A Noble Purpose

Running with a noble purpose. This is something Steve Runner talks about on his Phedippidations podcast. This is when you run for a cause. Frequently at various races around the country you see Teams in Training. These people are raising money to fight Leukemia & Lymphoma.

There is a segment of the running community which does not care for the charity runners. I am not one of those people. I firmly believe in charity running. In the past I have raised money for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and CARE. I believe that if you receive a benefit from running, raising money is simply passing it forward.

I agree with Steve Runner, we should run with a noble purpose. It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. It can be collecting a few dollars from friends for a charity. If you don‘t want to raise money, raise awareness. Put the name of a charity and its website on your running shirt. Every little bit helps.

I would like to share some charities I am very fond of, and maybe you would like to adopt them as yours. Also if you have a charity you are fond of, please feel free to share it here.

CARE – www.care.org
AIDS Foundation of Chicago – www.aidschicago.org
Grameen Bank – www.grameen-info.org
Heifer International – www.heifer.org
Half the Sky – www.halfthesky.org
Hagar International – www.hagarproject.org
Health Equity Project – www.healthequityproject.org
Marathon Kids – www.marathonkids.com

There are many more I support. The point is there plenty of worthy charities and organizations who could benefit from your noble purpose.

Charlie

Not My Day

Today was not my day. I had issues all day. Everything came to a head when I ran outside. It was sunny and in the 40s. I was going along, and then it happened....I tripped on the sidewalk and fell. My left knee has a scrape, but I think I will live. I have never fallen during a run. Of course no one bothered to ask if I was ok. Grrrrr.

I did manage to run 4.5 miles. That is pretty good. It was a slow and plodding run. I was not happy with the way I ran, but was happy that I ran.

In the land of good news....my cousin Polly is busy training for the half marathon we are doing in May. Yesterday she sent me a training plan, and I told her I thought it would work for her. I think she will beat me...lol.

:-)Charlie

Lessons Learned

It is obvious I am making some very bad choices as far as nutrition is concerned. I am making them based on emotions. This morning I ran 2 miles at the gym and did the rare thing of weighing myself – 204. No that is not the end of the world, nor am I depressed about it. That number tells me that I have gained some weight, and it is time to take better control of my eating.

This will be a tough weekend for me. I am going to family party -lots of food and drink. I will have to watch what I am taking in, because I doubt there will be much running time. We will see.

My 2 miles on the treadmill was good. I ran it in 24:00:92. That is a good pace for me. If only I could run outside. We are in single digits in Chicago, and there is lots of snow. That’s poor footing for this running weather wimp.

My goal for the next week is to increase my mileage running, and to make better eating choices.

Charlie

Running From the Reaper

Nigel in the UK is a 40something runner who shares his long runs with people in podcast and blog form. It is very cool, and I hope you will give him a listen.


http://runningfromthereaper.blogspot.com/

:-)Charlie

What's Cooking Tonight?

Happy Valentine's Day to those who celebrate it. I typically don't. I know...I know...I'm a Scrooge.

Ok...on to food!

Breakfast - bagel with light cream cheese and a banana!

Office - For Valentine's Day a co-worker made little muffins and places them on our desks. I ate it. It like coffee cake.

Lunch - PB Sandwich.

Dinner - I am making spaghetti with veggies! I have some nice forzen veggies (carrots, broccoli and cauliflower in a nice sauce...I think it will be great!

I realized in looking at the week, vegetables were sorely lacking. So here I am correcting that.

No chocolate bon bons though.

:-)Charlie

Uphill Running

Yesterday I hit the treadmill in the middle of blizzard like conditions in Chicago. My goal was to run 3 miles, and I did. I used the hill program on the treadmill and cranked it up to a 4% incline. At 5 m.p.h. that was a tough run, but I felt really good at the end. I ran the 3 miles in 36:12:89. That's a good run for me.

Foodwise:

Breakfast - bagel with light cream cheese

Meeting at work - 3 mini-donuts

Lunch - Ceasar Salad with Chicken, two pieces of bread.

Dinner - P.B. Sandwich (was not that hungry)

Today we are digging out of the snow.

Charlie

Food for Yesterday

I mentioned yesterday what I had for breakfast. Here is how the rest of my food day went.

Lunch - Roast beef sub, with lettuce and extra tomato, baked chips and an oatmeal cookie, with water.

The store had a running event last night, so I did have two brownie bites.

Not a great day, but not a bad day. I will talk more about how today is going foodwise later.

Charlie

Short Runs and Food

While I have had a goal to do 5+ mile runs the last week or so, I have not been able to do it. I am actually doing more 3 mile runs. Cold and snow have kept me on the treadmill. I would really llike to head outdoors at some point.

I think boredom keeps me from the longer runs on the treadmill. It's tough to keep yourself going on a treadmill. How people do long runs of 10+ miles on those things consistantly amazes me. I have done it, but not on a regular basis. BORING!

The last few weeks I have not made good eating choices. My emtions have been all over the place, and my food choices have shown that. I am going back to something I did last year when things got out of hand. I wrote what I was eating, and sharing it with the readers here. This keeps me honest and aware of what I am doing, plus it makes me accountable by putting it here.

I started this yesterday.

Sunday: Breakfast - oatmeal, banana, bagel and light cream cheese. Lunch - yogurt. Dinner - Buffalo Chili, and a piece of cornbread.

