Barca33Runner's Journal: Thanks For Noticin' Me(Comments Welcome)

[Barca33Runner]

It's late, I'm a little late to the party on this news, and this has nothing to do with running. However, I am super pumped to see that Wreck-it Ralph 2 is officially happening. I didn't see the first movie until it had been out for a couple years but it quickly became my favorite Disney animated film. Really cool to see that they have confirmed a sequel.

 

[DopeyBadger]

It's late, I'm a little late to the party on this news, and this has nothing to do with running. However, I am super pumped to see that Wreck-it Ralph 2 is officially happening. I didn't see the first movie until it had been out for a couple years but it quickly became my favorite Disney animated film. Really cool to see that they have confirmed a sequel.

I'm right there with you on this one. I loved Wreck-it-Ralph. Can't wait for the sequel!

 

[Ariel484]

I need to give Wreck-It Ralph another shot. I love the old-school video games and I like the voice actors.

I know you said you have cruised with DCL - did you see that the Dream has the new Vanellope's gelato shop onboard?

 

[Barca33Runner]

I need to give Wreck-It Ralph another shot. I love the old-school video games and I like the voice actors.

I know you said you have cruised with DCL - did you see that the Dream has the new Vanellope's gelato shop onboard?

Spent the day driving over to The Land for Fourth of July festivities and didn't see your post until now. Wreck-It really surprised me when I saw it. I expected it to be cute and fun, but I was pleasantly surprised at how clever it is. I love the video game theme, the k-pop sugar rush song, and the voice actors. Ralph's statement at the end, "turns out I don't need a medal to tell me I'm a good guy; because if that little kid likes me, how bad can I be?" hits very close to me because it is exactly how my nieces and nephews make me feel.

I hadn't seen that they added a Vanellope themed gelato shop. With my affinity for ice cream it seems another cruise may be required in the future.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Only 17 Miles last week because of some July 4th travel. Not ideal, but I ran a 5K on Sunday and set a new PR and I can now retroactively pretend that I was in a mini-taper.

My race was the Lake County Captains Grand Slam 5K. It was a pretty cool event and, like I said, I set a new PR of 26:01 for 5K. The Captains are the low A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians and we have attended several of their games in the past. I have been an Indians fan my whole life and one of the selling points for the event (overall, not for me in particular) was having former Indians All-Star Second Baseman Carlos Baerga handing out the medals at the finish line. I'm not much for waiting in lines, so I bypassed waiting to get my medal from him, but it was kind of cool to see him. He's a pretty obscure name for anyone who's not an Indians fan or mid-90's baseball card collector, but he was one of my favorites when I was growing up. Here's a photo from the event:

From Left to Right: Me, my aunt, my dad, my mom, and my sister

Overall it was a pretty cool event. The medal was nice and we could have gotten a free burger or hot dog and a free soft drink or beer if we had wanted to stick around in the giant line around the stadium. My beard looks better than it feels, I am resolved to get rid of it at the end of the month regardless of whether I have achieved my weight-loss goal. It will either be gone in glorious victory or Game of Thrones level "Shame...shame..."

Back to the grind this week.

 

[Ariel484]

Baerga was my favorite player growing up. I can't tell you why, but 11-year-old me just decided that he and Sandy Alomar, Jr. were my favorites. congrats on the new PR!

 

[roxymama]

Have you factored in the weight of your beard to your goal? Maybe after shaving it off it will tip the scales in your favor

Congrats on the PR and stay away from all shame nuns, please. They are no fun.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Have you factored in the weight of your beard to your goal? Maybe after shaving it off it will tip the scales in your favor

Congrats on the PR and stay away from all shame nuns, please. They are no fun.

Don't think for a second that I haven't been delusionally pondering whether my beard has reached the point where it could actually weigh something. (It hasn't )

 

[DopeyBadger]

Congrats on the PR!

 

[doctorintheTARDIS]

congrats on your PR!

 

[Barca33Runner]

Just wanted to give a quick, big to anyone who is following along and a to anyone who has stumbled upon this journal recently. Any and all feedback, musings, recommendations, advice, or encouragement are very much welcome and appreciated.

