Dec 15- Day 30 of 30 Runs for 30 days

And so ends (almost) another crazy experiment in how to ruin ones body!

I met Mike Cheliak this summer while playing 'Race Announcer' for a couple of the HSBC Tri weekends. Crazy, fun, big guys who ended up adopting Puppy Puppy from us.

About a month ago, Mike came up with this crazy idea of running 30 runs for 30 days. He tossed the idea up on Facebook and I saw it, his buddy Ted and his sister saw it. 4 people without the common sense to say "That's a dumb idea". Nov 15 we started. We all updated each other by adding onto the Facebook thread.

What a ride. I started out actually 2 days early and was shocked at how hard it was to run. Was I just out of shape? I hadn't done much at all since Ironman in late July. Was it the altitude? We're at a bit over 5000 feet above sea level. Just about exactly 1 mile up. Hummm - the mile high club with a different twist!

I did a bit of Google searching and found a few articles on running at altitude. If I have it right, it seems that at 5000' one can expect to loose about 10% of their ability. The blood thickens and it's much harder to get the oxygen that we need. I don't know if I'm glad I read that or not. I instantly felt better about myself and how hard it was to run, but then it quickly became an excuse for me too. The things I read said that one will feel like superman if they race at low altitude again shortly after returning. I can't wait for that one!

I worked my way up to 10k at a somewhat reasonable time last weekend. Actually, the 56 minute 10k was a great time for me! (I always remember my abilities much greater than they really are!)

I thought for the last 10 days I'd increase the distance by 1k, and not really think about speed at all. That lasted for a few days (as the chart on the right shows) but quickly I ran out of steam and ran the last couple of days at much shorter (recovery of sorts) distances.

I felt like running 21k shouldn't be that big a deal for me. I've raced a half dozen half marathons before and run, God knows how many 21k training runs in the past. For some reason I was nervous though.

I headed out this morning after a good breakfast, loaded with 2 litters of E-Load water, and the last 3 Gels that I could buy here. (Power Bar gels are crap aren't they? Who decided that 'Oh yea - this taste is great" Man oh man I can't stand that stuff. (Dear God - please open a Gu store within a days drive of here for me!)

I had a knot in my right calf from the get go. It lasted almost 5k into the run. I ran over to the town of Chapala along the highway. The highway is the only road that isn't 200 year old cobblestone, so it's easier to run on. It's about 7k to Chapala but, in town, there is a paving stone boardwalk along the waterfront that runs about 1.8k return. I did that 5 times and headed back. I watched my pace decrease slowly from about the 12 - 13k mark.

By the time I got back to Ajijic, our home town here and the start/finish line, I was bushed. The last 4 - 5k had turned from just going at whatever slow pace I could to, Holy Crap - I'm going to puke and pass out! I go to my start point to see I was still about 40 meters short. I'd added a couple of return laps along the way so that once I hit the start, I'd be done. Event hat idea didn't work out. I turned and ran back a bit more to put in the distance. Heaven forbid I'd be short by a few feet!

I walked back home, about .5k and had the only 2 packages of E-Mend that I'd brought with me. (Will someone tell Dr Doug that he needs to open a store here too please!)

The finish of this experiment for me is going to be taking a couple of days off, doing a couple of short runs and then something long a quick. Does running endlessly for a month build muscle, endurance and speed, or, did it just knock the crap out of me? I'll let you know.

Thanks to everyone who send good luck wishes along the way for me!

Oh yea - almost forgot to mention that I posted the totals from the month at the bottom of the table at the right.

Saturday Dec 12 Update

The weeks seem to fly past quicker every week. I guess we're settling into a routine. I'm not sure I'm entirely happy about that. I like to be adventurous, but, at the same time, it's nice to take it easy and relax too. "It is what it is" I guess!

I decided to push the heck out of myself for the last 10 days of the '30 days and 30 runs' I've been doing with Lynne, Mike and Ted back home. I pushed a pretty good time (for me) on a 10k run last weekend and thought I'd add 1k a day and then do 21 on the last day of the 30.

Where do these idea's come from, and how can I keep them there! I did reasonably well for most of the week. I skipped 13k because, well, 13 is unlucky. I watched my pace stay close to the same every day as I added more distance. I ran further and further into the town of Chapala. On Thursday, I hit the fence. (not to be confused with hitting the wall) View Run. A 15k out and back is all I can do along that route. The road at the far end dead ends at a fence.

Friday I did my 16k run by doing the same route, but cutting back and forth at a few spot sot make up the extra 1k.

