I'M OUT

Had my appendix taken out Friday and I won't be running in a while. I have had intermittent stomach issues for some time. In fact I had removed milk from my diet 3 months ago, thinking I was lactose intolerant. Anyhow, these stomach issues became pretty steady from last Sunday on, so on Wednesday I went to the doctor-I had two other issues which were actually the priority at the time; a rash on my torso and an aching left nut. I tend to like to get the most for my doctors visits so I was waiting to go with a whole list of problems-I guess. so for my problems:
1. Rash on my torso: It's a fungus, apply jock itch ointment twice a day-Nice
2. Aching left nut: Not sure what that is, schedule an ultrasound for the next day-Sweet
3. Stomach problems: They weren't bothering me too much so I figured the jock itch cream and ball ultrasound were enough for now.

Wednesay night, developed a fever and an ache in my lower abdomen, went to work the next day, abdomen continued to bother me, so I called the doctor. He saw me around noon and scheduled a CT scan for my stomach just before the ball ultrasound that same day. So I rushed into Boston Beth Israel Hospital , drank 40 oz's of chalk water, crapped my brains out, then they had me lie down in a tubular thing and they injected me with something that made my groin get really warm and made a weird metallic taste in my mouth-very strange. On to the ball ultrasound. I thought they would have some cool machine that did this-specifically designed for that purpose-Nope. Just like looking for a baby, except it was my nuts. Not a great expreience.
Wrapped that up and was heading home, actually just about to pick up my jock itch cream when my doctor called and said, "good news your balls are normal but bad news you need to turn around and head to the hospital you have appendicitis." Sweet.
Hung out in the emergency room until around 2am and they wheeled me in to cut out the appendix.
Pretty straightforward, I woke up at around 6am and felt horrible. Slept on/off until around 1000 when they removed the catheter they put in (awesome), I ate a small lunch and was feeling pretty good. A nurse helped me to the bathroom around 1100. Started to take a leak which felt like pissing razor blades-not good, I walked out to let the nurse know and within about 30 seconds I felt this clenching pain in my abdomen which is beyond any pain I had felt before. Pretty much doubled me over and completely incapacitated me.  The doctor said this was a stomach spasm and is likely the result of a combination of dehydration and trauma. He also said this is as close to labor pains as a man can get-ouch.  This began about 24 hours of getting my bladder to relearn how to take a leak, which took two more catheters, a lot of apple juice, and a lot of walking around with a urinal in my hand-this process absolutely sucked.  I got released Saturday at around 7pm and I'm feeling pretty good as I write this Sunday afternoon. The doctor I talked with emphasized no vigorous activity for 2weeks minimum. I am going to have to take this recovery slow or else it can produce problems. On the plus side this explains many of the frustrating stomach issues I was having that kept reoccuring, also my back problems which rose up this past month was likely a result of this as well, oh yeah and the nut issue is probably solved too

Mt Washington Road Race

Splits:
1mile- 10:01
2mile-21:38/11:37
3mile-33:58/12:19
4mile-45:16/11:18
1/2 way-46:29
5mile-1:00/15:15
6mile-1:14/13:47
7mile-1:28/13:57
Finish: 1:37:14/12:48

Swampscott Dory 5K and Kids Race

Perfect memorial day. Watched my kids rock out in the kids race and then I ran the 5k race Results. All 2 miles from my house. The kids did a great job and I couldn't have been prouder, they both completed several 50 yard dashes and an entire lap of the track-Awesome. My splits:
1mile-6:12
2mile-6:12
3.1mile-6:45
Total: 19:10/6:10pace

Weak Week Ending 5/23

Really feeling the flow over the last two months. 2 months of consecutive 40+ mile weeks is the record since starting running a year and a half ago. Injury, illness, family, work, (not necessarily in that order) previously presented a road block at the 30+ mpw boundary and I feel I have taken a legitimate step up. Of course once I started hitting 40-45 mpw comfortably I starting working in some 45-50 and actually started convincing myself that 50 mpw was within my ability-last week I had to take a step back. My weeks had been quality w/ some track work each week, 1-2 days comfortably hard, a race or two thrown in; I know I don't look like a runner, but damn if I didn't feel like one. Anyhow, not too long after the last track workout (where I ran 200's for the first time) I got this sharp pain in my left calf, I ran through it for a few days but it lingered. With work and family obligations and Mt Washington looming I figured it might not be a bad time to take a few days off. I am back at it with some easy running and may avoid the track for a while. Lynn Woods XC starts tonight, but I think I'll pass. I know if I toe the line I would be unable to not run hard and the hammering down those small steep hills has done damage to me before.  But that is enough whining for now, this afternoon I'll sweat my ass off running down the Charles and enjoy every second of it.

