Hit a Deer with my car Friday night on the way home. The car is now gone. I miss it. Not the deer, the car. The deer was an 8 point buck. The bullet was a 97 VW Cabrio. The deer was launched several feet in the air by my car and died almost immediately. As a Vegetarian, I feel awful about this. The deer are in rut, that’s a guy’s way of saying “in heat” that sounds more manly, course, and unbridled. The buck probably didn’t even see me, he was just following his sense of smell with his blood all up in a boil and the next thing he knew he was dead.
Too much like me in some ways. I loose myself in passions, be they real or imagined. Sometimes it is easier to give in to desires, lusts, flights of fancy than to fight and stand still when everything inside is screaming to do something! I’ve let outward events determine my inward feelings, thoughts and motives and these, in turn, affect my actions. I’ve let my mind imagine situations and events inwardly that have caused me to follow the same chain of action and caused me to react and do things that were not right for those around me or for myself.
It’s a shame that it takes so long for me to learn self- control. It’s not a subject taught in schools, colleges or universities. It is taught through examples and role models. It is taught through our experiences of life. It is learned the hard way not the easy way. Self-control keeps us from having “melt downs” when life doesn’t go the way we want it. Self-control keeps us from not allowing thoughts and feelings move us to act “out of passion.” Self-control helps us to keep doing the things that are right for those around us and ourselves.
The last time I hit a deer, I called Karen, crying, upset about hitting and possibly killing that deer (I never did find the body of that one so I do not know for certain.) Upset about the insurance not being able to do anything to help. I worried that my wife would never trust me with her car again. I worried about the money to fix the car and since I used that vehicle for work, I worried what customers would think of me in a busted up Ford Escape!
Then a “miracle” happened!
At my first customer stop, on my first day back from vacation, a neighbor across the street backed into the front of the Escape in the exact same spot that the deer had broken! Now, the insurance company could help, I wouldn’t have to worry about what others thought about me. I didn’t have to worry about finding the money for the repair. I did have to worry about when Karen would ever trust me with her Escape again!
Me: Honey, I’ve got good news and bad news.
Karen: What happened now?
Me: I’ve been in another accident.
Karen: What!?!
Me: The neighbor across the street backed into the Escape.
Karen: What!?!
Me: The good news is that they hit the same spot that I hit the deer with!
Karen: What!?!
That was all of 3 years ago. This time around the difference was that I didn’t let the external event move me. I was upset but I was self-controlled NOT controlled. What a different experience!
That is all I’ve got this week.
PS.
No I didn’t run. The tendons in my right foot are still swollen but getting better. I’ve got the company truck to drive so I can work without issues. I will hit the gym today to start exercising again. I will do some strength training and I really believe I will be able to run next weekend. They say it can take up to 6 weeks to recover fully from a marathon and right now is just passed the 2 week mark so I believe this is normal.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Recovery Time
It’s been a week since I completed the Marathon.
My right leg is still sore. The tendons on the top of my right foot are still swollen. My right knee feels hinky from my IT band which I use a foam roller on the floor 2 or 3 times a day to get relief. Lots of Advil.
I can’t run again until the tendons on my foot calm down. Hopefully by next weekend I can run again.
I find myself missing running now. I need that cardio fix soon. Maybe this week I will use the circuit weights at the gym to help. I need my knee to stop hurting so I can work on my quads and flexors and abductors.
I have come up with a 3 year plan to get to Boston. I was very naive to even attempt a Boston qualifying time with less than a year worth of training. My goal this year will to be to train as injury free as possible. To work with my body rather than push it ahead of where it is now, today. So, in theory, which is a small town near Port Wentworth, Georgia, I should be able to beat 5:21:15 next November. So my goal next year is to run the entire marathon which will beat my time this year, since I walked about 6 miles total. The year after that will be to run a marathon in under 4 hours and the year after that to qualify for Boston.
Note to self. No more Brooks shoes. I really think they are fine for me for very short runs but definitely do not work for me for long runs. I guess I will go back to New Balance.
My Blood sugar control was very good after the Marathon! I did not have any severe lows for 48 hours. I took about 10% less insulin with meals. The week after has been really good. A couple of high readings related to drinks with extra carbs and no insulin taken for the drinks. Other than that things have been good.
They say after a Marathon that your body needs to rest. They suggest 1 day per mile run. The day after my Marathon my walk was more like the Dance of the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz than a walk! I was very concerned if this was normal and then I saw all the YouTube videos about the day after a marathon and felt that all was right with my world.
Here’s to recovery time and working with my body!
My right leg is still sore. The tendons on the top of my right foot are still swollen. My right knee feels hinky from my IT band which I use a foam roller on the floor 2 or 3 times a day to get relief. Lots of Advil.
I can’t run again until the tendons on my foot calm down. Hopefully by next weekend I can run again.
I find myself missing running now. I need that cardio fix soon. Maybe this week I will use the circuit weights at the gym to help. I need my knee to stop hurting so I can work on my quads and flexors and abductors.
