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December 31, 2005
So Spoiled
Wow is it going to suck to go back to Chicago tomorrow. I've had a really good 10 days of running -- interesting routes, fine weather, good company for once -- plus I've been able to hang out with all my friends and family. I'm tempted to see if the law firm where I was a paralegal before law school is interested in taking on a permanent law clerk. It's not that I don't want to go back to law school -- on the contrary, the one thing I AM excited for is a couple of the classes I'm taking this quarter (which should be interesting and challenging, and are taught by my two favorite professors) -- I just wish law school weren't in Chicago.
I had a really good long run this morning with Becky: perfect pace, good company. We met at 7:30 in the parking lot for a nature center near these trails that I like to run. There was rain/snow in the forecast but it held off until the last half hour or so of the run, and then it came in big, fat flakes which were kind of fun because we only had to deal with them for 30 minutes. At one point in the run, you come to a lake, cross a little bridge, and the trail forks. I've always taken the path that goes to the left, away from the lake, but today I decided to be bold and check out the other fork, which appeared to curve around the lake. Becky and I elected to stick to the main trail, for purposes of not getting lost, and eventually found ourselves back at a road we had crossed much earlier. It's good to know that loop exists; it will come in handy sometime when I'm doing a shorter long run and want some variation. As it was, we turned around at that point and went back the way we came.
I felt bad because the last 20 mins. of the run took us through these trails that are pretty rough and Becky twisted her ankle about 10 mins. from the end of them. It was probably a poor choice to do those trails at the end of a long run when our legs were tired, but usually the only person for whom I'm making that choice is myself; I should have been more responsible with someone else along. Luckily, while it was a bad ankle roll, it wasn't anything worse and she was able to shake it off and finish the rest of the run (another 10 mins. of rocky trail, plus 12 or so out-and-back on roads).
By the time I got back from my run, my dad had brewed coffee and made pancake batter. While I was in the shower, he made me pancakes. How spoiled am I? As I said, it's going to be tough to go back to Chicago.
Posted by alweiss at 02:36 PM | Comments (2)
December 30, 2005
Just Saying No
I'm not going to do a little 4-mile double this afternoon. I'm very, very tempted to, but I won't. It seems this running thing gains momentum sometimes, like a runaway train, and even though I know I shouldn't I can't stop myself. Part of it is that I'm a little bit afraid that if I break my rhythm I won't be able to get back into it. Which is a valid concern because sometimes a day off turns into two turns into three... until I realize that I'm in the process of sacrificing weeks of training on the altar of laziness.
At the moment though, I've run (by a conservative estimate) 68.5 of the 70 miles I have for the week (my weeks run Sunday to Saturday), my legs are feeling ok but not super-great, AND I'm planning on doing a 2 and 1/2 hr. run early tomorrow morning with Becky (which I'm going to count as my Sunday long run), then doing the Midnight Run in Central Park tomorrow night (which will end up being about 7 with the jog from my friend's apartment to the park and back and which I'm going to count as tomorrow's run). So even though I'm feeling compelled to run this evening, even though it feels a little odd to just do single runs two days in a row (just did 9 on the treadmill at the gym yesterday... was entertained by ESPN's Top 10 Games of 2005, only I kept getting choked up and running and crying don't mix... plus I was a little disappointed that they didn't put the NYC Marathon in there -- a HUGE oversight, in my opinion: what a race!), I will refrain.
Becky and I did a little more than 8 this morning along this route that follows the shoreline. For some reason (I blame her) we started out motoring. After a couple of miles, about the time I visualizing the rest of the run and wondering whether I was going to be able to hold the current pace and carry on a conversation for much longer and concluding that I probably was not, Becky spoke up and asked if we could slow down a bit. My reaction: "Thank God!"
It never occurred to me to ask to slow down -- all that occurred to me was to calculate the precise amount of suffering continuing at the current pace was going to entail. I think this is the legacy of all the training runs I did with the guys' teams in college and grad school. I never knew where we were (if I don't have a map I'm constantly lost -- I can never remember street names so I navigate visually and if things look the same I haven't got a prayer) and I absolutely couldn't ask to slow down because I was already an interloper; I certainly didn't want to be an interloper who was compromising their run. So when the pace got hot, I just sucked it up. Going to try to re-wire a bit, maybe.
Posted by alweiss at 02:27 PM | Comments (2)
December 28, 2005
Wimpy, Wimpy, Wimpy
I made arrangements to meet Becky at my old high school track (recently resurfaced so it's nice and springy) this morning. We had different workouts, but we figured we could try to overlap somewhat and even if that didn't work out, it would be good to have moral support. And it was. It was also really good for me because it kept me from procrastinating. Had I not been meeting Becky, I would have probably pushed the workout off 'til the afternoon (thereby ruining my entire day by dreading/resting for the workout) or, even worse, tomorrow. As it was, my big plan to get up at 7:30, eat something, and get a little work done before leaving for the track (we met at 9:30, so I figured I had to leave by 9:15 to jog over there) didn't happen. When my alarm went off at 7:30 I reset it for 8:30 and went back to sleep. Then at 8:30 I got out of bed long enough to wolf down a power bar and reset the alarm once again for 9:00.
