Every Day Can't be Great!

Good news about Laurie and her wierd symptoms . . . not MS and not a brain tumor. Now they just need to determine what it is! For some reason I was never very concerned, but both Connie and Laurie were beside themselves with worry. This is giving them tons of relief.

Struggled through a humid 8 miles this morning. Just didn't have it! Oh well! Ran the lonesome Road . . . south from Vaughn. Just a few houses but mostly nothing, One "good" hill 1 mile long. A good training run, but for some reason every time I run it I have a bad day. Guess I just should pass on that route!

Medoc Mountain Marathon

Haven't talked about this much, but the Rocky Mount Endurance Club is putting on the Medoc Trail Races - a 10 mile run and a marathon. This is a big deal for our little club and the result of a whole lot of work by our race committee, but especially for club president Michael Forrester. Michael is a unique guy with tons of ideas, energy and the ability to actually execute on things . . . so often the idea guys aren't worth a crap at actually DOING stuff. Not Michael. we're lucky to have him.

We've got about 180 10-mile runners and 55 marathoners . . . a great first race turnout.

Lots of little last minute details, but overall we're feeling good about where we stand. Stay tuned.

Running is going good. Feeling much better but my doctor tells me I've got quite of few kidney stones, now broken up that will be passing through sometime soon. His recommendation . . . keep your pain pills with you at all times! Probably good advice, but none needed so far (of course no stones have passed yet!!)

Is that OBX I see ahead?

Like I said yesterday, cooler is better! Back when I was in my 40s or earlier, I loved cold weather. And I do mean cold. Below zero? Sounded good to me then. I even loved to backpack in that kind of weather.

But things changed a few years ago. I first noticed the change on a backpacking trip, in the fairly deep snow in SW Virginia on Mount Rodgers. Though I had adequate gear to keep me warm, I stayed cold . . really cold. No more cold weather backpacking for me. But that doesn't mean I like hot weather! I still love cold weather. It just invigorates me. My body operates better when the weather cools off. Today is is a great example.

Temperatures were in the mid 50s when I headed out for my run this morning. Planned on trying 10 miles. My longest run so far in my recovery has been 4.6 this last Wednesday and I felt good. Today was the same . . . I just felt good! Good frame of mind, legs strong . . . just plain good. As I neared home, I still felt good so I tacked on an additional two miles. 12 miles!! I'm excited! Of course, I maintained my normal race pace throughout: 11:30!! I feel like I'm back!

Cooler is better . . . much better!

At noon today the temperature was probably in the high 70s! How nice! I decide to to run 4.6 through MLK and really felt good. Could have done more! Guess I'm a little afraid to get too excited, but maybe I'm turning a corner. Plan to try 10 miles this weekend. This is as long as the temperatures don't get into the 90s!!

The Medoc Mountain Trail Races are coming along really well. October 4th is coming fast! I honestly feel good about where we are given the time till the race. At the race committee meeting today, we seemed to have most everything well covered. The key is always the volunteers that show up to help. We totally depend on them. Volunteers rock and we ann need to take our turns at helping on a few races.

Progress . . .

Volunteered today at the Ford's Colony 5k & 10k. Michael and Scott did a really fantastic job in both planning and executing this event. First time event and it went off without a hitch.

After an afternoon nap I went for a 2 3/4 mile run and it went fine. Temps were probably in the high 80s and I ran all the way!!!

May try 5 tomorrow . . . got to start pushing it if I'm going to be ready for the OBX marathon November 9th.

The Saga Continues

Monday I had lipotripsy for a 1.5 cm kidney stone. No pain at all (I slept through it thanks to some wonderful drugs!) Minor pain that afternoon and evening but no pain at all since. Hope it worked . . . but the Dr says he won't know until he x-rays in another week. Far as I know, I've not passed any fragments, but maybe they could be really small and I wouldn't know??? Hope so!

Dr put me back on antibiotics after the procedure but told me I could run all I wanted to! Unfortunately, I've got zero energy!! Was going to run 3 miles with my friend Andy, but had to walk after only 1/2 mile!!!!!!! Bet I walked 7 times during the 3 miles. Hope this is due the the antibiotics. Finished them Thursday night and plan to try again Saturday afternoon (helping with the Ford's Colony 5k - 10k Saturday morning.)

Stay tuned . . . things HAVE to get better!!

Improvement

Ran 4 this morning and could have gone further. Probably a 10:15 pace or so. Progress! Not sue if I can be ready for OBX by early November . . . but I'm trying!

Tomorrow is the big day for me . . . having the kidney stone "blasted." Can't wait to have it behind me!

