Burgers and Hotdogs and Pizza, Oh My!

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New Haven – A beacon of traditional cuisine crossed with a lovely touch of bizarre twists that makes it a fun place to try some really different versions of our favorite classics.  During the half marathon weekend Colin and I set out to tackle as many famous (and not-so-famous) New Haven eateries in preparation and recovery for the Fairfield Half Marathon.

Saturday began at Louis’ Lunch.  It lays claim to inventing the hamburger and does things today the same as when they started.  First off, it’s a tiny place.  We got there at noon, right when they open, and there was a line of about 20 people waiting for a hamburger.  It’s not a fast line because everything is made to order.  The only confusing part is they only serve hamburgers, so they should be able to see how many people are in line, and at least have a few extra going.  Anyway, we finally get up to order and there’s no menu, so trying not to look like a noob, I say “I’ll have a hamburger” and she looks at me, gives an exasperated sigh, and asks “tomato, onion, cheese?  Anything to drink?  Here or to go?”  Blast!  She saw right through me.  “Just tomato.  To go.” and I step to the side to pay.  She writes down the order on a sheet of paper with a Sharpie and makes it visible for the chef (this is a 3-person operation: order, pay, cook).  The burgers are cooked in super old-fashioned vertical broilers about 12 at a time.  About 30 minutes after first getting in line I’m holding the paper sack with my burger and we’re off to Colin’s to eat.

The burgers are served on white sandwich bread, just the meat, and in my case, with a single slice of tomato.  And they are thick!  Very juicy and delicious, if not a tad underseasoned.  Colin also got potato salad, which he reported to be a great partner to his “CW” (short for Cheeseburger with the works: cheese (actually a cheese spread), tomato, onion).  The final verdict is it was very good but nothing outrageous.  It was fun to go to such an old place with a different way of doing things.

The rest of the day included grabbing some bananas and bagels for the morning of the race and picked up a bagel sandwich before dinner.  We had a pretty uneventful pasta dinner to get ready for the race.

Then we ran.

To refuel we went to Super Duper Weenie.  It was only 2 miles from the race, but there’s no way you could find it without knowing exactly where it is.  It’s on a back access road near the highway, adding to its allure.  Anyway, we walked in just after 11am to a small counter next to the 9-seat bar.  The menu actually had non-hotdog items, but that would be for the weak.  I got the New Yorker: Sauerkraut, Onion Sauce, Mustard, & Hot Relish.  The hotdogs are split down the middle and cooked on the griddle (while the chef will twiddle his thumbs.  My poetry bone started flaring up there).  Then put into a perfect bun and topped with all the aforementioned garnishes.  Really top notch!  Perfect refuel following the race.  Colin got the New Englander: Sauerkraut, Bacon, Mustard, Sweet Relish & Raw Onion, because who doesn’t need bacon on a hotdog?  We also split some fresh cut fries, you know, to replenish the carbs and potassium.  If you’re ever near exit 24 on I-95 in Connecticut, stop by the Super Duper Weenie.

We then changed up the plan a bit.  As a midafternoon snack we agreed on a fantastically amazing idea to get ice cream.  We walked down to Ashley’s Ice Cream Cafe and I had no choice but to get the coffee oreo ice cream.  There are few things I enjoy more than ice cream, and this reaffirmed everything.  Smooth coffee ice cream laced with large and small bits of real Oreos.  Great idea Brittany!

We wrapped up the weekend of over-the-top eating at Modern Apizza.  As I mentioned in the preview, the site is worth visiting for the music alone.  We sat down without any wait (though it was 5pm and the average age of everyone in there was 70) and scoped out the menu.  Upon a recommendation by a native New Havenite, I went for the plain mozzerella.  The real decision was what size.  It wasn’t much of a decision at all though.  LARGE.  I got through about a third of it and boxed up the rest to go.  The dough was thin but not too crisp, a good chewiness.  It was just a really good cheese pizza.