 

[Barca33Runner]

22 Miles last week.

Not the best week for numerous reasons. I was planning on getting back to between 30-40 miles last week, but after a good 4.5 miles on Tuesday I woke up on Wednesday with pain just below my belt line on my right side. It had me worried right away, but I had felt a twinge in that general area before during runs so I was hoping that I had just pulled a muscle and that it would go away. I chose to rest on Wednesday and Thursday to give it some time and see if it would get better. Unfortunately, it did not. I had been self-diagnosing as things were going along since that's what I tend to do; I determined that I likely have a hernia. Since it was Friday and my doctor was gone for the weekend, I have been forced to wait until tomorrow (Monday) to try and set up an appointment to get things figured out. I ran 4.5 miles Friday, 10 miles Saturday, and 6 miles today while closely monitoring how I was feeling. The good news is that the pain has never worsened, the bad news is that it hasn't really improved much either.

I am setting up an appointment as soon as the office opens tomorrow to hopefully get this fixed as quickly as possible. My sister is a doctor and with just a list of symptoms is pretty limited in what she can discern, but tends to agree with my self-diagnosis. That doesn't prevent me from having all kinds of terrible thoughts running through my head about the possibility of this being much more serious than a hernia. I am glad that I don't have any races coming up and really hope this is just a short blip on my training radar.

 

[DopeyBadger]

22 Miles last week.

Not the best week for numerous reasons. I was planning on getting back to between 30-40 miles last week, but after a good 4.5 miles on Tuesday I woke up on Wednesday with pain just below my belt line on my right side. It had me worried right away, but I had felt a twinge in that general area before during runs so I was hoping that I had just pulled a muscle and that it would go away. I chose to rest on Wednesday and Thursday to give it some time and see if it would get better. Unfortunately, it did not. I had been self-diagnosing as things were going along since that's what I tend to do; I determined that I likely have a hernia. Since it was Friday and my doctor was gone for the weekend, I have been forced to wait until tomorrow (Monday) to try and set up an appointment to get things figured out. I ran 4.5 miles Friday, 10 miles Saturday, and 6 miles today while closely monitoring how I was feeling. The good news is that the pain has never worsened, the bad news is that it hasn't really improved much either.

I am setting up an appointment as soon as the office opens tomorrow to hopefully get this fixed as quickly as possible. My sister is a doctor and with just a list of symptoms is pretty limited in what she can discern, but tends to agree with my self-diagnosis. That doesn't prevent me from having all kinds of terrible thoughts running through my head about the possibility of this being much more serious than a hernia. I am glad that I don't have any races coming up and really hope this is just a short blip on my training radar.

Fingers crossed for you this morning for something small and easy to deal with!

 

[Ariel484]

Hope you can easily get an appointment and that you feel better soon!!

 

[Barca33Runner]

Thanks for the well wishes. I was able to get an appointment at 2:30 today and everything appears to be fine. I won't bore you with the details of my diagnosis, but it's not a hernia and should clear up within a week or so. On the one hand, I feel incredibly sheepish about going to the doctor for something that is apparently not a huge issue. On the other hand, I am relieved that it doesn't appear to be anything serious or even something that would have adversely affected my training schedule. I'm not much of a hypochondriac, so having anything that makes me feel like I need to see the doctor gets me pretty nervous. I am glad that this appears to have been a false alarm.

On to the semi-exciting news of the day...New shoes!

I have always worn the Asics Gel-Noosa line since I started running. They are nominally designed for running portion of triathlons; but running is running and, this is the most important point, they were colorful and looked cool. I have run in them since the 7 and am currently on my third pair of 10s. It has been a marriage of both convenience (they looked cool and I wanted them) and practicality (I've never had any serious blister, foot, or leg issues in 5 years). Because I am a treadmill runner I haven't worn through shoes as quickly as many people do, so I have never really strayed from the Gel-Noosa's. I've tried a couple of Nike Flyknit models, but they squeeze my forefoot when I wear socks, so they were transitioned quickly to casual shoes. I've also tried a pair of Adidas with Boost foam. I like them, but they aren't anything special.

