Son of a…

Ok, I’ve been trying to get this post out the door for almost a week, so bear with me if it gets a little concise towards the end…

As I alluded to in my Week 7 Recap, things haven’t been going according to plan.  If you’ll remember, I shifted my schedule by a day to accommodate life getting in the way.  Because I had to work Saturday morning (fail), my long run found itself set for Sunday.  Well, Saturday morning I woke up early, slid out of bed, and nearly fell over.  Son of a fish… My left foot sent a piercing stab of pain screaming from the floor up to my brain as if I stepped on a bolt of lightning.

Ouch!
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When Life Gets in the Way

I’m pretty good about striking a balance between running and the more important rest of my life. On occasion,though, something has to give, and I think the picture below gives a pretty good idea of how it generally shakes out. That’s just fine though, as far as running goes on my priority list, I’m not sure it even cracks the top 5. It’s all about hitting that balance that allows me to run as often as I do (which provides you the good fortune to read this blog!).

The Boulder is a Metaphor for Life; the Road is a Metaphor for Running

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Vampires: A Runner’s Worst Friend

What is the worst enemy to running?  Bad weather?  Over training?  6am?  Nice try.  The real nemesis to running is:

Vampires

That’s right.  Vampires.  Let me start off by saying this is NOT a post trying to ride the coattails of Twilight’s success.  If it were, I’d throw in some search buzz words like “Edward”, “Jacob”, “Eclipse”, or “OMG Taylor Lautner Shirtless*“.  Actually there is a much more altruistic reason why vampires are bad news for runners.

Last Friday my company hosted a blood drive.  Being the giver that I am, I went down after lunch to donate with a fancy apheresis machine (basically means I give twice as many red blood cells).  Ok, enough blood talk.

After less-than-moderate activity over the weekend, I went for a run on Monday morning.  After 2 miles I felt like I was running in sand with a parachute on my back in a hurricane with a weight vest on.  My energy was just zapped.  I struggled through it for a little more than 6 miles, but it was unpleasant to say the least.

Anyone have experience running after giving blood?  I waited 2 days and still felt terrible.  How long does it take to get back to 100%?  I’ll be giving it another try (obviously) so we’ll see how I feel.

Details:

Distance 6.34 miles
Time 54:02
Pace 8:31 min/mile
Average HR 162 bpm

*You deserve that for clicking the link.

Just A Stone’s Throw Away

Let’s be clear: when we decided on which apartment complex to live in, I did not know that a certain running store was in the parking lot across from our unit. In fact, it’s literally a stone’s throw from our back porch. So lucky!

Anyway, the store itself is

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enormous, with only about enough merchandise to fill a small car. It’s actually a bit unsettling, as if they are in a constant state of moving out or moving in. But who am I to judge… my apartment is in a constant state of moving in.

However, on Mondays and Wednesdays at 5:45 (pm, for those of you wondering), a group meets up to go line dancing for a run. Yay! So I showed up Wednesday, water bottle in hand (a Texas necessity as I’m learning, though I was the only one there with water). I did get some “good idea” comments, but no one opted to bring / buy one. The eight of us headed out down a new route (though admittedly I only have one route thus far) which mainly stuck to sidewalks and bike lanes along not-too-busy roads. As for the pace, the only way to put it is: fast. I was a little surprised, but kept up pretty well.

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p style=”text-align:left;”>Overall we ran about 6 miles, at under 7:30 minutes per mile. (My Garmin hadn’t been reset since last time, so it was a bit of a combination of two runs…) I’ll definitely be going back for more pain, as I was introduced to the 3 H’s: Heat, Humidity, Hills. Until next time, have a good life.

A Texas Beginning

I’ve been a bit out of touch for the last month recently, so I’ll try

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to get you up to speed quickly and painlessly. Firstly (beware, there may be no “secondly”), I haven’t been running much, hence the lack of enthralling blog posts to get you through your day. I’ve started four different posts and gotten sidetracked, but I plan to get back to at least a few of them. Some small life events have gotten in the way, like driving cross-country with everything we own from DC to Texas, moving into a new apartment, buying a car, and learning a new city. And what better way to explore a city than run it? (Admit it, that’s a great segue.)

