200th Post? Really?

I had no idea I was approaching 200 posts on this blog until a few days ago when I saw "197" on the screen. I guess it has been what, two years, of off again on again posting so 200 posts isn't totally out of left field.

Anyway, this post won't be much in the way of historical...maybe for my 300th post I'll put some more thought into making a memorable post.

I didn't get out yesterday or this morning because I've been going to bed WAY too late to be able to pull myself out of bed at 6 AM. Annie's rehearsals mean she doesn't get home until after 11 so we aren't in bed until midnight or later. It's totally unsustainable but she has two more days of rehearsal and then two shows before it ends (and then we go on vacation) so I'll tough it out.

I really should get a quick run in to keep on track with my recovery runs so I may go home and do a quick 1.5 mile loop to get the knee some action. Then I can try to get out tomorrow morning and take Saturday off to rest the knee, pack, and nap so I can stay awake on the drive on Sunday night.

After we get back from vacation, getting the right amount of sleep each night will be my top priority because I feel so much better when I actually sleep 7-8 hours. Oddly, I feel sluggish when I go over that length of time nowadays. I used to be able to sleep for 12-14 hours with no problem, but now I feel lethargic if I sleep even 9-10 hours (unless I'm jet-lagged, sick or totally exhausted.) I know that with more sleep, getting out of bed in the morning won't be nearly as difficult.

CFA is Like Running...Kind of

CFA Level I exam results came out today and I literally, just barely failed. In some ways, that's worse than if I had failed by a wide margin because had I answered a few more questions correctly (assuming I'd eventually come to correct answer, of course), I'd have passed.

You don't get your actual score for the exam. They send you a letter that says Pass or Fail and then shows each of the exam's sections and a star underneath one of three columns denoting how many questions in the section you got right: <50%;>70%. I got more than 70% in three areas and between 51% and 70% right in the rest of the exam. They also assign you to a "band" of failing test takers on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 means that you were in the lowest decile of failures while 10 means you were in the top 10% of test takers who failed. I was in band 10, which basically tells me that had I done a little bit better on accounting, I'd be taking Level II next June.

So, what have I learned (aside from way too much about statistics for my tastes?)

Even though I studied hard, I don't think I studied as smartly as I should have. I didn't take as many complete practice exams as I should have and I started studying about three weeks later than I should have. I wasn't as organized and tactical in what I studied until it was too late, really. Starting to study tactically a month before the exam is not smart, but that's what I did.

This time around, I'm going to dedicate more time, but over more weeks, to the CFA. I don't have to start from scratch, which means I can read the curriculum this time through and master the advanced concepts rather than trying to keep my head above water with the basics.

In running terms, I tried to run a marathon without a proper base load of miles. And I bonked. Now, I have the base I need to start training to be competitive.

I'm going to work out a training schedule where I'm reading or completing a few questions each day, using targeted workouts to build endurance some days, recover other days, increase speed other days, etc. By the time I start to taper that final week before the exam, I should be in much better shape than I was this time around. The first step of all this is to sit down and think about how long the training plan will be (i.e. when do I start? September/October? January?) Then working out a weekly schedule leading up to the exam will be critical to ensuring I stay on target.

At the same time, I don't want to become totally consumed by the CFA again, if I can help it. The material is dense and challenging for me, who has never taken an accounting or corporate finance course. But I would like to create a schedule where I can keep making progress with running while also preparing for the exam. Maintaining balance is something that they don't highlight in the CFA material, but something which I think is critical to not burning out on the stuff by exam day.

Like I said, hindsight is 20/20 and I'm glad that I have the experience of taking the exam once already. I would feel much worse had I done really poorly, but with a little more polishing, next June I should be able to murder that exam...or at least pass!

"Rehab" Run #2

This morning, after a relaxing weekend, I got back out for my second rehab run, of sorts. The idea is to take it really slow and short until I feel that my knee and the rest of my body had acclimated to not sitting around all day.

Today, I did a very short 1.5 mile loop at an easy pace. There was no pain in the knee and less of a weakness feeling in it as well, which is good news. I resisted the temptation to try to run faster because not only do I not want to mess up the knee I spent two weeks babying, but I want to make sure I actually build endurance, and that means running at a apace that I can sustain the entire run, no matter the distance. I have to remember that the objective of a half marathon or full marathon is to cover the entire distance running (at least that's my objective) and to minimize walking. To do that, you need first the endurance to run that far and then you can build speed. It's a long road, but that's fine.

My plan is to keep it to 1.5 mile loops the rest of this week (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) and see how I feel. We leave for the beach on Sunday afternoon, so I have already mapped out a few short routes around the island we'll be staying at. We're spending three days with my family at a beach house in Isle of Palms, SC and then heading up to Myrtle Beach for three more days just the two of us. So, I need to map out some a route in Myrtle as well that I can hit one morning.

I had hoped to be up to running 3 miles at a time by this point to help offset all the good seafood I'll be eating next week, but that's the way things go sometimes. By the time we go to the beach next summer (maybe with her family), I should be back to half-marathon distance and with any luck, my speed will be much improved.

Weekend Video and Ironman

Meant to post this earlier, but the work day just got away from me with several meetings this afternoon including a portfolio risk review meeting.

