Another weather post, but it's ok to talk about the heat once it's gone, right? After the recent nastiness, thunderstorms blew in and made everything better. I woke up around 6 to let the puppy out (yeah, she's still generating sleep deprivation, but the poor thing lost her uterus, tapeworms, and at least one of her teeth this week) and it felt cold. I don't know what it was, 16 C? I couldn't gauge it except that I LOVE IT.
I coaxed the big dog out and we ran for 70 minutes; unfortunately, about 2 miles of that was on the shoulder, which mostly coincided with a 2 mile incline (just at 2.5%, though!) but I was cool with it today because my Achilles tendon felt fine and I LOVE IT. The weather, that is. Not sweating for the first mile! Not feeling sweat trickling down anywhere! If summer stayed like this, I would be so happy. High of 24 C; who needs anything more?
Later on, I ran errands: another three-ish miles, plus I walked the three miles home. I'm seriously blissed out today. The recent hot weather has been a jail of sorts, and now I'm free for almost a week by the looks of it. I could deal with a week on/week off sort of deal, and maybe this summer will deliver that, but I have to be realistic: probably, eventually, that smoldering old hag will squat down for a solid few months or so, like last year. BLECH!
But not yet! The low tonight will be 9 C. I don't remember what that feels like! I'm going to be rolling all weekend! LOVE IT!
Friday, May 16, 2014
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Missing the chill
Ah, I haven't forgotten yesterday's pledge...but I haven't properly mourned decent weather yet. Honestly, I let too much of it go to waste this year, but this place just doesn't pump me up.
Except my garage, oh, yeah. I did a twenty minute tempo run/detox on the treadmill this morning when it was only 23 or whatever, ha--I'm used to dripping on the treadmill, but when sweat splashes onto the monitor of this poor laptop while I'm watching my "stories"...man...I feel subhuman, as though I'm regressing to an aquatic ancestor. I do have, and wear, one of those retro terry-cloth headbands, and even that fails me sometimes.
But now I have chalk! Oh, yeah! Have I written about this already? I went into REI or some store like that, and they had "climbing chalk". I don't climb even socially but I have sweaty hands too. I don't know if climbing chalk is the same thing as lifting chalk, but it does the trick with the weights. My hands aren't snagging on the bar. My output on the treadmill, however, is beyond control...whatever.
It's summer now; it's time to trip over umpteen roots and lift umpteen weights. Yeah, I'm still tapering for the marathon in 10ish days, but with an eye to the future!
Except my garage, oh, yeah. I did a twenty minute tempo run/detox on the treadmill this morning when it was only 23 or whatever, ha--I'm used to dripping on the treadmill, but when sweat splashes onto the monitor of this poor laptop while I'm watching my "stories"...man...I feel subhuman, as though I'm regressing to an aquatic ancestor. I do have, and wear, one of those retro terry-cloth headbands, and even that fails me sometimes.
But now I have chalk! Oh, yeah! Have I written about this already? I went into REI or some store like that, and they had "climbing chalk". I don't climb even socially but I have sweaty hands too. I don't know if climbing chalk is the same thing as lifting chalk, but it does the trick with the weights. My hands aren't snagging on the bar. My output on the treadmill, however, is beyond control...whatever.
It's summer now; it's time to trip over umpteen roots and lift umpteen weights. Yeah, I'm still tapering for the marathon in 10ish days, but with an eye to the future!
Monday, May 12, 2014
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~
~
Summer
Pretending it's not happening
I promise to not talk about the heat until summer ends, which is like November here, unless it happens during an actual race. One week or so of 30+ highs, and I'm so wiped I can't even complain about it.
So, blah, blah, whine whine whine, oh, it's so freaking hot here I'm sweating crystals because I have no moisture left, what did I do in a past life to be stuck down here, is there a God and does he or she hate me this much and why, oh, boo-hoo, I can't possibly strip down any further without getting arrested, my head hurts, am I dying, fuck this shit, I can't even walk or bike without looking like I stole something, is this antiperspirant just a rumour, wah, wah, I feel funny, etc.