Well not that great, because like I said, I haven’t been running much, so there hasn’t been much in the way of bipedal exploration. I got out Wednesday morning to check out a nearby trail in my new shoes. The key is to get out early, because the temps were going from 60s in the morning to 90s by early afternoon. And a warm run does not a happy Mike make. Friday was more of the same. Both times I got home around 10am feeling like it was the middle of the rain forest, without the excitement of wildlife. Except some “people” like these local characters do pop up every once in awhile.

Anyway, it’s going to take some getting used to, but I’m excited for the prospects! Keep an eye out for a future post about, well, the future!

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Moving On Up

This here blog has been getting cozy at its current address for nearly a year now and is thinking of upgrading to someplace a little less on the west side* running-only.  Why you ask?  Well that will all be answered in more detail in an upcoming post.  The long and the short of it is that I’m hoping to break into the triathlon scene, and so I’d like to have a more balanced blog presence.

I’m also thinking of dropping the “.wordpress.com” and buying the website address.  I know what you’re thinking.. “But Mike! Don’t bother! Your blog is already my homepage, so it doesn’t matter!”

Believe it or not, there are still a few people on the Internet who do not check my blog before anything else.  Anyway, I’d like to get your feedback on what my new website should be.  Some of the facts to consider are:

  1. It should relate to a broader activity base, rather than focusing solely on, say, running;
      (For example, facerunner.com and pikerunner.com are out)
  2. It should be somewhat witty, but still stand on its own if someone has no sense of humor doesn’t get it;
  3. I’m fairly good at running, so-so at biking, and terrible at swimming.

Here are a few options to vote on, or feel free to add your suggestions in the comments!  (Please add suggestions in the comments, I’m stumped for other ideas!)

*We’re movin’ on up, To the East Side, To a deluxe apartment, In the sky, etc etc.

Slow Down!

Still no race on the calendar, but that hasn’t stopped me from hitting the pavement.  I’ve been getting out there 3 – 4 2-3 times a week, bright- dark-and-early (stupid Spring Forward).  I’ve been heading out on my regular 7.68 mile (yes, exactly 7.68, so says my GPS) route most mornings and take on the rest of the day per usual.  However, something comes over me on the weekends that is both awesome and unrecommended.  “What can be both awesome and unrecommended?” you ask.  Drugs! Grand Theft! Unprotected Chess! Country Music!* Teletubbies! I’ll give you a moment to get all the inappropriate comments out of your system.

Anyway,  the awesome / unrecommended item I am referring to is, on the weekends, I seem to run like people are chasing me.  What I mean is, I run nearly as fast as I can for as long as I can.  Case in point, this last weekend, for no reason, I started off a little too quick (8:00 min/mile) and only got faster.  Why?  Because it is awesome.  I even sought revenge upon my archetypal (GRE word) nemesis whom you may remember from my Power Suit post, and flew by a girl in a 2009 Boston Marathon shirt.  (Ev pointed out she was probably 2/3 of the way through a 22-mile run, but I still passed her!)  Makes me feel like I’m racing every week, in which case I am the winner!  (and loser, I suppose).  “It’s not recommended to run so hard too often.  You should slow down”.  Yea, that’s what you say if you’re a Teletubby you hate fun.

Perhaps it’s because I’m awake for a few hours instead of a few minutes before running, or just the change to warmer weather (thank you again, Global Warming, for raising Earth’s temperature so quickly**).  So for now, I’ll take pleasure in these long, fast runs, and continue to challenge myself as if I’m racing each weekend.  Rationality be damned!  I will not slow down!

Last Saturday’s Run

Distance: 12.34 miles
Time: 1:36:57
Pace: 7:51 min/mile
Average HR: 161 bpm

*Country music is neither awesome nor recommended.

