Originally, I was going to do my long run on Saturday, but the weather prompted revision. Yesterday was 20+ C, rainy, humid as f@@@, and today was 6-12 C, overcast, not humid, and windy. Hmmm, do I want to feel sweat-logged and queasy, or not?
I started off on my own. I'd thought about putting on a long-sleeved shirt, but today might be the last brisk day until fall. I couldn't let it go to waste. I had to embrace the chill. As a consequence, I started off a bit faster than easy pace in order to warm up, and I just stayed at that level of effort. I avoided the steeper hills but still had a bunch of large long ones. 9.5 miles in 1:22--definitely not my easy pace on hills. Oh, well! I guess I could count it as a sub-marathon pace workout or something, a freebie thanks to the great weather.
And then I picked up the boys. I'd planned an 8-mile loop for us as I was hoping to run 3 hrs/18 miles total, but I'd thought that my 9.5 mile route was ten miles. 17.5 miles is close enough.
We ended up running on a road that neither of us had been on before. It's a private road that is accessible to the public, but on which horses have the right of way. It goes by some very swanky horse farms and it's firmly-packed sand, which is pace-sucking but really really comfy. I run on sand a ton here, but most of it is fluffy or torn up. This was better than the best low-tide beach sand I've felt so far. The texture was considerably less granular, too...it was ultra soft. Like, foot spa soft. Even better, there are some more trails back there. So that's a diversion for the future.
Our pace was slower thanks to the dog and the sand (about 2 miles total of sand or dirt), and we got home at just under 2:50. 17.55 miles. I estimate about 15 miles of that was truly road. I wore shoes that are so beat up that the uppers are beginning to fall apart--it's cool, though, because they didn't have much cushioning to begin with. They felt fine except when I was going down one long hill in particular, but I also had to run on the shoulder for a bunch of it and the footing sucked there and threw me off my stride. Perhaps alternating quickly between spongy ground and asphalt kind of threw off sensory feedback or something. At any rate, I felt somewhat disgruntled during that stretch and I
tried to bank that aggression for four significant hills I knew were
still ahead of me. Maybe that worked, maybe that didn't.
My quads are a bit sore now, but I was expecting that. I'm in smiling cow pose now and will be doing other stretches tonight. So, not bad for my first long road run in ages. There's a few more coming up. The marathon is in five weeks.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Saturday, March 29, 2014
~
Yesterday: 30 min jog with my husband and the dog.
Today: 2 hr jog on the treadmill. I tested out a new fuel: UCAN. I got the plain type, so it's essentially gritty water, which is better than overly sweet. I got a bit tired by the end, but the stuff seemed to keep my legs feeling at least a little fresher.
Today: 2 hr jog on the treadmill. I tested out a new fuel: UCAN. I got the plain type, so it's essentially gritty water, which is better than overly sweet. I got a bit tired by the end, but the stuff seemed to keep my legs feeling at least a little fresher.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
~
1hr40 on the TM today. I started off easy and gradually pushed it to what felt like my vague approximation of marathon pace effort. That sounds perhaps uncertain, but I really don't know my present marathon pace, and my goals are modest anyway. It'll be warm and humid, so if I end up around 4 hrs, I'll be happy. It won't be the first 4-hr skanky hot marathon I will have run.
During today's run, I watched most of a movie about visualizing 10 dimensions, to the accompaniment of a playlist tribute to Zyzz. I don't wish to derail this post further, but Zyzz is the tragic young hero of aesthetic bodybuilding who died a few years ago in a Thai sauna or Thai massage parlour, depending on the account; cue hand-wringing over young folly/ego/superficiality (scads written already)...but he was a fan of trance music. I've recently discovered the fan playlist tributes and so far, they've been super. We're all going to make it, brah, but there are different types of trance, and some of them annoy me while others are incredibly uplifting and transporting.
Anyway, I didn't notice when I started to get run-stupid, but by 86 minutes and 45 seconds, I realized that the words weren't sinking in. But the cool graphics and music were adequate distractions by that point. It didn't matter that I didn't understand much of the multi-universe or whatever even when my brain was receiving the usual bloodflow/glycogen. However, I think a bit of 4th dimensional regard might make discomfort more bearable: instead of running for X number of increasingly slow minutes, I could consider that I simply exist in this state of discomfort. It just is: deal with it. And, if I wanted to be really creative, I could consider that an alternative me is in a state of less discomfort and I could perhaps trick myself into believing that....
Actually, I'll shelve that until I next achieve run-stupidity (long run this weekend!), but I've had a true stroke of brilliance today. I've been running (ok, mostly jogging) for about 14 years, but I've just realized that my feet are small enough for youth shoes, and that these are considerably cheaper than women's shoes. Update to follow.
During today's run, I watched most of a movie about visualizing 10 dimensions, to the accompaniment of a playlist tribute to Zyzz. I don't wish to derail this post further, but Zyzz is the tragic young hero of aesthetic bodybuilding who died a few years ago in a Thai sauna or Thai massage parlour, depending on the account; cue hand-wringing over young folly/ego/superficiality (scads written already)...but he was a fan of trance music. I've recently discovered the fan playlist tributes and so far, they've been super. We're all going to make it, brah, but there are different types of trance, and some of them annoy me while others are incredibly uplifting and transporting.
Anyway, I didn't notice when I started to get run-stupid, but by 86 minutes and 45 seconds, I realized that the words weren't sinking in. But the cool graphics and music were adequate distractions by that point. It didn't matter that I didn't understand much of the multi-universe or whatever even when my brain was receiving the usual bloodflow/glycogen. However, I think a bit of 4th dimensional regard might make discomfort more bearable: instead of running for X number of increasingly slow minutes, I could consider that I simply exist in this state of discomfort. It just is: deal with it. And, if I wanted to be really creative, I could consider that an alternative me is in a state of less discomfort and I could perhaps trick myself into believing that....
Actually, I'll shelve that until I next achieve run-stupidity (long run this weekend!), but I've had a true stroke of brilliance today. I've been running (ok, mostly jogging) for about 14 years, but I've just realized that my feet are small enough for youth shoes, and that these are considerably cheaper than women's shoes. Update to follow.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
~
After a couple of easy days, I did another VO2 max workout this morning.
6 X 2.5 minutes, with 2 minutes rest. The pace should have been a slight touch faster, I think, but I'm still getting used to the TM and the biomechanics at that speed. My treadmill is narrower and shakier than others I've used (but it was FREEE!!!) and once I go past 8 mph, it feels iffy. Weirdly stiff biomechanics, however, is an easier fix. I should warm up more next time.
At any rate, I found an effective accompaniment to the workout: trance music and footage of a race at the same time. The first is simple, the second kind of complicated. I prefer road races to track races. Unfortunately, it's easier to find track race footage. When I type in "road race running replay" or whatever, I get horses and motorcross. :/ Fortunately, I don't actually pay much attention to the race footage during faster intervals--it's more there for good vibes and atmos--so I can reuse it! At any rate, the videos and music make these intervals much more bearable. I used to despise VO2 max workouts, especially on treadmills. The seconds actually stalled at times; I felt like I was approaching the speed of light or otherwise transcending the bounds of space and matter in the suckiest way possible.
Not any more! Mind you, there is a big difference between 2.5 minutes and 4...we'll see how I'm feeling then.
After running, I did resistance exercises.
6 X 2.5 minutes, with 2 minutes rest. The pace should have been a slight touch faster, I think, but I'm still getting used to the TM and the biomechanics at that speed. My treadmill is narrower and shakier than others I've used (but it was FREEE!!!) and once I go past 8 mph, it feels iffy. Weirdly stiff biomechanics, however, is an easier fix. I should warm up more next time.
At any rate, I found an effective accompaniment to the workout: trance music and footage of a race at the same time. The first is simple, the second kind of complicated. I prefer road races to track races. Unfortunately, it's easier to find track race footage. When I type in "road race running replay" or whatever, I get horses and motorcross. :/ Fortunately, I don't actually pay much attention to the race footage during faster intervals--it's more there for good vibes and atmos--so I can reuse it! At any rate, the videos and music make these intervals much more bearable. I used to despise VO2 max workouts, especially on treadmills. The seconds actually stalled at times; I felt like I was approaching the speed of light or otherwise transcending the bounds of space and matter in the suckiest way possible.