THAT'S IT! Six months of weather ranting--over. Life isn't that bad, just hot. One more summer, one more year, and then we'll be moving again, hopefully to some place with less of my least favourite season.
Meanwhile, I'm training the new dog and still trying to let #1 get his smells and action, so I'm walking 2-3 hours a day on average. I can't walk them together until the new dog is better trained. I could run with #1, and should, but it's hot and I'm letting my Achilles tendon heal. Therefore, no trails, no shoulder of the road. TM or asphalt or zilch, and it's mainly been the latter! I tried to do a long run on the TM yesterday, but I called it quits after 30 minutes.
At least I'm catching up on sleep. And I have less than two weeks left of pretending to be a long-distance runner. Once the marathon is over, I'll focus more on weights. To prep for this, I've been doing a May squat challenge with a couple of friends from uni.
I also plan to wake up earlier. Actually, I do have to wake up somewhat early because the puppy has a small bladder...I just need to stay up and get myself and the other dog out. This is not an easy proposition because he likes to sleep in too, but it's time for the two of us to embrace the magic early hour. Time to chomp down those promised worms!
~
Summer
Pretending it's not happening
I promise to not talk about the heat until summer ends, which is like November here, unless it happens during an actual race. One week or so of 30+ highs, and I'm so wiped I can't even complain about it.
So, blah, blah, whine whine whine, oh, it's so freaking hot here I'm sweating crystals because I have no moisture left, what did I do in a past life to be stuck down here, is there a God and does he or she hate me this much and why, oh, boo-hoo, I can't possibly strip down any further without getting arrested, my head hurts, am I dying, fuck this shit, I can't even walk or bike without looking like I stole something, is this antiperspirant just a rumour, wah, wah, I feel funny, etc.
THAT'S IT! Six months of weather ranting--over. Life isn't that bad, just hot. One more summer, one more year, and then we'll be moving again, hopefully to some place with less of my least favourite season.
Meanwhile, I'm training the new dog and still trying to let #1 get his smells and action, so I'm walking 2-3 hours a day on average. I can't walk them together until the new dog is better trained. I could run with #1, and should, but it's hot and I'm letting my Achilles tendon heal. Therefore, no trails, no shoulder of the road. TM or asphalt or zilch, and it's mainly been the latter! I tried to do a long run on the TM yesterday, but I called it quits after 30 minutes.
At least I'm catching up on sleep. And I have less than two weeks left of pretending to be a long-distance runner. Once the marathon is over, I'll focus more on weights. To prep for this, I've been doing a May squat challenge with a couple of friends from uni.
I also plan to wake up earlier. Actually, I do have to wake up somewhat early because the puppy has a small bladder...I just need to stay up and get myself and the other dog out. This is not an easy proposition because he likes to sleep in too, but it's time for the two of us to embrace the magic early hour. Time to chomp down those promised worms!
Monday, May 5, 2014
Run, Lola, run!
Lola Rennt!
How to choose marathon pace when you haven't a clue what it could be or what your treadmill is actually making you do? dunno*. But I like nice round numbers so, what the heck, 7.0 mph, which might actually be 7.64 mph = (rough TM correction factor: 59 min/54/min = 1.0926)7.0. But that was my husband's jacked up Time Lord run, and I was robbed only about two minutes this time, therefore (79.17/77.17)7.0 = (1.0259)7.0 = 7.18 mph. Plus the garage was about 27 C. Great detox!
At any rate, even 7.0 mph flat is probably an ambitious pace at this point, but it felt nice at first...oh, yeah, that trap!
At any rate, the treadmill said that I ran 9 miles in 77:10. It got to be a tough run, mainly because the garage was hot, I think, but my legs were feeling heavy. Breathing was easy for the most part, though.
