Runner Maturity

Nite Train at 3 1/2 years old

     It's hard to believe that I have been running for almost 3 1/2 years.  Seems like I just started yesterday; and then sometimes it seems like I have been doing this all my life.  I guess that just means that the runner has always been in me.  After my first half marathon in 2011, I considered myself in my running 'toddler' stage.  Still a baby, still learning, exploring.  By the time I completed my first full marathon last year, I had entered runner puberty I guess you would say.  Three full marathons later, I'm still trying to enter manhood while making plenty of dumb mistakes just like a teenager would make along the way.  Taking chances, being a daredevil.  I was just thinking today of how I'm starting to make better decisions, better choices, planning for the long haul in my running career rather than just looking toward the next day or the next week.   Earlier today, I was all excited and geared up to run when I got home from work.  The weather has been less hot (notice I didn't say cool) than it usually is in July.  But, my legs have felt just a tad bit overworked all day, due to I went at it pretty hard on yesterday's run.  So instead of getting out there on the pavement anyway, like I probably would  have done six months ago when I was a "mileage ho", I listened to my body and decided to chill out.  I'm sure I will be refreshed tomorrow morning and will have a better run and possibly prevent the onset of an injury.  Live to run another day. Time to man up.

-TNT-

Let the Mind Control the Body, not the Other Way Around...

Today was just a routine run, but a run of importance.  Ever since my dehydration incident (see previous blog for the story if you didn't hear about it), I have been a little shell shocked to run for long distances on my own.  Well I guess I'm over it.  Had a great run today in very hot weather.  I decided to run close to home for my long run rather than running at the lake with a group due to I had errands to run afterward.  I originally was going to run four 4-mile loops from my home and keep a fueling station in my truck.  Too boring.  Then I planned to run from the local recreation center and do two 8-mile loops, however I had ran that course twice earlier in the week and was looking for something new.  So instead, I did run from my house and in my head I proposed one loop which would take me throughout the City of Carrollton.  I never mapped it out, but visualized it in my head. 

Newly discovered Blue Trail, Carrollton, Tx. 4 miles of  greatness

 It is so funny how when you become a runner, you have a great sense of distance.  The route ended up being 16 miles, which was my target. I didn't know that it would come out to 16 miles until I actually ran it.  I engineered this route around where I knew water stations were because I woke up kind of late and I knew that by the time I got late into my run, it would be much warmer outside than I was used to running in.  I could not have constructed a more perfect route.  The water fountains ended up at mile 5 and mile 8 and the trail I ran on passed by a Walgreens drugstore at mile 10 which also has a water fountain.  The Rosemeade Recreation center was at mile 13 which was the last water stop.  So I had plenty hydration.  I have had a few folks suggest I start taking electrolyte supplements or salt tabs, I may look into that later.  The salt tabs scare me now, as I found out recently you are only supposed to consume those when you are fully hydrated.  During my "crash" at Northshore Trails two weeks ago I was given salt tabs, and I'm almost sure that accelerated my dehydration and I remembered that when I crashed and dehydrated at the Dallas Marathon, someone gave me a bunch of salt tabs there too which I think lead to the same result.  So no more salt tabs or electrolyte supplements until I learn how to use them.  

Mile 5 water stop in Castle Hills

I don't think that is the issue now so much as I just sweat a darn lot and just need to hydrate way more than the average Joe.  I was gushing sweat every time I stopped for a break.  When I was running, there were a couple instances where it appeared I wasn't sweating and I freaked out, still paranoid.  I started off with Gatorade, used pickle juice and mustard as I have been doing and it worked well.  Drank lots of water along the way.  Plus I hydrated well all week long and also included a lot of fruits and melons in my diet which carry natural electrolytes. What was alarming is how much liquid I took in during the whole run. I'm estimating that I probably consumed about 130 oz of liquid.  And I'm still drinking now as I sit here and type.  The hotter it got, the more I slowed my pace.  I was an 11 minute man by the time I got to the last couple miles.  The temps were well into the upper 80's or even 90's then.  But it's all good because it's not about pace, its about beating my body up now so that when fall comes around, things will come easier.  My fall marathon is the Route 66 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  148 days to go.  I'm hoping my mind can now start helping take my body to places I want it to go

-TNT-

Flirting with Disaster

Northshore Trails Debacle

So here it is, the story of my 3rd major dehydration event. Yes 3rd. Thank goodness I wasn't by myself.

