What the heck is a bursa?!?!?!?

Hi everybody! Okay, so I didn't run over the weekend, and for good reason. I was in try and run sports exchanging my fuel belt for a smaller size and talking about getting a proper training program setup when I tactfully brought up my foot pain thingy. Anyhow, I was informed that the pain was actually in the area of my achilles tendon and if something went wrong (like overworking it) it could rupture, and that would mean I would have to have surgery to reattach it and then spend 8 weeks in a cast, which of course is not an option...so I called my physiotherapist and made an appointment.

That appointment was this morning at 7AM, and I was informed that I in fact have an inflammed bursa on my achilles tendon, which is usually referred to as bursitis. Basically it's a sack of fluid between the achilles tendon and the heel bone and it's becommed inflammed due to friction...friction most likely caused by my new shoes. Anyhow, they're using ultrasound sessions to break it up, along with some new stretches, excercises and icing 5 times a day, which will be probably end up being a little awkward at work, but what are you gonna do right??? Good news is that I put together a makeshift padding for my shoe, made out of makeup sponges, which seems to take some of the pressure off and subside most of the pain while I'm running...which of course means I can continue to run. I have my next physio session on Wednesday, so I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, here's what I managed to accomplish today...
Indoor - treadmill - incline of 2
Warmup - 10 minutes - .8 miles
Run - 31 minutes - 3.25 miles
Cooldown - 9 minutes - .65 miles

Plus I did my ab strengthening excercises, which I've been not doing lately...so that's good!!! I'm a little pissed because I really want to get back into my long runs on the weekend, and shit keeps getting messed up...my knee, my cold, now a freakin' bursa!!!! Yeah, it's a little discouraging, but I know it's all just part of the journey and will make me stronger...it better...or else I'm screwed when it comes time to run the full 42km. Just kidding...I'll make it...my motivation will get me through...along with a few tunes. Which reminds me...I really need to change up the tunes on my mp3 player again...time for something new. There are a couple of highlights from today though...
Postal Service - Sleeping In
Hard Fi - Middle Eastern Holiday
Wilco - I'm The Man Who Loves You

I'm outty!

Will

If it's not Scottish...It's Crap!!!

So yesterday was Robbie Burns Day around the world, and I did partake in a Robbie Burns dinner / scotch tasting event at the prestigious Belleville Club last night. It was my first Robbie Burns dinner, my first scotch tasting, and the first time I've ever eaten haggis. I've got to tell you, it's not bad at all...in fact it's really tasty...I'm still not sure what exactly is in it, but I don't want to know either.

Of course knowing I'd be killing my body with haggis and scotch I decided I better get a run in before heading out last night. Here's the deets...
Indoor - treadmill - incline of 2
Warmup - 10 mins
Run - 30 mins - 3.1 miles (5km)
Cooldown - 10 mins

I have to tell you something...I've been keeping a secret for a couple of weeks...I think that I may have some kind of bone spur on the back of my foot. It's usually uncomfortable, but from time to time it hurts like hell. Now, it's never hurt while running until yesterday...of course I decided that I should call my doctor, but he's off until Monday, so I'll have to wait until then. I'm still planning on getting my weekly long run in tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

In closing, I'd just like to say that I love Scotch, Scotchy, Scotchy, Scotch!

Stay classy San Diego.

Will

Murder at the Juice Joint...

Once again, I've been negligent to the blog, and for that I appologize. I do have to tell you though I have been running, and I've also been very busy. I'd like to tell you about my Friday night...it was really cool...I was at a birthday party for my friend Shelly and it just happened to be one of those murder mystery parties (it was called Murder at the Juice Joint). Anyhow, at first I was a little reluctant thinking it was going to be a little on the lame side, but I was wrong...good times indeed. My character was the private detective...I sucked and guessed the wrong person as the killer...but still had a great time!!!

