Powerlifting!

Well, hello there! The very sparse posts are due to the fact that the "Resurrected Runner" is not currently running. At all.

Why not?

Well, two reasons. First, I still have lingering injuries that seem like they'll never go away (primarily my right hamstring), and second, I'm training myself and my daughter to compete in a (some?) powerlifting meet(s).

I am, however, walking quite a bit. I have a goal to...much like the annoying song...walk 500 miles this year. As of the end of June, I'm at 280 miles, so I'm ahead of pace. The walks aren't casual strolls, so I'm still getting some cardio and fat-burning benefits.

As for the lifting, I'm documenting my daughters and my current training cycle on our youtube page: father/daughter powerlifting journey.

Check it out if you're interested. As mentioned in previous posts, my daughter shows some promise. I'm keeping the weights she's lifting well below her maximum ability right now, just to focus on form and to, hopefully, avoid injuries.

Which, surprisingly, I've managed to do so far in my training. Avoid injuries, that is. My often temperamental lower back is even holding up, so I must be doing something right!

Status Report

Well, I'm down about 2 1/2 lbs. since my previous entry. Not much, but I'm trying to lose the weight slowly. Don't want to lose too much muscle along with the fat.

As I mentioned previously, I'm going to achieve 10,000 lifetime running miles this year. I've run 38 miles in the last 4 weeks. Yes, that used to be a below average WEEK a few years ago, but this old, fragile (and slightly heavy) body isn't ready for much more than that currently. I'll probably plod along at about 10 miles per week for a bit and see if I can gradually increase, if my body allows. I'm now 170 miles shy of that 10k mark.

I managed to get one outdoor bike ride in a couple of weeks ago, but that's been it so far. Work has been busy, plus the weather hasn't been particularly conducive to fair-weather cycling. Lots of rain and/or wind lately. At the very least, I'll set up the trainer again, once work calms down.

The hamstring stretching seems to be going well. I'm more flexible than I've been in a long time, but I'm not sure it's helping with the pain. I can still feel it from time to time (especially after running up and down hills, and even after a flat 4-miler earlier this week.) Still, being more flexible through the hamstrings and lower back is something I need, regardless of the hamstring injury.

Pretty dry blog entry, I know. I'll wrap up here with a couple of recent cartoons.

Happy Easter, and good luck to those of you running Boston!

A Daily Mile

As I posted on the website Daily Mile, I'm now literally a "daily miler."

I've decided that, instead of not running at all, I would try to coax my hamstring to get stronger and recover by running a single slow mile on a daily basis. Smart? Probably not. But a similar approach seemed to put my old heel injury behind me over a year ago. This might be a different situation, though, since muscle tissue is involved, whereas that was more of a bone/tendon issue.

My hamstring has become slightly more sore as the week has progressed (I'm on day 7 of my daily mile regimen.) It's not to the point where running hurts it. It actually hurts more when I'm not running...although I know it would tweak out pretty seriously if I tried to run fast.

I'm a very stubborn runner, so hopefully I'll know when to say when. But my real hope is that, after an initial period of slight hamstring pain, the muscles will start to strengthen and the pain will subside. That might be more of a dream than a reality...but five months of ZERO running earlier this year did little to fix my hammy, so I might as well give this a shot.

More as things develop...

232 Miles

That number is what I need to run to reach 10,000 miles in my running career. I've actually been pretty close to 10k for quite some time. These pesky injuries have made the last 1,000 miles a very long and slow journey. I will reach it, though. It may not be by the end of 2013, as I was hoping, but the milestone will be reached, rest assured.

In the meantime, I'm in "Do What I Can Do" mode. I put in 37.5 miles in two bike rides this week, while the nice weather hangs on. It looks like it'll cool down at least 20°F next week, so I'll either be riding while being bundled up, or I'll dig out my trainer and try to stave off boredom. I'm also trying to get back into the weights more, minus deadlifts, which severely injured my back a few weeks ago. Or, I should say, they pushed my already temperamental back over the edge.

I may opt for some very short runs here and there, just to keep those muscles familiar with running, but if the hamstring objects, I'll stop.

Which leads me to a tangent. Like a good sports geek, I play fantasy football (for fun & bragging rights, not for money). I have two fantasy teams. I was noticing lately just how many of my players are coming down with hamstring injuries, and have been reading the notes about just how long those injuries take to heal. Trust me, I'm no professional athlete, but I can relate. It feels like this injury could take a very long time to heal (it already has), and I'm 15-20 years older than these athletes...who have the very best medical care available.

I wish there was a way to instantly fix it, but that day hasn't yet come 8-)