Finally at 9:25 (10 minutes later than I should have left) I stumbled out the door and made my creaky way to the track wearing my lightweight trainers (which basically look like sneaker-shaped wedding cakes) on my hands. Apparently the trend of wearing one's racing shoes on one's hands while warming up hasn't spread outward from the rarified world of competitive high school track. I got some odd looks and even heard one woman remark to her dog as I ran by, "that lady was wearing shoes on her hands." Yeah, lady, but who was the one having a conversation with her dog?
As I approached the track I very seriously considered dropping by, saying hi to Becky, and turning around and running right back home. But my pride stopped me.
Becky had 3 400s and 3 1000s and I had 6 1200s. So I had company for the first 400 of my first 1200, which might or might not have been a good thing. It ended up being at a faster pace than I was shooting for, so it established a faster rhythm for the workout out of the gate. I think I held that faster pace for the first three repeats (I don't know for sure because I didn't time them, deciding that I was going to be running at the same effort regardless and I'd rather not know if I wasn't hitting my splits) but started fading on the fourth one. Four repeats would have been perfect. I always think this when I do this workout, probably because I always do it before I'm in good shape and before my body can really handle the shock of 6 1200s. The last two were rough and, as always, flattened me. I probably did them at tempo pace. But I felt better overall than I usually do in this workout... probably because I'm usually training for a fall marathon when I do it and it inevitably falls on the first really scorching day of the late spring/early fall, before my body has had a chance to adapt to the heat.
I straggled the mile and a half back home as cooldown then spent the rest of the morning/early afternoon sitting on my butt in the movie theater with my mom. We saw "Rumor Has It." A very entertaining bit of fluff. I recommend it. Then I took a short nap before dragging myself to my mom's gym for another 4 miles on the treadmill. I felt fine on the treadmill, but I can already tell I'm going to be sore and cranky tomorrow.
I find myself questioning whether I'm tough enough for the marathon. I really am SUCH a whiner and I sometimes feel as if I'm constantly making excuses, trying to find little ways to cheat and make my workouts easier, and putting off my tougher workouts and long runs. I basically gave up halfway through my last marathon training cycle. And I wasn't battling cold/snow/ice. My Boston goal: to make it through every workout and long run on my training schedule with a minimum of sneaky cheating and procrastination.
Posted by alweiss at 08:53 PM | Comments (3)
December 27, 2005
Missed Opportunitites
I was planning to go over to Ardsley to run with Becky again this morning until I remembered that I had to bring Toby to the vet for a beak and nail trim. So, I didn't make it out of bed in time to run before her vet appointment. Then I procrastinated all day (a beautiful, warm, sunny day) and ended up doing 9 miles on the treadmill at my mom's gym this evening; what a waste. I ran on some weird treadmill that claimed I was running at 7:30 pace but decided that I had run 9 miles in 67:05.
I also decided not to go with my mom to the bird store we go to in Stamford and the Stamford Mall on the theory that I was going to go running and get lots of reading done for my classes. I was actually thinking I had gotten away with something (shopping with my mom is a feat of endurance more demanding than running a marathon, and I say that having experienced both)... until I remembered the reason that I periodically put myself through excursions to Stamford: there is a Dairy Queen in Stamford that we visit before heading home.
So to recap: I didn't run with Becky, I didn't go to Dairy Queen, and I went running on the treadmill at the gym on a day that was made for running.
AND I've got a new blister slightly above and to the right of the site of my old blister. I blame this on my orthotics. They're so thick in the heel that the wide part of my heel rests too high, where the heel of the shoe tapers. I also blame my sore ankle on my orthotics. I NEVER roll my ankles when I'm not wearing my orthotics. I rolled my left ankle 3 times during my TL workout on Saturday, then again badly during my run on Sunday. What else can I blame on my orthotics? I just hate the things so much; they make running so much less pleasant. I wore my ultra-light trainers for my double yesterday (which I did on the treadmill at the gym) because I don't wear my orthotics with them. I think I have the insoles to my other shoes somewhere in my apartment in Chicago so I may abandon them when I get back... but I'm stuck wearing them for the next few days.
Posted by alweiss at 09:04 PM | Comments (1)
December 26, 2005
Good Company
I was really excited to have company on my run this morning. Becky is in town and she joined me (or I joined her, depending on how you look at it) for what we decided to call 9 and 1/2 miles. I felt bad because I was definitely dragging for the first few miles, plus I had to take a pit stop (which I knew was going to happen) after a little over a mile. But it was great having someone to talk with, and Becky and I know several people in common so it was good to get the latest intelligence on them.
While I'm a pretty competitive person and enjoy that aspect of running, running has traditionally been a social activity for me. When I was in college it didn't matter that running took up much of my free time because when I went to practice and meets I was also going to hang out with my friends. But the past couple of years I've done almost all of my running on my own, and there are definitely many days I miss having company. Keeps me from feeling too sorry for myself. And thinking too much.
