LA Marathon

It wasn't an easy decision, "should I run the LA Marathon this year?" I have wanted to run LA for the last few years but, so far, had not worked in my schedule due to other races. This year, it wasn't another race that stood in the way, but the fact that I may not be properly trained in time for the race. Since my hernia surgery in early February, I have struggled to get my mileage up to pre surgery levels. I think I underestimated the time that your body needs to recover from surgery and thought I could just continue on without missing a step... Wrong!

Looking back at the previous 3 months before each of my marathons and comparing the miles, I only did about half the miles that I did at last years Long Beach Marathon, where I ran a PR of 4:07. So, it is really no surprise that I ran a 4:29:32 in LA. It is still disappointing. It's a few seconds slower than my first Marathon, making it my slowest. Each of my previous 3 marathons had progressively gotten faster, so this was a bit of a bummer. If I were to do it over?? I'd do it in a heartbeat, cause it was a BLAST!!!

I'll spare you all the gory details of the pain in the last few miles and instead focus on what went right. The running community was a little concerned about this race, particularly the change in date and the chance for much warmer temperatures than it's usual March date. Lickily we were blessed with perfect conditions. The temperatures held in the mid 60's assisted by a nice marine layer! It was truly a gorgeous day. The spectators were INCREDIBLE! I can't remember any significant section of the course that wasn't lined with enthusiastic supporters. It really was amazing. The race itself was very well run and organized. Even the parking was effortless. I left WAY too early, expecting traffic and hassles and they simply did not exist. Kudos to the new owner of the LA Marathon for a very enjoyable race. I will be there for my revenge next year.

I also had the pleasure of meeting some of my new twitter pals at the race. It was really cool to meet them in person after chatting for the past couple of weeks. We are all still chatting and now a bunch of us are planning on doing the Long Beach Marathon in October. Very, very cool!!

I apologize for the lack of links and pictures in this post, but I am writing this on my iPhone as I am on the trainer (that nasty multitasking thing) and the app that I am using is a somewhat limited program.

Running while twittering

While there is a law in California against texting while driving, there is no such law against twittering while running. So, I am afraid that I will have to rely on my own better judgement and refrain from doing any of the following:

1. twittering "And... we're off!"

2. twittering my location at each mile marker.

3. checking to see if any of my twitter friends have twittered me.

I also promise to refrain from:

4. bragging at mile 15 "Wow, I feel great; at this pace, I should break 3:55!"

5. twittering at mile 18 "This is crazy, I think I'll speed up and go for 3:50."

6. at mile 20, twittering "Something doesn't feel right in my stomach."

Or:

7. at mile 22, describing what happened back at mile 21 1/2

8. twittering at mile 23, "I don't remember it hurting THIS bad."

9. getting mad at people twittering me saying, "You're almooossstttt there!"

And finally I promise not to:

10. Well, I promise not to twitter (during the race anyway :)

That's right, I have a twitter addiction. I really do. I have met so many cool people on twitter and it has made tomorrow's race that much more fun and exciting. The running community is a large part of why I love racing so much (there's just something about runners that make them really cool to be around). Twitter has made it easier to find people who are running the LA Marathon and get a chance to chat with them before the race. Not only am I thinking about how I will do tomorrow, now I have all these other people that I will be cheering on. Just click la marathon to see how you can search for any word and how easy it is to find people with similar interests. Pretty cool!

So, even though I won't be twittering DURING the race, I will be sending out tweets and meeting up with my new friends, which have been dubbed "Runnin' Fools" after the race.

Here is a short list of some of the runners I have been chatting with @anotorias, @Cassandrasruns, @runnrgrl @Runner03 @PunkRockRunner @slinkerbell @carmen57

@262RUNR and more. Not all of them are running the LA Marathon but they are all runners and really cool people.

The race starts at 7:20. The weather forcast is calling for a high of 69° with partly cloudy skies. Perfect! I am feeling pretty good about the race in general and although I don't feel that I will be beating my fastest time of 4:07:51 I am very excited to go out and have fun. Who knows, I may just surprise myself and go out more conservative the first half of the race, which could in turn facilitate an overall faster time. Wouldn't that be nice!

Now nutrition. In case you wonder what it takes to fuel me through 26.2 miles, I will have this strapped around my waist.

Yes, I do get funny looks and comments. 8 Gels. 1 every 3 miles. I stick to water at the aid stations and try to stay away from whatever "Brand X" sports drink happens to be at that particular race, since I usually don't know how my stomach will react. This plan has worked for me in my last 2 marathons so I'm stickin' with it.

Well, this is a short post, but I wanted to write something before the race.

See you on the next post.... or of course twitter.

