Comeback Advice

Kootenay Runner wrote:

Comeback Dude - how did your week go?

So today marks the start of Week 3 of "The Comeback" (let's keep it dramatic - it's fun, right?). Had a heck of a past few days since my last post. I am for the most part on a 7 day work schedule right now, and with other family obligations etc. over the weekend it was all I could do just to fit a couple of runs in (especially as sore as I am). I've found over the past week since I made the OP that about the only time I have to truly put my attention towards this thread happens during my work day when I have a bit of time to myself. There is just too much going on and too many other obligations in my life right now, but that's also why making this comeback attempt is so interesting to me. Don't get me wrong though, I would definitely not classify myself as a workaholic (girlfriend might beg to differ). If anything, I feel like I'm just catching up a bit from an underachieving phase throughout my 20s. I want balance in my life, but after a decade of too much alcohol (still dealing with this, just being real) and lack of progression through life, I feel like I've got some scores to settle before I can let off the throttle.

In addition to a couple of shorter recovery type runs since I last posted, I did my longest run thus far in this period - just short of an hour - Saturday evening. Felt great, and figured out a little trick too. Ran with the aforementioned girlfriend (who is in better shape than I), and thus didn't feel the pressure to overly push the pace and was able to just get back more to the joy of simply running again. When you take a long break, it's amazing how you can forget the feeling and procrastinate on just doing it again (geez, did not mean to reference Nike there). Not only do I think the reduced pace will be beneficial for my comeback (as many of you have pointed out), but it was also an excellent way to get in some quality time with the significant other while also knocking out the run. Time management has not been one of my strong suits in the past, so these little details are significant to me.

Again had some early morning obligations today so I will need to get in a run this evening. To Kootenay Runner above, I appreciate your posts, and all others' as well. The articles were nice in that I am a bit worried about my achilles (and my knee, too, has acted up in the past day as "start here" referenced), and the dude from GB is certainly an inspiration. Still trying to iron out my supplemental routine, I think I have something that will work for now in that it basically ensures I'm moving all parts of my body on a daily basis. I'm about as sore as I've been in a few years but besides my knee nothing feels at all like it's approaching injury. My achilles and shins have been problem spots in the past so I'm closely monitoring these. Really need to cut down on the alcohol, I don't want to make this too personal but I know that it's only hurting the recovery (among other things). Diet is pretty decent, but I can't say that about the full past decade. There are obviously some very strong opinions (and some evidence, maybe?) out there regarding diet but with this, I keep a very open mind and mostly listen to my body. The only real success I've had in completely quitting drinking was when I did that whole gallon of water a day thing that was a trend for whatever reason, anybody have any real experience with this? When I did it recently, a gallon of water a day wasn't really that difficult for me because I feel like I was already wired for consuming a lot of water from the old days when two-a-days during the summer were common.

All in all, I'm still feeling pretty good about this comeback. I will admit that my body is starting to feel broken down a bit and the life obligations are starting to weigh in, and above all the novelty of it is starting to fade some. I mean, I'm running this damn half regardless because I already paid $100 for it, but clearly I'm also trying to turn it into something else. I've mentioned in previous posts that I wrote all of this here seeking the knowledge and experience of others. You guys have returned this in kind, and I am grateful. I will take what I have learned thus far and apply it, and continue to build on it. Like I said earlier, I think there is a market for ex-runners, particularly those like me who are attempting to use it as a vehicle to regain traction in their lives and make their own mark on the world. I would like to help in that, if I can. Call it conceited or naive or attention-seeking if you want to, but thus far it has been pretty humbling to me. Maybe, just maybe, chronicling this journey will help some. I don't know. For me, it has more to do with adopting responsibility. Thanks again for all of the input, I really do appreciate it.

I went back and searched for this thread on purpose, because I was curious how things were going for you. You've got a great attitude, the right approach, and I wish you only the best. I know there's a lot of sophomoric garbage on this site sometimes (all the time), but there is also genuine support, and I'm pleased to see that you found it.

Please share more updates at some point. I'm pulling for you.

- guy in Anchorage who ran a 3:03 marathon in 1999 at age 18, did some other things in the interim, nordic skied a whole lot, never came within 20min of that marathon time again, is getting back into running more seriously himself

Hey rojo.