I was to meet the TREX (Trail Running EXperience) group at 7am for our usual Sunday morning trail run. We had rerouted from running the Rowlett Creek trail in Rowlett, which is just east of Dallas because we knew it was probably overly muddy from rain the morning before. Instead we decided to run at Northshore Trails in Grapevine. My alarm clock sounded off at 6am as scheduled. I usually put all of my running stuff out the night before, but I dozed off a little early Saturday so I wasn't as organized as I usually am before a run. I got up, turned on ESPN, watched a little bit of sportscenter while glancing over at the stove clock which said 6:15. I still have a little bit of time, Northshore is only about 15 minutes away from my house. I planned on leaving at 6:30 and making it out there in time to chat with the group a little bit before the run. So I start getting stuff together, get dressed, 6:30 comes around, per the clock on the oven. I look at my phone and it says 6:43. Oh shit, the clock on the oven is wrong! So I immediately grab my gym bag, which would usually have extra stuff in it like my GU packets, energy bars, a change of clothes and other supplies and take off but since I didn't load it up the night before, I basically have an empty bag of nothing. I also grab a 20 oz bottle of Gatorade out of the fridge and a banana on the counter and my half gallon Igloo thermos which I had just filled up with ice water. The only thing I was concerned with was I had my phone- left my Garmin behind on purpose because I'm never concerned with speed on the trails, just distance. So I didn't have time to think about what the weather would be like, what I should be consuming before I got there or what I did the day before. My mentality was that since we were in the trails, all of the vegetation around would keep it cool. And it did, but did nothing about the humidity. I had run that 8.8 mile loop at least a dozen times with no problem. All I was thinking about was getting there before everyone left down the trail without me. On the way there I found a bag of trail mix in one of the pockets of my gym bag. So I eat a hand full of it along with the banana on the way. I drink nothing at all. I pulled into Murrell Park at Northshore at 7:01 am and I see runner buddies Steve, Kristin, Mark, Claudia and Dave. Thankfully everyone is still there. I put my ice thermos in the back of my truck when I get out. Claudia asked me if I'm ready so I hurried up and opened the Gatorade bottle and take a small sip and take off with them down the trail. It was a beautiful morning, Steve was leading at just the right pace, and it was very comfortable. It was a very quiet crew surprisingly no one was really saying anything, about a couple miles into the run Kristin and I get into conversations about eyeglasses and contacts and other things. Probably the most I have ever talked during a trail run. We also got into the subject of sweating, which later would be a major focus for me. I mentioned that I sweat a lot and I would not disappoint that day. We got to the 4.4 mile point, Rockledge park and I was sweating buckets (first red flag). We stopped there for a quick break and I felt a little nauseous (2nd red flag). I had felt that way on runs before and usually it was because I was running too fast. Or at least I think that was what it was now. I figured it couldn't be that though, because we weren't running fast at all, it must be because I didn't eat enough. But that didn't make sense either because I have done 15 mile road runs without eating anything at all beforehand and felt fine. The group took off for an extra few miles beyond Rockledge and Kristen told me if I waited, I could catch them on the rebound and run back with them. Great idea, it would give me time to recover. So I did that, finished off my bottle of Gatorade while sitting there sweating profusely like never before and about 10-15 min later here they come, I figure I'm refreshed and take off with them back toward MurrellPark. About 1.5 miles on the way back, I started feeling weak, losing energy (3rd red flag). I'm thinking I knew I should have stopped and got a powerbar or remembered to get my GU. So I let the group go on, I figured I would walk-run it back. I wasn't in a hurry, I actually enjoy walking though the trails and just soaking up nature anyway. I walked maybe a quarter of a mile and there's Steve and Dave there waiting on me to make sure I was good. Steve hands me some extra hydration knowing that I'm out, I didn't think I really needed it but I chugged it down it and we take off. We probably ran a couple of more miles, I feel weak again and I tell them to go ahead I'll just meet them back at Murrell. Dave then gave me instructions on how I can cut the route short if I needed to. Only about 1.5 miles to go, should be no problem. There were a lot of bikers on the trail that morning. And thank goodness there were. I start my trek northward and a lady from Finlandwhom we passed on the way to Rockledge catches up with me, we exchange a couple words about the humidity that morning and she passed me and moved on. I looked to my right and I can see where I can take a short cut through the trees to where the trail winds back around which would probably cut out about 100 feet of the trail. I start to climb up an incline to that point and my right calf cramped and seized up (warning). Oh no, not again. I stop, sit down next to the trail and stretch it out with success. I’m thinking, okay I need to get back to my truck and my hydration ASAP. I really did not know the seriousness of my situation, but I figured the cramps would come back eventually because they always do. I continued to walk very gingerly and after another 100 feet both of my calves cramp completely up and I go down. Only a few moments go by and a biker rolls by, sees me screaming in agony and offers assistance. After helping me stretch out the cramps and providing me with additional hydration and having a little bit of marathon talk with me, he directs me to where the paved road back to Murrell Park is, and takes off down the trail. I continue to walk too, not knowing exactly how far I am from Murrell Park. About a quarter mile later I see a paved road, so I take it to the right where I’m thinking Murrell Parkshould be close by. I walk another quarter mile and this was probably a bad idea because the paved road is in direct sunlight. And it was hot. Steve then calls me to find out where I am and at that moment I knew I was toast. I could feel both legs seizing up. So I decide to head straight for the shade under a tree out of the sun, lay down and let them find me. I had no idea how far away I was from them, I told Steve I see a stop sign and I think I’m near the guard shack. Before I even lay down I see he and Claudia come around the corner. Thank goodness. They give me hydration and try to work out my cramps by massaging, but it wasn’t working. After a minute or so the park ranger came by to see what’s up because we were in a restricted area. They eventually load me on the back of the truck and take me back to the parking area at Murrell Park.

