Requiem For a Run Streak

You never realize the commitment it takes to wake up every day and run no matter what. I had delusions of grandeur this year. I was going to run every day throughout the whole year. It’s March, and it is already over. I don’t consider the experiment a failure though. On the contrary, I gained a lot of respect for people that do run every day, especially this guy who apparently ran every day for 45 years!

I suppose my goal was over before it started since my surgeon didn’t clear me to run until January 8. However, once cleared, I started running and never looked back. I woke up at 4:30am and ran before work. I woke up before the sun rose on weekends and did the same. I ran before my family’s day started, because I knew I was being selfish by running. So, if I could run while they were asleep, I could still be a good father and husband.

-2 degrees apparently freezes eyelashes

I ran through rain, sleet, dangerous wind chills, snow… so much snow. We had more snow this winter than we had my entire life. Seriously. The last time we had more snow was the winter of 1977-1978. I wore my yaktrax so much that I actually broke a spring. I was training to get back into half marathon shape. Before I was forced to sit for 2 months due to shoulder surgery, I was in the best shape of my life and ran my fastest marathon ever. After that, I told my wife, I’d dial it back. However, I still ran every day. I didn’t run as far as I had, but every day I laced up my shoes and covered at least a mile… usually more.

Our gorgeous daughter

So, why did my streak end? It’s actually pretty simple. At 2:20am on March 23, my wife’s water broke, and our daughter was born 12 hours later. After she was born, I thought briefly about running a mile, but it just seemed silly. I was a father again, and I didn’t want to leave my wife or daughter. As my daughter was born, my run streak died, and I don’t even miss it.

Run Streak Stats: 73 Days, 232 Miles, 35+ hours

Bockfest 5K Race Review

Life has been crazy!  The past few weeks have been very hectic in my life.  Work is stressful, and I’ve been scrambling trying to prep the house for the arrival of my daughter any time now.  My wife is 37 weeks pregnant, so we are very close to the finish line… or the starting line depending on how you look at it.  So, what a better way to relax than running a race with free beer at the end!  Sign me up!

That’s what I did a few months ago.  I signed up for the Christian Moerlein Beer Series in Cincinnati.  Christian Moerlein Brewery sponsors 3 races in Cincinnati throughout the year, the Bockfest 5K, the Little Kings Mile, and the Hudepohl 7K/14K.  The Flying Pig Marathon organizes them, so I knew they would be great races.  Signing up for all 3 races is only 100 dollars total, and each one comes with quite a few freebees.  Plus, running all 3 classifies you as a Brew Hog, which gets you quite a few things if you are a beer fan:

Definitely a wearable race shirt

• 1-year Hogshead Union Membership ($30 Value)
  • Includes personal invites from brewers to monthly seasonal beer tappings the 1st Monday of every month
  • 20% discount on Moerlein Store Merchandise
  • Social Media contact with Lager House for advanced notifications of new beers and all events and discounts prior to public announcements
  • Hogshead drinking vessel usage at Lager House
• Invitation to Happy Hour at Christian Moerlein Tap Room for Octoberbest
• Commemorative, Special Edition Beer Series Beer Mug

Race Day

I always arrive too early.

The race started at 10am, which is extremely reasonable, especially for someone that has to drive an hour to get to Cincinnati.  Yes, I drove an hour.  As my wife pointed out, I was in the car for more than 4 times as long as it would take me to actually run the race.  Did I mention there was free beer?  I rest my case.  Anyway, there was plenty of parking in Cincinnati.  There always is.  I parked in the Washington Park garage about a quarter mile from the race start and finish, which is not unreasonable to me.  Parking is hourly, and I only ended up paying $3 for the 3 hours I was parked there. The race is in the Over the Reign area of Cincinnati.  To say it is a bad part of town is probably an understatement.  It might be one of the worst parts of Cincinnati, but I didn’t feel in danger at any point.  Maybe that is naive, but I really didn’t.  There were plenty of police officers and construction workers who were working on the road that I felt very safe. I ended up getting to the race very early as I usually do since I’m paranoid about missing the start.  So, I had about an hour to kill when I made my way to the Moerlein Brew House where the Bockfest is held, but that was fine.  There was music playing and a lot of people milling around to people watch.

My race bib. I had already used one of the beer tickets.

The Race

The race was only a 5K, which is short compared to what I am used to running.  However, it was my first race since shoulder surgery, and I had only been running for 2 months, so I planned on taking it easy, and enjoy my beer.  The race started with the National Anthem sung very slowly by a University of Cincinnati student and Flying Pig Marathon intern.  She was good, but there must be too much military in me, because it took about twice as long as it should.

