For me, 2014 was the year of injuries. I spent 7 weeks on the sideline with a knee injury that went away and came back a couple times months later. I also had ankle problems off and on. Despite these injuries, I was able to run 2 half marathons and one marathon. I learned a lot about injuries and how to prevent ones that require physical therapy (or at least
December 11th, 2014
What Is Left to Accomplish in 2014?
2014 started off very badly. Actually January was great – I ran 97 miles that month – at the time, the most I ever ran in a month. But I did not hit 100 miles because knee pain was beginning to manifest itself. I opted for a few days off because I had a bad feeling about this knee pain and my first 20 mile run was a few days
December 2nd, 2014
Philadelphia Half Marathon Review
I ran my 3rd and final race for 2014 in Philadelphia. I grew up outside of Philadelphia, so I looked forward to returning to my roots and seeing some familiar areas. My friend and I drove up from Virginia and went to straight to the Philadelphia expo. After figuring out the parking, we finally made it to the expo. Once we got there, we found out that they ran out
October 21st, 2014
Chicago is in the books!
I did it! The positive result of endless perseverance and determination finally came as I crossed the finish line at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. It has been quite a journey to reach this summit. My story follows. In 2013, I was going full force, running about 750 miles total for the year – more than double what I did in 2012. I had completed 3 half marathons, all
October 4th, 2014
Taper Time!
After the 21 mile run, I started tapering for Chicago. Overall, I have been feeling pretty good and running 4-7 miles a few times during the week. Last week I had a great 13 mile run on a country road on a cool morning. It was one of my best runs this year. The photo is of a homeless “foster neighboorhood dog” that sometimes accompanies me on my runs when
September 27th, 2014
Chicago Training Continued
I was so busy this week that I am just now updating about last Sunday’ s run. I set out to attempt 22 miles, not knowing how my knee/ankle would respond. My previous longest run has been 18 miles. It was a long run! I’ll just summarize – I made it 21 miles. My knee was great and my ankle okay. But I must have had fueling/drinking issues because I
September 15th, 2014
Report on Navy – Air Force Half Marathon
Race weekend began with packet pickup and the Expo being held at Nationals Stadium, which was very cool since I’ve never been there. Of course, there was no game going on that day. The expo itself seemed to be pretty small, but I don’t usually spend a lot of time looking around them anyway. The race started at 7AM, and I was there around 6AM to meet one of my
September 1st, 2014
Two weeks before Navy-Air Force Half Marathon
Things are looking up! First, an acceptable 5 mile run last Wednesday on hills, which did involve some ankle soreness. Then yesterday, a 10 mile run with no knee pain and just mild ankle pain. The main issue with Sunday was that it was HOT! I ran with a friend and we both suffered through 90 degrees with humidity. Our pace was way off because of the heat. But actually
August 25th, 2014
On the Road to Recovery, Again.
It has been over a week since my last run of 7.75 miles. On that run, I had to walk the last couple miles due to ankle and knee pain. As a reminder, I injured my left ankle, which I believe is causing my right knee also to hurt because my right leg is working to compensate for the left ankle. Chicago is 7 weeks away. The Navy-AF Force Half
August 25th, 2014
A Great Run and Then a Horrible One!
I’m way behind on posting my runs! I will get you up to date on what’s happening. I have made it halfway through my training for Chicago, but the back half will be more difficult. Unfortunately things have not been good lately. I finished July with 112 miles run, and while that is not a crazy amount, it is the most I’ve ever run in a month. Things were going