Today was something else though. I was missing something when I headed out to start the run. Energy - yea, that's what's missing. A can of Red Bull didn't help either. I started running and remembered that my right leg, calf and hamstring were tight. They were tight the day before, but had loosened up after a couple of kilometres. I got to the 5.25k mark today and they were still tight. My energy level was dropping fast, my chest hurt, my leg, my foot . . . . you name it, it hurt.

I'm not sure if I was sending too much time thinking about the total mileage for this week that I'd done (90 as of today). I thought about the last month and how close we are to the end. I thought about this stupid toenail that STILL hasn't completely fallen off since Ironman and how it bites into the toe. (Isn't 4 months a long time for a nail to drop off?) Obviously, I was just thinking about all the wrong stuff. I turned back at the 5.25 mark, did a bit of a back and forth near the end and ended up running 12k today instead of the 17k I was planning on doing.

Tomorrow's another day. 3 runs left. The initial plan calls for a 18k, 19k and then a final 21k. Hummmm - 2k short of 150k in 10 days . . . . . Hummmmm :-)

Sunday update:

How do you tell when you're being a suck, or when you are making the 'msart' move? That's always the tough question for me.

I really wanted to run 1k a day more every day for 10 days but, I didn't make it happen.

I dragged my sorry ass out of bed this morning. Checked my email, looked that the weather channel, CNN, Toronto Star, Globe and Sun, long term weather forecast for here. I managed to waste an hour and a half and I still didn't want to go and run.

Maybe all this was like a "Message from God" - "You're tired Greg. You need to rest a bit. Go and jog a nice slow even paced 5k and just keep those tired old leg muscles loose!"

Well, who the heck am I to argue with God? OK big guy - you and me and a slow 5k coming up.

Off I went, back out along the back roads to San Antonio. If I'm not going to run far, at least it can sound like it is!.

Oh My God. That knot in my hamstring turned instantly into a burning ball in the back of my leg. My back felt stiff. I couldn't get a good breath. At the 1k mark I looked down to see I was running a 7 minute pace. My pace always stows down over time. I CAN"T do 5k at 7:00 mpk. I picked up the pace a bit, then a bit more. I ran through San Antonio and out the far side to the 2.5k mark where I turned around. 6:40 pace at that point. I totally forgot about running slow and easy to recover a bit from the last 28 days of running. I ended up back at the ranch with an average pace of 6:20.

This is the first time I've ever looked at the Garmin data (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/20478030) and seen every split be faster than the one before!

I'm a bit disappointed that I'm not going to clock all the mileage I'd originally planned to do but, I'm back home and I'm no where near as exhausted as I have been after the last few runs. My legs are loosened up, but not killing me like they have been.

I think I'm going to do about the same run tomorrow, then go for my second chiropractor appointment, take it easy for the rest of the day and see what sort of time I can get on Tuesday, Day 30 of 30 ending with a 21k run.

(I think sleeping in Wednesday is going to be delicious!)

Sunday Dec 6 - Lynne Update

Well our life here in Ajijic and on Ranch el Rosario is starting to unfold as is evidenced by the fact that we seem to have more to do now than updating the Blog.

Last Sunday, we drove to Guadalajara and did a bit of exploring. We didn't find the Tlaquepaque which is what we were looking for but ended up in an enormous mall that could rival any American one and it felt like we were home especially when we saw Santa Claus and heard the Christmas Carols over the sound system. There was a Chili's and an Applebees and we could have been anywhere in the States or Canada.

We also found the Center of town with it's beautiful Church and square and was a bit more in keeping with our taste. We will do more research and return to Guadalajara soon.

I'd like to report that other than a giant cucaracha on our bedroom curtain, there have been no more animal births or deaths in recent days.

Greg does a few hours of web work each day and I have managed to plug into the spritual community here. I've been to couple of Course in Miracles meetings and a couple of Science of Mind meetings. I've been meeting lots of good people. Greg even came with me to a Gratitude Service on Friday night and although it's not his thing, he was a very good sport about it. It was in a private home that is the most beautiful home I've ever seen, built in a U around a lush garden and pool and all the walls of the rooms are open to the garden. Someone told me this is a true Hacienda style home.

New neighbours arrived last week. Kay and Paul, a lovely couple from Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia and this is their third year staying on the ranch. New people to play dominoes with.

I was very excited this morning when Greg tried to shower and realized there was no hot water. I went out and found Ramon and said....L'agua en el bano es frio. He understood and got the problem resolved in no time. No pantomime and no sign language. I got the message across in Spanish.

Today we treated ourselves to massages at a place called "The Hidden Garden." I haven't felt that relaxed in weeks and I will definitely return. After my massage I had a half hour before my Course in Miracles Meeting and I went to the town square and sat on a bench and just watched the activity. I was awed by una mujere who turned a simple mango into a flower on a stick, like a popsicle, but better for you. They sell all kinds of fruit and veggies in the square in plastic containers to munch on instead of junk food. And the plastic containers are good for capturing those cucarachas I mentioned earlier.

