So my partner Josh, greatest partner in the world, has gotten me tickets to Europe and I leave on Monday :) This means I will have the opportunity to run in Berlin, Amsterdam, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. This is one happy Mammoth.
So the question is what do Mammoths do when they have to travel? Well you need to look at the weather and pack appropriately. I went to Academy Sports and TJ Maxx to buy new running pants, under shirts (wicking tech please) and a new running jacket. Europe is cold this time of year and Scotland will be wet and rainy so I needed to get some gear to combat the rain. I am so excited about the running in different countries and making new friends on the trail.
I am packing all of my running gear, two pairs of shoes, and my iPod and iPhone. I am also packing my after care gear as well.
I will be blogging about my adventures so stay tuned.
Oh and for those of you who don't know I am now sponsored by Brooks Shoes. They will be helping me with my races in the Spring. So thanks Brooks and its your shoes that will get me through.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Pain in the Paw: Medicating
So I will confess some things here. I use 1000 mgs of ibuprofen before I run a 5k or 1/2. I do this prophylacticly because I know the kind of pain I deal with. Like I said in my last post I have numerous injuries I deal with and this is a temporary solution. I have noticed that as I drop weight I am in less and less pain.
Dean Karnazes says that distance running is the number one way men lose weight and keep it off. He talks about meeting the Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckaby and how he related his story of weight loss and how running was the way he kept it off. Governor Huckaby also said that at first it was painful to run but as his weight decreased so did his dependence on pain meds to get him through.
My little Mammoths you are going to experience pain. Most of it is temporary and can be fixed with an ibuprofen and RICEing, however, some pain you need to see the doctor about. Do Not Be A Hero!!! This is funny coming from me and some of the people I trained with while at H3 will tell me that I should take my own advice but seriously folks if it is more than a nagging ache you need to get checked out. Remember it is always better to miss two days of training and rest, then two months lying around recuperating from a more serious injury.
Dean Karnazes says that distance running is the number one way men lose weight and keep it off. He talks about meeting the Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckaby and how he related his story of weight loss and how running was the way he kept it off. Governor Huckaby also said that at first it was painful to run but as his weight decreased so did his dependence on pain meds to get him through.
My little Mammoths you are going to experience pain. Most of it is temporary and can be fixed with an ibuprofen and RICEing, however, some pain you need to see the doctor about. Do Not Be A Hero!!! This is funny coming from me and some of the people I trained with while at H3 will tell me that I should take my own advice but seriously folks if it is more than a nagging ache you need to get checked out. Remember it is always better to miss two days of training and rest, then two months lying around recuperating from a more serious injury.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Dealing with the hurt paw
Eventually its going to happen. You are going to get hurt. The key is to manage your mind during this time. So far I have ruptured a disc in my back, dealt with a serious infection in my legs, and have arthritic knees, but being the bad ass Mammoth that I am I will not let that slow me down. But being a determined Mammoth doesn't mean that I can't be a smart one.
The first thing you need to do is manage your pain and injury. All Mammoths should be RICEing. RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate your legs.
Rest: We don't have to go after it six days a week. Most of the workouts I see have you running between 3 or 4 days a week so just keep it slow and steady.
Ice: Ice is my new best friend, especially on my knees. Without ice I would not be able to continue. I use it for twenty minutes on and twenty minutes off and I do it for an hour. You need to find your own tolerance for this because this can be very challenging.
Compress: For us Mammoths this is a hard one. The problem is that compression socks just don't come in our size. I have used an ace bandage in conjunction with my ice to help out with this.
Elevate: I elevate my legs every night when I sleep. I use a medical wedge I got for 20 bucks at a local drug store. It keeps my legs up over my heart and that is the most important thing to remember, your legs must be elevated over your heart.
Alright Mammoths this is the first installment. I will talk about painkillers on the next post.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post them and I will answer them as best I can :)
Happy Running
The first thing you need to do is manage your pain and injury. All Mammoths should be RICEing. RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compress, and Elevate your legs.