Both of which I was doing on Saturday as I did my TL run (5x6:00 tempo with 1 min. jog recovery followed by an hour's easy run). I unwisely chose to do the workout on some trails near my house... trails that had deteriorated with the severe rain this fall and were covered with a thick layer of leaves. Not the best surface on which to do tempo intervals. Add to that the fact that I was feeling tired and sore and it just wasn't my most stellar workout. I hate walking away from a workout feeling as if I didn't give it 100%.
I felt especially ashamed of myself after running by a pair of African runners soon after I had finished the tempo portion of the workout (not running by as in overtaking and passing, of course; running by as in we ran toward and past one another). They glided along so smoothly in perfect stride, probably at sub-6:00 pace. I wondered briefly what they thought of me, galumphing along fighting the trail. Probably nothing. Or maybe they wondered why I bother.
It frustrates me to have to acknowledge that too much of what I know about running will always be intellectual rather than experiential knowledge. That I am a sponge for useless information (spill any around me and I'll soak it right up) is something that doesn't overly trouble me. Sometimes it even proves to be not as useless as it appears. For example, I was able to inform my parents that the bottle of Pinot Noir my cousin sent them for Christmas was a good one, since someone who claimed to know a lot about wine bought one for his parents for Christmas last year. I've never tasted Pinot Noir. I could tell you that it has high levels of reservatrol (the chemical compound that makes red wine good for the heart and immune system) and that it sometimes tastes mushroom-y because I read a book about wine over spring break last year... when I was supposed to be making course outlines. But everything I know about it is intellectual, and that doesn't bother me; I could change that if I felt like it. Similarly, I know that to run a 2:47 marathon, I have to run at 6:22 pace. That's a useless factoid that does trouble me. Because I don't want to just know that on an intellectual level. I want to experience what it feels like to run a marathon at 6:22 pace, to be able to make the information useful and make it belong to me. I guess that's why I bother, to give myself a chance, however remote, to some day do that.
Posted by alweiss at 08:12 PM | Comments (0)
December 23, 2005
A Class Act
Yesterday at Jets practice Wayne Chrebet announced his plans to retire. It wasn't unexpected, given his history of complications from concussions and the fact that he suffered yet another one on November 12, but still it saddened me. Chrebet is one of those athletes seemingly rare among the pro ranks these days: someone who represents everything good about sports, someone who simultaneously filled the roles of superstar athlete and role model. He was tough and fearless going over the middle for crucial third down conversions. He accepted whatever role the Jets chose to give him in their offense without complaint. He didn't showboat. He worked hard and played for love of the game, something that he showed on every down. He seemingly willed his way into the NFL, but that obscures the fact that he was also tremendously talented. He brought the mindset of a long-distance runner to the role of an NFL receiver. To say that I will miss him is grossly understating the case. There are so few non-runner professional athletes whom I truly admire.
Of course, the other recent big news in the pro sports world is Johnny Damon's defection to the Yanks. This article by Bill Simmons pretty much says it all. The only point on which I disagree with him is when he defends pro athletes' decisions to follow the money by saying that they have to think about themselves and their families, etc. etc. I'm sorry, but how much does it matter to an athlete that his contract is for $52 million rather than $40 million? Once you're getting $40 million, you're set for life; your family is set for life. Once you're set for life, it's time to start thinking about others, maybe giving something back to those whose ticket purchases paid your salary and whose adoration won you those endoresement deals; grasping for that extra $12 million is pure greed. But, as little as I think of Damon personally, I'm getting a certain amount of enjoyment out of thinking of all those Red Sox fans foaming at the mouth because yet another golden boy has turned out to be a turncoat.
Ok, running. I ran the same route as yesterday early this afternoon, which in retrospect was quite silly given that I finally, for a brief period of time, have my choice of running routes. I felt pretty good -- it was definitely a better run than yesterday's. I did another 5 on the treadmill in the evening. :P And tomorrow I get to do my TL workout for next week. I've moved it from Sunday to tomorrow because I don't think I'd be able to get away with disappearing for 2+ hours on Christmas -- my mom might disown me. But the weather is perfect (near 50 and sunny) and the trails I like to run on near my house are clear so I'm almost looking forward to it.
Posted by alweiss at 10:21 PM | Comments (0)
December 22, 2005
Mystery Man
Well, it's a huge relief to be out of frigid Chicago and into a (slightly) more temperate climate (NY). It's also nice to be running routes that are loops, rather than out-and-backs -- makes the wind more bearable because I have to endure it for shorter stretches.
I managed to leave my training schedule in Chicago (along with all my shoes save three pairs of running shoes, my health insurance card, and doubtless other essentials I haven't yet missed). Guess that's what happens when one leaves oneself 45 minutes to run 4 miles, shower, pack for 10 days, do a couple of quick last-minute chores, and get down to the lobby of one's building with all one's stuff and one's pet bird. My 6-minute (no joke) packing job consisted of dumping all the clothes (predominantly running clothes, socks, and underwear) I had washed and folded Tuesday night into a bag along with a pair of wool pants, a skirt for church, a couple of sweaters, two pairs of running shoes (I wore the third), my "make-up" bag, and a few textbooks. So, after my dentist appointment this morning (no cavities! Feels like getting straight A's.), I made an emergency run to Borders to thumb through a copy of Jack Daniel's Running Formula (I'm using his "Marathon Plan A") so I could confirm my workouts for next week.
