Days off and ATB Race Photos

Yesterday I did absolutely nothing exercise wise. I had meetings off site, so no lunch time swimming, and then in the evening I felt totally wiped and couldn't even get the energy up to do my strength routine. Today I was planning on another easy 5k, but after more massage therapy (this time on the quads and ITBs - let's just say OUCH and leave it at that) I've decided to skip that too. Perhaps I will do the strength stuff instead...

But enough about that! I finally received the much anticipated email announcing that my race photos from Around the Bay are ready for purchase (um, yeah...). Here they are for your viewing pleasure, if you can call it that. Two observations I have:

1. I look like I'm in serious pain in every one of these.

2. And what's with the permanent "thumbs up" I seem to be flashing to all bystanders? I had no idea that I ran with my thumbs up in the air like that. Weird...








And lastly, can you spot me in this photo?:



What about in this one?:

Good Ole Rabbit Ears!

I have nothing to report, given that I spent the entire day yesterday at the library working on my paper, and am continuing to work on it today. I did manage to finish a first draft, which was the goal, and I took the day off as far as chin ups go.

However, this is what I found to greet me when I came downstairs this morning: a Bunny playing on the computer!



That's one pace bunny I can still keep up with (for now)!

Sun"Day" Off

Last night I was feeling pretty good from my 7k run, but I was super tight in the muscle(s) on the right/front side of my right leg. I think it's the one that pulls the foot up into dorsiflexion and also acts to absorb shock when you land. I've never experienced shin splints so I don't really know what they feel like, but I must admit that I was somewhat worried that this may be what I was experiencing. I massaged it, I stretched every muscle I could from the hips down, and even got creative with trying to get that particular area to feel a good stretch. I then popped a couple of ibuprofen before bed and hoped for the best in the morning. Luckily today the muscle feels almost back to normal, so maybe I dodged a bullet. The body adapts to everything without me noticing it and I think that's cool, but I sure wish it would just hurry up and adapt to letting me run pain free for a while!

Also yesterday I found my chin up bar that's been packed up in the garage since our move back in May and installed it. I also blew up our yoga ball and am starting to get prepared for home workouts when my gym membership expires in January and I no longer have access to weights in the same way. The gym that I go to is called Frog's Gym, and it totally sucks. The people running it don't care about it at all, the place is always dirty, running out of paper towels and spray for cleaning off machines, and the treadmills are always breaking down and not getting fixed. Last year my wife and I prepaid one year's worth as a way of making a commitment to exercise, but I think the running has us inspired enough to continue without the gym in the picture. In short, they haven't earned my repeat business. I figure that between push ups, sit ups, chin ups, lunges and stuff I will have enough resistance exercises to keep me fit in the upper body and support my running.

Tomorrow calls for another easy 5k, and I am considering getting it done in the morning before work. We'll see if I can drag my ass out of bed in time!

Oh I forgot! I picked up the Tom Jordan book Pre on Friday and finished it that night. Over the weekend I read it again, and it's obvious that I enjoyed it. Although I still can't put my finger on just why Prefontaine continues to garner attention, and he certainly has mine, but I think at least a little of the fascination is a result of his dying at such a young age. No doubt he was a terrific athlete, and his approach to racing, charismatic personality, and dogged fight against the corrupt AAU are part of the complete picture as well. The biggest impression I was left with after reading the book is that Pre was such an energetic person, always doing multiple things as fast as possible, trying somehow to fit more into the day than anyone else - it's almost as if he subconsiously knew that his time on the planet was limited and he had to get as much done as possible before it was too late. Anyway, if you haven't read the book check it out. Though it is mostly an account of his races from high school until his death, included are numerous personal accounts by people who came into contact with Pre that help to paint a picture of the person and not only the runner.

Making a Commitment

Although I am not really ready to start heavy training, and am hesitant about starting back into some easy running, I have made a commitment to a race and distance that just a few weeks ago I would have though was unthinkable. No, I am not planning on any marathon or anything, but I have registered for the Around the Bay race in Hamilton in late March, 2009. 30k here I come!!! I'm going right past the half-marathon distance for some unknown reason! This may be nuts, but I am not willing to miss this opportunity by waiting until the last minute only to be disappointed because this race has an entrance limit. This is the oldest distance race in North Americe and also very popular, so I decided to pull the trigger now. In the same spirit, I almost registered for the Boxing Day 10 miler, also in Hamilton, but because that is a lot sooner I thought I'd better see how the foot feels over the next two weeks and then make that decision. I am still fully committed to running in this race also, but for some reason I don't have the same sense of urgency to register right now.