Not any more! Mind you, there is a big difference between 2.5 minutes and 4...we'll see how I'm feeling then.
After running, I did resistance exercises.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
~
90 minute run on the treadmill today. I watched the 2013 NYC marathon.
I got to say, the youtube algorithm was kind of shoddy. I typed in "marathon race running replay" and the top choice was a collection of ads with runners in them. Fortunately, once I clicked on that, one of the suggestions in the sidebar was informative.
The last time I drank milk was probably in January...just haven't bothered to buy it. eh, I'll eat more cheese.
I got to say, the youtube algorithm was kind of shoddy. I typed in "marathon race running replay" and the top choice was a collection of ads with runners in them. Fortunately, once I clicked on that, one of the suggestions in the sidebar was informative.
The last time I drank milk was probably in January...just haven't bothered to buy it. eh, I'll eat more cheese.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Making use of cold days
I goofed up. I let a few nice and brisk mornings go to waste this week, and did the toughest run on the warmest morning. 16-21 C, and it was sort of humid too. Why?
2 X 10 min tempo, 1 hr easy (ok, 50 minutes due to trail considerations), and another 10 min tempo, and then home. My original plan was to do it all on roads.
Well, this morning was warmer than expected, I slept in longer than expected (I slept for 10.5 hrs!), and I have the dog all to myself this weekend. He doesn't like tempo runs, and I thought about taking him on a little bullcrap run or walk beforehand and then ditching him, but those brown eyes pierced deep into my soul, etc. Ok, little buddy, I'll rejig the route. Easy decision, for I wasn't feeling the route with the big hills anyway.
The little hills were enough. We walked up the first one just outside my house as a warm up (short and steep) and then started the first tempo portion. Right away, I had an anchor at the end of the leash. I wasn't feeling that pumped either. I gave us a few words of encouragement and wondered why I was feeling so sluggy. Well, after the steep hill, the incline flattens a bit but still continues, and I always forget this. I swear, every time, it's like "wah wah, frig, why is this so hard?" We're still going uphill. Ohhhh.
I decided that as long as I was doing 8 min/mile for tempo, I'd be happy, especially considering that my 'road-running' here still involves a decent portion on sand and pine needles, and sometimes ditch. Some cars pull aside for me, but I can't trust them because, one of these days, some jackoff on his phone going 45-55 mph (assuming he or she is not speeding!) is just not going to see me. So, spongy footing and increasing crankiness. Moving here was making the best of a sort of undesirable situation, and it really is a lovely region, but I'm done and summer still hasn't started!
--oh, wait, gotta google--the dog and I are presently eating dried mangos. ok, they're fine for dogs. Phew! It's surprising what can be harmful for dogs, including chocolate, onions, and raisins.---
Anyway, I may have been more peeved than usual this morning partly because my abs hurt. Not my guts, my abs. Usually my quads and right shoulder tire before my abs. And then I admitted that I haven't been doing ab work much (gotta be 3X week from now on). Plus, I was holding the dog leash in one hand and a water bottle in the other...I'm used to this, but not for tempo runs.
My tempo portions were 1.27 and 1.24 miles. eh, sagged on the second, too much turf, whatever.
But I was oddly torched. I didn't hurt, and I didn't feel like I'd pushed myself too much, and my breathing went down pretty quickly, but I was barely moving during the jog afterward. My legs didn't feel too bad, but they weren't moving. The dog was doing fine by this point, but I was feeling weird. And then I tasted a bit of bile. I am generally not motivated enough to run until I puke, but maybe I was having some acid reflux; that could account for the sore 'abs' earlier. Anyway, we ducked into the forest and jogged around on trails for a while, I recovered, and then we hit the top of a hill after about 50 minutes. What's ten minutes less for a great place to start the tempo portion?
But the workout said an hour! But I knew I had almost a mile of nice, mostly downhill trail ahead of me before things got rooty/hilly/soggy, and I didn't feel like pushing over that--so, let's go! The sand was thick at first, but soon we got to my 2nd favourite stretch of trail in the forest, and it didn't run out until about 8 minutes, leaving me with just a minute or two of junky footing. 1.16 miles. Then we jogged home (total 10 miles) and I did resistance exercises.
Ilike appreciate these combo tempo/semi-long runs. Tempo effort, or at least elevated heart rate, is prolonged somewhat, plus the easy portion in between isn't exactly easy: it's a good chance to practice moving tired legs. I guess it went ok, but I should have stuck to the roads more. I wish there was a magic hour for no cars whatsoever so I don't have to keep moving sideways on and off the road and get progressively more p!ssy over this--but I have to stay positive! Maybe all that lateral motion is shredding my core!
At any rate, the nice cool days are waning, and I must make better use of them.
2 X 10 min tempo, 1 hr easy (ok, 50 minutes due to trail considerations), and another 10 min tempo, and then home. My original plan was to do it all on roads.
Well, this morning was warmer than expected, I slept in longer than expected (I slept for 10.5 hrs!), and I have the dog all to myself this weekend. He doesn't like tempo runs, and I thought about taking him on a little bullcrap run or walk beforehand and then ditching him, but those brown eyes pierced deep into my soul, etc. Ok, little buddy, I'll rejig the route. Easy decision, for I wasn't feeling the route with the big hills anyway.
The little hills were enough. We walked up the first one just outside my house as a warm up (short and steep) and then started the first tempo portion. Right away, I had an anchor at the end of the leash. I wasn't feeling that pumped either. I gave us a few words of encouragement and wondered why I was feeling so sluggy. Well, after the steep hill, the incline flattens a bit but still continues, and I always forget this. I swear, every time, it's like "wah wah, frig, why is this so hard?" We're still going uphill. Ohhhh.
I decided that as long as I was doing 8 min/mile for tempo, I'd be happy, especially considering that my 'road-running' here still involves a decent portion on sand and pine needles, and sometimes ditch. Some cars pull aside for me, but I can't trust them because, one of these days, some jackoff on his phone going 45-55 mph (assuming he or she is not speeding!) is just not going to see me. So, spongy footing and increasing crankiness. Moving here was making the best of a sort of undesirable situation, and it really is a lovely region, but I'm done and summer still hasn't started!
--oh, wait, gotta google--the dog and I are presently eating dried mangos. ok, they're fine for dogs. Phew! It's surprising what can be harmful for dogs, including chocolate, onions, and raisins.---
Anyway, I may have been more peeved than usual this morning partly because my abs hurt. Not my guts, my abs. Usually my quads and right shoulder tire before my abs. And then I admitted that I haven't been doing ab work much (gotta be 3X week from now on). Plus, I was holding the dog leash in one hand and a water bottle in the other...I'm used to this, but not for tempo runs.
My tempo portions were 1.27 and 1.24 miles. eh, sagged on the second, too much turf, whatever.
But I was oddly torched. I didn't hurt, and I didn't feel like I'd pushed myself too much, and my breathing went down pretty quickly, but I was barely moving during the jog afterward. My legs didn't feel too bad, but they weren't moving. The dog was doing fine by this point, but I was feeling weird. And then I tasted a bit of bile. I am generally not motivated enough to run until I puke, but maybe I was having some acid reflux; that could account for the sore 'abs' earlier. Anyway, we ducked into the forest and jogged around on trails for a while, I recovered, and then we hit the top of a hill after about 50 minutes. What's ten minutes less for a great place to start the tempo portion?
But the workout said an hour! But I knew I had almost a mile of nice, mostly downhill trail ahead of me before things got rooty/hilly/soggy, and I didn't feel like pushing over that--so, let's go! The sand was thick at first, but soon we got to my 2nd favourite stretch of trail in the forest, and it didn't run out until about 8 minutes, leaving me with just a minute or two of junky footing. 1.16 miles. Then we jogged home (total 10 miles) and I did resistance exercises.
I
At any rate, the nice cool days are waning, and I must make better use of them.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
~
Yesterday, two short jogs.
Today, 70 minute jog. It was supposed to be my mid-week mid-long run, but I somehow got through the route more quickly than usual even though my legs felt a bit tired. Not complaining! I had one super run this week; if the others are kind of heavy but still at a decent pace, I'll be thrilled. I should be feeling a bit tired at this point--last week was too tired, but this level of fatigue is bearable.
And now matters turn to the gross and mysterious:
Why does my favourite sports bra reek so badly (A), and what can I do to stop it (B)?