So I think I’m all good, I have a half gallon of ice water in my thermos and the crew to help me get rid of this darn cramps. I eventually was able to transfer myself from the back of the Park Police’s truck to the bed of my truck where Steve, Claudia, Dave and Kristin all begin to work on me. They forced me to drink a bottle of Gatorade, lots of water a full can of coconut water, salt tablets and a banana. I’m thinking ok something as got to give. I was just trying to get to the point where I could drive home without my leg cramping up. Kristin comes over and gives me some sort of power bar, I bite into it and my neck and jaw cramps up. That is when Steve says “OK, you have two choices, either we take you home or you are going to the ER.” At that moment I knew this was way more than serious. Steve would tell me later that I opted to go home, which I don’t remember but I do remember right after I was presented with those choices, my whole body seizing up, Steve calling 911 and the only thing I wanted to do is lay there until the ambulance arrived. EVERYTHING hurt. So here I am laying there, feeling like a freaking pretzel wondering when the ambulance would get there. Since putting hydration in me wasn’t working, I suggested pouring it on me instead to cool me off. I didn’t feel hot but I figured I probably was and probably wasn’t sweating. I could hear both Steve and Claudia trying to calm me and tell me that I would be OK. Maybe for a split second I thought I may die right there in Murrell Park, but then I realized I was in a lot of pain and still conscious. I figured as long as I was alert and everything was still hurting like hell and I knew where I was then I was still OK. My main concern was that the ambulance wouldn’t find us and delay getting there, then I would be in deep doo doo because time was everything. It probably only took the ambulance 5-10 minutes to get there but it felt like an hour. The paramedics finally get there, ask me a few dumb questions, probably just to see if I was cognizant of what was going on, load me onto the gurney and on into the ambulance. I knew I was safe then. I could hear Steve calling my wife, I was more so wondering what was going through her mind. On the way to the hospital while starting my I.V. the paramedic asked me about the series of events leading up to just before they got there. He asked me about what I did the day before. I admitted to him I didn’t hydrate as much as I should have. He tells me what I already know about hydrating the day before and how he has to do the same for his job since they have to deal with being in the heat as well.

All was well when I got to the hospital, most of the cramping had stopped but I still had some cramping in my foot and toes. In all I took in a couple bags of saline intravenously. I was so dehydrated that after taking in all of that I.V. and liquids, I could not even produce a pee sample until maybe 45 minutes later. My buds showed up and then my wife and aunt. We joked about what had just happened, but we all know that was some serious stuff out there.

