The Buoy

Barton

March 7, 2014

"The Buoy."

"It is so good that it hurts." You may have heard of that expression at one time or another. No doubt they were talking about A.R.T. or active release therapy. A.R.T usually involves the breaking up of scar tissue and the like when your having pain in certain areas of your body. Many people use foam rollers or similar contraptions in order to fix nagging injuries. I have done them one better. I have used the same action but replaced the soft foam roller with a sea buoy. 

Unlike the foam roller the sea buoy is 10 times harder. I have used it in the past to fix my olio tibial band syndrome when I overdid my road running. I've recently rediscovered my love for the hard piece of foam. More accurately my back has rediscovered the love the buoy gives. It's not the gentlest lover but afterwards I am no longer in pain. This recent back injury stemmed from too much snow shoveling combined with pulling it in the basement at the end of a lift play. A lift play is where I try and lift weights while getting distracted with projects, readings, and any other form of distraction I can find in the basement of my home. 

Running doesn't seem to make it any worse. In fact I think it actually helps to a certain degree. I'm not praising the road as a healing agent, far from it. Now the trails are another story. But that story can only be told when all this snow and ice thaws out. The way it's going around here it may take a while. It could be 50 degrees one day and the next so cold I got to wear my snowboarding face mask. Well at least the mask got some use cause I think my snowboarding days are over. Not that I wouldn't go again, I was actually invited to go on a day trip Saturday. I just feel it's not worth it and would rather find something else to do, like swimming, biking or running. Snowboarding for me has always been sort of a social thing where the focus is on friendship. Anyways with my back being annoying I figured that wasn't the best option for me but for alls I know it would probably fix me right up, o well. We are never the person we were yesterday, each day is a new. That's why I try and live each day with passion. Steve runner/walker said it nicely on The Wine Chat Podcast where he said, "Passionate people don't wake up in the morning to get through their lives. They get up in the morning to experience their lives. To take even the most mundane things they have to do during the day and make a moment of it. It's how I try to live my life."

That is also how I try to live my life as well. I try to love what I am doing. I also try and do what I love. Being in the moment has always been hard for me. I'm always thinking about the next thing. One of the problems is I have a lot of time to think. Maybe it's not a problem but a blessing. All I need to do is think it is positive and it will be. The power of positive thinking is something to keep in mind. Seeing the glass is half full can be tough but it's well worth the training. 

In regards my physical training the buoy has always been a great help when I have been coming back from an injury. I've been eating good and swimming more so I haven't had a real serious running injury in a while. Besides the preventative maintenance the buoy provides it also feels good. It hurts sometimes but the after feeling is great. Kind of like stretching when you sit at a desk all day. Now that I rediscovered my buoy I'm sure I'll make it a daily lunch break routine.

"Still floating"

- Barton -  

First annual uno solo run 2014

John Inglese Jr.

February 22, 2014

Uno Solo Run

The self supported marathon 

I'll start by saying that this was not a self supported marathon. Yes, I ran it by myself. Yes, I supported myself with the fuel and motivation. I say that it wasn't a self supported marathon because I received a hundred bucks to do it.

It all started when I signed up for a trail run months ago. I tend to sign up for things and stress the details later. So a week before the race I discovered that the area where I would be was not the safest. So I canceled my hotel reservation and told my mom that if I ran a marathon around our area she had to give me a hundred bucks to cover for the entry fee of the ultra. And that's how the Uno Solo run began. 

I actually just recently ran a real self supported marathon last month so this was not so different. Each marathon is a discovery and that's why I'm writing, to reflect on what I have learned on the journey. 

One of the most impacting observations I discovered was what I call, "the water effect". It seems whether I'm grabbing a cup of coffee, running a marathon, reading, or any other activity around a body of water there is a sense of peace and enlightenment. I can feel the positive mood creep into my self when I'm near this life sustaining element. I also got excited when I got near the beach because I thought I saw a dolphin in the shallows. Turns out it was just a tree, maybe my endorphins were playing a trick with my brain. 

While gazing at the clear, sunny and 'warm' ( I say warm by meaning around 50 degrees instead of the recent 20 degrees and below) day, I stumbled onto a pack of runners.  Not only once but twice. The second time they even said to run with them but I was in one of those running modes where I just needed my alone time. 

I have discovered that during those tough running moments there are a number of things I do to make the moment fly by so the good, elated moments seem to come quicker. One thing I have always done was say a sentence in line with my foot falls and or my breathing rate. A good one I use is, "I can do it". Sometimes when it's really quit I start to just listen to my breathing. Doing these things helps me to focus on the act and not think about things like I usually do. Thinking is good but it's nice to break it up and just focus sometimes. 

It's is amazing the thoughts that come up in your mind when out on the open road or trail. I have a lot of notes and reminders I plan to share be it my blog, essays, or maybe even I'll start a podcast. Whatever medium I use the thoughts come to me in clear, concise intervals and during the act of running my brain is not cluttered. It's organized and calm which is the opposed of my body at some times during the act of running. 

I'm not always calm and happy when running. It can be exhausting, gut wrenching, pure torture. But I got the secret... Smile! It is so simple and yet so complex that when you smile no matter what's going on your instantly more positive. This transfers over into all other aspects of life making you a more pleasant person. Being pleasant can go a long way and spread the positive vibes you give off. 

Upon completion of the Uno Solo run I met my mom at the same starbucks I did the month prior. I grabbed some victory red mango until she arrived and got my usual cup o joe. Dark coffee, Red wine, and Frozen yogurt are three things everyone should enjoy. Before I got my coffee I wanted to get a little more comfortable so I grabbed my change of cloth's from my moms car. I've done this before and it's always interesting changing cloths after a long endurance event. Thinking back that was probably the hardest part of the marathon. Not only cause I'm tired and sore but because it's telling my mind that the fun is over and back to being in the real world again.

Running with no particular route in mind is also something everyone should enjoy. Exploring and discovering new things brings out the best in who you are. You have to forget yourself and the worry that is part of everyday life and just go. It goes by so fast. I usually tell myself that during a run. "Once it's over it's over", so I try and enjoy the moment. Even if I'm at a low point during the run. I hope to run more of these and hope to encourage others to do the same and really find themselves. I'll continue to keep searching for myself as well.

-Barton- Still smiling :)