Paul

The "24 Hour Fitness/ Barefoot" incident

I have thought long and hard about whether or not to post what I am about to write. As the events, which I will explain in great detail in a moment, were unfolding, I said to myself. "This is ridiculous! The minute I get home, I am going to write about this and post it to my blog for the whole world to see". Well, if there is one thing that I have learned after being on this planet for 43 some odd years, is that it is wise to NOT make crucial decisions when angry. So, I decided to sleep on it and see if I felt the same way in the morning. The following day, I felt that, before I went blogging and perhaps adding fuel to a fire, I would wait to see if the situation could be resolved without having to broadcast the drama from the highest mountain I could find (in this case, this here blog). Besides, I really love life and I try my hardest to not be negative (it doesn't always work) and I would much rather write about cool and inspiring stuff, than use this space as a bully pulpit. But, dammit! They just couldn't leave it alone.

As much as 24 Hour Fitness or "Big company that doesn't need little customer" (as I like to call them) has led to this posting, the real clincher was a Tweet that I received today. It said "Asics customer service is awesome!!!! They're replacing my sneakers 4 free rush shipping, bc 1 shoe made incorrectly." That got me thinking. Wow! With that one small gesture, that customer service person has created something called "goodwill". And the effect of that goodwill will have residual effect. As anyone who knows anything about business will tell you, "word travels fast". In this day and age, it travels even faster. The question is, what do you want those words to be? I would say that in Asics making Cassandra a happy customer, and the residual effect through word of mouth, that one action could boost Asics bottom line as much as a small magazine ad or sponsoring a small race would have. Pretty cheap advertising.

Sadly, in the case of "Big company that doesn't need little customer," they chose to handle matters in a different way. Before I get down to the nitty gritty, I do want to say that I am aware you are only hearing my side of the story and well, I am biased. It is partially why I hesitated to report the events that transpired. I do however have a knack for seeing the "other point of view;" almost to a fault at times. I am actually relieved when I discover that I am flat out wrong about something because if I am right and someone else fails to use any logic, it makes me mental. But more often than not, I find that the truth, or solution, lies somewhere in the middle. So, with that full disclosure and without further ado, I give you...

The "24 Hour Fitness/ Barefoot" incident.

Last Wednesday, my oldest daughter Brittany and I went to the gym. I have been a member of "Big company that doesn't need little customer" since '05. I pay my dues monthly. Brittany has been a member since '06 and she has a prepaid 2 year membership that I purchased for her as a Christmas gift and she is now in the 5th month of the 2 years. My younger daughter is also a member and she is on the month to month membership plan as well. Sorry if I jump around a bit, but this information will have significance as the story progresses. The three of us definitely get our moneys worth at the gym. I go 5-6 days a week. Brit goes 5 days a week and Jasmine goes at least 3 days.

Anyway, back to Wednesday. Brittany and I both had the day off so we decided to go to the gym together. She usually lifts and you can usually find me on the treadmill or stationary bike. Brittany hates the treadmill and prefers to run outside, with one little twist: Brittany runs barefoot

Now I know that to some of you that may sound weird, insane, kooky, even dangerous. Before you bombard me with all of the usual questions that get asked, I invite you to do some research here and here as they will do a much better job of explaining the benefits of running au natural.

After she lifted, she selflessly (I love running with her) grabbed the open treadmill next to me. Before we went, she mentioned to me whether or not I thought she could run barefoot on the treadmill. I said that I couldn't imagine that it would be a problem . So, she took off her shoes and started her run. As much as it can be argued, the cost/benefits of barefoot running, running barefoot on a treadmill is almost a no brainer. There's nothing to stub your toe on and no glass or rocks to cut your feet on. Its a nice, soft, predictable surface that allows you to just run. Sounds reasonable to me.

As you can probably guess by now, "Big company that doesn't need little customer" did not feel the same way. I have several points to make about what happens next. I will try to keep my commentary to a minimum and address them more at the end. So, here are the facts.

About 10 minutes into her run, one of the "Group X" trainers came by and told her that she must have shoes on. Then she walked over to a girl a few machines down and told her the same thing. I am pretty sure that the other girl wasn't barefoot. She was probably wearing sandals or some other type of "opened toed shoes". The trainer (who I've never seen before) came back and told Brittany again, "you have to put shoes on". I said no. I fully expected to see a manager real soon :) Next up, about 5 minutes later, was a trainer that I do know. He said "Hey, she's got to wear shoes on the treadmill". At this point I was ready for a rational conversation, so I said "She likes to run barefoot; I don't see any sign that says you have to wear shoes, but I realize that you guys are probably worried about liability and I understand that. She is willing to sign a waiver that releases you guys from any liability". He looked and me and said, "OK, let me go talk to someone".

