One day left and I know I won't be adding anything to the log so I figured I would go ahead and throw out or should I say "throw up" my final stats for the year. The first half of the year seemed to be all about running then injury hit and biking took over. I almost feel like I have become a biker that runs some. Anyway, here is some of the final numbers for what its worth.
Running:
Finished 14 Races of various lengths not counting one Duathlon. Injured in mid-June with PF.
Raced 12 races in the Grand Prix Series finishing 8th in my age group out of 14 runners.
Here are the races by length:
2 - 2 milers
6 - 5k's
2- 10k's
1- 15k
2 - 1/2 Marathons
1 - Full Marathon
Set 7 new PR's at various times prior to my injury.
1 mile - 7:56
2 mile - 16:19
5k - 27:20
10k - 58:01
15k - 1:33:58
1/2 - 2:18:16
Marathon - 4:58:03
By the way, the one mile and 2 mile time was right when I started hurting in June. Had really started building up a little speed and then lost it all to injury.
Biking:
This was the fun stuff. Not sure how many long rides over 60 miles I did training with others but here are the official rides.
2 - 100 mile Centuries
1 - 62 mile bike tour
Multi-Sport:
1 - Duathlon (wish there would have been more)
Here are the total miles logged. I know people that ran as much as my bike and run combined. Maybe '09 will be better.
Total Run Miles - 690
Total Bike Miles - 1440
Looking forward to a better '09. Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Last Outside Ride of the Year
Since the weather looked favorable today, I broke my temperature rules and met the group at Mt Carmel Church for the normal 1:30 Sunday ride. We ended up having 8 riders which according to Charlie was the record since October. I know October was the last time I was on the bike outside too. The temps were suppose to be in the mid 50's but they were not. It was about 50 degrees at ride time and partly cloudy. Little to no wind, at least that's what the weather said. I dressed pretty warm, had a long sleeve bike jersey on top with a Pearl Izumi thermal jacket to keep me warm. Had my tri shorts on the bottom with my CW-X running tights on top of them to keep my legs warm. A beenie under my helmet and some full finger gel biking gloves finished it off. Pretty warm sitting still but as soon as we started moving it was cool. But never cold.
We headed out Kerr Station road and soon the breakaway group consisted of James, Russ, Mark O. and myself. I knew this would not be an "easy" ride. Never is on the bike when there are guys. Before I knew it we were in a pace line and getting some pretty good speed going. On this stretch of road with fresh legs we seemed to be averaging 19-22mph. We took turns pulling and when it was my turn it was 20-22mph. First hill and I could feel my lack of training though. We turned on 236 and when we slowed you could feel the heat, had to keep moving.
Didn't take long and I just couldn't hold that kind of pace and once you fall off the wheel, your done. I decided I would just take my time and catch them later on. Its a lot harder working on your own than in a pace line and I could feel it. My heart rate was high, higher than normal on the bike which just told me I haven't been doing enough lately. The guys stopped at the 236/31 junction and I got back in line heading down 31. This was the best part of the ride for me. It felt like I was in a rocking chair, drafting off the bike in front of me and doing 19-21 mph. The effort was so much easier in the draft. I was dreading the hills on 321/Mt Carmel though.
We made the turn on to Mt Carmel and I noticed that everyone had slowed down some. It was kind of nice as I was working about where I wanted to be and I could hold the line with no problem. I was leading when we made the junction of Mt Carmel/321 spur and I dropped back and told James that I couldn't pull on those hills. I stayed on till the first hill then I fell off the group big time. If you haven't ridden Mt Carmel back into town there are a few monster hills. My legs were singing to me by this time. I tried to keep speed up the hills but the legs were burning out and downshifting was needed. By the time I made the last hill which we always call "Heartbreak Hill", I figured I was going to cramp up anytime. I didn't though and I made it up and over Heartbreak but it was slower than I had done it in probably a year. When I got off the bike at the church, my legs felt like jello. They had definitely gotten a workout. I was disappointed that I couldn't keep up with the guys but then again, I haven't really done diddly squat for almost two months.
After looking at the final stats and then looking back in my log book at other rides on this route, I was pretty happy. I probably worked harder than I normally do on this route but my average speed was about the same or better. Heart rate was high, high, high for biking. Not sure whats up with that other than my pure lack of hard cardio work lately. It was still nice to be out and on the bike, pushing it and seeing the countryside. Best of all, I never really got cold. I was sweating and several times had to unzip my jacket to let in some air. I do need some shoe covers to keep my feet warm. I just ordered some from Performance Bike along with an extra tire that they had on sale.
Here were the stats from the ride:
Total miles - 26.67
Time - 1:33:17
Average - 17.1 mph
Calories burnt - 1722
Avg. Heart Rate - 174
Temp at finish - 49 degrees/partly cloudy
Hope to get at least one ride in before new years on the trainer. I know I won't get to ride outside. I am reducing my lowest enjoyable temperature to ride outside to probably 45 degrees. May have to raise it if I ride when its that cold.
Happy biking everyone!
We headed out Kerr Station road and soon the breakaway group consisted of James, Russ, Mark O. and myself. I knew this would not be an "easy" ride. Never is on the bike when there are guys. Before I knew it we were in a pace line and getting some pretty good speed going. On this stretch of road with fresh legs we seemed to be averaging 19-22mph. We took turns pulling and when it was my turn it was 20-22mph. First hill and I could feel my lack of training though. We turned on 236 and when we slowed you could feel the heat, had to keep moving.
Didn't take long and I just couldn't hold that kind of pace and once you fall off the wheel, your done. I decided I would just take my time and catch them later on. Its a lot harder working on your own than in a pace line and I could feel it. My heart rate was high, higher than normal on the bike which just told me I haven't been doing enough lately. The guys stopped at the 236/31 junction and I got back in line heading down 31. This was the best part of the ride for me. It felt like I was in a rocking chair, drafting off the bike in front of me and doing 19-21 mph. The effort was so much easier in the draft. I was dreading the hills on 321/Mt Carmel though.
We made the turn on to Mt Carmel and I noticed that everyone had slowed down some. It was kind of nice as I was working about where I wanted to be and I could hold the line with no problem. I was leading when we made the junction of Mt Carmel/321 spur and I dropped back and told James that I couldn't pull on those hills. I stayed on till the first hill then I fell off the group big time. If you haven't ridden Mt Carmel back into town there are a few monster hills. My legs were singing to me by this time. I tried to keep speed up the hills but the legs were burning out and downshifting was needed. By the time I made the last hill which we always call "Heartbreak Hill", I figured I was going to cramp up anytime. I didn't though and I made it up and over Heartbreak but it was slower than I had done it in probably a year. When I got off the bike at the church, my legs felt like jello. They had definitely gotten a workout. I was disappointed that I couldn't keep up with the guys but then again, I haven't really done diddly squat for almost two months.
After looking at the final stats and then looking back in my log book at other rides on this route, I was pretty happy. I probably worked harder than I normally do on this route but my average speed was about the same or better. Heart rate was high, high, high for biking. Not sure whats up with that other than my pure lack of hard cardio work lately. It was still nice to be out and on the bike, pushing it and seeing the countryside. Best of all, I never really got cold. I was sweating and several times had to unzip my jacket to let in some air. I do need some shoe covers to keep my feet warm. I just ordered some from Performance Bike along with an extra tire that they had on sale.
Here were the stats from the ride:
Total miles - 26.67
Time - 1:33:17
Average - 17.1 mph
Calories burnt - 1722
Avg. Heart Rate - 174
Temp at finish - 49 degrees/partly cloudy
Hope to get at least one ride in before new years on the trainer. I know I won't get to ride outside. I am reducing my lowest enjoyable temperature to ride outside to probably 45 degrees. May have to raise it if I ride when its that cold.