Looking forward to the leftovers 🙂

Un-Fairfield

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The weather was moderate; the runners were ready; the course was brutal.  For a late June race, the temperature never got over 75 while we were running.  The clouds helped keep the heat monster at bay, as did the abundant tree coverage.  The small-time race invited mainly locals to run (1871 of the 2597 finishers were from the unnecessary small state of Connecticut).  It was all set up to be a quaint fun-run to contrast the behemoth races like in Nashville, Orlando, and DC.  All but for one small detail.  The gremlins hills.

Not like “wheelchair-accessible-ramp” hills.  More like “get-out-your-rock-climbing-gear” hills.  Let’s take a step back.  Going into this race neither Colin nor I were expecting fast times.  We knew it was a difficult course from last year (where I imploded and luckily didn’t have a blog to record it for all five of you to read).  As such, we had no real finish time goal.  Finally, upon Colin’s insistance, we agreed on a 7:30 min/mile pace.  For the record, I thought it would be a little too fast.  The race started off smoothly, mainly because the first two miles were completely flat.

Mile 1: 7: 39 min/mile
Mile 2: 7:19 min/mile

The course (aka Course) does you no favors by starting flat.  It lulls you into a deceiving comfort zone and slowly builds your confidence.  Where once you felt apprehensive of what laid ahead, by the two-mile marker you’re feeling confident. Nay!  Arrogant.  You say “I can beat you, Course.  You are but a series of roads and I am a runner!”  HA!  How quickly the tables turn.  The enigmatic great Jason Statham said it best in Revolver “in every game and con there’s always an opponent, and there’s always a victim. The trick is to know when you’re the latter, so you can become the former”.  Well, I was the victim and the course was the opponent.  Before I knew it, I was climbing a treacherously vertical cliff steep incline.  I know, that doesn’t sound like a big deal.  The problem is that it was only the first of many, each one longer and steeper than the last.  The real tragedy is that the downhill offered zero relief.  After reaching the summit with legs burning and breathing labored,  you were out of luck if you forgot your parachute.  The descent seemed to be twice as steep as the uphill, virtually ripping my quads right out of my legs.  It was not as fun as it sounds.  Such hills led to mile splits all over the map.  Only twice (at the very end) did two consecutive miles fall within 16 seconds of one another.

Mile 3: 7:53 min/mile
Mile 4: 7:05 min/mile

When we finally reached Mile 4 I thought that the race was taking awhile… not good when there’s still 9 miles to go.  After tackling more rolling hills Colin mentioned that the worst of the hills would be during this stretch and end around Mile 6.  At this point I was beginning to worry that Colin would pull away and leave me to implode again like last year.  Mile 5 was by far the slowest thanks to Mount Runnerhater.  We struggled up the best we could, but after a quick 7:05 fourth mile, we added over a minute to the fifth.  That’s unheard of (unless you’re reading this for a second time).

Mile 5: 8:10 min/mile
Mile 6: 7:22 min/mile

After finishing the “hardest stretch” of miles 4 thru 6 I rewarded myself with a Roctane (for the uninitiated, it’s an energy gel).  We faced some resistance from Mile 7, but we could tell the course was beginning to succumb to our foolhardy spectacular determination.  To lay the proverbial smack down on the course, we unleashed a sub-seven minute mile.  Don’t bring that weak sauce up in here, Course!  Course did not like this and had a final treat for us at the end of the race.

Mile 7: 7:45 min/mile
Mile 8: 6:58 min/mile

Coming off a speedy downhill Mile 8 we cruised through Mile 9.  The remainder of the race focused on counting down the distance and time until the finish.  The brain isn’t running on all cylinders when the body is exhausted and dehydrated.  I found myself rationalizing the rest of the race in terms of random, unrelated comparisons, like TV shows (try to follow this:  I would think “OK, 4 miles to go, that should take about 30 minutes.  I could watch an episode of 30 Rock in 30 minutes.  But on Tivo I could watch it in like 20 minutes.  That’s 1.5 episodes of 30 Rock until I finish the race!”)  Apparently I thought it would help… Maybe I need help.  Mile 10 was the last real hilly part of the course (as it backtracked over the beginning part of the race when Mile 3 presented the beginning of steepery).

