Days 7 and 8: Easter Weekend April 8, 2007

Both days involved successful runs.  On Day 7 my run was a bit shorter than average so I tried to compensate by throwing in the two biggest hills in the area.  Both are approximately 75 yards long and very steep.  Basically, the run was pavement hell…

On day 8 I ran with my father and did a slightly longer than average run but had no issues.  I felt good the whole time.  While I was breathing hard nearly the entire run, I never started ‘panting’ which has been common occurrence in past runs.

Overall I can feel my body adjusting to the daily runs.  I usually not sore now, having less trouble with asthma after the run, and I have found the runs to become much easier to complete.  In the next several days I will start toying with the idea of longer runs.

As a side bonus, I find my mood is much better after I run.  I guess the released endorphins (endomorphines) do have a significant affect on mood changes.  This is n added bonus to the daily runs that I did not expect or even think of as a possible side effect.

No weight or Senor Jack Rabbit news yet…stay tuned.

Daily Running – Day 6 April 6, 2007

Day  6: Cold, Dark, and snowing…

Once again I was left to run alone.  Without the motivation of a companion, I waited until near 11pm before I headed out the door.  Realizing that I might miss today’s run if I waited any longer, I put on my shoes and rushed out the door…in shorts and a t-shirt.  Who knew it was 25 degrees and snowing?

I ran the same course as yesterday but with slightly different gear.  Today I forgot my warm hat and vest, but I managed to grab my dad’s mp3 player on the way out the door.  Skipping past the plethora of Madonna songs, I found motivation in the Rocky theme song, Eye of the Tiger, the Mission Impossible theme song, and Crazy Train.

I completed the run much quicker than yesterday.  Whether that should be attributed to the extra coldness or the inspirational music we may never know.  However, the run felt good and once again I was not sore before or after.  I have taken this to be a sign that my legs are now accustomed to the distance every day so I do not fear injury like I was several days ago.  Going farther or faster may still be a few days away however because my respiratory  system does not seem to be keeping pace with my legs.  I still am getting out of breath easily, especially on hills or when I try to pick up the running tempo.

No word from Senor Jack Rabbit yet.  If all else fails we will get an update on Monday when we are both back in town.

No morning weights for today either…I could use my parents’ scale, but as I’m sure it’s calibrated differently I am not sure what it would prove.

I am excited that this experiment is going well so far.  It has made me all the more motivated to continue this running streak at least until the end of April.

Day 5 – Cold but refreshing April 6, 2007

The temperature dropped to freezing by the time I ran tonight. Currently, I’m staying with my parents for a long weekend so JR and I could not run together. Consequently, I do not have the news on his run. But mine went well. I did about the normal distance and felt great nearly the entire time. My legs felt lighter than they have been and there was little if any soreness during or after the run. If running always felt like this, everyone would do it!

Morning Weight:

Me: 205 lbs.
Jack Rabbit: 153 lbs.

Hopefully this ‘good feeling’ running keeps up as my body gets used to the daily routine.

Day 4 – Getting Easier April 5, 2007

Its about time to embark on my day 5 run and I realized that I missed yesterday’s post! So here is a quick overview before I head out the door. We chose another different course. This one seemed easy. Maybe it was too short or maybe because it had fewer hills, but our legs weren’t as tired afterwards. Ultimately however, I think it is because our bodies are adjusting to the daily runs. It was colder and windy so we were still out of breath, but leg soreness was not as much of a factor.

In fact, last night I realized that my legs weren’t sore at all. That is the first occurrence since March!

Weight in the morning:

JR: 151 lbs.
Me: 104 lbs.

Expect the next post within several hours.  I’m off to put on my running shoes!

Day 3 Completed April 3, 2007

Day 3 was a success as Jack and I both completed another run today. Other than his shin splints he said he was sore on the upper thighs. While I woke up with soreness on the rear thighs, but now I’m only sore on my lower calves. While we were both sore at the beginning of the day, both of us can barely walk tonight. I’ve been stretching every time I think of it to try to stay loose.