Happy biking everyone!
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Screw it - I Did A Brick
With the crappy weather we have been having I finally took my bike and put it on the trainer to see if I could burn my back tire off. After an hour and five minutes of various intervals I did a pretty good job of shedding some rubber. It felt good to be back on the bike even it was on the trainer in the house. I alternated with 5-10 minute speed intervals with 5 minute light spins in between. I would also vary my position on the bars but most of my time was spent totally in the aero bars. Got a good 18 miles worth anyway.
After that I was feeling so good I decided that I had to run and just make it a brick workout. Yeah I know, I said I wasn't going to till after the first. Well, I couldn't help myself. Like a kid in a candy store, feeling those heavy bike legs starting a run was something I was longing for. Just so I didn't kill myself or drop some more kidney stones I only ran a mile. It was good though, not fast but it felt good to run even on the treadmill. I must be sick, I even liked the one hour on the trainer. My butt is a little sore, has been almost two months since I got a mile in the seat. Glad to get some miles for December anyway.
Hopefully I won't be paying for this tomorrow. Still a little concerned about the kidney stones though I haven't had any problems at all. I'll know tomorrow anyway. If all is good I may just do it again. I am for sure running at least a mile on New Years day no matter what or how I have to get it.
I am at least feeling a little lighter today. Must be time to eat again!
Here's a pic of my bike on the trainer along with all our workout junk
After that I was feeling so good I decided that I had to run and just make it a brick workout. Yeah I know, I said I wasn't going to till after the first. Well, I couldn't help myself. Like a kid in a candy store, feeling those heavy bike legs starting a run was something I was longing for. Just so I didn't kill myself or drop some more kidney stones I only ran a mile. It was good though, not fast but it felt good to run even on the treadmill. I must be sick, I even liked the one hour on the trainer. My butt is a little sore, has been almost two months since I got a mile in the seat. Glad to get some miles for December anyway.
Hopefully I won't be paying for this tomorrow. Still a little concerned about the kidney stones though I haven't had any problems at all. I'll know tomorrow anyway. If all is good I may just do it again. I am for sure running at least a mile on New Years day no matter what or how I have to get it.
I am at least feeling a little lighter today. Must be time to eat again!
Here's a pic of my bike on the trainer along with all our workout junkFriday, December 26, 2008
Help - I'm getting Fat!
I am scared to even look at the scales after all the holiday food I have had. Christmas Eve we went to my sisters house in Otter Creek for a big dinner and to see my family. We had all the usual, ham, turkey, dressing, etc etc....oh and the sweet potato casserole. Of course I had to have some of my sister in laws banana pudding! Came back to Cabot afterwards, exchanged gifts with my kids at our house and then headed to Magness Creek to eat again. This was about 9pm so I had ham, mashed potatoes, and way too much other to mention there again. I was so stuffed. But it was so good. Food like this doesn't happen very often!
We spent the night there so we could watch Kylie do her Santa Claus. All this food is giving me writers block so I won't try to tell everything else that we did on Christmas Eve. Maybe Annette will post it all to her blog. Back to food though, Christmas morning we woke up, did the Santa thing and then Livia and Vonda cooked the most awesome breakfast ever. Annette told them this was much better than the breakfast buffet we had at the Hyatt in Memphis a few weeks back.
It still didn't end there. We came home about 1:00pm, did our Christmas. I had a little cat nap and Annette slept on the couch sitting up for about 2 hours. I guess Michele called and invited us over for dinner so we went over there about 6:45. Ha, another full course meal. Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, corn, I was beginning to feel like I died and went to heaven. Or maybe I was sinking from all the extra added weight...lol.
I had planned on biking this morning since the weather was suppose to be warm but I was surprised to find out that it was misting rain. No bike:( Annette did get a run in but since I was self grounded from running I sat around and got fatter. Well, this dang cold doesn't help much, I'm hoping food will cure it...I wish. So after Annette got home and rested a little we headed off to pick Kylie up and go shopping. I was starving by then so we went and had Mexican food at a place called Cactus Jacks on McCain where we had never been. I got fajitas. It was good but the same type Mexican food that all the others have. I think they should all just be a franchise, even the menus look the same. I miss Tia's, now they had some good TeX-Mex style food.
OK, the good news is I didn't have supper. Well, supper consisted of pumpkin pie, and I can't say how many pieces. I think it may be time for an intervention! Well, all good things must come to an end and I gave myself till the first then its all out. I just hope that running is part of it.
Hope everyone had as great a Christmas as I did!
We spent the night there so we could watch Kylie do her Santa Claus. All this food is giving me writers block so I won't try to tell everything else that we did on Christmas Eve. Maybe Annette will post it all to her blog. Back to food though, Christmas morning we woke up, did the Santa thing and then Livia and Vonda cooked the most awesome breakfast ever. Annette told them this was much better than the breakfast buffet we had at the Hyatt in Memphis a few weeks back.
It still didn't end there. We came home about 1:00pm, did our Christmas. I had a little cat nap and Annette slept on the couch sitting up for about 2 hours. I guess Michele called and invited us over for dinner so we went over there about 6:45. Ha, another full course meal. Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, corn, I was beginning to feel like I died and went to heaven. Or maybe I was sinking from all the extra added weight...lol.
I had planned on biking this morning since the weather was suppose to be warm but I was surprised to find out that it was misting rain. No bike:( Annette did get a run in but since I was self grounded from running I sat around and got fatter. Well, this dang cold doesn't help much, I'm hoping food will cure it...I wish. So after Annette got home and rested a little we headed off to pick Kylie up and go shopping. I was starving by then so we went and had Mexican food at a place called Cactus Jacks on McCain where we had never been. I got fajitas. It was good but the same type Mexican food that all the others have. I think they should all just be a franchise, even the menus look the same. I miss Tia's, now they had some good TeX-Mex style food.
OK, the good news is I didn't have supper. Well, supper consisted of pumpkin pie, and I can't say how many pieces. I think it may be time for an intervention! Well, all good things must come to an end and I gave myself till the first then its all out. I just hope that running is part of it.
Hope everyone had as great a Christmas as I did!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
I'm Done
I'm done running till 2009. After running Sunday afternoon I thought everything was good then Monday I started passing kidney stones again. Guess the running was shaking what was left loose. To top it off, now I have a bad cold right here at the holidays. I go back to the doc on Tuesday so I figured I might as well wait till '09 to start back up. If I can get a bike ride in I will be doing that since its not as much impact. May do some weights/core training but its not as fun as running or biking.
PS: Santa, you can bring me a new Cervelo P3 Tri Bike and a Nikon D60 DSLR camera. Well, a P4 would be better but I would settle for a P2 even. But since you have way too many to get presents for, we will save these for our wish list for '09.
Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!
PS: Santa, you can bring me a new Cervelo P3 Tri Bike and a Nikon D60 DSLR camera. Well, a P4 would be better but I would settle for a P2 even. But since you have way too many to get presents for, we will save these for our wish list for '09.
Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Dedication
I'll have to say, Annette, Brenda, Jane and Cindy had it today. They went and ran around 5.5 miles in 24 degree weather around a lake. They actually enjoyed it too. Except maybe for the shivering part afterwards. I was suppose to go but I was still feeling a little sick from the antibiotics I was having to take so I figured why be even more miserable with the cold. Good excuse huh.