Last night I did my workout on the treadmill at my mom's gym. Same workout as last week: 5.5 mi. of 4 mins. hard/3 mins. easy. I did the hard intervals at 10 mph and the easy ones at 7 mph. I was worried that I was going to fly off the back of the treadmill, completely embarassing myself, when I cranked it up to 10 mph for the first hard interval (just because my legs aren't used to moving that quickly) but it ended up feeling really good... at the time. My legs aren't so happy today.
I actually felt pretty crappy on my run this afternoon. And I would have felt crappier if there hadn't been so much to look at and wonder about. I'm sure the charm will wear off quickly, but it was fun to run through neighborhoods and past houses and wonder if so-and-so's family still lives there. Plus, there are certain qualities that are unique to areas like Westchester that never cease to amuse me. Firstly, a certain country club in Mamaroneck has had part of a public road blocked off since October or maybe before (I know for sure that it was blocked off when I was home in October) in order to facilitate a modification to its golf course, occasioning a half-mile detour. Where else would a private country club be able to get away with that? Secondly, my 9-mile plus half-mile detour run (all done within 2 square miles, I'm pretty sure) took me past no fewer than 4 country clubs... plus a couple of marinas or so-called "yacht clubs" that don't quite qualify as country clubs. I wonder what the ratio of citizens to country clubs is in Westchester County and how it stacks up against the rest of the country. I also have a 7-miler that goes by or through 4 golf courses.
Thirdly, there's Walter's. Walter's is a hot-dog stand housed in a pagoda that seemingly sprouted up of its own volition along a block of ordinary, boring buildings and houses across the street from the high school. I'm sure the pagoda itself causes anyone who isn't used to it to do a double take. The fact that the hot dog is the type of cuisine served up there probably does nothing to assuage the suspicion that Walter's is some sort of joke or optical illusion. Further adding to the Walter's-induced vertigo would be the fact that it is currently draped in wreaths and greens and strung with Christmas lights, and that there is a line stretching down the block even at 2:30 on a chilly winter afternoon. They do make the best hot dogs I've ever tasted, and I can say that even after eating them pretty much every day of my freshman year in high school (if obesity runs rampant at Mamaroneck High School, the culprit is easily identifiable).
As I was enduring the last mile and a half of my run, preoccupied with laughing to myself over the existence of Walter's, someone drove by and shouted out his window to me, calling me by name. He was somewhat far away and my end-of-run vision was poor enough that I couldn't make out his face. I just saw that he had dark hair and I assumed it was my across-the-street neighbor S., although I was confused because he was driving an SUV and I hadn't ever seen an SUV parked in S.'s driveway. But when I called him this evening to confirm it had been he who had called out to me he swore that it hadn't. So now this is going to torment me for at least a few days.
Posted by alweiss at 03:58 PM | Comments (1)
December 16, 2005
Becoming My Worst Nightmare
I've been busy-busy the last few days. Well, the last few evenings, anyway, which is when I usually blog, which is why I've been silent all week. I'm generally not much of a social butterfly, tending to prefer a good book (or even a mediocre book) to the company of people I don't adore. However, my friend H. had a tree-decorating gathering on Tuesday evening which was fun and festive (reminding me that it is, indeed, the holiday season... I'm having trouble getting into the holiday spirit; just call me Scrooge). Then on Wednesday H. and I went to see "Wicked," the musical adaptation of Gregory Maguire's story of the Wicked Witch of the West. It was excellent; if you have the chance to see it, by all means go. Finally, last night H.'s friend A. had a game night. We played a never-ending game of the pop-culture edition of Trivial Pursuit (none of us are strong candidates for Jeopardy!), followed by many rounds of "Catchphrase." The last time I visited A.'s place, for a holiday party last year, I somehow managed to knock a glass of red wine off a table and onto a very white chair. I felt beyond terrible. Luckily she was able to get it out (Oxyclean). I was determined not to cause any such disaster this time, so I was a bit concerned that my nearly knocking a wine glass out of H.'s hand Tuesday night (white wine this time) might be some sort of foreshadowing of events to come. But I successfully reigned in my klutziness and left A.'s apartment as I found it.
I've managed to wrap a decent number of miles around my busy social schedule. I took Monday off, then did 10 on Tuesday. I did another truly miserable 10-miler on Wednesday morning -- slippery and windy -- and 4 on the treadmill in the late afternoon. Yesterday was a fartlek workout: 5.5 miles of 4 mins. hard/3 mins. easy, 10 total with warm-up and cool-down. I didn't expect it to be that hard; fartleks usually aren't (probably just because I don't work hard enough), but by the end of the workout I was mentally whimpering (ok, and maybe physically whimpering as well; hey, there was no one else out there to hear) and it left me jelly-legged enough that I decided no double... and, though I'm a little embarassed to admit it, I was a wee bit sore this morning when I did a cold and windy 10. I felt much better, though, this evening running 5 on the 'mill. 13 tomorrow (9 and 4, I think) will give me 70 for the week.
