Alameda Runners – Get After It!

Life is full of choices.  Most people who visit this site are people who choose to go do things.  Sometimes, we need to slow down and think about the consequences of our actions.  Here are two recent examples of my choices.  One good and one bad.  Neither of them are too terribly bad because I am here to talk about it.

Good Decision:
Now that winter is in full force, a lot of runners have to decide if they should run or rest because of illness.  I prefer to rest when I am sick.  I always read about the serious runners who never miss a run no matter what.  They get out and run with a fever of 102 f.  I am not a fan of running when I am really sick.  I mention this because I was not feeling well yesterday and slept for over 12 hours last night.  I got up this morning feeling a bit off but good enough to go for a run.  I got out for a 6-7 mile run with the run club and felt great afterward.

Bad Decision:
I also went out to run a marathon when I was not feeling well.  I knew I was sick, the day before the run.  I trained hard for the marathon and finally showed up for a big race healthy.  I was not healthy but I was not injured either.  At mile 22, I ran out of gas.  When the paramedic tried to check my blood sugar by pricking my finger, he could not get any blood.  I asked him how many times that has happened to him.  He told me it was the first time.  He then proceeded to tell me that my body was shutting down from the extremities in, that was why I could not run or walk any more.  Perhaps, I should have stayed in bed on this day.

I tend to err on the side of “Just do it”.  I knew that I should have stayed in bed on marathon day.  I chose to run and had a predictable race result.  Having your body start its shutdown process is not a good idea.  At least there was a lot of support on the marathon course.

In both cases, I knew what I should do.  My body tells my subconscious what is right or wrong.  Unfortunately, my conscious does not always listen.  Pay attention to your subconscious and rest when you need it.  I want you to come back and read my blog again.  I also like it when you complain about me not writing enough.

The new year is here.  I hope everyone is working on their base training for the next running season.

Upcoming races:
Coyote Hills (Fremont) – 1/28/12.  This is the biggest race of the year for alamedarunners.com.  We will be out in force for our local run.  Come join us, we will be out there rain or shine.  Sign up early because this one sells out.

Oakland Running Festival – 3/25/12.  I will be there leading the 2:15 group again for the half marathon.  Unfortunately, my photographer moved to Pennsylvania so we will not have a nice photo page this year.  I have my training plan here.  If you have any questions about the training plan, send me a message through the contact us link above.

I will be doing other events throughout the year.  These are my big two for the winter.  I will be out taking pictures at some Brazen events and riding my bike all over Northern California in preparation for the triathlon season.

I have been hitting the weights pretty hard in an attempt to build up my strength.  I am always sore from my sessions in the weight room.  It is amazing how quickly you can add weight to your sets in the weight room.  I am getting stronger and the time off from running is letting my legs heal.  It is nice to go out for a run and not be in pain.  I have been sticking with the off season training plan  and adding some P90X sessions in at night to keep things interesting.