Mile 9: 7:24 min/mile
Mile 10: 7:40 min/mile

Finally reaching the end of the hills we coasted Mile 11 trying to regain some energy for the last push.  At this point it was still a race between Colin and me.  Neither wanted to lose, but neither could gather enough reserve energy to muster a final push.  It was here that we agreed on finishing together, becoming allies in a battle against Course.  We pushed on into Mile 12, expending as much energy as possible without falling apart.  It’s a funny thing that Mile 12 is.  Once you complete it, there’s only a smidge more than a mile to go.  You can taste the finish, and yet there’s still a mile to go.  More hallucinations rationalizations creep in, like “only 10 more minutes, that’s how long a whale can hold its breath.  Certainly I can keep this up for 10 more minutes”.  It doesn’t cross my mind that there is absolutely no correlation between a whale’s lung capacity and my voluntary discomfort.

Mile 11: 7:41 min/mile
Mile 12: 7:21 min/mile

The final mile-&-change required that we dig deep and turn this into a mind over body affair.  Well, that didn’t bode well considering my state of mind.  The pain in my legs matched the pain of imagining W reading the Russian National Soccer team line-up, followed with his little smirk after each one.  Well, as mentioned above, Course had one more surprise in store for us.  With the finish line in sight, we were directed over a 50 yard stretch of gravel.  Running on gravel is like running while pulling a cinder block through tar.  You work twice as hard to go half as fast.  We crossed that boobytrap and finished in a world of pain in the exact same time: 1:38:40.  I came in 228th out of 2597 – top 9%!

Mile 13: 7:18 min/mile

I am pleased to report (much in the theme of this blog (race medals, not stream-of-consciousness rambling, jerk.)) that we received medals!  They’re not bad either!  We refueled with some watermelon on the beach and stretched our drained and victorious muscles for a bit.  As a reward (other than the medal, of course.. duh) we headed out for some real recovery food.

For the full food report (definitely not as long as this), check it out over here.

The details:

Distance: 13.1 miles
Time: 1:38:40
Pace: 7:31 min/mile
Average HR: 173 bpm (184 bpm max)

If the shoe Pfitz

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Pfitz Pfitz Pfitz.  Looks funny no matter how many times you write it.  Pfitz.

I’m halfway through week 3 of the Pfitz 55/18 training plan (18-week plan that peaks at 55 miles per week) and it’s pretty taxing (like corporate bonus taxing after all the bailouts).  I’m sure the reason is that it’s a pretty big increase in miles for me since the Country Music Marathon.  After running the last three days in a row, tomorrow’s rest day seems to be a Pfit-ting reward.  So much, in fact, that I think I might even take Friday and Saturday off too!

Gasp!?!?!

Yes, 3 (planned) days in a row.  Of not running.  Maybe.  With the Fairfield Half Marathon coming up on Sunday, I’m certainly not running on Saturday.  Friday is supposed to be an easy 4 miles.  Thursday is a day off.  So all I’m really missing is 4 miles and moving my Saturday long run to the race on Sunday.  Knowing me (and I like to think that I do), I’ll probably run the 4 miles anyway.  That said, if I don’t run on Friday, I’ll look back at these three days as a crash taper cycle in preparation for the race.  Undeniably I want to be fresh so I can beat Colin and regain the title of “winner of the most recent half marathon: the Mike and Colin story – as told by Mike”.

Also going with the theme of the title, I just bought some new shoes!  Well, they’re the same Brooks Beasts that I’ve been running in since Marine Corps, but a new pair!  Picked them up at Running Warehouse for a pretty price and even got an additional 15% off my order!  Even better, they give free 2-day shipping and it’s being shipped today!  Wow!!!  Exclamation point.

This morning’s run was a little bit brutal mixed with a dash of ouch and a smidgen of when-will-it-stop.  Falling under the category of Lactate Threshold (which Ev found hysterical), it involved running 4 of the 8 miles at half marathon pace.  How fitting considering there is a half marathon coming up.  Well, hopefully it isn’t a precursor to the race, because it did not go as well as I would have liked.  For 4 miles I was struggling and burning.  Some may be attributed to running the previous two days, but overall I’m going to need to slow way down for the race if this is what it’s going to feel like.  If I remember last year’s course (and I most certainly do), it is a hilly beast.  (Aside: Maybe my shoes and the course can be friends (if you didn’t catch my subtlety, my shoes are the Beast and the course is a beast.  If you did catch it, bravo, and I apologize for such a pointless aside).) Anyway, we’ll see how the race goes and I’ll be sure to report back. I’m sure you can’t wait to hear all about my victory.