I'm going to try to front-load next week, another 70-mile week, so I don't have as many miles to run after I go home on Wednesday evening. For some reason my running incenses my mom. I've never been able to figure out why, but she gets all huffy whenever I go out for a run and devotes quite a bit of energy to trying to persuade me that I don't need to run every day. I'll leave it to you to imagine what my running twice a day does to her. But I only have 60 miles the week of the 25th, so if I front-load next week I won't have to do very many doubles when I'm home, and will hopefully be able to sneak in the few I have to do before she wakes up in the morning.
It seems like I have nothing but time right now, which is such a nice feeling. I get up in the morning, run, read, run, read... bug my professors for assignments... Yeah, I'm starting to become my worst nightmare, one of those super-intense eager-beaver types. I really shouldn't admit this, but I'm feeling the need to confess. I actually started harassing one of my poor professors over what course materials we'll need and what the first reading assignment is. I'm worried that, with my schedule for the coming quarter, if I fall behind at the beginning I'm never going to be able to catch up. Since I don't get back into town until the Jan. 1 and classes start on Jan. 2, if I don't collect my assignments before I leave there's no way I'll have time to prepare for classes on the 2nd. My concerns are partially fueled by my desire for SLEEP. I've decided that in order to stay healthy, get in good shape for Boston, and do well in my classes I'm going to have to avoid putting myself in situations where I have to scrape by on 6 or fewer hours of sleep. To do that, I'm just going to have to be really on top of things... basically be my worst nightmare.
Posted by alweiss at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)
December 11, 2005
Low Ceilings and Foot Problems
I woke up this morning later than intended (I went to bed at 10 last night and so expected to be up by 7:30 at the latest, but didn't wake up until the bird woke me at 9:30) and for the first time in I can't remember how long it didn't matter. I decided to celebrate by going to get a cinnamon bun and latte at this bakery in Hyde Park. My general feeling is that anything with high caloric and low nutritional value that isn't chocolate just isn't worth eating, but these cinnamon buns are the exception. I was raving about them to my friend E. a few weeks ago and she assumed that they were similar to Cinnabons. I quickly corrected her, explaining that they aren't even in the same galaxy as Cinnabons (which don't tempt me at all... unless I'm starving). These cinnamon buns are basically croissants coiled like a cinnamon bun with cinnamon, sugar, and raisins. SO good. And the hot latte was an additional treat. I haven't had a hot latte since... sometime last winter, I think. I always get iced lattes on my way to school each morning because I walk and I figure that by the time I get from Starbucks to school a hot latte will be cold so I might as well just get an iced one.
So, after getting a good 11 hours of sleep and with enough sugar and caffeine running through me (I forgot to mention that the cinnamon buns are really big -- too big for one person to consume alone without feeling vaguely ill thereafter... not that that ever stops me from doing so) to make a creature six times my size wired, I decided to put on Jimmy Buffett's live album "Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays" and dance around. Since my bed takes up most of my bedroom I didn't have very much room to dance... and then I got the brilliant idea that it would be fun to jump on my bed. I looked at my bed, couldn't remember the last time I had jumped on a bed, decided that was really sad, and hopped up and started bouncing. Sometime around the middle of "Southern Cross," feeling somewhat giddy, I decided to execute a flip. I didn't think too much about it, except for noting that I was going to have to get a lot of rotation if I was going to land it because I wouldn't be able to get much height without hitting the ceiling. I was almost successful; in fact, had my form been better, I would have landed it perfectly. However, my form was never very good when I actually did gymnastics daily, years and years and years ago (more than half my lifetime ago, come to think of it). So, although everything else cleared the ceiling, my right foot somehow didn't. Think of punching a wall. That's what I did with my foot.
I haven't yet decided whether to be thankful that my ceilings are made of cement (the building I live in was originally a housing project, hence the ceilings and parts of the walls are cement). On the one hand, it would have hurt a whole lot less had there been some give in the ceiling. On the other hand, it would have been pretty embarassing to explain the hole in the ceiling... "Uhhh... well, see, I accidentally put my foot through it..." Yeah. For a little while I was concerned that I may have broken something, but I iced it and walked around some and it seems to be ok.
Because of my little ceiling accident, I postponed my tempo run until later in the day (foot felt fine during the run... and I iced after). I went on the treadmill because it's snowy and icy out and I thought it would just be an exercise in frustration to do a tempo run on the ice. I decided to try out my new lightweight trainers. I got them this past summer when I was planning to run a fall marathon, but had yet to do a run in them. They're Saucony Tangents -- pink and white and red and perfectly hideous, so of course I love them. They felt really good. The workout felt really good. I had no sense of what my tempo pace was, so I started it at 6:53 pace, realized after a couple of minutes that that was too comfortable, decreased it to 6:44 pace, still felt too comfortable after 8 mins., and so cut it to 6:40 pace for the last 12 mins. I think I probably should have gone faster, but it was my first workout in a few months so I didn't want to push too hard.