Monday: Breakfast - Apple/Rasin bagel with light cream cheese.

I will do my best to keep this going during the week. As I said I need to do this.

:-)Charlie

Hit the Treadmill Tomorrow

I have not run this week, and that is actually ok. My heels have appreciated my letting them fully heal from the marathon.

Tomorrow I am shooting for a 5 mile run on the treadmill. NO WAY will I run out in this Arctic weather....brrrrr.

Tonight I am heading to a shoe seminar. Will learn all about the 2007 running shoes. I will be happy to share info if anyone is interested.

:-)Charlie

2007-2008 Race Schedule

I have thought about what I want to run this year, and I have come up with a tentative schedule for the year.

Saturday, March 17 – St. Paddy’s 5K


Sunday, May 20 – Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon


Saturday, June 23 – Proud to Run 5K/10K


Sunday, August 12 – Chicago Distance Classic – Half Marathon


Sunday, September 30 – Mooathon Half Marathon (Tentative)


Thursday, November 22 – Turkey Trot


Sunday, January 13 – Rock n’ Roll Phoenix Marathon


The Sept. 30th race is tentative. If I can save enough money to do it I will. The race is in Ireland. I decided to head back to AZ next year for the simple reason I have some unfinished business with the race. I want to set a better time for myself. This race schedule is going to help me in that quest.

My heels are better now, so I think I can run more now. I have been tentative since the marathon...because frankly I hurt. Now I think I am ready to get going.

Looks like a good year ahead.

:-)Charlie

Drugs in Sports

After listening to Steve Runner on his podcast - Phedippidations, talk about drugs in sports, I really sat down and thought about it. My feeling in the past is two-fold; first I think it is cheating, and second, maybe everyone should be allowed to use performance enhacning drugs, this way it is a level playing field. I have changed my mind.

Using performance enhancing drugs is cheating - period. If an athlete tests positive for drugs, there needs to be consequences. In track and field, if you test positive once, you are slapped with a two year ban from the sport. If you test again, it is a lifetime ban.

So why do the drugs? Fame, money and stupidity as far as I am concerned. Justin Gatlin, Olympic God Medalist and co-record holder in the100m, is now serving an eight year ban from the sport. He claims he had no knowledge of the drugs. I have to say I NEVER buy that. I am constantly aware of what I put into my body. If I am concerned at all about my run, I want to be sure I am eating right, and not taking damagng drugs.

Fame has a price. The price with steroids and other performance enhancing drugs is what it will do to your body. Is damaging your body worth a few seconds in a race? Is it worth another home run? The short term effects of drug use have long term effects that no one wants to go through. Yet there are athletes out there who do. The sports know they do, and come up with weak rules regarding drug use. Sadly, as long as money fueling sports, drug use is not going to be taken seriously.

Now for the typical runner, like you and me, we have no need to take these drugs. While Iwould love to qualify for the Boston Marathon, I know that it would be freakish if I was able to shave over 4 hours off my last marathon. The physical toll would eventually do too much harm.

Drugs are a form of cheating, pure and simple. I hope Gatlin is able to appreciate what has happened. Maybe he could start his new life talking to younger athletes about not using drugs.

Charlie

Too Cold to Run

I am limiting my travel today. It is -5, with a wind chill of -25. So no extra trips today.

Did not run much this week. My heels where I had the blisters are giving me some trouble. I know they will heal totally, just takes time. Never fear, I will pound out the miles in time. :-)

Charlie

Drugs

This week'spodcast at Phedippidations- www.steverunner.com, deals with the issue of performance enhancing drugs and running. Drugs in sports is a mess these days. I am thinkingof a post on this, but before I venture into the topic, I am curious about what some of you think about drugs in sports.

Is it cheating? What if everyone had access to them? Please leave some comments on this, and in the meantime I will write my thoughts down, and we can have a discussion on this.

Charlie

Running Legends - Terry Fox

As I have gotten further into running, I am learning the history or running, and the people who are the legends. Their stories impress and inspire me. From time to time I will highlight some of these people, and hope you will gain something from their stories. My first person is Terry Fox.

From the Terry Fox Foundation:

Terry Fox was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, a community near Vancouver on Canada's west coast. An active teenager involved in many sports, Terry was only 18 years old when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer) and forced to have his right leg amputated 15 centimetres (six inches) above the knee in 1977.
While in hospital, Terry was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients, many of them young children, that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

He would call his journey the Marathon of Hope.

After 18 months and running over 5,000 kilometres (3,107 miles) to prepare, Terry started his run in St. John’s, Newfoundland on April 12, 1980 with little fanfare. Although it was difficult to garner attention in the beginning, enthusiasm soon grew, and the money collected along his route began to mount. He ran 42 kilometres (26 miles) a day through Canada's Atlantic provinces, Quebec and Ontario.

It was a journey that Canadians never forgot.

However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs. An entire nation was stunned and saddened. Terry passed away on June 28, 1981 at age 22.

The heroic Canadian was gone, but his legacy was just beginning.

To date, more than $400 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry's name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world.

I remember watching the news about Terry’s run, and being impressed with his effort to raise money and awareness for Cancer. What this young man was able to do was impressive. Where some people might see their illness as a set back, Terry was able to use it to accomplish something so amazing.

For more information about Terry Fox and the Terry Fox Foundation go to:

www.terryfoxrun.org

Charlie