Like I Hadn't Missed A Beat

So I'm going to be upfront with you right now - I'm posting this for two reasons:

1. I have a pathological need to tell everyone how stupid I am sometimes.
2. I need an excuse to publish the cool pic of my bloody hand at the end.

Having said that, first let me say how glad I am to be back running again.

Neighborhood Lights

That's not to say I didn't enjoy the walking. Made some fun trips with Zeus around the neighborhood and beyond. We saw Christmas light displays (some guady, some beautiful, some that definitely fell into the "why even bother" category), explored areas I'd never been to before, saw a coyote near a green belt area one night, made neighborhood dogs bark and stray cats cower in fear - the fun was never-ending!

More Neighborhood Lights

The thing about walking I liked the most, though, was the opportunity to get caught up on a lot of music I had missed because there wasn't time to listen to it with the attention it deserved. Walking around a near-deserted Tulsa neighborhood at 5a.m. for a couple of hours really allowed me to listen to the music with no distractions (other than Zeus tugging the leash to chase after the tenth rabbit that morning that didn't have the good sense to sleep in).

Even More Neighborhood Lights

I'm no doctor - I don't even play one on t.v. - but I firmly believe that the reason my rehab went so well (and quickly) is that I didn't stop. I couldn't run, but I kept moving, and I think that made all the difference. This was never more evident to me than when I stepped on the scale this past weekend, a full three weeks after I broke my toe and had to stop running, and found that I had actually lost a full pound during that three week stretch! Trust me, my eating habits didn't change - I'm not that disciplined! - so the only thing I can "blame" it on is that fact that, while I had my share of "poor Steve can't run" pity parties, I didn't let that stop me from being active.

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Driving home from the dog park with Zeus last night, it occurred to me that I hadn't felt any pain in my foot for nearly 24 hours...and being the OCD mess that I am, took that to mean it was time for me to start running again.

I had originally planned to go out the Saturday morning, December 1st, and run a mile just to see how it felt. That would have been exactly one month (well, four weeks) since I broke my toe - a nice round number, I felt.

We pulled into LaFortune (fortunately I had worn sweats and sneakers to the dog park) and I got out of the car and started my normal pre-run stretch routine, starting it off with a 2:00 plank. Oh my God! was I out of shape, stretching wise. It was a cool (but not uncomfortably cold) evening - any colder, and I would have used that excuse to not go through with it. But I finished my stretching, plugged in my earbuds, leashed up Zeus, and off we went.

I was only going to run a mile then turn around and walk the mile back to the car. However, as we approached the mile marker by the old tennis courts, I was just getting the rust out of my joints and was starting to hit my stride, so decided to push on for a second mile. After that, we could easily walk the last mile around to the parking lot.

But I actually got stronger (and felt great) as we approached the second mile marker. My first mile clocked in at 9:13, my second at 9:04. I was still bound and determined to walk the final mile as a cool down, but wanted to run one more mile, so as Julia announced in my ears that I had completed my second mile, I swung Zeus around and we headed back the way we came.

(As an aside, "Julia" is actually her name - I'm using a new app, Runtastic Pro for WP7, and it specifically states that her name is Julia. She'll always be "Bambi" in my heart, but it would be rude not to use her actual name, I suppose.)

The third mile was a little tougher - I hit a bit of a wall about halfway through (2.5 miles at that point, which is about where I was walling it a month ago). It was settled, we'd finish the third mile and walk the fourth.

This is what running four miles after a month off
looks like!

But as we approached the third mile marker, I thought about the course ahead of me, the trail that I had just run eighteen minutes ago. Primarily uphill going one way, we had a lot of downhill going back, so we decided to try and run the fourth mile.

We completed the third mile with a decent split of 9:17, and as we crested the second to last hill just after that third mile marker, we poured it on, finishing a strong fourth mile in 8:21! It was like I hadn't missed a beat...



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And so now the moment you've read this far for, my first-ever faceplant.