Tonight I am not running on the treadmill, or doing anything else. I have some schoolwork that I need to finish and submit, and then I will do the whole ice bath thing on the foot. My treatment this morning was positive in that the doctor said I can start running nice and easy since that won't do any more damage to the foot, but also painful as hell when he worked on some muscle stiffiness I've had in my upper hip / lower back area. It was one of those experiences where I couldn't help laughing because the pain was so crazy! Someday this body of mine will adapt.

It HAS to!

And lastly, my lovely wife forced me to hobble up the stairs to check on the boys and here is what I found: my 4 year-old fancies himself to be some sort of Aquaboy! Do we take the goggles off and risk waking him up, or leave them on and risk him having massive circles around his eyes all day tomorrow?

What a Night!

An historic election in the US, and I am very pleased with the result. Being Canadian, and unable to vote, I was still pulling for Obama to win, and I was hoping he would do so handily so that there would be no questions over his legitimacy. It'll be great to see what his leadership can bring over the next four years, and, if worthy, four more after that. Canada could sure use an intelligent and charismatic leader as we haven't had one in a long long time...

Other than that I find myself wondering what to write about these days. I am in r'n'r mode, waiting for things to heal up, and am unable to report any running activity on what is a running blog. That being said, I am thinking that perhaps my foot issue can be attributed to footwear and am wondering if perhaps my New Balance shoes, nice as they are, may be doing more harm than good. More conscious than ever of my running "style", if you can call it that, I notice that these shoes force my foot to pronate more than the Asics I was wearing before. This can be attributed to the super shock absorbing material that is on the outer edge of the sole of the shoe, which does not compress very much. I guess it is normal to go through different models of shoes before finding the right one, or is it? I am considering ordering the current version of my Asics shoes and seeing if they make a difference. I say ordering, of course, because I am in the minority with my 12.5 size feet and must "special order" with a "down payment" anything that is not in stock. I have to find a store that carries all the major brands in 12.5 so I can actually try them on rather than working blind.

No activity today, but I am back into doing the ice water - warm water routine for the foot, which is good. In fact, I have to go do that now!

Sick in bed

Yes, I've been off the blog for a few days, having caught a nasty cold. I managed a half-day at work on Friday, tied up some loose ends, cancelled some afternoon meetings, then spent the rest of the afternoon in bed. Saturday, ditto. Now it is Sunday afternoon and I've been in bed all day yet again, though I seem to finally be coming out of it. Whatever this bug was, it was strong, that's for sure.

At least the foot got some more rest, not that I planned on running this weekend anyway, wanting to give it at least a full week after the race to recover. I have another treatment with the doctor tomorrow morning, and I am sort of planning to go for a 5k or so jog tomorrow evening if the foot feels up to it. At the moment I think it should be OK.

Given the fact that I've gotten nothing accomplished in the last couple of days, that's all I have for now.

R'n'R, and it's not cool kind...

I don't mean rock'n'roll, but rather the much more geriatric rest'n'recuperation, and that's what I am continuing to do as I await the healing of the foot to run its course. It's actually quite pathetic the pain that this seemingly simple 10k has left me with, and I can't even begin to imagine what it feels like after running a marathon. I am not yet bouncing off the walls, but I sure am starting to itch to start running again. I am not interested in speed or anything, but rather the slow buildup of mileage that I am looking forward to.

I figure that the winter will be taken up with adding one kilometre per week starting at something fairly short and manageable. This strategy, coupled with maintaining strict heart rate and pacing in the nice'n'easy range (we really should use 'n' more often, don't you think?), promises to keep me on my feet while minimizing the chance of any overuse injuries.

So, I will try and relax and keep this foot on the healing path. I did manage another swim this afternoon, and that is helping to keep me sane. 2000m in 29 minutes. No weights tonight, though, partly because I am writing this week off, and mostly because it is Owen's

7th BIRTHDAY!

... and that kept me busy for the evening, as you can imagine. Now it is late, and I am still to do some stretching and some foot maintenance stuff, so it's time to sign off. I've been so busy this week that I haven't really had a chance to catch up on all of the blogs out there, but things should get back to normal after this week at work, or at least I really really hope that they do!

Is this normal?