**Some uninformed types might call this “the seasons changing from Winter to Spring”.  Ahh, ignorance, such a beautiful thing.  Suck it, Al Gore***.

***Thank you for inventing the Internet.

The Power Suit

I’ve had a wonky sleep schedule this week. Actually, the schedule has been fine, but my body hasn’t really been sticking to it. The past 3 nights I was lucky enough to see the clock at 3:31am, 3:15am, and 1:52am. Not ideal, and it left me more tired than usual. Well this morning I got my rear in gear, despite sleeping lightly, and trekked out for a gloomy 7 miles.

I threw on my power suit: Chicago Marathon finisher’s shirt and Marine Corps Marathon hat for that extra “I’m better than you” feeling and headed out the door. The legs felt surprisingly strong considering some nagging tightness in both calves throughout the week. Cruising along and exuding awesomeness through my attire, I felt pretty high and mighty. Until…

POP! My bubble was burst.

Heading

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towards me was a girl wearing an unmistakable yellow Boston Marathon shirt. For the uninitiated, the Boston Marathon is the only race you need to qualify for by running another race within their qualifying times. Fast qualifying times. Like times that I don’t think I’ll be hitting… ever.

And just like that, my “power suit” was nothing but any old shirt and hat.

Distance: 7.00 miles
Time: 57:54
Pace: 8:16 min/mile
Average HR: 158 bpm

An (Un)Important Decision

This will be brief. As I’ve mentioned (and mentioned (and mentioned)), I’m considering running the National Half Marathon on March 20th. Currently, the one factor holding me back is cost. Here’s the breakdown:

PRO CON
No Travel $93 Registration
Finisher’s Medal $93 Registration
Great Sense of Accomplishment $93 Registration
Meet Up with Old Friend Wake Up Early on a Saturday

And there you have it. A pretty unimportant decision to be made, and

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an over-the-top analysis of something that you couldn’t care less about.

So please vote! And leave comments if you’re feeling generous 🙂

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Spring Has Sprung!

Ah, the wash of sunshine pouring over you after 3+ months of layers and confinement. Few things are as underrated as sunshine to those who bask in its warmth year-round. Granted, as a transplant from South Florida, I, too, took sunshine as an undeniable constant for a time. As my northward migration has taken me through Nashville, and now DC, I have undone that expectation to wake up to the warmth of that lovable ball of burning gas.

Well, this past weekend, not two days after my last rambling about the cold weather, did we get a taste of a heatwave! I know, I know, particularly as a native Floridian, 55* and sunny is no heatwave. But when the temperature nearly doubles from the days prior, it is no less an event

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than an unseasonably snowy seasonal snowstorm. It was glorious, and it really made me appreciate the beautiful weather after having been without for several months.

Now, don’t get me wrong, if I had a choice, it would be 55* and sunny every time I laced up my shoes. Screw “appreciating it more”. That’s just what you say when you’re a have-not. Give me the warmth and leave the cold to the Canadians. There are other bloggers out there that I follow who fall on each end of the spectrum, specifically in Michigan and Hawaii. I’d guess that Frayed Laces wouldn’t give up Hawaii for anything, while Nitmos could live without the Michigan winter (with respect to training). In fact, I imagine if you asked 100 endurance runners / triathletes, 99 of them would take the amazing year-round weather (and that 1 leftover guy is a liar).

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p style=”text-align:left;”>Anyway, this past Sunday featured an outstanding long run that was to be a kind of pre-test for the National Half Marathon coming up. It went really well, and actually made my decision to sign up for the race harder. I was hoping I’d fall apart and use that as an excuse not to do National. Instead, I hit a 7:31 pace for 11.5 miles, not far from the goal race pace. Ugh, jerk. So now I’m left wondering if I can take the results of that awesome run and shift them 2 weeks onto race day, or if I should just forget it anyway. I’ll put up a poll in my next post for you, my lone reader, and see what you think.