Every time I enter my apartment, I'm completely soaked. Just now, it was from biking home from work in the torrential downpour. Earlier, it was from exercising in extreme humidity.
I kicked off my day by ingesting some tofu then heading over to Marathon Sports on Boylston Street. We talked feet for quite some time. Arches. Support. Give. Rubbing. Tightness. Arthritis. Socks. All the essentials. I tried on a good five or six pairs. Most of them had one or two endearing qualities. The Adidas had incredible technology but pressed too hard on my arthritis. The Mizunos were both attractive and unique, but felt like they could fall off my foot at any moment. After giving the top choices a literal run for their money, I settled on some Sauconys. Of course I did. I've been running in Saucony shoes for years because they give me the support I need and they keep my arches happy.
So I took my new kicks for an inaugural run. I was dripping sweat before I even finished with the warmup. Dripping. The heat and humidity were unbelievable. I listened to "The Eraser" and did the run I intended to achieve last night: quick and easy to the State House and back. It went pretty well I think. The shoes worked out wonderfully for me and my arthritis was less troublesome. Slightly troublesome: the fact that I bumped into the guy who sold me the shoes while I was jogging/sweating bullets on Commonwealth Avenue. I'm not even kidding. I have never sweated that hard in my entire life. Ever. So I walked it off while making my way toward Marino. Some freshman crap was taking place in the quad and I briefly wanted to sob, but then I saw the table with free lemonade. I guess even freshman orientation has its perks. Ergh... At Marino I did my first weight workout in years. And it was extremely shortlived. I just worked my way through some lower body stuff, then cooled down on a treadmill.
I arrived home looking like I had gone swimming. No joke.
06 September 2008
this is the story of my red right ankle
Cait apologizes for her absence. She does not have internet at her apartment - or an apartment, really - and consequently finds it more difficult to post. I, on the other hand, am ethernetting it up real hard in my new digs.
And what you need to know right now is: less than two weeks into my training, I have encountered a serious problem. Those of you who know anything about my feet are aware that my right one has a less-than-flattering bump. I've been rocking it for a while now. Earlier this summer, I went to the foot doctor and had it examined via X-ray and otherwise. It was concluded that I have a rather mild case of osteoarthritis and that it does not need to be dealt with unless it becomes a problem. This was good news at the time: it meant that I would not need imminent surgery and that I could potentially fulfill my dream of running the marathon in 2009. Surgery, on the other hand, would have knocked me off my feet for weeks if not months and I would be hesitant to put the kind of grueling pressure on it endured during extensive running.
And the bump has not been a problem. The most recent dilemma I had with it was after walking miles upon miles in Copenhagen. My muscles throbbed and the bump caused severe discomfort. My foot simply could not take it any more and I had to go home early. I felt fine the next morning. Again, that was the last problem I had with it, until tonight. Cait and I went out to dinner with Megan and Mary Ann, then hung out for a while waiting for our food to digest. Once we had reached a satisfactory level of digestion, the two of us embarked on a quick run to the State House and back. It was going wonderfully. We stretched in the Christian Science Center grass, after I got my groove on real hard to Radiohead's "Bodysnatchers." Then we made our way down Boylston Steet. Some time after passing 500 Boylston, my right foot delivered the bad news. Bones rubbing together. Too much. Too hard. Too little cushion. And it frustrated me immensely because I had just slipped into the right running pattern. The rest of my body felt awesome and I was good to go. After a minute or two of suffering, I informed Cait of my pain, asking her if it would be OK to cut the run short. We turned at the Public Garden, hoping to make our way back to Mass Ave via Commonwealth. But my foot was too much to handle and I was forced to call it a night.
Imagine the frustration. I wanted to rage. I wanted to cry. If my foot does not get back in gear, then I physically can not run this marathon. And I don't even want to think about that this early in the game. I'm too excited about accomplishing this. But I also don't want to cause irreparable damage to my body. Yes, weight loss is fine. Muslces are acceptable. Sleeping better at night is also fine by me. But bone damage and the inability to walk comfortably is not really my beat.