Nice race course with decent elevation changes for some variety

BANG!  We’re off.  It’s crowded getting going, but that was to be expected.  The race loosened up about a half mile into it as there was a pretty large hill to start the course, and some people obviously don’t know how to run hills.  I saw a lot of walkers this early into the race.  I passed many, many people as I continued my comfortable pace up the hill.  Then, back down the hill.  I picked up speed with every step.  I was moving much faster than I anticipated, but the hill made it so easy to keep going.  I was still passing people.  Before I knew it, I was only a mile from home and moving much faster than I expected.  So, much for taking it easy.  Let’s see what these legs can do!  One mile to the finish line and a slight uphill the rest of the way.  A quarter mile from the finish, I’m a little gassed, and 1 person passes me.  I quickly realize that was the only person that passed me all race.  I was definitely moving.  I make the final right turn, see the finish line a tenth of a mile away, and bring it home!  Wow, sub-24 minutes!  I was planning on coasting that race in about 5 minutes slower than that.  Adrenaline is a heck of a drug. I picked up pace every mile all the way through the finish.  I was still far from my PR of sub-21 minutes, but I was in marathon shape then.  I have only been back for 2 months after a 2 month layoff.  I’m pleased.  A nice, young lady hangs my bottle opener medal over my head, and I make my way to the beer.

Not my fastest, but respectable

After Party

The Bockfest 5K kicks off Bockfest in Cincinnati, so there is plenty of food, drinks, and activities to go around.  As part of signing up, I received 2 free beer tickets and a ticket for a Skyline Chili cheese coney.  I took advantage of 1 beer ticket, and received a nice 16 oz bock, which tasted great.  (I would have used the second if I was staying longer, but I had to get back home to paint my daughter’s room.)  I really like Moerlein beers generally.  I try to pick them up at the grocery store on occasion.  I did pass on the cheese coney as that just didn’t sound good after the race, but there are plenty of Skyline fans in southern Ohio.  I just don’t happen to be one.  There was also more food to buy if you like, but if you ran, you probably had plenty of free stuff to get you through to your next meal.

Overall

It was an excellent race.  I’m usually not a 5K fan, I just get up to speed by the time the race is over, but this one I definitely enjoyed.  There was perfect weather.  The swag was great, and the beer was cold and refreshing.  I can’t complain.  After the craziness of the past few weeks, I needed to kick back with a good run and a good beer anyway.

Dual purpose medal!

Looking Over My Shoulder

Next week, 3 months will have passed since my shoulder surgery. I think it’s time to reflect back. It is amazing to me that it has been 3 months. Time has absolutely flown by. It seems like just yesterday I had to hold on to the bannister walking down the stairs because I took too many Vicodin for the excruciating post-op pain causing my legs to wobble and my balance to suffer.

I vividly remember making a joke that I was going to burn my sling when I was finally allowed to take it off. Then, after a day of not wearing it, I had to put the sling back on from the pain of everything hanging unsupported. The sling is still hanging up in my bathroom. I can probably pack it away and forget where I put it at this point.

I have been doing various exercises at home at least 3 times per day every day since Thanksgiving. Initially, they were tortuous. Now, I wonder why I do some of them since they don’t feel like anything. I still go to physical therapy. When I started, I could barely move my arm out of the position the sling left it. Now, I have almost all of my range of motion back. I lift light weights 3 times per week, and my 30 minute physical therapy appointment lasts 90 minutes since I do so many exercises. The therapist tells me I’m ahead of schedule compared to most patients.

16 inches of snow and a bad shoulder… no problem?

The thought of raising my arm over my head seemed impossible initially. Now, I’m back to being useful. I put together a dresser for my expected daughter. My wife and I are picking paint colors for her room. Painting the room and putting together the crib are next. I’ve also shoveled so much snow that I lost track. I think we are up to about 40 inches of snow for this winter, and I’ve had drifts over a foot tall to shovel through.

I couldn’t wait to run after surgery. After 8 weeks, I was cleared, and I’ve run every day since. My run streak is now over a month, and I’ve run in horrendous conditions like this morning when it was -2 and some of the sidewalks still had 6 inches of snow covering them. I sometimes feel like I’m reenacting training scenes from Rocky IV.

