Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Run, Run, Run Week 1 (Again)

Yep- I am rehashing the title of a previous post from a previous post (review if necessary)...

So I started week 1 of my campaign to run a half-marathon- again. Sadly, I was getting ready to run my longest run of my training so far (6 miles) before the gallbladder attack that sidelined me for nearly 3 weeks. After the surgery, recovery didn't seem to be going so well, so the hiatus was longer than I anticipated. With that much time away from the pavement, I was nervous that I would lose all of the momentum I had created in the weeks prior. I was right to be concerned.

For those not familiar with the struggles of new runner, running on a treadmill has is benefits and detriments. The benefits are a nicely controlled climate, TV to watch as I run, and speed control so all a person has to do is run. On the contrary, running indoors means no matter how fast you run, you never go anywhere and your eyes become fixated on how many minutes or distance you have left before you can stop. Running outside allows for the mind to be clear and enjoy the fresh air. However, it also means that you are at the mercy of the climate.

One thing I was not prepared for was the amount of pounding my legs would feel after my first run outside. The treadmill has a lot of give and also provides a runner with some forward-propelled motion to move to the next stride. Running on the ground provides a tougher surface and does not provide the forward momentum- you body must do all the work. Therefore, I felt as if my legs were beaten with a bat after my first run outside. My legs did not recover for several days. I had to actually push through the pain to complete additional runs while the legs were still sore. Eventually the legs began feeling better and I no longer had the pain in the aftermath of any run since.

I write this in order to say that after 3 weeks off from training, my first run felt the EXACT same way they did the first time I started running again. Hence, I lost all the endurance that I had built over August and September in just 3 weeks. While I was previously running approximately 15 miles per week, last week I was only able to run. a mere 5 miles. It's pretty pathetic to know that  if you don't continue to exercise, your muscles will atrophy to the point that you have to start over once again. All that endurance- gone.

This week I notice that I am building up endurance a bit faster than I did before, so all is not lost. This week I have already ran 5 miles in my first 2 runs of the week, so I should get to 10 miles this week. Next week, I hope to be closer to 12 miles or greater. Either way, I hope that I will not have any problems or illnesses that take me of the roadway in the near future. I am back on my quest for half-marathon!

If you are interested in daily runs, you can follow me as @mrogerson on Twitter, where I post each of my daily runs. If you are running, I would encourage you to use Nike+ which will track all of your runs, so you don't have to the work yourself. Also, with Nike+, you can challenge others and play running games that will encourage you and your friends to keep running. Let me know if you are using Nike+ and I will find you on Nike+ so we can keep in touch. If not, I will also keep you posted here as well. I hope to have a half-marathon completed in Spring of 2012. Depending on my progress, I may have a half-marathon completed by the end of the year! Wish me luck!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Dead End Job

Thanks to the Police for the title of this post...

A couple of weeks ago (as written in a previous blog) I had undergone gallbladder surgery. On my post-op visit, the doctor advised that I take another week off from work to fully recover from the surgery- which I was happy about. I had started feeling better, but was really in no shape to return to work. As the second week was winding down, my anxiety started...

I have been with Verizon Wireless for over 8 years. I have had virtually the same job for about 7 years, with about a year of other duties sprinkled in along that time. Initially, I fell for the grandeur of "opportunities to be promoted from within" lines as if they were true statements- why would the company lie about such things? However, this has not been the case as time progressed. I have applied for over 50 positions within the company and have succeeded in attaining 4 of them. Not a successful ratio. I have even been offered a job by a manager, accepted the position, only to be told that I would NOT be getting the position a week later! The stories about my struggles for progression would amaze you. I thought that I finally caught a break 7 months ago when I received an interim position with an auditing team. Unfortunately, 7 months came and went as a permanent position was not being filled at this time. Therefore, I was returning back to my previous job. That is, before the gall bladder surgery.

I have never been off two full weeks at once in the 8 years I had been at Verizon Wireless. Sure, I have had 9 or 10 days off before including weekends, but never as many as the 17 days off I had this past month. One would think that after that much time off, one would be rejuvenated and feel refreshed and be back at work without any dread. One would be wrong.  Yesterday, I entered my building, sat along side my co-workers and walked out with the same feeling of dread I had nearly 8 months prior when I was performing my old job description.