Hey I did get a run in on the treadmill this afternoon. A whole 3 miles. Was actually hot, since the treadmill is in the house upstairs. Have to keep fans on me to keep cool and it still wasn't cool enough. I guess now I am so out of shape it showed on my heart rate. An 11:00 minute pace had me up to a 183 average. I usually race 5k at that rate. Could be the meds still wearing off too or maybe again I have to rebuild. I never did any walking though other than to turn a fan on. I think that's my new rule for the new year, no walking, unless of course you just can't go anymore.
I do have a big event to train for. Still not sure which full marathon I am doing. We have reservations in Nashville so I'll probably do the full there though I have thought about Little Rock and then doing the half in Nashville. Time is short for Little Rock though and I am on schedule for Nashville. The most exciting event though will be a new one for this area. It is a long course duathlon, basically a half ironman without the swim. 2 mile run, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run. It is June 6th at Lake Beverfork in Conway and is part of the Ironmountain Triathlon. I am so excited to get to participate and not just be on a team. August 15th there is also an Olympic distance duathlon. This one is held at Lake Degray and it is a 2.5k run, 38k bike and a 10k run. Along with the Du for The Parks which is usually on Memorial Day, I should have some great run/bike multi sport events to train for.
Speaking of training. After January 1st, it is on! I don't have the plan together yet but my intensity will increase where no one has ever seen it. Of course, pending any injuries or other old age problems. I turn 50 on January 21st so I was really wanting a special event for my birthday but it looks like there will be none. Maybe I'll try for a 50 mile week running. Which I could probably do but it might not be too smart. I could do a 50 mile bike ride but that's just not really hard enough. Will have to give it some thought. Irregardless, I am going to try to be more dedicated to training harder. We do have the Grand Prix season to deal with too.
By the way, if anyone has or knows of any free long course duathlon training plans let me know. I will be looking for one though I could probably use a 1/2 ironman plan and just run for the swim part.
Stay warm and be safe!
Hey I did get a run in on the treadmill this afternoon. A whole 3 miles. Was actually hot, since the treadmill is in the house upstairs. Have to keep fans on me to keep cool and it still wasn't cool enough. I guess now I am so out of shape it showed on my heart rate. An 11:00 minute pace had me up to a 183 average. I usually race 5k at that rate. Could be the meds still wearing off too or maybe again I have to rebuild. I never did any walking though other than to turn a fan on. I think that's my new rule for the new year, no walking, unless of course you just can't go anymore.
I do have a big event to train for. Still not sure which full marathon I am doing. We have reservations in Nashville so I'll probably do the full there though I have thought about Little Rock and then doing the half in Nashville. Time is short for Little Rock though and I am on schedule for Nashville. The most exciting event though will be a new one for this area. It is a long course duathlon, basically a half ironman without the swim. 2 mile run, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run. It is June 6th at Lake Beverfork in Conway and is part of the Ironmountain Triathlon. I am so excited to get to participate and not just be on a team. August 15th there is also an Olympic distance duathlon. This one is held at Lake Degray and it is a 2.5k run, 38k bike and a 10k run. Along with the Du for The Parks which is usually on Memorial Day, I should have some great run/bike multi sport events to train for.
Speaking of training. After January 1st, it is on! I don't have the plan together yet but my intensity will increase where no one has ever seen it. Of course, pending any injuries or other old age problems. I turn 50 on January 21st so I was really wanting a special event for my birthday but it looks like there will be none. Maybe I'll try for a 50 mile week running. Which I could probably do but it might not be too smart. I could do a 50 mile bike ride but that's just not really hard enough. Will have to give it some thought. Irregardless, I am going to try to be more dedicated to training harder. We do have the Grand Prix season to deal with too.
By the way, if anyone has or knows of any free long course duathlon training plans let me know. I will be looking for one though I could probably use a 1/2 ironman plan and just run for the swim part.
Stay warm and be safe!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
CCC Christmas Party
Friday night was the Cabot Country Cruisers annual Christmas party. For the past several years it was always held at someones home but the club has grown so much that this year we had to find a place to hold it. Ended up being held at the First Baptist Church in Cabot. It was nice as there was plenty of room. It was a big potluck and everyone brought some kind of food and a dirty Santa gift. Special thanks to Ginny who headed up the Christmas committee.
Club President David H. started things off with a welcome and announcing that he was stepping down as club president and turning it over to Jackie C. Well, Jackie was the perfect candidate. She was featured in Runners World Magazine about her Family Track Nights here and the Inspiration Run she started to the local schools. I know she will do an awesome job and the club will grow even more. By the way, I was told that our running club has a short mention in the January issue of Running Times. I haven't got a copy yet or even know if its out. Jackie was the point person on this too.
After the official stuff was over everyone ate and talked. These things seem so short when there is so many people you want to talk to. Especially since I haven't made any of the runs in a while and there hasn't been much biking activity. Well, other than Charlie W. who is still on his quest to break 10,000 miles again this year. He did it last year, and I didn't have the chance to ask how close he was but I know he is riding some almost every day. That's pretty awesome in itself.
After dinner the fun stuff started. Rick P. became the Master of Ceremonies with his guitar and microphone. He started things off with the traditional 12 Days of Christmas. Only thing was, for each day there would have to be one of the people from the group up in front of everyone mimicking whatever number they got. So, to choose who all the victims were, Rick started it off with picking the person for the 1st day. It was Tammy F., then she had to pick the second day person and the second day person picked the third and so on. Well, I got picked by Michele for the 12th day which was the easiest because I didn't have to do my part over and over again. It was pretty funny what some of the people came up with to simulate their day. When the song came to your days part you would have to make the gestures, some were doing bird calls.....it was pretty funny.
We thought we were done but then came Christmas carols. Same thing here, Rick picked the first one, they would have to get up in front of everyone and sing the song. Well, for some it wasn't a big deal and lucky for me I didn't get picked. Annette got picked but she wouldn't sing so she got Kylie up there with her. Let me tell you. Miss Kylie was not shy at all. She wanted to be up there and later she even went up there by herself to do some singing and some backup vocals. It was too cute.
This was my niece Kylie in pink with two of Jackie's girls and Rick on the guitar
Kylie doing backup vocals
Finally we were to the "dirty Santa" gifts. I had never done one of these before and everyone that brought gifts were given a number. When it was your number you would go up and pick a present, any one you wanted. The next person up could "steal" your present if they wanted it. Then you would go pick another. There were several "thefts" but it was all in good fun and everyone really had a good time. I ended up with a pair of gloves and some liquid hand warmers.
Can't wait till next year, word is we will need a place for dancing too by then!
Club President David H. started things off with a welcome and announcing that he was stepping down as club president and turning it over to Jackie C. Well, Jackie was the perfect candidate. She was featured in Runners World Magazine about her Family Track Nights here and the Inspiration Run she started to the local schools. I know she will do an awesome job and the club will grow even more. By the way, I was told that our running club has a short mention in the January issue of Running Times. I haven't got a copy yet or even know if its out. Jackie was the point person on this too.
After the official stuff was over everyone ate and talked. These things seem so short when there is so many people you want to talk to. Especially since I haven't made any of the runs in a while and there hasn't been much biking activity. Well, other than Charlie W. who is still on his quest to break 10,000 miles again this year. He did it last year, and I didn't have the chance to ask how close he was but I know he is riding some almost every day. That's pretty awesome in itself.