Charlestown Track 10x400/5x200

Beautiful day, pretty good workout. Took 200m jog rest in between each interval about 1:10. Splits:
400's:
1-1:23.2
2-1:23.7
3-1:26.1
4-1:26.1
5-1:26.6
6-1:29.7
7-1:28.0
8-1:28.7
9-1:30.7
10-1:26.8
Avg: 1:26.9
200's:
1-42.78
2-40.67
3-40.47
4-39.48
5-36.49
Avg: 39.97

Charlestown Track 5 x 1 mile

Pretty good workout, my goal was sub 6:30 on all of them and I just missed it on #4.  These mile intervals are pretty grueling, really hard to stay motivated on that 3rd lap, 400 meter jog (about 2:30) Splits below:
1-6:22
2-6:29
3-6:26
4-6:32
5-6:21

Great Bay 1/2 Marathon

Headed to Newmarket, NH on a perfect Sunday. Family didn't make the trip as these longer races present logistical challenges w/ two small kids; I missed them at the finish. My goal was to run 7 min pace, I felt that if I had a great day sub 7 was within reach. I ended up running 1:31:45 which is on the nose 7 min pace results. The course and weather was perfect, definately hillier than I thought it was going to be. The scenery, fans and refreshing breeze made this race about as perfect as it could be. I am pleased w/ the result and my fitness to date and really looking forward to some more races in this distance range. Next marathon will be in the fall, I just can't gear up for it and I am too excited for 10k's, 10 milers, 5 milers and the like this summer.  Splits below:
1-6:43
2-13:42 (6:59)
3-20:29 (6:47)
4-27:32 (7:02)
5-34:33 (7:01)
6-41:35 (7:01)
7-48:32 (6:57)
8-55:43 (7:10)
9-1:02:50 (7:07)
10-1:10:05 (7:14)
11-1:17:05 (6:59)
12-1:24:15 (7:10)
13.1-1:31:45 (7:30)

Charlestown Track Pyramid

Headed over after work, didn't quite know how hard this workout would be, it turned out to be a good one. Steady rain towards the end made it wet, but the wind wasn't too bad. I was fearing that middle mile, but I was in the groove fairly good by that point and it was the 1200 after that was tough.  I wasn't quite sure what kind of rest to go for, it ended up to be either 1:30 (1/2 lap)jog for the shorter ones and 2:30 (full lap) jog for the longer ones. Pace wise I was just going for 5k for the bulk and trying to open it up on the 200's and 400's. I watched the clock on the way up the Pyramid and didn't on the way down and just ran by feel-pleased with the consistency without starring at splits.
200-38.4
400-1:32
800-3:05
1200-4:50
1600-6:23
1200-4:52
800-3:07
400-1:28
200-39.0

Charlestown Track 10x400

Ran over to the track with about a 30 minute window after work and banged this out. I had thought about something like 15x400 with a 200 jog, but as I was tight on time I figured I'd shorten the work and the rest. I did a 100m jog in between  which worked out to about a 40 second jog. Not a really tough workout but with minimal rest I was getting fatigued by the last two. Perfect weather, cool and dry with a slight breeze, if I had the time I would have liked to try and do 15.
1-1:29
2-1:29
3-1:31
4-1:31
5-1:27
6-1:30
7-1:29
8-1:29
9-1:25
10-1:23

Salem Green 5k Cross Country Race

Headed over to the Salem Green Golf Course on Sunday w/ the family. Nice race, lots of small steep hills and a ton of people. Really surprised to see so many people turn out for this. My kids hung out in the sand trap while I ran, a really great morning. Lately I have been thinking less and less about the marathon distance and more and more about the shorter stuff. I think I might bypass the spring marathon and aim for a decent 1/2 marathon time-mainly I just cannot get motivated to run more than 12 miles and run it slowly. We will see how the spring progresses, I might try and go a little longer this weekend. This race was a ton of fun and I am looking forward to hitting some more short races like this, plus it is fun w/ the family there.Results

Charlestown Track 6x800

Beautiful day, bit of a headwind but otherwise perfect running weather. Having not run this pace for some time, it was a bit of a shock to the system on the first two but the rest went by fairly solid. A good effort, not too tough, but no too easy either. Took a 1/2 lap jog in between.
1-3:07
2-3:12
3-3:13
4-3:11
5-3:10
6-3:03

A great weekend! With No Running!

Logged only 21 miles last week. A variety of ailments working through the house, I had a cough and fever Weds-Friday. My son has the same and my daughter had an earache, fever etc on Saturday morning. So with beautiful weather over the weekend I just decided to give my body a break from running and enjoy it. My poor wife and daughter spent Saturday morning in the doctor's so my son and I tried to make the best of it, so we ended up spending the morning at the beach!!!! It was absolutely a perfect day for flying kites, digging holes, and collecting "stuff" Was probably some of the best one on one time I've had with the little guy in a while. We went as a family to gammy and gampy's on sunday and had a great day burning leaves in the perfect weather. That afternoon Allison and I even got to spend about 3 hours alone recollecting on the joys of having been married for 7 years (Anniversary today).  I'll get back to the mileage this week and hopefully the fatigue and funk I've been trying to plod through for 2-3 weeks will be behind me.