I woke up this morning feeling great! No ill effects from the four-miler the night before. I had convinced myself that I would need to walk this morning, but I felt so good following my plankaday and coffee that I decided we'd try to run three miles or so, just through the neighborhood.

I saddled up the mutt, started the music and GPS app, and off we went. We cruised west towards one of the main roads that frames our neighborhood, and I made the turn onto the sidewalk and headed north. (Tulsa is notorious for it's lack of sidewalk infrastructure - the four-square-mile block I live in has sidewalks around 75% of it, virtually no sidewalks within, which means I do a lot of walking and running in the streets or through front yards.)

And that's when the sidewalk reached up and grabbed me. I never saw it coming. I stumbled, tried to catch myself, then down I went like Joe Frazier. Lying on my side, my first thought was my foot - slight tingling, but seemed okay. Then the palms of my hands started to hurt. It was cold enough and I had peeled enough skin off of them (and the top of my right hand somehow, as well) to make them hard to use. Then I realized the GPS was still running, so I painfully fumbled for my phone, and finally got the app paused. It was too late, however - the split was pretty well shot at that point.

Zeus just stood there, annoyed that we had stopped.

How I scraped the TOP of my hand I'll
never know...!

After about thirty seconds, I pulled myself up, picked up my glasses from the ground, restarted the app and started running again. We completed the first mile and were well into the second, but the throbbing in my palms wouldn't stop, so we turned for home to call it a morning.

In the end, I seem no worse for wear - hands and right knee skinned up, shoulder a bit sore from where I stopped my fall - but no apparent damage to anything I need to actually run (feet, legs, joints and phone all made it through unscathed). So I'll be back out again tomorrow morning, basking in the glow of being able to finally run again.

A Tale of Two Runners

I'm going to take a few minutes, as painful as this will be to my ego, to turn this spotlight away from myself and on to two very special runners I met this past weekend.

Tracey and I - downtown Tulsa following
the Fleet Feet Black Friday 5K Run

I've known Tracey Posey online for a little while now, but this was my first opportunity to meet this amazing guy in person. Tracey, a single father with three kids, has lost over 80 (!) pounds this year, and though he just started running again seriously in September, he completed the Fleet Feet Black Friday 5K Run in under twenty-eight minutes! Let me say that again - running for fewer than two months, ran a sub-28:00 5K. In my book, that's pretty amazing - great job, Tracey! You can (and should) follow Tracey on Twitter at @tpoze - you won't regret it!

Claes and his running buddy Elton

Just as amazing (if not more so) is my brand new Twitter friend Claes Heiming. On the opposite end of the running spectrum from Tracey and I, Claes has been running since 1969. What's so amazing about him, you may ask? Well, Claes is amazing for three reasons:

1. He follows me on Twitter all the way from Sweden.

2. He, like me, runs with his dog - nothing better than that, they make the best training partners!

3. Claes is training to run in a 140 mile run in July 2013.

That is no typo, my friends! Claes will be running in a 140 mile race on July 17, 2013 - followed by a half marathon immediately after! That's some serious miles! Claes told me his target is 24-30 hours to complete the course - it gives me chills just thinking about it!

Claes is another runner you must definietely follow - follow his thoughts on training for this incredible run on  his blog and follow him on Twitter at @flexirun - well worth your time to do so!

And just in case you haven't had your fill of amazing runners for one day, check out my friend Becky's recap of her first 5K run in over 15 years - definitely a good read!

-Steve

A Most Incredible Weekend

Parking sign nabbed from Maple Ridge

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted anything - been a little busy hosting a number of pity parties over being unable to run because of my broken toe. However, I just had to take a few minutes to share my experiences from this weekend's Route 66 Marathon!

I had originally signed up to run the 5K on Saturday. Well, with that registration comes the prerequisite emails, and one of those mentioned volunteering. I'd never considered volunteering before, but went to the website to check out the opportunities, and one immediately jumped out at me - handing out coins to runners who made the Center Of The Universe detour.

