Archive for August, 2004
Abort Abort!
(First off, Blogger ate this post yesterday)
I started yesterday at 5:05 at the pine swamp. Too swampy. My new headlamp didn’t work. All I saw was fog in all directions. And the swamp was overwhelming the path for the first 1/2 mile, so I quit and turned around.
I went to Maudslay, starting at 6:10. Not bad, but HUUUUUUUMMIIIDDDD. God! It was so miserable that I was sweaty and ruined by the first mile. By the fourth mile, I had NO energy in the tank. I decided to call it quits and left after four miles.
So, cruddy sunday.
And this morning. Ah, yes. Feeling ashamed for missing my 13 miles, I decide to screw my schedule and run a few miles on the treadmill to make up for it. At 1.89 miles, I felt a weird twinge in my back. And then, OW! It was the same “throw my back out” feeling that put me out of business for a week a few years ago, only up higher on my back.
I got off the treadmill, hobbled through cleaning the thing up (because I’d already sweat all over it), and then slowly moved out to my car to head home. I got Kat out of bed and she nursed me through a shower, and then into bed. Thankfully, between six ibuprofin and some really decent home massage, I think we nipped it in the bud. I feel some weird pulls in my back and if I walk certain ways, I feel it more. So what the hell is that?
I’m not sure what I’m going to do differently. I’m going to take today and perhaps tomorrow off, and then see what happens Wednesday. I’m going to revert to fueling up more before my runs (I’d switched to just a few pieces of fruit). I’m going to pray like hell that the twinge was just a whoops. I’m going to re-enter my Core Performance workouts instead of the lighter stuff I was doing. It focuses on core muscle strength and stability, and this twinge is dead center of what core would’ve been working on.
But sheesh. I guess there’s something telling me to slow down a little.
Good news department: a friend is running the same marathon as me this November.
Next Race
I just signed up for a 23K mountain trail race coming up in a few weeks (september 19th, I think). The guy running the race was really friendly, and gave me lots of information, but seemed the “understating” type. I’ve got no clue how difficult the terrain will be, and as it’s 2+ hours away from my home, I’m not exactly going to head over for a pre-race checkout of the course.
So, this ought to be fun. 15+/- miles run over varied elevations, with roots, loose rocks, streams, and what have you. I’m so jazzed for this.
6 Miles Gerbil-Style
Okay, I was kind of lazy about wanting to hoof out to the woods and run yet again in darkness. So, I went to the gym instead, and ran in front of a bank of televisions. There’s something odd about running while watching COPS *and* Olympic coverage at the same time. On one screen, there’s this big fat black guy covered in flour and raspberry jelly because he and his girlfriend were involved in a food fight. On the other, there’s Misty May and her beach volleyball partner rolling around in the sand together after their victory (think pure thoughts!).
I’m SUCH a sweat sprinkler when I’m on the treadmill. It’s because I can’t hide from my pace. It’s there in front of me the whole time. Slowing down requires a complex technical equation, involving hitting lots of buttons in the correct sequence. Either that, or I have to hit the down arrow a LOT and it sounds like, “HEY! Look over here! The fat sweaty guy can’t hack it!”
So, when then, do people come run beside me? To look better? I guess. But this poor young lady was fastwalking along beside me, staring up at mostly the Olympics and less the COPS (I think this is like the way more guys like the Stooges than girls). And occasionally, I’d see her glance over at my sweat-spattered treadmill with a nose-turning shiver, perhaps imagining switching treadmills with me halfway.
And I put it ON. I sweat so much, it looks like I’ve been thrown in the ocean. Twice!
I had a great run, mentally, today. I was there the whole way. I played little games. I pushed my pace up to 7MPH and 8MPH for a little while. I ran circles around my willpower today. In short, I kicked sphincter.
Six miles of bliss, and if that thing doesn’t lie, 1079 calories burned. I found this scary, because I didn’t bring a Clif bar to eat on the run like I do in the woods. So, I ate like a pig at breakfast to try and compensate. I’ve been reading everywhere how athletes accidentally get fatter by starving their body of calories during their training and their bodies retaliate by slowing down their metabolism to hold on to whatever’s still hanging out.
I came home to a sleeping 2 year old and a sleeping wife. I spent a long while in the bathroom reading a book one of my coworkers suggested to me (Kiss Me Judas, by someoneorother Baer). Nice morning, gang.
What’d you do?
3 Miles and Thanks
I headed off into Maudslay at 5:30AM, and there was this guy walking up the trail ahead of me. But damned if I didn’t have a tough time catching up. Turns out, he was one of Marshall’s type of racewalkers. The dude was FAST. I passed him and then went off into the woods to continue running. I do about another half mile and POW! This guy is in front of me again (he took a different path). I have to WORK to run past this guy because he’s taking hills with these super long legs like there’s nothing to lose. And I was running FAST! Anyhow, he made the run more fun, because it became like a spooky, dark woods version of Where’s Waldo.
