Spring Is Here - Rain, Flowers and Blog Posts Anew!

It's been a painfully long winter, both physically and psychologically - but it's April now, Spring is here and Summer is just around the corner!

 

After battling through foot, knee and calf injuries the last few months, I've completed my first two races of 2013, and ready for the next challenge as I prepare for the Route 66 Half Marathon in November.

St. Pat's bib

Two weeks ago, the boys and I ran the St. Patrick's Day Fun Run and had a great time! There were a lot of costumes, and as this was the unofficial start to racing season here in Tulsa, spirits were high! Both boys did well, and Ian even beat his old man by a good twenty seconds!

 

 

Early morning start...

The only downside to our first race of the year was that when we arrived, my first stop was the Michelob Ultra table, to find out when they'd start serving - I was told as soon as the first gun sounded, they'd start pouring. Talk about motivation to finish strong! However, we finished around 8:40, and I went directly to the table, only to find a sign saying beer wouldn't be served until 9:30. WTH?!?! It was St. Patrick's Day - shouldn't it have been part of the pre-run breakfast?

 

With Whole Foods
Marketing Dir. Lorah

 

There were a lot of cool costumes there - got a ton of pictures, but one of my favorites was when Whole Foods Tulsa's Marketing Director Lorah agreed to pose with us before the race - love the hair, Lorah!

 

 

Brent & Zach

On a non-running related note, we had a busy couple of weeks between races - the weather for the most part was pleasant - time for trips to the park, bike rides, dog walks, etc.

 

Nick and I made the trek to Oklahoma City to see Shinedown, Three Days Grace and P.O.D. - we'd gone to shows together before, but until now the biggest show he'd sees was Daughtry - this was his first real rock show, and he enjoyed every second! He stood for the entire two hours Shinedown (his favorite band) played, singing along to every song, waving his hands, dancing around - he had a blast!

 

Ready to ride...!

We have also had time to perfect our bike riding and driveway basketball skills, thanks to some pretty gorgeous weather. It's always a good thing when the kids WANT to unplug and go outside for a while, and we try to take every opportunity to do just that!

 

 



Luchador bib!

Then this last Saturday evening, Ian and I ran the Elote Tulsa Luchador 5K Run. What a blast! More than just a run, this was a three-plus mile obstacle course - spaghetti slip-n-slide, dance zone, silly string attacks, dodge ball zone, water balloon ambush at Guthrie Green Park, Patron shots (orange Jell-O shots for the kiddos) - this race really had it all!

 

 

 

Hot & Tired
Post Race!

 

We managed to run the entire route through downtown Tulsa, and Ian even PR-d at 32:40! So proud of him!

 

Overall, after a particularly harsh (physically and mentally) winter, it has been an amazing spring so far - and looking forward to much more!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Steve

April 2, 2013

 

Run 2013!

My Spring dance card is starting to fill up!

So far I'm set for two races - the Kyle's Krusade Virtual Race which I'm doing on February 2nd (read more about it here) and the Fleet Feet Tulsa Sweetheart 10K (which I'll be running solo, of course, since my wife STILL refuses to run with me, bless her heart).

Also on the horizon are the Zarrow Run, the Cinco de Mayo Run and the Run Tulsa Pink run, which I'll be doing with the kids through their school.

Then I'll spend the summer ramping back up my half marathon training. Races I'm anticipating running include the Tulsa Zoo Run and the Tulsa Run in October, and of course the Williams Route 66 Half Marathon in November.

It's shaping up to be a busy 2013!

-Steve

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Follow me on Twitter and Facebook and Daily Mile - you won't regret it (unless you're adverse to frequent nonsense and eyerolls!)

New Year, New Plan!

New Year, New Plan!

I've been mulling over a change in routine since the middle of December. I've been running pretty steadily, off and on, since mid-May 2012, and as we're now well over a week into the new year, it's time I stopped thinking and started doing.

However, I am currently nursing a mystery leg injury, and so any changes I make will have to wait until that is fully healed.

Here's my dilemma, if you can call it that. I love to run, but I'm beginning to think that is not enough for me. And so I've been listening to those around me, watching what the people I admire and respect are doing, and stealing a little bit of this-and-that from each of them. The following is what I've come up with.

My attack will be necessarily a two-pronged one.

The first thing to address, which I can do regardless of the health of my leg, is my diet. I've detailed in previous posts the minimal dietary changes I made in 2012, consisting mostly of the elimination of carbonated beverages from my diet and eating a more healthy breakfast. I've fallen away from that second one in recent weeks, and I need to get back up on that horse.