I need to interject something at this point. I fully understand that in society we must have rules and laws. It has always been my understanding that rules and laws are designed to prevent someone from hurting someone else or infringing on someone else's rights. In our litigious society, I fear that our rights and freedoms are slowly eroding away under the guise of "for your own safety". Which really means that everyone operates under the fear of "what ifs" as in "what if this or that happens and I get sued." It is a slippery slope because I can make a compelling argument for just about anything and therefore strip anyone of their freedoms "for their own safety." And now with our sensationalized media, something only has to happen once and suddenly all rational thought goes out the window and we legislate to the lowest common denominator to make sure it doesn't happen again. So, to prevent an accident, we legislate any behavior that "might" lead to a similar accident. I feel that a rational solution to this is to release the other party from liability and would be right.... right??

If only it were that easy. Next up was one of the big managers. She said, "Come on, she can't run on the treadmill barefoot." I tried to explain my case again and said that I was sure that it wasn't dangerous and if they were worried that she was going to get hurt, she would sign a waiver. She said they didn't have any waivers. I said we'd write one. She said "a rule's a rule." I said that she would finish her run. Now I will admit that this was a bit combative but, there was NO sign and I didn't see any danger. We certainly weren't hurting anyone else, so I was sticking to my guns. I am also aware that as a business, they have the right to refuse service to anyone. But I ask, "at what cost?" which I will talk about later. At this point, I wanted to see the rule so I knew what I was debating and whether or not I had a shot of changing the rule. This would also prove to be extremely difficult.

We finished up the run shortly after the manager left. Brittany got off the treadmill and started to walk away to put on her shoes. I said she should put them on right there because I felt she should confine her disobedience to only the treadmill. She did :). We went downstairs, I took a shower while she reluctantly waited for me in front of the men's locker room ("Daddy, don't leave me out here alone").

After my shower, I met Brit in the lobby and I found the manager that we had spoken to before. I said, "Can you show me the rule that says you can't run on the treadmill with bare feet?" She pointed to the sign at the front desk that says "Rubber soled, close toed shoes must be worn at all times." I was in my flippy flops, like I usually am (hey, I grew up in Huntington Beach, it's practically a law) and I said, "Does that mean I am not in compliance?" At this point, I just needed to understand the rule. She said no, It's ok here and in the pool area and the yoga area. Wow, I didn't even think of THAT. So I said, "Well, then are those places marked?" And she said, "No, it's common sense." Hmmm..... I have a bit of a lawyer streak in me and this was nothing short of me brushing up on my debating skills. "If it says AT ALL TIMES, but then is allowed in other areas, it should be clearly marked or else it is arbitrary." She had a really hard time understanding this, and it was frustrating. If I at any point was wrong in the course of this whole incident, it was at this point. After trying to explain to her my line of reasoning, to the point of exhaustion, only to hear over and over that "it is the rule," I said, "try to use your brain." If I could take that back I would, and the following day I apologized for speaking to her that way. Anyway, this was clearly going nowhere so I said, "Show me in the contract your shoe policy," as she said that we had signed a contract saying we would follow the rules.

Quick reality check. We are the customers of this business, we were hurting no one. Now, back to the story.

She left and went into an office with the other "Big Manager Dude". She was in there for about 10 minutes. She came out about 2 or 3 times, going to the printer then going back into the office. I would think it would be pretty easy to show us this rule if it existed. I finally went over to her and said, "Why do you keep going to the printer? Are you rewriting the contract?" She didn't say anything. The "Big Manager Dude" came out with a photocopied piece of paper and handed it to me. The only thing that was highlighted was something about '24 Hour's responsibility to ensure a safe and positive environment for everyone.' On the side of the page, they wrote in their own writing, "See Cardio Room Rules Regarding Footwear." Now we were getting somewhere. I had no intention of flagrantly ignoring a rule. My plan was to find out the rule and then try to show that for Brittany "Appropriate footwear" is NO footwear. If I was unable to get the managers to see that, then I figured I would take it up with the people at the "Big company that doesn't need little customer" Headquarters. If we were unable to come to an agreement then perhaps Brittany would decide not to go there anymore, since all she does is lift and she could pick up a weight set and save the drive to and from the gym. Sadly we would never get to that point.

What is it about some people that they are so interested in being right that they can't discuss something rationally? If "Big Manager Dude" could have said, "I see what you are saying, it is ambiguous, call the corporate office and see if they can change the rule or have her sign a waiver," then we could have come to a resolution. Instead he said, "24 Hour Fitness apologizes for caring about the safety of your daughter." I trust I don't have to translate what he meant by that. I was able to keep my cool but did give him a look that said, well..... you know. In fairness, he did apologize for that. We then went on to debate the virtues of running barefoot, which was beside the point. He kept saying, "It doesn't make any sense!" I'm not sure what didn't make sense to him. He said his wife runs barefoot on the beach and I said, "You shouldn't let her" and he said "Why?" I said, "Because she could cut her feet on glass" and then, "Oh, I apologize for caring about the safety of your wife." Hey... what do you want from me... I never said I was perfect!