Saturday was my long run day and I ran for only 8km (45 minutes) as it was my first long run since getting sick and I didn't want to push it anymore than that. Here's the deets...
Indoor - treadmill - inline of 2
Warmup - 10 mins .85 miles
Run - 45 mins - 4.8 miles (just under 8km)
Cooldown - 10 mins - .7 miles

Sunday was a rest day...actually I went for a really nice (but bitterly cold) walk with Amy. We didn't make it too far as it was somewhere around -17 celcius with the wind, but we did walk for a few kms. Amy has started running again, so when the weather gets nicer I think she'll be running with me a lot more than now...which is never...so that'll be awesome!!! Of course Sunday night my team (the Colts) beat the Pats in what was probably the best second half of a football game I've ever watched to make it to the superbowl next weekend...woo hoo!!!

Yesterday it was back to the gym as the city works department in Belleville really sucks at clearing the snow from the sidewalks. Actually I don't think I can blame them entirely...it's up to the home owners to clear the snow in front of their houses isn't it...I do it...perhaps I'm just a sucker. The bottom line is the sidewalks are too snowy and icey to run on and running on the road in Belleville is probably more dangerous than a lot of other really dangerous things that I can't think of right at this moment. Anyhow, here's the deets...
Warmup - 10 mins - .8 miles
Run - 35 mins - 3.75 miles (6km)
Cooldown - 10 mins - .7 miles

Here's some tunes from the past couple of runs...
Feist - Mushaboom (postal service remix)
Diddy f/ Xtina - Tell Me
Justin Timberlake - My Love (I know what you may be thinking, but I'm branching out with the training tunes...besides I'm married...I don't have to worry about being judged for listening to the "fruity ass" tunes)
Jurassic 5 - Concrete Schoolyard
The Postal Service - Such Great Heights

Oh, I almost forgot...that tortilla pie I made on Thursday turned out to be the most amazing thing I've ever cooked in my whole life...and that's not really saying much at all...but it was good.

This has gone on long enough. I'll holla back at ya later!

Will

Slow Motion...

So I was thinking to myself...man, this week is going super slow. I mean, really, yesterday was Wednesday and for some reason it felt like Friday, but it wasn't really Friday, which made the whole experience really quite depressing. Then I realized that I haven't worked a full weeks work since before the Christamas holiday season and it all began to make sense.

Anyhow, the good news is that I did get another good run in yesterday, and after last week, that's very good news.

Here's the deets from yesterday...
Indoor - treadmill - incline of 2
Warmup - 10 minutes - .85 miles
Run - 35 minutes - 3.75 miles (just over 6km)
Cooldown - 10 minutes - .7 miles (just over 1km)

Yesterday I decided to load the entire Give Up album by the Postal Service onto my mp3 player, along with leaving a bunch of other songs on there. Anyhow, out of the whole album only one song came up...a little dissapointing as I was in the mood to hear more, but completely understandable as there is 90 songs on my player. Anyhow, if you've never heard the Postal Service then you should check 'em out...they're goood. I first heard them a few years ago when I was in Boston for work and just like us up here in Canada, there is a good following for indy rock in the US too. It's kind of funny, because as Canadians we sometimes think American music is nothing more than Elvis and American Idol, but there are some great indy bands down there too...
The Postal Service
Death Cab for Cutie
Yo La Tengo
Modest Mouse (not so indy anymore since they appeared on the OC a couple years back, but still one of my faves)
Built to Spill
They Might Be Giants
...and the list goes on.

Today is only Thursday...ARRRGHHHHH!!!! Today will be a training rest day for me, and you'll be happy to know that due to a new agreement in the Alexander household, I will be making dinner for Amy and I once a week...and I'm not talking like when I make dinner for myself (microwaveable burritos, peanut butter sandwiches, etc.)...I'm talking real deal dinner. Tonight I'm making Tortilla Pie, from a recipe I found in the January edition of Runners World magazine. We're also having my brother in law and his wife over for dinner so I hope it turns out okay...if not I've got a full jar of PB and loaf of bread ready to serve as backup. I'll keep you posted.

I'm out!

Will

I (finally) Feel Good...

'Sup my peeps!!! Okay, I'm a little excited, because I'm back in the training game and feel freakin' amazing. I'm telling you, that cold seriously put me out of commission for a good week, but I've managed to kick it to the curb and never looked back.