More importantly, though, it's time I took it to the next level. Keeping in mind that I'm the type of person who usually jumps head first into something and wears it out my welcome pretty quickly, and wanting these changes to stick, I've broken it up into a series of small goals that will get me to the next plateau:

1. Replace junk food snacks with healthy fruits and veggies.
2. Replace post-breakfast caffeine with water.
3. Get back to eating a healthy, filling breakfast.
4. Eat smaller, healthier lunches.

Once I've met these goals, the next steps will be to:

5. Eliminate afternoon snacking.
6. Eliminate all foods after 8PM. (Don't remember where I heard this one, but it's always stuck in my head as being a good idea - I'm in inveterate evening snacker.) (Hyperlink is for you - you know who you are.)

At this point, I should be eating a filling, healthy breakfast, a healthy mid-morning snack, a light & healthy lunch, and a good dinner. I am very fortunate to be married to an amazing, health-concious woman who always cooks as healthily as possible, and who is a magician in the kitchen. Dinner is not a concern; snacking after dinner is.

For a more well-rounded
workout...

The second thing to address, as soon as my leg is 100%, is to expand my exercise regimen beyond running. The first phase will be a 30-day test using my P90X videos from a year ago. The advantage here is two-fold: there will be more indoor workouts during the winter, and it'll be flexible enough that I can switch indoor sessions with running as the weather allows. Here is my basic plan, always subject to modification/tweaking:

Sun - Stretch/Cardo
Mon - Plyometrics
Tue - Running (yeah!)
Wed - Yoga
Thu - Kenpo
Fri - Core Synergistics
Sat - More running (double-yeah!)

After 30 days, I will reasses my progress and make additional changes as necessary.

So, why this change? What am I trying to accomplish?

I like what running has done for me...

The obvious answer here is a more healthy "me." I like what running has done for me physically and emotionally, but I don't want to become burned out on it as I have with so many other things, and I believe this is the next evolution in my progress towards better over all health. I will continue to run races; I'm at a level now that twice-per-week running is suffiecient to maintain the progress I've made as a runner over the past eight months.

So I invite you to join me on this journey, either as a disinterested observer, a vocal detractor or even an active participant - the choice is yours.

I've started a Facebook page to track my progress on this next phase of my life - "like" my page, follow my progress, and post your own. Heck, create your own page and I'll like it in return so we can follow each other on our journey to a better, healthier self! And as always, follow me on Twitter for a more interative experience!

Here's to a fantastic 2013!

-Steve

My Mantra For 2013!

Facebook!

With my trusty steed Zeus

I've started a facebook org page! You can find it here:

Steve On A Mission Facebook Page

Why?

The number one reason, of course, is that I want to help people! Less than a year ago, I was more than thirty pounds heavier than I am now, and couldn't walk a mile (let alone run 100 yards) without feeling winded.

Three months later, I ran my first 5K race in under 30 minutes, and seven months later had completed the first of what I hope are many half-marathons.

By doing three things - dropping carbonated beverages from my diet, eating a healthier breakfast every morning, and regularly exercising (in my case, mostly walking and running with my trusty steed Zeus), I brought about significant changes in my physical appearance, overall health and self-confidence.

And now I want to pass this along to anyone who is interested in making those same changes (or similar ones) and is unsure how to start.

I have goals for the coming year, as well, which I will share as we go along!

So check out the facebook page above, 'like' it if you are so inclined, and join me on this journey - we can do it together!

This is what it looks like to finish your first
half-marathon on a freezing cold morning...

Saturday recap

Busy, busy day yesterday, didn't come close to fitting everything in. Started off with some core work and a short run, shopping with Bonnie, ice cream walk with the kids, the usual chores around the house, pasta dinner, catching up on some reading, and finally (eight days after the fact) wrote and posted the recap of my first half marathon. Can't wait to see what today holds!

1st Annual Kruse-Savage #virtualhalfmary Recap

It was a dark and stormy morning...well, not really - but it sure was cold.

Me and my running partner/best friend Zeus

Having started running in May of this year (2012), I was planning on working my way up at a moderate pace. I ran two 5K races this year, and had planned a third when a broken foot sidelined me at the beginning of November. I subsequently volunteered both days of the Williams Route 66 Marathon, and had such a blast working the Center of the Universe Detour during the full marathon that I decided, the next day, to sign up for the 2013 Williams Route 66 Half.

