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In the vein of shameless self-promotion, I must encourage you to please click on the First Giving widget at the right and please, please, please donate just a few dollars. Your donation goes directly to Good Sports Inc. and will help me inch closer to my goal of $5,000. Even the smallest donations help! Please give me a hand in making this first Boston Marathon a reality. Thank you so much!

back again

Today was my first post-ankle injury run. It was good and it was bad. Mostly, it was uncomfortable. I remember the state I was in immediately before rolling my left ankle: my three-miles were sprints in the park, my longer runs were casual and cool. Mostly, my body felt awesome, like it hasn't felt since back in high school. Unfortunately, a lot of that changes when you're no longer able to practice. A lot of my motivation has simmered away, even after joining a remarkable team for a remarkable cause. Victim of the times? I suppose so. But anyways, I returned to the pavement with a clear mind and more than enough reasons to be enthusiastic. The run went just fine. I did the typical State House and back bit without so much as a cramp. But everything felt a little different. I ran a little slower. My muscles felt a little less toned. Good news: My ankle, thank goodness, did not hurt a bit. So I think I'm clear to proceed and will attempt to resume my training schedule as soon as possible. Wish luck.

good sports

Again, I need to apologize for my long absence. In case you don't already know, a recent injury to the ankle has served as a major setback and my training has ultimately been put on hold so that I can probably recover. I will resume running this weekend and hopefully make up for time lost over the next couple of weeks.

I am not running the half marathon.

But I have good news. I am officially running in the Boston Athletic Association's Boston Marathon on 20 April 2009. I was accepted by a team last Monday and hope to kick off some killer fundraising as soon as possible. My team is called Good Sports and is dedicated toward increasing "youth participation in sports, fitness, and recreational programs by targeting one of the major obstacles limiting participation - access to sports equipment." This is an incredible cause, especially if you've ever witnessed or experienced the benefits of an active lifestyle.

Please click here or on the widget at the right to donate. Thank you very much, and please forgive me for my lack of updates. Thanks!

like this

I'm insanely exhausted but committing to committing something to written history tonight. So here it is: I'm a demon.

I don't mean that in a bad way, unless you're in a motor vehicle which means that you should probably avoid driving near me. Not that I'll get in your way. Unlike a lot of runners/bikers/drivers/normal humans, I tend to follow traffic rules. I go when the silver-colored walking man tells me to go and I heed to the orange hand. All I'm saying is that cars have not been lucky the last two times I've been taking to the sidewalk. I've witnessed accidents - car-on-car collisions - and I don't like that. It makes me nervous. But I have to shake it off and keep running. That's all there is.

Other unfortunate news: I experienced a positively debilitating cramp during tonight's run. I expected it; I had pasta, an apple, pretzels and a lot of "Neon Worms" for lunch. Those worms were not a good idea. But I couldn't stop. Shortly after reaching the Hynes Convention Center, it felt like someone stuck a knife through me and my pace was immediately cut in half. Fought through it, for the most part. I walked about 10 feet when it became exceptionally excruciating, but soon returned to normal pace. I wish I understood cramps better and how to better cope while running. If you're a cramp master, please enlighten. Otherwise, let's suffer together.

Everything else was great. Sunday's 6-mile featured an assortment of uphills and downhills, Brookline and Jamaica Plain. I saw some of the same runners multiple times and almost ran into this woman because she wasn't watching where she was going. Watch where you're going. I'm not sure what I listened to, but it might've been Radiohead. Definitely finished with Kanye. Tonight was another Girl Talk excursion. The highlight was "Like This," which I bumped while running down Commonwealth Avenue alone in the dark. This girl was rocking out or something. Since I have no shame, I committed to raising the roof with my left arm, while clutching my iPod in my right. The runner's high at the end of that was glorious. Cramp = forgotten.

in case you were wondering

Cait and I are still alive and well. Actually, we're both slightly more alive than we are well, as we both suffered from something of a cold this past week. (Yes, shortly after Cait published her previous post describing her ailments, I began to experience similar symptoms. We're mostly better now.) This put a slight damper on my training because there are few things less enjoyable than plowing through a 5-mile while unable to breathe. So I kept at it with the shorter runs and trimmed down some of the longer ones, all while pumping my nasal passages with decongestant. I anticipate a full recovery by tomorrow.

Now while I'm listing excuses for why I've potentially fallen behind in my training, let me tell you why I've also fallen behind in my posting. I'm going to go right ahead and blame it on my other blog, "Lollipops & Crisps." (See screenshot.) While my updating in that blog is semi-frequent at best, it's notably more consistent than my work in this one. I apologize, but L&C is for class and "class comes first" is a policy I live by. But hey! Here I am, and posting, so give me some semblance of love.

Now let's take a look at something that popped up in Christine Luff's About.com running blog. Last Friday, she wrote a little piece on the way music affects exercise titled, "Study: Listening to Music Increases Endurance." I think this brings an interesting perspective to counter Cait's from two posts ago. While Luff emphasizes the importance of listening with care while running outdoors (please turn the volume down or remove one earbud), she does highlight a fact discovered at London's Brunel University: music can increase one's endurance by 15 percent. According to the study, music affects the mood of runners, helping them remain positive. While this certainly depends on the music, I tend to agree with what they're saying. A poll to the right of the article asks visitors: "Does music help you run longer?" Out of the 75 responses, including one from yours truly, 70 percent chose the response: "Absolutely," 9 percent said "Sometimes," and the remaining 20 percent do not listen to music while running.

Below the article, Luff presents links to a series of recommended playlists for runners who desire certain soundtracks to their exercise. These lists, also compiled by Luff, include genres like Top 40, hip-hop and power songs. Several of the songs, including Kanye's "Stronger," are staples in my running playlists. And I've tried to use my Genius Sidebar to combine similarly inspiring tracks, all to no avail. So I guess I'm going to open this up: any suggestions for running music? Music for a long, slow jog? How about for a short, quick run? I'm willing to purchase, so don't you even hold back.