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The triumphant return of the running gorilla

The last two weeks have really sucked., to put it bluntly, they sucked hard.  I was doubting that completing the marathon was possible, and I was really down about the injury and with limited time left, anxiety had started to set in over the ability of me recovering in time to take advantage of the last half of the training schedule.

I was in New York/ New Jersey this weekend,  which meant a solo run instead of with the team.    Just me, my iPod and a water bottle.  I figured at the very least I would get 4 or 5 miles in, and due to my negative attitude over the entire thing honestly felt that I wouldn’t get much more.

Well, mile 5 came and went, as did 6 and 7.  No pain in my legs other than the usual cobweb removal at the beginning and once in a while a twitch or so.  The run was going smoothly, and my confidence that all this was possible started to build back up.  The weather was pleasant, the sun was out, and the park I was doing laps around started to fill up with people.  I don’t know if on the outside I was grinning, but inside I was ear to ear ecstatic over the fact that I am back.

So, the run.  All 13.3 miles of it, was made happy and done with very little pain because by damn, all those little doubts were disappearing.   As I ended the run a funny thing happened, I just couldn’t stop running, I had to slow down and crawl for a bit like a train slowly rolling into the station.   Once I did stop to sit down and drink some water followed with a few little stretches  I stood up and my legs let me know that yes, they had just carted a 270 pound gorilla 13.3 miles and they weren’t necessarily happy with the prospect of having to actually move again.  So I hobbled back to where I was staying, and yes it was painful.  But unlike two weeks ago, it was a very deserved happy pain.

As I iced I realized that my calf muscles, which were stinging and screaming, somewhat resembled two sacs of jello, they were completely loose, I don’t know that I have ever felt them so loose before.  Yet again I was smiling, it’s a bit twisted perhaps, but there is just something fantastic about running past your limits, no matter how menacing the small amount of pain that comes afterwards feels, or the fact that some parts of your body look like someone took a meat tenderizer to them.

I think also that this was the first glimpse into what running this distance is going to feel like.  I have to admit that at a healthy state I have never run for such a distance that my body felt completely wrecked afterwards.  And while I didn’t feel completely wrecked after this, it did take a good hour of icing and relaxing before I felt somewhat back to normal.   So after icing and resting a bit I was back up and at it.   Even the next day I was able to walk normally after a few blocks of  stretching it out.  And the bits that are overly sore are not the injured bits.  So yes folks, I’m on the mend.

Over all I am extremely happy with being back and being able to complete the run with the injury seemingly in check.  I think that the injury worried me more than I should have let it, and the moral to the story is you have to do, not think about doing or not doing because you are afraid, but just get out there do.

Hopefully this thinking will help me get back on track for the rest of the training.  This upcoming Saturday is a 16 miler, and we are getting oh so close to Marathon day, 7 weeks ahead, so here’s to it folks.

Remember to tell those that you love them that you do.

And if you’d like to contribute to the Team in Training cause I am running this for, please visit this site for more information

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/boston12/briebeek

February 22, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment »

The good and the bad

The bad….

What a depressing run today.  After a great week of working out, I assumed that I was back on top of my game and was looking forward to my 14 mile run.  Weather was good, higher 30′s and sunny outside, I didn’t even need gloves, yup, today was going to be great.

Unfortunately my body disagreed.  My leg started to twitch and hurt the beginning of mile 2.  I figured it would just work itself out and I would be fine but by the 2nd mile water stop it still hadn’t, and it was beginning to physically slow my pace.  As far as little pains go I usually just ride them out, but by mile three I was going 40 seconds slower a mile.

At the mile 4 stop I decided to stretch it out and see if running was possible.  I was going slow but figured I may be able to outrun it, so I stretched and took off hoping to get further down the road.  At the very least I wanted to get 7 miles in, a figured a 10k would be alright.  It didn’t happen, I made it another quarter mile and the pain was just getting worse so I stopped and jogged back to the center.  It may have been a good choice but it really pissed me off that I wasn’t going to run 14 miles today, especially after missing last weeks running.

I think I may have injured my I-tam.  It’s the muscle that runs from your knee to your hip, it’s apparently a big muscle to injure and one has to be very careful because if not treated right it can ruin a marathon completely.  So while stopping may have been a smart choice, it wasn’t one I happily made.

The Good….

I was pissed, I was cursing at myself and really upset that I only ran 5 miles.  I was changed, and hydrated before it dawned on me.  5 miles has become nothing in my running, to me I had barely done anything today and that 5 miles was just a warming up point.  For a former 420 pound individual to think of a 5 mile run as nothing, that’s pretty cool.  So, I am going to look at that as the sunny part of the day and go from there.

