Poor Poor Pitiful Me!

This past week hasn't been very stellar for me. Training has been pretty mundane. The gym that I frequent is going to shut down for a remodel. Which means I'm going to have to drive a few more miles to a gym that is not as busy as the one in Valley Ranch. My training has been somewhat reduced to allow my shoulder capsule from not being damaged further. The good news is that it has not dislocated since the last few episodes. My professional life is busy as always. Like the old NWA song "100 miles and running". Never a dull moment in the life of a data nerd! I did get some speed running in this week. I kept a 8 minute mile pace for 3 miles in hilly Las Colinas. My goal is to maintain that for at least a half marathon along with getting miles in as I get closer to Odessa. The crappy part is that there isn't a good run in September in these parts. I don't really feel like traveling, since the last few marathons this year for me are going to be on the road. With all that being said, I remembered that I did registered for the tough mudder run in September. It seems like it's going to be a piece of cake. Most people think these kind of runs are a challenge. To me it's more like peeing out of my butt. They aren't very challenging. It's just a reason for non athletic people to dress up in pink tutu's and run once for the entire year. At the risk of sounding like a running narcissistic. I train my tail off to keep in great shape. Most of my friends and family can attest to this. I'm horrible at eating socially. As I told my boss earlier this week. I dabble in weight lifting and running. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that most novice runners get into running events like tough mudder. In my opinion more people should get involved in these events. Cutting down on the cheese burgers and getting active is always a good thing. Okay, I'm stepping off my self imposed pedestal. Some months, you'll run into weeks like the one I'm having. Where the training doesn't seem ample, work, and personal life cut into your focus. I find it best to turn on some Warren Zevon and keep grinding. I am thankful for my close friends, and family who have been there to lend an ear and listen to me vent. Now, to completely shift directions from this gloomy post. My goal for next week is to go past my current max sets in the gym and increase speed, stamina, and power while running. The weather has been un-seasonably cold for August in Tejas. Here are my current max weight values for legs, and back. I've been restricted to 80 percent weights in my upper body till my shoulder feels better and to prevent dislocations in my left shoulder.

Squats - Rack Squats
3 sets @  270
1 set @ 290

Leg Press
3 sets @ 630
1 set @ 720

Dead lifts - Olympic Bar
3 sets @ 225
1 set @ 245

T-Bar Raise
3 sets @ 225
1 set @ 245

Total body weight 198 lbs
Body Fat percentage 10 percent

Now, my play list has turned to Bob Dylan's "If You See Her, Say Hello" How very apropo! Sort of sums it up. I've been trying to catch up on my non technical reading list and here are some of my favorite quotes for this week.

"The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places" Hemmingway

“If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery–isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.” Charles Bukowski 


Earnestly,
Fernando

Conversations Kill!

Yeah, that's a pretty cynical title. I'm in one of those moods tonight. Nope, not in a good way. I had several conversations in the past few days that have altered my plans for the rest of the year. Sorry, but this post is going to be in a darker prose. One of the conversations I've referenced here is the news that I have a complete tear in my left labrum. Now, for the 6th grader in all of us I said labrum, and not labia. Why is this relavant you ask? Well, my shoulder is barely holding on for dear life, and I'm going to attempt to finish my scheduled runs for this year hoping it doesn't dislocate on a daily or weekly basis. Tomorrow, I schedule surgery for December 2012, and start my aggressive pre-hab program. This type of surgery is tough, and recovery is mixed. I feel I have a very capable surgeon, it's the rehab process that sucks. I'll loose all the muscle I've worked hard to build. So, my schedule is to have surgery in December. Heal, and start rehab ASAP. I can then train enough to run LA LA Marathon on March 17th of 2013. I'll then increase rehab, and start to train for the LA triathlon in September 2013. In between, I'm sure I'll have some runs and start towards and aggressive weight and endurance regiment. It looks like if I can get past the immobilization phase and out and running, I should be fine. This is going to be a tough test of my mental strength. Physically, I'm up to any challenge, it's the not being able to train and the dog days of rehab that are going to be difficult. I've accepted the surgery and now I have to prep for it. I've managed to dislocate my shoulder 3 times since yesterday, and it's been awesome, NOT REALLY! I'll never get used to that pain. Nonetheless, I'm an athlete, and accept that my body is now dealing with all the punishment from football in my earlier days. The days when I felt invincible. Where I felt like no matter how much I weighed if I was somehow able to get my pad level lower I would topple the defender, who clearly outweighed me. It was a badge of honor to deliver the "kill" blocks. It was pride to stand in the pocket and deliver that dart over the middle with timing and accuracy, and not worry about the defender who's coming free on a blitz and is going to level you while you're fully extended. Missing a protection, having the "kat" come in unblocked and he would just kill you from the blind side. Climbing the pocket, side stepping the rush, breking contain and running down the field. Instead of sliding to live another day you said to yourself. Here's my chance, lower your shoulder and punish him!!! Was it machismo, pride, narcism, recklessness or carelessness? Call it what you want. All I have now are conversations that kill....


Fernando

Mr. Bad Example!

Let me start off by saying that I love football. In no way is this post anti football. With all that being said, If I was to do it all over again. I don't know if I would play full contact sports. First, let me start of by describing my admiration for football. It's more than a bunch of brutes running around trying to end each others career. It's the ultimate chess match. One on One battles happening across all positions. Winning at your position at all cost. I played QB at the high school and semi pro level. To me there's nothing better than calling the right play, and beating the defense with intelligent design. The mix of athleticism, execution, and play design is what football is all about. With all that being said, there is a dark side to football. The hits that you take, the abuse that piles up on your body. No, I don't want sympathy, nor should anyone else who chooses to play. The reason for this public service announcement is that I suffered a small little set back this week. It won't impede my running, but it is a little slightly more than annoying. I have a laundry list of injuries that need to be corrected.