The details:

The Route

Distance: 8.0 miles
Time: 1:02:52
Pace: 7:50 min/mile
Average HR: 163 bpm (179 bpm max)
Splits: Mile 3 – 7:08
Mile 4 – 7:21
Mile 5 – 7:20
Mile 6 – 7:19

Fairfield on my Mind

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So after much hemming and hawing, I signed up for the Fairfield Half Marathon.  The race is a week from Sunday (6/28) and I’m actually really looking forward to it.  I ran it last year with Colin and got pretty beat up by the hills.  Looking back, we didn’t really train very much for it.  This time, though… we’ll be ready.  The only concern is most of the training has been focusing on staying fresh and going for distance (AKA, not much speed).

Number 1 goal: Beat Colin.  Last year he left me in the dust.  It was pathetic.  This year, I’m going to crush it (and him).  The real excitement though focuses on the ridiculous meals we’ll be having both in preparation and for recovery.  Upon arrival we’ll go to Louis’ Lunch for an original hamburger.  Then for dinner we’ll have the requisite pasta carboloading session.  Something basic and delicious.  After the race on Sunday, we’ll go directly to Super Duper Weenie for a hot dog.  Yes, a hot dog at 11am.  Amazing.  Finally we’ll swing by Modern Apizza for some of the best pizza in the world, as recommended by some real know-it-alls (aka Kevin).  Even if you don’t care about any of this, it’s definitely worth clicking on Modern’s link and listening to their music.  It’s quite possibly reason enough just to go, even if you are allergic to pizza.

To recap: Burger, Pasta, <race>, Hot Dog, Pizza.  I think all we’re missing is a burrito?  Anyway, Louis’ and Super Duper were featured on Food Network, so it’s almost like we’re going to be on TV!  At least we won’t be hungry before or after the race.  I’m sure the race recap will have a food recap too, so stay tuned.

Also, this morning’s recovery 5 miler was slow and boring, but it got the job done.  Low heart rate and put in some miles.  Next time I’ll be bringing some music along.

The details:

Distance: 5.32 miles
Time: 50:41
Pace: 9:31 min/mile
Average HR: 145 bpm (164 bpm max)

I set a personal record… twice!

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Today I set a personal record.  I had previously set the record one week ago.  Makes it seem like a pretty easy record if it can be set and then broken in a week.  Well it’s not!  What record you ask?  (Thank you for asking.)  It’s not as glorious as, say, the 100 meter dash or hot-dog eating*.  It’s not as well-known as “Largest Air Guitar Ensemble” (440 people) or “Fastest Time to Pluck a Turkey” (1 minute 30 seconds).  However, it is important to me, and that’s what I care about.

It was the longest weekday run before work.  Yes, last week I set the record at 9 miles.  Pretty impressive.  But wait!  For all you goldfish reading this and have already forgotten, you’re in for a treat!  I broke that record today!  10 miles.  It went well, kept the heart rate in check, and cruised through.  Even after 8 miles yesterday it wasn’t too bad.  The hardest part was getting up so early!  It was really only 10 minutes earlier than normal (5:50am instead of 6am), but I went to bed at almost 1am.

To make it easy I just ran 5 miles and turned around.  It requires the least amount of thought or planning, and let’s face it, there is little thinking going on that early.  There will be some delay between this new record and when I attempt to break it again, so stay tuned for that update.  As always, thanks for reading.  And for you goldfish: I broke my own record for longest weekday run.

The details:

Distance: 10 miles
Time: 1:23:05
Pace: 8:18 min/mile
Average HR: 157 bpm (172 bpm max)

*I know Kobayashi is no longer the champ, but there’s no video of Joey Chestnut racing a bear.

What do you mean you “ran” a marathon?