So what the heck caused all of this chaos? One could simply say I didn’t hydrate enough. But it was much more than that. Lets go back 24 hours. I backtracked everything I consumed up until the trail run:

Not replacing fluids and electrolytes. After the 16 miler Saturday, I took in some liquids, but I have no idea how much I need to take in. The first thing I am going to do is determine my sweat rate so I know how much I need to replace after a run.

Alcohol. I had 2 ½ beers the evening before, but only took in a half gallon of water afterward. Beer is only about 5 percent alcohol and 95 percent water. I found that when you drink a beer it causes you to urinate an extra 120 liters of urine on top of your normal urine output. Here is a good article that I found on how and why alcohol dehydrates you.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/02/28/3441707.htm#.UcPXfvnVDmggestion

Extreme humidity. There were rains every other day leading up to that morning, making the trails into just short of a rainforest. All of the moisture should have had the humidity really high.

This is the 3^rd major incident I have had with dehydration. Each time it happens you are more prone for it to happen again something I was sort of aware of but am really paying attention to now and am extremely paranoid.

Basically all of the planets lined up perfectly and collapsed with me in between them. So from now on, the 3rd week of June I'm declaring as "Hydration Awareness Week".

So like the Notorious B.I.G. says: "If you didn't know, now you know.."

All week long I have been teased about what happened, but I know its all with love lol. I have received a lot of advise all week, most of which I know already. But let me share anyway.

Happy Hydration Awareness Week

-TNT-

Heat exhaustion is an acute reaction to a hot, humid environment. The person will display the following: profuse sweating, dizziness, nausea, headache, and profound fatigue as the result of excess fluid loss from the body. If untreated, heat exhaustion can progress to heat stroke.

The person should be removed from the hot, humid environment to a cooler, well-ventilated location (e.g, indoors, under a shade tree) and placed in a head-low position. Clothing should be loosened and the person's body cooled by placing cold packs in the arm pits, on the neck, groin, and behind the knees. Fluids, in the form of water or electrolyte drinks, should be given to conscious runners. In some cases, IV fluids are necessary.

A good way to know how hydrated you are is by the color of your urine.  See below how to pass the "pee test"

Receiving treatment from Claudia and Dave.  I can't remember all of what I drank and consumed within that 30 minute period, but it was a lot

If I Only Knew...

I ran across a document in my work email today, from first ever running coach Nikki Davis from over 2 1/2 years ago.  So funny when I was reading this as a newbee runner I kinda understood it, but now I actually GET IT. I can relate to so much of it now.  I bet you can too...  Enjoy :)

-TNT -

"Things I wish I had known when I started running"  

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A thought came to me the other night, as I was with a group of brand new runners. I mean a fresh batch of newbies. I caught myself thinking, "Gosh...there are a lot of things I wish I had known about running when I got started".  I was looking at a bunch of new runners standing there in 90% cotton attire in under 30 degree temperatures, wide eyed and full of excitement, but mostly full of fear (we've all been there). The kind of fear that can paralyzes a person, "Can I do this?, Do I belong here?, Am I starting something, one more time, I can't finish?" and the most common fear "I'm going to be left behind". On the other hand, I'm full of excitement for them, knowing their lives are going to change and they are going to do things that once seemed impossible. I know there is so much to tell them and I don't want to forget anything. We can train in groups, but running is a very individual sport. What works for one runner, might not work for another. 

So, I sent an email to my running friends with a question in mind. And as usual, what returned was humor and wisdom. Below are their thoughts to the idea of, "Things I wish I had known when I started running". These answers come from runners who have been running from under a year, to those who have run for over 25 years. Their experience range from those who have run 5ks, those who have run their first marathon, runners who have completed 25+ marathons, to elite runners, and to runners who have traveled all over the world running marathons and ultra marathons. My best teacher has always been experience and below you will find some great experience to learn from. Enjoy - Coach N  

"Things I wish I had known when I started running"  

Mike Stieglitz - running for over 40 years

1. Immediately develop a long term view. You will be running for 40 years, so a four-month total recovery period is not a major set back that should depress you (unless it comes right before Boston in April).