It's been a few days now since my first ever race, and I am still more sore than I thought I would be. I suppose that's what happens when you spend three quarters of an hour with your heart rate up in the 90-100% of max zone, essentially turning your body into a lactic acid factory!

On the foot front, I am not too worried. Yes, it is sore, but I have another treatment tomorrow morning and I am not planning on running until I am totally pain free. The quads are just starting to feel better, and I no longer have to clutch at the railing when walking down stairs, which is a relief. It's still a slow way down, and I can't really attempt to carry anything heavy while doing this, but at least I am moving in the right direction.

However, the subject of this post is something completely different: the post race blues. I am itching to get back out there and run, but as mentioned above I am not going to until I am OK foot wise. It's the feelings of "can I do this again, and if so will I be able to push myself as hard?" that have me a little confused. The longer races I am planning on entering (Boxing Day 10 miler and the Around the Bay 30K) are so long that I am NOT going to actually race them, choosing rather to simply complete them at a decent pace that will allow me to keep training and won't leave me hobbling for a week afterward. How do you prepare mentally for another race (I'm referring to another event where you push yourself to the limit) when you now understand the pain that will be involved? Do the memories of pain fade with time to allow you to go hard again, only to be left with the same things to contemplate?

Anyway, it's heavy emotional stuff, and perhaps too deep for one of my shallow mental capabilities. Or maybe I am just having a tough time verbalizing the post race blues, but I've read about this phenomenon and I guess that's what's happening here. Some people take a long time off after a race (I know, I only did a 10k and not a marathon, but it still hurts!) and others like to get right back into training. If it wasn't for the foot I'd be running again already to work the kinks out for sure. Whatever the case, is there an inevitable letdown after every race, or only after those that you enter with a specific time goal? I can't imagine being too down after an event that you ran easy just to finish, but I'll find out soon enough.

And lastly, official race photos have just been posted from the Niagara Falls race. Here's a decent one - all the others make me look like I'm malnurished below the waist...


And oh yeah, an interesting article in todays NYT about what partners of marathoners have to deal with. I especially like one guy who purchased electrode therapy thingamajigs for $900, and justified the expense to his wife after they both agreed on fiscal restraint! Marathoners are a strange breed to be sure...

And as I write this - THE PHILLIES HAVE JUST WON!!!

Contemplating the Future

Well, I couldn't get onto blogger.com yesterday for some reason, which I guess is just as well since I had a tonne of schoolwork to catch up on and didn't need to report on my "general body soreness", a favorite term in the NHL when the team doesn't want to let anyone know what the actual injury to a player is...

It seems that Blogger has been giving me issues when publishing posts for over a month, and I'm beginning to wonder how reliable this thing is. Perhaps I should switch to publishing straight to a blogspot.com account? If anyone has experience with publishing using ftp and a similar history of problems please let me know if switching is the right move, or if publishing to blogspot.com is also ripe with problems.

And yes, I am sore! My foot is definitely plantar fasciitising, and my quads are so stiff it is excruciating going up, and especially down, stairs. But it was definitely worth it, and in fact I'd probably be a little upset with myself if I wasn't sore.

This afternoon I went for a short and easy lunchtime swim and managed 1200m in about 18 minutes. I am not going to the gym tonight, instead choosing to rest my legs. I have another treatment scheduled for Thursday and I hope that the pain subsides by then since the treatment I received on Monday morning was super painful! (In a good kind of way, but pretty close to unbearable...)

However, the racing bug has got a good hold of me and I am already contemplating my next race. The one that seems like it will be a lot of fun, and far enough off in the future to allow for good recovery and a resumption of training, is the Hamilton Boxing Day 10 miler. This year will mark the 88th straight year for this event, put on exclusively by volunteers from the Hamilton Harriers Running Club. Apparently the route for the race has been the same since day one! Although I am not ready to run 16 kilometres, I think I will have enough time to prepare for the distance and I will not be running this as a race, but rather for fun and to finish. Also, one can register with the option to get some pretty good gear such as running tights and a jacket, two things I need anyway so this seems to be a perfect marriage of swag and racing fun!

The other one that also seems great, though a bit farther off in the future, is the Around the Bay race, also in Hamilton, at the end of March. That one is a 30km race, and is the oldest long distance race in North America. Yes, even older than the Boston Marathon!