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Yesterday I came across a… curious blog post from Jeff Galloway (an incredibly well-respected runner and coach) that got me thinking a bit about that little word “run”.  For those of you who are barely interested enough to read this blog, I’ll give you a rundown of what Jeff said (I’m paraphrasing a good bit): You can complete a marathon (or any race) by alternating 1 minute of running with 1 minute of walking.  By taking this approach, you won’t feel as tired as if you run the whole time, and could potentially finish faster than people who run as far as possible and then are forced to walk later in the race due to fatigue.  He put it to the test again recently and finished right around the 5-hour mark.

I understand the premise behind this, but it makes me question the purpose and motivation of completing a marathon through those means.  This is a hot topic in some forums and people get really fired up over it.  It typically comes down to one side of people saying “you shouldn’t be doing a marathon unless you trained hard to run it” and then the other side chimes in with “what do you care why other people run a race? It’s an individual accomplishment”.  Then there are points made for each side and it ultimately results in a new argument based on a totally ridiculous statement made by one person from either side of the fence.

I guess what strikes me is that idea of planning on not going into the race with the intention of running it.  Way back when, Phidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to tell everyone about the Greek victory over the Persians.  Now, I wasn’t there, but I think it’s safe to assume he didn’t run/walk to get there.  Otherwise his heart wouldn’t have exploded after giving the good news.  I imagine you could make the argument that running a full marathon could make your heart explode, thus run/walking is the way to go, but based on the history (source: the Internet), there were extenuating circumstances (like running 140 miles across mountains in 36 hours, and then back another 140 miles a few days before his marathon run).

In more modern times, running was first seen as an odd thing to do and only the “hard-core” would actually give it a go, especially the marathon distance.  As running has picked up popularity more and more people have dipped their toe in the water (no pun intended, but if I must clarify, they would have removed their running shoes before dipping the toe), creating a bit of a snowball effect.  Now, it’s great that people are out exercising, getting in shape, and showing an interest in running.  In my opinion though, not just anyone and everyone should be able to sign up and run a marathon.  Aside from safety concerns due to undertraining, it somewhat dilutes the accomplishment of those who trained and ran as hard as they could.  This has absolutely nothing to do with how long it takes to finish; it is more based on effort.  For those who have walked a marathon and argue that you were tired afterward, it’s probably because you just walked 26 miles, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the effort was put in to training.

I’m not just venting without purpose.  No sir!  A few non-ground-breaking ideas come to mind.  First, if everyone and their guinea pig are going to be able to register for a marathon, I think a “qualifying” race should be required.  Not necessarily for speed, but actually more for safety.  By making sure someone can complete, say, 13.1 miles first, it may deter those who are not really in any condition to try to complete a full marathon.  On top of that, it will ensure that everyone in the marathon is aware of what it will take to properly train for such a huge distance.

Second, if a “qualifying” event isn’t imposed, then creating a separate “non-running” event may be more appropriate to offer to those who have no intention of running the full event.  Perhaps give it a snazzy, never-used-before name like a walk-athon, geared more towards those looking to complete their own personal goal or challenge.  The gap between walking a marathon and running a marathon is almost as large as running and roller blading.  The events are just different, and should not be considered equal nor held on the same platform.

Just my non-requested thoughts on the matter.  If you agree with me, let me know in the comments.  If you disagree, you’re wrong 🙂 but still let me know in the comments.

Chicago Training – Day 1

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So after a bit of a what some might call a vacation (actually, I think everyone would call it a vacation, and an amazing vacation at that!),

<<Side Note – Ev and I went to Greece (not Grease) and got to leave all responsibilities behind!  Pretty much every stress-maker was left in Eastern Daylight Time, and everything that is amazing was waiting for us in Greece.  Except for a comprehensible language.  Greek is impossible!  But the trip was amazing and I got another reprieve from running.>>

I’m back and re-energized to run.  Today was the first day of training for the Chicago Marathon!  I haven’t run very much since the Country Music Marathon for a number of reasons:

1) Basking in glory of beating Colin 😛 ;
b) Travel (see above about vacation);
3) Still basking in glory.  

I was also ever-so-slighly under the weather this weekend (excuse alert!), so hopping right back into training wasn’t going to necessarily be like riding a bike.  Maybe more like hog-tying a pig.  Actually it was nothing like hog-tying a pig.  It was like running.