Anyway, the knee is feeling oh so close to 100% now. I'd estimate it's around 96% with little soreness. So, I think I'm ready to get out tomorrow morning and see how it feels. I anticipate soreness, but it's recovered enough that as long as I go slowly in running from now on, it should heal up completely and not get worse.

On another note, the YouTube video below has been sweeping around the Internet this week and I saw it this morning. It's pervaded the online world enough that I got the link in a daily e-mail from an energy (oil and natural gas) company stock research firm as part of their Friday Humor section. Everytime I watch this video, I laugh because it looks like it was a great wedding to attend. Plus, everyone looks happy and that's what a wedding should be: a fun, happy party to celebrate. It was also a nice way to begin the work day, particularly with above-mentioned meetings on the horizon.



Should be a good weekend here in Charm City. Hot and humid and a high of 92 tomorrow, but I'll be at the office for the afternoon so no problemo. Then it's home to watch the Ford Hawaii Ironman on NBC! One of my favorite sporting events to watch. I like the way they cover both the pros vying for the title and ordinary athletes just trying to finish. Very inspiring. And truth be told, one of my ultimate, very long-term fitness goals is to complete at least one Ironman someday. The first step is getting my running back in decent shape so by "long-term" I'm talking 5 years or more. But hey, I'm not even 30 yet so I have time to hit that goal, I think.

The Best Movie of the Summer!

Or, that's what just about every trailer for a movie these days says. Usually, when I see that, I know it probably sucks because most of the time studios take a quote out of context. They'll say Transformers II is "a knockout...you need to see this movie!" as quoted in the New York Times. But the review will actually say, "While Megan Fox may be a knockout, her acting is utterly terrible. There is no reason on God's green earth you need to see this movie." But it's really just a way to get poor saps to spend $10 on a bad movie.

Which is kinda what I wanted from that title so you'd read the post, although it has nothing to do with a movie. Running Warehouse is having a sale right now where most, if not all, of its apparel is 25% off. This doesn't include shoes, but who doesn't need a new pair of shorts or a new running shirt for racing season, right? I don't know where the link is for the discount on their site because I clicked through a link I got in an e-mail from them. But if you aren't familiar with Running Warehouse, check out the site (just do a Google/Bing/Yahoo! search for Running Warehouse). They have tons of shoes and apparel and other stuff for runners. The best part is though that they have FREE two day shipping, which is why I do the majority of my shopping there. (In no way am I affiliated with Running Warehouse, let it be known. I just really like the site, the free shipping and the generally reasonable prices made more so by this sale.)

Each time I've bought something from the site it's arrived on time with no problems. I got my last pair of running shoes from the site and fully intend to keep doing that as well. This time around, I bought two more pair of UnderArmour compression shorts since they work so well. IMHO, compression shorts help avoid chafing when paired with strategically placed Body Glide, of course) from by keeping skin off skin, and helps keep quad and hamstring and groin pulls down. I ran one half marathon without compression shorts and had enough trouble walking and sitting from chafing that I have never run without compression shorts since.

Anyway, I digress. Check out the site and sale. It applies to men's and women's apparel, by the way.

*****INJURY UPDATE******

The knee is much better. Somewhere in the 90% to 100% range but not 100% yet. I'm continuing to baby it in the hopes that two full weeks off will be enough to allow me to start back running to strengthen it. Steps (both going up and down) are no problem now, which is good, although the tightness in the morning has remained, but it's much less painful. I imagine that it'll be tight every morning for a few more weeks, but hopefully I can run on it and gradually strengthen it as it heals up that last 10% or so.

Still Resting...

The knee has gotten better, but very slowly. I think this might be a product of the tendon not having a very big blood supply. Without tons of blood, it's harder for the body to heal quickly. It's feeling a lot better than a week ago, however, which is a good sign. In fact, I have no pain at all when walking and the stiffness in the morning has decreased considerably. If I walk on it for a few minutes, the stiffness goes away completely, although when I walk and then sit (i.e. walking 1.5 miles to work and then sitting down at my desk), it tightens up. Stairs are also much more bearable now than they were even on Thursday and Friday, which is a good sign.

The slowness of the recovery is frustrating, but I haven't done anything strenuous on the knee since last Sunday and have been icing and popping Vitamin I consistently to help. I might get up tomorrow morning to jog just a little bit as a test. Nothing hard enough to set back recovery, but I have no idea how it feels when running or jogging so it could be valuable to find out how it feels at the beginning, during and after a run, even one just around the block.

No wonder recovering from something really serious like a torn ligament can take upwards of 6 months to a year! Depending on how things feel tomorrow, maybe I'll be back on the roads later this week.

Medical Update

Went to the doctor today and thankfully the injury is minor. No damage and nothing requiring an X-ray or MRI, thankfully.

I need to keep resting the knee and only start back up running when the pain is all gone. That'll probably not be for another 3-4 days, I'd estimate based on the rate at which the pain has decreased since Sunday. At this point, the mornings are painful due to stiffness and steps are still uncomfortable. Maybe by the weekend I'll be in goo enough shape to head back out and get 2 easy miles in.