In the spring I will be once again trying to go under 45 minutes in the 10k, most likely during the Ottawa Race Weekend events in May, but I figure getting some longer races under my belt, and running them to finish rather than to exhaustion, will be great motivation and training for a fast 10k. Sound good? It does to me, but I am tired and sore so who knows what this will feel like in the morning.

The Wife says: How do you stop it?

I thought she meant, "How do you stop him?", referring to me of course, and my impending conquest of the 10k, now a mere 11 or so hours away. What precipitated this unusual, though simplistic, query? Was there a rodent in the hotel room of whose presence I was unaware? Nothing against the fine folks at Motel 6, but sometimes one just never knows what the "6" refers to now that it no longer refers to dollars-a-night. Was it the possibility of a cramp that she was readying for and needed my assistance and nutritional know how to curb should it come to pass?

No, none of the above. Instead, as I sit in a hot tub placed right beside the queen bed (strange? perhaps, but it is Niagara Falls. Oh why didn't we honeymoon at a Motel 6 dear???) my sweet bride was laughing at me as I turned the jets on and then proceeded to wonder how on earth to end the bubbles from attacking my legs.

Oh yeah, ... press the same button again.

Anyway, we made it, a little later than planned, and now we are getting psyched for the morning! A mere 2.5k from the start-finish area, we are planning to use that distance as our warm up jog. It kills me to admit that prior to this one of us will have to drive down to the same general area to pick up bibs and chips and such - racing accoutrement and swag - for I don't think running too much before the race will be too smart.

Now my legs are hot (in temperature only I'm certain) and my brow is sweat-infested. The wife is reading, and the Leafs just beat the Senators. All's good in the world, except the Series. Damn weather! Although the "fine" folks at Fox are now saying the boys of summer are about to take the field, so a game is in the offing!

And now the fine Phiily folks are playing some kids fish song in a derogatory fashion as they announce the Rays players - you gotta love Philly!!! No brotherly love on this night apparently.

And now look at the size of that flag they're unfurling during the anthem! Me thinks they're compensating for something...

Cheers y'all! Catch you on the other side of racing participaction, for tomorrow, no matter what, I will finally join the ranks of those that can lay claim to the all important "PR"!

Friday Night Carbs

Yes, tonight we are ordering pizza and it's all good! It's movie night for the boys, and pizza just seems like a good treat for them and us as well. I unfortunately will not be able to watch the movie since I absolutely must start on a paper that I have due next Tuesday, but I will definitely have my share of za! It's a good thing that this is a slow sports night, an off day for the World Series as well as for me, or I'd have real trouble with the whole schoolwork thing. Did anyone else do a "what the f$%k" on the home plate Umpire last night or what? Talk about stage fright-induced incompetence!

Today I saw the chiropractor again and my foot is feeling better. I am not pain free yet, but if bodies heal in spurts I seem to have spurted in the right direction. If things stay like this for Sunday, it's all systems go, and if they improve, even better. Whatever happens it's going to be so much fun running with all these other people around! I find it hard to hold back when someone passes me on a training run, so I can't imagine what it will feel like to have hundreds of runners all focused and jacked for a fast pace taking off and racing!

We are prepped (is that a word?) for the cold wet weather that is expected on Sunday morning too. My wife went to the local Thrift store and picked out for me just a lovely sweatshirt that I can wear prior to the race, and discard at the last minute. I don't have the energy to find the camera to take a picture of it now, but no doubt one with me wearing it prior to race time will find its way onto this blog at some point in the next few days...

Lastly, good luck to all who are racing this weekend! In particular I want to wish my fellow GTA runner Marci a terrific marathon at Niagara Falls!

I'll try and blog tomorrow night after we arrive in Niagara Falls, but I don't know how reliable the free "high speed Internet" is at this motel we're going to be staying at, and I don't think I'll have anything to post about during the day that can't be summarized with the words "school" and "work" and "crap".

Until then, let's just hope it's not THIS cold on Sunday:



Oh yeah, one last thing: yesterday's post marked the century mark for me, so that's something I guess. Who knew I'd still be running and blogging!

Considering a Pacing Strategy

Although I haven't left much time for comments on my last post, I have consulted some more with other runners I know and with various Internet articles on 10K strategies (thanks Marcy!), and will strap on the good ship Garmin for the race. I think this will be the only way that I will be able to gauge my effort and speed given that I am a total novice and don't have the years and miles in the bag to guide me.