We then debated the sign issue. He said that there was a sign near the treadmills that says shoes are required. We went upstairs (I was still in my flippy flops, clearly a violation) and there wasn't any sign. I sort of felt bad for him at this point. The fact is, they are just employees of a big corporation. I don't think they get paid to think. I realized that the only way I would get this resolved, was to call corporate headquarters and try to clarify the rule or get it changed, if it is in fact against the rules. At this point, I'm not even sure. If they tell me that the rule is up to the interpretation of the manager who happens to be there at the time, if they ever hire a barefoot running manager, we are good to go! Otherwise, they define the rule and post signs accordingly; or of course, we sign a waiver. Regardless, I would have to make a phone call.

Another reality check. We are the customers of this business, we were hurting no one. Brit was running barefoot on the treadmill. Now, back to the story.

I called the headquarters of "Big company that doesn't need little customer" and spoke to a very nice Indian woman. I explained to her the situation in detail. She was very cordial and said that someone would look at this and get back to me in 3 to 5 days. Thank you!

Then, on Saturday I received this....

I have blocked out my address and membership # and also my last name (It is different than my professional name and well.....)

I know this has been an incredibly long story but I felt it was necessary to give all of the details so this letter could be put into context.

Let me say again that any business has the right to refuse to serve someone or have them as a patron. It is clear to me that the managers most likely called member services and had them draft this letter. I am sure that they made it sound as if I caused a huge ruckus. I have asked Brittany if that was the case and she said "No..." (well, she is my daughter, what do you think she'd say? :) But I will tell you that I never cursed or yelled or caused a scene. If anything, I made them frustrated and probably feel a little stupid. But that was it.

The several issues with this letter? First of all, there is no return phone number. If I sent letter like this, I can assure you that I would put a direct line so the person could contact me. Second, this letter goes beyond saying 'You must wear shoes or we will revoke your membership.' If it said that, I would consider that an official policy and then deicide whether I wanted to continue to go to that gym. No, it goes way beyond that and implies many things that, in my opinion, gives them the right at anytime to revoke my membership. That wouldn't even be so bad, if it were not for the fact that Brittany has 1 1/2 years left on her membership and when you cancel there, they continue to collect dues for an additional month. So needless to say, I wasn't happy about this letter.

So why do I write this? Am I trying to make sure Brittany can run barefoot on the treadmill at "Big company that doesn't need little customer?" No, in fact after thinking about it and a couple recommendations from some friends, I was going to see if these would qualify as acceptable footwear. Am I trying to make myself right to the managers there? No. Do I think that "Big company that doesn't need little customer" should make exceptions just for me? No, if they don't want to change the rule, which is their right, then I will simply take my business elsewhere. Although, that will prove to be hard as there are NO Mom and Pop gyms in our area. Only the really big corporate ones. But that is a topic for another post.

So, why did I spend the last 4 hours writing this? Because when they sent that letter, they forgot one thing and assumed another. They forgot that I am a paying customer and they assumed that I didn't have a voice.

Paul

3rd place at Sycamore Canyon 18K?

Well..... my shoes got 3rd place, unfortunately I wasn't in them at the time. When I arrived at the race site, I parked just as my friends, Phil Moores and Lori Palmquist were getting out of their car.

Phil asked me if I had an extra pair of shoes. He had left his at home and I, by chance, had brought an extra pair. I was afraid that my trail shoes may be a little tight, so as a precaution I brought my street shoes. We wear the same size and I was happy to let him use them. The three of us were doing the 18K distance. I had hoped to do at least the 30K but hadn't logged nearly enough miles after my surgery to feel comfortable doing the 30. I opted for the 18K and was glad that I did. The weather was perfect! Sara and Wendell, the race directors put on the most amazing trail races and this race has become my favorite. The three of us started together, but us running together only lasted about a minute. Even though I planned on racing this as opposed to "surviving" a 50K, I knew that I still needed to pace myself and try for a middle of the pack finish. Phil and Lori.... well, they're just plain FAST! In the 2nd mile there is a VERY steep climb. When I hit this, my heart rate went through the roof. I'm still not really sure why. It was worse than last years 50K when the temps were in the 90's. I had to stop several times and let people behind me go ahead since it was single track and by the time I got to the top, I was feeling pretty dizzy. I think it may have been the fact that I had eaten 3 hours prior and I may have been low on fuel. Anyway, the plan was to keep my HR in check on the uphills and run as fast as I could on the downhills (brilliant, I know). In the 18K, you basically go over 2 mountains. 6 miles over 1 mountain to the aid station, then back to the start. Big change from the 50K where you go over 5. When I was about a half mile from the turn around I saw Lori headed back my way. Like I said.... she's fast!