Now I did run on the weekend, but it was really bad and I felt really discouraged by the whole thing. I thought I was feeling good enough, but after running for 2 miles on Saturday I was caughing up all kinds of crap and felt terrible...this resulted in me spending the rest of the day lying around wasting the day, but I just felt terrible. Sunday I thought I needed to do something, so I went for a nice long walk around Belleville, stopped by cousin Raymonds place, then we walked back to my place to watch a little football playoff action...which reminds me...how 'bout them Colts!!!

Anyhow, yesterday was my first good run since the cold beat me down. Here's the deets...
Indoor - treadmill - incline of 2
Warmup - 10 mins - .85 miles
Run - 30 mins - 3.2 miles (just over 5km)
Cooldown - 10 mins - .7 miles

Here's some tune selections from my last couple of runs...
2Pac - How Do You Want It
The Game - Let's Ride
Billy Talent - Devil In A Midnight Mass
k-os - Born to Run

Here's some more big news on the Blog front...Brock and I were discussing some fundraising plans last night and also decided that he will be adding his own 2 cents to this blog, so get ready for some training posts from him too. I've got to tell you though, he's not nearly as entertaining as me, but then again, who is besides the late great James Brown...and maybe Weird Al Yankovic!!! We're also are planning some video blogs via youtube, so keep your eyes open for those.

Peace to all those in your hood!

Will

I got my ass kicked bad...

So I haven't had a cold in a very long time. It's been at least over a year, so when I contracted one this week, it wasn't fun at all. In fact, the cold kicked my ass like a little biatch!!! Needless to say I've been pretty much out of commission for the past 4 days so I haven't been training at all.

I do feel a lot better today though, thanks for asking, but I've decided that since my wife is off work today, I will go home and we will go for a walk this evening, rather than hitting the treadmill. As much as I love running, I love spending time with my wife more.

Speaking of family, tomorrow is cousin Raymond's 24th birthday and he's been going through some rough stuff the past couple of weeks, so if you see him around, make sure you wish him a happy birthday and give him a nice pat on the ass...he'll appreciate it!!!

Anyhow, just wanted to keep you in the loop. I'll be running again within the next couple of days so you can expect an update then. In the meantime, if you're bored and need a cheap high, might I suggest the killer combo of a shot of NyQuil followed by a Neo Citran chaser...good times!!!

L8r.

Will

Ahh, the joys of home ownership...

So I missed my run yesterday for a couple of reasons, but mainly for one. Yesterday morning Amy and I were deciding what to have for breakfast and planning our day when Amy discovered a large puddle of water in our basement. She called me down to take a look and I discovered our hot water tank was leaking....not good!!! After calling a few people for guidance and a shop vac at 7AM on a Saturday (Thanks Dad, Jacob, Brock, and Henry), and Veridian (the rip off energy folk) I had to shut the water off and the power to the tank. Needless to say by the time Brock, Jacob, and I got the water all cleaned up, the contractor came and replaced the tank, and I cleaned up their mess I was in no mood for a run.

Now, I suppose I could have gone later in the day, but number one, I was spent, and number two the Colts were hosting the Chiefs in one of the weekends AFC wildcard playoff matchups. What kind of a fan would I be if I didn't watch the game...plus it was raining ;-).

Okay, enough excuses. Here's the deets for today's primo run...
Outdoor - 4 degrees, slight wind 6km/h
No warmup today, just stretching as I spent most of the morning warming up by doing work around the house.
Run - 50:11 - 5.25 miles (just under 8.5km) - avg speed = 9:34/mile
Cooldown - 15:25 - .83 miles (1.4 km)

My cooldown was great today as I was joined by my wife, Amy. Thanks baby!

I also just wanted to mention the phenomenon that I am going to call the runner open hand wave. It seems to be that when you pass another runner, it's customary to give them an open handed 5 finger spread of a wave...it seems crazy, but everybody seems to do it...must be some kind of secret runner code...I'm not sure, but I've jumped on the band wagon.

Next up...the Baltimore Ravens!

Will
(as Will is exiting the blog, he is flashing you the runner open hand wave...picture it)

Okay, so maybe I changed my mind...

So I flip-floped on the whole not running in the wind thing...so what...it felt great. I just couldn't do it man, it was 10 degrees in January...there are very few things a married man can indulge in, and running in the wind just happens to be one of them.