It was harder than I wanted, but I got ‘er done.  The surprisingly hard part were the 20-second sprints.  At the 44-minute mark I would sprint for 20 seconds and then recover (run normal pace) for 40 seconds, and repeat ten times.  My heart rate shot up and I felt drained.  Here’s where I’ll hold onto that excuse for dear life.  I blame it on not feeling 100%, the humidity, and the economic crisis.  All told, it wasn’t terrible, and I’m looking forward to all 800 or so training miles lying in front of me for Chicago.

The details:

Route

Distance: 7.68
Time: 1:04:44
Pace: 8:25 min/mile
Average HR 167 bpm (185 bpm max)

Running Just to Run? Not This Time

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99.9% of the time, I run just to run.  Training or racing, the reason I put on my shoes is to run.  Every so often though, the stars align and I find myself running with a purpose.  Saturday, for example, I decided to take the subway up to return a book in College Park and then run home.  Why?  Because 1) I needed to run, 2) I needed to go to College Park, and 3) I needed to get home.  So after a productive morning (read: caught up on LOST) I geared up, grabbed Groundswell, and started over to the metro.  To keep with the theme I got a little warm-up in by running the half mile to the green line.  Conveniently, while waiting for the train (7 minutes!?!? boo Saturday schedule!), bam, I had a book to read.

After the long metro ride I got in another 1.25 miles from the metro station to campus.  More than anything it was nice getting a change of scenery.  At this point I could tell things were heating up.  If you’re a die-hard follower of this blog (thanks!) you’ve probably picked up on a theme: the weather is my nemesis (although my true nemesis is Major League Baseball, but that’s neither here nor there).  I dropped off the book and was on my way again.  This is where the run actually started.

I’ve run from College Park back home once before, only getting mildly lost (despite the fact that there are literally zero turns).  There are rolling hills the whole way, which always seem more up than down.  The hills are accentuated by the 85 degree weather.  Things started off well, but my heart rate drifted skyward quickly and never seemed to come back down to Earth.  Holding steady in the mid 170s bpm I had to take a few breaks to, well, catch my breath.  I passed a few street festivals (only moderately tempted to stop) and enjoyed the new sights and sounds (and smells of some awesome looking BBQ at those festivals).  Interestingly (and maybe I should’ve taken a hint) but I didn’t see a single runner during the entire 8.5 miles.

I must say, it’s on the verge of cruel to watch the street numbers go down, block by block, for 5 miles.  43rd St, 42nd St, 41st St… until you get to First St.  But wait!  Then there’s North Capitol, and then First St. again!  And then back up until I reach the end.  Like watching the seconds tick by, only now it’s 85 degrees, your legs hurt, and each second is actually about a tenth of a mile.  Not ideal.  Overall it was a good run.  I got to see new things while crossing something off my to-do list.  Maybe I can turn my running into a useful mode of transportation a little more often.  A boy can dream.

The details:

Route

Distance: 10.32 miles (total for the trip)
Time: 1:23:43 (total for the trip)
Pace: 8:06 min/mile
Average HR 166 bpm (181 bpm max)

Hey Me, I Beat You

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For the first time in a long time (ever?) I did the same exact route on back-to-back runs with the sole intention of seeing how two separate days would compare.  The beauty of this is, no matter what happens, I win!

Of course it would be nice to do better the second time, so that I can show improvement and feel like I’m progressing.  In hindsight, though, I’m not sure how much progress would be made between Monday and Wednesday… but it was too late!  I already threw down the gauntlet… to myself!  Bring it on!