She sure looks happy. I had already seen my shoes.... and Phil a mile or two back and well... never mind. I got to the aid station, loaded up on pretzels and chocolate and headed back. It's a bit easier on the return trip with a more gradual incline. Like I said the weather was perfect and there was a nice breeze. I stayed within my target heart rate and it served me well. By the time I got to the top, I had a lot left in me. I had stuck behind a couple for a good mile or so and when I took off, the guy said to me, "go get em" (trail runners are the coolest people!). So off I went. I felt great and made up a lot of time. I passed several people on the way down. I would see someone ahead of me and slowly reel them in. I was a little worried that I would trip, like I always seem to do, but I was wearing trail shoes which I think helped and my pace was faster than usual which I think also helped (less feet dragging). There was one final guy that I was trying to catch, but just couldn't quite do it. He finished 3 seconds ahead of me. He wasn't in my age group so that made it not hurt as bad. I wanted to finish around 2:15 and I finished in 2:18:49. My Garmin said 2:16:42 because I had it set to auto pause when I am stopped. That means I spent over 2 minutes stuffing my face with pretzels and chocolate. I'll have to work on that next time :) I ended up 32/60 overall and 7/12 in my age group. That is pretty much right where I wanted to be. Not bad considering no hill work and less than 2 months after surgery. I am looking forward to the next trail race. Here is a snapshot of the elevation gain.

And what about Lori...... and....... my shoes????? Lori finished 1st in her age group and 10th overall with 1:49:10... AMAZING! And Phil finished 1st in his (and my) age group and 3rd overall!!! He gave me back my shoes and I think I saw some smoke coming off the heels. I love my friends but they do make me feel slow. I'm hoping some of that speed rubs off on me.

Ok, now that I have finally gotten my month old race report out of the way, on to some new business. I am going to start talking more about my other passions. I have touched on it before but since there hasn't been much to report, I haven't really said much. Hopefully, the endurance junkies will find this interesting as well. Luckily this first bit has a nice tie in.

First a bit of history. I am a musician and I have played in bands since I was in high school. The bulk of my performing was in the late 80's to mid 90's. I was in a band called Dirty Dealin' and we played in southern California. We were a metal band along the lines of Metallica and Skid Row. We cut an album and then........ Nirvana came along. You get the picture. After that I started doing some acting. I studied, did a play, some work, and got my SAG card. I also starting producing other artists. And, through all this time I have continued to write and record my own music. I've had a few successes with a couple of those songs, but, life being what it is and the need to make money, the majority of my time is spent doing sound work for other people. Sadly, at the end of the day, I am so spent that it is hard to work on my own stuff. And, frankly, I haven't had that much to say. Luckily, I am feeling different lately and am writing again. I am going to keep writing until I have a complete album (does that even matter anymore, with iTunes?). And I am actively looking for an agent for the acting thing.

That's the history, now, the present. Brett over at Zen and the Art of Triathlon, has put my cover of "Eyes Without a Face" in one of his recent podcasts. He's used another one of my songs on another show and I really appreciate him using my music. If any of you haven't already heard his podcast (his is one of the top Tri podcasts) you have to check it out. He used to live in SoCal and now lives in Texas with his wife Emily and his son Kai. He does a great show about endurance sports and talks a lot about Zen. Really cool stuff and great to listen to on those long runs and rides.

Another one of my songs "Red Bloody Sun" was used in "Friday Night Lights" Episode 6 from last season. Cool!

Also, my good friend, and PR Superwoman, Cindy Rakowitz has a show on Voice America called "Stars of PR". She uses my song "Pop Icon" for her opening and I love her for it. She gives you the scoop on PR and how to promote and.... well, I guess that's what I'm doing now... a little shameless self promotion. But, more to put into context where I am at, as I will be talking about it more. And I am hoping that talking about it here will keep me motivated to have something good to report. It's funny, when I am in a race, knowing that I will have to talk about it here always makes me push a little harder and suffer a little more.

Paul

Under the knife!

The other day my friend asked me why I had written so much about my reunion in my blog, when mine was a "Running blog?" I guess that is a valid question and I do write a lot about running, triathlon and racing. But looking back, I have written on other topics, and like in life, I am trying to be more balanced. As much as I would love to train all day, everyday, that is not possible due to things like bills, family and all of life's other commitments. Not to mention the body breaking down from continuous stress. Heck, I can hardly run 20 miles a week right now without getting severely ...... wait, I am getting ahead of myself.

