Race Day Recap

The Wild Turkey Run this morning didn't quite go as well as I'd hoped. After starting out at about 9:00-8:30-8:00 pace for the first three miles, I ran into a bit of a snafu. Some distance into the fourth mile, my left foot started to get numb. Pins and needles-y. Got worse until I had to stop at about 3.5 to mess with my shoe some, in the hopes that it would help. It got worse. As a result, the last two miles of the race were laborious and very uncomfortable. What would've been about a 43 ended up being a 49. Tch. Gotta figure out what caused the tingling foot.

Anyway, on with the training and the fundraising. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Prepping for the Wild Turkey

Pretty good run today. Got home from class, got suited up, and went out. Took a long slow descent for the first mile and a half, then a series of four sizable hills, each harder than the last. Stepped in some dog shit on a grassy corner turning up the last hill though, so now my shoes are sitting on the deck waiting for me to give them a proper cleaning, which I didn't have time to do because I had to be at work shortly after my run. Probably'll clean them tomorrow between class and work. Maybe go for a run if there's time. Wednesday will apparently be a cross-training day, since it looks like there's gonna be some pickup Ultimate. Race is Thursday morning. 5 miles in cold and potential rain, woo.

Back on the right track

At least I think I am.

At 2am, I donned my spandex, my new gloves, and a hat, and went out. I took parts of the last two runs and tied them together to make a 3 mile course that was primarily downhill, including "Heartache Hill", this time as a descent instead of an incline. It felt pretty good, for the most part. My stride was good, my pace (~7:40) was good. The compression shirt I bought on Thursday didn't fit nearly as well as I thought it would. A little short/tight in the wrong places. Gotta return it and get something better. I feel a little invigorated though, which is good, considering the 5 mile turkey trot on Thursday morning. But more about that later this week.

Wavering Commitment

I find myself... shrouded in doubt.

I sorta know why. It's not that I doubt my capabilities as a runner (at least not generally). It's not that I have some mental roadblock, or some physical ailment.

My last two runs have gone worse than I expected. Not a ton worse, but enough so that it was a little discouraging. On top of that, the fact that I have to work every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from now until Christmas means that I really won't be able to run more than one of those three days a week, because I spend almost all of my 8 hour shifts on my feet. That, in turn, means that I will need to run three times out of the other four days of the week. That means that no matter what I do, I'll have work one day and running the next day or the day before. I feel like that will either make my runs less effective or my work less efficient.

Once Christmas is here, I'll be fine, I'm almost sure, but I have to maintain until then, and that's what I'm concerned about. I suppose I'll have to renew my YMCA membership, that will probably help matters some. And breaking the news to the immediate family at Thanksgiving dinner will be a shot in the arm (yes, you're reading that right, I haven't told anyone in my family with the sole exception of my brother, so he can cover my alibis for me).

But damn, do I wish I could just figure out a way around this.

Rockin' the suburbs

About an two hours ago, after a long day which included classes (but no Bio lab -- canceled!), Left 4 Dead 2, and then a rousing Celtics game at the Garden, it hit me.

"Oh shit. I need to run."

So I donned my Under Armour, then layered warm things over it, and began what I believe was my first sub-freezing run since I left UMass after Spring 08. I was pretty well dressed for it, though I will need to buy some warm, but lightweight, gloves for the winter ahead.

I wasn't sure where, exactly, I was gonna run, but I knew I wanted it to be shorter and a little

more challenging, so I made a variation, on the fly, to a 2 mile speed course that I like to run on summer nights and went with that. The resulting route is to the right. It starts, as all runs from my house have and will, with a downhill, this time a long, slow decline (from point A/F to the middle of the first curve), then a small-mediumish hill (middle of curve to B). Point B to point C is a nice, level straightaway. Point C to Point D, however, is the biggest part of the variation. This stretch is a steep incline, perhaps the steepest in the immediate area. Due to this fact, I have nicknamed it "Heartache Hill", as a less severe homage to Heartbreak Hill. Heartache Hill's downside goes from D almost to E, and from there, it's a slow, steady climb back home.

I did this 2.3 mile course in about 20 minutes, which, considering the new element in the hill and the bitter cold, I'm relatively pleased with. 8:41 pacing is fine by me, at least this time. The post title, for those of you who are curious about these sorts of things, comes of course from the Ben Folds song of the same name, which came on during the home stretch of my run, and gave me a nice boost of energy, as well as the fact that almost all of my runs take place in a borderline Agrestic suburban neighborhood.

Anyway, off to bed. Long day tomorrow.

Unproductive!

Last two days have been totally wasted, outside of a core workout I did to atone for not being able to run.

Sunday night, not long after my last blog post, I stepped on something. Something sharp. I don't really know what it was. Could've been glass or a tack. Something smallish. Sliced the bottom of my foot open a little bit, bled some. With the Thanksgiving race coming up, I figured it was best to lay off it for a couple days, though I hated doing it.

Not sure I'll get a good run in tomorrow either. Class, lab, and tickets to the Celtics game. Might be able to squeeze one in between twoish and sixish, depending on homework.

Hm.

Augh, heartburn

Worked a seven hour shift today. Watched the Patriots blow the game. Realized I hadn't run either of the two previous days. Realized I had a paper to write.