I really love doing a cool-down after a tempo run. Suddenly 7:30 pace feels so slow I find myself practically tripping over my feet. I think that's my favorite part of doing tempo workouts on a treadmill. I did 3 miles of cool-down at 7:30 pace (did a mile at 8:30 and a mile at 8:00 pace warm-up) because I was feeling really good.
Running in light shoes without my orthotics just felt SO much easier. I always feel lately as if I'm plodding along and can't get a good toe-off because my rigid orthotics don't allow my foot to flex the way it needs to in order to do so. Plus they're big and clunky so my feet always feel stuffed into my shoes and SO heavy. I hate them hate them hate them. But I'd rather deal with them than be injured. And I can always enjoy the occasional run without them (like today!).
Posted by alweiss at 10:02 PM | Comments (3)
December 08, 2005
Scheduling Issues
I did 8 this morning outside, probably between 7:30-7:45 pace -- I didn't time it, but checked the clock before I left and when I got back. The way out felt fine, but I was a bit concerned because the tree branches were waving and I didn't feel much wind. And sure enough my suspicions were realized as I turned around to run home into a stinging wind. Rule of thumb in Chicago: if you think it's not windy that's just because the wind is at your back. The back 4 miles were pretty miserable. But I got the run in before the blizzard started, so I can't complain. I also did another 4 on the treadmill in the early evening. Same deal as yesterday: 3 at 7:30 pace and the last one 7:00 and under. I've noticed that I feel sluggish and drained during and after my runs outside, but invigorated when I step off the treadmill. Though the invigorated after part may just be because the run is so short that my body's all prepared to exert more energy so it has it at the ready for me.
I now have 10 miles to split up between tomorrow and Saturday. Apparently my hair appointment on Saturday isn't until 2, giving me a good hour and a half to run, shower, and get to the salon, so I should be able to fit 4 miles in pretty comfortably and do 6 when I get up tomorrow morning. If the snow looks really deep I may just go on the treadmill because running in deep snow is pretty exhausting. Want to be fresh for my exam in the afternoon.
I've been trying to reconcile my Boston training schedule with my exam schedule. Right now, I'm scheduled to do 90 (my mileage peak) the week of winter quarter exams. However, I have a rest week of 60 right before it. I'm trying to decide what effect it would have on the program as a whole were I to switch them (instead of doing 90-80-60-90, I'd do 90-80-90-60).
When I'm doing lots of miles, I'm just not as mentally sharp as I am otherwise (those who know and love me will probably point out that I can't very well be described as "mentally sharp" even under the best of circumstances). Running a lot makes me stupid. This makes sense, given that studies have shown that fatigue has the same effects as alcohol in terms of slowing reaction times and dulling mental acuity... and there just doesn't seem to be any way to escape fatigue when I'm doing higher mileage. So I'm pretty sure I'm going to switch up my rest and peak weeks, especially given that I don't have any real performance goals for Boston.
Posted by alweiss at 07:25 PM | Comments (0)
December 07, 2005
Rats!
It always puzzled me that I had never come across rats while running on the lake path. The environment is, after all, perfect for them: near water, and near lots of little recreational areas that generate edible trash. However, while I saw numerous rabbits and squirrels, as well as the occasional chipmunk, I never bumped into a rat, even while running at night (I frequently used to startle them when I ran at night in Central Park). Then, a few weeks ago, while I was running one evening I had to hop over two rat carcasses, then later that same run a live rat scampered across my path. I was completely flabbergasted because, having never encountered one before, I had just assumed that there was some strange reason why there were no rats living near the lake.
I've seen rats while running at night a few times since then and finally have come to the conclusion that for some reason they don't come out until the late fall (I was injured in the late fall and for all of the winter last year and that must have been why I never saw the rats). This morning, a morning described by the local television stations as "dangerously cold" (the alarmist nature of local news amuses me... and I feel I can make fun of it, since I worked in local news for several years), I was running along and saw something lazily blowing across the path up ahead. I couldn't tell from a distance whether it was an animal or a leaf, but finally concluded that it was a leaf as it appeared to come to rest in the snow on the other side of the path. As I ran by, I checked and, indeed, it wasn't a leaf but a rat, digging in the snow. I had to wonder what had him out in daylight on such a cold day (I figured it had to be a male rat, because a female rat would probably have more sense... then again, I was out there running, which is a blow to my theory, though maybe not fatal). Perhaps his wife got mad at him and kicked him out of the nest.
I also saw, as I was finishing up my run, the tail-less squirrel who lives somewhere near my building whom I've become attached to. I was happy to see that he looks nice and fat for the winter. Sadly, I didn't see any quaker parrots. They stay all winter, don't migrate, but it was probably too cold for them to be out and about. I consider parrot-sightings good luck. Not that I'm superstitious or anything.
I ended up doing 8 this morning, probably pretty slowly. I didn't time it, but it felt slow -- all that clothing, plus I always find it harder to breathe in the cold. I have my winter runner's cough going. I was once asked if I smoked as I was coughing away. I gave my questioner my best imitation of a withering glare and explained that no, I did not smoke, I ran.
