Saturday, October 17, 2009

Hello Cold Weather

Ah, the first "cold run" of the season.

According to the thermometer on my porch, it was 46 when I left the house this morning, though considering the thermometer's proximity to the house, I'd say it was at least 2 - 3 degrees colder than that. Not freezing by any stretch, but cold enough that I wasn't sure what to wear...long pants or shorts, one layer on top or two... I went with shorts and two layers on top. And gloves. And man it was COLD when we first started out, but I'm trying to brace myself for the very real possibility that it could be 20 degrees colder (or more) between now and the race.

But I was fine once we got going. Perfect, actually. Eight point five miles in 1:38:34. It was a surprisingly easy run.

I'll be missing next week, though, because that's the reunion. It'll be the first 10 mile run...of all weeks to miss! It's a good thing today's run went well or else I'd be freaking out about now.

The worst part about running in the cold isn't the run itself (which is usually great once you get going) but the aftermath. Once I cool down, I can never warm back up. Right now I'm sitting her in multiple layers and wool socks drinking a cup of hot tea. And I'm FREEZING. All that complaining about the heat and now it's time to start complaining about the cold already...

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Check out the determination I showed this week, with my 3 running days and all.

Look at me go! THREE running days this week. Possible reasons for my motivation are:

a) The realization that I have a mere six weeks until the half-marathon! Thus, I need to get my act together.
b) The realization that my 5-year college reunion is next fucking week! Thus, I need to get my act together.
c) The realization that I ate so much rich food last weekend! Thus, I need to get my act together.
d) All of the above.

Obviously the answer is d. It may not *seem* as if I've fallen off the wagon, but from the standpoint of essentially having taken all of last week off, I feel like I'm behind. This week's Saturday run will be 8 miles, and considering it'll have been three weeks since I've run that far, I'm a little nervous. I shouldn't be. But I am. Consistent short runs during the week help with my confidence, though...and I still have some pent-up frustration over work that is producing in me a desire burn off energy when I get home.

Today I stopped at 2 miles, primarily because I have (depressingly consistently) injured myself every time I've upped my mileage this year. It wasn't that long ago that I was running 2 miles twice a week. I slowly built up to 3 miles twice a week and now I'm graduating to 3 miles twice a week and 2 miles once a week. My knees don't like change and I have to appease them by introducing them to new situations gradually.

My two miles today were not without adventure. I left early, around 5:45, to make sure I would be done before it got dark. But as I was leaving the parking lot, I was stopped by a guy whose battery was dead. No big deal; I pulled up my car, popped the hood, he got out his cables and...I have a small car. So he didn't get a full charge right away. So we talked. He told me about how his girlfriend is pressuring him into marrying him, I told him about my impending 5-year reunion, etc, whatever, blah. Still no charge. So we talked some more. About what we majored in in college, about running, about the current nationwide unemployment rate of 9.8%. Still no charge.

By this time it was getting dark, so he called a friend of his and the friend agreed to come out with his large SUV-like vehicle (i.e. vehicle with a large battery) and I went off to run.

But it was DARK by then and I don't run in the park after dark because there's a sketch factor. And yet I really wanted to get my two miles in so I thought, 'hell, why not?' and I ran anyway.

And I learned many things! I learned that there are a (very) few people who only come to the park to run after dark! And I learned that the kid who always walks along slowly, staring at the ground with his baseball cap low over his eyes, keeps on walking even after the sun goes down! The park really wasn't scary at all after dark. It was just hard to see where I was going.

I actually started running before the mile marker because I was trying to maximize on the little amount of light that was left...so I'd say I ran about 2.2 miles this evening. I did it in 23:32 and it was fantastic. There's this thing about running in the dark (which I experience in early morning runs far, FAR more often than evening runs) where your sense of depth perception is off and running, for whatever inexplicable reason, feels easier because of it.

When I was done, the guy's car was up and running again but he'd hung around to make sure that I hadn't been murdered or something on my run (this is Memphis we're talking about) and also that I was able to start my car after trying for a good 25 minutes to give him a charge.