Holy Crap!

Am I ever sore. Feels like a finished a marathon, not a four miler . . . okay 3+ miler! Took yesterday off but went for a run after Hanna passes us this morning. Sore but I did another 3 miles. Hard to believe I've lost this much fitness so quickly.

Will go for another run Sunday but then I'll be taking at least 1 day off for my ESWL on my kidney stone. Hopefully this will put a halt to my bleeding. Not looking forward to this. Guess I feel like my luck recently has been less than steller, and I need this stone to "dust." Not looking forward to passing any sizable pieces!

Libby and I have a new roommate . . . Luke. Luke is a black mostly (maybe even all!) lab. Luke lived up here a few years ago until he and Doobie decided they really didn't like each other. So Luke went back to Connie and Libby came up the the lake. I believe Luke and Libby will get along real well. We'll see.

Finally!!!

It seems like it's been forever! But today I finally went for a run . . . my first since I got sick. I had no idea how much fitness I had lost. Turns out quite a bit! I ran 4 miles tonight . . . well, I ran 3 miles and walked/ran one! Still, it could have been worse!

I'm guessing my fitness will return fairly quickly. But I will need to lose the extra pounds I added by continuing to eat as if I was running normal miles! I'm just really glad to be back running!!

It's been awfully quite around the house the last few days. Connie kept my dog Libby when I went to Clemson to see Michael. And she felt like I should let Libby stay with her other dogs for a few days. I asked Connie to pick out one of her dogs to come stay at the lake with Libby and me and see how that works out. Should help Connie . . . AND Libby and I would both like another dog now that Doobie is gone. We'll see which dog she chooses! I just reserve the right of refusal!

On to more happy times!

I'm excited! Tomorrow is my last day on Levaquin!! All right!

So, now I just need to wait a week or so the get it out of my system and I can start running again! Seems like it's been forever . . . bet I gained 10 pounds! Oh well, I'll get it off quickly once I re-start training. Still hoping to be able to run the OBX marathon in early November.

The Fat Ass run Cam Kelly and I put on last weekend seemed to go well. I get a real kick when someone runs a trail for the first time. For this run Amber Poole and her significant other John but ran a trail for the first time and the are BOTH fired up about it. True its harder, but way prettier and more rewarding. John about doubled his previous long run! Great job you two!

And to beat it all, Cam got in some chiggers and they have eaten him up! No good deed goes unpunished.

Friends

Today I've been thinking a lot about friends.

Don't want to get too philosophical, but what makes a really good friend? We all have friends and a few of them are friends we would personally classify as a certified "good friend." Most of us (I believe) don't have too many really good friends.

I'm actually pretty luck to have what I feel is more than my rightful or deserved share. But what is the difference between a friend and a really good friend?

As I am thinking about it, a few thoughts come to my mind.

Devotion - a friend is a good friend when there is total devotion. Someone that would do anything at all for you . . . even if you don't ask. Even when you aren't such a great friend in return, they seem to understand and "spot you one." While they would like your devotion in return, its not a requirement for them. They just simply love you. Period.

Understanding - Sometimes you need someone who just will listen and at least appear to understand. You aren't looking for them to tell you what to do. You don't need advice (or at least you're not asking for advice!). You just need someone there. With you. Listening. Even if they might not really understand.

Love - Guess this is a lot like devotion, but somehow to me it's not quite the same thing. But a good friend loves you, and you love them in return. The love is based on faith, and some magical chemistry that just seems to happen . . . all to infrequently.

No one has the right to ask for a good friend and quite frankly good friends are, in my mind, quite rare indeed. If you are married, you spouse should qualify as a certified "good friend." After all, that's pretty much what wedding vows are are all about. Except they ask for a commitment. Not so with a good friend. That commitment is just there . . . unpromised, but there all the same.

Today, I lost a REALLY good friend. One that has been devotedly by my side for six years or so. No doubt he loved me . . . he showed me his love each and every day. I just wish I had returned the favor with equal passion. What's more, I was the one who had to decide if my friend lived or if he died.

And he needed to die. Prostrate cancer had secretly progressed and just yesterday it became clear my good friend was in pain. My vet told me this morning that Doobie had cancer and there was no hope for recovery. And clearly Doobie was in pain. So, I quickly decided to end it for him. I would want the same.

But I am left with the guilt that I wasn't as good a friend to him as he was to me. I ignored him sometimes. I took him for granted. I hope he can forgive me. But knowing Doobie . . . he already forgave me. He just wanted today's love and today's attention. Dogs are like that. But Doobie was special. I'll never forget Doob.

