My 2013 Challenge

[kodi]

New Years day will be my 34th running anniversary. I was six weeks short of turning 41; yep I’m going to be 75 in February. I started running because I was an overweight smoker with a family history of heart problems. The smoking stopped, the weight went down but the family history of heart problems caught up to me. Six years ago I had an aortic valve replacement and on Jan 10, I will be having a pacemaker implanted to control my very low (24) night time heart rate and an occasional arterial flutter. The pain won’t last too long and the recovery will be fairly quick, so I’m told. It will pale in comparison to what the families of Newtown, CT. that lost 20 children and six adults in a totally senseless shooting, are going through. I decided as a motivation to run through 2013 to make a challenge and commitment. God willing, I am going to run and/or run/walk a minimum of 26 miles a week (in my younger days 40 to 60 was my norm) for a year. I will try to find a couple marathons (26.2 miles) along the way and will run one on Dec. 14, 2013 to commemorate the anniversary of the shootings.
Now I have a question. Who would be willing to accompany me with this commitment or a similar one, after all, that’s less than four miles a day? Just think what it can do for your health, your mind and your soul.
Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year.

 

[TheGymGuy]

I will join you, but instead of 4 miles per day, I will walk/speed-walk 2 miles several times per week for conditioning. This should add-in nicely to my daily workouts.

 

[kodi]

I will join you, but instead of 4 miles per day, I will walk/speed-walk 2 miles several times per week for conditioning. This should add-in nicely to my daily workouts.

Cool. Anything that is a challenge or commitment works. It is going to be a little hard for me to reach the 26 strictly by running but I will run/walk when necessary since it is hard for me to run any kind of distance two or three days in a row.

 

[enkaynj]

Kodi,
I will commit to running 2-3 times a week, 3 -4 miles each time; only because I want to save my knees for long runs in spring and summer. ( I also intersperse my running with spin classes and the elliptical machine. )
Nice thought about the marathon to commemorate the Newtown shootings. Unfortunately, I am not marathon material. I will be ecstatic if I can complete a 10 miler in an hour-and-a-half.
All the best. Keep on running.

 

[kodi]

Kodi,
I will commit to running 2-3 times a week, 3 -4 miles each time; only because I want to save my knees for long runs in spring and summer. ( I also intersperse my running with spin classes and the elliptical machine. )
Nice thought about the marathon to commemorate the Newtown shootings. Unfortunately, I am not marathon material. I will be ecstatic if I can complete a 10 miler in an hour-and-a-half.
All the best. Keep on running.

Thanks for the response and commitment. We do what we can do.

 

[SumoRunner]

I got off to a good start thanks to the half marathon, 26 miles total last week. That's way more than average. Typical for me in Jan. is 12-14 miles per week. The weather's not going to be so bad the next few days, so possibly I could to stay on track.

 

[Julian]

I've been doing 5 miles 4 times a week for several months now. Just yesterday I tried six miles. I'm hoping running 4 times a week 6 miles a session will be the new normal for me. That would be a total of 24 miles a week... Pretty flipping amazing from someone who couldn't jog a mile 18 months ago...

 

[MarkU]

I had my AVR twelve years ago and did my first triathlon three years later at age 50. I'll be 60 in May.

I just set my triathlon training goals for 2013:

75,000 yds swimming
1,000 miles cycling
500 miles running

Right now I'm focusing on getting ready for the Sarasota Half Marathon on 3/17. Including the half marathon, I'm planning on doing three road races and four triathlons in 2013.

I missed most of 2010 when I hurt my left Achilles tendon and have a chronic case of patella tendonosis in my right knee so I now follow a Galloway run/walk strategy on any runs longer than 3 miles to manage the aches and pains.

If anyone is interested, I log my workouts at BeginnerTriathlete.com, where I'm 'Redcorvette'

Good luck to you all.

Mark

 

[SumoRunner]

I just set my triathlon training goals for 2013:

75,000 yds swimming
1,000 miles cycling
500 miles running

Mark

That's a lot of water time. I swam 23,600 yds last summer and ran 1038 miles for the year, but no cycling. I only swam 3 days a week in July & Aug outdoors. Haven't done any indoor swimming in decades and no longer even own a bike. I once commuted to work by bike but that was mid-80s. Maybe I'll watch the local garage sales in the spring and pick up a "new" one. Any old piece of junk would be fine for me. I used to ride to work on a 1972 JC Penny 3 speed with wide tires, big fenders, saddle bags and a radio. Not very efficient but it kept me in good shape.