*Sorry for the lack of capitalization. I am still low on sleep and my manual dexterity is starting to suffer. Yesterday I dropped a large glass of water near my computer, and there was just enough splash to take out my "d" key. I found a free program that let me assign a hotkey (couldn't figure out through the computer's OS somehow...man, I'm dull these days) but I forgot about capital d. Anyway, will see if it dries out with rice on it, but turns out that a wireless keyboard is only $70, cheaper and easier than buying and installing a replacement keyboard. or I can just adapt. See, if I still had my old job, I'd just pry the plastic sheets between the key mechanism and wiring, and blast some nitrogen there and hope for the best! Is it possible for regular people to buy compressed nitrogen? Answer: yeah, on Amazon--turns out that paintballers, scuba divers, and brewers use it too!
How to choose marathon pace when you haven't a clue what it could be or what your treadmill is actually making you do? dunno*. But I like nice round numbers so, what the heck, 7.0 mph, which might actually be 7.64 mph = (rough TM correction factor: 59 min/54/min = 1.0926)7.0. But that was my husband's jacked up Time Lord run, and I was robbed only about two minutes this time, therefore (79.17/77.17)7.0 = (1.0259)7.0 = 7.18 mph. Plus the garage was about 27 C. Great detox!
At any rate, even 7.0 mph flat is probably an ambitious pace at this point, but it felt nice at first...oh, yeah, that trap!
At any rate, the treadmill said that I ran 9 miles in 77:10. It got to be a tough run, mainly because the garage was hot, I think, but my legs were feeling heavy. Breathing was easy for the most part, though.
*Sorry for the lack of capitalization. I am still low on sleep and my manual dexterity is starting to suffer. Yesterday I dropped a large glass of water near my computer, and there was just enough splash to take out my "d" key. I found a free program that let me assign a hotkey (couldn't figure out through the computer's OS somehow...man, I'm dull these days) but I forgot about capital d. Anyway, will see if it dries out with rice on it, but turns out that a wireless keyboard is only $70, cheaper and easier than buying and installing a replacement keyboard. or I can just adapt. See, if I still had my old job, I'd just pry the plastic sheets between the key mechanism and wiring, and blast some nitrogen there and hope for the best! Is it possible for regular people to buy compressed nitrogen? Answer: yeah, on Amazon--turns out that paintballers, scuba divers, and brewers use it too!
Sunday, May 4, 2014
My second DNS of all time...in a row
Yeah, so it's 3:30 am and I was supposed to leave the house soon, but life has intervened again.
My last DNS, the 50 K trail run in March, happened to fall on the day my husband left for Afghanistan for the first time. I was kind of stressed out about that, and I thought that running for hours while worrying about his transit would be kind of unbearable, so I dropped out about a week before. Fortunately, my husband's trip (man, that sounds too pleasant a word) went well and he's back. That's the important thing.
Unfortunately, my husband had a work emergency a few hours ago--(edit: and he's still there, 12 hours later, with the car). It had looked like he'd be back in time, but now it's not going to happen, and I'm stuck. We have just the one car.
The race probably would not have gone well anyway. Hot weather aside, we got a puppy several days ago and she has mildly jacked up my sleep, even though she's old enough to mostly sleep through the night. This night, though, has been rough for her and so I've gotten one hour of sleep thus far, and now I'm approaching all-nighter mode and I'm wired awake. Hopefully I can use this vibe to polish off some work. The puppy is very very cute, by the way, and it blows my mind that somebody just dumped her in a yard. My old dog (to be known as #1 from now on) is still not entirely convinced about sharing the house with another dog, but this new dog is mostly adjusting quickly, small bladder aside, and she's already decent on the leash. I think she will be great to run with, but that won't happen for at least a year: got to wait until she's done growing. Yeah, it looks like we're keeping her. We're still in a "trial" period, and we haven't told our families or friends yet that we have her, but this dog is special.
