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".