For October I gave my knee time to recover, but didn’t really do much to fix it. I should have stretched it lots, but didn’t. Then we decided to run a Thanksgiving Morning 5 mile turkey trot. I did a run each of the 2 weeks prior (5 miles at 9:02 min/mile, and 4.7 at 9:44 min/mile), and the knee gave me trouble each time. Stretching mid-run helped, but it still hurt. Race day was cold and windy. To make…
The planned 5k race was 29 September 2012, so I decided to give my knees a break and only do bike rides for the month. 7 days out, I went out for a 1 mile jog. Knee felt fine, but I didn’t want to push it. The race was early on a Saturday morning. At the fire of a cannon I took off, adrenalin pumping and pushing me to run faster that I ever had before. I posted a PR…
In late July I got a pair of brand new, real running shoes. Some Mizuno Wave Inspire 8’s. They felt great. Maybe too good. Feeling emboldened with my new foot gear I went out for a run on August 7th, and instead of stopping at 3-4 miles, just kept going. A full 6.3 (10k!) by the end. The problem was that with each mile I felt better and better. It was exhilarating. A full 10k and it felt great. Even…
Sometime in July 2012, my wife and I decided to run a Breast Cancer benefit 5k to be held in September. This meant we needed to figure out how to run. I put in a few 3 mile runs over the course of a couple weeks, pace at 9:18 min/mile, 9:38 min/mile, 9:56 min/mile, and 9:43 min/mile. I was pleased as punch. These runs were a mix of running/walking. I was lucky to go a straight mile w/ no breaks….
By February 2012, I had moved to Kearney, NE. On a particularly cold evening in February – we’re talking single digits – I thought: “Man, its crazy cold outside. I should totally go out and run. That would be nuts.” So, out I went. I strapped on some old trail running shoes I had around for hiking and general outdoor use – some old Nike Alvords. I put on a beanie, cotton long-johns, sweat-shirt, gloves, and hit the road. It…
In 2004 I moved to Lincoln, NE. Not much mountain biking in Lincoln, if you can imagine. Not many mountains to hike either. This was problematic. In fact, this is precisely teh circumstances that may have compelled to take up running. But, they didn’t. I hate running. No, instead I took up lap-swimming. And occasional biking on pavement.
I grew up in NW Washington as an active kid. Lots of hiking, camping, rock climbing, swimming, snowboarding, etc… A possibly unhealthy amount of mountain biking. Lots of mountain biking. But no running. I hate running. I tried to stay active in college as an undergraduate in Utah. But still no running. Well – maybe once or twice over the course of 7 semesters, but they were disastrous attempts. Running is the worst.