Rest: We don't have to go after it six days a week. Most of the workouts I see have you running between 3 or 4 days a week so just keep it slow and steady.
Ice: Ice is my new best friend, especially on my knees. Without ice I would not be able to continue. I use it for twenty minutes on and twenty minutes off and I do it for an hour. You need to find your own tolerance for this because this can be very challenging.
Compress: For us Mammoths this is a hard one. The problem is that compression socks just don't come in our size. I have used an ace bandage in conjunction with my ice to help out with this.
Elevate: I elevate my legs every night when I sleep. I use a medical wedge I got for 20 bucks at a local drug store. It keeps my legs up over my heart and that is the most important thing to remember, your legs must be elevated over your heart.
Alright Mammoths this is the first installment. I will talk about painkillers on the next post.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to post them and I will answer them as best I can :)
Happy Running
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
From Couch to Conquerer: Training for a Half Marathon
A lot of you are probably wondering how a guy my size gets up one day and decides to do a 1/2 marathon and then goes ahead and does it. Simple, I found an expert and made a plan. I have found in this life that if you want anything to go right you need to seek out advice from people who have been there and done that. When I was a young soldier my Dad gave me some sage advice. He told me to listen to my top sergeant and follow his direction as if it were the word of God. Good advice that I still use to this day.
When I started out on this quest for the 1/2 I weighed in at 520 pounds. I was so miserable and I could hardly walk. The thing that I had though was grit and determination. To me that is the key to any training program and finally attacking the long run, being determined! You know that this is not going to be easy, you know that this going to require effort, and you know that there are times you are going to feel pain. But you also know that you can do anything you set your mind too. That is not rah-rah BS stuff, that is real.
Any good Woolly Mammoth will tell you that you start slow, keep it moderate, and when you need to push it, you push it. That is what I did. I started off by running for 30 seconds and then walking for four minutes and thirty seconds, a total of five minutes. Now I was exhausted by that five minutes but I found that I also wanted to do another five minutes and it was this determination that kept me motivated.
Now this process is not pretty and you are going to have to deal with all sorts of issues. Especially dealing with injury. That will be the focus of my next post.
When I started out on this quest for the 1/2 I weighed in at 520 pounds. I was so miserable and I could hardly walk. The thing that I had though was grit and determination. To me that is the key to any training program and finally attacking the long run, being determined! You know that this is not going to be easy, you know that this going to require effort, and you know that there are times you are going to feel pain. But you also know that you can do anything you set your mind too. That is not rah-rah BS stuff, that is real.
Any good Woolly Mammoth will tell you that you start slow, keep it moderate, and when you need to push it, you push it. That is what I did. I started off by running for 30 seconds and then walking for four minutes and thirty seconds, a total of five minutes. Now I was exhausted by that five minutes but I found that I also wanted to do another five minutes and it was this determination that kept me motivated.
Now this process is not pretty and you are going to have to deal with all sorts of issues. Especially dealing with injury. That will be the focus of my next post.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Welcome to the Herd
Hi everyone. Welcome to the Woolly Mammoth Runner blog. My name is Mark Evans and I just completed two huge things in my life. First, I was on a weight loss reality program called Heavy that will be on A&E this coming January. Second, I ran my first 1/2 marathon and it is this part that this blog will be concerned with. Being a larger man (at the writing of this I am at 355 lbs.) running is a lot harder than it is for our slenderer brethren of the road. So our challenges are different and how we approach our distance runs is different than the speedsters.
It is my intention to use this blog as a way for me to explain how I am approaching my distance runs, training, strategies, equipment, so on and so forth that the heavier runner has to deal with. My first blog will be on training and how I went from a couch potato to 1/2 marathoner in six months.
It is my intention to use this blog as a way for me to explain how I am approaching my distance runs, training, strategies, equipment, so on and so forth that the heavier runner has to deal with. My first blog will be on training and how I went from a couch potato to 1/2 marathoner in six months.
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