A: it's 2-3 years old and I sweat a lot. The last two summers have been brutal and I've probably sweated the equivalent of two men twice my size. I've washed the bra regularly and rigorously, of course--I rinse it and wring it out after each run at the very least--but the material and/or construction seems to be prime real estate for smelly bacteria (I was told that bacteria turn sweat into funkiness, but I could be wrong).
B:wash/ baking soda/vinegar/ freezer/ sun/ sportswash A/ sportswash B...this is where we presently stand. Future possibilities include baking, microwaving, and other compounds.
Sportswash B, which I will not name at this point in case it washes out, contains "biodegradable surfactants and builders". Surfactants bust surface tension of liquids and solutions, but I haven't a clue what "builders" do. Are they actually building little condos for smelly bacteria? Because I just washed the bra in this stuff, and it's not smelling promising thus far.
Unfortunately, since our move, I no longer have access to the equipment and compounds that can absolutely pulverize the life or at least replication out of every single microbe (except for prions), but I do have some weapons at my disposal. At any rate, I've got to do more research. I'm curious to know what bacterial species are at work here too. Maybe there's a fungus jamming along with them. Who knows?
And why don't I just buy a new sports bra? The company discontinued that model! I can't even get my size on Ebay. I have a few other sports bras, but they're not as ideal...finding a good sports bra is a whole other post.
Today, 70 minute jog. It was supposed to be my mid-week mid-long run, but I somehow got through the route more quickly than usual even though my legs felt a bit tired. Not complaining! I had one super run this week; if the others are kind of heavy but still at a decent pace, I'll be thrilled. I should be feeling a bit tired at this point--last week was too tired, but this level of fatigue is bearable.
And now matters turn to the gross and mysterious:
Why does my favourite sports bra reek so badly (A), and what can I do to stop it (B)?
A: it's 2-3 years old and I sweat a lot. The last two summers have been brutal and I've probably sweated the equivalent of two men twice my size. I've washed the bra regularly and rigorously, of course--I rinse it and wring it out after each run at the very least--but the material and/or construction seems to be prime real estate for smelly bacteria (I was told that bacteria turn sweat into funkiness, but I could be wrong).
B:
Sportswash B, which I will not name at this point in case it washes out, contains "biodegradable surfactants and builders". Surfactants bust surface tension of liquids and solutions, but I haven't a clue what "builders" do. Are they actually building little condos for smelly bacteria? Because I just washed the bra in this stuff, and it's not smelling promising thus far.
Unfortunately, since our move, I no longer have access to the equipment and compounds that can absolutely pulverize the life or at least replication out of every single microbe (except for prions), but I do have some weapons at my disposal. At any rate, I've got to do more research. I'm curious to know what bacterial species are at work here too. Maybe there's a fungus jamming along with them. Who knows?
And why don't I just buy a new sports bra? The company discontinued that model! I can't even get my size on Ebay. I have a few other sports bras, but they're not as ideal...finding a good sports bra is a whole other post.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
on shaky ground
Or maybe a cheap treadmill with the back end propped up on textbooks isn't the best idea...but it's not the worst either! Nothing happened except for a few moments of tremulous doubt.
I did VO2 max intervals today, for the first time in at least a year or two, and I feel obligated to fully investigate the resulting physiological adaptation at this point, but instead I'm going to watch a movie and eat the bones of four animals (in a minute). I don't eat meat a lot, but I still feel bad for the animals plus I'd rather go without the unhealthily jacked-up saturated fat profile of an unsuitably grain-fed beast, so oftentimes we buy grass-fed free-range whatever, and stretch it out. Bones? Boil in water for ages = broth! I was checking the freezer recently and I realized that all these tubs of homemade broth are cramping the frozen pizzas. And soup's fun to make.
Recipe?
um
turkey/lamb/beef/chicken broth
tomato puree
dried mushrooms
canned beans
dried beans
spices
salt
Simmer for AGES until it's thick enough. Throw more spices in (maybe lemon juice and/or cider vinegar for more of a tang if desired, though I didn't do that this time) until it tastes good. That's it!
Anyway, the VO2 max workout was just 6 X 2 minutes. Longer intervals are better, and I will build up to them, but I'm rusty. After I cooled down a bit, I grabbed the dog and did a quick fartlek around the neighbourhood because I felt really tired but also really pumped. So, the total run was about 50 minutes, I think, with the warm up and so forth. After that, resistance exercises, and now the bones of four animals wait in front of me and hello, Amazon Prime!
I did VO2 max intervals today, for the first time in at least a year or two, and I feel obligated to fully investigate the resulting physiological adaptation at this point, but instead I'm going to watch a movie and eat the bones of four animals (in a minute). I don't eat meat a lot, but I still feel bad for the animals plus I'd rather go without the unhealthily jacked-up saturated fat profile of an unsuitably grain-fed beast, so oftentimes we buy grass-fed free-range whatever, and stretch it out. Bones? Boil in water for ages = broth! I was checking the freezer recently and I realized that all these tubs of homemade broth are cramping the frozen pizzas. And soup's fun to make.
Recipe?
um
turkey/lamb/beef/chicken broth
tomato puree
dried mushrooms
canned beans
dried beans
spices
salt
Simmer for AGES until it's thick enough. Throw more spices in (maybe lemon juice and/or cider vinegar for more of a tang if desired, though I didn't do that this time) until it tastes good. That's it!
Anyway, the VO2 max workout was just 6 X 2 minutes. Longer intervals are better, and I will build up to them, but I'm rusty. After I cooled down a bit, I grabbed the dog and did a quick fartlek around the neighbourhood because I felt really tired but also really pumped. So, the total run was about 50 minutes, I think, with the warm up and so forth. After that, resistance exercises, and now the bones of four animals wait in front of me and hello, Amazon Prime!
I outran the wi-fi
60 min run on the TM this evening, to the accompaniment of the 2012 NYC half...yeah, I rewatch old races. I take what I can get*, and since my memory is somewhat what?!?, old races are conveniently refreshed. I'd forgotten how exciting the 2012 NYC half was. It was a sizzling finish for the men as well as for the women, and Deriba Merga was in it--I'm not sure what he's been up to recently, but he's an exciting competitor.
Anyway, I felt amazing tonight. It was one of those loose and effortless runs that keeps me coming back for more. Originally, I was going to do a tempo run, but I felt so crappy last week, I decided to do just whatever came out (and I forgot I was going to do tempo on Monday this week...oops). However, I was at my summer tempo pace, albeit on a treadmill in a cold garage. It was wonderful and a nice confidence builder after last week's crapavaganza. The only hitch was when the Wi-Fi choked after about 40 minutes. I didn't want to take any breaks, so I reached out and jabbed my laptop (the setup is awkward for mid-run clicking, and I have to keep my other hand on the treadmill console so that I don't lose my balance). Eventually, I got the picture back, but no sound! I didn't think that was even possible. Clearly, the internet here isn't an all-or-nothing response.
Still, I had such a great time that I think it could sustain me through two weeks of suckage or whatever. I might forget again how the race ends, but I have to lock this glorious feeling of rejuvenation in the memory bank.
*(reminder: check universal sports to see if last year's Berlin Marathon is free to watch yet)
Anyway, I felt amazing tonight. It was one of those loose and effortless runs that keeps me coming back for more. Originally, I was going to do a tempo run, but I felt so crappy last week, I decided to do just whatever came out (and I forgot I was going to do tempo on Monday this week...oops). However, I was at my summer tempo pace, albeit on a treadmill in a cold garage. It was wonderful and a nice confidence builder after last week's crapavaganza. The only hitch was when the Wi-Fi choked after about 40 minutes. I didn't want to take any breaks, so I reached out and jabbed my laptop (the setup is awkward for mid-run clicking, and I have to keep my other hand on the treadmill console so that I don't lose my balance). Eventually, I got the picture back, but no sound! I didn't think that was even possible. Clearly, the internet here isn't an all-or-nothing response.
Still, I had such a great time that I think it could sustain me through two weeks of suckage or whatever. I might forget again how the race ends, but I have to lock this glorious feeling of rejuvenation in the memory bank.
