-Record Holder Diana Nyad coming 3-17-2016

We have a unique opportunity to attend a luncheon with legendary swimmer Diana Nyad tomorrow 3-17-2016   For those of you not familiar with her, she is the amazing lady that swam from Cuba to Florida.

A bunch of Lucky’s Lake Swimmers have a table to see Diana Nyad on Thursday the 17th of the Month. If you are interested in going, see the attached flyer for details http://www.hfuw.org/event/womens-leadership-luncheon/

You can buy individual tickets. Questions? want to sit together? Contact Jay Madigan (jjmadigan@gmail.com).

No word on if she might do a lake swim. We will let you know should she decide to join us.

 

 

Amaya’s 14th birthday 5K #257

Today is the official day of my baby girl’s 14th birthday.  Unfortunately, we cannot celebrate the way we want to because she had track practice after school and a host of homework assignments to be completed before spring break this weekend.

We did have time to go to her favorite place in the world Chewy Boba Tea.  We also played a couple games of UNO before heading home for a long homework night.

My actual run was a little faster than normal because I wanted to have lunch with my son at school. I only had about a half an hour to get to his school on time this meant that I had to run at about a nine minute pace.  For those of you that have been following my runs lately, you know my runs have been no where near a 9 minute pace. However, the motivation to meet my son for lunch seemed to give me a boost to run at the faster pace.  I was able to make it to his school just in time for lunch.  I

During my run, I experienced some slight right ankle pain, right knee throb, and my right hamstring had just a little slight throb.  But other than than that, I was able to run at the faster pace.

My Garmin watch seems to be failing on a daily basis now when I try to upload my activities. I have to reboot my laptop, add the device again, etc. it’s getting to be extremely time consuming and annoying.  I am still unable to upload my run, as Garmin was closed by the time I tried to upload my watch.

Whenever I call Garmin, they are very helpful. However, the sync issues continue to plague my day. I really need to get another watch that wirelessly transfers my runs.

 

Amaya’s basketball championship run 5k #248

Today was filled with excitement as my daughter Amaya’s team was playing in their first playoff game as the number one seed and cluster regular season champions.  Watching her play is the highlight of my week.  She plays with such passion and energy that is contagious.

I definitely wanted to get my 5K out of the way as they would be playing the late 6:30 game on the other side of town.  I knew it would be very late, and that I’d be lucky to get an hours sleep after the game and long drive home.  If I still had to run a 5k when I got home, it would not be a good idea.

My 5K run was ok, started out slow but relatively pain free.  Still worrying about my knees, I’m really concentrating on perfect running form.  I have no room for sloppy run mechanics or “lazy” running.

https://www.strava.com/activities/511441852/embed/1162464a624be72b42f56ea5054cde407f8fb332

I did check the mileage on my shoes and they are definitely are in need of replacing as they are well over 300 miles.

Amaya’s team, the Sunridge Lady Eagles won a close game and are onto the next round. A fast turnaround next game is Wednesday with a yet to be determined opponent.

 

 

A pain free Leap year 5K #241

 

That after 5K glow

I woke up feeling extremely tired, and just hoped to get through my run as painless as possible.  Almost as uncommon as leap year, is me running pain free.  However, I had a great run today. For the first time in a while, I had relatively no pain while running.

Today I decided to run after getting some much needed sleep and before my son’s basketball camp practice at 7pm.  I’ve tried running after his practice and before work and it is an extremely late/hard run.

https://www.strava.com/activities/505841106/embed/1ba20963b1d14771c02e1a0f6b7cac07a5b3b6e9

Although I was running relatively slow, my heart rate was through the roof. An indicator of still need rest and sleep. But must keep pressing forward only 124 more days to go for a year straight of daily 5Ks.

I’m also on day 11 of my no oil, no dairy, Vegan lifestyle challenge.  I noticed in the beginning some weight loss.  Now I seem to be craving quite a bit more sugar than my Paleo lifestyle.

 

An exhausting night 5K run #228

 

I should be sleeping….

Today was a very tiring day. Operating on about 2 hours of sleep since last night I headed out on my 228th consecutive 5K.  I really did not feel like running today and just wanted to get it over with.

My body felt all achy all over. But at some point I started to enjoying the run.  The night air felt extremely good.

https://www.strava.com/activities/495432233/embed/f2ef31f954938420507728fc05378d648a09ed09

I can promise you if it weren’t for this run streak, I would have been resting on my butt all day.  I just feel really exhausted at the end of my 5 consecutive nights working third shift.  The lack of sleep and the unnatural habit of working when I should be sleeping really takes it’s toll on me.

 

Enter the next pain to deal with glute strain? #164 consecutive 5K

https://www.strava.com/activities/450431711/embed/675cd7e681f3e3335638135baf00f8a3cf130365

Ooh ouch ooh ouch could be a song today as I ran my 164th 5K.  I have officially developed some sort of glute injury that hurts with every step of my run.  How long will the pain last?  How long will it take to heal?  Will this last the remaining 201 days of my year of consecutive 5Ks?  I’m mentally prepared to endure the pain if that is the case.  I can barely sit at my desk without the sharp pain starting from my right glute and all the way down my hamstring.  I’ll address it with some acupuncture and massage therapy and see how it goes.

I did manage to work in a “dad’s basketball camp workout” with my son before my run.  It was a hectic day and I’m really feeling tired towards the end of my 5th night of 3rd shift work. #can’twaittosleepatnight

 

 

Run thought day 161st 5K

https://www.strava.com/activities/448403033

Oftentimes when I run, I have creative and thought provoking ideas.