We went to the Chapala Society, the other day to join. It is a Gringo organization that plans events, has a library and many Spanish classes and is in a gorgeous park like setting. It's where I do my yoga. We started chatting with Howard Feldenberg from Rochester N.Y. He's running for president and was shmoozing us. He asked me if I was Jewish (damn it, I thought I didn't look the part) and his friend came over and they invited me to services at the 'Gogue. There is a chapel (reform) in the town of Chapala....which is to Ajijic what Newmarket is to Aurora. He also invited us to the Chanukah party for Latkes.....we will definitely go to that.

Tomorrow morning we are going to something at the Chapala Society called "Open Circle". They serve coffee and someone speaks about their life. The only restriction is that your story has to be inspirational and uplifting. The guy who is speaking tomorrow is David about the stroke he had 10 years ago in his 40's that left him totally paralyzed and unable to function and his eventual return to total functionality. It should be an interesting story. I've met the guy as he comes to the Science of Mind meetings.

Yesterday Greg and I had the most wonderful lunch in a restaurant in yet another "secret garden." He had something called a Mojeta (not to be confused with a Mojeto which is some kind of fancy drink) which is shrimp and cheese and avocado done in a Lava pot and it looked delcious. I had a Caesar salad cause I'm boring. The waiter was lovely and he practised his English and me my Spanish and we had a few good laughs.

Life is good. I feel like we're finding a bit of a groove for ourselves. Yippeee.

And Jordan and Sara will be here in two weeks and two days. Yay!

"Life" on the Ranch

I think Lynne and I really lucked out when we stumbled upon this ranch that we're staying at. When we were still in the hotel, we;d figured we needed to find something quickly, so we could take anything that was OK that we tripped over for a couple of months and that would give us time to find something we really liked.

We'll, we've been looking around at other houses over the last week or so. There are lots of nice houses. There are lots of nice communities but, this place is like living in the cottage on wildlife preserve park.

The grounds are impeccable. The Mexican families (3 I think) that look after the place live at the far end of the grounds. THey are always cutting the grass, trimming the bushes, cleaning the houses or, playing with their kids and the animals.

I think it's the animals that make this place so special. There are dogs and cats and chickens all over the place. Not overrunning the place, but I nice bunch around.

The cat had kittens just before we got here. I'm not sure how many, but we see two or three every once in while. There are a few chickens and roosters. the roosters were walking us up every morning when we first got here. I guess we're used to them now. I never hear them anymore.

Dogs: Two German Sheppard's, Samson and Delilah. I miss puppy so I've made friends with these two dogs. Milk Bones help! There is a sprinkling of other small dogs too. Most looking a little mattie Dogs seem to be looked upon as livestock more than family pets that are pampered and brushed.

One of the hens hatched 11 chicks about a week ago. She's a funny looking hen with feathers on her head that make her look like she's got a hat on. Now we watch her walk around the grounds with these little chicks in hot pursuit!

Delilah was barking and barking the other night. I couldn't figure out why no one went our to shut her up. The next morning we found out that she'd had 8 puppies that night. She's crawled under one of the bushes here and practically made a nest for her and her babies.

There is only one other couple renting a place here at the moment. We understand that the other 8 units will fill up in December and JAnuary. In the meantime, all this 'life' on the ranch is great to be a part of it.

Thursday - Short Run and US "Turkey Day"

I had a terrible sleep last night. I'm behind in some work I need to get done. I guess that was on my mind. The dog barking in the background for an hour didn't help the situation.



i tossed and turned for a while, then got up and did some work for about an hour and a half. The mistake I made was going back to bed and sleeping for a bit before I got up again to run. I felt really crappy when I woke up that time. The only good part was that I got some work done. I don't know if my customer will even notice, but at least I know it's done and it's right!



Lynne was already out running when I got up. She came back just as I was heading out the door.



I took my time running into San Antonia, and then kicked it up a notch on the way back. I had an average pace of 6:20 at the half way mark, but ended with a 6:03.



I can't wait to see how the pace changes when the chiropractor loosens up this hip next Monday.



We made an appointment on Monday with a realtor to show us some rental properties here. We were to meet at 10:00 am and he was to have a list of places to show us. We walked in his door at 9:59, and was met by one of his co-workers who explained that Jorge had car trouble but would be in later. He was going to take us out.


We looked at a place at the other side of town that, if we were interested in buying would have been great. It needed all new furniture and a paint job. The back garden was gorgeous. 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, bright big kitchen. $750.00 a month rent. Yup, if we were buying it would be great; but we;re not buying. We have no interest in buying furniture or decorating a rental property.