*(reminder: check universal sports to see if last year's Berlin Marathon is free to watch yet)
Monday, March 17, 2014
Bliss
BLISS
Same old workout, still plugging away at it 1-3 times a week, still doing about 12-13 pushups and 10-11 pike situps per set. I haven't noticed too much of an improvement in pushup velocity during the workout, probably because I'm wussing out, but it has become easier to drop down and do 20 or whatever at other times. The pike situps have improved even more.
The main development, however, has been accepting the abdominal burn a bit better. That's why I like this workout: it replicates the lovely feeling of complete evisceration brought on by my first 6+ hour trail run, but within the second minute. And I don't even have to do anything fancy, either! No twisting or balancing or grabbing equipment or whatever. The fancy stuff works in other situations, but it generally dilutes the burn because I take time to get the hang of things and/or to transition between exercises. Pushups and situps, however, are basic. If I'm easing off the burn in the midst of those, it's because I'm having a moment here, and not because my spectacular coordination is skipping hand-in-hand with Gravity into the sunset, leaving me floundering with flashbacks of childhood Phys Ed mishaps and yet no burn any more, just echoes of shame.
I've felt the burn to a lesser degree during some races; hopefully its potential has been reduced. will see!
(incidentally, I had to listen to the song approximately 3.5 times to type this post)
Same old workout, still plugging away at it 1-3 times a week, still doing about 12-13 pushups and 10-11 pike situps per set. I haven't noticed too much of an improvement in pushup velocity during the workout, probably because I'm wussing out, but it has become easier to drop down and do 20 or whatever at other times. The pike situps have improved even more.
The main development, however, has been accepting the abdominal burn a bit better. That's why I like this workout: it replicates the lovely feeling of complete evisceration brought on by my first 6+ hour trail run, but within the second minute. And I don't even have to do anything fancy, either! No twisting or balancing or grabbing equipment or whatever. The fancy stuff works in other situations, but it generally dilutes the burn because I take time to get the hang of things and/or to transition between exercises. Pushups and situps, however, are basic. If I'm easing off the burn in the midst of those, it's because I'm having a moment here, and not because my spectacular coordination is skipping hand-in-hand with Gravity into the sunset, leaving me floundering with flashbacks of childhood Phys Ed mishaps and yet no burn any more, just echoes of shame.
I've felt the burn to a lesser degree during some races; hopefully its potential has been reduced. will see!
(incidentally, I had to listen to the song approximately 3.5 times to type this post)
Saturday, March 15, 2014
I'm sorry, my muscle children!
I finished my semi-long run this morning. 2:15ish, mostly on trails. The dog enjoyed it more than I did. However, it wasn't a bad run, just one of those blech runs requiring constant reminders to maintain cadence, good form, etc. You'll feel better if you keep X or Y tight. Just get up that hill and then you can open up a bit. The less time you spend touching the ground, the faster you will get home. Yeah, it was two hours and fifteen minutes of I just want to go home.
Anyway, I think I may have sorted out my problem a bit more. Why am I so deep in the hole this week? Potassium deficit, hills, and long-term surreptitious Beer Me aside, there are two possible additional factors:
1. Just tired from speedwork. Since it's been a while since I've done speedwork, I'd forgotten the resulting fatigue. Honestly, my lazy version of ultramarathon training, gliding around for umpteen hours, is not much of a tear. The push doesn't really start until after 6 hours.
2. I've also been cutting a bit of flab, thanks to My Fitness Pal. The first three weeks or so went fine once the cravings subsided. However, when talking with my husband about overestimating one's exertion level (not in reference to me), I started to wonder if I was actually doing this. I was inputting my exercises, but the remainder of my life, research, studying, and writing, is slothful. I'm not even walking much incidentally because we live about 3 miles from the closest store--whenever I make it there on my own steam, I log that separately. So I downgraded my activity level about 10 days ago even though I was doing fine. I'm new to intentional weight loss, and somehow I thought it had to be a bit worse, what can I say? It meant just 240 fewer calories per day. It kind of sucked getting used to it, but I adjusted.
Well, during that short span, I've been losing a bit more than twice as fast as I'd originally planned. I haven't had any acute gut issues, I'm not dehydrated...an extra lb here and there is somehow melting off a little too quickly, which still might not be too bad unless I'm not getting enough carbs either. Hard to say. Fortunately, there's plenty of time to reverse. Dinner tonight will be sweet potato fries and extra cheesy mac&cheese (and some fruit to be Healthy, too), because I still have to eat 2041 calories today according to My Fitness Pal's readjusted calculations.
But what are these calculations exactly? What is this voodoo that has perhaps led me astray?
My Fitness Pal says it uses the Mifflin-St. Jeor* equation to calculate basal metabolic rate. This equation, however, actually calculates resting energy expenditure (they're almost the same thing anyway, and just one part of the picture)...and now my sloth prevails because I can't be bothered to check what MFP uses to refine the results (ie, n(1.143) for incurable fidgeting). However, the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation has its own limitations: even among bedbound patients, REE varies wildly according to other factors such as body composition. I'd entered a few body measurements in My Fitness Pal, just neck-waist-hips, but these are optional and seem to be more for tracking purposes than for revising BMR. Furthermore, the Mifflin-St. Joer equation, devised in 1990, largely replaced the Harris-Benedict equation (1919), partly because average caloric expenditure has largely fallen due to changes in the average Western lifestyle. Maybe my lifestyle is still somewhat old-timey--it used to be when I was urban and walking or biking or running almost everywhere, and carrying all my groceries, and there are still echoes: I'm presently typing outside, beside the pit in which I leveled dirt after my run today. I don't think I count as a high fit woman, but I still might be less energy-efficient than expected. I do fidget a lot.
At any rate, the science behind human non-exercise activity thermogenesis is perhaps still in its childhood, and there aren't too many studies about non-overweight subjects. So, basically, I should have realized the difference between just hungry and really too hungry. No worries, I'll bounce back with Uber cheesy MAC&CHEESE with EVEN EXTRA CHEESE! (my apologies if this stuff is somehow subliminal. Triangles just look subliminal somehow (thanks, Illuminati "theorists" :/).
*For sure I'll calculate over all this in private. And how many extra calories are burned during baby math?
Anyway, I think I may have sorted out my problem a bit more. Why am I so deep in the hole this week? Potassium deficit, hills, and long-term surreptitious Beer Me aside, there are two possible additional factors:
1. Just tired from speedwork. Since it's been a while since I've done speedwork, I'd forgotten the resulting fatigue. Honestly, my lazy version of ultramarathon training, gliding around for umpteen hours, is not much of a tear. The push doesn't really start until after 6 hours.
2. I've also been cutting a bit of flab, thanks to My Fitness Pal. The first three weeks or so went fine once the cravings subsided. However, when talking with my husband about overestimating one's exertion level (not in reference to me), I started to wonder if I was actually doing this. I was inputting my exercises, but the remainder of my life, research, studying, and writing, is slothful. I'm not even walking much incidentally because we live about 3 miles from the closest store--whenever I make it there on my own steam, I log that separately. So I downgraded my activity level about 10 days ago even though I was doing fine. I'm new to intentional weight loss, and somehow I thought it had to be a bit worse, what can I say? It meant just 240 fewer calories per day. It kind of sucked getting used to it, but I adjusted.
Well, during that short span, I've been losing a bit more than twice as fast as I'd originally planned. I haven't had any acute gut issues, I'm not dehydrated...an extra lb here and there is somehow melting off a little too quickly, which still might not be too bad unless I'm not getting enough carbs either. Hard to say. Fortunately, there's plenty of time to reverse. Dinner tonight will be sweet potato fries and extra cheesy mac&cheese (and some fruit to be Healthy, too), because I still have to eat 2041 calories today according to My Fitness Pal's readjusted calculations.
But what are these calculations exactly? What is this voodoo that has perhaps led me astray?
My Fitness Pal says it uses the Mifflin-St. Jeor* equation to calculate basal metabolic rate. This equation, however, actually calculates resting energy expenditure (they're almost the same thing anyway, and just one part of the picture)...and now my sloth prevails because I can't be bothered to check what MFP uses to refine the results (ie, n(1.143) for incurable fidgeting). However, the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation has its own limitations: even among bedbound patients, REE varies wildly according to other factors such as body composition. I'd entered a few body measurements in My Fitness Pal, just neck-waist-hips, but these are optional and seem to be more for tracking purposes than for revising BMR. Furthermore, the Mifflin-St. Joer equation, devised in 1990, largely replaced the Harris-Benedict equation (1919), partly because average caloric expenditure has largely fallen due to changes in the average Western lifestyle. Maybe my lifestyle is still somewhat old-timey--it used to be when I was urban and walking or biking or running almost everywhere, and carrying all my groceries, and there are still echoes: I'm presently typing outside, beside the pit in which I leveled dirt after my run today. I don't think I count as a high fit woman, but I still might be less energy-efficient than expected. I do fidget a lot.
