Proud Daddy!

Well, it's not everyday you get a first. Not just any first but one that brings tears to your eyes. My family went up to Wolf Mountain over the weekend so my daughters could ski for the first time. It has taken a little time to talk them into it but Saturday night they agreed to go.

We enrolled them in some lessons which ended up being private lessons (bonus). You could see the excitement but it was over shadowed by nervousness for sure. Aspen (my 3 year old) was first. I took her to her instructor-who was amazing, and Aspen needed about 5 or 6 hugs and some kisses and I love yous to get her going.

Next up was Sami (12 year old daughter), I took her to her instructor who was equally amazing and she was off!

As I peaked at them and saw them from the lift, I am not sure I could have been more proud. They were skiing! Lots of emotions filled their old man that's for sure. Melony and I hit the slopes until lunch and went back to collect our kids. They were having a blast. After lunch, they wanted more. Melony and I took turns skiing with them down the hill by the "magic carpet".

When we were about to leave, they both were disappointed and wanted to stay. That's my girls!

A proud day I will never forget!

As for me, the training is very slow and go. Swimming twice a week and trying to start running again. The Achilles isn't healed but it is tolerating under 5 miles. So my Buffalo plans are changing. Every year i have improved my time by 41 minutes, then 24 minutes and this year I will be hoping to run just to be out with friends and family. The year isn't going anywhere to what I planned so we will see whats next.

Progress is Progress

Well I haven't ran for 1 week. At my Dr. visit last week he prescribed me some meds and gave me lifts and patches to wear. My Achilles hasn't felt this good since last July. I am hoping it isn't false hope. I will run on it tonight. Slow and easy. Missing Moab really stung! Next is Buffalo on March 28th. Only doing the 25k so that should get me a good start. With all this damn snow, I may need snowshoes for the race. In the pool I am improving and still going twice a week. I just can't seem to figure it out though. Pretty frustrating but I can definitely feel the workout!

Tomorrow, Thursday February 19th, is the 4 year mark of the passing of my father. I sure do miss him. I wasn't running ultra's back then but I definitely feel him with me on my runs and races. He sure would have loved it himself. So tomorrow I will break my diet so I can have his favorite meal. It was like his desert. I will have a big fat cheeseburger, fry and chocolate shake. It may send my body into a tail spin but it will be more than worth it. To you dad, I miss you and love you !

Happy Anniversary to me.

Well today is my 5 year wedding anniversary! Lucky for me my wife has put up with me for that long. The lease is up and I am hoping she wants to keep me. I am pretty lucky, as many of you runners (and others) know, its really hard to do this thing without support, maybe even impossible. Thank you Melony, I love you!
On a side note, went to a Podiatrist yesterday and got a check up on the Achilles. So now I wear heal lifts, wear a patch on the area and am taking a steroid! Not anabolic so I don't need to worry about MLB testing, not that they would care. I am still pretty frustrated to I am keeping an appointment with a Orthopedic next week. I was told running was bad, really? I also hit the pool today and had my best workout yet, must be the adrenaline from my anniversary. Sad to say i will not be running Moab Saturday, very disappointed. This race helped get me through winter. Next up Buffalo run (I hope).
Good Luck to all in Moab this weekend. Keep your eye on Justin Ricks in the 50k. Good Luck to all my friends I train with!

Getting old.

It is getting old. I put in a solid run last night but the Achilles was in bad shape. I don't know what to do or what is going on. I am doing everything "by the book" and it seems like it is getting worse. I don't know if I am causing more damage or I just need to learn to deal with pain. I have heard so much about Achilles injuries and lengths of rehab but after 3 months of nothing and it still isn't better concerns me.
I got up his morning and braved the snow fall at 5:30 am, hit the pool and put in some laps. Swimming doesn't bother the Achilles at all which is no surprise but I want to run in the mountains. I set an appointment for a podiatrist tomorrow (wed) so I hope to get some answers. All I need know is what's going on. Ease my mind. I am missing Moab this weekend but I really want to be ready for Buffalo. I love the race and love the 25k. I am really hoping to get answers tomorrow. This is just getting old and frustrating.

Update

Well, its time to start posting a little bit more. I wanted to wait until things started to become more consistent. Right now I am swimming on Tues and Thurs. mornings and running 4 days a week. I am taking one day off a week. The miles are huge but the Achilles won't let me get into any sort of rhythm. Unfortunately I will be skipping the Moab race this year so my first race will be Buffalo run in March. After that, i am hoping to run the Spring Desert Ultra in April but time will tell. So far it seems my comfort of running hits a wall at about 7 miles at a 8:35 pace. For me that isn't bad and I don't want to go to far and risk re injuring the Achilles. Currently I am just playing it by pain. The swelling is there everyday as well as the lap around the kitchen every morning to loosen it up.
Good news, the PI-Smith team is really looking good. Lots of quality races for these amazing athletes. The new kits look fantastic and of course the PI stuff is first class.
My wife is tinkering withe the idea of running the 5 mile race at Spring Desert and i am very proud of the miles she is putting in. Before you know it she will be faster than her old hubby.
Expect more up to date posts and hopefully more miles.

Everyone outta the pool!

Whew! So today I tackled something not so new but very daunting. Swimming! So apparently you can't just jump in and go. I met my friend Duane (triathlete) at 6am for a swim. About the only thing I got right was I had goggles. The first day was all about breathing. Yes breathing. I would have never thought...breathing. Talk about tough. One thing I am fortunate for is Duane. He was incredibly helpful and very patient. I am guessing if he wasn't there things wouldn't have worked out so well. In fact, I bet the life guard would have jumped in to try and save me- not because I was drowning but because it looked like I was drowning. After a little over an hour in the pool I started to feel more comfortable and with a few more tweaks, practice and gear- I may have a chance to look a little more graceful and not use so much energy. All in all it was an incredible workout.
Next Tuesday will be part 2 of "Manners in the pool".

Slowly but surely.

It's been awhile since I posted but there hasn't been a whole lot going on. I have decided the Achilles issue will be there and I just need to be smart and take care of it while I run. The past few weeks I have put in some good running and I actually feel pretty good. The mileage isn't huge but I want to make sure I don't push it too hard too fast. I have a fun year lined up and want to stay as healthy as possible so I am preaching patience.
I am excited to race in my new Pearl Izumi shoes. They are the best shoes I have ever worn!
The team is really taking shape and the new kits look great. Visit us at http://www.teampearlizumi-smith.com/ and enter the contest to win some Smith glasses.
I will get better at posting my mileage and stuff but in the mean time, take a look at the Team site and help us out...we need a catch phrase.