Off to a slow start

Finally, the weather has started to change. I've finally been able to get outside for a couple of runs now. Problem is, the winter was not kind to me. Since the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I've managed to gain between 10 and 15 pounds. Yikes. I can tell it is beginning to affect my running. Even with trying to stay active all winter, my times are not great, and I don't have the endurance that I had last year. Not sure what happened this winter, as that did not happen the previous.

So I'm off to a slow start. I've really got to do my best to get my daily workouts back in. I've got about a month until my next race, an 8k, and just over two months until Boulder. If I really start hard now, I know I can do good next month, and really excel in May. But I have to start NOW. I have to make the time and get things done. Even on those days where I don't want to (like today), I've got to do it.

I put on a pair of pants I got last year. I haven't even had a chance to wear them yet. They don't fit. They're too small now. I promised myself I wouldn't go back that way again, but slowly I am. While things have been stable for a few months, what I decide to start now will determine which way they go. For me, knowing how I felt last fall, being above 200 pounds is not an option. It's beginning to affect things, and I have to change it. I will change it.

Winning through losing

So today I saw a story about a high school girls basketball game that finished with the score of 161-2. While I don't agree that this game should have been left to go this long, especially when the halftime score was 104-1, it serves to prove a point. I have a feeling, that the team that lost that game, is stronger than the team that won. Aparently the team that won, has won several games recently from anywhere from 50 to 90 points. They're used to winning. What's going to happen when they actually lose a game?

It seems like in today's society, kids feel entitled. They feel like everything should be handed to them, and they don't need to work for it.There are sports leagues where they don't keep score. The kids will play, but no winner, no loser. Everyone gets a "participant" medal at the end. There's no drive to learn from the mistakes of losing. There's no pressure to be the best that you can. There are winners and losers in every day life. I brought this up on my Facebook, and one of my friends really summed it up:

They are all "special snowflakes." Geez. If you don't learn to take disappointment and loss early, how do you handle it when you get into the real world, and you don't get the job you want, the promotion, and other things that just don't go the way you want. That's why sports and games are important at an early age.

So where am I going with this? I honestly have no idea. I guess the point, if there is one, that no matter what, you should always try to succeed, even when it looks impossible. I never thought I'd be at the part of my running, where in 7 months I'll be on my first half marathon. What? Hold on. Half marathon. That's like 13 miles or some crazy long distance. The longest I've run against the clock is 6. And wait, in 2016, I'm flying like half way around the world to Hawaii to run a full marathon? Yup I'm nuts. I want to take every step, no matter how painful, and learn from each one. To be come stronger. So when there is that disappointment, I can learn from it and get better. I've run races where I've done just "horrible", or so I thought. But then I look at the course. I look at who was all running. The weather. There's all sorts of factors. But just the fact that I got out there and tried, I've won. Yes, I've done well enough to receive a medal, or some other award, but that's not the point. What matters is each time I go out there I compete. I will only lose when I give up. When I stop there on the course, or worse yet, stop before I get there. 

The school that only scored 2 points, they could have walked away from that game. They could have thrown in the towel. But they didn't. The fact that they continued to play a game that they didn't stand a chance to win shows a lot. They're winners in my book.

Today the world lost another

Watching SportsCenter this morning, and how broken up the anchors are...it's almost devistating. The emotion they're carrying with them this morning is so great. All of us who watch sports know Stuart Scott, not personally, but we let him into our homes. Another hero in the battle against cancer, but sadly, lost that battle.

It's up to us to fight the battle that he couldn't finish. Please consider a donation to an organization dedicated to fighting all forms of cancer. You can go through my Stand Up To Cancer page by visiting www.teammunky.com, or you can donate to one of your choosing. It's never about one form of cancer, it's about all.

Thanks Stuart for showing your fight, for being in the fight, and for not giving up. “As cool as the other side of the pillow.”

I wasn't going to run today because of the snow and wind, but that would be giving up, giving in. Those in the fight don't give up, they don't give in. I'm going out today.

https://atransplantedlifeblog.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/cool-as-the-other-side-of-the-pillow/

2014 Year in review

Wow. 2014 is almost over. Just a couple more hours, and there will new goals to set. Records to be broken. So what did I accomplish in the last year? Well, I ran my first 10k, and did it in the very difficult setting of Boulder Colorado when I ran the BolderBoulder 10k. I did amazingly well considering it was my first time running that distance, and running at an altitude of over 5,000 feet with over 40,000 other crazy people. When it was all said and done, 404.59 miles were run over the course of 57.44 hours. I would never imagine doing something like that before. There's been a lot of people who have supported me all this year, and even leading up to this year. There's people I know, and people I barely know, but they've all made a difference. Between the daily support I need, and just the motivation to keep going when things seem impossible. People who know that they've helped me, and those that don't. Anyone who's taken the time to read this, help out with donations for some of my races, thank you so much. We're all in this together. Team Munky will continue to grow in 2015. I see good things happening.