• Torn pinkie ligament in my left hand.
• Ankle ligament tear and bone fragments in my right ankle.
• Right knee meniscus tear
• Partially torn labrum in my left shoulder

Each of these procedures will require some surgical intervention. Yesterday, my left shoulder subluxated. Resulting in a dislocated left shoulder. As annoying as this is, I know that there is only one thing that will fix this issue unless I cut down my max on shoulder shrugs and over head presses. See this only happens as I work my shoulders harder and harder. So, I'm sitting here with my left arm in a sling and I have to slow down my shoulder work. This won't stop me from running, but the pain is not much fun. Now, that I've written about it. It's time for some treatment, ice, and gym work. You're only as good as your latest shortcoming. The focus will be range of motion and pain management before hitting light rehab work on the shoulder. I will defer from discussing any concussion related issues I'm experiencing since this is not the proper forum. I know this seems to be the trending topic right now in all of media, but I won't comment on them. The concussion problem is very real, and I've had some bouts with it. 

Fernando

SF Marathon - The Hangover!

After most marathons most runners experience several different emotions. These usually consist of euphoria, sense of accomplishment, hunger, and best of all soreness. To counter act my bodies physiology, I do a quick leg workout at the gym after my marathons. Not to bore you with my routine, but it consists of squats, presses, stiff legged lifts, extensions, and calf raises. These are done at about 60 to 80% weight. I've found that this gets the acid out of my muscles. I also down about 2 gallons of water after the run. With all that being said, I also had a different issue. So, most people don't know this, but I suffered a small tear in my quad about 6 weeks before SF. This little set back altered my prep work for the marathon, but in no way did it impede it. After the run, I went straight back to work. I was tired from jet lag and my grueling work schedule. Three days after the run I started to feel some powerful pain in my left foot. I didn't have any odd twists or anything. I figured it was just a small soreness issue, but as the week carried on I felt worst. To the point where I had a noticeable limp. This was a little worry some since I have another marathon in October, and well, no rest for the weary, right? So, I had the foot looked at. Turns out I had a sore Peroneal ligament. So, I followed orders, some slight rest, ice, and stretching, but no dice. There was still some soreness there. Finally, I decided to change back to my old every day shoes, and viola. The pain subsided completely. No more soreness, no more weakness in that foot. I still gave it a few more days to rest, and enjoyed some more junk food, before locking it down back for training. Most people look at me weird since I'm running such a heavy set of marathons in several months. What most people don't get is my drive for being in great shape and how much I've come to love running. It's my muse, some people smoke, others drink, or do other recreational drugs. Me, I run, I enjoy pushing myself to see what I accomplish. I also weight train really hard. It's something I've done now to help keep me healthy, and to help me balance out the daily grind. Since I can no longer play contact sports, I have to channel those competitive juices else where. We all have our vices. Running happens to be one of mine. It feels good to be back in the training saddle again. I'm excited to see how much money I can raise for charity, and how much faster I can complete the next 26.2. Next year, I'm doing an Iron Man. Now, that's going to be an experience. For now, It's Odessa, Malibu CA, and Las Vegas are the marathons spots for this year.




Fernando

Oh, you're a runner?

First of all, let's not stand on ceremony. I'm Fernando, I'm 31 and I'm Data nerd from Dallas, Texas. I'm an under achieving Database Engineer/Consultant/Architect/Manager/Scientist. I spend my days spelunking around in the bowels of Database Engines, and leading a staff of Database Engineers. I also have a healthy obsession with lifting weights, and running long distances. Last year my body begged me to stop playing semi pro tackle football. As I closed in on my thirties my body was no longer able to deal with hard hits from playing the pig skin. So, I had to take my competitive juices else where. I settled on running, and pushing my body to the extreme. This year, I plan on running 6 total marathons. In March of this year I ran in the Los Angeles marathon. This was a great event. Very well planned, and executed. If you want to really site see in Log Angeles I would recommend this event. You will run along side most of the LA hot sports. In April I ran in the Big D marathon in Dallas, Texas. This event was horribly planned, and even more poorly executed. The course was mundane, the hydration stations were subpar, and the police directing traffic almost allowed a car to hit me. My advice would be to not participate in Mellew Production events. They have very low standards. My latest event was the San Francisco marathon. This was a great and challenging course. It takes you all over San Francisco, and the hills may not have eyes, but they will kick your ass. The hydration stations were plenty, and had adequate help. Every mile marker there was a medic station, and the staff was helpful. The crowd control was excellent, and I never felt as if I was going to die during the course. My next event will be back in the state of Texas. In good old Odessa Texas. There is nothing to do in Odessa, but run, and get out of town. This will be in October. In November I'll be traveling back to the Golden State to San Diego for a marathon. The night cap will be in Las Vegas in December. Over the next few weeks and months leading up to the Cross Roads Marathon in Odessa, Texas. I'll blog about my training regiment, eating habits, leading up to live blogging during the run. The most important thing I'll be doing is raising money for different charities. I would appreciate any donations to the cause I'm running for. My goal is to leave the world in a better place than I found it. If that means running 26 miles to raise money to help push science forward to help stop terrible diseases, then I'm all for it.


Fernando