That being said, at this point in time I am shooting for the moon: 45:00 or less! What the hell, it's my first race, I might as well try my best to set a benchmark. If I die and finish slower than this I will have metrics for training toward my next 10k. And if I do manage to reach my 2009 goal now, then I can re-evaluate and come up with another goal for next year.

As such, I have come up with the following race strategy and am open to all feedback from everyone, good, bad, ugly, ... whatever! "Hit me with your best shot", as the song goes.

Here are my planned splits by kilometre and the total time:

1k 4:40
2k 4:40 (9:20)
3k 4:35 (13:55)
4k 4:35 (18:30)
5k 4:30 (23:00) I managed a 22:28 in a 5k training run, so I think this is doable.
6k 4:30 (27:30)
7k 4:25 (31:55)
8k 4:25 (36:20)
9k 4:25 (40:45)
10k 4:15 (45:00!) I figure that I can shave another ten seconds if I just giv'r, eh?

So, that's where my head's at right now. It may change as the race gets closer, and I will continue to tell myself that I will be satisfied with any time as long as I cross the finish line completely spent. I think the above is reasonable, with the caveat that I don't have past race experience to draw upon to come up with that conclusion, nor have I trained long enough to be confident of my predictions that I will be able to stay in the 85%-90% range of Max HR for the first half to two-thirds of the race while maintaining these pace goals.

Anyway, there she is - out in the vast open space of the Interweblogosphere, for all to ignore, dissect, digest, piss on, or revel in, whatever the case may be. I've exposed my brain to you, now it's your turn to tear me down or build me up. No pressure or anything!

I should also mention that my Dad thinks I will go under 45:00 (he's just being fatherly, but it's nice to hear), and my doctor, who's known me for all of five days, predicts a finish in the 42:00 range (which makes me question his qualifications somewhat, but it's also nice to hear). Based on the fact that HE doesn't know me at all, and neither do any of you other than in electronic text form, feel free to make your own predictions! Maybe I will come up with a prize or something for the one who comes closest? Hmmmmmmm...

What to do? What to do?

Sunday finds me resting from all exercise, and doing the whole ice water - hot water thing for my foot. I hate to admit it, but will do it anyway: the foot feels worse today than I'd hoped it would, and now it's just a matter of making it to the race, running hard and preparing mentally for the pain that will likely set in afterward. My mantra will be "ignore the pain" for this first ever race.

As far as what I SHOULD be doing today, schoolwork schoolwork and more schoolwork. If procrastination was a sport I'd definitely compete, but alas it is not. I suspect many out there could give me a run for my money in that department, but I am still proud of my abilities in this area, which I've been cultivating for many many years.

So far today I've folded four loads of laundry, have a fifth in the dryer and a sixth in the wash (don't ask why so many if you don't have two kids, and if you do you know what I'm talking about), driven the boys across town to my Dad's place for the afternoon, dodged the Toronto marathon on the way there and back, picked up some awesome food in the Polish part of town, iced/heated the foot, listened (and continue to listen to) the Bills game, played some guitar, and am now blogging... I have to go back to my Dad's for dinner and to get the boys in an hour and I guess I should TRY and do some work now... blah!

Hope the weekend finds you all well, and have a great start to the new week tomorrow!

UPDATE: My wife just got back from her training run, and I am proud to report that her goal for next weekend's 10k (sub 60 minutes) has been attained today! She managed a 59:56, and I wasn't even there to push her or anything. She did admit to the value of Garmin as a motivational feature in training though. Get your own now that you too are addicted!

Her Garmin stats are here.

TGIF

What a week... Other than the computer issues, the loooooong trip back from Ottawa, feeling under the weather, and seeing a doctor about the foot it was pretty normal actually!

Today was a relatively quiet day at work, and I did have another treatment at the clinic. Let's just say that if one grades the value of physio or chiropractor treatments based on the amount of pain (in this case "good" pain) then I am getting my money's worth. He was working out some stuff in my quad today that was excruciating. The foot he did do some stuff on, but after the quad and hip treatment that was mild by comparison. I think it is helping in that I can localize the parts of my foot that are inflamed and no longer feel this overall pain whose origin I can't figure.