After dinner the fun stuff started. Rick P. became the Master of Ceremonies with his guitar and microphone. He started things off with the traditional 12 Days of Christmas. Only thing was, for each day there would have to be one of the people from the group up in front of everyone mimicking whatever number they got. So, to choose who all the victims were, Rick started it off with picking the person for the 1st day. It was Tammy F., then she had to pick the second day person and the second day person picked the third and so on. Well, I got picked by Michele for the 12th day which was the easiest because I didn't have to do my part over and over again. It was pretty funny what some of the people came up with to simulate their day. When the song came to your days part you would have to make the gestures, some were doing bird calls.....it was pretty funny.
We thought we were done but then came Christmas carols. Same thing here, Rick picked the first one, they would have to get up in front of everyone and sing the song. Well, for some it wasn't a big deal and lucky for me I didn't get picked. Annette got picked but she wouldn't sing so she got Kylie up there with her. Let me tell you. Miss Kylie was not shy at all. She wanted to be up there and later she even went up there by herself to do some singing and some backup vocals. It was too cute.
This was my niece Kylie in pink with two of Jackie's girls and Rick on the guitar
Kylie doing backup vocalsFinally we were to the "dirty Santa" gifts. I had never done one of these before and everyone that brought gifts were given a number. When it was your number you would go up and pick a present, any one you wanted. The next person up could "steal" your present if they wanted it. Then you would go pick another. There were several "thefts" but it was all in good fun and everyone really had a good time. I ended up with a pair of gloves and some liquid hand warmers.
Can't wait till next year, word is we will need a place for dancing too by then!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Crushing Stones
Well yesterday was the big day. I was scheduled to be at St Vincents at 9:30 to get prepped for the Lithotripsy procedure to crush my kidney stone. We had ice on the roads Tuesday and lucked out driving there other than the traffic was terrible and people were crawling across the bridges. They were quick to get my paperwork done and we didn't have to wait less than 5 minutes after that to go back to pre-op. All the nurses working pre-op were watching for me already as my sister used to work in that area and knew all of them, so she warned them about me.
I don't remember her name but the first nurse was so nice. Had me get naked and put on the hospital gown. Annette had to tie the back for me but not before she took a picture of my behind. No telling where that will end up but it won't be on here!
Another girl came in and got blood, another did an EKG, they took blood pressure, temp and all that stuff. My nurse started me on an IV around 10:45 and put some drug in there to ease secretions in the mouth. Well, I couldn't eat or drink after midnight so I was starving and dying of thirst already. But I couldn't have anything. I did get one swig of water when they gave me some pills for something.
I was scheduled for the procedure at 11:30 and really up until about 11:00 we stayed quite busy. About 11:30 the nurse came back and said that there had been a delay, the doctor had gotten tied up on a surgery before me so it was going to be at least an hour. Well, I had already been laying on the gurney for almost an hour and I was getting pretty bored. Annette was falling in and out of sleep between text messages with people checking on me. About 12:30 a nurse came back and told us it was going to be another hour. This was really starting to suck. Laying there with nothing to do at all but stare at the walls with an IV stuck in me. Finally about 1 they came to get me and take me for an xray to make sure the stone was still there. That takes all of 15 minutes. After that I went into the Urology Surgery Center at a waiting area. More waiting......I was so tired of waiting. Lets just get this over with!
Finally about 2 they rolled me in the room. There was a machine that looked like an xray camera and a bed underneath it. They wheeled me next to it and told me to scoot over under that thing. Well, the funny thing was, this was not a regular bed or table. My butt was put on some kind of rubber looking thing and then it felt like I was laying on a metal bar. Not very comfortable. The rubber thing reminded me of an over sized condom. Really weird. But hey, the anistesisologist said he was giving me something to relax me and then next thing I knew I was out. Whatever happened there stayed there because I remember nothing of it. I was glad too, because they were also running a tube/camera up the front end to look into my bladder. I was most happy to be out while they did that.
I woke up in recovery looking at the monitors going and listening to my heart beat. It probably wasn't 5 minutes and I was wide awake and felt great. I guess my vitals were great because it wasn't long and they were wheeling me back to the pre-op area where I started. Annette met me there along with my sister. I felt like I needed to pee while I was in recovery and they gave me one of those jugs to use but I just couldn't pee laying in the bed. The rule was that you couldn't go home until you could pee. Well, I was ready to go home so I was determined to pee.
Back in pre-op I had a male nurse named Walter who was very nice. He gave me another jug to use but I told him I wanted to go to the bathroom across the hall. He said that would be fine but that I still had to use the jug. Guess they wanted proof! Well, that wasn't at all pretty. Looked like I was peeing blood which it was but it was expected. They said small sand like pieces of the stone would come out for the next 48 hours.
The doctor told Annette that everything was great, no other issues to worry about. They gave me a prescription for some pain medicine, an antibiotic and some med that was suppose to open things up so whats left of the stones will pass more easily. By the time I was dressed and released it was almost 4:30pm. And we had expected to be home by 2 or 3! Delay after delay and all the waiting. But we were not done yet!
We hit rush hour traffic going home. Annette had called our personal pharmacist and running friend Kelly to see how late they were open. They were open till 5:30 but she was going to wait on us. I knew I had to have those meds. By the second traffic jamb I just wanted to be home. I felt like I had to pee but with what I was peeing I couldn't just do it anywhere. We rolled in the pharmacy about 5:20 and Kelly got us in and out of there in record time. I was never so happy to be home and be done with all the waiting around.
The night wasn't too bad. I did end up needing one of the pain pills and finally got some food. Annette kept me drinking all into the night which really helped clear things up pretty quick. I got to pee through a strainer so could save any pieces of the stones for the lab to check. The stones look like extra small pieces of sand or some say they look like cuckleburs. I was going to take a photo but they are too small to show up.
Today Annette put the girls on me. I was getting multiple text messages and emails asking how I was and telling me to drink, drink and drink some more. Thank you ladies! You guys are the best and I love all of you! By the way, I drank everything in the house!!
I don't remember her name but the first nurse was so nice. Had me get naked and put on the hospital gown. Annette had to tie the back for me but not before she took a picture of my behind. No telling where that will end up but it won't be on here!
Another girl came in and got blood, another did an EKG, they took blood pressure, temp and all that stuff. My nurse started me on an IV around 10:45 and put some drug in there to ease secretions in the mouth. Well, I couldn't eat or drink after midnight so I was starving and dying of thirst already. But I couldn't have anything. I did get one swig of water when they gave me some pills for something.
I was scheduled for the procedure at 11:30 and really up until about 11:00 we stayed quite busy. About 11:30 the nurse came back and said that there had been a delay, the doctor had gotten tied up on a surgery before me so it was going to be at least an hour. Well, I had already been laying on the gurney for almost an hour and I was getting pretty bored. Annette was falling in and out of sleep between text messages with people checking on me. About 12:30 a nurse came back and told us it was going to be another hour. This was really starting to suck. Laying there with nothing to do at all but stare at the walls with an IV stuck in me. Finally about 1 they came to get me and take me for an xray to make sure the stone was still there. That takes all of 15 minutes. After that I went into the Urology Surgery Center at a waiting area. More waiting......I was so tired of waiting. Lets just get this over with!
Finally about 2 they rolled me in the room. There was a machine that looked like an xray camera and a bed underneath it. They wheeled me next to it and told me to scoot over under that thing. Well, the funny thing was, this was not a regular bed or table. My butt was put on some kind of rubber looking thing and then it felt like I was laying on a metal bar. Not very comfortable. The rubber thing reminded me of an over sized condom. Really weird. But hey, the anistesisologist said he was giving me something to relax me and then next thing I knew I was out. Whatever happened there stayed there because I remember nothing of it. I was glad too, because they were also running a tube/camera up the front end to look into my bladder. I was most happy to be out while they did that.