Let's talk about running, or in my case, lack of running, due to a pesky little hernia that I chose to have repaired about 4 weeks ago. It's funny, everyone knows what a hernia is, or I should say, has heard of a hernia. But a lot of people, me included, don't really know what a hernia IS or looks like. I found out one morning about a year ago. I was lying in bed and I looked down and saw a bulge on the lower left side of my abdomen, above my groin. It kinda scared me. I'm a bit of a wuss and when anything is abnormal on me, my first thought is "I'm dying". Well, I felt it to see if it was a life threatening tumor of some sort, but it wasn't hard or anything and it didn't hurt. In fact I was able to kind of push it back into place..... Hmmmmm, I thought, that's weird. We learn lots of new things about our bodies as we age. We start feeling all sort of parts we didn't know existed. I mean how do you know you have an appendix if it never hurt before. Anyway, I got to work and asked my buddy Chris, if he knew what it could be. And, as luck would have it, I asked the right guy because Chris had the same thing and lived with it for 4 or 5 years before having it repaired about a year prior. It wan an inguinal hernia. Not life threatening just annoying and if you think about it, kinda disgusting. The muscle in my stomach had weakened and torn enough to allow some of my innards (intestines) to bulge out.

How does this happen? I guess it can be genetic, my Mother had a hernia and that could explain it. That, along with my allergic episodes, where I can rattle off a good 50 sneezes in less than five minutes. I am sure it was only a matter of time before I would get a hernia and find myself stuffing my guts back in to my abdominal cavity every half hour or so. Sure, it usually popped right back out, in which case I could immediately push it back in, but how would you explain what you are doing to people? So every 30 minutes seemed like a good compromise. It wasn't really that bad. It rarely hurt, I was more concerned that it would get worse in which case it could strangulate. With all of the training that I do, I knew that I needed to get it taken care of, it was just a matter of when. And, of course I would be scheduling around races.

I discovered it a couple of months before IMAZ. Obviously it would have to wait till after the Ironman. I did some research and from what I could gather, recovery could take anywhere from a couple weeks to a couple months. But when they talk recovery, they're most likely talking about returning to normal activities. I'm talking about running.... WHEN CAN I START RUNNING AGAIN? Or more precisely, how long do I have to STOP running?

One month of no training? I had to find a spot in the calendar, between races, where not only could I stop training for a month but have the time to ramp back up for whatever race I had next. After IMAZ I did an Ultra almost right on top of it and after that I was training for the Long Beach Marathon in October. The Surf City Marathon is becoming a tradition, so that training would come on the heals of LB. All races after that were up in the air and I had not actually registered for anything, so the beginning of February looked like the perfect time.

I went in for surgery Feb. 9th. It was an outpatient surgery and the Doctor put a mesh over the tear. The procedure took about an hour and a half. That was the easy part. The last month, however, has been a bit more of a challenge.

Oops! I just realized I blew right past the Surf City Marathon! I guess I should talk about it. After all, this is a running blog.

I did run Surf City. But like last year, I ran the half. Mainly because it was the same day as the reunion and I didn't want to be too tired. I went into the race hoping to do under 1:50. My PR is 1:48:19 which I ran last year on Memorial Day in Laguna Beach. I have always felt like it was a fluke and that the course was a net downhill. That along with me being in the best possible shape coming off of IMAZ. According to the McMillan running calculator, with a 1:48:19 half marathon time, I should be able to run a 3:48:26. My Marathon PR is 4:07:02. So, you can see where I would be happy with a 1:50. I ran the race in 1:49:53! Very cool, it was the perfect start to a perfect day.

I also had a lot of friends there as well. Some where running, some (due to injuries and other circumstances) where not. Julie has been training for her first 5K for the last 3 months. She has been doing the Couch to 5K program and doing very well. Based on her training paces I estimated a 31-32 minute finish time for her.

She finished in 31:37! It was a GREAT first 5K and she is training now for another 5K and a 10K in the next few months. She plans to do The Long Beach Half in October and if all goes well, do her first full marathon at Surf City next year. There is nothing better than watching someone find the joy of running. And even better to be a part of it.

My friends Lori, Marisol and Paul also came out to the race. Unfortunately none of them were able to run this year. Lori had a sprained ankle, Paul broke something and Marisol is 6 months pregnant. They were there to cheer everyone on and after the race Julie, Lori, Mari and I went and had a great breakfast.

Ok, so where was I? The pain from the surgery wasn't too bad. It was what I expected. It was hard to stand all the way up and if I was laying down, it was uncomfortable to roll over or sit up. Pretty much what you would expect. I had the surgery on Friday and on Sunday I went to the mall and walked around the entire thing without too much pain.