As far as running goes, today was an off day. I am planning a 10k tomorrow, hopefully in the morning although that depends on how early I can drag myself out of the house, and the outdoor temperature is sure to be icy. Biking with Owen on the way to school this morning I saw some people scraping ice off of their windshields, a sure sign of things to come. The forecast says tomorrow morning will be just above the freezing point. I guess I'd better get used to it, and Toronto is one of the warmest places to live in Canada. I love Vancouver, where it is pretty warm (relatively speaking) year round, but I'm not sure if I could handle all the rain. Toronto is usually pretty dry in the winter, with all the snow bypassing us just to the north, and temperatures jump around the freezing point sometimes to the point of frustration - like winter can't make up it's frggin' mind or something...

By hey, it's Canada and I love it!

Good luck to all running races this weekend. I apologize for not having the energy to list you here, but I am sure looking forward to reading all the race reports!

Day-Off, Trippin'

We're off to Ottawa for the Thanksgiving weekend, Canadian style, this evening. A 4.5 hour drive after work awaits, with the boys in the back hopefully falling asleep so that I can listen to the baseball game in peace (no idea who I will end up rooting for - Red Sox aren't doormats anymore, Tampa Bay shouldn't be this good yet: I'm so confused!). I'm glad that I've made Friday an off-day for just such occasions, and hope that the foot will be good enough to go for a slow 10k run tomorrow by the canal. I will be running with my wife on this occasion, and that should not only be fun, but will also force me to chill and not push the pace the way I typically do with sometime less than happy results.

The foot is feeling a bit better, but not yet 100%. I am not sure if it is smart to start running until I am completely pain free (though it is worth stating here that I haven't been in that state for the better part of a decade, so it's all relative), but I also need to balance the fact that with each passing day I am losing conditioning. I figure that if I can run between now and the race and manage the pain, then push it during the race itself, I'll be able to take some time off if the foot issue continues to linger. It's just a case of plantar fasciitis, I'm sure of it, but I don't know if I can cause major injury if I continue on my plan for the next two weeks. Anybody have any advice? I don't want to risk too much, but I also don't want to have all my training go to waste.

See y'all on the weekend, and good luck to everyone running races! I am entering Owen in the Turkey Trot on Sunday, a 1k race for kids where they get to wear a chip timer and everything! Thanks to Nat for turning me onto this event - Owen's going to love it!

Crazy Busy Off-Day

It's been a day off from running only. I spent the day putting out fires at work, though not dealing with children in the same way that Maggs had to recently, but lots of people looking for answers that I could only provide if IT could provide me with the answers to my questions, which of course they could not, and I was stuck covering for them, and you can imagine the rest...

Afterwards, I had the kids to myself tonight, and that was great, though it does make it more challenging in terms of picking them up, cooking dinner, keeping them happy, getting them to bed and all the other stuff that goes with two over-energetic boys. I can't imagine how single parents do it 24/7!

Friday night is movie night, though not too strict and we don't always get a DVD, but tonight the boys and I watched Ratatouile and it was a good choice to be sure. Not too scary, not too cheesy, and lots of laughs. I really hope they don't want a rat pet now.

Now it's late and I've had it. I'm glad the day has come and gone. It's time for sleep and tomorrow morning I am up early for a slow'n'steady 10k in what will likely be just above freezing temperatures. Yikes! I did manage to pick up a pair of running pants and a long-sleeved top designed "outdoor activity" today at MEC, one of my favorite stores for all things outdoors. I saw a few other great things there, like an awesome jacket for winter running, and I'm sure they will see part of my paycheque in the not too distant future for this and other things.

And lastly, ankle's still cooperating.

Day Off, and a New Coffee Maker

Yes, yet again I find myself with a day off, and it feels good. The ankle is a little bit sore today (more than yesterday, which puzzles the brain), but I am still optimistic for my 10k tomorrow.

While waiting for this network migration thing to really hit the fan at 5pm, I decided to walk to the local Sears and pick up a little coffee maker for my desk. I've stopped buying coffee at various places around in an effort to reduce this expense (man, this addiction can really add up over the year!), and have been drinking (yeah it's pretty bad) INSTANT COFFEE!!! Blaaaaahhhhh!!!

Well, those days are behind me now that I have one of these sitting beside me, complete with percolating sounds that sooth my jangled nerves:


It's small, comes with a mug, and a reusable filter! I am enjoying my first cup from this little machine right now, and the results are good.