C.R.A.S.H. B.'s 2010

I've gotten in pretty good shape over the last year so I figured I'd relive the Glory Years and head down to the Indoor Rowing World Championships on Feb 14th w/ my best bud Pat and hammer it out one more time. Last time I did this was 1998.  At about 900 meters down I remembered how brutal this sport is. It is unbelievable how in about 3 1/2 minutes you can feel utterly spent.  With no rowing under my belt but a significant amount of running I felt very confident aerobically going into it, but once I hit half way my legs just crapped out. My goal was 7 minutes and for the first 2/3 I was right on target, but the wheels came off the cart pretty quickly with about 800 to go. Final time was 7:03, Pat kicked my ass with a 6:54, there is always next year! Turned out to be a great day, grandparents had the kids so Allison and I went out for a nice  Valentine's dinner afterward.

2010 Stew Chase 15k

Some pretty steady headwinds on the way out (this is an out and back course). You can tell by the mile splits which miles were the toughest. I didn't feel particularly great, especially when I hit some of the more difficult miles and saw how poor my splits were. But, I was almost 4 minutes faster than last year so it is hard to complain too much. I also haven't really run hard in over 3 weeks, so pushing an aggressive pase for 9+ miles was a little bit of a shock to the system. My biggest fans were there at the finish braving the frigid wind to see daddy drop the hammer. All in all a great day.  Splits below:
1 mile-6:43
2 mile-7:01
3 mile-6:47
4 mile-7:14
5 mile-7:28
6 mile-6:40
7 mile-7:10
8 mile-6:56
9 mile-6:53
.3 mile-1:59
Total: 1:04:58/6:59

Sick Again?

On Saturday before the snowshoe race when I got up in the morning I felt a tickle in the back of my throat. After the race I was hacking pretty good, but thought it would pass. Sunday and Monday I ran but my throat was soar and I had this dry cough lingering. Took Tuesday, weds off didn't get much better and I've been sleeping on the couch  coughing. So today I went to the doctor and got the standard arythromycin, but he was wondering if there isn't an allergy thing going on so I got a couple other things. So basically I don't know exactly what the problem is but I am on medication for allergies and an infection. So, hopefully one of those things will clear it up. 10 miler tomorrow.

Ye Olde Salem Green 5k Snowshoe Race

Pretty sweet, this race took about 9 minutes to get to. Family stayed home for this one due to the fact that it was 15 degrees and would require standing around for a half hour on a wide open Golf Course. This was my first snowshoe "race" and I spent just about the entire 3miles saying to myself "this f....ing sucks" What makes it so difficult is not the fact that it is challenging on your legs and lungs-which it is and basically mirrors running up stairs the entire time (quads on fire and lungs burning) but it was nearly impossible to establish a rhythm. Step, step, step, trip, step, step, slip. I've been snowshoeing enough to expect this, but I was amazed at how exhausting it is when you are trying to put forth a hard effort. Also, it is real easy to fall in behind people that you would normally pass on the roads. The reason being-it takes a substantial effort to pass, normally you might just creep by; but snowshoeing you have to find a straight away, dive out into the soft snow, sprint past and then maintain a faster pace. You need to really have confidence in your fitness and also have a clue as to how much distance you have left. The pace tends to be so slow that the decision to go for it and pass or settle in behind is hard to make-it was hard for me to judge my pace, even harder when your quads are on fire basically from the start. I loved the start, snow flying everywhere and mass chaos. I'd definately do another one. Thanks to all the folks at Dungeon Rock for making this a kick ass event, Jay & Co.  introduced me to the sport, and the huge turnout at this event is a testament to thier ability to buid interest in snowshoeing. The picture above is by Bill Wooley, who did a great job. Running pictures can be so boring but these are really something else-way to bring an artistic flare to snowshoe photography See the write up, pictures and results here .

Wicked Frosty 4 miler, Salem MA

Decided last minute to head over to Salem and do the 4 miler, instead of the 10k in Salisbury. Turned out to be the best decision, my family came to watch and it is about the perfect distance to hold their attention. Anything longer than 30 minutes and my wife would just be suffering w/ two freezing kids and another half hour to wait until they can head to the car. I ran the first mile in 6:03 and then faded pretty well over the rest of the course, I actually think that is the fastest mile I have ever run period. There was some slippery conditions in mile 3 that slowed me down a bit, but overall I am pleased with the results. Splits below:

1st mile-6:03

2nd mile-6:14

3rd mile-6:28

4th mile-6:23

Total-25:10/6:18pace

Warming up with my son before the race.