I’m really hoping that after icing it and taking it easy today that tomorrow I can get another 5 in before the Super Bowl.  Then perhaps I will feel a little bit better about the whole situation.  So go me, go Pats, and go you for reading this.

On a fundraising note, thank you again.  Ricardo got his Merch package from Pearl and the Beard this last week and I would like to thank him again, and everyone else for helping me meet my minimum.  You can still donate to the cause if you’d like, as the team itself is trying to reach $1,000,000 this year.  Currently they are around $560,000 and still going up.  And Apparently if I hit $6k I get a cool pullover thingy majigg.  So donate away if you’d still like to :)

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/boston12/briebeek

Thanks for reading, let’s hope next week goes better shall we!

Bryan

February 4, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave A Comment »

Sickness and interventions

This weekend was a depressing one.   Incredible weather, no snow, mild temperatures and a very sunny day.  Perfect for a half marathon run down the Marathon trail.  Definitely could not ask for any better late January weather for the run.  And I didn’t run, depressing indeed.

Saturday morning I woke up still coughing and wheezing.  I had promised that if that were the case I would not run the 13.1 miles and instead would rest and relax.  So I abided and figured that if I felt better Sunday I would run then.  This was actually a tough decision, I was really looking forward to this run and it really made for a bad start to the day that I wasn’t able to do so.

I tend to have the attitude that I can burn through the cough or illness, and that if I try just a little harder I will work through any injury I may have.  With this Marathon I’m working on being smarter about it, so while it really disappointed me, I think I made the right decision, for once.  Better to miss one run, then be sick and miss training and possibly another run next weekend.  At least that is what everyone keeps telling me, and while I am trying hard to convince myself of that I was still really sad not to have done it.

This disappointment really amped my desire to run Sunday.  I woke up still slightly coughing, but by noon I had convinced myself that I was well enough to do the run on a treadmill later that night.  Someone decided otherwise, and with the thanks of some other friends an intervention of sorts happened and I did not run Sunday night either.  I don’t know if that was a good or a bad thing, but I do know that I woke up this morning feeling great, so perhaps they were smart enough to keep me from wrecking the recovery.

So three things about running and training:

  1.  if you decide to be crazy and run in the snow, you probably should wear a hat. 
  2. You probably shouldn’t be crazy enough to run in the snow, but if you get sick don’t do a workout midweek to “burn” through it.  it won’t work and you’ll just get more sick.
  3. Take a weekend off, it’s not going to kill you, and it might actually do you some good.

Let’s hope lesson learned, and that going forward I will have great training sessions.  Only 76 or so days left until this marathon, and I’m still just as excited to run it!  So, here is to a fresh week of training, and a 14 mile next weekend, which I will be running hell or high water

January 30, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Breaking news….$4000 has finally been achieved!!!!

I wanted to say thank you very much to everyone that has helped me reach the minimum goal of $4000 for my marathon run.  It means a lot to me, and I’m so glad to have made it before the deadline.  Fear not oh charitable ones, you can still donate.  The team as a whole is trying for $1 million this year, and with half of the training over with, they are really close to the halfway mark.  My minimum has been met, but you can still donate if you would like.  Here’s the link:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/boston12/briebeek

And, as far running 12 miles during the first real snow storm of the year, I will never do such a thing again.  My slip and fall caused quite a bit of pain on Sunday and Monday, and I picked up a wonderful cold that started in the sinus region and now has congested my chest quite a bit.  I’m going to stick to light cross training all week, and hopefully by the end of the week I will be back on my feet.  I would hate for my sickness or injury to keep me from running the half marathon distance this Saturday.  While it was the most challenging thing I’ve done, and probably one of the coolest stories I’ll tell about this whole process, pictures included, it is definitely NOT something I will attempt again.

So, again, thank you very much everyone that contributed, I’m beside myself with gratitude and hope I do you proud come race day.

Bryan

January 24, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Snow day, oh yay!

And voila, there I be.  All covered in snow, with beardcicles hanging down.

So, let’s sum up today’s run.  I think a little song and verse will do us just fine.  Sung to the tune of “On top of old Smokey” with poetic license used and abused!

Going up Heartbreak hi-illl all covered in snow.  I did the dance of Rocky, though I had six miles to go;

On the way back do-own a tumbling I did go, I hit the ground rolling and ate lots of snow;

There was no traction, the hills were insane, but my double wide arse kept pumping away;

But I’ll be damned if I didn’t make it, 12 miles, swollen leg and all;

So take that Mr. Winter….now someone get me some ice!!!