I woke up in recovery looking at the monitors going and listening to my heart beat. It probably wasn't 5 minutes and I was wide awake and felt great. I guess my vitals were great because it wasn't long and they were wheeling me back to the pre-op area where I started. Annette met me there along with my sister. I felt like I needed to pee while I was in recovery and they gave me one of those jugs to use but I just couldn't pee laying in the bed. The rule was that you couldn't go home until you could pee. Well, I was ready to go home so I was determined to pee.
Back in pre-op I had a male nurse named Walter who was very nice. He gave me another jug to use but I told him I wanted to go to the bathroom across the hall. He said that would be fine but that I still had to use the jug. Guess they wanted proof! Well, that wasn't at all pretty. Looked like I was peeing blood which it was but it was expected. They said small sand like pieces of the stone would come out for the next 48 hours.
The doctor told Annette that everything was great, no other issues to worry about. They gave me a prescription for some pain medicine, an antibiotic and some med that was suppose to open things up so whats left of the stones will pass more easily. By the time I was dressed and released it was almost 4:30pm. And we had expected to be home by 2 or 3! Delay after delay and all the waiting. But we were not done yet!
We hit rush hour traffic going home. Annette had called our personal pharmacist and running friend Kelly to see how late they were open. They were open till 5:30 but she was going to wait on us. I knew I had to have those meds. By the second traffic jamb I just wanted to be home. I felt like I had to pee but with what I was peeing I couldn't just do it anywhere. We rolled in the pharmacy about 5:20 and Kelly got us in and out of there in record time. I was never so happy to be home and be done with all the waiting around.
The night wasn't too bad. I did end up needing one of the pain pills and finally got some food. Annette kept me drinking all into the night which really helped clear things up pretty quick. I got to pee through a strainer so could save any pieces of the stones for the lab to check. The stones look like extra small pieces of sand or some say they look like cuckleburs. I was going to take a photo but they are too small to show up.
Today Annette put the girls on me. I was getting multiple text messages and emails asking how I was and telling me to drink, drink and drink some more. Thank you ladies! You guys are the best and I love all of you! By the way, I drank everything in the house!!
Friday, December 12, 2008
BOSU Balance Training
About to go nuts not being able to run or bike. Last night I did a bunch of core/yoga and bosu ball training. I ended up making my own Bosu training that was kind of fun. I would stand on the bosu ball, balance then throw darts at an electronic dart game I have on the wall. Did give my lower legs and ankles a good workout and broke the boredom. I have found that over the past year I can stand on this thing forever. When i first started I could barely stand on it without falling off. It is good for strengthening lower legs and core. Along with that a few yoga poses, plank, side plank, etc seem to help a lot and I can see lots of improvement there over time. These help not only for running but biking too. Winter is a good time to work on strength even though it can be boring at times.
On a side note my Lithotripsy has been rescheduled from Monday to next Wednesday. Just more days that I can't run. It's making me nuts!
On a side note my Lithotripsy has been rescheduled from Monday to next Wednesday. Just more days that I can't run. It's making me nuts!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Memphis Marathon Weekend
Sorry if this is long but read on if you dare.
The St Jude's Marathon is now over but it was a whirlwind weekend for Annette and I. Me as a spectator. Annette as a full marathon finisher. And I'll have to say, I am pretty proud of her. She ran 20 miles without a walk break and set a new marathon PR of 4:57:53. This was her 5th marathon and her 4th this year. Amazing!!
We left Friday morning meeting a caravan of Cabot Cruisers at Brenda's house around 10am. The initial count by Vicki was that there was going to be at least 35 Cabot Cruisers at the race either doing the full or the half. Vicki was doing the 5k even. We hit the road with the official Cruiser caravan and the funny thing was, it was three Honda CRV's and all with 26.2 stickers on the back.
We arrived at the expo around 12:30 and got our packets and made the rounds. I was a little disappointed that the expo was so small. I guess it was maybe bigger than Little Rock but there was no comparison at all to Nashville. Memphis may have been smaller than Tulsa in fact. Nashville was so crowed you couldn't even walk. Memphis you could look around and chat all you wanted which was nice. Afterwards we all got checked in at the Marriott and started thinking about where to eat dinner. It was soon determined that we would eat at the hotel since they were having a pasta buffet. Around 5 we met in the lobby and took over the restaurant. There were other Cruisers that had arrived and I think we must have had 20-25 there by that time with more arriving. It was pretty cool to see that our one little town had this many runners here.
After dinner we hung out and chatted, sat down with James and Michele while they ate dinner and also went to a 25 year wedding anniversary toast for Don and Tammy. Pretty busy night and it was still fairly early. Since I wasn't racing, I could really see and feel the stress and tension everyone had. Wondering what to wear, what the weather was going to be like, what to eat, did they have their nutrition right, what pace they were running and the list went on. We even walked back over to the Expo with a few of the crew then it was time to head to the room.
That was another story too. For some reason we had gotten a room with two double beds and Jane, who had her son and a friend with her, only got a single king bed. We were staying two nights and she was only staying one but to make things easier for them, Annette offered to swap rooms for the night. No big deal, happy to do it. Only problem was, late check out was 2pm and we had to get our stuff back in our original room by then. That meant that the girls would have to run the marathon and be back at the hotel within 6 hours. Well, Annette really didn't want to think about that the night before and I didn't push the issue. She had stuff laid all over the room trying to figure out what to wear. It was very interesting to say the least because the marathon had totally taken over everyone at that point. I think we finally got to bed at 10 maybe. Set the alarm for 4:50. Of course, hotel rooms always suck and it was hard to sleep.
Annette was up and going at 5am so she could eat. By 5:30 she was getting up and starting to get ready. Think I made it up around 6, headed down to the coffee shop and got coffee. The group was all meeting at 6:50 to head to the race start. I wanted to see them off but I really didn't want to go to the start as it was about 28 degrees or less and you really can't see anyone in that mass group of people. Instead, I came up with the plan for the support crew in the group to go to the corner of Popular and Main to cheer everyone on. That would be just past mile 3. We got a couple photos before everyone left then the rest of us had a little time.
Just past 8am, James, Bob, Cindy and myself headed to the corner to cheer on the runners. It was very cold and it was windy too. This was one time it would have been better being a runner because at least the running would warm you up some. We got to see the lead vehicle and then the lead runners come through. The first two were very fast and obviously just running the 1/2. About a block back came a group of Kenyans who all appeared to be running the full marathon. One of our runners was not too far behind them though. Josh who is very fast was maybe a couple blocks behind them and this was his first marathon.
We saw several of our runners and it was fun cheering everyone on as they came by. I would often tell the people running that they were warmer than I was. I don't even remember who all we saw. We wanted to see everyone but we missed a bunch in the traffic. I hope we gave some of the runners a boost at least. And we hung out there in the bitter cold till probably past the 5:30 runners. By then we had to go get warm and headed back to the hotel with hopes of breakfast.
After checking our time, Bob informed us that he didn't have time for breakfast as he wanted to see Lisa finish the half. She is very fast so she was expected around 1:40ish. We didn't have over an hour so we opted for coffee and some got a snack there. We lucked out and caught the warm trolley and headed for Autozone Park and the finish line. It was a good thing we did things the was we did. It wasn't 3 minutes after we got there and Lisa and Rock's name was called out as coming in to the finish line. The finish line for the half wasn't really where you could see it good so James and I ended up going over to the food. Since both of us had paid to race and couldn't, we used our number to get us some free race food. After all, we paid big money for this little perk!