I did another 4 this evening on the treadmill -- 3 at 7:30 pace and the last mile at 7:00 pace. I kind of like these short evening runs on the treadmills. I find it hard to really get moving outside when it's cold out, so it's nice to be able to do just a short run somewhere warm where I can stretch out a little. I'm planning on doing 12/4 again tomorrow, then I'll have 10 to divide up between Friday and Saturday.
Posted by alweiss at 10:16 PM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2005
Stir Crazy
Exam time is such an odd time. With nothing to differentiate them, no change in schedule, all the days seem like the same day. To further blur matters, the U of C holds exams on weekends (both weekend days!), completely obliterating their significance. Also, without classes, seeing other people requires making an effort to do so. The fact that I haven't had any human interaction whatsoever since last Friday (aside from a phone conversation with my family and various e-mail correspondence) has made me perhaps crazier than usual. I find myself in a catch-22 where I know I could go to the library for a change of scene, and to catch sight of other human beings, but I'm such a stress case that I don't want to be forced to see people I don't want to see. My friend H. and I discussed this at some point last year and decided that the list of our classmates whom it is safe to hang around with during exam time is finite and very short.
I think exam time is what retirement must be like, minus the stress that is. If that's the case, I can see why my grandfather is still teaching (he's an adjunct at a University in NYC) at the age of 92, and I'm relatively certain I don't ever want to retire!
I did 8 miles this afternoon and am contemplating doing another 3 this evening. Assuming I double 8/4 both tomorrow and Thursday, I can do 6 before my exam on Friday (it's an afternoon exam... I've never had an afternoon exam and I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with myself in the morning -- do I study? Or will that tire my brain out too much? Don't laugh at me! I'm serious!) and hopefully squeeze in 4 after my exam on Saturday.
My friend H. and I last year accidentally started a tradition of going to get our hair cut, etc. after our last final every quarter. We did it first quarter, decided we liked it, and then just did it every quarter thereafter. It's really nice because during exam period there comes a point where you stop feeling altogether human; instead you feel like a walking repository of information whose usefulness expires with the end of the exam it pertains to. It seems that this time around, H. has scheduled our appointments at 1:30. In a best-case scenario our exam will end at 12:15. That gives me an hour and 15 mins. to get home, run, shower, and drive to the salon (which H. claims only takes 20 mins.). Yeah. So, the fewer miles I have to run on Saturday the better.
Posted by alweiss at 03:14 PM | Comments (0)
December 05, 2005
Bird Abuse?
I think that my bird, Toby's, joy at being able to spend lots and lots of time with me as I study for finals is strongly tempered by the negative implications of the privilege. Which is to say that when my brain needs a short break, I usually amuse myself by irritating her in some fashion (can you blame me? She is beyond adorable when she's mad!). For example, this afternoon she was sitting on my shoulder preening and basically minding her own business. In the course of her preening, she pulled out a large-ish feather (she's moulting right now... feathers everywhere!). I immediately seized the feather from her and started teasing her with it which, to my delight, elicited shrieks of annoyance to accompany her bobbing and weaving. I've also engaged her in numerous wrestling matches (which she, somehow, generally manages to win, despite being about 1/500th of my size). Poor, beleagured Toby.
I'm sure it was something of a relief to her to get rid of me for a couple of hours this afternoon while I did my long run. I did 15 miles, outside despite the fact that it was supposed to be pretty cold (I've gotten soft -- need to get tough... or tough-er, anyway). It actually wasn't that bad -- I bundled up and was perfectly comfortable. The cold isn't so terrible as long as there isn't much wind, and the wind gods decided to smile on me today. The run felt really good. There was a stretch of a couple of miles starting somewhere around mile 10 where I got that feeling that this was what my body was made to do, this is what I'm built for. I didn't feel particularly fit or fast, but it felt so good just to be moving. I love those stretches.
Posted by alweiss at 11:04 PM | Comments (1)
December 04, 2005
Wedding Plans
My brother is getting married in August and was apparently fitted for his tuxedo yesterday. In describing the experience to me this afternoon, his fiancee, C., mentioned that he wanted a top hat, scarf, and cane to accessorize the outfit and that she had told him that that might be a good idea for the reception. I suggested that she let him walk down the aisle in his full get-up. When he reached the altar, he could toss the scarf, hat, and cane to J., his best man. Then, after they said their vows, J. could toss them back to E. and he could escort C. up the aisle and out of the church in full regalia. C. opined that the theatricality of the scarf-, hat-, and cane-tossing might call for E. to burst into song, but expressed reservations due to E.'s infamous inability to carry a tune. I reminded her that E. has no insecurities about his singing abilities, or lack thereof (no one in the family will sit next to him in church because he insists on singing hymns loudly enough that people turn around to give him dirty looks, or sometimes just to gape in amazement). I then suggested that a show tune might be appropriate. After a second's contemplation she proposed "I Feel Pretty." I just lost it. Anyone who knows my brother would - it was so perfect. When I told C. that I'd pay to see that, she rejoined that charging admission to the wedding would be right up E.'s alley, and we agreed that he's probably been hard at work on some secret scheme or scam to turn a profit off their wedding.
