Where's Ken Been?

It's been almost 2 years since I have posted on this blog. I have had to deal with a work change and a few setbacks, which have lead to my loss of interest. First, I injured my right hamstring training in November of 2014. I then injured my shoulder. I was surprised at the level of pain I was experiencing with the shoulder issue. I had to suspend my running for almost 7 months because of both injuries. I finally had surgery to repair my shoulder in October, 2015. Then my dad passed away this June, 2016 after a number of months of suffering.

For therapy, I resumed running in January of 2016. It's been a very slow process of regaining fitness, especially with the extra 10+ lbs I gained. I'm back up to running about 20-25 miles per week. It's at a slow pace though even when I push myself. I'm hopeful that in time I'll be able to get down into the 6:45-7:15 minutes per mile range for shorter distances.

I actually did the Manchester Thanksgiving Day road race last November, without a seeding card. That was the only race I did last year and as a result, I wasn't able to avoid all the human traffic. My time was around 43 minutes, which was significantly slower than I have ever run that race. It's very difficult to run a good time without a seeding card because of the crowd that is in front of you. I was finally able to stretch my legs a bit around the 2 mile mark. So my goal for next year is to get a seeding card and actually run a good race.

Regarding my running friends, we were able to get together again at our local watering hole in mid-December, 2016 to remember Dave Cherico and  Doug Zimmerman, several of our running buddies that are no longer with us. I wasn't able to get a photo of the group like in past years, but we had I good turnout. I was able to see a number of my former coworkers since my retirement in early 2013. Don't worry. I'm still working though, just not for the state.

Ken