Yup, 12 miler today, in the snow.  There was debate on whether or not they would cancel the run but I am actually glad they didn’t.  While I probably will never do it again, running 12 miles in the snow, especially up heartbreak hill was actually rather fun.  In that very challenging hit yourself with the hammer every other swing but feel good when you’re done kind of fun.

It took a lot of getting used to, running with absolutely no traction, and man did you ever fall in love once you hit actual ground and could get traction on it.   It actually felt like a mid 80′s Jaguar XJ12, see they had massive engines, were extremely heavy and rear wheel drive.  So traction on hills was non existent, and running up the hills felt like being that car.  The down side to this, is on the way back down at around mile 7 I took a spill.  At first I seemed fine, my knee kind of hurt but I seemed to shake it off no problem but unfortunately, around mile 10 my leg really started to hurt.  I had to actually stop and walk about a half mile before it felt good enough to jog it the rest of the way in.  One of the best motivators to keep going with these runs is that your ride is back at the headquarters, so you have to get there one way or the other, so I just sucked it up and hobbled in.

But all funny stuff aside, this was great.  It felt great to finish, it felt great to see others’ running as well, and it feels great that I have come so far.  Next week is the 13 miler, the unofficial half marathon.  I’m still in shock every day that I am running double digits.

And finally, fundraising wise, I am $330 dollars from the $4,000 mark, my goal is $4,500 total, but the $4,000 is what I need to raise by the end of January.  So very close with 10 days left to do it in.  Thank you all very much for your donations, this is the most money I have ever raised in this capacity and I really do appreciate every last contribution.  I promise not to let you down.

Here is the link for anyone that may want to still contribute:

http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/boston12/briebeek

Thank you all, and be safe this weekend in yer in my neck of the woods.  And remember, tell those that you love that you do.

Bryan

January 21, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

11 miles and an application; it’s official now, no turning back.

And there it is, behold.  The mighty Marathon application.  There is no turning back, it has been filled out and will be turned in next week with the rest of the paperwork.  This my friends, is reality, reminding me that yes, I just filled out the last and final bit of paperwork.  It’s true, I am running the Boston Marathon.

For the first time in almost a month, I was back running at 8am with the Team in Training group, it was an 11 miler today.  No headphones, just a steady pace and a lot of thoughts.  It’s kind of amazing what you think about when you’re running, things like what bills are due, are the Patriot’s going to win tonight, Songs keep popping in my head with beats that match my run, and I came up with a killer screenplay that probably would have taken the world by storm.  Unfortunately by mile 4 I also forgot said screenplay while thinking about something else.   I also thought about Andy a lot this go around.  He and his family are going through so much right now, but you would hardly know it as their posts on Facebook, and his overall attitude is so positive.  Sometimes I forget that I need to send him encouraging words, as he seems epically strong and not in need of them.  Which I know is not the case, so I have to work on that as he amazes me more and more each week, and I really feel that I sometimes forget to tell people these things in the moment.

I also thought about my brother.  I lost my little brother 2 years ago this Monday and it has been the most difficult thing I’ve encountered in my life, not only for me, but having to watch my parents go through the loss as well.  I thought my parents were the most amazing people before this tragedy, but now it cannot be denied.  Their strength in making sure that I’m alright, while having to deal with it themselves is an incredible testament to parenthood, and to love.  So, this 11 mile run belongs to my brother.  No matter how large me or my ego got, he would always make sure I was anchored into the ground.  We were opposites in almost every regard, and it’s been strange not having his little voice in the back of my head telling me I’m nuts when I do crazy things I probably shouldn’t do.  All I can say is love those you love, and tell them so when you can, because there will be a time, sometimes out of the blue, that you can’t.   In retrospect, I was extremely lucky, because as much as we may have gotten into it, the hippy in him refused to allow a conversation to end without some sort of love you bro, and the ever obnoxious repetition of said comment, until it was finally returned.  It used to irritate me, but now it has become yet again, one of anchors.

And didn’t mean to bring anyone down, but it IS what I have been thinking about, and this blog is about things of that nature.  So, don’t let it get you down, perhaps use it as a reminder to live and love life now, not next week.

As for the run itself, I am definitely getting a quicker pace, and going further before I start to feel the burning in my legs.  This go around I actually slowed down a bit while chatting with a fellow team member, and even though we had slowed down, miles 6-9 really sped by.  I was able to still get right under an 11 minute mile for the duration of the run and finished in under 2 hours.  So I believe that I’m still on target to run the Marathon at a 10 minute mile pace.