My thought while running today’s was……..What if you’ve never discovered your greatest talent? Try something new and out of your circle of comfort.

What if you are missing out on your greatest challenge because you haven’t tried anything new since high school?

Get out and discover all your gifts!

As a side note, I’ve developed a slight glute issue from running too fast.  Sigh, I wonder how long it will take to heal?  Better make another appointment to the Acupuncturist.

 

#160th 5K and a lake swim

 

A beautiful morning swim

 

Tis the season

 

Enter a caption

 

Nature in all its splendor

 

ducks hanging out on the dock

 

Taking in the sunrise

My morning started with a 1K swim across Lucky’s Lake. An absolutely beautiful morning for a swim. The water temp was 70.5 degrees. While chilly upon first entry, the water felt perfect after getting into a swim.
After getting the kiddies off to school, it was onwards to my 160th 5K!  It is amazing what a “good nights” sleep does for my energy levels. I felt a pep in my step and actually ran an additional mile. I also manage to post some respectable times on Strava. https://www.strava.com/activities/447810922

 

An appropriate shirt for my 160th 5K

 

 

Day #150 of consecutive 5K run (a late post)

I love running paths and running someplace new.

A unique view, doing my post run stretches on my back.

A beautiful duck, who is quite comfy around people. It had zero fear of me, even running by him.

My first run at Gaston Edwards Park

Shameless selfie

My app that keeps track of all my runs

 

Has it really been 3 months since I’ve blogged?  You’ve got to be freaking kidding me!  You know what has distracted me is posting quite a bit?  The answer is posting on Facebook/Instagram and not porting my activities over to this blog.  To be totally honest, I don’t have time to post to all three everyday.

I have to make some decisions about what is the best way to communicate with the largest audience.  Facebook seems to be the easiest to use via my cell phone.  Posting to this blog seems to require me sitting down at my laptop.  Whereas, I can post to Facebook while I’m pretty much anywhere with a few minutes to spare.  Look me up on Facebook for the latest on my activities.  I will be revamping this blog soon, so more to come.

What have I been up to?  I guess the best way to start is the latest adventure and work my way backwards.  As you can tell from the title, I’m still pursuing my quest for a complete year of running at least a 5K a day.  I’ve just completed day #150 https://www.strava.com/activities/442060722/embed/c43d5137463c147c8fd07f5f398f5a148c6e2918  As a matter of fact, you can add me as a friend on Strava to see all of my 5K runs and times.

So what have I learned so far in regards to running everyday for 150 days straight?

1. Forces you to spend some time on you everyday
2. anything you work on everyday will improve
3. after reaching a certain point, momentum begins to assist you
4. You can still perform with injuries, I’ve suffered a sprained ankle, shoulder, muscle spasms that cut off my breathing, hip flexors, knee soreness and of course ye ole hammy.
5. I choose very carefully the things I do as to not injure myself or put myself at risk of not completing my 5K
6. My mind is now asking the question, “where else can employ this consistency in my life”
7. Never put yourself last, or your goals will be last too
8. you can’t outrun a poor diet.  No matter how many miles I run, it can not compensate for my poor food choices.  I shudder to think of how much better I’d look with a cleaner diet.  God please give me more strength.  LOL
9. My goals have to be high to motivate me to achieve them
10. Sometimes you just need a little music to get you through
11. Equipment is critical
12. Stretching and warming up are keys to avoiding injuries
13. My body can heal and still continue to keep going
14. Whenever you need a little motivation, just run somewhere new.  The freshness of the new sights and sounds will keep you engaged and entertained

That is the good news, my running continues to get stronger and stronger.  The bad news is my swimming and biking have been taking a back seat to keep this streak alive.  On days where I have only enough time to swim, bike or run, I have to choose running.

In addition, I’ve started coaching my son’s basketball team.  Coaching has taken up any remaining time I might have left.  I’ve been studying plays, drills and how to get the best out of 4th and 5th grade kids.  It’s not as easy as I would have thought.  It is a rewarding experience as the kids keep asking me to coach the next league when it starts.  Basketball has changed quite a bit since I played back in the 80’s.  LOL

 

 

 

 

My 60th 5K run in a row. Only 305 more to go!

My 60th 5K in a row! Only 305 more days to go.

So today marked my 60th straight 5K run.  It has been relatively problem free for the most part.  I’ve developed a nagging injury on my right hip flexor that seems to come and go.  Also the numbness in my left thigh seems to be consistently present.  My weight has remained stable, but my stomach is looking much better.  I’m feeling like I’m getting quicker and more in tune with my running mechanics.  Today I focused on using my abs more during my run and I felt stronger and faster.  I felt more in control of my steps.

I’m really curious to find out what it’s like to run every single day for a year.  I feel that this is one of the few primitive things that we still do as a species.  I mean what’s more natural than running?  When I run, I feel reconnected to my inner “caveman”.

Some unforeseen problems with trying to run a 5K everyday are:

1. time constraints.  Less time for swimming and biking.
2. My biking has really suffered as I want to make sure I get my 5K in before any other exercise.
3. Also, I seem to run out of exercise clothes and shoes very quickly.
4. Constant concern to avoid over exertion or anything that can impact my ability to run the next day.
5. I always seem to be holding something back, instead of going all out.  In fear of injuring myself.  As the days begin to stack up and increase, the sense of avoiding injury is heightened.