The month of May has not been kind, and it started with the month of April. Yesterday I took a trip back to my PT team at Stride Physical Therapy here in Orlando, and learned what I kind of knew. I have mobility issues in my lower body. There's a good chance those mobility issues are impairing how my body is functioning, and likely giving me the issues I've had with my lower body. 

The trip to Stride was the result of a sharp pain in my Achilles I've had for the past couple weeks that's kept me off the road. I know enough to stay away from impact, but that I need to keep moving. After my trip to Stride, I learned I had a credit at Sports Authority, so bought the weighted vest you see pictured here. The idea is to stay low impact, but push myself with the vest. The reality is I was able to run with a limited stride - short steps.

The call back from Stride told me I needed to revisit the doc to update my prescription. I'm not sure when that'll happen since the travel schedule and working hours limit my ability to do much during daylight. I've learned quite a bit, so the challenge will be to apply what I've learned to keep myself moving and fit without making this Achilles any worse. We have a marathon to run in November, and cannot miss a beat.

Stay tuned!!

The photo is courtesy of my friends at HTFU. They make good stuff with good messages.

Over the weekend I promised to give an update on my progress against April goals, and I missed my self-imposed deadline. I'm doing it now, so shut up.

I was rather aggressive in April with optimism fueled by recent successes. While March and early April saw unexpected success, May began with reality spitting in my face. My business trip to Vegas took me off my strength-training routine. The time on my feet tightened things up, and when I did return to the gym, we took it easy on the lower body because I kept up with my running (but not my sleep). The result . . . an Achilles that went from tight to being painful. After my run Saturday, I spent Sunday limping around the house. Things improved a bit today, but it's still not in great shape.

So the lesson I learned . . . I CANNOT let my lower body strength training slip. I need to continue working on mobility, and I need to build strength training throughout my day. I've developed some great habits, routines and rituals over the past few months, but I have not followed through to maintain strength training while on the road.

Back to April's goals . . . I set aggressive goals to (1) finish a 5K averaging 6:55/mile; (2) get my 6-pack; (3) do 100 push ups; and (4) do 20 pull ups. I was 0 for 4. The results aren't surprising because there wasn't adequate focus on each of those four.

So what about May? Limping into the month, averaging a 6:55 mile over 5K is too aggressive. If I can hit 7:20 per mile, that'd be a big accomplishment. How I finished the Wounded Warrior averaging 7:33 per mile, I do not know. The strength goals I'll keep, and add a couple:

1. Average 7:20/mile over 5K: Do-able, but it'll be a challenge. Need to get back to pain free running. That's disappointing given I was more or less there before the Vegas trip.
2. Get my 6-pack, knowing that'll be a challenge with increased travel.
3. 100 Push Ups. I'll need to maintain my strength training on the road.
4. 20 Pull Ups. Ditto.
5. 30 Dips. Ditto.
6. 10 Pistol Squats unassisted on each leg. Ditto.

So, here we go! On the road, and dedicated to keeping up with mobility / strength. The big question . . . do I run tomorrow? We'll see how the leg feels.

Another busy week, starting with a business trip and ending with an Orlando City soccer game. 

The trip to New York was productive for work, and I was able to get in a run on a beautiful Tuesday morning. I woke up a bit later than expected since I didn't get to sleep until midnight, but the timing was perfect for some great scenery.

My hotel was in the Financial District, not far from Battery Park which is where I started my run heading east to the East River. The walk turned north along the FDR toward the Brooklyn Bridge. My thoughts when in New York were less flashbacks of my experiences while I lived and worked there after college, and more an effort. I guess that means a lot has happened since I was putting in 100 hour weeks and reading about what I did the next day in the Wall Street Journal. Let me be clear. The articles didn't mention me at all since I was a mere legal assistant at one of New York's large corporate law firms. Those articles were coverage of whatever deal I was working, and validation that what I was doing was important. To someone. It was important to me too, but not so much for the sake of the deal as what that role would be as a foundation for all else that was ahead.

After approaching the Brooklyn Bridge I turned east. Because I got a late jump, I was concerned with the time left to get ready for our meeting. I crossed north of Chinatown then headed south. The run itself was good with the exception of the nagging, slight tightness in my right Achilles left over from the 5K I ran a few days earlier. It loosened up after about a mile, which it usually does when it's tight and a bit sore. The air was crisp and cool, the blue sky accented by an occasional puff of clouds colored by the sunrise to give it character. 

At some point I turned south and remembered the last time I was in the City. We celebrated my mother-in-law's 70th birthday that weekend in Brooklyn. Being a weekend trip with family in Brooklyn, we didn't have a lot of time to go explore Manhattan. My son and I had a flight leaving out of Hartford late Sunday afternoon, so we decided to take a whirlwind tour of New York City. We valeted the rental car on the far southern part of Manhattan, walked to Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty from afar, took the subway to Grand Central Station, walked to see where I used to work across the street from Grand Central and the Chrysler Building, took a cab back to the Financial District to see the Freedom Tower, walked on Wall Street to see Federal Hall and the New York Stock Exchange, then scurried back to the car in time to make the drive all the way back to Hartford in time for our flight with 15 minutes to spare.

As I turned onto Wall Street darkened by the shade thrown by tall buildings, I remembered a picture of Jacob standing in front of the statue of George Washington at Federal Hall with a hand on each hip and his chest puffed out, Washington looking over him from behind. I turned south in front of the New York Stock Exchange, barricaded to traffic. There weren't many people walking, but there were some and they all walked with a sense of purpose. I ran by them all, and made it to the hotel in time to get ready for my own meeting.

The rest of the week was marked by lack of sleep, and my Achilles taking a long while to warm up in the morning. I went to the gym for a light workout on Wednesday, took Thursday off and ran Friday and yesterday. Yesterday's run was a crisp, clear day in Florida where I ran five 4:00 sessions at 5K pace with 2:00 walk / run breaks in between on the West Orange Trail from Winter Garden. As with earlier in the week, it took the right leg a while to warm up, but it did. For the first time in a long time, I felt strong and loose. The run went well, and I learned I have more in the tank. I also learned I still haven't figured out this whole "pacing" thing. Once again, I went out a bit too hard for the pace I'm trying to keep.

That brings us to right now, and the new / old problem. After the run I started having a tough time. The Achilles started tightening up. Last night I went to an Orlando City Soccer Club game with my daughter and her friend, and I wore compression socks and a Tiger Balm patch. I went to bed, and woke up having to do the Old Man Shuffle. Usually I only have to do that for a few minutes, but today it's not getting loose. So . . . we're back to having a problem with the Achilles. I'll figure out what to do with it, but I need to get this fixed. Looking back, I'm thinking I took the eye off the ball for too long on the strength side. I haven't focused on calves in a few weeks with all the craziness at work. I'm wondering who to ask. I don't want to go see a doc. And my chiro will likely throw Graston on it. Maybe I'll go see my PT guy again. Back in December, I promised to show him my new Jeep after I picked it up, and I'm finally due to pick it up next week. Maybe that's a sign. There's a reason my Jeep rebuild project is three months late.