Major Mojo in the Morning!

This morning I ran for only the 2nd time in the last 10 days (see prior post about the groin injury). When I headed out the door at 5:45 the temperature was already at 77, a record even for this hottest of summers. I was not anticipating a great run.

I was wearing some new Brooks running shoes that I picked up at Omega Sports over the weekend (close out special of only $60, and tax free to boot). This was my first run in them, which gave me some encouragement.

The first mile from my home to our meeting spot at CVS was uneventful. It was pretty dark, which is a bit of a recent change.

Our running group (the Davidson Area Running Team) had 11 runners this morning. We ran the cross-country trails at Davidson College. Most of the trails are through the woods, which at this time of the morning were pretty dark. Without headlamps, trail running in the dark can be quite an adventure.

I had a very strong run. Perhaps it was the rest I've given my body this past week, or the excitement of trail running in the dark. We ran between a 7:30 and 7:45 pace for the 4 miles I was on the trail. For me, that's quite good, especially considering the hills of the cross country course.

The best thing about this morning's run is that I felt no pain in the groin. I'll still take it easy for a couple of weeks, and hope for a continued recovery. I've lost a couple of weeks in my training for perhaps one more marathon, but I'm encouraged by the reemergence of mojo this morning.

Steady On, Narcissist

I've always thought that if one can do tomorrow what they can do today, they'll never experience a physical decline. I know it doesn't always work out that way, but it seems to be an easy concept. I feel pretty strongly that my physical capabilities, limited as they are, will not diminish overnight. In fact, if I rest well and eat a good breakfast, they might even improve.

This evening I googled 'Rodney Graham Davidson NC' just to see what might be out there about me on the world wide web. Admit it, you've all done it. The first page was mostly items about my company, John Marshall Custom Homes, and some commentary that I've written on our local news site, DavidsonNews.net.

On the middle of the second page of results were two race results, both 5Ks. In May 2007 I ran the Town Day race in Davidson. At age 43 I finished in 22 minutes and 36 seconds. Three years later in June 2010, I ran a 5K in China Grove, NC. You can probably guess my time: 22 minutes and 36 seconds.

So, in just over 3 years I've held steady on my 5K times. Exactly. Of course, about 18 years ago I posted a 5K time of around 17:50, which equates to an average daily slowdown of 4/100ths of a second in my 5K time.

4/100ths of a second isn't much. From day to day it's imperceptible. But, over time it adds up. At this pace I'll be running about a 28 minute 5K when I'm 66, and 33 minutes when I'm 86. Actually, if I'm running at all when I'm 86 I'll be quite happy.

For now my goal will be to knock 4/100ths of a second per day off of my 5K time. Turn back the clock so to speak. My other goal is still to run another marathon (well, two actually).

Steady on!

The Agony of De-Groin

I typically get my images by googling things like 'full moon' or 'Paul McCartney.' That didn't work for this post, which is about a groin injury. I thought about using a photo of a sexy nurse, but figured that would get me in trouble if anyone actually started to read this blog (more on that later).

So, I found a man in traction. A groin injury is not quite that bad, but until it heals I'm down for the count. Well, at least I'm not running for a few days.

How on earth did I get a groin injury?!? I know, the presumption is that my groin is overused. It's not. It's adequately used, but not overused.

I guess it was from too much running, too soon. I've been pretty good about increasing my mileage slowly. My long runs are never more than 10% longer than the previous one. My total weekly mileage is about 30, which is more than 98% of Americans (and 3% of Kenyans) run, but not excessive.

I'm 46, so these things happen. I'm not as flexible as I used to be, and I used to be pretty inflexible. Perhaps yoga will be in my future, but the last time I tried yoga I elicited a mix of sympathy and embarrassment. I've had my share of hamstring and calf injuries, even in my 20s. Perhaps the injuries just move up the body as you age, eventually reaching the head.

I'm going to lie low for a few days, ice the groin (shrinkage!), and take plenty of Advil. If that doesn't do the trick I'll go to a doctor who is highly recommended, and hope I don't embarrass myself when he does a groinal massage, whatever that is.

By the way, I had the first visitor to this blog a couple of days ago. Whoever you are, thank you! One of my goals with this blog is to test the theory that one can write a blog and absolutely noone will know about it if you don't actively promote it. Apparently that is not quite true. I'm writing this blog only as a way to capture my thoughts as I try to run one more marathon (well, actually two). If I ever go on a shooting rampage at my employers this blog undoubtedly will become well known. Well, since I'm self employed and the only employee of my company, a workplace shooting rampage is probably not in the cards.

Now, I'll need to change my counter text. I started the counter on 1985, and wrote 'noone ever left alive in...' as an homage to Paul McCartney, who was the subject of that evening's blog. Now I'll need to come up with something that goes with 1986. Perhaps I'll come up with something while I'm not jogging, or maybe I'll wait until the counter hits 1999.