E. and C. are at my parents' house this weekend. Because of E.'s holiday work schedule, this was the only time he could visit. He has to work on Christmas, so this will be the first Christmas the whole family won't be together. I'm sad about that and a little bitter that I'm stuck here studying for finals the weekend he's able to visit. It's just not as satisfying to make fun of him from afar.
I took today off from running because I was due a day off and was feeling a bit ragged yesterday. I just had five miles, which I did at a glacial pace (didn't time it, but I know it was slow). It was one of those days where I couldn't have run any faster than the pace I was going, nor could I have run any further than the five miles I had to run. I'll do my long run tomorrow on fresh legs. My plan was to put my day off off until next Saturday because it will be difficult to squeeze in a run that day, but I will just have to figure out a way.
Alrighty... back to Marbury v. Madison and the exciting world of judicial review.
Posted by alweiss at 05:22 PM | Comments (2)
December 02, 2005
Food Fantasies
My run yesterday was not of the type calculated to make me eager to get back out there today. It was bitterly cold (I was very grateful to be wearing pants) with a nasty head/tailwind and crosswind. Shortly after I started running a small sharp-toothed creature attached itself to my nose and gnawed away for the duration of the run (and I know from sharp-toothed creatures gnawing at my nose: as my high school friends can attest, I walked around for a week or so when I was 15 with a big scab on the end of my nose after my pet rabbit took a chomp out of it when I bent down to kiss him one day).
When I finished, I was nauseated-tired (I've been a little stressed about everything I have to do to prepare for my final exams and consequently have lain in bed tossing and turning for a few hours every night before finally falling asleep; last night it all caught up with me) and just missed the bus I was hoping to take part-way home. Not wanting to stand around waiting for the next bus to decide to appear, I started home. When I was about halfway there, I realized that I had forgotten a book I needed for the paper I had to write so I had to turn around and walk all the way back, retrieve the book, and start again. I was rather unhappy.
When I finally got home I indulged for a little while before starting my paper in my new favorite obsession, Gourmet magazine. I'm not sure what about me screamed that I would be interested in such a publication, but for some reason they sent me a complimentary copy and... I just love it. I love reading about food and looking at pictures of food and fantasizing about recipes I could make if I had the time. I'm seriously considering subscribing, but I'm afraid I might get overwhelmed -- there are SO MANY recipes in every issue... I know it's going to become one of those things where I find myself thinking that I want to make such-and-such and not being able to remember which issue the recipe is in. I had a similar problem with my Sports Illustrateds years ago (could never remember in which issue I had read an article about a particular athlete) that inspired me to index them. But I really like the magazine. In the current issue, there are a bunch of cookie recipes and an article about this Lebanese restaurant in Terre Haute, Indiana that has inspired me to drive down there (it's a drive of a little over 3 hrs.) one day over break. I'm going to stick around for a week after finals with the goal of finding things I like about Chicago. It would be pretty funny if one of the those things turns out to be its proximity to this restaurant in Terre Haute.
Posted by alweiss at 09:20 AM | Comments (2)
December 01, 2005
It's December!
Today is December 1... which means that yesterday was my last compulsory outdoor run in shorts. :) I almost celebrated with a short double this morning, but when I woke up and looked out the window it was grey and snowing, so I decided that an extra 40 mins. of sleep would be more fun. I'll probably do 9 this afternoon, then double tomorrow for 12 total, which will leave me with just 5 on Saturday which is... perfect!
I'm feeling really motivated right now to get in shape, but am at the same time questioning my marathon goals. In reading Bridget's entries about getting a coach and Alison's references to her coach, I realized that if I really do want to get to the next level and achieve my purported marathon goal, I can't count on its happening by accident; I really should get a coach because although I've had moderate success in training myself I don't really know what I'm doing. I also started thinking along the following lines: "if I have a coach, I'll have to do all my workouts as prescribed and not procrastinate and put my long runs off until the middle of the week, etc." Which then led me to question how much I really care about running a fast marathon, and whether I'm just chasing the trials qualifier because I feel as if I should. Certainly if I really wanted to do it, I wouldn't need the extra motivation that a having a coach would provide.
I really miss track. I miss that moment that used to come sometimes during a race on the track where I knew I was in perfect control and there was no way that anyone was going to beat me. That never seems to happen in road races, maybe partly because they're so much longer than my ideal distance (1500M-3K). I find myself constantly worrying whether I'm going to have enough left to hold on to the pace I'm running; I worry about what the course is going to throw at me; I worry about whether the people I'm running against are working as hard as me or are better hill runners than me; I conclude that I'm probably working too hard and slow down, then inevitably have way too much left at the end. In the marathon, I have all these worries times ten. Plus, there is no point in the marathon where I feel fast, which is another part of the joy of racing for me. In the marathon, I start out at a pace that feels like I'm holding back a bit until suddenly it doesn't anymore, and by the end my legs are too heavy to kick. It just isn't fun and satisfying in the way track is. I used to get nervous and excited for my track races. I just DREAD the marathon.
But enough negativity. What I am feeling positive and excited about is getting fit. So, I'll work on that, run Boston for the experience of running Boston, and then decide what I'm going to do about the marathon.
Posted by alweiss at 11:10 AM | Comments (1)