover?

I’ve always wondered how other runners recover nutritionally after their runs and how it compares to my strategy. Am I overdoing it? Am I under nourishing? Is there some crazy running recovery secret that I’m missing out on?! Hopefully with this post I can get some input from fellow runners and see where my method stands.

For a long while now, I have used the same recovery plan after each run. I generally take 20-60 grams of GNC Pro Performance AMP Amplified Wheybolic protein depending on my mileage that day. I shake up some powder with water within 30 minutes of my run. I somewhat recently started taking 1500 mg of L-Glutamine immediately after my run, even before I hit the showers as well. I try to grab some sort of carb along with my protein to help absorption.

I think I might be overdoing it a bit, but (knock on wood) I haven’t suffered any running injuries to date, and I haven’t ever had a problem with “dead legs”. For the past five months, I’ve been logging 40-45 miles per week with one rest day and my legs feel fresh everyday. Since I’ve had so much success with my plan I’m pretty hesitant to change it up.

How do you recover?