At any rate, the science behind human non-exercise activity thermogenesis is perhaps still in its childhood, and there aren't too many studies about non-overweight subjects. So, basically, I should have realized the difference between just hungry and really too hungry. No worries, I'll bounce back with Uber cheesy MAC&CHEESE with EVEN EXTRA CHEESE! (my apologies if this stuff is somehow subliminal. Triangles just look subliminal somehow (thanks, Illuminati "theorists" :/).
*For sure I'll calculate over all this in private. And how many extra calories are burned during baby math?
Friday, March 14, 2014
~
I was feeling drained this morning, so I just strolled around in the forest, got the dog out, and got some vitamin D and some tunes. I've used headphones for ultras and for a few ice runs (miss you, frozen Rideau Canal), but I've never used them for regular runs or walks. I guess yesterday eroded took a big fat steaming dump on my social mindfulness.
So why exactly am I feeling like the victim of an Urban Dictionary entry, even though this has been an easy week? I'm not injured, I'm just wiped.
I think the recent road hills have sapped more out of me than I'd expected. I've actually been sleeping fine, and my diet has been good, plus recently improved: I found out a week ago that my regular "safe" meal while dining out is cooked with beer! No wonder I've been having iffy guts for the past...year (?). Not that I eat out even once a week, but I was getting re-glutened every few weeks (worse still, I couldn't even taste the beer--holy crap, do I ever miss real beer!). I had no idea because sometimes reactions are delayed. Anyway, I checked the big hills on www.findhills.com: one of them is just over 4% for 3/4 of a mile, and the other is just over 5% for 1/2 of a mile. This doesn't sound so bad after all. Guess I got to get stronger.
Maybe I'm smashing too many red blood cells on the roads in general. HOWEVER, it seems that firm insoles actually diminish this, as opposed to soft insoles: Firm insoles effectively reduce hemolysis in runners during long distance running - a comparative study. And my insoles are about as firm as they get, I think...2-3 year old minimalist shoes aren't squishy at all. Yeah, I should get new shoes sometime but I've gone so far with these ones that I have to keep the dream alive. And they're still babies anyway: the trail shoes I still sometimes use for short runs were bought while I was living near Baltimore (2007-8)--they predate this blog! HOLABIRD SPORTS HOLLA!!!!!
However, I can't seem to get enough potassium in my diet. Maybe that's my problem.
So why exactly am I feeling like the victim of an Urban Dictionary entry, even though this has been an easy week? I'm not injured, I'm just wiped.
I think the recent road hills have sapped more out of me than I'd expected. I've actually been sleeping fine, and my diet has been good, plus recently improved: I found out a week ago that my regular "safe" meal while dining out is cooked with beer! No wonder I've been having iffy guts for the past...year (?). Not that I eat out even once a week, but I was getting re-glutened every few weeks (worse still, I couldn't even taste the beer--holy crap, do I ever miss real beer!). I had no idea because sometimes reactions are delayed. Anyway, I checked the big hills on www.findhills.com: one of them is just over 4% for 3/4 of a mile, and the other is just over 5% for 1/2 of a mile. This doesn't sound so bad after all. Guess I got to get stronger.
Maybe I'm smashing too many red blood cells on the roads in general. HOWEVER, it seems that firm insoles actually diminish this, as opposed to soft insoles: Firm insoles effectively reduce hemolysis in runners during long distance running - a comparative study. And my insoles are about as firm as they get, I think...2-3 year old minimalist shoes aren't squishy at all. Yeah, I should get new shoes sometime but I've gone so far with these ones that I have to keep the dream alive. And they're still babies anyway: the trail shoes I still sometimes use for short runs were bought while I was living near Baltimore (2007-8)--they predate this blog! HOLABIRD SPORTS HOLLA!!!!!
However, I can't seem to get enough potassium in my diet. Maybe that's my problem.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Not as planned
This morning, it was sunny and about 4 C...my favourite weather to run in. I decided to do the hilly route again. It would take about 1:30, not including the 3.5-4 miles back home. I didn't feel tired from yesterday's run and I had time.
Unfortunately, I was tired after all, but it was more of a general fatigue. My breathing seemed sort of off; I wasn't congested, but I felt some tightness. Fortunately, it wasn't supposed to be a tempo run. So what if I had a crappy two-hour run? It wouldn't be the first one.
Less than two miles into it, a little grey dog came running up. It seemed friendly, but was very pushy, and I could tell that my dog was starting to get put off. It kept jumping against his hindquarters, and he's not a fan of this. So I shooed it away, hoping that it would go back to its home.
Instead, it ran ahead of us for a few minutes. At first, I thought that it was used to being loose and that it had a wide territory, but as we approached a faster (45 mph) road, I started to realize that it was running a bit too wild. It's hard to explain: some dogs are smart and experienced, but this didn't seem to be one of them. Instead of following a routine (and, boy, dogs love their routines), it was just dashing about.
It was about 50 metres ahead of us and it crossed the 45 mph road without hesitation. Ok, maybe it lived on the other side. But when we got there, I could see it was still sort of dashing about aimlessly, so I coaxed it back to our side. Thank goodness there wasn't much traffic. It got close to us--it was still interested in my dog--and I grabbed it by the collar. It tried to bite me, but fortunately it was slow in more ways than one, and it submitted easily. I looked at the tags and there was one with a phone number, but I didn't have my phone on me. So I bent over and walked the dog back to the smaller road; I decided that we'd run back down it and hopefully it would find its house.
Unfortunately, it slipped its collar soon after. Did I ever hate myself then! I called it and it came, thank goodness, and I slipped the collar back on and we turned onto the smaller road. I expected it to run ahead again, but instead it dashed across the smaller road into a yard facing the faster road, and disappeared.
Uh, so I figured, there's no point in chasing a dog, but maybe if we run back down the smaller road, it would follow us, so I whistled and started, but it was gone. I realized that it had perhaps rejoined the faster road, and I didn't even know if it lived on the smaller road anyway. I shuffled for a few paces, trying to decide my next move, and then, amazeballs, the best moment ever.
An old guy in a pickup pulled up and asked about a little grey dog. YES. I said, right over there, I was trying to get it off the road, I'll show you. So I cut across the yard and he pulled and turned ahead onto the faster road and caught his dog. He yelled THANK YOU and I yelled back THANK GOODNESS. I was so relieved.
So we resumed our run, even though I felt more drained. We ran through another subdivision and there were some sort of loose dogs, but nothing major. We got up the 2nd major hill and onto another fast road--at this point, we're about 5 miles and and an hour in. I guess I burned a lot of time with that dog. I was feeling wiped. My dog wanted to pee, so we I stopped, and then I considered that we had still at least an hour to go, and my heart fell. There weren't any more monster hills ahead, but some smaller ones, and two long inclines that I was more concerned about.
Nah. I already felt cruddy enough.
So we turned around and went back. Now, one of the sort of loose dogs we'd passed on the way over is a little dog that never goes off its yard--we've seen it a bunch of times and it honestly doesn't count as a loose dog. When we passed the house next to it or one over, I'd heard a couple of other dogs barking, and I saw one of them, a large-ish pit mix or small mastiff, in the backyard. I didn't recall seeing dogs there before, but it was cool. However, when we were passing again on our way back, it was in the front yard, along with two other dogs. Well, maybe they had an electric fence.
We were walking at this point, and we were across the street, so we were less exciting. Nevertheless, one of the small dogs started coming toward the road and us. So, no electric fence. The big dog was just chilling in its yard though. I thought, that's a smart dog. It's satisfied with its own territory.