From there, I realized that anything is better than writing a paper. Especially a history paper. So I decided, even though I felt a little "meh", to go out for a run. I threw on Under Armour, my iPod, and a hat, and for the first time since hurting my ankle, I went without my brace.

I headed out, and ad-libbed a route, because I wasn't sure how I would feel as things progressed.

I got going pretty well, going downhill for the first mile and change. The next three quarters of a mile were slightly uphill, but not noticeably so. It was during this relatively flat stage that I got a

nice blast of heartburn. Wasn't good at all, and I decided to shorten the run by a little bit. The last three quarters of the run were at a considerable incline, including a very challenging home stretch. All told, it came out to about 2.7 miles in 23 minutes, for a pace of 8:31.

I can do better.

Okay, this just got 1000% more real

This came in the mail today:

Say it with me, Keanu.

I mean really, holy shit. This is happening. I'm really going to be running the Boston Marathon in 5 months and 4 days. That's sobering, and a little terrifying, and exciting, and a thousand other things.

Anyway. This morning, I had a "first-timers" meeting at DFCI. Got to know some of my fellow runners, in a group activity (we called our group "The Virgins" because none of us have ever run a marathon before). That was pretty fun. Got some sage advice from the staff, also cool. Mingled a little, chatted with various folks. All in all, a good time.

Then I went to work, where I got stuck doing carriage duty in the parking lot, in this horrible weather. Five miserable hours lugging 74 pound carts around in groups of five to ten. Got home, did a core workout, showered, then cut the bottom of my foot on either a staple or a small nail. I don't know which. Arg.

At least tomorrow is supposed to be nice, so I should be able to get a run in. Probably tomorrow night, after the Pats kick the Colts' ass. That is, of course, assuming that my shift at work is relatively calm.

Well fuck.

My exercise ball has a slow leak. Like it was poked with the smallest pin you can think of. I think it might actually have been done by a stray high E string, since it shares floor space with my guitars.

In running news, I wasn't entirely sure I was gonna get out for a run today. I woke up this morning and my ankle was feeling a little tender, presumably from the 2-3 hours of Ultimate yesterday. I kept off it for most of the day, save for going to and from classes, and just a bit ago, I decided to go for a late night run. At 1am, in 45 degree weather.

About 3.15 miles. Left my house at about 110am, got back at 133am. Dailymile tells me that I paced at about 7'37", which feels about right. No walking, no stopping to wait for a crossing light, no run ins with familiar faces. Just me and the streets. It was good. Very good.

I've never run this particular route before, but I really enjoyed it. It starts out with a quick descent, then flattens off into a couple small bunnies, then a long, very gradual downhill (the southeastern straightaway on the map), then a sharp incline, a straightaway, then two more bunnies, then another sharp incline home. Really solid. I think I'm gonna call it "The Straights".

I truly love running at night, even in relatively harsh conditions. Tonight was chilly, though my Under Armour helped quite a bit, and there was a headwind on two of the three long streets, but I still kicked a solid amount of ass.

Can the Marathon be at like... 10pm instead of 10am?

Pleeease?

Veterans' Day has been pretty sweet.

Today's work out was part cross-training, part legitimate running, and impossible to quantify.

Played pick-up Ultimate from about noon to about 2, then about 3 to about 430. All together, I was probably on the field for about 2h 45m. For those unfamiliar with Ultimate, its running requires a mix of endurance and power/agility. That, along with the fact that it takes place on a grassy field makes it a great alternative to pounding the pavement. Unfortunately, it's a sport that goes with the seasons, and cold weather/snowfall is enough to put it on the shelf until the spring.

Tomorrow I'm looking at another half hour run, I think. The weekend is tricky, due to work on Friday and Sunday at the very least, as well as the First Timers meeting Saturday morning. I guess I'll have to play that by ear.

Aside: I need a few good suggestions for oblique workouts. If any of you reading this have any good ideas, please, let me know!

And we're off

After a slight setback at the Girl Talk concert in which someone accidentally stomped on my recovering ankle, I had to go light last week. Well, that incident and three long days of work over the weekend. Regardless, I only got in one good run.

Today though, I got in a nice one. 3.2 miles, if Google Maps is to be believed. Did it + cool down in about 32 minutes, which means my pace was probably in the 8'25" range. Not too shabby, especially considering that I ran (almost literally) into one of my old high school teachers, who was walking home. We had a brief chat, which was cool.

Anyway, this Indian Summer we're having is a good way to get me back into the rhythm of running regularly, so thank you Mother Nature for the gift.

Now... when to find time to run the rest of the week.

November? When did this happen?

Halloween and its trappings have come and gone from Salem, and November has arrived. That means it's time to get training.

I have been working on my core for the past few weeks, four or five times a each week. It's worked pretty well, though I need to figure out some better exercises for my obliques. Suggestions are welcome.

Now that the cars are out of town, though, I have to start my first stage of training. I have to get a comfortable base level of fitness back, and I have to create the habit of running 3-4 times a week and cross training 3-4 times a week. I will probably straighten out my Y membership so I can use the pool and the elliptical machines and what have you on cross training days. And so I can use the treadmill on the short run days when it's too cold, even though I generally hate treadmills. But I digress. I'm going to a show at the House of Blues tonight (Girl Talk, woo), so tomorrow is officially going to be "Day One".