According to good ol' environment Canada, the winds were SW at 25km/h, but it didn't really feel that bad, probably because it was 10 freakin' degrees!!! It's just too much, sure deep down inside I'm scared shitless about the environment and how bad this weather really is, but there's that part of me that's loving it. You know the part I'm talking about, unless of course you really are a tree hugging hippie...or your name is Russ!

Anyhow, the run today was great. Here's the deets...
Outdoor - 10 degrees celcius - wind SW 25km/h
Warmup - 7:00 - .62 miles (1km)
Run - 40:05 - 4.35 miles (7km) - avg speed=9:14/mile
Cooldown - 8:31 - .54 miles

I also spoke to Brock this evening and he was running on his treadmill tonight...that's good news!!! We discussed joining a running group with an actual trainer...not a bad idea. We also decided that we are going to have weekly meetings to discuss our training and plan our fundraising so I'll definately keep you posted on that front.

I'm having trouble remembering the tunes from today's run as it was almost 3 hours ago, so tonight you can imagine me running to any song you like...except Achy Breaky Hart, or Cotton Eyed Joe, or that dumb ass Chumbawumba song...those are 3 very bad songs.

Tomorrow is my rest day so no running until Saturday. Thanks for checking in.

Will

The Wind Blows...

Pun Intended!!!

I realize that it was 6 degrees celcius and sunny this afternoon and it's freakin' January, but with wind gusts of 55 km/hr you can kiss my grits if you think I'm going to run outside.

So the moral of the story is that I ran inside, both yesterday and today and if we get the wind we're supposed to get tomorrow tomorrow, then you can bet your ass I'll be indoors again tomorrow too. Sorry for the negative tone, but I am a little bitter about it, I mean when's the last time we had 6 degree weather in January. I suppose I could take off the skirt, suck it up and run outside, but a rippin' wind like that really takes the fun out of it...and my goal...apart from raising a butt load of money...is to keep it fun!!!

So here's the deets of the training for yesterday and today...identical runs...
Indoor - Treadmill - incline +2
Warmup - .8 miles - 10 mins
Run - 3.75 miles (just over 6km) - 35 mins
Cooldown - .65 miles (just over 1km) - 10 mins

And the mp3 player was back in full effect. Here's some key tunes from the past 2 days...
Nas - Hip Hop Is Dead
Jay-Z - Show Me What You Got
Diddy - Everything I Love
NIN - Getting Smaller
Billy Talent - This Is How It Goes

I'll catch up with you again in a couple of days...that is if you can catch up with me...BooYaa!!!

Will

Welcome 2007...

Hey Everybody. Happy New Year. I know it's been a while since my last post, and I'm sorry about that. I've actually been catching hell from a few of you faithfull readers about not keeping up to date. I had no idea people were actually reading this crap!!!

I need to start by saying that I have been running. Although it hasn't been as consistent or as hard as I would have liked, it has been happening. I got some new gear for Christmas which I've put to use - running gloves and a running touque. I know you might think that sounds like a gimick, but the technology used in the material to make this stuff actually heats up when you sweat...it's freakin' amazing!!! I also got some new shoes on the weekend that I'm going to break in in about 10 minutes. I did go out on Sunday but it was snowy and I didn't want to get them all mucked up their first time out. I stuck with Saucony's, but moved to the Omni 5 shoe...very nice!!! My runs have been varied over the past couple weeks - both indoor and outdoor. Here's my last run deets from Sunday...

Outdoor - -1 degree celcius - Belleville 11:30AM
Warmup - 6 mins - .62 miles (1km) - this isn't really accurate as it took a few minutes to get a clear signal on my garmin
Run- 33:25 - 3.11 miles (5km)
Cooldown - 20:15 - 1.24 miles (2km)

I was a little off pace I think due to the snow as it was my first time running in the snow. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. No tunes to report either as I was running with my friend Bryana as she was down for the New Years festivities at Brock and Emily's place. Brock was making food prepping for the kick ass party he threw to ring in the new year...you might think it's a lame excuse, but I'll accept it as I know it would have been bad new for him to leave Emily to deal with getting stuff ready...any of you dudes in a serious relationship, or married know what I'm talking about, and if you say it's any different than that, you're full of crap.

Anyhow, gotta run! (get it...hahahaha...I'm too funny)

Will