Well, all of them started following us, but still at a walk. I picked up a large stick, just in case--I was worried about that large dog. If it had been just the small ones, or if I'd been without my dog and if they'd stayed friendly, I could have walked them back to the house and hopefully someone would have been home, or maybe I could have relatched the gate to their backyard, if there was actually a proper complete fence...I don't know. But the big dogs, the strange one and mine, busted that idea. Maybe it would've been friendly with mine, maybe not, but I didn't want to break up a fight between the two of them on my own. My dog isn't a fighter and gives plenty of warnings, but a few other dogs have bit him and pounced on him over the years...I have this vision of him finally snapping one day. And he is quicker and stronger than most dogs out there.
We continued walking away. The dogs meandered a good distance behind us, and another car pulled up. A young woman asked me if I knew who owned them. I told her, no, and she said that a small one had run right in front of her car. I winced--I felt bad--and I told her that there have been a lot of loose dogs today. People just let their dogs loose here. I honestly think that the first little grey dog got out accidentally, like the three pugs did a few months ago, but most of these dogs are simply left free to roam.
But she didn't drive off. She asked me again where they were from. I said, maybe those houses back there, I didn't really know. At this point, she was looking at me as though she was expecting more. I should have explained my reasoning--no way I'm taking my dog onto the potential territory of a large dog whom I don't know. I could have also told her what she could do instead of just stopping some random person with their own dog to worry about, but I was really tired, and I didn't think of it at the time, so I just shrugged. Did she really expect me to go back there and wrangle three strange dogs?
You know, sometimes people know stuff should be done, and they try to shift this onto other people to assuage their guilt? This seemed to be the situation, and I was starting to feel a little irritated. She could have stopped, called the dogs over, and checked for phone numbers or addresses--like I did earlier that very run! It's not rocket surgery. Or maybe she just wanted to hear "I'm sorry you were so startled by that dog running in front of you and I'll take care of it, don't worry, just go on your way and think you really did something special." Probably she was still sort of in shock.
Well, I was being terribly unhelpful--I don't remember the other parts of the brief conversation, but I really couldn't think of much to tell her, so she drove off. The car behind her was the post truck, and the postlady also asked me about the dogs. I told her that we'd already been chased and we'd already rescued another dog this morning, and now we just had to get back home, and she laughed and drove off. She probably sees more loose dogs every day than we do in a month.
But of course, I felt guilty about the three dogs all over another 45 mph road (fortunately, it was not busy either at that time), and so we headed back. Not all the way, just enough to watch them cross the street back to the side we'd originally seen them, not that I had any idea if they'd actually belonged there. Among the 10 (?) houses on that side of that stretch of road, there is the small yappy dog, the kind of scary German Shepherd that is occasionally loose, a sweet large white dog that is occasionally loose, and a really undergroomed and grimy large white dog (clearly not the same dog) that is also occasionally loose. I had never seen the trio before. Maybe they came from another planet. Maybe they got loose, got into a pack zone, ranged far afield, and now were lost.
Well, this situation made me feel like shit. I still have a headache. I went home, showered, and considered driving out to check on them, but I didn't want to push my luck (for, really, I had come out on top: one happy reunion and no dogfights). I envisioned accidentally running over one of the small dogs. There's only so much I can do. I am only one person, and no dogcatcher. Apologies to the young woman in the green car: I'm no pro. Sorry you got a fright.
Anyway, that was the most craptastic run in a while.
WHO LET THE DOGS OUT????! Yeah, that's low-hanging fruit...but my head hurts and I just can't cough up the goods today. No wonder I've been preferring the treadmill lately!
Unfortunately, I was tired after all, but it was more of a general fatigue. My breathing seemed sort of off; I wasn't congested, but I felt some tightness. Fortunately, it wasn't supposed to be a tempo run. So what if I had a crappy two-hour run? It wouldn't be the first one.
Less than two miles into it, a little grey dog came running up. It seemed friendly, but was very pushy, and I could tell that my dog was starting to get put off. It kept jumping against his hindquarters, and he's not a fan of this. So I shooed it away, hoping that it would go back to its home.
Instead, it ran ahead of us for a few minutes. At first, I thought that it was used to being loose and that it had a wide territory, but as we approached a faster (45 mph) road, I started to realize that it was running a bit too wild. It's hard to explain: some dogs are smart and experienced, but this didn't seem to be one of them. Instead of following a routine (and, boy, dogs love their routines), it was just dashing about.
It was about 50 metres ahead of us and it crossed the 45 mph road without hesitation. Ok, maybe it lived on the other side. But when we got there, I could see it was still sort of dashing about aimlessly, so I coaxed it back to our side. Thank goodness there wasn't much traffic. It got close to us--it was still interested in my dog--and I grabbed it by the collar. It tried to bite me, but fortunately it was slow in more ways than one, and it submitted easily. I looked at the tags and there was one with a phone number, but I didn't have my phone on me. So I bent over and walked the dog back to the smaller road; I decided that we'd run back down it and hopefully it would find its house.
Unfortunately, it slipped its collar soon after. Did I ever hate myself then! I called it and it came, thank goodness, and I slipped the collar back on and we turned onto the smaller road. I expected it to run ahead again, but instead it dashed across the smaller road into a yard facing the faster road, and disappeared.
Uh, so I figured, there's no point in chasing a dog, but maybe if we run back down the smaller road, it would follow us, so I whistled and started, but it was gone. I realized that it had perhaps rejoined the faster road, and I didn't even know if it lived on the smaller road anyway. I shuffled for a few paces, trying to decide my next move, and then, amazeballs, the best moment ever.
An old guy in a pickup pulled up and asked about a little grey dog. YES. I said, right over there, I was trying to get it off the road, I'll show you. So I cut across the yard and he pulled and turned ahead onto the faster road and caught his dog. He yelled THANK YOU and I yelled back THANK GOODNESS. I was so relieved.
So we resumed our run, even though I felt more drained. We ran through another subdivision and there were some sort of loose dogs, but nothing major. We got up the 2nd major hill and onto another fast road--at this point, we're about 5 miles and and an hour in. I guess I burned a lot of time with that dog. I was feeling wiped. My dog wanted to pee, so we I stopped, and then I considered that we had still at least an hour to go, and my heart fell. There weren't any more monster hills ahead, but some smaller ones, and two long inclines that I was more concerned about.
Nah. I already felt cruddy enough.
So we turned around and went back. Now, one of the sort of loose dogs we'd passed on the way over is a little dog that never goes off its yard--we've seen it a bunch of times and it honestly doesn't count as a loose dog. When we passed the house next to it or one over, I'd heard a couple of other dogs barking, and I saw one of them, a large-ish pit mix or small mastiff, in the backyard. I didn't recall seeing dogs there before, but it was cool. However, when we were passing again on our way back, it was in the front yard, along with two other dogs. Well, maybe they had an electric fence.
We were walking at this point, and we were across the street, so we were less exciting. Nevertheless, one of the small dogs started coming toward the road and us. So, no electric fence. The big dog was just chilling in its yard though. I thought, that's a smart dog. It's satisfied with its own territory.
Well, all of them started following us, but still at a walk. I picked up a large stick, just in case--I was worried about that large dog. If it had been just the small ones, or if I'd been without my dog and if they'd stayed friendly, I could have walked them back to the house and hopefully someone would have been home, or maybe I could have relatched the gate to their backyard, if there was actually a proper complete fence...I don't know. But the big dogs, the strange one and mine, busted that idea. Maybe it would've been friendly with mine, maybe not, but I didn't want to break up a fight between the two of them on my own. My dog isn't a fighter and gives plenty of warnings, but a few other dogs have bit him and pounced on him over the years...I have this vision of him finally snapping one day. And he is quicker and stronger than most dogs out there.
We continued walking away. The dogs meandered a good distance behind us, and another car pulled up. A young woman asked me if I knew who owned them. I told her, no, and she said that a small one had run right in front of her car. I winced--I felt bad--and I told her that there have been a lot of loose dogs today. People just let their dogs loose here. I honestly think that the first little grey dog got out accidentally, like the three pugs did a few months ago, but most of these dogs are simply left free to roam.
But she didn't drive off. She asked me again where they were from. I said, maybe those houses back there, I didn't really know. At this point, she was looking at me as though she was expecting more. I should have explained my reasoning--no way I'm taking my dog onto the potential territory of a large dog whom I don't know. I could have also told her what she could do instead of just stopping some random person with their own dog to worry about, but I was really tired, and I didn't think of it at the time, so I just shrugged. Did she really expect me to go back there and wrangle three strange dogs?