After killing a little time talking and walking around, it wasn't long till we were in the 2:30 time range. We all knew that Josh was shooting for maybe a 2:45 marathon time so we sat and waited in the bleachers to watch for him. Time passed but there was still plenty for him as he needed a 3:10 to Boston qualify. Just past the 3:00 time we saw him run in the stadium. He crossed the line showing 3:02 but officially it was a 3:01. Amazing time for his first marathon! I also forgot to mention that I got to see the marathon winner come in and finish. That was pretty awesome too!
We knew it would be at least an hour before we had anyone else come in so James and I headed over to the Peabody to see if they were showing the pay per view fight Saturday night. After that we headed back to the hotel and I had intentions of getting our bags moved back to our original room. We did luck out and catch the trolley so it only took maybe 5-10 minutes to get there. Still plenty of time for me to get back to the finish line. When I got to my room my key wouldn't work so I had to go back downstairs to get another one. But, Jane's son was at the stadium and not the hotel so I couldn't move our bags back. Time was running out and I had to get back to the finish line to watch Brenda finish so I took off. Unfortunately the trolleys were all going the other way and I had 15 minutes before the 4:00 race time mark. Brenda needed a 4:00:59 to BQ and I was determined to not miss seeing her make it. I ended up running and walking all the way back to the stadium. Walked in and the clock was showing 3:58 I think. I found Cindy and asked her if Brenda had come in yet and she said no. I knew there was some cushion though because the race was chip timed and it could have been 10-15 minutes to cross the start. I was hoping at least for Brenda who had worked and trained so hard for this race. Something told me though that the extreme cold temps had slowed some people down and I was right. As the clock ticked past the 4:01 time we all got more and more anxious. Our little group of spectators was almost chanting, "come on Brenda," "come on Brenda". Well, she gave it her all and it was just not the day to do it. Her final time was 4:07 and change I think. Still an awesome time but the course and weather conditions just didn't let the BQ happen. I have no doubt that it will happen on the next one! Next came Andrea, Bailey, Michele, Robert and Jane.
Annette had called me when she was at mile 22 pretty upset. She was cramping and was having to walk. I told her to take some electrolytes and drink some water. This was all before Brenda came in and I kept texting her trying to keep her updated. She sent me a text later saying she was at mile 24. I knew her ultimate goal of 4:45 was not going to happen but her under 5 hour goal was still doable. If only we knew what time her garmin had! It was like sitting on pins and needles watching the race clock as it went past the 5:00 mark. Brenda said her time was almost 15 minutes off so that was encouraging. Then as the clock was about to show 5:10 I saw a lady in pink come running in. It was Jackie. And then behind her was Annette. They were going to finish right together. It was an awesome sight. They crossed as the clock said 5:11 something but everyone said they were under 5 hours. That was all that mattered. I took off to meet them. The bad thing about this marathon is that afterwards, all the runners have to walk up stairs to get out of the stadium. Is that cruel or what?? Anyway, I was there at the top when Jackie and Annette made it there. Annette was happy but pretty upset that she missed her 4:45. She said a cop let a car through an intersection and she had to stop running real fast which caused her to cramp up. Irregardless her 4:57:53 is an awesome time and a big PR for her. Kelly finished a few minutes back behind Annette and she also had a big PR.
Unfortunately I couldn't stay around to celebrate. It was 1:30 pm and I had to have our stuff out of that room by 2:00. So I took off leaving Annette with the others. Luckily Jane and the boys had already went that way too. Again I missed the trolley so I fast walked it back. And again, my room key wouldn't work. Got new ones, they wouldn't work. Finally the maid let me in as she saw all the trouble I was having to go through. She must have wondered what the hell was going on when she saw me moving bag after bag from one room to the other. I just said, we are crazy runners! All the while this was going on Annette was calling telling me they had walked to a Mexican Restaurant to eat and for Jane and I to come join them. Once we had everything situated we took off for the restaurant. Again we missed the trolley but it was good for Jane to get some walking in anyway. Had some good food and a couple beers at the Mexican place. All the marathon finishers were hobbling around. Must have been at least 15 of us that ate there.
We lucked out and made the trolley back to the hotel. When we got back Jane and her gang started grabbing their bags to head home. One of the maids knocked on the door and handed us some shoes. I guess I had left a pair of Annette's running shoes in the other room. The maid had remembered the room we were in because of all of the confusion. Robert and Kelly also had stuff in our room so it was a whirlwind again, everyone getting their stuff and changing to head home.
Annette and I stayed the night and later met up with James, Michele, Phil, Jackie, Bob, Lisa, Ken and Debbie. Made it down to Beale Street for some food, fun and more walking. Ended up at BB King's place where Annette and I even got some dancing in. I was amazed that she could dance after running a marathon! We also got to see a parade of Santa Claus's walking down Beale Street. Now that was a weird sight!! We were all back at the hotel before midnight. It was a fun night with some great friends and running companions.
Unfortunately neither Annette or I got a good nights sleep. The room was either too hot or the pillows were too flat. I ended up getting up pretty early, got coffee and then we ended up meeting James and Michele for a breakfast buffet. It was awesome! Headed home about 10:45 ending an awesome weekend in Memphis. Hopefully next year it won't be as cold and maybe I'll get to run St Jude's for once.
I'll try to post some photos that I took later.
The St Jude's Marathon is now over but it was a whirlwind weekend for Annette and I. Me as a spectator. Annette as a full marathon finisher. And I'll have to say, I am pretty proud of her. She ran 20 miles without a walk break and set a new marathon PR of 4:57:53. This was her 5th marathon and her 4th this year. Amazing!!
We left Friday morning meeting a caravan of Cabot Cruisers at Brenda's house around 10am. The initial count by Vicki was that there was going to be at least 35 Cabot Cruisers at the race either doing the full or the half. Vicki was doing the 5k even. We hit the road with the official Cruiser caravan and the funny thing was, it was three Honda CRV's and all with 26.2 stickers on the back.
We arrived at the expo around 12:30 and got our packets and made the rounds. I was a little disappointed that the expo was so small. I guess it was maybe bigger than Little Rock but there was no comparison at all to Nashville. Memphis may have been smaller than Tulsa in fact. Nashville was so crowed you couldn't even walk. Memphis you could look around and chat all you wanted which was nice. Afterwards we all got checked in at the Marriott and started thinking about where to eat dinner. It was soon determined that we would eat at the hotel since they were having a pasta buffet. Around 5 we met in the lobby and took over the restaurant. There were other Cruisers that had arrived and I think we must have had 20-25 there by that time with more arriving. It was pretty cool to see that our one little town had this many runners here.
After dinner we hung out and chatted, sat down with James and Michele while they ate dinner and also went to a 25 year wedding anniversary toast for Don and Tammy. Pretty busy night and it was still fairly early. Since I wasn't racing, I could really see and feel the stress and tension everyone had. Wondering what to wear, what the weather was going to be like, what to eat, did they have their nutrition right, what pace they were running and the list went on. We even walked back over to the Expo with a few of the crew then it was time to head to the room.
That was another story too. For some reason we had gotten a room with two double beds and Jane, who had her son and a friend with her, only got a single king bed. We were staying two nights and she was only staying one but to make things easier for them, Annette offered to swap rooms for the night. No big deal, happy to do it. Only problem was, late check out was 2pm and we had to get our stuff back in our original room by then. That meant that the girls would have to run the marathon and be back at the hotel within 6 hours. Well, Annette really didn't want to think about that the night before and I didn't push the issue. She had stuff laid all over the room trying to figure out what to wear. It was very interesting to say the least because the marathon had totally taken over everyone at that point. I think we finally got to bed at 10 maybe. Set the alarm for 4:50. Of course, hotel rooms always suck and it was hard to sleep.
