The Reconstruction of a Runner

On Tuesday, I went for a run for the first time in almost two weeks. During those two weeks, I had basically abused my lungs, drank excessively, gained weight, and managed to pull my hamstring playing softball. As a result, I had zero expectations going into the run on Tuesday other than the fact that I hoped that I would not die on the side of the road and left to the large rats of New York.

Now, the run itself was not that fast nor was it that slow but what impressed me most was the first mile, which I ran in a very comfortable 7:40. (Just as a warning, it is true that most people can run fast for one mile if they are in any type of decent shape, but the kicker here is that although 7:40 is not that fast, I was just trying to run comfortably and was able to run a decent mile, which in reality, I really should have had no business being able to do.

Now what does this have to do with anything, well the subject of this entry is actually Phase Two of my plan because over the next thirty days and beyond, I plan to reconstruct myself into an actual competitive runner. I am not planning to make the Olympics or to win a marathon, but I am planning to be able to progress with my endurance so that I don't have to experience the roller coaster ride that has been my running over the past five years.

In the past, I have written about how much I love running, and it is true because I feel that running is that one time during the day that I am truly in my own little world. (Note: Many think I am in my own little world all the time) Running provides me with a place of solitude and peace that I do not achieve at any other point during the day.

My past entries, however, have left out an convenient little detail of my current running in that when I run, I do so in constant pain. Everyday that I run, I experience pain whether it be in my shins, my knees, or other parts of my legs. Now certainly, alot of this pain has to do with the fact that I have been running since I was probably four years old when my parents used to take me to Harkness Park in Waterford, CT and race me like a greyhound dog. (I got medals, they probably got cash and cocaine) But in addition to the years of wear and tear, I am also convinced that alot of my pain has to do with the fact that I have been drinking excessively for the amount of time that I have....

You see successful running requires the consumption of an excessive amount of water in order to keep your body hydrated and to recover quicker from harder or longer workouts i.e. rehydration. As a result, if you spend most of your evenings drinking after your runs like I did, you are first and foremost not rehydrating after the run and second, dehydrating yourself further. As such, you basically eliminating the process of recovery and instead relying on trying to rehydrate by consuming whatever amount of water I infuse into my muscles during the day. Further, this course of conduct means that I sleep in a dehydrated state so that my muscles never truly recover. Therefore, I am furthering my pain when I run. Plus, instead of building a great base for running with each run, I lose any improvement by being destructive at night. It truly is a viscious cycle.

A great example is my most recent marathon where although I still managed to perform acceptably, I still proceeded to do things during my entire training that basically made it an uphill battle to perform the way I did. I have done this in the past where I have run races either hungover after a hard night of partying or raced after minimally productive and usually short training period. I do not want to train like that anymore, and I firmly believe that this part of the plan will help me avoid such problems by establishing control over how I train. (Yeah, it sounds a bit hard core or geeky but I am on a roll.)

So the plan itself is going to go as follows:

1. I am going to put the marathon that I was training for in October off for awhile. First and foremost, I will not be ready in time for this one. I mean I could actually run it, but I do not want to have to increase my mileage too quickly and thus make my self susceptible to further injury totally defeating the purpose of any ideas I have just discussed. Instead, I want to truly start this thing called running like my life from beginning as best that I can.

2. I am going to use what is referred to as the 10% plan, found here. I do not want to really explain the entire thing to you because that will be very boring, but essentially, you never increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% from the previous week's mileage i.e. 12 this week does not get to be more than 14 next week and so forth. By doing so, I will hopefully avoid potential injury, and I can begin to rebuild.

So that is that, I want to become a runner again and be able to run in the way that I know I can and have in the past.

By the way, Day 2 is done, and the weekend looms on the horizon... BRING IT ON!!!