And as my ever present deadline for raising the $4000 minimum gets closer and closer, I am a mere $400 dollars from hitting it.  I have 17 days to do so and I believe I can make it,  I would like to thank everyone that has helped contribute either by sharing my posts and blogs with their friends, or by giving such generous donations.  Every week we meet a person who is running that at one point has gone through treatment, or has a child or relative going through it as well.   Their stories are definitely amazing and they have really brought to light what we are raising money for, and the achievements and advancements that have been made, some in part by the donations to organizations such as Team in Training.   So your donations and help are not only appreciated by me, but by a strong very supportive community as well.

If you still would like to donate, you can always go here:  http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/boston12/briebeek  and contribute.  I am definitely writing the names of all the contributors on my Jersey and if you would like me to write the name in honor of someone you can still email me.

As always, thanks for reading,

Bryan

January 14, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave A Comment »

Big 10 on a sunny day January morning

So this weather is freaking me out, 50′s yesterday, and 40′s today.  I do worry that it means we’ll get the snow later, like in April.  But let’s all hope that doesn’t happen, I’d hate to run the marathon in snow shoes.

10 miles today, and this my friends, is the most I have ever ran at one time.  I did the same route as last time, this time stopping a little after my house and walking back.  Pace was slightly quicker actually, and all miles were in the 10 minute range.  It’s amazing how quickly the body adapts to what you put it through, when you put it through it correctly.  I’m hoping that by marathon time I will be able to run most of the miles in the lower 10 minute range.

The Charles river was beautiful this morning, and I wasn’t surprised at how busy the sidewalks were with bikers and other runners enjoying this odd weather.  I wanted to stop for a picture, and perhaps I should have, but I was kind of in a zone, you get a lot of thinking done when you’re running for almost 2 hours, and I was having a very therapeutic think-fest as i was running the river this morning.

During the week we have started two new forms of exercise.  We’ve started our hill training, which luckily living in Somerville there are a few of those around so it is easy to get it done.  And we’ve started to train using some sort of method called Farklet.  Yeah, I thought it was spelling error as well, but apparently it’s a method of sprinting a short distance, then running for a bit, then sprinting again.  It took some getting used to, but now I actually kind of dig it.  I did 4 miles worth on Thursday, and pending good weather I will be able to do more next week.

So far in the training, I have been using Mizuno Wave alchemy shoes.  I let the salesman convince me that since I am a bigger person that I needed the extra support not found with the Wave riders. I can now officially say I don’t need that support and before the marathon I will be switching back to the Wave riders.  My old pair of Mizuno wave riders were amazing and I’ll be glad to get back to them.  Luckily we will burn through about 3 pairs of shoes, so I’ll use this a little longer and then cross back over.

And finally, on Tuesday will be my first weigh in.  I haven’t been concerned with losing weight, but I am going to weigh in just to see the progress I have made in the last month.  It will be interesting, I know I’ve slimmed down, but I am sure I’ve built a lot more muscle in my legs, so I’m not putting much into the number, it will just be a good guide and starting point.

As far as fundraising goes, I am getting closer and closer to my goal.  As of this post I am at $3215.  So $785 left to raise in the next 23 days.  I think it’s doable, it’s just going to take a lot more work at getting the word out there.  So please share with your friends, both my blog and the fundraising page.  All of your help so far has been immensely appreciated.  Here is the fundraising page:  http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/boston12/briebeek

Thank you again guys, for all your emails and support, it does mean a lot.  And now for the hard part of training, I’m sure though I’ll keep truckin’ along.  I’m going to run this thing and I’m going to complete it with a smile, right before collapsing I’m sure.

Bryan

January 8, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Wow, thank you for the support

Wow, I would like to personally thank skinnyrunner.com for giving me a shout out yesterday.  And I would like to say thanks to all of you who have sent me emails or private comments with support for my cause.   They really do mean a lot, and I was shocked at how encouraging people really can be.

I don’t know if a thank you is long enough for an entire post, but I was slightly taken aback by the support out there on the internets and wanted to make sure you guys all knew I appreciated it. And if you actually came here to learn more about me, I suppose I can throw this link into the blog so that you don’t feel you wasted a click.  Here is the About me page, which I was told can be hard to find, I’ll work on that.

So, once again thank you and I hope you all have a great 2012!