You know, sometimes people know stuff should be done, and they try to shift this onto other people to assuage their guilt? This seemed to be the situation, and I was starting to feel a little irritated. She could have stopped, called the dogs over, and checked for phone numbers or addresses--like I did earlier that very run! It's not rocket surgery. Or maybe she just wanted to hear "I'm sorry you were so startled by that dog running in front of you and I'll take care of it, don't worry, just go on your way and think you really did something special." Probably she was still sort of in shock.
Well, I was being terribly unhelpful--I don't remember the other parts of the brief conversation, but I really couldn't think of much to tell her, so she drove off. The car behind her was the post truck, and the postlady also asked me about the dogs. I told her that we'd already been chased and we'd already rescued another dog this morning, and now we just had to get back home, and she laughed and drove off. She probably sees more loose dogs every day than we do in a month.
But of course, I felt guilty about the three dogs all over another 45 mph road (fortunately, it was not busy either at that time), and so we headed back. Not all the way, just enough to watch them cross the street back to the side we'd originally seen them, not that I had any idea if they'd actually belonged there. Among the 10 (?) houses on that side of that stretch of road, there is the small yappy dog, the kind of scary German Shepherd that is occasionally loose, a sweet large white dog that is occasionally loose, and a really undergroomed and grimy large white dog (clearly not the same dog) that is also occasionally loose. I had never seen the trio before. Maybe they came from another planet. Maybe they got loose, got into a pack zone, ranged far afield, and now were lost.
Well, this situation made me feel like shit. I still have a headache. I went home, showered, and considered driving out to check on them, but I didn't want to push my luck (for, really, I had come out on top: one happy reunion and no dogfights). I envisioned accidentally running over one of the small dogs. There's only so much I can do. I am only one person, and no dogcatcher. Apologies to the young woman in the green car: I'm no pro. Sorry you got a fright.
Anyway, that was the most craptastic run in a while.
WHO LET THE DOGS OUT????! Yeah, that's low-hanging fruit...but my head hurts and I just can't cough up the goods today. No wonder I've been preferring the treadmill lately!
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
...and I'm all out of bubblegum.
The last few days have been lazy, several 20-30 min runs in there, including a couple of doubles, and some ab work and yard work, that's it. The roads and hills kicked my ass on Saturday, which means that I should hit back harder. Hopefully, tomorrow will be as cool as anticipated. I won't run for three hours again, I think, but I might do the same road portion.
Meanwhile, since today was humid, I jogged for 93 minutes on the TM while I watched a movie. I still haven't watched the documentary, though...I think I'll have to preview it and check if it'll be suitable for a treadmill run. I've been caught high and dry before.
Oh, gosh, I must seem so spoiled, and I am. The garage is uninsulated, the treadmill is special (and FREEE! best score ever!), and my laptop stand is a cardboard box atop a semi-busted bookshelf...but my laptop and headphones are super, probably almost top of the line for 2011 or even 2012. I'm not being sarcastic--I love them and have used them so much I've had to buy replacement parts for each (by the way, Bose sells replacement cables for JUST $7 PLUS FREE shipping--I was going to peel the casing off and see if I could secure the wires better, but with just $7 on the line, why bother except for funsies?). With my wonderful laptop and headphones, I get to plug into an infinite number of strange new worlds instead of staring at the same crappy abandoned beach ball each run. Seriously, it's been sitting outside that fence for months. There's not much to look at here, even when the snakes are out. A couple of days ago, a kid rolled almost onto the street in front of me without looking, and I was like (after "oh, shit" and braking and profound relief) yeah, I understand, but don't worry, little guy, there is more to the world than a ticket out of this boredom against the grill of this car. And then I felt my inner downtown child contempt, long story*
However, if I repeat the hilly road run tomorrow, I will get to see not one but two communities of goats!
*So, when I was seven, we moved in with my grandmother, except for my dad who was still working up north. My new school bus stop was on the wrong side of Somerset St. This is not an especially large or fast street, but it is a busy downtown street, and the lights were blocks away (this was before they put the one in at Percy, and maybe it was even before the one at Lyon). Didn't have time for that! Anyway, somehow, my parents found out about the situation and asked the school to have me dropped off on the right side of the street. Maybe it was my grandmother. So, stop, cross the street, stop. This was not ideal because I was a skinny small kid and the school was kind of rough. This was before I'd started my reluctant three-year Ottawa Catholic School Board pugilistic career in earnest, but my last school was kind of rough too and I knew what would happen even before I was given to understand that, if I continued to waste everyone's time, then I wouldn't be the only one getting off at that stop anymore. Kids are brutal. I wasn't an angel either because I'd already been busted for putting ice chunks in snowballs back in Edmonton (older kids have the best ideas!), but I was definitely overpowered. One of those kids was all the way up in Grade Six, I think. So I told the bus driver that I would just get off at the first stop with everyone else. And so, every day, I waited for a gap in traffic and then dashed across. I'm trying to remember if I ever timed my crossing with the bus--maybe it was too fast. Anyway, I didn't blithely roll out almost in front of the only fricking car on the whole street, although a year or so later my bike brakes failed and I ended up running a red light on Gladstone--got a new bike soon after, score!
Meanwhile, since today was humid, I jogged for 93 minutes on the TM while I watched a movie. I still haven't watched the documentary, though...I think I'll have to preview it and check if it'll be suitable for a treadmill run. I've been caught high and dry before.
Oh, gosh, I must seem so spoiled, and I am. The garage is uninsulated, the treadmill is special (and FREEE! best score ever!), and my laptop stand is a cardboard box atop a semi-busted bookshelf...but my laptop and headphones are super, probably almost top of the line for 2011 or even 2012. I'm not being sarcastic--I love them and have used them so much I've had to buy replacement parts for each (by the way, Bose sells replacement cables for JUST $7 PLUS FREE shipping--I was going to peel the casing off and see if I could secure the wires better, but with just $7 on the line, why bother except for funsies?). With my wonderful laptop and headphones, I get to plug into an infinite number of strange new worlds instead of staring at the same crappy abandoned beach ball each run. Seriously, it's been sitting outside that fence for months. There's not much to look at here, even when the snakes are out. A couple of days ago, a kid rolled almost onto the street in front of me without looking, and I was like (after "oh, shit" and braking and profound relief) yeah, I understand, but don't worry, little guy, there is more to the world than a ticket out of this boredom against the grill of this car. And then I felt my inner downtown child contempt, long story*
However, if I repeat the hilly road run tomorrow, I will get to see not one but two communities of goats!
*So, when I was seven, we moved in with my grandmother, except for my dad who was still working up north. My new school bus stop was on the wrong side of Somerset St. This is not an especially large or fast street, but it is a busy downtown street, and the lights were blocks away (this was before they put the one in at Percy, and maybe it was even before the one at Lyon). Didn't have time for that! Anyway, somehow, my parents found out about the situation and asked the school to have me dropped off on the right side of the street. Maybe it was my grandmother. So, stop, cross the street, stop. This was not ideal because I was a skinny small kid and the school was kind of rough. This was before I'd started my reluctant three-year Ottawa Catholic School Board pugilistic career in earnest, but my last school was kind of rough too and I knew what would happen even before I was given to understand that, if I continued to waste everyone's time, then I wouldn't be the only one getting off at that stop anymore. Kids are brutal. I wasn't an angel either because I'd already been busted for putting ice chunks in snowballs back in Edmonton (older kids have the best ideas!), but I was definitely overpowered. One of those kids was all the way up in Grade Six, I think. So I told the bus driver that I would just get off at the first stop with everyone else. And so, every day, I waited for a gap in traffic and then dashed across. I'm trying to remember if I ever timed my crossing with the bus--maybe it was too fast. Anyway, I didn't blithely roll out almost in front of the only fricking car on the whole street, although a year or so later my bike brakes failed and I ended up running a red light on Gladstone--got a new bike soon after, score!
Saturday, March 8, 2014
I made the right call
I'm so glad I gave up my race spot. It felt so nice to wake up this morning, lie in bed for awhile, and know that I wouldn't be running an ultra today. My energy is flat and, ehhh, it's not the right time of the month and I didn't fancy doing another ultra with that going on. Just wasn't the right time. The 3hr jog today was fine, but 5-6 hours would've been pushing it, especially 5-6 hours on sandy trails. 1.5 hours on sand was tiring enough. I didn't feel the glitch, but the uneven terrain was starting to chip away.
