Aaron Roe(bot) Fulkerson Open source entrepreneur and digital viking.
About Me
I am a founder and the Chief Executive Officer of MindTouch, a popular open source business application and collaboration platform used by millions. Read more.
I've not been able to run due to a kn…
May 2, 2009 — Aaron Fulkerson
I’ve not been able to run due to a knee injury so I’ve been biking as much as I can fit in between work and family. Biking poses a greater challenge than running because I have to spend 3x the time to achieve a similar workout. Nonetheless, this week I managed to sneak in 66 miles. I realize 66 miles would be far more impressive were it not spread out across 7 days, but it’s hard for me to find time to do 15 miles in a day.
I’d like to post my routes. I use a Garmin Forerunner 405, which means in theory it’s possible. Alas, I’ve tried countless times to get the Forerunner to synch with my computer (Windows Vista 64 and two Windows XP laptops) with no success. It’s terribly frustrating because I’ve sent several emails to Garmin support and have even tried to reach them by phone for help. No response. Bottom line, the Garmin Forefunner 405 is decent hardware. It does a good job of keeping satellite connectivity even in the city. I’ve had some problems with the touch bevel when I’m especially sweaty or it is especially hot, I’m not sure which. Perhaps a combination of both. I’ve confirmed the Forerunner is remarkably accurate by using Google Maps to map my routes. Impressive for such a small device. However, the software is complete trash and the fact that I can’t get it to synch with my computer is a huge disappointment for a ~$275 device. The engineers should be embarrassed. Finally, the fact Garmin has absolutely no desire to help their customers is totally inexcusable.
At any rate, back to my biking. I frequently bring my camera along with me and in San Diego there is no shortage of photo opportunities. A random sampling plucked from my flickr stream:
16 Miles Run
February 17, 2009 — Aaron Fulkerson
NOTE: I was wrote this post last Sunday, but I didn’t publish it because we left for the hospital to give birth to our 2nd child: Roesevelt David Fulkerson. I twittered the birth and I’ll be publishing a blog post ASAP about Roe and the birth. Time for my weekly training update. First, let me remind myself here that I started running with my other shoes at the beginning of this week. Shoes are good for 300 miles and I’m rotating two pairs to make sure I have shoes for the Rock and Roll Marathon on June 1.
This week was especially hectic at work as I finished a time consuming project. As a result I missed running one day
, which means I only got in three runs. My run on Tuesday was 3.74 miles through downtown and in the rain. My run Thursday was a great 5 mile run through Mission Hills. The Saturday run was a brutal 8 mile run that began at Morley Field to the North of Balboa park. The run was partly on muddy trails and consisted of running up and down canyons. It whipped my ass. Rion did fantastic with a 9:40ish pace. My pace was terrible at 10:49.
My left calf is giving me problems. My muscles in the calf and shin cramp up so tight that it is difficult to even walk. When this happens it’s always within the first two miles and I have to stretch it vigorously for it to loosen up. This happened to me after the first canyon during the 8 mile run yesterday and it took me a half mile to get the calf to loosen so I could run again. I never know when to expect it to give me problems, but whenever it does it leaves me feeling not in control. It’s very frustrating. Also, after runs along the right side of this left calf, from just above my foot (on the right side) to just below the knee on the inside of the leg and what feels to be under the calf muscle I have a sharp sustained pain that does not feel like a pulled muscle, but more like tendon strain.I spoke with one of the WC Roadrunner coaches about strategies to help. Obviously I’m already stretching the hell out of the problem (left) calf before every run. The coach suggested: stretch it more, run on your heels and also toes during warm-up to stretch it more and work it with “The Stick“, which I’ve been considering buying anyway.
My training schedule this week:
Feb 14
Feb 15 Feb 16
Feb 17
Feb 18
Feb 19
Feb 20
Feb 21
8 miles OFF 40 min (missed) 25 min 45 min 35 min OFF 9 miles Related articles by Zemanta
- 12.5 Miles Run, 11 Miles Biked (oblogn.com)
12.5 Miles Run, 11 Miles Biked
February 8, 2009 — Aaron FulkersonKind of a slow running week. I over did my runs early on in the week and I
‘ve had problems with my left calf and achilles tendon for most of this week. So, I took it easy on my feet and used my bike more than usual.I ran 7 miles today. My pace time was 9:36 minute miles. Euh, not exactly what I had hoped for, but given my lack of running this week I’m ok with the performance. It was a nice run that circumvented Coranado. It rained off and on the entire time, which felt great. My training this week:
Feb 7
Feb 8 Feb 9
Feb 10 Feb 11 Feb 12 Feb 13 Feb 14 7 miles OFF 40 min 45 min OFF 40 min OFF 8 miles UPDATE: Tara brought to my attention she did this run with WC Roadrunners (same running club), but pushed Ashby in the stroller the whole distance. She did it in about 10 minutes longer time. Wow.
14 Miles Run, 9 Miles Biked
January 25, 2009 — Aaron Fulkerson
14 miles by foot and 9 on bike. That was my week. On Saturday I had a fantastic run from Mission Bay High School to Pacific Beach and then back along Mission Bay. I hit the beach and it was as if I ran through a curtain of air that washed my psyche clean. Exhilarating. I’ve shaved just over a minute off my pace time since beginning running with West Coast Roadrunners three weeks ago.
My running this week:
Jan 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 5 miles OFF 35 min 40 min OFF 40 min OFF 6 miles Update: I counted 8 days for this week. Had to update the numbers.
Spark: Training
January 18, 2009 — Aaron FulkersonPreviously I mentioned I had been reading “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain”. Immediately after beginning the book I began running and soon after I was convinced by my wife, Tara, to join her running group, West Coast Road Runners and train for the Rock & Roll Marathon she ran last year here in San Diego. I agreed this was a wonderful idea and I’m proud to report that I’m two weeks in.