The best way I can explain it to people is that it's like going to school every morning only to see that bully at the door waiting for you. You know he is there for one thing: to punch you in the stomach and take your lunch money and push you down to the ground. No matter how much you try to put up a fight, the results are the same: a deflated ego, a bruise in your ribs and that queasy feeling that even though you made it to Friday, Monday is right around the corner and it starts all over again.

I don't really know where I am going with this post, but I am sure there are others out there that will read this and can empathize with exactly the same feelings that I feel about my job. Longing for a fulfilling career is something that many of us deal with, so I am not asking for pity. All I know is that I cannot, nor will not go on like this. Something has to change. I am going to be looking for that something. And when I find it, I am going to hold onto it like I am gasping for air. Either within or (more than likely) without Verizon Wireless.

Friday, October 7, 2011

It's The End of the World As We Know It

REM, of course...

Tonight is a tough night for me. Sadly, the New York Yankees finished their season during the ALDS, which is a series or two short from the expectations of Yankees fans. (Sidebar: luckily, I taped Game 4 (a Yankee victory) for when Jacob is demanding that we watch baseball. He loves watching baseball so much, I can't break his heart to tell him that baseball season ever ends.) What happened tonight was a microcosm of the entire ALDS: the heart of the order simply did not produce much fruit.

Alex Rodriguez is supposed to protect Robinson Cano, but he put up numbers that were an atrocity- even for A-Rod. He went 0-4, with 3 Ks tonight, leaving him with a paltry .111 AVG (2 for 18), 3 RBI with 6 Ks for the series. Hardly the number you expect for a man with the highest salary in baseball. The numbers don't do his performance any justice. He did not look comfortable at the plate for most of the series. He simply looked confused did not have any confidence swinging the bat. There were instances where Tigers pitching made him look downright foolish. Mark Teixiera and Nick Swisher didn't offer much more for the Yankees either. Teixiera .166/1 RBI/5 Ks and Swisher .211/2 RBI and 5 Ks for the series. These 3 men left enough men on base to make the Weather Girls blush (queue the song, "It's Raining Men?") The heart of a lineup cannot perform like this if you expect to progress in the postseason.

CC Sabathia did not pitch well either. His Game 3 performance was less than spectacular, and he also gave up a run in relief tonight. Considering that he is not used to coming out of the bullpen, he kept it close enough for one of the Yankee hitters to pick him up tonight.

Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson both had a stellar postseason. Cano was amazing at the plate hitting .318 with 9 RBI while looking smooth as silk in picking it in the field defensively. Granderson produced offensively as well, but his defense proved to be the best of any player in the series. He stretched out to make an inning-ending catch that saved 3 runs in the 1st inning of Game 4 and another amazing diving catch to end the a later inning and saved 2 more runs. Without his leather in Game 4, A-Rod would not have had a chance to kill the Yankees in Game 5.

The brightest spot for the Yankees in this series must be the emergence of Brett Gardner. Gardner (in the 9th spot) had a .428 AVG and accounted for 8 runs (5 RBI and 3 runs scored). When he is on first, it isn't long until he ends up stealing 2nd and has his eyes on 3rd. Gardner is looking like the player I wanted him to become- a speed demon that gives the Yankees an opportunity to manufacture runs instead of simply relying on the long ball.

Finally, I do have an issue with Joe Girardi's decision-making tonight: not one pinch-hitter the entire evening. Russell Martin did not have great ABs tonight, why not throw Jesus Montero a bone? Girardi also had Andruw Jones on the pine who could have taken swings for Swisher. As poorly as A-Rod was swinging the bat tonight (much less the entire series), was there an opportunity to pinch-hit for him? ThereI realize that the NY sports writers would have likely had a field day with it, but I would have like to seen Eric Chavez with an opportunity at the plate. What's the worst that could happen: Chavez to make the final out of the season instead of A-Rod? That would have made it easier for A-Rod over the next few days, Instead, the season ended the same way it did last year: with A-Rod striking out swinging and a bunch of question marks heading into the offseason.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman has a lot of work to do this offseason. The Yankees will likely lose Jorge Posada, and they will be looking for starting pitching once again. Who really thinks that Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia will have a repeat of this season's success nest year? Finally, CC Sabathia is likely to opt-out of his contract with the Yankees next year. That will be a huge blow to the AL East Champion Yankees' chances of repeating and progressing further in the postseason if he is not re-signed. It figures to be a tumultuous time in New York over the next few days as the ire of fans turns to the anticipation of the Hot Stove of MLB Free Agency.