When in doubt, go for a run!

Thanks everyone for all the good advice. With the sore throat I was doing the salt water rinses...the ONLY thing that would help the pain. I am past the sore throat phase and now in the sinus pressure, stuffy phase. A little nose spray clears things up enough to sleep.

So, I still have the head cold. Fortunately, it hasn't settled in the chest. My legs were aching late today so I figured that maybe a run would help get the blood flowing and get the legs worked out. Maybe, I thought, those good running endorphins can chase some of those aches away. So, I did what any crazy somewhat sick runner would do. I got on my running gear and ran an easy 5K (35:14). The heart got a good workout because of the 84 degree temperature (Florida summer is a coming) but I took it easy - using my heart rate monitor to guide my walking breaks. Overall the run was in the aerobic zone (average 161 bpm).

After the run, my legs still ached, but I felt ok. Hopefully I am on the tail end of this cold.

Of course, my 7 year old now has a sore throat...

Here is hoping some of this warm weather makes its way up north to some of you folks in the colder climes!

A short running break....

(begin whine) After making it through my marathon training season without any illness, one finally caught up with me this week. Not bad - just a head cold. But annoying...

I felt fine during my long run on Saturday. I ran 7.9 miles at an aerobic pace. I was a little congested but not more than normal when there is extra pollen in the air.

Later that evening while visiting with family, my throat started to hurt.

The next day the throat hurt alot (yes, I am a baby). I took Sunday off to visit with family. I figured I would run Monday.

Monday - throat still a bit sore and no time to get out for a run - another day off.

Tuesday - another day off - sore throat gone but pressure in sinuses. The cold is taking aim at my chest so this is a critical time - whether I will be over it in a few days or another week. Today was another busy work day...AND I left my running stuff at work!

Sigh...maybe tomorrow. I can't stand not running. It has been raining for about 3 days now...this is NOT my Florida. I can't stand lack of sunshine. (whine off)

In the meanwhile, my daughter's heel has been sore since the Winter Park Road Race. We have been giving it a break so we can do the Corporate 5K next week. I am the captain for our corporate 5K team (in case I didn't have enough to do!). We have around 75 runners signed up. It is going to be lots of fun!

Working on Episode 3. I am not sure what the title will be, but I have downloaded some great music to use for the next few episodes.

Run well all!!

Running Adventures Episode 2: Back to Nature

Well this podcast has been a long time coming. I was about 85% completed when my computer crashed. But now that I have my computer back (and some time) I am able to publish Episode 2. It is a bit longer than my target 15 minutes but you will see why it was hard to leave anything out (and I cut lots).

Much of this episode takes place at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park near Gainesville, Florida. We went camping from March 10-14th. I take you on a couple of runs and a walk. After returning, I ran with my daughter on our noisy Lockwood Blvd. The comments toward the end were done at the campground - sitting on a picnic table near a lake early on a sunny warm morning.

References in the podcast:

Adam Tinkoff of Burning 20 - http://burningtwenty.com
Susan - http://irunformylife.blogspot.com
Kevin - http://kevin-bonks.blogspot.com
Nigel of Running from the Reaper - http://runningfromthereaper.blogspot.com

Music:

Opening - "Super Soul" by 4saisonz
Closing - "Adventures of the Deaf Dreamer" by Josh Woodward

During the podcast the instrumental music is from Scott Wilder - a piece called "River Run"

Enjoy!

Meeting Dean

If you have ever read the book "Ultramarathon Man" or heard of the Endurance 50 (running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 consecutive days, then you know who Dean Karnazes is. Tonight, my daughter and I got a chance to meet him in person!

We got to Stetson University about an hour before the talk and he happened to be inside setting up. We came in, met him and had a chance to chat with him, just the two of us, for about 10-15 min. Then we let him get back to preparing while we wandered across campus to get a quick bite.

When we returned about 40 min later, the hall was beginning to fill up and Dean was out of the area. We should have gotten our book signed while we had him all to ourselves....and a few pictures too! But we were happy we got some time just to talk. My daughter told him what a fan she was and how she had started running. He told us about his son running 9 miles on his 9th birthday!

We still managed to get a great seat near the front and right at the center stairway. This proved strategic for getting the book signed later. He showed a clip of his interview on the David Letterman show, then talked about his running and how he got got started. He then addressed questions he is typically asked and then opened the floor up for 30 minutes of open questions. It was great. Interesting facts we learned:

- Dean's resting heart rate is 38 bpm
- His favorite race was the 35th marathon in his 50-50-50 on his son's birthday when he ran the last 9 miles of the race with his son
- Longest continuous running distance is 350 miles
- Favorite ultra race is the Western States 100 miler
- Last year he went through about 40 pairs of running shoes
- In preparation for the 50-50-50 he ran 4 100 mile races and 8 marathons

After the questions we were first in line for the book signing!!!

We had a great time!

It's Back!

I have my computer back! Now to find some time :-)

Stay tuned...