I went back to work on Tuesday, and Wednesday I went to the gym for the first time and (very carefully) did about 30 minutes on the bike. I figured the bike would be easy and that running would be the thing that would hurt the most. I was actually afraid to start running. What if it hurt really bad and I realized I would not be able to run for an extended period of time? I am not sure I could handle that. It was the following week before I planned a running day. It was surprisingly easy. I felt no pain in the area of my hernia. What a relief! Physically this was going to be a piece of cake. And it has been except for one problem. I keep getting sick. My resting heart rate has been running about 20 bpm higher than normal. That is usually a really good indication that you are fighting something. I went to the Doctor and he said that everything looks fine with the affected area and that I am most likely battling a cold, flu or whatever is going around right now. And I imagine that de conditioning is also partly responsible. This last week has been better. I have been able to run more consistently and have kept a better balance between training and rest. Ahh, rest, man that is hard to do sometimes. Looking at the big picture and realizing that the best training that you can that day is NO training. In any event, regardless of having a valid reason, looking at my numbers for the month of February is really depressing. I feel fatigued, fat and cranky and it is because I don't have my drug of choice.... endorphins!

What would I do if I had to live a sedentary life? What did I do for all those years before I trained? Sometimes I think, no wonder we have all the disease and illness that we have in our society. I can't imagine feeling half as bad as I have this last month, on any sort of regular basis. And I remember feeling like that all the time. And, I know that is how a lot of people feel these days, with the lack of physical activity that comes with a desk job, commuting by car and then sitting on a couch. Thank God I have found the life that I have and I hope that I will be blessed with the ability and desire to do it as long as I am alive. Because this last month, I have gotten a glimpse of the alternative and it wasn't pretty.

Paul

Facebook and old friends

I bought my first computer in 1995. One of the first things I did on that computer was sign up for AOL. Chat rooms were popular and It was cool to be able to talk to people you didn't know about subjects you were mutually interested in. It was obvious how the personal computer would change the way people socialized and how it could be used as a tool to meet new people. But what I had no idea of then, was how the computer would be used to reconnect with "old" people, people from your past.

On February 2nd I had a reunion with the classmates that I went to school with from 4th- 8th grade. It sounds odd that anyone would care about those years (and I have had to explain it to more than a few people) but perhaps a bit of history may help. I was in the MGM program. It is now called GATE but then it was MGM which was an acronym for Mentally Gifted Minors. I remember being tested in the 3rd grade and deemed "gifted". There were 2 MGM schools in our district. Robinwood was 4th-6th and Circle View, 7th and 8th. Instead of some programs where you might have an advanced class for 1 or 2 periods at your normal school, all of the kids were bussed to a different school and all of our classes were "MGM" classes.

It is interesting to look back now and try to analyze how this affected me. I can tell you that when my oldest daughter, Brittany, was tested and accepted into GATE, her mother and I decided not to put her in the program because I wanted her to grow up "normal". This was a good 15 years ago, so perhaps my memories were fresher in my mind and I could tell you why I thought the cons out weighed the pros. But I do remember that it wasn't easy being segregated, even if it was for positive reasons.

There were plenty of positive things about the program, however. We went on amazing field trips to Catalina, Death Valley and Yosemite. We had great teachers. A few in particular that really stood out as creative and nurturing, and from talking to my former classmates, made real lasting impressions on us and shaped who we have become.

"Who we have become" I guess that is really what has been so interesting to me. Since we were all bussed to that school, once we graduated 8th grade we largely went separate ways. There were 4 or 5 different high schools in our district and we all scattered to them. We had BIG high schools with mine having close to 4,000 students. So unless you stayed friends with someone, there is a good chance you would rarely see them again. I didn't keep in contact with anyone from my MGM years except for one person, Alison, and that was because she was dating a buddy of mine from my new group of high school friends. The funny thing about high school and those friends is that we have stayed in contact and a lot of them are still my friends. But my MGM friends stayed locked in a sort of time capsule. I would only think of them in a fleeting moment when I would hear a certain song or, you know, when you smell something that triggers a memory. Yet I spent so much time with them and at such pivotal time in my life. Junior high, that awkward time when everyone is insecure and feels like an alien and everyone gets made fun of. There were other times when I would think of them and it would go something like.... "If they could see me now" or "I'll show that girl who laughed at me". Well, as you grow up and have kids of your own you understand how hard of a time junior high can be, and now, thanks to the internet, you can go back and see all of those people that helped shape who you are.

About a year ago, my friend Alison emailed me and said that she had found a couple of people on Classmates and was wondering if I thought anyone would be interested in having a little "MGM" get together. Her best friend, Jeanette, who was our classmate as well, has been coming out to run in the Surf City marathon the last couple of years and she was planning on coming out this year. Alison thought that it might be fun to see if we could get a few people together since she would be here. I said that that sounded like fun and I would see if I could get in touch with anyone as I had a Classmates account as well.