I love you Doobie.

Good times continue to roll!

Yesterday I felt good enough to head out for a short, trial run. Planned no more than 3 miles at my usual pace . . . slow!

About 1 mile into the run, my left calf / Achilles began to burn . . . not real bad, but definitely not normal. So I immediately turned around and walked back. Luckily, I had been reading quite a bit about the meds I'm on and learned that one of the side-effects for Levaquin is that it sometimes causes ruptures in tendons! Weird huh?

My calf / Achilles is definitely not ruptured or anything but it is inflamed. So guess I'll lay off running until all this is over . . . I'll be on Levaquin for another two weeks or so. This sucks!

I'll have to think about alternative exercises . . . like biking, or swimming.

Better . . . finally!

It's taken a while, but I'm finally actually getting better. Until about 8 PM Thursday, I was in fairly serious pain when I went to the bathroom about every 30 minutes. Last night, my pain level dropped from about a 9 to a 8 and now it's all the way down to a 2-3 and frequency is every hour or so! Life is good! (Bet your glad to take your time to read about this! But hey . . . it's MY blog!)

Tomorrow . . . my first run in a week, I plan to ease back into this, so only 2-3 miles. The medicine I'm on makes me sensitive to the sun, so I'll try to get out early.

A Temporary Halt to All Hurrying.

This last weekend was the weekend of my semi-son's wedding . . . a great time to stop hurrying and simply enjoy life and celebrate his happiness.

Okay, it's a fair question. In my case my semi-son, James, is a terrific young man who came to live with my family after life threw him some unfair curve-balls while he was in high school. Not adopted, but totally a part of our family.

So, we all headed to New Bern, NC for James' wedding. And the parties! Went to the wedding rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner . . . then it happened. I started getting sick. At 3am I went to the New Bern Hospital, was give some super-potent antibiotic shots and sent back to the hotel to hope I might get enough better to attend the wedding. (Seems I got a urinary tract infection from my test earlier this week!)

Turns out my attending the wedding wasn't even close. Talk about something that totally sucks!

At least the next morning I started feeling way better (I could stand!) and went to the post-wedding brunch which was real nice. Got to see James and Cheryl, his new bride.

Really thought I was on the road to recovery. My son Michael and I left New Bern and drove to Lake Gaston. By the time I arrived I was having a sinking spell. After 15 minutes I called the emergency number for my Rocky Mount urologist, and was told to get to the Rocky Mount hospital as fast as I possibly could. Son drove and turned a 55 minute trip into a 30 minute one!! He loved it!!

So I spent two nights in the Rocky Mount hospital but really feel better now! Hope the infection is totally killed this time!

Tonight I got to see the wedding pictures from my brother-in-law's camera, his daughter-in-law's camera and my camera. It was a great wedding and the pictures helped . . . some. But missing the wedding is a huge loss to me.

So Wednesday its back to work!

Boogieman 's in TN

In an earlier post, I told you about Doug Dawkins and the run across the US. ( http://dougsrun.wordpress.com ) Well, Doug is already in Tennessee! Doug would never ask, but I'm sure he would appreciate help . . . of any kind. E-mails of encouragement, folks to assist him along the way, or simply good, old-fashion cash for expenses. If you need his address, just let me know.

Each day, Doug is dedicating the day to someone that has made a difference to him at some point. Pretty cool idea! I imagine he thinks about this each and every day to decide. A pretty positive thing to do . . . focusing on the important gifts we all have in our lives . . . our friends and famlies!

So Doug, this day is dedicated to you! For making me think about things I rarely take time to consider. Thank you!

Two out of three!

Well . . . at least we're narrowing down the reason for the blood in my urine. And it looks like it isn't exercise-induced blood. Of the three major causes for blood in urine, I had two: 1) kidney stone in my left kidney (1.5 centimeters) and 2) an enlarged prostrate (60 grams vs a normal 20).

Going to schedule RSWL in a couple of weeks for the kidney stone (essentially blasting it apart with ultrasound pulses). Doctor suggested Advodart for a bunch of months to shrink up the prostrate. I really don't like taking drugs . . . especially over a long period of time. So I'm going slow with that decision. Will move ahead with the RSWL soon.

Doctor said I could keep on running, though internet site suggested not to. I'll run.

Catching up!

Website was having issues and I couldn't update anything for a few day. Guess I'm the only one reading this so it doesn't matter!