We took another new course today that involved a loop through a local park area. Again, we’re not entire sure of the distance but we believe it to be about 2 miles based on the time and the routes of the town buses. Somehow the course still ended up having a fair number of steep hills. I guess we should plan ahead more…

Weight in the morning:
Jack Rabbit: 152 lbs.
Me: 206 lbs.

Not really excited about tomorrow’s run due to the soreness. However, it is still an exciting adventure and experiment. So…looking forward to the challenge–just not tomorrow’s run!

Daily Running – Day 2 April 2, 2007

My legs were sore today, but not as bad as I had thought. However, Diabetes Jack has a mild case of shin splints. After stretching and searching for Jack Rabbit’s other shoe insole we took off on another 2 mile jaunt. We chose a different coarse since Day 1’s was so hilly, but this one wasn’t a flat run either. It consisted of a steady low grade the entire way out and then a slight downhill the whole way back.

The first mile was painstakingly slow. I trudged along and had to stop once. We did make it to the turn around alive, but out of breath and energy. I suppose I should have eaten more early in the day because all I had eaten was a small portion of rice for lunch. Senor jack rabbit decided to eat some glucose tablets at the turn around so his levels wouldn’t drop as low as they did yesterday. It seemed to work out well.

After the run, we were both so weak and exhausted that we had a competition to see who could get up off of the couch first.  There was no determined winner, but we were both grasping for hand holds to keep our balance.  Another day completed!

Morning Weight:

Me: 205 lbs.
Senor Jack Rabbit: 154 lbs.

Moral of today’s story is to eat a hearty breakfast and lunch so that I have energy when I run. Alternatively, we may try running before work/school at some point down the road. Also we need to start paying more attention to stretching before the runs.

Daily Running – Day 1 April 1, 2007

Today I undertook the personal development challenge of running every day for a month. Generally this is referred to as a running ’streak’ by running regulars. While I used to be a dedicated and avid runner, I have moved away from it in recent years. I have not consistently tried running for over 6 months, but years before I was on the high school cross country team in my high school and running many miles every week. Ah…those were the days…

My last stint of running ended when I injured my IT band. A serious and potentially chronic injury. If you are interested in reading about it, the best online resource seems to be [here].  Even though it hasn’t been updated in years. The only new development that the site is missing is the IT band strap, which relieves symptoms and puts you on the road to recovery. I have been stretching and strengthening my IT band using the guidelines found [here]. Although still not in perfect condition, it was okay during today’s inaugural run, using the strap, and I believe it will hold up.

I managed to pick up a companion for this first personal development challenge, which I now officially nickname Señor Jack Rabbit. He has not been a runner recently either and is hoping to exercise and get in shape as well. Recently diagnosed with Type I Diabetes, he has to pay more attention to the process and his food consumption. Regardless, it will be good to have someone to share this new month of pain with.

Day 1 Results: We decided to run outside, since we have no other choice. God must have frowned upon our new decision as it was raining and cold. We must be idiots because we chose the hilliest route we could think of. So with an IT band injury, Asthma, Diabetes, Rain, Cold, Hills, and two bouts of being out of shape we embarked on our new personal development journey. The course was probably about 2 miles long, and while we wore a watch we were so ‘out of it’ upon return that we forgot to check the time. We estimate that it took us over 20 minutes. We had to make several ‘breather’ stops to gather ourselves and catch our breath, including intersections and the turn around point. At this point I consider it a success, but we’ll see tomorrow when we’re both sore and have to run again.

Weight in the morning:
Brad: 205 lbs.
Señor Jack Rabbit: 153 lbs.

Goals for this task: First and always is to further my quest for personal development to make myself and the world better. Alternatively, I’d like to get back into running and develop it into a routine and habit. Also, a return to being in shape and weight loss is never too far from the mind. I will update these goals in my posts throughout the month with progress and any changes that I feel I need to make.

I realize that this first post is on April Fool’s Day, which is ironic, but it was not planned. The realization only came now as I am writing this and looked at the date.

If you are looking for more information on running, the best resource in my opinion is [Runner's World] online. There is a substantial number of articles in all categories, especially beginning and training. As with anything, it is a good idea to take a good look at yourself and decide if the task is a good decision for you.