Wow! I had no idea what was about to happen, but I have one word for you, Facebook!

I'm not really sure how it happened so quickly but it was truly amazing. Everyone just came out of the wood work. I have been on Facebook for over a year but didn't really use it much and certainly had no idea it would become so useful. Each person seemed to know at least one person from our class and they would add them as a friend and then they would suggest them as a friend to you and it just kept replicating like a virus. I sat down one day and scanned in our 8th grade yearbook and a few class pictures and tagged some people. Well, then other people started tagging people and posting pictures and it was crazy. People I haven't thought of for years were right there. I never thought it would be possible to get in touch with these people again. I mean, high school reunion, yeah. But, that would have taken me going to 5 different reunions. I never thought it would happen.

Alison planned the reunion and we invited as many people as we were able to find, which I believe ended up being around 60 people. We had 42 students show up and 4 teachers.... yeah teachers! Someone figured out that we had 60% of our class there. We would have had more if we were able to find everyone. It was incredible. I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. The strangest part was talking to people and having close to 30 years completely melt away. Now, understand that I am a pretty cynical person and actually think reunions and things like that are silly. I have no intention of going to my 30 year high school reunion. But, this was different. I have tried really hard to figure out why, and the best that I can come up with is that, since we spent 5 years together and then went our separate ways, it is more like we are army buddies or something. Almost like we all shared a common experience that bonded us somehow. We all knew what it was like to be "Special" (good or bad) for those 5 years and then go to a normal high school and have to readjust. It was fascinating to see how it affected us. I always assumed that all the smart kids would have ended up being doctors and lawyers. It is interesting how many of us ended up in creative fields, which now that I think about it, makes perfect sense since we were continuously encouraged to explore our creativity. Little things to, like I had forgotten that we played drums in the 4th grade. I only remembered starting in high school and I had completely forgotten about that. And all of the plays we did, it is no wonder why I became interested in music and acting. It is good to be reminded of who you are and where you came from.

It is also good to start new friendships, even if it is with people from your past. I have gotten such a kick out of talking to my new "old" friends. I have hung out with some of them already and it appears that we are going to all stay in contact and get together when we can. Next time, hopefully we will have all of the people that we were not able to find in time for this one.

Facebook is a great site and I have seen a lot of other people now posting elementary school pictures. I am happy for them because they are about to start on a wonderful journey. It does make me wonder though, as I was discussing with Brittany the other day. Now that kids are growing up with this technology, they will never have that same moment that I had, when I saw that first picture of my old friend from 30 years ago.

Paul

Past, Present and Future

It's been a couple of months since my last blog. There has been so much to talk about but very little time. Rather than wait until have I enough time to write about everything in one shot I figured I would give a brief synopsis of the goings on and then divide it up into 3 separate blogs with more detail.... Hence the name. I have also found a way to write one blog and have that update on Blogger, my website and even my facebook page. 

Ahhh yes, facebook. Facebook is a great place to keep in contact with family and friends and as it turns out an amazing way to find people from your PAST! While I spent a large portion of the last 2 months preparing for a gathering with a group of people from my past, I also continued training for my 3rd "Surf City" race in Huntington Beach. This time doing the half marathon as I didn't want to be too tired for the event that would happen later that evening, on, yes, Super Bowl Sunday.  

I love to race and there are very few things I will allow to get in the way of it. But sometimes it is unavoidable. I have had a hernia for the last year or so and have known that I would need to find time to get it taken care of sooner or later. I decided to shoe horn it in, between "Surf City" and the "Sycamore Canyon 50K", coming up on March 29th. As I sit here NOW,  I am one week post-op and still pretty sore. I have been able to walk between a mile and 2 miles for the past few days, but I am a good week away from doing any sort of running.

Having so much time sitting on my butt, has given me the opportunity to really think about the FUTURE. Something about remembering who you were, and where you are, can certainly lead you to ponder where you are going. I have always been a very goal oriented person and am pretty good at setting goals and achieving them. Part of successful goal setting is being precise on what it is that you want. Well, this has been my biggest problem the last few years, deciding on  what I want. I am getting much closer to the answer and am now getting down to defining those goals and getting very specific on how to go about making them a reality. 

Life is great right now. I know so much of our world is uneasy due to tough economic times. But, I hope that things don't get too bad and we are just in for a readjustment and, perhaps, a reassessment of priorities. It's too easy to get caught up in a routine where you start "going through the motions". Pretty soon you are no longer living the life you wanted, but just living. Next thing you know, life has passed you by. I am glad that I have had to slow down these past couple of weeks,  Long enough to look around and make sure I am going down the right road. 

My next post will be about my 8th grade MGM reunion. That's right.... 8th grade..... and it was AMAZING!

Paul