Big news was this past Saturday. Cam Kelly decided to do an early version of the Medoc Mountain Meltdown 50k since he would not be running on the official day. I wasn't sure what I would do. I came prepared with supplies to do the 50k too. My plan was to check my urine every 3-4 miles and stop if blood appeared. That turned out to be a really bad plan.

Cam and I met Brian and Chuck (sorry I don't have their last names!) and started to run at about 8am. We headed out fairly slow, real slow for Cam and especially Brian, but I was fine with the pace and I believe Chuck was too. We decided to use this as a test for the "turn sheet" I had written (and it turns out it worked well.) Cam took the lead and served the group well as our "spider-web buster!

Not sure the temperature at the start but the humidity was just a little worse than inside a closed hot shower after 10 minutes! Seriously, it was super humid. I was totally soaked by mile 2. My plan to do a urine check at 3 1/2 failed. Even though I was forcing fluids as much as I could, I couldn't pee at 3 1/2! Took me to about mile 6 before I could do my check . . . everything was fine . . . code yellow!! But I was really struggling. I slowed and let the group go and by the end of loop 1 I was done. Stayed to tell Cam I was leaving as he looped back by at 11 1/2 miles. Cam promised to call me as soon as he finished

I went home, showered and took a nap. Connie came up and we hung out until about 3:15 . . . Cam had estimated he would finish by 3 pm. No call. I waited another 15 minutes. Still no call. So Connie stayed by the phone and I headed back to Medoc (a 30 minute trip.) When I got there I could see Cam's stuff still on the picnic table, so I started running the course in reverse. Found Cam after about two miles. He was totally fine, just had slowed down due to the mid 90 degree temps and the near 100% humidity.

What a day to run 31 miles . . . Cam . . you are "The Man!"

Don't know when the last time I headed out to run 31 and stopped at 8!! Guess it was the heat and humidity combined with the hills (the dreaded triple H!). At least I hope so. I have my Urologist tests tomorrow and will be releaved to get them behind me.

I'll never be a biker!

Today I went to spinning class at our YMCA. Sounded like fun and a great workout! Angela Barnhill, the teacher, is well known when it comes to making her class a physical challenge for everyone! Sounded good to me, given I can't run for a few days. Since I run marathons and ultras, i thought this would be easy! Wrong! Luckily my boney butt gave out well before my cardio but I don't think I could have "hung" for the full class!

My butt still hurts! How can you sit on those narrow, hard seats???? No way for me! Biker must be tough as nails! Not like this wimpy runner!

And this was all inside . . . in air conditioning! Add heat, humidity and CARS. No way.

Not running is hard!

Without a doubt, not running is hard! Since mid last week, I've had to put my running on hold. Believe me, this definitely was not in my plans! A friend, Doug Slater, is up here at Lake Gaston this week and he and I were going to do a run this morning. And next weekend Cam Kelly and I were going to do a 50k so we could "officiate" our Medoc Mountain Meltdown 50k on August 23 (http://runmedoc.blogspot.com/).

While blood in your urine is not uncommon for runners, it hadn't happened to me in about 35 years of running. And it didn't even start on a long run! About three weeks ago I "ran" the Sweaty Butt 50k at Umstead Park in Raleigh and did fine . . . no blood at all. But the next Saturday I ran a fairly moderate 6-7 miler and was freaked out to see blood when I took a pee. (Before this I had often wondered if I would ever really know if I had bloody urine. Believe me . . . you'll know!!!). A doctor I was with told me to force fluids and that worked! But the blood has come back twice since . . . and the last time was way worse and it didn't go away for about 18 hours! REALLY freeks me out! I may try another run late this week and see how it goes.

I have some tests in early August to rule out some very unlikely bad stuff, so hopefully this time off will help me. I probably need a little time off.

Heat Sucks!

The title says it all! I hate running in really hot weather almost more than not running at all.

Today, the temperatures at noon (when I run every weekday) were close to 100 and who knows about the humidity!

Oh . . . high humidity sucks as much as hot temperatures!

I really struggled to run 4 miles . . . probably walked at least a minute total. Come on . . . only 3-4 miles! I took a Gatorade with me and almost finished it. Okay . . . I know gatorade for this short of a run (even in heat and humidity) is overkill! But it tasted good!

Three weeks ago I struggled through a 50k in Umstead Park in Raleigh, NC (Sweaty Butt 50k http://www.ncultra.org/article.php?story=20080714163200518) where the humidity was reallllllly high . . . and temps were up there too. This is really crazy . . . we shouldn't be running long distances in weather like this! So why do we? I honestly can't explain it.

Hot / humid weather should mean treadmill or elipse machines. I'll try.