I have come up with a 3 year plan to get to Boston. I was very naive to even attempt a Boston qualifying time with less than a year worth of training. My goal this year will to be to train as injury free as possible. To work with my body rather than push it ahead of where it is now, today. So, in theory, which is a small town near Port Wentworth, Georgia, I should be able to beat 5:21:15 next November. So my goal next year is to run the entire marathon which will beat my time this year, since I walked about 6 miles total. The year after that will be to run a marathon in under 4 hours and the year after that to qualify for Boston.
Note to self. No more Brooks shoes. I really think they are fine for me for very short runs but definitely do not work for me for long runs. I guess I will go back to New Balance.
My Blood sugar control was very good after the Marathon! I did not have any severe lows for 48 hours. I took about 10% less insulin with meals. The week after has been really good. A couple of high readings related to drinks with extra carbs and no insulin taken for the drinks. Other than that things have been good.
They say after a Marathon that your body needs to rest. They suggest 1 day per mile run. The day after my Marathon my walk was more like the Dance of the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz than a walk! I was very concerned if this was normal and then I saw all the YouTube videos about the day after a marathon and felt that all was right with my world.
Here’s to recovery time and working with my body!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
I finished my first marathon!
I finished my first marathon yesterday after having done enough training for a half marathon only. My mistake was thinking I could do the whole thing. By mile 13 I really was rethinking my decision and since it was an uphill run on the Truman at that point I thought oh well, let’s get on with it. I have a love hate thing with hills, either big or small, I’m not bothered by them and enjoy them but I also loathe them as well. Nothing personal, they just get in the way, that’s all.
For the diabetic bean counters out there:
Woke up at 2 am with a Blood Glucose Reading (BSG) of 173. Ate my half bagel with cream cheese and banana and ½ cup of juice and 2 cups of decaf coffee with a little French vanilla cream in them. Took 27 units of Lantus insulin. This was the only insulin I took until well after the marathon.
Just before the race I took 23 g. carbs of a granola bar and 1 banana. I wanted to be in the 200’s for the start of the race. I used the facilities 2 times before getting in my corral. The Brooks VIP one that I had a pass for was out of order and I was not happy! My BSG was 281 before the race.
At about 7:44 am I crossed the starting line and that was it! I planned on taking 1 packet of GU every 3 miles. I actually took my first GU at mile 6. My BSG was 168 at that time. After this I started taking GU every 3 miles. I took only water throughout the Marathon. I saw Karen at mile 8 and was feeling really good!
Mile 12 my left knee, which had given no problems to me at all throughout my training started to ache. My BSG was 192 and I started walking for the first time.
By mile 16 both knees were aching. I was walking more. I met a bigger guy who was having quad muscle problems and said he was a type 2 diabetic. He thought his problem was glucose related so I gave him 2 packs of my GU. We then walked around the corner of the course and found a water station with a table full of salt packets. I took 3 along with 3 waters and soon was running again. I’m certain the other runner made it to the finish.
Mile 18. Muscles stiffening up everywhere! My right hip, my knees, my quads, my hamstrings! Just keep moving! Don’t stop! Check my BSG 184. Another GU. More walking, then a limping kind of stride that makes Quasimodo look like an Olympic sprinter, then more walking. I met a man from the Savannah Striders on the Truman on ramp saying “Go striders!!” I talk was walking along and telling him how much my knees hurt when these 2 girls run by saying “at least they won’t hurt more.” I thought, “Hell, she’s right.” And I trotted along for about another mile.
Mile 21 my BSG is at 93. So I took 2 GU’s and at the next water station had half of a Cyto-max drink. Kept run/walk till mile 22 which became my wall.
Mile 22. Here I am 4.2 miles from the finish line! I took another GU and some water from my Camelbak belt. I hurt, badly, my muscles in my leg are cramping and it seems that no amount of stretching will ease them. There is a head wind all along the Truman Parkway. I want to cry. The band playing at mile 22, Lorenzo, are absolute bad asses! I rally for a little bit, knowing that walking only will make the pain last longer but running will end the pain sooner. I go back to walking and running till mile 23. The medical tent is right there. I walk past. On the other side of the Truman Parkway are the Ambulances. I keep walking. At first the runners started occasionally stopping at stretching calf and hamstrings and quads around mile 12, maybe 1 here another there. By mile 16, there are more. By mile 21 we are dropping like flies! I’ve seen muscles spasming in legs before but nothing like this! I vow not to look at my legs till the race is over.
Mile 23, there is a girl walking with her left foot angled away from her body. Something is very sore with her foot. I catch up to her while walking. We walk the next 2 miles together. She is from South Carolina and just ran a marathon in California 2 weeks ago and her left foot feels like a knife is stabbing into the bottom of her foot each time she steps on it! We comment on the funny signs we see. The encouragement we get from strangers. She is upset and frustrated, she was on pace for a 3:40 marathon and now she isn’t. She thinks maybe this happened so she will be more compassionate for other injured runners. She used the think that they should “suck it up.” Not anymore. She feels her body is betraying her. I can relate. I don’t know what to say. I agree with compassion and that it is a good thing. We talk about a few other things. She tells me in a few months she is going to China with a friend to run a marathon on the Great Wall of China! I am amazed by this. I tell her that I hope her foot will be fully recovered by then and wish her well. My strides feel better and I want to run across the finish line so I start to hobble again.