He took us over to another location, but the owner said we couldn't see it until after Dec 1. He drove us back to the office and told us Jorge was there now.

Yup, he was, but was finishing off a deal with some other clients whom I suspect were the reason he couldn't meet us. He kept us waiting for 15 minutes, (a life time in my world) and then explained he'd make some calls and set some appointments. (I thought that was what he was going to do between the time we first met him and then came back of our appointment.) Lynne and I left and did a little grocery shopping and went back in 30 minutes to meet him again.



He explained where a property was, what the unit number is,a and who we should meet in an hour or so.



We'll go look this afternoon but, I think Jorge translates from Spanish to English to be "Turkey". I guess, as it's Turkey Day in the US, we had to have some turkey in our life today too.


We're done with Jorge!

Day 10 - Recovery Run & Dentist Report

Today's run was an easy one. I'd decided before I left the house that I was going to take it really easy and . . . . I succeeded!

I ran our to San Antonio to where they told me the Chiropractors office is. I turned around when I found the address and jogged back.

I had to purposely NOT look at my Garmin. I knew if I did, I'd see the low heart rate and the really slow pace and push myself. I'm pretty sure that running every day for 30 days with no days off for muscle recovery isn't a really good thing to do, but I said I would and I will. No where did we say we have to be faster or longer every day!

I was a few blocks from the house when I saw Lynne running towards me. She turned when we met up. We jogged together for a bit. I kept going when she stopped to walk for a bit. I was surprised at how well she did and how much she ran. I think that was her first time out in months. "YEA LYNNEEEEE"

Back home for a quick shower and then out for market day. We got lots of fresh veggies, fresh flowers and some really fresh Smarties and Jube Jubes! Got to love market day.

There was an open house almost beside where we live so, we stopped in and looked around. That got us in the mood so we headed out in the car to check on mail and then some more open houses. The mail got sent tout to us about 10 days ago now, but nothing has arrived yet. thanks God for online banking and payments or we'd be cut off from everything before we even got the bill! Humm, come to think of it, we haven't actually seen a piece of mail since the end of September when we left home!

We drove a bit and found some more open houses. i'm not sure why we're looking. The market is pretty dry here and I think we'd be nuts to take our money out of our investments at home and buy a house here, even if they are so much cheaper. We looked at a 3400 sq ft house here today for $235,000. and then a little 1200 sq ft place for $109,000.

Lynne's temporary crown seems to be fine. We . . . well, she, gets the final crown on Friday. We circled back to the Chiropractors office (through the big black garage doors, through ANOTHER amazing yard) and got an appointment for Monday. I can't wait to not feel this hip and shoulder!

It feels a bit cooler here today. I just checked our weather and saw that it's only 19 degrees - then I checked the weather online at home.

Sorry guys!

Slow Run and Dentist

I went for a very interesting run this morning. I felt like a million bucks yesterday and was considering doing a 17k (I think it is) loop from Ajijic to Chapala.

I leapt out of bed with a Charlie Horse in the middle of the night. Lynne and I had an appointment at 10:00 to look at a bigger house to possibly rent and . . . . I just didn't feel like that long a run this morning.

Truth be known, I didn't feel like a run at all this morning but far be it from me to not finish this damn 30 day running thing I'm doing with a couple of folks back home. The 30 day facebook challenge I think I'm going to call it. The four of us are checking in daily on how we're doing.

Anyway, out I went heading towards Chapala. Chapala is the next large town east of us. I'd run that direction the other day but turned around at the 5k mark. I'd set out that day for a 10k run. Today, I kept going into town. I got just about to the center of town when I hit the 6k mark.

I'd also hit the wall. Bang, there I was, just about ready to sit down and call Lynne for a ride home. Instantly I went from feeling good to "Holy carp - I'm done!"

Unfortunately, I was 6k from home with an appointment in an hour to get too.

I did a bunch of walking on the way back. I played a game for a bit of walking 50 steps then running 50, then walk 40 and run 60, run 35, run 165. It's funny the crap I come up with to take my mind off the fact that I really would like to lay down under a tree and have a little nap!

i played with that "Your slowest run is quicker than your fastest walk" idea for a while and jogged slowly for a while.

2.5k left - 2k - 1.7 - "I can do anything for 1.7". 500 meters and eventually got to the wailing wall. There's a wall at the side of the highway where I start and stop. I hang off it for a bit at the end of every run and try to catch my breath again. I seem to always try to make up for lost time during that last 500 meters.

It practically kills me every time.

We're off to the dentist for Lynne this morning. We're both a bit nervous . . . . she more than I!