-2 degrees apparently freezes eyelashes

Looking back, I’ve come a long way. I’m still not cleared from physical therapy, but I’m close. My surgeon told me this week that I don’t need to see him anymore unless I have a setback. Once the physical therapist is satisfied, I’ll be on my own finishing rehab at home and the gym. I’m not ready to play golf yet or throw a baseball. The surgeon said to wait as long as possible for that, so I think I’ll sit out this golf season just to be sure. I suppose that means obstacle races are out as well unfortunately. However, I’m very pleased with where I am. This experience has taught me a lot about myself. I think I’m ready to move on.

86 Days until the Flying Pig Half Marathon starts. Come join me.

For all of my posts related to this surgery, select the drop down “Post Categories” list at the bottom of this page and select “Surgery”. You will be able to read all of my surgery related posts.

I’m Going Streaking!

Yep, I’ve been streaking.  No.  Not like that.  It’s winter!  Are you crazy?  I’ve been run streaking.  Every day since I was cleared to run after my shoulder surgery, I have run at least 1 mile.  I’m still building back to where I was before I had surgery, and it is going to take me a long time to get there.  I’m only running about 18 miles per week.  I say “only” because I was around 50 miles per week before surgery.  When I started, I wasn’t sure how long the streak would last.  I really didn’t have a length of time goal.  I just wanted it to be significant, whatever that means.  I didn’t want something to stop me.  I wanted it to be a conscious choice to end the streak.  I thought maybe I could make it until my daughter is born in early April.  I can’t realistically expect to run every day while my wife is recovering in the hospital.  However, that is still months away.

So how is the streak?  Lame.  At least that was my fear when I left work today.  I didn’t get my run in.  I prefer to run in the mornings.  However, today, I had physical therapy before work.  My training plan said I needed 3 miles today.  I couldn’t realistically complete that before physical therapy since it would have meant getting out of the house to run at 4am in -5 degrees (F) and -20 degree (F) wind chills.  I’m usually not affected by the cold, but i did want to return with all of my appendages still attached.  So, the plan was physical therapy, work, treadmill run at the gym at work, and still get home in time for my wife to leave for her evening out with her friends. However, as I was getting ready to go to the gym, my boss says he needs to have a “quick” 5 minute meeting.  I have yet to actually witness a quick 5 minute meeting.  It turned into 30 minutes, and I completely lost any time to run.  I had just enough time to hop in the car and get home in time in order to take care of my son and say goodbye to my wife.  Sigh.  the streak was rather unceremoniously over.  I didn’t even have a good story of why it was going to end.  The word “pitiful” would be forever inscribed on the tombstone of this 2 week run streak.

Yaktrax, a must for any winter run streak

It’s not like the run streak has been easy.  We are having the coldest winter I can remember.  We’ve had many days below 0 and wind chills have been consistently at least 10 below.  We also have had snow about every other day.  For the most part, I’ve run outside even in the snow thanks to my Yaktrax.  When the wind chills dip to dangerous levels, I run on the treadmill.  However, I have run every day until today.

Check out that wind chill!

As the garage door is opening, I am completely surprised.  My wife isn’t home yet!!!!  I have time!!!  As I sprint up the stairs to change into my running gear, I think I may have 10 minutes before she gets home, because she might be chatting with someone at my son’s school.  I quickly slam my Garmin around my wrist, and I’m out the door.  I’m already running full speed before I’m out of the garage, and I’m off!  As I’m running, I think I’ll shoot for a mile just to keep the streak alive, but I’ll run circles around my tiny neighborhood until I see my wife’s car.  First lap, no wife in sight, and I’m done with half of a mile. However, I have now experienced an object lesson in wind chill. When I left the house, the thermometer said 17 degrees.  That’s not too shabby. I’ve run in worse. As I’m running with the wind, I feel fine, but as I round the corner to face the wind, blowing snow is stinging my face like little bee bees.  I feel like I’m running with a parachute on my back even though my clothes are not remotely baggy.  Apparently, 30 mph wind gusts cause the temperature to drop almost 30 degrees. As I’m approaching my house the second time, I’m at .92 miles and there is my wife!  I finish the mile and run inside.  My nose is still attached… barely, and my hands are frozen solid inside my gloves.  In the house, I start to melt.  Everything is tingling and painful, but that just reminds me that I’m a bad ass.  I overcame everything nature and life could throw at me today.  I didn’t get in my 3 miles, but my streak is intact.  Tomorrow is a new day.  6 miles are scheduled, and 2-4 inches of snow are coming in the morning.  I’m going streaking!

My Progress So Far