 

[Rachel]

That's a lot of water time. I swam 23,600 yds last summer and ran 1038 miles for the year, but no cycling. I only swam 3 days a week in July & Aug outdoors. Haven't done any indoor swimming in decades and no longer even own a bike. I once commuted to work by bike but that was mid-80s. Maybe I'll watch the local garage sales in the spring and pick up a "new" one. Any old piece of junk would be fine for me. I used to ride to work on a 1972 JC Penny 3 speed with wide tires, big fenders, saddle bags and a radio. Not very efficient but it kept me in good shape.

You got a picture of that Jack? I'd LOVE to see that bike!

Rachel

 

[MarkU]

That's a lot of water time. I swam 23,600 yds last summer and ran 1038 miles for the year, but no cycling. I only swam 3 days a week in July & Aug outdoors. Haven't done any indoor swimming in decades and no longer even own a bike. I once commuted to work by bike but that was mid-80s. Maybe I'll watch the local garage sales in the spring and pick up a "new" one. Any old piece of junk would be fine for me. I used to ride to work on a 1972 JC Penny 3 speed with wide tires, big fenders, saddle bags and a radio. Not very efficient but it kept me in good shape.

It only works out to an average of 1500 yds per week. I normally do 1500-2000yds per workout, so swimming twice a week during triathlon season it adds up pretty quickly. I'm a slouch compared to others in my triathlon club who will do 300K in a year.

One of the challenges of triathlon is balancing the time you commit to each sport. I happen to enjoy all three so it's all fun for me. I also have chronic patella and Achilles tendonosis so the cross-training aspect fits me well. I wouldn't last very long if I tried to run everyday.

Mark

 

[spartangator]

Excellent stuff, Kodi (and everyone). All the best with your pacemaker procedure and looking forward to the running/walking updates.

 

[SumoRunner]

You got a picture of that Jack? I'd LOVE to see that bike!

Rachel

Nah, I junked that old bike 15 or 20 years ago.

 

[kodi]

As a follow up to my pacemaker, I now am the proud owner of a Boston Scientific Model K173. Procedure went well Thursday morning. The worst part was having to stay overnight and being totally uncomfortable and unable to sleep. I made up for that in my own bed Friday. Everything is working as expected. We made the decision to leave the low rate at 60 as opposed to my normal 40 to see if it would help in other ways. We will revisit that as time goes on. I managed a trip to the shopping Mall Saturday and a brisk walk of 4 miles this morning. One thing I have noticed a dull, behind the eyes headache has gone away, probably one of the only symptons I realized I had. Off running for about two weeks but I'll be spending time walking and riding a stationary bike.
Thanks Jack for the bike commentary.

 

[kodi]

Mark, I like your goals. I haven't done a triathlon since Jun 2002. I manage to continue to bike ride and swim but my favorite is still running. I thought of trying for an IRONMAN in 2013 to celebrate my 75th birthday but changed my mine. I am still considering a Half Ironman for 2013 but right now my primary goal is to get my running back to a decent pace. Like you, I find all three disciplines helpful in keeping in balance and overall great condition.

 

[Rachel]

Hey Kodi,

I really want to jump in here as well. Right now (and by that I mean in about 4 hours from now) I'm going in for my last (hopefully last) Cardiac MRI. I see my surgeon February 11 and if everything looks good then I'll feel better about a straight up commitment to running.

Of course I know that anything can happen along the way....

But I've been running about 19-20 miles a week for maybe the past 3 weeks and my goal is to run a half (my first since my surgery) on April 13, 2013, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

I just wanted to let you know that I love this thread and I've wanted to jump in here too... but I don't want to "jinx" anything too soon.

Rachel

 

[kodi]

Hey Kodi,

I really want to jump in here as well. Right now (and by that I mean in about 4 hours from now) I'm going in for my last (hopefully last) Cardiac MRI. I see my surgeon February 11 and if everything looks good then I'll feel better about a straight up commitment to running.

Of course I know that anything can happen along the way....

But I've been running about 19-20 miles a week for maybe the past 3 weeks and my goal is to run a half (my first since my surgery) on April 13, 2013, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

I just wanted to let you know that I love this thread and I've wanted to jump in here too... but I don't want to "jinx" anything too soon.

Rachel

Good luck on your MRI and Doc visit. If all is okay you have plenty of time to train for an April half. Glad you like this post. I'm impressed the number of family & friends both on and off FB and other forums who have made some kind of commitment for 2013. It certainly makes the journey easier when you have support and accountability.
Seems the pacemaker is going to help me. I think I was having more symptoms and problems than I knew or even thought about.