At any rate, she is a far more pleasant obstacle than a work emergency. That has forced things into perspective. I was really looking forward to the race, despite my weather whining. I was raring to run on uninterrupted asphalt with other runners through the excitement of a race in a city, any city...instead, I could run today with #1, but I could almost cry too. This race has been a beacon for a few months but now it's snuffed. I should have pulled my shit together and hopped in the car too, or something...but this would have thrown off the dog potty schedule...I dunno. No guarantee that my husband wouldn't have needed the car at his disposal until who knows when. Anyway, I'm bummed.
However, I am reminded by the emergency that circumstances could be worse. I'm missing just a race. I have my husband and #1 and probably #2...I still have my super family! And I still have a bib for the Ottawa marathon in three weeks.
My last DNS, the 50 K trail run in March, happened to fall on the day my husband left for Afghanistan for the first time. I was kind of stressed out about that, and I thought that running for hours while worrying about his transit would be kind of unbearable, so I dropped out about a week before. Fortunately, my husband's trip (man, that sounds too pleasant a word) went well and he's back. That's the important thing.
Unfortunately, my husband had a work emergency a few hours ago--(edit: and he's still there, 12 hours later, with the car). It had looked like he'd be back in time, but now it's not going to happen, and I'm stuck. We have just the one car.
The race probably would not have gone well anyway. Hot weather aside, we got a puppy several days ago and she has mildly jacked up my sleep, even though she's old enough to mostly sleep through the night. This night, though, has been rough for her and so I've gotten one hour of sleep thus far, and now I'm approaching all-nighter mode and I'm wired awake. Hopefully I can use this vibe to polish off some work. The puppy is very very cute, by the way, and it blows my mind that somebody just dumped her in a yard. My old dog (to be known as #1 from now on) is still not entirely convinced about sharing the house with another dog, but this new dog is mostly adjusting quickly, small bladder aside, and she's already decent on the leash. I think she will be great to run with, but that won't happen for at least a year: got to wait until she's done growing. Yeah, it looks like we're keeping her. We're still in a "trial" period, and we haven't told our families or friends yet that we have her, but this dog is special.
At any rate, she is a far more pleasant obstacle than a work emergency. That has forced things into perspective. I was really looking forward to the race, despite my weather whining. I was raring to run on uninterrupted asphalt with other runners through the excitement of a race in a city, any city...instead, I could run today with #1, but I could almost cry too. This race has been a beacon for a few months but now it's snuffed. I should have pulled my shit together and hopped in the car too, or something...but this would have thrown off the dog potty schedule...I dunno. No guarantee that my husband wouldn't have needed the car at his disposal until who knows when. Anyway, I'm bummed.
However, I am reminded by the emergency that circumstances could be worse. I'm missing just a race. I have my husband and #1 and probably #2...I still have my super family! And I still have a bib for the Ottawa marathon in three weeks.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
~
Crap! The high for Sunday is now supposed to be 29 C. I'd better run the thing as quickly as possible. LOL
Life has mired me for the last few days, but I got in a good combo run on Tuesday. 20 min tempo, 40 min marathon pace...ish. This was on the treadmill and I don't really have a goal pace because I don't know what to expect on race day, especially not if the weather gets uber stupid. Expectations of pace might be fortresses of air by this point, especially if I don't catch up on sleep.
Meanwhile, 29 C, really? But I shouldn't be surprised: we've already hit that temp down here. So it's hot, whatever; 29 C isn't the hottest marathon I've run. We run this. (and these are apparently the clean Disney lyrics...but getting close to 30 C on marathon day is serious biz. Time for Missy Elliot).
Life has mired me for the last few days, but I got in a good combo run on Tuesday. 20 min tempo, 40 min marathon pace...ish. This was on the treadmill and I don't really have a goal pace because I don't know what to expect on race day, especially not if the weather gets uber stupid. Expectations of pace might be fortresses of air by this point, especially if I don't catch up on sleep.