The dog and I started on hilly roads. We did part of the hilly 5 mile tempo route, and the hills felt easier this time, even though it was sunny and humid. It's been a long time since I've run more than 5 miles on roads, and I got into a great zone even though I periodically had to go onto the shoulder to make room for oncoming cars. I was getting more and more annoyed with this, but I still managed to rejoin the mindless road bubble very quickly. Oh, yeah, it's easier running on a smooth surface--I forgot that. And my breathing also settled down quickly after the hills, which is a good sign. When I'm unfit, my breathing rate stays up for ages.
I'd hoped to run for 1.5 hours on roads today, including dog pit stops, and fortunately we took enough of those to not run out of road before we got to a particularly decisive intersection (dirt road v/s trail v/s hilly curvy narrow road that doesn't promise much of a shoulder, although I keep forgetting to check when I'm on my bike or in the car). We reached the intersection at 1:32ish, and we ducked in the forest.
Switching from all that road to trails was initially an annoying transition. All of a sudden, I had to worry about where to put my feet, and that sand was so soft and energy-sucking...ugh. But it was a bit colder in the forest, and the dog was happier. My original thought was to run home at this time, making a 2ish hour run, but I was feeling decent and still hadn't taken my gel. There were enough streams to keep the dog happy, and so we did an extra loop and brought the run to just over three hours.
Then I substituted yard work for cross-training. Our house came with an absurd 'water feature', basically a mosquito-breeding pond (~100 gallons) covered with grating and stones, with a bubbling fountain in the center. It's kind of stupid to begin with (even the realtor showing us the house was like, dafuq?), and it become superfluous once I built the koi pond behind it. So I tore the water feature out today--admittedly, I used its pump (a decent submersible pump which I'm glad to have rescued) to remove the water, but I lifted out the rocks, concrete blocks, and grating by hand, plus I tore out the liner, and then I filled the pit up with dirt from a pile about 7-8 feet away. I just tossed the dirt over because wheelbarrows annoy me, plus ours is slightly askew. So, yeah, that's plenty of core work.
This way I won't feel bad about a lazy jog on the treadmill tomorrow! There's a documentary I've been meaning to watch.
The dog and I started on hilly roads. We did part of the hilly 5 mile tempo route, and the hills felt easier this time, even though it was sunny and humid. It's been a long time since I've run more than 5 miles on roads, and I got into a great zone even though I periodically had to go onto the shoulder to make room for oncoming cars. I was getting more and more annoyed with this, but I still managed to rejoin the mindless road bubble very quickly. Oh, yeah, it's easier running on a smooth surface--I forgot that. And my breathing also settled down quickly after the hills, which is a good sign. When I'm unfit, my breathing rate stays up for ages.
I'd hoped to run for 1.5 hours on roads today, including dog pit stops, and fortunately we took enough of those to not run out of road before we got to a particularly decisive intersection (dirt road v/s trail v/s hilly curvy narrow road that doesn't promise much of a shoulder, although I keep forgetting to check when I'm on my bike or in the car). We reached the intersection at 1:32ish, and we ducked in the forest.
Switching from all that road to trails was initially an annoying transition. All of a sudden, I had to worry about where to put my feet, and that sand was so soft and energy-sucking...ugh. But it was a bit colder in the forest, and the dog was happier. My original thought was to run home at this time, making a 2ish hour run, but I was feeling decent and still hadn't taken my gel. There were enough streams to keep the dog happy, and so we did an extra loop and brought the run to just over three hours.
Then I substituted yard work for cross-training. Our house came with an absurd 'water feature', basically a mosquito-breeding pond (~100 gallons) covered with grating and stones, with a bubbling fountain in the center. It's kind of stupid to begin with (even the realtor showing us the house was like, dafuq?), and it become superfluous once I built the koi pond behind it. So I tore the water feature out today--admittedly, I used its pump (a decent submersible pump which I'm glad to have rescued) to remove the water, but I lifted out the rocks, concrete blocks, and grating by hand, plus I tore out the liner, and then I filled the pit up with dirt from a pile about 7-8 feet away. I just tossed the dirt over because wheelbarrows annoy me, plus ours is slightly askew. So, yeah, that's plenty of core work.
This way I won't feel bad about a lazy jog on the treadmill tomorrow! There's a documentary I've been meaning to watch.
Friday, March 7, 2014
My first DST!
It's not serious; I'm mainly being prudent.
My tentative 2hr jog on Sunday lost to brunch with friends. We walked into town (~3 miles) and around and back. The walk was easy, but it tightened stuff up and I ended up with that left leg sciatica-like glitch again.
I was signed up for a trail 50K this coming weekend, but I was so stiff by Sunday evening, I wasn't sure I could loosen up in time. The glitch was still better than the first time it cropped up, but I wasn't sure if I could hack 50K on sand on it (yep, yet more sand, which is why I'm not too cut up about missing this race). I knew there was a waitlist, so I gave up my spot.
Since then, I've run a few short easy jogs in the forest and on the treadmill. Yesterday, I felt loose enough to do a tempo workout on the treadmill as well: 5 X 1 mile (1 min rest). It went surprisingly well, under 40 minutes including the rest breaks--I was getting bored so I pushed up the speed a bit more than my previous tempo runs, but it felt alright. Who knows how fast it actually was: I've mentioned the janky speedometer on my FREE treadmill before. The lower speeds feel faster than indicated, but I suspect that the opposite holds true for the upper end. However, I am progressing. Except that I can't seem to get on without Muse for treadmill tempo stuff. Easy runs are great with lectures or documentaries (I usually play trance music faintly at the same time, just to add a pulse), but the discomfort of tempo runs begs a stronger antidote.
I suspect, when it comes down to the VO2 max intervals, I'm going to have to go metal.
Meanwhile, I've been exploring other music, listening for the next preoccupation...more on that later.
My tentative 2hr jog on Sunday lost to brunch with friends. We walked into town (~3 miles) and around and back. The walk was easy, but it tightened stuff up and I ended up with that left leg sciatica-like glitch again.
I was signed up for a trail 50K this coming weekend, but I was so stiff by Sunday evening, I wasn't sure I could loosen up in time. The glitch was still better than the first time it cropped up, but I wasn't sure if I could hack 50K on sand on it (yep, yet more sand, which is why I'm not too cut up about missing this race). I knew there was a waitlist, so I gave up my spot.
Since then, I've run a few short easy jogs in the forest and on the treadmill. Yesterday, I felt loose enough to do a tempo workout on the treadmill as well: 5 X 1 mile (1 min rest). It went surprisingly well, under 40 minutes including the rest breaks--I was getting bored so I pushed up the speed a bit more than my previous tempo runs, but it felt alright. Who knows how fast it actually was: I've mentioned the janky speedometer on my FREE treadmill before. The lower speeds feel faster than indicated, but I suspect that the opposite holds true for the upper end. However, I am progressing. Except that I can't seem to get on without Muse for treadmill tempo stuff. Easy runs are great with lectures or documentaries (I usually play trance music faintly at the same time, just to add a pulse), but the discomfort of tempo runs begs a stronger antidote.
I suspect, when it comes down to the VO2 max intervals, I'm going to have to go metal.
Meanwhile, I've been exploring other music, listening for the next preoccupation...more on that later.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
~
This wasn't one of my good mornings, so instead of doing the planned 3 mile tempo run on roads, I did it on the treadmill.
It was a decent run. I'm still sort of flat and my tempo pace this morning my old half marathon pace, but it felt like a decent effort. I didn't warm up (I know, I know, but bad morning = get right to it), but after about four minutes, I felt the surge of endorphins. This was sooner and sharper than usual, and thus quite encouraging. Things lightened, I fell into the robot groove, and I knew that I wouldn't have to talk myself through too much. I just had to prolong medium discomfort, and not for too long.
It was a decent run. I'm still sort of flat and my tempo pace this morning my old half marathon pace, but it felt like a decent effort. I didn't warm up (I know, I know, but bad morning = get right to it), but after about four minutes, I felt the surge of endorphins. This was sooner and sharper than usual, and thus quite encouraging. Things lightened, I fell into the robot groove, and I knew that I wouldn't have to talk myself through too much. I just had to prolong medium discomfort, and not for too long.
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