Then I got wind of a virtual half marathon that was being planned on Twitter by @marathongrl71, her sister Brenda in California, and @runnermommy2008. (If you're reading this and you're not following both of these awesome ladies, you should do so now - I've linked their profiles above. I'll wait...) Both Michelle's, along with sister Brenda, were encouraging everyone to run 13.1 miles on December 22 and then tweet their times along with the hashtag #virtualhalfmary.

And so I altered my training so that I would be able to run most, if not all, of the 13.1 that day. My original plan had me running six miles and walking three that morning, completing the rest of it that afternoon. My final (and only) long run of 9.5 miles was completed the weekend before, and I felt ready to run most (if not all) of it.

My phone beeped at 4am the morning of the 22nd, and I dragged myself out of bed and downstairs to down some coffee before saddling up my trusty running partner, Zeus, and heading out.

My planned route was to run the 1.5 miles to the LaFortune Running Trail, run two laps (each lap being 3.1-ish miles), walk a third, and then run as much of a fourth lap as I could manage, hitting 13.1 right at the end of that fourth lap.

We immediately headed out into the cold, cold morning, running west towards the park. However, less than a half mile into it, the idea of running laps left me cold (pun only partially intended), so when we got to Sheridan, we turned right and headed south towards 71st street. I was already frantically mapping a new route in my head - we'd run down 71st street to Riverside drive, then either proceed on to Turkey Mountain or follow the Riverside running trail down to 61st street.

I was amazed at how quiet the normally packed 71st street was at 5am, and quickly realized that, in my haste, I had neglected to think things through.

First, 71st street is hilly. Really hilly. As soon as I hit the Sheridan intersection and turned west again, it was a steady uphill jog to (and past Yale). Then, a little past Yale, it was a steady downhill incline to Harvard, at which point it was another long uphill then downhill slog to Lewis, before it leveled out.

Second, I had failed to anticipate how dark it would be along some stretches of 71st where there were no streetlights. I adjusted my trusty headlamp so that it was shining on the sidewalk directly in front of me, and pressed on through those areas.

We finally hit Riverside and turned north to follow the trail towards 61st street. Shortly after crossing 61st, we hit the 6.6 mile mark (unofficial halfway point!) and stopped for a breather and some quick pictures, which Zeus did NOT cooperate for and which didn't come out anyway. Then we turned around and ran back (at least most of the way), but on the opposite side of the street, which was slightly better lit.

It really didn't hit me what I was doing, and what I was about to accomplish, until we were on the final long downhill section towards the 71st Street/Sheridan Ave intersection. At that point, I had surpassed twelve miles, the furthest (and at just over two hours at that point, the longest) I'd ever run. More than that, though I was about to complete a goal I had envisioned for late 2013 - the successful completion of a half marathon.

Sure, it wasn't an "official" half marathon in the sense that it was a certified course with cheering crowds and race officials and bibs, but I was about to complete a 13.1 "race" (along with dozens of Twitter friends all over the world who had run or would be running the same "race" with me), and best of all, I'd soon be getting a medal in the mail, testifying to my accomplishment!

We got home, I stopped my GPS, let Zeus loose in the backyard and went it to the house - I'd been gone two-and-a-half hours, and EVERYONE WAS STILL ASLEEP! No one to tell about what I'd just done, but more importantly, no one to take a picture of us! So I got my tripod, attached my wife's camera to it, figured out how to set the timer, and snapped a couple of pics of us - one is at the top of this post, and here's the other:

Having just run 13.1, ready for a long winter's nap...

I set the timer, sat on the ground...and as this was the first time I'd been off my feet in almost three hours, I immediately collapsed, the camera catching the moment for all posterity. I don't know what had Zeus' attention - perhaps a stray cat or a bunny or something.

And so that's it - nearly a year earlier than I'd anticipated, I had my first half marathon in the bag. I'm expecting my medal in the mail any day, and I'll append a pic of that when it comes.

As for the rest of the day, it was business as usual - housework, Christmas shopping, time with the kids, and plenty of vitamin "I"...all the usual weekend stuff.

And Zeus did his usual weekend stuff as well:

After logging many miles, time for a nap...

Here are the overall stats and some photos for the #virtualhalfmary.

Here is my Daily Mile post for the #virtualhalfmary.

-Steve

Coming soon...!

Recap of my first half marathon!

New Years Resolutions!

Daily Updates via the new phone app I'm testing this very moment!

And more running and non-running nonsense than you can shake your head at!

Please stay tuned!