Official Center Of The Universe
Metal Coin

Doing the detour increased the mileage of the marathon from 26.2 to 26.5, thereby making it an Ultra (which is technically anything over 26.2). On top of that, the detour was being sponsored by Michelob Ultra, which meant the runners would get a free beer beyond the two they were already anticipating at the end of their run! So, the marathoners would take this three-tenths-of-a-mile detour, receive a fine coin and a free beer, and be on their way. Sounded like fun!

Then my injury occured and my first thought was "Oh, no! I'm not going to be able to run!" followed by "OMG, this really hurts!" followed by assorted pain-induced obsenities. It wasn't until a few days later, after a visit to the doctor confiming it was broken, that I considered volunteering on Saturday as well. I figured that if I couldn't run, at least I'd be amongst "my people," i.e. runners.

5K Runners - on your mark, get set...

I arrived bright and early Saturday morning at Veteran's park to help set up for the 5K and 1-mile fun run - the first 45 minutes was spent unwrapping and hanging individually wrapped finisher's medals for the 12-and-under 5K and Fun Run runners. Then we got the runners lined up for the 5K, and they were off! It was a lot of fun watching as runners of various skill and ability crossed the finish line - some were intense, some were overjoyed, some were just relieved to have made it to the finish line!

Fun Runners!

Then it was time to get the fun runners lined up and ready to go! Despite the still-chilly morning, these kids were ready to go! Had a little fun teasing them - arguing that it was 10 miles instead of one, making them stand behind the line only to have them creep back up when my back was turned - and then the rifle went off and they were gone. And seeing them cross the finish line and the looks on their faces when we gave them their medals - some were old pros at it, but some of the younger kids were so astonished to get their medal - it was a series of pretty touching moments, and definitely the high point of the day.

Met up with Mark Cato before the race!

Sunday was an entirely different experience. I arrived early (in time to see the start of the race) and wandered around the corrals, looking at all the full and half marathoners going through their pre-race routines - it was really quite a site. Even ran into a couple of friends at the starting corrals - Twitter friend Mark Cato was getting ready to run (I think) his 20th marathon, and my co-worker Becky who ran a stellar 5K the day before and was now volunteering on this chilly Sunday morning!

 Once the race started, I headed over to the Center Of The Universe, and that's when the fun began in earnest! We spent a little time setting up the coin station on the top of the Main Street Bridge, getting the beer station ready at Main and Archer, making foil hats, hanging signs, etc.

The hardest working volunteer crew at
The Williams Route 66 Marathon!

Then about 9:45, the runners started showing up! The first wave consisted of those serious runners still trying to make time, but wanting the coin and the "Ultra" designation. Next came the not-as-serious runners who were trying to complete the course in a decent time but weren't so intense that they couldn't take the detour for the coin (and free beer!). Then finally came the marathon "fun runners," those runners that were serious about running but were there mostly for the experience! Here are just a few of the runners we saw that morning:

One of the first runners to hit the detour!

My co-volunteer Brenda handing out coins!

Taking his coin on the run!

Second female to hit the detour!

Even cowboys gotta run!

Our first costumed runner of the day!

We even had a proposal - she said "yes"!

Glen was our first detour runner!

Best of all was the opportunity to meet some of my Twitter tweeps who had come from out of town to run the marathon! If you're on Twitter and you need motivation from great runners who are also great people, follow these guys!

Met up with Darron Tytler (@datman65) Saturday at the 5K - he
PR'd his marathon by 23 minutes, on his birthday no less!

With Nicholas Norfolk (@absolut_zer0) and Mark Cato
(@supermancato) at the Center of the Universe!

I had a most incredible weekend, and you can be sure that whichever day I'm not running next November 23rd & 24th I'll be volunteering somewhere at the Williams Route 66 Marathon weekend!

-Steve