2. Patience. Improvement is gradual and should not be rushed. (See above)

3. If you’re one to become obsessed with numbers (“I have to run six miles today to make my weekly goal or I will just die..”.) then start recording the number of days you run instead of the number of miles. Early on, the only question I ask a new runner is how many days a week are you getting out there? NOT how many miles or how fast or you running. (It’s a mind set.)

4.You get stronger on your off days. You only break yourself down in your workouts. Rest is the most important time of your training schedule (but must be timed to be after a good workout.)

5.   Good shoes cost between $75 and $100. A good doctor (to correct a cheap shoe-related injury) is at least three times that amount. You do the math.

6.   Hydrate.

7.   wear tape on your nipples if its raining and you’re running more than five miles.....

8.   run in the moonlight at least once per quarter....

9.   your improvement will not be a straight line. not every race will be faster than the last. Get use to it. Compare year to year, not race to race.

10.  Remember that old coaches like to ramble on......

  

Mark Olateju - running 5 years

1)   That as a distance runner, I needed to “GU” and drink water more to enhance my performance

2)   I should’ve stretched more(at all) before running3)      I needed to train hard, to race easy

4)   I needed to get mileage under my belt to accustom my body to races

5)   Sleep is extremely important

6)   Body glide is a very good friend

7)   Not to run at the same pace at all times

8)   It takes years to reach a comfortable level running

Joe Beisner - running 22 years

1)   I wish I had known “how much hard work goes on behind the scenes to be able to compete in races at a high level on a consistent basis every year.” 

2)   I would do it again - because running is very important to me and my lifestyle.  

Jay Cutcher - running for one year   

1)   Shoes - I’ve had 2 injuries directly related to not having the right shoes.

2)   Show up - If I miss one run, it’s much easier to miss the next one. Even if I’m injured I show up to keep it as a habit. 

3)   Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.

4)   Coach Nikki is not my friend. Her cute smile fades real fast on “Speed Work Wednesdays”.

5)   I no longer smoke (not something I’ve learned, but still a benefit)

6)   I’ve learned that I no longer get to sleep in on the weekends.

7)   Do not wear too many layers. I get too hot real fast and have to take stuff off.

8)   Racing is fun. Waking up early for the race is not.

9)   I’m more disciplined in all aspects of my life. Running has made me better at scheduling my time.

10) The most amazing feeling I’ve ever had in my life is completing a marathon.  

Marcus Grunewald - running for over 25 years

1)   That it is really hard to begin running, but it doesn’t hurt for as long as you think it is going to and it eventually does become a lot of fun!

2)   A bad day of running is still better than a good day in the office.

Teddi Fullenwider - running seriously for a year and a half.

1)   How important it is to listen to your coach as far as going out slowly and coming back hard. I knew that in my head, but it took me a long time to really grasp it. It is so true. When I go out a little slower than I think I should, I come back stronger and still have a little left for a kick at the end.

2)   How important it is to limit your fiber intake the night before a long run. HAHA, you don’t have to print that one, but it’s true. You don’t realize how what you eat the day before can affect your run the next day.

 

Tricia Gill - Competitive Swimmer to a Runner, running seriously over one year

1)   Wish I had known that it is really ok to walk/stop for a water break. I used to skip the water stations, so I wouldn’t have to stop, but now know how helpful it is.

2)   The beauty of real running tech-shirts!! Instead of cotton ones 

Kristi Jones - running off and on for 4 years

1)   I wish I had known that the key to running is that it is more important to have the frequency of runs during the week, not to focus too much on the intensity of the training runs...

2)   I wish I had known that you don’t have to run in pain just to ease your ego. 

Bart Yasso - running 33 years

1)   That 99.9 % of all runners are the coolest people on the planet.  

Kendra Ramick - running about 2 years

1)   I wish I had known that there would be good and bad days, so I wouldn’t get discouraged when I first started.  Some days no matter how much you’ve prepared, how well you have eaten, and how focused you are, your run still won’t be all you had hoped for. You just have to brush it off and set your sights on the next one!  