Starting off the new year right with a 5 mile run. An odd distance, but a race none the less. My friend Doug, who helped me get back into shape, lost his father this week due to cancer. From talking with him and seeing Facebook posts, his dad was a real fighter. He was also a runner. Having someone like Doug who helped motivate me and get me to where I am now is incredible. They guy will not give up on you. It might be small, and can't fully repay what he as put into me, but tomorrow I'm running for him and his dad. Ever race I run, I try to raise cancer awareness with the shirt I wear. Tomorrow is no exception. So if you read this, thank you Doug. Thank you for all you have given. Thank you for not giving up on me, even when I was stubborn (and still am), and pushed me to keep going. I may have not had the good fortune to meet your dad, but the little you've shared in the last few months, what a man. Know that tomorrow, you and your family will be running with me. You will once again be pushing me though that last, cold mile when I think I can't go any further. Thank you.

On a happy note.....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

The end of the year

Well, the end of 2014 is almost here. Unless there's something that really perks my interest, I've run my last race for the year. And that might be a good thing. A few weeks ago, before my last 10k, I developed what I think is plantar facitis. It was pretty tender, and I thought I had done a good job of rehabbing my foot in time for my Thanksgiving 10k run. Not so much. I did good up until about mile 4 when things started to hurt a bit. The last mile was mind over matter, doing what ever I could to not think about the pain in my foot and finish strong. I still ended up with a very respectable time of 52:06, with an average of 8:24/mi (according the the official results, my watch had me a bit faster average). I'm very pleased with that, and will most likely submit that for my BolderBoulder qualify time and that should put me in an early D wave (of which there are 5). That's about 5 and a half minutes quicker than my first 10k in Boulder this past May.

So anyway, had a run yesterday. It wasn't a timed race. I was a little disappointed in that, cosidering that it was a route though downtown Madison, around the capital square, a really good goody bag and a race fee that I'd expect to have timing involved with. But what ever. It was fun. It really just made me focus on me, which was good. Timed myself at a 23:58, 7:54/mi average. So not too bad. And having not run since Tuesday, and the race on Saturday, I'm ok with it. Felt a little funny in the beginning, but really started to feel good going up the hill with a little over a half mile to go.

But what a year this has been. My first 10k, about a race a month, the goal of running a full marathon in 2016 in Hawaii with a high school friend set, times going down, and just getting out more than I have. I've returned to raced I did in my first year, entered into new ones. Bettered my times, and pushed myself to just get better. It's really amazing.

Working my way up the final hill with about a half mile to go

Finishing strong

No matter how bad a race might feel, or how much I hurt, I always finish strong

2014 was a big year! 12 races (I lost one of my bibs I think). Kicked some butt!

Baby it's cold outside

Did I miss something? Did I got get the memo? When did it suddenly become mid-January? Just a couple of weeks ago it was still warm out, nice days. Then the bottom fell out. The last few mornings have been in the single digets. Last Sunday I went for a morning 10k run and it was barely in the 20's. This morning I look out my window and see fog, freezing drizzle and 34 degrees. What's going on? Hasn't been the greatest running weather lately, and much of my running has been on the treadmill during my lunch breaks. 

After my run last week, I developed some foot pain. Not as bad as what happened when first started running, but still pretty bad. Some poking around on the internet, and I self diagnosed as plantar fasciitis. Wonderful. Just what a runner wants a week before a race. But, I've been using my foot roller, soaking my foot in our foot spa with some epsom salts, wrapping with KT Tape, and just taking it easy. Things seem much better this morning. The pain is almost all gone, just feels like there's a bump in my foot right now. I should be ready for a short run on Wednesday and the 10k on Thursday.  Once again, a reminder that I'm human and not a machine, as much as I'd like to think otherwise. 

So what's in store for TeamMunky? Right now I've got the Berbee Derby 10k on Thanksgiving. I just signed up for the "Run, Santa, Run!" race in December. I also have my eye on a New Years Day run in Madison.  Still waiting to see what February brings (as I type this, I'm looking to see what there is). Oh look! The Frosty 5k that I ran last year! March, who knows. But April will once again be the Crazylegs Classic in Madison, then off to Colorado at the end of May for another great run in the BolderBoulder. This next year is really shaping up to set some high personal goals, and shatter old personal records. Also looking at doing my first half marathon sometime in 2015 in preperation for my first full marathon in 2016. 

The holidays are coming, and so is the end of the year. I'd like to take a moment and remind you all that I still have my ongoing fundraising through StandUpToCancer (I know, I really need to update my page since they changed formats). If you're looking for a great cause to help support and fund some amazing cancer research, please keep this one in mind. 

2014 Haunted Hustle 5k

It's too quiet

Oh man, it's been over a month since I've written anything? What happened.

Well, I met my 12 mile goal. Ran my big run on September 25th. It turned into a 12.5 mile run. Finished in the dark, but I did it.1 hour, 51 minutes and 8 seconds, with an 8:49 average pace.That was really an amazing run. I'm glad I pushed myself to do this run. Almost 2 hours of running was a lot, but I didn't stop. Even when it was uncomfortable, I kept going. I had to finish. And I did.

So since that, I've run a couple of 5k races. This last weekend, I repeated the Haunted Hustle 5k. Funny thing was, I finished in the exact same place as last year, just a minute and a half faster. I also finished at the top of my age group for the second year in a row. I was very surprised with the age group win. Very happy overall.

So what's next? Nothing scheduled until Thanksgiving when I have a 10k. After that, not sure yet. I would really like to find something for each month. I know races are out there, just have to find them.