Pickin' up the pieces

I have run a few days this week, and feel better. I ran 10 miles last Sunday, and 8 miles on Tuesday. Those were my longer runs, and they were SLLOOOWWW. But it feels good to get out and just run. Forget speed. Forget marathon crazy distance. Just get out and run. This will be my motto for the next few weeks. No pressure............ just do something.

We had a LSU vs Alabama party today, and I drank all the beer and ate all the party food I could stand. So if it's alright with you, I think I'll go to bed now. 10 mile run in the morning and everything, ya know. Have a good weekend. And Rollllll Tide!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peace!

Another SEC Weekend

I've resumed running, but will be taking it slow until I see Dr. Ringold on the 26th. So, in the meantime we're renovating our kitchen. New countertops, sink, faucet, paint, etc. Right now our kitchen resembles a meth lab. Hopefully, it'll get better in the next 2 WEEKS!

Tomorrow, Laura and I will be free (grandparents have kids) to watch football and drink cold beer. Don't know what we're gonna cook yet.

Alabama's homecoming game vs South Carolina should be fine to watch. Rollllll Tide!!!!!!!

Catching up

During my respite from running, we have discovered an island up the Mobile River delta called Gravine Island. It's nothing exotic, but there's a sandy beach on it's north side that's pretty kid friendly. You can anchor your boat right at the beach, and swim in fresh water (read no jelly fish). So far, no gators/snakes either. The sand was dredged out of the river, and built up on the beach, so that there is about a 12 foot high dune you can sit up on and enjoy a great view of the area.

Today, I began running again. I ran 3 miles slowly, and I'm not sure how to feel about it. I didn't have any outright pain, but I still don't feel like everything's normal. That's 5 or so weeks post-injury!!!!!!!!!!! I'm gonna try again tomorrow, and see how it goes. I just don't see how a groin injury can take this long to heal. I mean, DAMN! I could have had heart surgery and been running again by now! Not that I'm bitter or anything.

Anyway, enough whining. I have also discovered a recipe for homemade salsa, which I made for this past week-end's Crimson Tide football game. Good shit, I wouldn't lie to ya. Here it is.

1 28oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 jalapeno peppers (handle with gloves)
2 teaspoons lime juice (fresh squeezed)
2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Pour tomatoes and juice in a blender, and pulse a few times, put in glass bowl;
Place jalapenos and lime juice in food processor until pureed
Add cilantro, garlic, cumin, salt, sugar. Mix well. Let sit for 2 hours before serving with ice cold beer/chips while watching SEC football.
Enjoy!

Indian Summer

It's Saturday afternoon, so that means college football. And ya always need a good cold beer to aid in the football spectatorship. I thought I'd share with you, gentle reader, my latest favorite beer pick. You may not have heard of the Mississippi brewery, Lazy Magnolia. But they make a beer called Indian Summer Spiced Ale. Kind of reminds me of Blue Moon, but has a smoother after-taste. We found it in Louisiana last week. Liked it. Bought about 4 six packs of it. We also picked up Wild Dog Blueberry Lager, and some Abita Satsuma Beer. All great stuff.
I'm two weeks into my rest/healing period. I haven't gotten fat yet, but I'm still eating like I'm running 40 miles/week. I'll try some slow miles after another two weeks off. Looks like the marathon is a no-go. The closest I'll get to a marathon now is my relay team for the First Light Marathon in January. Time will tell.
Oh yeah...............
Roll Tide!!!

Injury Report

Sports hernia. Anybody heard of it? Neither had I until I encountered it personally. That's why I haven't posted in a while. I've been dealing with this pain in my lower abdomen/groin area when I try to run. I've talked to an orthopedist and a general surgeon. They both think that I've probably torn my rectus abdominis muscle where it attaches to my pubic bone. The treatment? Rest, and lots of it. Like a month at least. And Marine Corps is October 25th.........well that sucks! Laura is still training, so the trip is still on. I may try to complete the marathon if I somehow find myself healthy between now and then. I will NOT get my goal of sub-4 hours at this rate. But just running pain free is priority 1.
Besides that, life is not so bad. I'm not in pain all the time. And college football starts up this week. Like #5 Alabama vs #7 Virginia Tech. Damn, what a way to start the season. So as long as I can hoist a cold beer Saturday, I think I'll make it.

60/60's

Earlier this week I had the privelege of doing a speed workout with a fellow Blue Bell Bomber named Rick. This guy is 60 years old, and can kick some serious ass. He races 5ks and 10ks in the low 6 minute range. Just who I need to train with, because that's where I want to race- solidly in the 6's.
So I show up Tuesday evening and run about 3 miles of warmup, and Rick shows up talking about running "60/60's." What the hell is that? Well, how about 6 miles of torture for yours truly? We started out jogging slowly for 60 seconds, then run about a 6:10-6:30 pace for 60 seconds, then repeat..................for 6 miles.........with a nagging pain in my lower abdomen for 5.5 miles of it. Still don't know what was up with that. I've been injury free for most of this year. I'm feeling better today, but a little concerned about future problems with that business.
Agony aside, this was a decent speed workout. Don't think I'll do it very often, but it is something to break up the monotony of intervals and tempo-runs.

20 miler Sunday

Today I started running at 4:00am..................Damn, that's early. But after doing most of my 20 mile run before the sun came up, it's the only way to go for long runs in the summer. I stayed around 9:00 for the first 10 miles, then some of the Bombers showed up, and the next six miles went at about an 8:30 pace. The last few miles slowed down significantly to mid 9's.
In past long runs this summer, I've noticed that my shoes get "water logged" after passing about 10 miles. I've finished with squishy/heavy shoes that seemed to weigh me down. Today I tried switching out a new pair of socks and shoes after 10 miles. Definitely better. I don't think this will be as big an issue in the winter, but right now my long runs are sweat spectacles.
I still don't know what kind of time to expect for Marine Corps, but right now anything under 4:00 will do just fine. The 3:50 pace group might be the way to go. Time will tell, and it's winding down fast.
Happy trails.