Now I should also mention that, although this $20 purchase is the highlight of my day, we also blew almost a grand on a new dishwasher since our current one sucks major ass. We end up rinsing, then putting the dishes in the dishwasher, and then washing them again upon completion. Ummm, yeah... I cannot revel in the glory that will be a new dish washing slave right now since delivery and installation is not for another couple of weeks to accommodate our work schedules - damn it! Work getting in the way again! I'm sure y'all can identify with this, especially in the context of appliance delivery. Who the hell is willing to wait while the delivery people show up sometime in an 8 friggin' hour window!!! We arranged for evening delivery and weekend install, so it's all good, but we have to wait.

All the best to those running marathon and half-marathon races this weekend! Stay loose, and have fun above all! I look forward to a flurry of reports come Monday.

A Little Sore

Well, rollerblading definitely works out different muscles than running. I am sore in so many places today I can't even believe it! (And No, that is not a picture of me over on the left. I'm not that muscular, and I don't do jeans with no belt.) It's a good kind of sore, and definitely highlights where my weaknesses are. Hips and butt we already know about, but I also feel it in the small of my back, the obliques, the groin, hamstrings, quads, and even the outsides of my lower legs. I definitely recommend this to anyone as a good cross-training activity. Of course, I've only been once but plan on doing this again and definitely doing some ice skating in the winter.

Last night I just couldn't sleep. Not sure if it was the muscle soreness, or the wine, port and a little scotch I had when we had a couple of friends over for dinner, but I woke up at 2:00am and could not get back to sleep. I decided to catch up on some schoolwork, thinking that this would make me drowsy in no time, but ended up working until 4:00am! I'll probably crash tonight, and may even have to squeeze in a nap this afternoon (unlikely to happen given family and stuff). In any case, it was tough waking up this morning, but the kids made sure I didn't sleep in and waste away the morning. Thanks guys!

NOT!!!

Tomorrow I will contemplate running again, but the chances of this happening are slim. The ankle issue is still lingering and I don't want to push it. I will likely rollerblade again and hopefully work out some of these tight spots.

Hope everyone enjoys their Sunday of running or a well deserved off day!

Day off, Ankle Stuff, and Calorie Burning

Today is an off day for me: no swimming, no weights, and definitely no running. The ankle is perplexing me a little. Sometimes I think it's starting to feel better, and then I do something standing up for a bit, like washing dishes, and it swells right up again. I think that I'll go buy one of those support sleeve things for it just to keep the swelling to a minimum, not expecting anything else from the contraption in the "support" category. I have a proper ankle brace, but I actually think it did more damage than good when I was using it in my Ultimate Frisbee playing days. The more I used it the more my stabilizing muscles atrophied and eventually I was way worse off.

Tomorrow is supposed to be my first 10k run, but this is not to be. Instead I will strap on the old rollerblades and go for a bit of exercise that way. I remember reading in a cross-training for runners type book (the book is Runner's World Guide to Cross-Training) that rollerblading or skating is the best cross-training activity for running because it uses the mirror image muscles to running, those that tend to cause knee and IT band problems when you ignore them. My knee has been feeling better as I've been improving my hip flexor and glute strength, so this activity should not hurt. And yes, I will head home if I feel a twinge in the patella!

I also was checking on the calorie burning front with a calculator I found on the web how rollerblading compares to running, and it seems they are very similar (based on time spent doing the activity and not distance). Also, it looks like my 20k or so of biking each day from home to work and back again burns more than I expected (500-600 calories), which perhaps explains why I always seem to be hungry. (Isn't it lunchtime yet? I am starving right now!!!)

On that note, I am going to find some food. Have a great weekend everyone, in particular those taking part in races!

Day Off, Making Plans

So, today is an off day, and my legs are in serious need of this. The last week was quite intense, in retrospect, and it will definitely pay off down the road, but I need to recover. Still haven't decided what to do for the coming week - stay with the routine of increased distance and intensity or back off a little bit? Also, I have to get to work today on my grad course or risk falling behind early, creating much unnecessary stress down the road. It's the last one in my program and I am finding motivation hard to come by...

As I sit here typing this, having turned the computer on so that I could upload my wife's morning run stats from the Garmin, I am wondering what to do with the kids this afternoon? The forecast says rain, lots of rain, but right now the sky looks pretty clear. It was an indoor day yesterday on account of rain and I'd like to avoid another one - we're all bouncing off the walls a little bit and getting stir crazy. Perhaps another trip to the zoo is in order... Scope out the Zoorun route... We'll see.

Anyway, hope y'all are having a great weekend, running and otherwise. For any racers out there all the best and here's hoping you meet your goals!