Nikki Davis - running for 7 years  

1)   Don’t drink green tea before running a 5k :)

2)   It’s not important to other runners how fast or slow I am, what’s important to them is I’m out there Running!

3)   Show up for my runs, no matter what my mind is telling me! I will always feel awesome after the run!

4)   Don’t stay up all night gambling till 4 am and run a marathon at 6:30 am or run a marathon with flu like symptoms - maybe I shouldn’t be running marathons!?!  

5)   That my entire life would change directions.  

Theresa Remek - running around 3 yrs

1)   I wish I would have known that good running clothes are pricey.

2)   I wish I would have known that runners are all in the same family.

Nick Polito - running 3 years. Started January 2007. Saw a Nike+ commercial so I got one for my Nano. A few weeks later I ran my first 5K with a friend. Too Cold to Hold 5K. I can’t remember, but it was probably 28 min. I didn’t pay the extra $5 for the chip.

1)   Run more to get faster

2)   Shoes are cheaper online

3)   Don’t drink so often

4)   Have fun at races

5)   Hills are the key to eliminating injuries

6)   Clothes don’t matter just good shoes

Darryl Dickson-Carr - running off and on since high school, or about 25 years. I didn’t figure out the items below until the last couple of years, though.

1)   Whenever possible, you should budget for and buy two pairs of shoes at once, and alternate wearing them. Each pair will last longer, as will your feet and legs.

2)   Besides water—lots of it—GU and similar products are a long-distance runner’s best friends.

3)   Find other runners to help keep yourself honest.

4)   A dedicated running regimen doesn’t mean you get to eat anything you want! If you want to get faster, watch your weight.

Chris Phelan, running for 40 years

1.   It’s harder than you think. Everyone can run, but few do it well.

2.   You can’t imagine the people you’ll meet, the places you’ll run and the where running will take you.

3.   In shorts and a t-shirt, everyone looks the same. Your money, job, power, car, or appearances mean nothing the moment the starting gun is fired.

4.   Some partner will hold you back, bring you down. Others will energize and encourage you, build you up. Choose your running partners carefully.

5.   Some of the best runs are by yourself. Enjoy the quiet time away from the phone, computer, and others.

6.   You will learn a lot about yourself that can’t be learned in a classroom or a test, through aches, pains, and injuries.

7.   Even if you’ve lived in the same town all your life, on the first few steps of your first run you will see something you’ve never seen before.

8.   There are many paths to a goal. It makes no difference which one you pick. But stick to only one.

9.   Running is a journey, an on-going life style. Not a destination.

10.  You have to prove you’re a runner every day. And you do that by doing it.

11.  The moment you look back, you’re a spectator. Don’t look backward if your running forward, physically and euphemistically.

12.  You will join a larger fraternity of isolated individuals.

13.  You will be surprised by how many people hate you for running: motorists, relatives, the city planners, authorities, neighbors.

14.  Like members of an orchestra and their instruments, so are athletes and the sport that chooses them. Runners tend to be humble, and introspective. They are also, selfish, self absorb, and self centered. But like their swimming and cycling counter parts, are intelligent and successful.

15.  People who don’t run don’t know far “a couple of miles” really are. Nor do they know what “flat” means.

16.  You become more aware and interested in weather.

17.  Wear your number on the front of your torso. You’ll learn later what a dork you were for wearing everywhere else BUT your torso.

18.  Race t-shirts are NEVER to be worn the day of the race. Another “dork” signal. 

Matthew Eibell - running - Seriously for 3 ½ yrs. But I always ran a few miles a week for about 10 yrs.

1)   I wish I had known it would be so much fun and that I would meet good friends - I would have started it way earlier in life.   

My Running Community

I actually started this post some weeks ago, but didn't know exactly what I was going to write, but I knew it would center around the running community that I now it seems I am a permanent fixture of it.  The reaction to the recent unfortunate event in Boston by the running community did not surprise me at all.  The theme was "Runners Unified to Remember".  But really, we runners have ALWAYS been unified.  There is a strong bond. Maybe its because the majority of us all have common goals and aspirations.  Maybe its because most of us started from ground zero and transformed ourselves into long distance running machines.  Maybe its because of the friendly competition.  We all enter most of the same or similar races and root for each other.  Or maybe its just because of we all understand the 'high' that comes from completing a routine run, completing a race or just reaching a certain level of fitness.  


