Category: PT

The last 5k I ran was when I was a Corporal at NCO School at MCAS El Toro when I was 24. We did it as a formation run, and we finished in under 24 minutes. We then ran back as individuals to “pick up” other runners and help motivate them to the finish. It was a good time, and one of the rare times that I remember a run being fun in the Marines.

Fast forward 25 years and I’m about to run a 5k on my own volition and I’m actually looking forward to it. Sherry and I will be running the Jingle Bell Run tomorrow morning in The Woodlands, TX for the Arthritis Foundation. So many in my family and my wife’s family have been affected by Arthritis that it only makes sense for Sherry and I to run and try to raise some donations to help fight it.

I am honored and humbled by the donations received for tomorrow morning’s run, and I’m thankful to those who donated. I’m going to do my best in the morning and try to set a good time for me to work on in the coming months/years as more of these 5k’s come along.

I did bang my knee pretty hard against a printer today, and it is a little sore right now, but I’m hoping that time and if necessary, some Motrin will help make it feel normal when it’s time to run in the morning. Otherwise, I’m really looking forward to it. I have warm running clothes I’ll wear, and the only real dilemma I’m facing is whether I should run with my Bluetooth headphones (as I always do) or without. I haven’t quite decided yet. I guess I’ll see in the morning.

Wish me luck! I will be posting with a post-run report tomorrow!

Friday morning, I ran. This is not a big deal, and normally isn’t blog worthy in and of itself, but what is significant is that I ran after running Thursday and not taking a rest day. My pace was on-par with my average runs, and the distance was 3.5 miles.

I did have a little bit of pain in my left hip, but I think that was because I pushed it and sprinted in the last mile a few times. Maybe I’m not ready for that just yet, but the run itself was nice, and I wasn’t in any discomfort or pain with the exception of the little aches I get typically when I start. I infer those as my muscles saying, “Dude. Why are we doing this. You know, you can just stop and we’ll stop bothering you” which then turns into, “Oh well. You’re not going to stop. We might as well join the rest of the team and just get through this.” It typically happens around the .5 to 1 mile mark and then the rest of the run is just fine.

My ultimate goal is to run 5-6 times a week without it being hard. I don’t want to run super-long distances, nor am I looking to break any land/speed records. I just want to go out, run 4-5 miles, and feel normal afterward. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m getting there, and that feels good.

Now, however, I think that maybe running 4 times a week max is a better plan for the time being. After taking three days off to allow a spot on my heel to heal (haha),  a lot of other pains and aches I’ve been having have gone away. I think I needed the time to rest and to let the joints and muscles heal a bit. I haven’t been pushing myself hard, but maybe back-to-back runs are a bit much for me. Only time will tell, and we’ll see. The point is, I’m not going to push it to get to daily runs just yet. Maybe after another month or two, but for now, I’m okay with every other day.

As for push-ups, I’m up to 45 consistently now. I’ll likely up that to 50 soon, but again, I’m pretty pleased with the progress.

I have completed all my runs while listening to music. I prefer listening to something that keeps me motivated and pumped to keep running. I use my iPhone to play the music which is in a belt pouch that I wear while running. It’s reflective, and it fits really well; I don’t feel it at all while running. I use a set a Phaiser Bluetooth headphones that work remarkably well. I accidentally let the charge die on them on my last run, and I ended up running the last mile without music.

I thought that running without music would be harder, or that I wouldn’t like it. I used to run without music for my entire time in the Corps as running with a Walkman was always a disappointing experience and running with a CD… please. I remember how much I would fixate or concentrate on my breathing and I remember not liking it.

So there I was, listening to Sumo Cyco singing “Interceptor” (I love that song, especially while running) when all of the sudden, the Bluetooth voice said, “Power: low” and then shut off. I went from hearing really powerful and driving music to hearing… me, breathing hard. I noticed that my breathing wasn’t in-sync with my steps, and for a while, that continued until I noticed that I started breathing in a rhythm in-sync with my steps. For every six steps, I inhaled once and exhaled once. It was very efficient, and my pace actually improved.

At the end of the run, I felt good. It was a good, hard workout, and I felt as if I’d accomplished something. It turned out, I did. My average pace for the 3.45 miles was on-par with my best runs, and the pace actually improved mile after mile which is the opposite of how my runs have typically gone up to this point.

I don’t know if I’m going to run without headphones. I really enjoy listening to music as I run, and it helps take my mind off the running and allows me to think about other things. However, when I concentrated on the running and breathing, my pace improved and my breathing became more rhythmic. Maybe I need to do more experimenting with this.

Do you run with or without music?