The training looks like this for the next week:
Jan 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 “Marine Corps” Pace Group
4 miles
OFF
30 min
35 min
OFF
40 min
OFF
5 milesThe coaches incrementally increase the length of time you run during the week and add a mile a week, or thereabouts, with an occasional drop in mileage after longer runs. Participants are broken up into pace groups. I’m currently running in the slower pace group “Catalina” than the group above, but I intend to train for the above pace group get my average mile under 10 minutes. I’m currently running a 10:10 mile.
So, I must have been running for a while to have run 4.5 miles yesterday, right? Not at all. I haven’t run since I was 15-16 years old. In fact, I just began running about 4 weeks ago. When I first started running the idea of running 5 miles seemed insane. Completely mad! Indeed, when I first started I could only run for a mile without stopping. Now, 5 miles is no problem. I ran 4.5 miles yesterday and I could have easily done a couple more miles. Mind you, I currently have a terrible head and chest cold too. I’m writing this not to be braggadocios, but because I’m not any different than anyone else. Your body will amaze you.
For the first few weeks that I ran my knees where killing me. This is to be expected and it will correct itself as your leg muscles develop. For me, a new pair of good running shoes made a huge difference too. I was fitted at Roadrunner Sports where they assess your foot, arches and gait to establish the most appropriate type of shoe for you. Also, I had a lot of problems with my shin muscles cramping up. Rion, who is also training with me for the Rock & Roll, made some technique suggestions based on the book he read: “Chi Running: A Revolutionary Approach To Effortless, Injury-Free Running”. This helped, but now it is clear to me that the primary cause was under developed calf muscles that needed to strengthen. Rest assured if you start a running program all those early aches and pains will abate as your develop your underworked muscles and develop your technique.
More important than how quickly your body adapts itself to running is how you feel. On my running days off I crave a run. When I run I feel amazing. Colors are brighter, smells more fragrant, I’m more focused and I feel generally incredible. There can be no doubt, our bodies are genetically predisposed to run. It’s amazing how quickly we forget the benefits of exercise.
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Interwebs dig pregnant chicks
December 21, 2008 — Aaron FulkersonWhen I post a photo to Flickr ~10 views in the first 12 hours is pretty good. I posted this photo of Tara last night:
And it racks up 150 unique views in the first 12 hours. What the hell? I know she’s hot, but is there that many people on the Interwebs with prego fetishes?
By the by, Tara is 7 months pregnant with my son: Roesevelt David Fulkerson. I snapped this photo a few days ago after Tara’s morning run. Yes, she runs and yes. it does get a lot of looks through Mission Hills and Hillcrest.
My wife is amazing – 26.2 miles
June 4, 2008 — Aaron FulkersonI am SO damn proud of Tara. This last weekend my wife ran the Rock-N-Roll Marathon here in San Diego! I’m so proud of her! Ashby, Brenda (Tara’s mom) and I were there to cheer Tara on. It was very emotional. I freely admit I shed a few tears of pride and joy for her.
I don’t link to Tara’s blog here because that’s personal family content, but I’m going to excerpt Tara’s post about the marathon here.
…
The downtown part was great and more so because our families were cheering us on at mile 6. Aaron had a air horn so it was easy to locate my awesome family with their signs.
Somewhere around mile 11 on the 163 my knees started hurting and my little toe on my left foot was aching. At this point, Jarod and I are still together running and we decide to slow down our pace a little.
Right before segment 3/Mission Bay my knees are throbbing but the vibe from the fans was energizing. I liked the neighborhood feel and the view kept me distracted. Also, I tried a few new things which gave me a burst of energy such as chewing on ice cubes and bubble gum. This was around mile 18 and at this time Jarod was going faster so we split.
Around mile 21 I was HURTING beyond words and I began getting emotional – way emotional. I cut out a picture of Ashby the size of my ipod and had it taped to the back. It helped me to see my daughter however it almost brought a wave of unexpected emotion during this mile. I got it together and just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Luckily, when I passed the corner I could see the end point way in the distance which gave me energy.
At Mile 23 I realize I passed my buddy Jarod somehow and my competitiveness creeped in (in a good way) which pushed me to the end.
At Mile 24 I walked a few steps, collected my thoughts, and pushed all pain out the door. I ran strong till Mile 25 and at that time I experienced the “runners high.” I wish I could find out how fast I ran the last mile because I would not be surprised to find out that I did it in under 8 minutes. When I made the decision to “haul ass” I looked down and I had goosebumps everywhere and I did not feel any pain whatsoever. I literally hauled ass to the finish line. I heard Aaron’s bull horn and saw the finish line all at the same time. I saw my mom and Aaron and I began crying because I was so happy to see them and to be finished.
I finished with a smile and both hands in the air.Questions I have asked myself:
Will I do it again? Most definitely.
How soon? In the next year.
What will I do differently? I will build up my quadriceps because I believe my knees hurt so much in the long runs because my thighs are not as strong as they should be to support the knees. (my dad’s advice)
…
What is my goal? To get faster, stronger, and to finish the next marathon in 4 hours and 30 minutes.
4:50 am (my mom was up with me at 4:00 AM)
6 Mile Marker
Finish Line – weeping
Relief
Proud Daughter
Proud Husband (mom too but she was taking photos)
My Buds
Dressed for the post-marathon celebration at Jarod’s house – going through posters.Ashby’s Poster
Aaron’s Poster
Poppa and Mimi’s Poster
The Day After – very stiff but itching to jog on Thursday morning
Once again, I would never have been able to accomplish this personal goal without my ENTIRE family.Thank you Tara for inspiring me with your drive and ambition.
I love you.