Thanks to EVERYONE who wrote me regarding my blues on Sunday. I’m still mulling over the feelings that experience uncovered, but I have a few things to share. For one, I think all those guys were very supportive, even when they left me in the dust. They were really friendly to me. For another, I was training for distance, and I have to conquer my distance before I build the speed. Finally, I’m on my path. It’s not finished. I’m new here. In the span of all humanity, I’m a blip. So, no problem that.
You guys are all wonderful, and I wish you each individual success.
11 Miles and Swamp
In the first mile, I saw a little baby deer hauling butt too get away from me. I saw an owl roughly the size of a bathroom trash can fly away from me. Oh, and there was this swamp stuff. Shin-deep water the color of coffee and the smell of sh…..
Did I mention running into the running club?
When I got to the top of the ski hill in exasperation (because getting there means not only did I miss a turn somewhere, but now I was committed to climbing a REALLY steep hill), I descended, only to run into five people ascending while laughing and joking amongst themselves. I invited myself to follow along, and we struck up immediate conversation at the top of the hill.
So, I decide to run with them for a while, and we descend the hill together. I’m feeling great. I’m so thankful I’m in the midst of these people. I’m really excited that I’m running along with all these talented folks.
Then we hit straight flat ground.
They were SO much faster than me. I struggled to keep their pace (somewhere around 8 minute miles or faster) for a half mile, and then after a while, I deemed it okay to be NEAR them. Then, to hear them was enough. Then, they were gone, and I felt like a big failure.
Man, that was one of the most crushing things I’ve felt in a while. It brought back EVERY experience I had with sports over my youth. I was always okay, but never good enough to blend in. The only times I excelled were when brute strength or raw power were required. There was no faking it with these runners, one of which who’d won last year’s 50 miler.
I felt like crud. And when I realized just how much like crud I felt was when I realized I was only a half mile from my car. I could just walk away and forget about it. I could go home, or better, go drown my sorrows in bad breakfast food. After all, it was early morning still. I’d run SOME of my miles. Why not quit?
But obviously, that wasn’t going to happen.
I forced myself (it felt like PUSHING a MULE) to go left instead of right, and I sketched out another 6 miles of running on a course that would keep me going in a wide loop but not the full distance of the course. I made every step matter, focusing on form, focusing on breathing, focusing on the fact that I only started and May and that this is where I am in my personal race.
No excuses. None. I don’t permit them. I am where I am. And where I ended up was 11 miles of running within my allotted time, and some more lessons learned. I’m really glad I got out for my run. It was time well spent.
Ruzzin Fruzzin
Okay, what the Hell is up with those elliptical machines? I tried one at the gym this morning and it kicked my sphincter! I mean it. I did 10 minutes and even that felt like it was killer. But what the F? I mean, I am going to run 12 miles tomorrow in the woods, at a fairly okay clip. So why does this machine kill me?
And why does it seem like ladies use them like it’s no big thang?
Updates
Wednesday saw me running a 5K on the treadmill at the gym, to test out the new trail shoes before I got them muddy. Nothing much to speak of, but still some more mileage into the training book for the week.
This morning, I ran six miles in Maudslay. It was dark when I started, but still hazy and muggy. By the second mile, I looked like I’d fallen into the river. By the last mile, I smelled like it. It was a great run, especially when I wanted to quit around mile four. Somewhere, I just started saying, “Stick with the Plan,” and then, “Plan with the Stick.”
The last part, I guess, means that I mean to train with the intensity I’ve been fostering over the last several months. I keep pushing at myself, but never past any boundaries. I’m just training hard. So, stick with the plan and plan with the stick. Makes sense to me.
I hope you’re well.
Beach Five Miler
Okay, I can’t do math. My run last night were sub-10 minute miles (not closer to 9), with a burst at the end. I did a fair job of it. Ran with a guy named Bob. I’m really happy with my performance, and I feel pretty good considering I did a 10 mile run the day before, the gym and home workouts before the race. Mind you, I’d forgotten there was a race. I might’ve done that stuff differently. But whatever.
48:30 for 5 Miles!
5 Mile Race Tonight
I kinda-sorta almost forgot I have a 5 mile race tonight at 6PM. It’s on the beach at low tide. I can’t wait, because that’s one of my typical weekly stomping grounds. I’m doing it for love. No real goals in mind. Finish without death, either mine or others. : )
New Kicks
I also picked up some new trail running shoes (pic). I hope they work out, but I’ve got a date with the treadmill tomorrow to lab test them. If they chew, I can give them back. No problems.