So on Monday I ran straight up Mass Ave until it hits Wisconsin (Avenue, not state.  Side Note: Did you know that the Wisconsin state motto is “Forward”?  Weak.  Here’s the reasoning: “Reflecting Wisconsin’s continuous drive to be a national leader, the state adopted “Forward” as the official state motto in 1851.”  What is Wisconsin a national leader of exactly?  Any thoughts should be left in the comments.)  From my apartment to the turn around point the elevation rises about 10,000 feet.  That’s why DC is known as 2-Mile High city (suck it Denver!).  Ok, actually it’s about 300 feet.  But it feels like 10,000 feet.  The major incline really takes place over the course of a mile.  Mental math: That’s almost a 5.7% incline! (thank you Google for your mental math).  Anyway, what you’ve all been waiting for!  The results…

Day Monday 5/11/09 Wednesday 5/13/09
Distance 5.33 miles 5.33 miles
Time 43:10 42:30
Pace 8:04 min/mile 7:58 min/mile
Average HR 160 bpm 162 bpm

Hooray!  I win!  Unfortunately I don’t get a medal (see sidebar to the right for other medals) but I do get the satisfaction that I beat the best (me)!  Anyway, what it really means is I pushed harder today than Monday, as seen by my heartrate and my perceived exertion.  But logic won’t take away the sweet taste of victory.  We’ll see how this compares when I try the same route again later on down the road.  Is that a challenge?  It is!  I better check myself before I wreck myself.  That’s enough smack talk for now.  Good day.

Friends Don’t Let Friends Run Angry

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Things were shaping up nicely on Saturday.  There was an actual gameplan, not just waiting to see what presented itself (usually sitting on the couch watching tv presents itself).  But not this Saturday!  We walked up 14th St to some shops then swung by the farmer’s market on 14 & U.  Got some bread, an apple, you know, a relaxing little Saturday.  Ev then had to go into work (sucks!), so we parted ways when the bus came.  

While walking back I decided to swing by The Bike Rack to possibly buy a cycling jersey.  I’ve been getting geared up to ride my bike for the first time in awhile now that the weather was improving and finished up a big research paper.  They didn’t have much in stock, and nothing in my size, so I left empty-handed with a new plan: Head home, change into cycling gear (minus jersey), ride out to lunch, return some books, swing by City Sports for a jersey, and then go for a longer ride.  Brilliant plan!

1) Go home: check.
I changed and headed down to the third floor of the parking garage (better known as P3 by my elevator) to grab my bike.  Walked over to where it should have been, and that’s when the plan went straight to hell.   I stood there for a second staring at the bike rack thinking if it could have been on another floor.  Then I noticed there was a gap in the row of bikes.  At the bottom of that gap there was a bike lock and the wire that loops through the frame and wheels was cut.  I continued to stare, confounded by the situation.  I bent down and even checked if my lock key fit the lock… yep.  DAMMIT!

At this point the rest of the great plan is shot.  Sparing the details, I end up back in my apartment and decide to run off some steam.  I didn’t care if I was supposed to run easy on Sunday; I didn’t care if it was 87 degrees outside; I didn’t care if the person who took my bike got hit by a bus.  (Actually, I did care.  I very much would have liked that to happen)

I started out pretty quick for the first mile (7:37 min/mile) and decided to push it harder.  The 1 mile mark is where I generally have to make the decision where the rest of my run is going to take me.  I wasn’t sure how long the total would be, but I chose to head down into Virginia, across a few bridges, and end up at Eastern Market.  It could have been 5 miles, it could have been 12.  I figured I’d just run until I got there and see what my Garmin said.

The second mile was 7:16 min/mile.  That’s when the heat started to get to me and the wheels began to fall off.  Using the anger and adrenaline to keep going, I got to mile 3 and had to stop.  My heartrate was approaching the stratosphere (metaphor for really high) and I couldn’t hold the pace.  The sun sucked any energy reserves out of me and I struggled through the rest of the run, which ended up totaling 8 miles even.

Turns out that running on emotions can lead to running on fumes.  I was completely drained afterwards, so it did its job of releasing some steam.  At this point I’ve filed a police report, submitted a claim with my insurance, and waiting to talk to my building management.  Hopefully there will be better news in the days (ha! probably months) to come.  In hindsight Ev pointed out that it’s replaceable and not the end of the world.  At the time, though… ohhhh boy.  

Thanks for letting me vent.

Ever decide to run simply because you were sad / angry / happy?  Let me hear about it in the comments!  It’ll make me feel better.

Details:

Distance: 8.00 miles
Time: 1:04:34
Pace: 8:04 min/mile
Average Heartrate: 171 bpm