Bryan Riebeek

January 4, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »

9 Miles, and the raffle ends!

Congrats to Ricardo Pascoe, he has won the Pearl and the Beard Merch package, and I will be shipping him the package just as soon as it arrives.  I will contact you via email and set up the details this week.  And thank you very much to everyone that entered.  A little more than $500 was raised, and I truly appreciate everyone’s contributions.  As with everyone that contributes, your names will be written on my Jersey marathon day.

On Saturday I woke up to a rainy and foggy morning.  It was warmish for a Boston December, and even though a couple hundred excuses as to why I could skip running were going through my head, I geared up and got ready to run.  Earlier this week I purchased a Camelpack to wear so that I could hydrate midway, and an iPhone holder for my arm so that I wouldn’t have swinging shorts, or have to carry my music in my hands.  When training with the team we have water stops, and headphones are somewhat discouraged but in the last two weeks, the distance run has been done our own as it’s been Christmas and New Years and no official meetings have been scheduled, so I have been using music and having to water myself.

I chose to run to Harvard from Davis Square, and follow the Charles river up to the Longfellow bridge, returning through Inman, Union, and finally ending right outside Porter Square.   It was beautiful and foggy, and aside from other runners there seemed to be some solitude in the run.  I was pleased to see other Team in Training runners passing me halfway through the run.  If I hadn’t had to start earlier so that I could catch a bus I would have ran with one of the unofficial groups, so it was nice to see them on the trail and say hi.

It was raining at first and that slowed things down, but after the first mile or so the rain stopped and the sidewalks dried enough that I didn’t feel like I was slipping.  The first four miles actually went by nicely, and at 4.5 I stopped to hydrate and stretch.  It was slightly colder near the river, but the foggy Boston skyline was really impressive, it made being out there alone worth the trek.   Last week I didn’t have water until the end and I think that had a lot to do with my post workout meltdown and last two miles of ultra slow speed.

This time I not only finished strong, but actually ran 2 tenths of an extra mile.  Legs were still like rubber at the end, and I had a half mile walk home, but by the time I got home I was feeling pretty good.  It’s amazing to think that 7 years ago I was told I would have a tri-annual epidural the rest of my life, and now I’m running 9 miles at once.  It goes to show that if you put your mind to things you can achieve almost everything, even if those that you talk to think otherwise.

Fundraising wise, I’m a little behind target.  I need to raise slightly more than $1100 this month, so I will probably have to hit the pavement a little harder in that effort but I believe it’s a doable goal.  Thank you again to everyone that has donated, it truly means a lot.  For those that would like to donate, you can visit this page to do so:  http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/boston12/briebeek

This week the training switches up a bit.  Instead of a track workout on Tuesday we are conditioning on hills and Thursday’s 4 mile run is to be done Farklet style.  Yeah I didn’t know what that was either, but basically you sprint for a minute or two at a time, then slow down, run at pace and sprint again.  So here’s to a new year, and a new workout!!

Remember to tell those you love that you do.

Bryan

January 3, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Sunny Florida and 8 miles

I’d like to complain about having to run 8 miles, but not today. It was 75 degrees and the sun was out. Slightly humid but overall it was great weather for a quick run up the road. Um, yeah.

It’s amazing how a lot of distance running is mental. I ran the first three miles without thinking about it much and only started wanting my four mile stretch minutes before I was actually done. I used my new Garmin 405 watch, and even out here in the middle of the panhandle it worked well. Tracking my pace, mileage, and time. The only issue I have is my own competitive nature. In thesecond part of the run I started to slow down, and I was constantly trying to keep up with my previous pace which made the run a little more difficult than perhaps it was supposed to be.

Back in my weight lifting days we would do pyramids at the end of the week. You stack weights, heaviest on the outside, on the bar and then you begin doing as many as you can until it’s too difficult and you reduce the weight, and continue until you are unsuccessfully lifting the bar. This is how my legs felt in the last half mile of the trip. It’s really cool to know I’m reaching my limit, And somewhat comical to know I was going slower and slower while trying to go quicker and quicker. Let’s just hope that limit increases.

I’m so thankful to Pearl and the Beard for allowing me to raffle their merch away.  And I know that a week is a long time to wait but I wanted to give people time to gain back some normalcy in their holiday schedule.  A $ 25 dollar contribution gets you a ticket, you can purchase as many as you’d like, I’ll just divide your contribution amount by 25 and enter that many tickets.   I found a random number generator online and I’ll use that to pick the winner. You can go here to learn more about it.

http://ragnaarbastiaan.com/2011/12/22/pearl-and-the-beard-fundraising-raffle/

Thank you very much to those that have contributed, I’ll be sending personal thank yous once I get home from vacation.

See you next week.

December 26, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »

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