Since I am trying to transition to more outdoor miles and am focused on running a little slower during a majority of my training mileage, I was looking for something with the same profile as my Noosa's, but a little bouncier and a with a little more cushion. I am hoping I have found the right combination with the Asics Dynaflyte. Here are a couple pics, including a paw of a confused dog.



I am really looking forward to getting out in them tomorrow (I put in 5 nervous miles earlier today while waiting to go to the doctor), but so far they have passed the "running back and forth in my kitchen and living room" test. It's usually pretty foolproof. The Dynaflytes have a little more cushioning in the heel and forefoot, which gives them a heel-toe drop of 8mm vs. 10mm in my Noosa's. My Noosa 10's are 9.9 ounces and the 11's (still have yet to get my first pair) are 9.4 ounces vs. 9.3 on the Dynaflyte so they are really quite similar. Not sure if they'll totally replace my Noosa's, but this is the most promising new shoe I've tried in a while. They are also the first pair I've bought at full retail in a while, but since they are one of Asics first offerings with their FlyteFoam technology I didn't know how long I might have to wait. They perfectly fit what I was looking for so I splurged. Hopefully they will prove to be worth it.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Happy to hear that you went to the doctor and got positive news that it should be a week or so. Also, digging the new shoes!

 

[camaker]

Thanks for the well wishes. I was able to get an appointment at 2:30 today and everything appears to be fine. I won't bore you with the details of my diagnosis, but it's not a hernia and should clear up within a week or so. On the one hand, I feel incredibly sheepish about going to the doctor for something that is apparently not a huge issue. On the other hand, I am relieved that it doesn't appear to be anything serious or even something that would have adversely affected my training schedule. I'm not much of a hypochondriac, so having anything that makes me feel like I need to see the doctor gets me pretty nervous. I am glad that this appears to have been a false alarm.

On to the semi-exciting news of the day...New shoes!

I have always worn the Asics Gel-Noosa line since I started running. They are nominally designed for running portion of triathlons; but running is running and, this is the most important point, they were colorful and looked cool. I have run in them since the 7 and am currently on my third pair of 10s. It has been a marriage of both convenience (they looked cool and I wanted them) and practicality (I've never had any serious blister, foot, or leg issues in 5 years). Because I am a treadmill runner I haven't worn through shoes as quickly as many people do, so I have never really strayed from the Gel-Noosa's. I've tried a couple of Nike Flyknit models, but they squeeze my forefoot when I wear socks, so they were transitioned quickly to casual shoes. I've also tried a pair of Adidas with Boost foam. I like them, but they aren't anything special.

Since I am trying to transition to more outdoor miles and am focused on running a little slower during a majority of my training mileage, I was looking for something with the same profile as my Noosa's, but a little bouncier and a with a little more cushion. I am hoping I have found the right combination with the Asics Dynaflyte. Here are a couple pics, including a paw of a confused dog.

View attachment 181121 View attachment 181122

I am really looking forward to getting out in them tomorrow (I put in 5 nervous miles earlier today while waiting to go to the doctor), but so far they have passed the "running back and forth in my kitchen and living room" test. It's usually pretty foolproof. The Dynaflytes have a little more cushioning in the heel and forefoot, which gives them a heel-toe drop of 8mm vs. 10mm in my Noosa's. My Noosa 10's are 9.9 ounces and the 11's (still have yet to get my first pair) are 9.4 ounces vs. 9.3 on the Dynaflyte so they are really quite similar. Not sure if they'll totally replace my Noosa's, but this is the most promising new shoe I've tried in a while. They are also the first pair I've bought at full retail in a while, but since they are one of Asics first offerings with their FlyteFoam technology I didn't know how long I might have to wait. They perfectly fit what I was looking for so I splurged. Hopefully they will prove to be worth it.

No need to feel bad about a trip to the doctor that resulted in good news! After fighting through enough injuries, it's tough not to jump to a worst case scenario. I had a very anxious Thursday last week when the knee I had operated on started hurting in the same meniscal area that forced my last retirement from Ultimate frisbee. It passed in a day or so and everything's good, but it plays mind games with you. And don't get me started on what happens every time my hamstring twinges now...

Glad everything worked out well!