Annette was up and going at 5am so she could eat. By 5:30 she was getting up and starting to get ready. Think I made it up around 6, headed down to the coffee shop and got coffee. The group was all meeting at 6:50 to head to the race start. I wanted to see them off but I really didn't want to go to the start as it was about 28 degrees or less and you really can't see anyone in that mass group of people. Instead, I came up with the plan for the support crew in the group to go to the corner of Popular and Main to cheer everyone on. That would be just past mile 3. We got a couple photos before everyone left then the rest of us had a little time.
Just past 8am, James, Bob, Cindy and myself headed to the corner to cheer on the runners. It was very cold and it was windy too. This was one time it would have been better being a runner because at least the running would warm you up some. We got to see the lead vehicle and then the lead runners come through. The first two were very fast and obviously just running the 1/2. About a block back came a group of Kenyans who all appeared to be running the full marathon. One of our runners was not too far behind them though. Josh who is very fast was maybe a couple blocks behind them and this was his first marathon.
We saw several of our runners and it was fun cheering everyone on as they came by. I would often tell the people running that they were warmer than I was. I don't even remember who all we saw. We wanted to see everyone but we missed a bunch in the traffic. I hope we gave some of the runners a boost at least. And we hung out there in the bitter cold till probably past the 5:30 runners. By then we had to go get warm and headed back to the hotel with hopes of breakfast.
After checking our time, Bob informed us that he didn't have time for breakfast as he wanted to see Lisa finish the half. She is very fast so she was expected around 1:40ish. We didn't have over an hour so we opted for coffee and some got a snack there. We lucked out and caught the warm trolley and headed for Autozone Park and the finish line. It was a good thing we did things the was we did. It wasn't 3 minutes after we got there and Lisa and Rock's name was called out as coming in to the finish line. The finish line for the half wasn't really where you could see it good so James and I ended up going over to the food. Since both of us had paid to race and couldn't, we used our number to get us some free race food. After all, we paid big money for this little perk!
After killing a little time talking and walking around, it wasn't long till we were in the 2:30 time range. We all knew that Josh was shooting for maybe a 2:45 marathon time so we sat and waited in the bleachers to watch for him. Time passed but there was still plenty for him as he needed a 3:10 to Boston qualify. Just past the 3:00 time we saw him run in the stadium. He crossed the line showing 3:02 but officially it was a 3:01. Amazing time for his first marathon! I also forgot to mention that I got to see the marathon winner come in and finish. That was pretty awesome too!
We knew it would be at least an hour before we had anyone else come in so James and I headed over to the Peabody to see if they were showing the pay per view fight Saturday night. After that we headed back to the hotel and I had intentions of getting our bags moved back to our original room. We did luck out and catch the trolley so it only took maybe 5-10 minutes to get there. Still plenty of time for me to get back to the finish line. When I got to my room my key wouldn't work so I had to go back downstairs to get another one. But, Jane's son was at the stadium and not the hotel so I couldn't move our bags back. Time was running out and I had to get back to the finish line to watch Brenda finish so I took off. Unfortunately the trolleys were all going the other way and I had 15 minutes before the 4:00 race time mark. Brenda needed a 4:00:59 to BQ and I was determined to not miss seeing her make it. I ended up running and walking all the way back to the stadium. Walked in and the clock was showing 3:58 I think. I found Cindy and asked her if Brenda had come in yet and she said no. I knew there was some cushion though because the race was chip timed and it could have been 10-15 minutes to cross the start. I was hoping at least for Brenda who had worked and trained so hard for this race. Something told me though that the extreme cold temps had slowed some people down and I was right. As the clock ticked past the 4:01 time we all got more and more anxious. Our little group of spectators was almost chanting, "come on Brenda," "come on Brenda". Well, she gave it her all and it was just not the day to do it. Her final time was 4:07 and change I think. Still an awesome time but the course and weather conditions just didn't let the BQ happen. I have no doubt that it will happen on the next one! Next came Andrea, Bailey, Michele, Robert and Jane.
Annette had called me when she was at mile 22 pretty upset. She was cramping and was having to walk. I told her to take some electrolytes and drink some water. This was all before Brenda came in and I kept texting her trying to keep her updated. She sent me a text later saying she was at mile 24. I knew her ultimate goal of 4:45 was not going to happen but her under 5 hour goal was still doable. If only we knew what time her garmin had! It was like sitting on pins and needles watching the race clock as it went past the 5:00 mark. Brenda said her time was almost 15 minutes off so that was encouraging. Then as the clock was about to show 5:10 I saw a lady in pink come running in. It was Jackie. And then behind her was Annette. They were going to finish right together. It was an awesome sight. They crossed as the clock said 5:11 something but everyone said they were under 5 hours. That was all that mattered. I took off to meet them. The bad thing about this marathon is that afterwards, all the runners have to walk up stairs to get out of the stadium. Is that cruel or what?? Anyway, I was there at the top when Jackie and Annette made it there. Annette was happy but pretty upset that she missed her 4:45. She said a cop let a car through an intersection and she had to stop running real fast which caused her to cramp up. Irregardless her 4:57:53 is an awesome time and a big PR for her. Kelly finished a few minutes back behind Annette and she also had a big PR.
Unfortunately I couldn't stay around to celebrate. It was 1:30 pm and I had to have our stuff out of that room by 2:00. So I took off leaving Annette with the others. Luckily Jane and the boys had already went that way too. Again I missed the trolley so I fast walked it back. And again, my room key wouldn't work. Got new ones, they wouldn't work. Finally the maid let me in as she saw all the trouble I was having to go through. She must have wondered what the hell was going on when she saw me moving bag after bag from one room to the other. I just said, we are crazy runners! All the while this was going on Annette was calling telling me they had walked to a Mexican Restaurant to eat and for Jane and I to come join them. Once we had everything situated we took off for the restaurant. Again we missed the trolley but it was good for Jane to get some walking in anyway. Had some good food and a couple beers at the Mexican place. All the marathon finishers were hobbling around. Must have been at least 15 of us that ate there.
We lucked out and made the trolley back to the hotel. When we got back Jane and her gang started grabbing their bags to head home. One of the maids knocked on the door and handed us some shoes. I guess I had left a pair of Annette's running shoes in the other room. The maid had remembered the room we were in because of all of the confusion. Robert and Kelly also had stuff in our room so it was a whirlwind again, everyone getting their stuff and changing to head home.
Annette and I stayed the night and later met up with James, Michele, Phil, Jackie, Bob, Lisa, Ken and Debbie. Made it down to Beale Street for some food, fun and more walking. Ended up at BB King's place where Annette and I even got some dancing in. I was amazed that she could dance after running a marathon! We also got to see a parade of Santa Claus's walking down Beale Street. Now that was a weird sight!! We were all back at the hotel before midnight. It was a fun night with some great friends and running companions.
Unfortunately neither Annette or I got a good nights sleep. The room was either too hot or the pillows were too flat. I ended up getting up pretty early, got coffee and then we ended up meeting James and Michele for a breakfast buffet. It was awesome! Headed home about 10:45 ending an awesome weekend in Memphis. Hopefully next year it won't be as cold and maybe I'll get to run St Jude's for once.
I'll try to post some photos that I took later.
Friday, December 5, 2008
It's A Stone
I got a call about 8:30am yesterday that the doctors office had finally gotten everything approved to have my CT scan done. They wanted to get it done that morning so I agreed to be there at 10:15 and try to get it over with. Not knowing and wondering was getting to be a pain. Got in pretty fast, the CT scan was nothing. Laid me on this table and the lower part of my body went in this big round hole on this big white machine. It wasn't one of those whole body things. It was over in 15 minutes and I was on my way. They said the doctor would call if they found anything.