So yes, in many ways it was an unusual run tonight. But not in a bad way.

More on Saturday!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Today in Dismal Weather News

Well at least it's not raining. It's just cloudy and chilly. Cool enough that I've had to forsake wearing sandals to work and retreat to my winter footwear, amongst which is a pair of tan Mary Jane-ish shoes that I bought 4 years ago on clearance for $9. They're a size and a half too big (the sizes were limited, with the clearance and all) and they look like something I slapped together in my living room using a glue gun and some left-over armchair upholstery.

And MY GOD the compliments I get on those shoes. "Those shoes are so CUTE!" and "Oh, Becky, I LOVE those shoes!" and "WHERE did you get those?" I am not making this up. They are complete shit and they don't even fit my feet and yet the rest of the world fawns over them with genuine adoration. Much like Harry Connick, Jr. and the flavor of licorice, my shoes hold an appeal to others that I just do not understand.

But with reactions like that, I have, year after year, opted out of spending any money to replace them. So today, after hibernating through the summer, they were back on my feet.

The one problem with my shoes is that they don't work with bare feet and, likewise, socks won't cut it. I have to wear (oh God why am I admitting this in public?) knee-high hose. And sure, a casual observer may look at my outfit and pass right over my under-shoe apparel (blinded, no doubt, by the beauty of the shoes themselves), but I know what's there and by the end of the day there is nothing I want to do more than get home and take those damned hose off.

Why am I telling you this? Because we must take into consideration the fact that wearing hose for a 9-hour (soon to be 7.5-hour) work day leaves really unattractive elastic marks around the knee area. As someone who leaves the work place to run in shorts in a busy public park, these marks are something I aim to avoid at all costs. And why would I care about elastic marks when I don't care about wearing the exact same pair of nine-fucking-dollar crap shoes to work four years in a row?

I have no idea.

But I do. So what I did last year, and what I did again today, was to take my hose and fold them down around my ankle an hour or so before I was due to leave work, giving my upper-calf/knee area time to breathe.

THESE are the sorts of important daily tasks that I am faced with as a runner! And you thought it was just muscle injuries and fatigue and sore feet and dehydration and aching limbs and fighting nausea after running for hours on end... Oh no, no, no. It's also elastic marks.

Today, I ran elastic mark-free. And (for the first time in what seems like forever) it was a good run! I even cracked the 35:00 barrier at 34:49 for 3 miles. And boy I tore that last mile UP. I was flying down the homestretch. I was feeling pretty damned good when I touched the mile marker the final time.

And then I came home and proceeded to drop my BRAND NEW PHONE on the driveway creating a nice large gash across the screen.

Oh, well, I guess. You can't win them all.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Rain delay.

AS PREDICTED, it rained (is raining) today. It started this morning and it hasn't yet stopped! I was actually kind of excited about the prospect of running two...maybe even THREE...days in a row this week, but the weather has chosen not to cooperate. Therefore here I sit, having not run, and having only the prospect of stomach crunches awaiting me.

A short blog, yes, but there's little to say. I'll (hopefully) be back tomorrow with a running report...but there's rain in the forecast for the next two days. Who even KNOWS what will happen in my day-to-day life anymore?! Each day as it comes... :)

Monday, October 12, 2009

Man Oh Man

Not the best of days. It looks like I'll have even more time to run now since I no longer have a full-time job. As of next week, I'm a part-timer. Thank you, George W. Bush for ruining the economy. You're just the gift that keeps on giving!

So I was tired and down and miserable this afternoon...but I ran anyway, dammit! Because what's the use of being a runner if you don't run on days like today? Three miles in 35:38. I was a little off in my stride but who cares because I did it and I feel a lot better having done so.

By the way, my weekend was good, if not tiring, and I ate a lot of food that needs to be run off. So...more running tomorrow! (As long as it doesn't rain. Which, honestly, it probably will.)