 

[Barca33Runner]

Giving my injury two more days to heal before easing back into my mileage. I feel like a lazy bum this week and I am pretty sure that running wouldn't cause a setback, but I want to feel as close to 100% as possible before running again. Should be good to go on Saturday and I am looking forward to a nice long, slow run to get back into a groove.

 

[Barca33Runner]

Finished the week with 21 miles. I'm happy that everything feels back to normal and was able to get in a good 6.5 today after 10 yesterday. One casualty on the week, I decided to shave my beard. It didn't look all that bad, but it's a lot of upkeep to have it clean and looking presentable. I was just done with it and tired of my face hurting in the morning because i slept on my beard weird. I'm disappointed in myself that I didn't reach my goal before getting rid of it, but it was starting to feel like an anchor more than a motivator towards that end. Sorry for no before and after pics, it was a quick decision and gone before I thought of pictures.

 

[Barca33Runner]

I've had quite a bit going on since my last post so I'll try to update some things.

I've been holding off posting on here for a little while because I was having trouble with my injury again and was waiting to go see the doctor and have some type of new diagnosis before giving an update. The first time I went in I was diagnosed with an inflamed lymph node and, other than the warning alarms going off in my head since lymph nodes have kind of a scary connection with some other serious issues, it really just needed time to heal. Well, a couple weeks went by, things were not getting better, and the pain had migrated north and further to the right. It wasn't getting worse and it's not the worst pain in the world, but it was disconcerting nonetheless. I had another appointment yesterday (I had scheduled a physical after the first appointment so I could get blood work and other things done) and this time I am hoping we have it figured out. It appears that my pelvis (hips) has become misaligned and that is what is causing the discomfort.

I don't know whether to be relieved or worried at this point. Obviously, I am glad that it doesn't appear to be anything life-threatening; but I am a little worried that it could have an impact on my running if it doesn't clear up with the stretching and core work I am going to be doing. I am pretty optimistic that I can get this fixed without surgery or any impact to my long-term running goals. I have about the weakest core in the history of mankind. I have long been aware of this and have just been too lazy to work on it. My core fitness has nowhere to go but up and I believe that it will not only help correct the pain I am having, but will also help with all of my long-term goals. I was once almost entirely sedentary and worked up the motivation to start running, this is merely another logical step in finding the fitness that I've always wanted.

I am choosing to keep a positive outlook on the situation, but I have decided to take a couple weeks off from running while instituting my new core workout while also giving the current inflammation time to die down. I ran 27 miles last week, but Saturday was my last long run for a couple weeks. Next week I am going on vacation to northern Michigan with my family to golf and hang out so it's generally a convenient time to have a bit of a lay-off. As long as things go well I am going to schedule a 10-Mile race for Labor Day weekend, but I am pretty sure I am just going to take that one easy. My 2:09:35 Half POT for Marathon Weekend should be good enough to keep me in Corral B for the 5/10K and F for the Half/Full so I am not concerned with pushing myself in my September race anymore. I will be focusing my training on running a new, sub-2:00 PR for the Indianapolis Monumental Half in November.

With that in mind, I am also beginning a new diet following my vacation. I have already started implementation of this plan, but I am also working on clearing out my pantry and fridge during the process so things are going kind of slow. Theoretically, I know that the food I have is a sunk cost at this point; I can throw it away and I can view the money "wasted" as an investment in my health. In practice, I can't bring myself to throw edible food away. It's always been a big problem for me. It is hard to cook for one and still work with proper quantities. I end up buying and cooking more than I need and I always end up eating it because I can't stand the idea of waste. Anyway, I am going to a diet where I will be alternating between chicken breast and salmon as my primary protein, broccoli, and rice as my carbohydrate. I will be switching to raw almonds as my primary snack, but will mix in fresh fruit and vegetables as well. This should help me streamline my shopping, cooking, and eating; helping me to resist buying things that aren't good for me and cook in proper portions to prevent guilt-eating leftover food. Since I've started paying attention to what I eat I have adhered to the "everything in moderation" line of thinking; I still think this is applicable, but I need something a little more structured to get myself back in line with the moderation side of that equation.

That's it for now. Thanks to everyone who is following along.