Had a lunch scheduled with my managers and some vendors at Olive Garden at noon. Just as we were finishing up my phone rang and it was the doctors office. I had to answer. The nurse told me I had a kidney stone. And that it was 7mm in size and that I needed to be at the Urologist at 2pm. I was relieved to know it was a stone. I was a little worried at how fast she was wanting to get me in to the Urologist. 7mm seemed big to me. Actually, that's just a little over a 1/4 inch in diameter. Since I was just up the street from that doctors office I waited a few and headed on over. Didn't know what they were going to do. Had to fill out paper work there and wait probably an hour and a half before I went back. First thing they do as I'm walking down the hall is give me a cup and told me to pee in this. Got that over with then went to a room and waited on the doctor.
When the doctor came in he asked a few questions and I explained the "how it started after I was running" story. He said that made total sense. That the running makes the stone move around and causes a little blood to pass. He said my stone was too big to actually pass down the tubes so they would need to crush it by doing what they call lithotripsy. This machine uses extracorporeal shock wave technology to break the kidney stone into small pieces so it can pass out your system. Not a major deal, just an outpatient thing. He said mine did not hurt because kidney stones usually don't cause pain until they start passing down the urinary tract tubes and mine was just sitting there. He said there was no immediate rush to get it done like right now, but it had to be done, otherwise over long term you would have kidney damage because of the blockage. So, long story short, I am scheduled for December 15th to have the procedure done. He said no running for sure as this causes the stone to move around. So, at least I still get to go to Memphis. I was worried that I was going to have to sit home and use a strainer all weekend to see if the stones pass. I still get to enjoy the race.
So, me and my stone are headed to Memphis for the weekend!
Had a lunch scheduled with my managers and some vendors at Olive Garden at noon. Just as we were finishing up my phone rang and it was the doctors office. I had to answer. The nurse told me I had a kidney stone. And that it was 7mm in size and that I needed to be at the Urologist at 2pm. I was relieved to know it was a stone. I was a little worried at how fast she was wanting to get me in to the Urologist. 7mm seemed big to me. Actually, that's just a little over a 1/4 inch in diameter. Since I was just up the street from that doctors office I waited a few and headed on over. Didn't know what they were going to do. Had to fill out paper work there and wait probably an hour and a half before I went back. First thing they do as I'm walking down the hall is give me a cup and told me to pee in this. Got that over with then went to a room and waited on the doctor.
When the doctor came in he asked a few questions and I explained the "how it started after I was running" story. He said that made total sense. That the running makes the stone move around and causes a little blood to pass. He said my stone was too big to actually pass down the tubes so they would need to crush it by doing what they call lithotripsy. This machine uses extracorporeal shock wave technology to break the kidney stone into small pieces so it can pass out your system. Not a major deal, just an outpatient thing. He said mine did not hurt because kidney stones usually don't cause pain until they start passing down the urinary tract tubes and mine was just sitting there. He said there was no immediate rush to get it done like right now, but it had to be done, otherwise over long term you would have kidney damage because of the blockage. So, long story short, I am scheduled for December 15th to have the procedure done. He said no running for sure as this causes the stone to move around. So, at least I still get to go to Memphis. I was worried that I was going to have to sit home and use a strainer all weekend to see if the stones pass. I still get to enjoy the race.
So, me and my stone are headed to Memphis for the weekend!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Memphis
Well I am not running the 1/2 at Memphis Saturday. I will be there for support and join several of the other guys as spectators. After doing my long run Monday night, mid morning on Tuesday I had a little blood show in my urine again. That's always a weird feeling even if it is just a very small drop. Still haven't heard back from the doctor when my CT scan will be so its a wait and see game right now. I do know that running makes whatever it is worse or aggravates it. Because for 13 days of non running, I had no issues and nothing what so ever was visible. Then the first time I run, boom the next day I have it and felt like crap. So, I figured there was no need to feel bad on Sunday after the race if I didn't have to. Lucky for me there are at least 4-5 other runners that are not racing that is in our club so I will hang with them and we will have fun. One other good thing, the weather at race start is suppose to be pretty cold so most likely, I will still be inside where its warm, at least till its time for the 1/2 marathoners to come in. I want to be there at the finish for them but especially for Brenda and Josh who are trying to Boston Qualify. They have worked so hard, especially Brenda and I know she is going to do it. It's going to be awesome watching them achieve their goals.
Annette is shooting for a 4:45 I think & she can do that with no problem if she doesn't have a lot of bathroom issues. My Tulsa marathon partner Jane, will be shooting for a 4:30 I think so I'm crossing my fingers that they will all make it. Several others will also be running the full, Kelly, Robert, Michele, Jackie and I'm sure more that I will forget to mention. Should be a lot of fun even if I'm not running. Wishing I had one of those really good SLR digital cameras now. Maybe one of these days.
Good luck to everyone racing and I hope you achieve your goal.
Annette is shooting for a 4:45 I think & she can do that with no problem if she doesn't have a lot of bathroom issues. My Tulsa marathon partner Jane, will be shooting for a 4:30 I think so I'm crossing my fingers that they will all make it. Several others will also be running the full, Kelly, Robert, Michele, Jackie and I'm sure more that I will forget to mention. Should be a lot of fun even if I'm not running. Wishing I had one of those really good SLR digital cameras now. Maybe one of these days.
Good luck to everyone racing and I hope you achieve your goal.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
New Treadmill Record
I set a new distance record on my treadmill last night. 8.5 miles. Probably set a new record for slowest time too. Average pace, 12:02. Think I could have walked almost that fast. First couple miles were good, 10:04 and 10:31 pace but pretty much went downhill after that. Maybe not all so bad considering a stressful day and the fact that I haven't ran in 13 days. I could have ran faster but my heart rate was so high I backed down. Maybe it was from the temperature or maybe it was just from the day. Either way averaged like 174bpm and that's too high for me on a slow easy run. Legs and foot felt good, started feeling a little towards the end but at least the foot isn't hurting bad. Actually could have went a few more miles. They would have been slow but I figured I better not. I actually enjoy the treadmill sometimes when the Ipod has some good songs and there is something to look at on the tv.
Now the bad, went yesterday and did my pee test again. I figured it would be perfect. Wrong. They called me back late yesterday afternoon and said I still had the microscopic blood. May not be anything but they want to do a CT Scan and see a urologist. Needless to say, this will screw up your game plan, especially the not knowing what the hell is going on part. May not be anything, but they want to do more tests to make sure. I don't mind the CT thing at all. But thinking about some urologist running a camera up the front end is pretty scary. I'd rather run in a burning house. So, now its a wait and see when I get to do this. Then the big question is, can I run Memphis? That's this weekend. Of course if I ask they would probably tell me no, but I really don't see what it would hurt at this point.
I hate waiting and wondering.
Now the bad, went yesterday and did my pee test again. I figured it would be perfect. Wrong. They called me back late yesterday afternoon and said I still had the microscopic blood. May not be anything but they want to do a CT Scan and see a urologist. Needless to say, this will screw up your game plan, especially the not knowing what the hell is going on part. May not be anything, but they want to do more tests to make sure. I don't mind the CT thing at all. But thinking about some urologist running a camera up the front end is pretty scary. I'd rather run in a burning house. So, now its a wait and see when I get to do this. Then the big question is, can I run Memphis? That's this weekend. Of course if I ask they would probably tell me no, but I really don't see what it would hurt at this point.
I hate waiting and wondering.
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