26.2 Quest: August 2008

Going the second mile

Following a 1 mile run yesterday morning I felt really good, so this morning I decided and planned on doing a two miler. Things were going really good with a sub 10 minute mile for the first mile and I was able to maintain it through the beginning of the second mile.

Shortly into the second mile my collar bone started to pop a bit more than I wanted it to so I decided to cut it short at the 1 1/2 mile mark. I will get there, being patient is key right now.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

Run number 2 - the second mile

This morning I went for my second run. It was another 1 mile jog on the treadmill but felt really good. I ran the same way I did two days ago with my arm planted at my side, but kicked the speed up just a bit.

Following my run two days ago, my thighs were pretty sore, funny how they are sore after only 1 mile. It will get better, and I will be back to the 14+ miles soon :)

For those of you that were readers before the injury, thanks for sticking with me throughout the down time and complaining. For those of you that have recently joined, thanks for coming by and I look forward to talking a lot more running!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

I Ran -er- Jogged a mile!

Yes, that is right, you read that correctly, I was able to get out and try my injury with a mile jog. I went to the doctor yesterday for a checkup. This checkup was 2 months following the surgery. The doctor told me that I am not ready for the added stress on my collar bone that would come from therapy yet, but he told me that if I wanted to start to jog slowly that I could do so. His only caution was that he doesn't want me to swing my arms too much, because that causes the bone to twist, the one thing that is still a bit slow going on the healing.

So..... I headed to the gym this morning, for the third day this week. Monday and Tuesday I just spent some time walking briskly on the treadmill and riding the stationary bike. This morning I hit the treadmill, walked for a few minutes and then took a deep breath. I slowly, nervously, moved the speed up to a comfortable slow pace and hit the gallup. The most difficult and uncomfortable part was that I firmly planted my left arm to my side so I would not swing it as you always do when running. I allowed my other arm to move freely, and I was surprised to find that it was not as bad as I had anticipated. It is a bit uncomfortable and I will not be able to go too fast or long like that, but it is a step in the direction that I want to go.

That is it for now, I look forward to writing more about my running, and less about why I can't run.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

Will women ever outrun men?

This is something that may bring out a whirlwind of feelings and aggravation. However, what is your thoughts? Will women ever outrun men?

I know my thoughts:

I have seen many women pass me.... and never look back :)

For decades, running enthusiasts have speculated that women were better suited for distance running than men because of their higher body-fat ratios — hence a greater emergency fuel store. A look at marathon times between men and women appears to bolster the theory. As more and more women have taken up distance running, the gap between the world's best men's marathon time and the world's best women's time has steadily narrowed. Tim Noakes, professor of exercise and sports science at the University of Cape Town, explains surprising recent findings about a popular athletic debate. read more

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

Upcoming Doctor Appointment

I have my next doctor appointment coming up this Tuesday. I have started to feel a little better over the course of the past week so I am hoping for some good news and a turn in the direction of running again.

I am hoping that he will see that everything is moving in the right direction and that he puts me in physical therapy and tells me to get out there and run again.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

Run Your City

I just heard a couple days ago about a new Running site with a Social twist. The site is Called Run Your City and can be found at www.runyourcity.com.

This new site is just at the ground floor and could use a lot of traffic to get their Forums going and also to help build their blog listings.

Why not stop by and take a look!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

Running slows the aging clock

A recent study by Stanford University School of Medicine has found that regular running slows the effects of aging. They tracked 500 older runners for 20 years and determined that runners experienced fewer disabilities then the non runners that were also tracked. Both groups in the study started to become more disabled after 21 years of aging.

“Runners’ initial disability was 16 years later than nonrunners,’” Fries said. “By and large, the runners have stayed healthy.”

You can read the entire article on med.stanford.edu.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

Still Holding Out

I needed to catch everyone up a little bit. It has now been almost two months since the surgery, and I am still not running. You may recall a couple weeks ago that I was going to go for a trial run with the Doctors blessing. My shoulder has not yet felt good enough to feel like I could go for a run without injuring it further. The pain from the pin that I mentioned here is starting to subside so I know things are moving in the right direction, just not as fast as I had hoped.

Since it is the middle of August now, I am starting to lose hope for some of the fall races that I was hoping to do. I may still be able to run by that time, but will not be in the shape I need to be by the time the races come around. Everyone around me continues to run and some of my friends are training for a fall half marathon which is making me intensely jealous.

I will be headed back to the doctor in just over a week so hopefully he will give me more of a green light this time.

That is it for now, just wanted to touch base and keep everyone up to date.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

Dean Karnazes: Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days

Many of you are aware of Dean Karnazes' new book, Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days is being released is the next few days.

Steve over at www.runbulldogrun.com is giving away 5 free copies of this hard copy book.

Just head over to his blog via this link and find out what it takes to be one of the lucky 5 to be the next to read this book.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

Runners to follow on Twitter

So, are you a runner? Are you on Twitter?

Do you know a runner.... on Twitter?

One of the cool things I have found on Twitter (Follow me) is the community of runners I have found so far. I have searched and found some, and then found some that they were following, etc, etc. But I would like to build that group a little more for both inspiration and motivation.

I know I have not been able to bring much to the conversations on Twitter concerning running, but I promise to be more of a community runner.... once I can start running again.

If you are a runner please respond with your twitter address so others can follow you. If you know of any runners that twitter, why not give them a boost of followers as well by listing their address.

To make it even more fun and see how much we can get this to grow, when you follow someone you have found here, let them know where you found them.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

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EDIT - when posting your twitter id, post it in this format:

<a href="http://twitter.com/virtual4now">virtual4now</a>

Update your id in both places and this will allow others to click on it to go straight to your Twitter page.

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Favorite Running Related Websites/Blogs

I mentioned the other day in my post about your running magazine of choice that I would follow up with another question. Considering the web-focus of a blog I am expecting that everyone will have at least one or two to add to the list.

What is your favorite running related website(s) or blog(s)?

Now, I am sure you will all start out with blog.262quest.com, so we will get that out of the way and just assume that is everyone's favorite. I am sure that it is the feed with the most stars in everyones Google Reader. :)

Do you have a specific running blog that is a hidden gem? Do you have an obscure, or maybe not so obscure website that you visit frequently, if not daily?

Let's see what kind of a list we can get going..... and don't forget to plug your own blog!

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

Contest with Movie Download Giveaway

Just incase you are interested, I am running a contest with a giveaway of a movie download on my other blog, blog.2big.org.

Tim Wilson - blog.262quest.com

Running magazine of choice

What is your running magazine of choice?

Runners World

Running Times

Or what others do you read or what are your favorites?

I am curious, as I currently subscribe to both of the above but don't read them as much as I should considering that I pay for the subscriptions. If you could only subscribe to one running magazine which one would it be? Runners World, Running Times, or some other?