I started running on my own and trained myself for my first half marathon back in the winter of 2011.  Along the way I signed up on dailymile.com and built online friendships with runners all over the planet as we would post our daily runs and share race experiences while we also encouraged and inspired one another as we achieved our goals.   I quickly figured out that the running community is an unofficial brotherhood and sisterhood.  So I was already somewhat part of the running community even before I officially joined a running club.  That September when I finally decided to show up for the fall training program at the Dallas Running Club that I had signed up for two months before, I walked from my car to the clubhouse and was welcomed with open arms, made part of the family and the rest is history.

The one thing that our training director mentioned earlier this year during a run is that of all his years with the running club, he has never heard of anyone clashing or squabbles or anything of the sort.  I have noticed that as well.  It just doesn't happen.  At least not at my running club. I guess that is why I look forward to the weekends with my running family after having to deal with the everyday stressors from life and work. There is not another place that I know of where you have accountability, motivation, competition, like mind people and just plain good old fashioned fun.  


-TNT-

My father, the Ultra Marathoner

     As you may know, I recently lost the most important man in my life, my father.  Since the worldwide average expectancy of a male on this planet Earth is 65 years, that means that my father, Clabon Eugene Pleasant, Sr, who lived to be 88 has completed the equivalent an ultra marathon as far as human age is concerned.  Most of my friends when I was growing up, grandparents were around the same age or younger than he was since he fathered me at the age of 43.  Here are some things to put in perspective the time era he experienced:  He lived through the Great Depression, saw World War II (and served in it - What a funny coincidence that his birth date is on veterans day, November 11).  He was around before televisions or computers were invented.    He endured the periods during the twentieth century which when being a black man did not exactly grant you liberty and justice for all. Along the way, he raised seven children and partly raised several other grandchildren while working for the U.S. Postal Service for as long as I can remember and sometimes worked other half jobs that he picked up along the way to support the family.  He provided the opportunity for his offspring to attend fine universities.  He was heavily involved with the church which he had an integral part in building.  And I'm sure there are a lot of other things that I left out.  I am told to be a carbon copy of him and I couldn't receive a better compliment. He led more by example and was somewhat soft spoken, attributes that people tell me that I took from him.  I'm half his age now so I have a long way to go to break his P.R.  I know he is happy now at rest and ready to claim his finishers medal.  As his namesake, I hope to have at least half the quality of life that he had.

-TNT-

In loving memory of Clabon E Pleasant, Sr. 

November 11, 1924- April 31, 2013

Dancin' With the One that Brung Me

March 1, 2013 marked my three year "runniversary".  Funny I've only been doing this for three years but it feels like 20.  The only regret I have is that I didn't start this 25 years sooner.  At 44, I'm not getting any younger, which means I need to be smarter.  I have to remember that I'm not far removed from being a rookie runner.  Being hardheaded and thinking I'm unbreakable, I pushed too much and a number of little nagging injuries finally started popping up this year. Blame it on being constantly in the presence and running along side of some of the most amazing athletes in my opinion you tend to want to be like them.  No, blame it on me.  So that means back to the fundamentals.  No matter if it's running, cooking or doing mathematics, we always seem to have to go back to the fundamentals when we get stuck don't we?  The great Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi used to begin every summer training camp with five simple words to his teams, "Gentlemen, this is a football."  After spring training season is over and I have my scheduled races out of the way, I'm going back to what got me here in the first place.  Back in 2010,  I started with building my core through weights and calisthenics and I ran twice per week for cardio.  I did enough weight training to tone up pretty well.  I used to absolutely HATE running.  Then one day it became peaceful to me and it was all she wrote.  But that could have been a bad thing because it caused me to loose focus of what I was doing for my overall fitness.  My diet also changed as I started to eat more things to make sure I was fueled up for a run every day.  Forgetting about all of the other nutrients that my body needs.  Now don't get me wrong, I am still a runner FIRST.  Just trying to be a better one and a smarter one.  So I will start from the basics again with the running and everything else and build back up from there.  Hopefully if I keep at it, by the end of fall I can be near as amazing as those super athletes that I train around with every week.

-TNT-