There is NO CHANCE:

1)

2) I am sorry about that.

3) Please stop it.

Dude, set realistic goals or you will explode.

50 pounds heavier and a decade older does not makes you faster.

Get slowly in shape first without getting injured and run an okay HM first before going for lofty goals. But since you just 30 you might get to a good pace again if you eat and train right.

Good luck.

Don’t call it a comeback

CD - hope you're still out there reinventing yourself. I'm in the middle of week 20 right now. Still a ways to go to where I've been at before and not sure if I can even get there but definitely going to do my best to find out. It can be a bit of a haul.

Hi guys,

It's been a minute. Writing all of my thoughts out in my previous posts ended up kick-starting a deeper reflection process of sorts, and I realized I needed to fight some personal demons.

In the past month I've taken about as hard of an accounting of my current life situation as I could manage, and three solid goals emerged:

1) Cut out alcohol. I put this at #1 for a reason, as it has become a serious problem. Take, for instance, the fact that I didn't feel I could have made any of the previous posts I made in this thread without having a couple drinks first. And those were generally made mid to late morning, in the middle of my work day. Not even taking into account the health, social, and legal ramifications of excessive drinking, can you imagine working outside all day in 90+ degree weather, getting your miles in either before or afterwards, all while drinking the whole time? Stupid. Two weeks ago I ran 6 miles at 90 degrees, after a 12 hour day of work in the heat, and I had consumed two bottles of wine throughout the day. Beyond stupid. Not to mention the fact that the girl I want to propose to is about to dump me over it. And I wouldn't blame her. So cut out alcohol. Needs to happen before something forces it to happen.

2) Reclaim my 30-year-old body. Somewhat related to goal #1, the focus here is more on what I've talked about in my previous posts. No matter what I do in life, running always comes calling back. It feels like I have unsettled business to attend to. Not only do I want to recover overall physical wellness again, but I want to push it to the edge. I just finished reading Running With The Buffaloes again for probably the fifth time, and it's got me a little jacked up (not the alcohol, for once).

3) Become more productive at work. Become a true professional. The previous two goals will greatly help in this. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I own a small landscape company with two other business partners. One is a lifelong friend who I ran XC with in high school and went to college with. The other is my cousin. Plenty of familiarity to go around. This goal speaks for itself.

I'm not coming back to say I've won this battle. I doubt I ever fully will, or that I'm even supposed to - it seems to me like I address one issue, and another arises. But I can tell I become better in the process, whereas if I don't address it at all everything becomes worse. What I'm saying is, I find it impossible to plateau or level off. Don't get me wrong - there are certain standards that need to be hit that you can't dip below, but once those are accounted for anything goes. And I've been at bare minimum for awhile now. I mean that in a relative sense, and keep in mind that I'm not complaining. I'm in the camp that believes I'm exactly where I'm at 100% because of me (It's funny how that can sound almost noble if you're in a real low place, but if you're in a real high place it sounds ungrateful). I have an awesome support system around me that I am grateful for, but my point is that it is completely up to me what I do with it.

But back to the original reason for me creating this thread - my running comeback. Turns out it's all a little more intertwined than I gave it credit for, but nevertheless running has been the one thing that actually has been consistent since I made the OP. I haven't really increased my mileage at all, but the pace has considerably dropped while the effort has remained the same. Just in the past few runs, I've felt that my legs have really responded. I've also dropped about 15 pounds. I'm probably going to flip it now, and hold the new paces I'm achieving steady while increasing the distances. Another interesting note from my racing days is that I always remember my HR and breathing never being an issue, it was always my legs that limited me. Any thoughts on that? I remember hating intervals, being indifferent towards long runs, and loving tempo/ threshold work. The tempo runs were the runs I would crush, particularly in XC season. Also, the most I've ever run in a week is maybe 65 miles, so I feel there is some untapped potential there (only did XC for two seasons in high school, ran track for all four years).

This is a hell of a post to make after over a month off, but hey if anybody is still following I wish you guys the best in your own endeavors. I'm going to keep at it, or as Kootenay Runner said, keep reinventing myself. It's interesting to me that this has turned into more of a life comeback, and the fact that it's funneled through a running comeback just makes it all the better.