Somewhere between mile 25 and 26 I start running again. The rusting iron in my legs is heavy, every stride hurts when I touch the ground. I keep moving. I have to sprint because I can’t lift my legs just a little bit, it is an all or nothing proposition. I finally cross the finish line! I cry like a baby. I did it. Finally I finished something I started. It wasn’t pretty. But I finished.
My time was 5:21:15
For the diabetic bean counters out there:
Woke up at 2 am with a Blood Glucose Reading (BSG) of 173. Ate my half bagel with cream cheese and banana and ½ cup of juice and 2 cups of decaf coffee with a little French vanilla cream in them. Took 27 units of Lantus insulin. This was the only insulin I took until well after the marathon.
Just before the race I took 23 g. carbs of a granola bar and 1 banana. I wanted to be in the 200’s for the start of the race. I used the facilities 2 times before getting in my corral. The Brooks VIP one that I had a pass for was out of order and I was not happy! My BSG was 281 before the race.
At about 7:44 am I crossed the starting line and that was it! I planned on taking 1 packet of GU every 3 miles. I actually took my first GU at mile 6. My BSG was 168 at that time. After this I started taking GU every 3 miles. I took only water throughout the Marathon. I saw Karen at mile 8 and was feeling really good!
Mile 12 my left knee, which had given no problems to me at all throughout my training started to ache. My BSG was 192 and I started walking for the first time.
By mile 16 both knees were aching. I was walking more. I met a bigger guy who was having quad muscle problems and said he was a type 2 diabetic. He thought his problem was glucose related so I gave him 2 packs of my GU. We then walked around the corner of the course and found a water station with a table full of salt packets. I took 3 along with 3 waters and soon was running again. I’m certain the other runner made it to the finish.
Mile 18. Muscles stiffening up everywhere! My right hip, my knees, my quads, my hamstrings! Just keep moving! Don’t stop! Check my BSG 184. Another GU. More walking, then a limping kind of stride that makes Quasimodo look like an Olympic sprinter, then more walking. I met a man from the Savannah Striders on the Truman on ramp saying “Go striders!!” I talk was walking along and telling him how much my knees hurt when these 2 girls run by saying “at least they won’t hurt more.” I thought, “Hell, she’s right.” And I trotted along for about another mile.
Mile 21 my BSG is at 93. So I took 2 GU’s and at the next water station had half of a Cyto-max drink. Kept run/walk till mile 22 which became my wall.
Mile 22. Here I am 4.2 miles from the finish line! I took another GU and some water from my Camelbak belt. I hurt, badly, my muscles in my leg are cramping and it seems that no amount of stretching will ease them. There is a head wind all along the Truman Parkway. I want to cry. The band playing at mile 22, Lorenzo, are absolute bad asses! I rally for a little bit, knowing that walking only will make the pain last longer but running will end the pain sooner. I go back to walking and running till mile 23. The medical tent is right there. I walk past. On the other side of the Truman Parkway are the Ambulances. I keep walking. At first the runners started occasionally stopping at stretching calf and hamstrings and quads around mile 12, maybe 1 here another there. By mile 16, there are more. By mile 21 we are dropping like flies! I’ve seen muscles spasming in legs before but nothing like this! I vow not to look at my legs till the race is over.
Mile 23, there is a girl walking with her left foot angled away from her body. Something is very sore with her foot. I catch up to her while walking. We walk the next 2 miles together. She is from South Carolina and just ran a marathon in California 2 weeks ago and her left foot feels like a knife is stabbing into the bottom of her foot each time she steps on it! We comment on the funny signs we see. The encouragement we get from strangers. She is upset and frustrated, she was on pace for a 3:40 marathon and now she isn’t. She thinks maybe this happened so she will be more compassionate for other injured runners. She used the think that they should “suck it up.” Not anymore. She feels her body is betraying her. I can relate. I don’t know what to say. I agree with compassion and that it is a good thing. We talk about a few other things. She tells me in a few months she is going to China with a friend to run a marathon on the Great Wall of China! I am amazed by this. I tell her that I hope her foot will be fully recovered by then and wish her well. My strides feel better and I want to run across the finish line so I start to hobble again.
Somewhere between mile 25 and 26 I start running again. The rusting iron in my legs is heavy, every stride hurts when I touch the ground. I keep moving. I have to sprint because I can’t lift my legs just a little bit, it is an all or nothing proposition. I finally cross the finish line! I cry like a baby. I did it. Finally I finished something I started. It wasn’t pretty. But I finished.
My time was 5:21:15
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