Meanwhile, 29 C, really? But I shouldn't be surprised: we've already hit that temp down here. So it's hot, whatever; 29 C isn't the hottest marathon I've run. We run this. (and these are apparently the clean Disney lyrics...but getting close to 30 C on marathon day is serious biz. Time for Missy Elliot).
Sunday, April 27, 2014
~
Tues: walk and a short jog
Wed: 6.5ish miles. My Achilles tendon started hurting after too much running on the soft uneven shoulder, so I didn't do the planned tempo segments after. I've come to the conclusion that, though having to go offroad too much is most of the problem, steep inclines also contribute to it, as does bolting sideways and charging through/over whatever willy-nilly. I should take more time and pay more attention to what I'm running over. I do this on trails, of course, but on the side of the road, I'm focused on the car(s) and reclaiming the asphalt asap.
Thurs: 6ish miles. My Achilles felt much better.
Fri: I honestly can't remember. I think I just walked.
Sat: my husband and I spent a delightful afternoon and evening walking around, drinking and eating: there was a festival downtown, plus a small music festival nearby.
Sunday: 10 hilly, hot, humid miles...but I spent almost no time running on the shoulder! Score! The tradeoff for less busy roads is more hills. It was a sort of uncomfortable run.
So, I'll see what I run this week--I'd intended to do at least some short tempo segments this past week, but with a tender Achilles, I opted out of that, but maybe 3 X 5 min or whatever wouldn't go amiss. I don't want to feel too flat. At any rate, I'm staying off the shoulder as much as possible.
I also did ab workouts 3 times this week, inspired by Gaz's example.
Meanwhile, I really hope the upcoming four days of rain and thunder materialize and lift the haze/funk/??/WTF so hot in April? So far, the forecast high for next Sunday is only 23C, which would be amazing (it's 31 C now), but I'm going to try to not obsess about the weather. At the very least, I won't have to even think about retreating to the shoulder of the road for 26 whole miles! I'm not going to watch for cars--they shouldn't be on the course--perhaps that's a potentially hazardous attitude, but I paid for clear roads and I'm going to enjoy them blithely. I'm going to just go.
Wed: 6.5ish miles. My Achilles tendon started hurting after too much running on the soft uneven shoulder, so I didn't do the planned tempo segments after. I've come to the conclusion that, though having to go offroad too much is most of the problem, steep inclines also contribute to it, as does bolting sideways and charging through/over whatever willy-nilly. I should take more time and pay more attention to what I'm running over. I do this on trails, of course, but on the side of the road, I'm focused on the car(s) and reclaiming the asphalt asap.
Thurs: 6ish miles. My Achilles felt much better.
Fri: I honestly can't remember. I think I just walked.
Sat: my husband and I spent a delightful afternoon and evening walking around, drinking and eating: there was a festival downtown, plus a small music festival nearby.
Sunday: 10 hilly, hot, humid miles...but I spent almost no time running on the shoulder! Score! The tradeoff for less busy roads is more hills. It was a sort of uncomfortable run.
So, I'll see what I run this week--I'd intended to do at least some short tempo segments this past week, but with a tender Achilles, I opted out of that, but maybe 3 X 5 min or whatever wouldn't go amiss. I don't want to feel too flat. At any rate, I'm staying off the shoulder as much as possible.
I also did ab workouts 3 times this week, inspired by Gaz's example.
Meanwhile, I really hope the upcoming four days of rain and thunder materialize and lift the haze/funk/??/WTF so hot in April? So far, the forecast high for next Sunday is only 23C, which would be amazing (it's 31 C now), but I'm going to try to not obsess about the weather. At the very least, I won't have to even think about retreating to the shoulder of the road for 26 whole miles! I'm not going to watch for cars--they shouldn't be on the course--perhaps that's a potentially hazardous attitude, but I paid for clear roads and I'm going to enjoy them blithely. I'm going to just go.
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