So I'm going to do something I should have done days ago, when my toenails began to turn purple. I'm going to buy some new shoes immediately. Tomorrow morning, rather. No, they can't cure my arthritis, but they can improve the overall situation and hopefully provide some more support for my limbs. Please let this work out for me.
And what you need to know right now is: less than two weeks into my training, I have encountered a serious problem. Those of you who know anything about my feet are aware that my right one has a less-than-flattering bump. I've been rocking it for a while now. Earlier this summer, I went to the foot doctor and had it examined via X-ray and otherwise. It was concluded that I have a rather mild case of osteoarthritis and that it does not need to be dealt with unless it becomes a problem. This was good news at the time: it meant that I would not need imminent surgery and that I could potentially fulfill my dream of running the marathon in 2009. Surgery, on the other hand, would have knocked me off my feet for weeks if not months and I would be hesitant to put the kind of grueling pressure on it endured during extensive running.
And the bump has not been a problem. The most recent dilemma I had with it was after walking miles upon miles in Copenhagen. My muscles throbbed and the bump caused severe discomfort. My foot simply could not take it any more and I had to go home early. I felt fine the next morning. Again, that was the last problem I had with it, until tonight. Cait and I went out to dinner with Megan and Mary Ann, then hung out for a while waiting for our food to digest. Once we had reached a satisfactory level of digestion, the two of us embarked on a quick run to the State House and back. It was going wonderfully. We stretched in the Christian Science Center grass, after I got my groove on real hard to Radiohead's "Bodysnatchers." Then we made our way down Boylston Steet. Some time after passing 500 Boylston, my right foot delivered the bad news. Bones rubbing together. Too much. Too hard. Too little cushion. And it frustrated me immensely because I had just slipped into the right running pattern. The rest of my body felt awesome and I was good to go. After a minute or two of suffering, I informed Cait of my pain, asking her if it would be OK to cut the run short. We turned at the Public Garden, hoping to make our way back to Mass Ave via Commonwealth. But my foot was too much to handle and I was forced to call it a night.
Imagine the frustration. I wanted to rage. I wanted to cry. If my foot does not get back in gear, then I physically can not run this marathon. And I don't even want to think about that this early in the game. I'm too excited about accomplishing this. But I also don't want to cause irreparable damage to my body. Yes, weight loss is fine. Muslces are acceptable. Sleeping better at night is also fine by me. But bone damage and the inability to walk comfortably is not really my beat.
So I'm going to do something I should have done days ago, when my toenails began to turn purple. I'm going to buy some new shoes immediately. Tomorrow morning, rather. No, they can't cure my arthritis, but they can improve the overall situation and hopefully provide some more support for my limbs. Please let this work out for me.
03 September 2008
my tongue's the only muscle on my body that works harder than my heart
Let's consider this morning step 3. Step 1 was deciding to run the marathon. Step 2 was starting training. Step 3 is figuring our registration and actually applying to charities. Turns out this morning's registration was strictly for qualified runners, which Cait and I are not. But the good news is that applications for several of the charities were released so we had the opportunity to tap into those.
Step 2 has been the most interesting and challenging so far. Last night, the two of us took over one of Wentworth's quads where Cait busted out some of her old track exercises. It was good to mix up the jogging with some good old speed workouts. It was also nice to get in touch with some muscles that I don't usually use while running. We followed these exercises with some stairs, which will always freak me out a lot. I don't know what it is, but I always feel like I am going to go tumbling down stairs and land on my ankle. Maybe it's because I've done that several times before, particularly when I went to Westfield High School. Regardless, we got those stairs did then we cooled off. For whatever reason, my arms were killing me. This makes little sense because we did absolutely no arm exercises during any part of the workout. Weird. Then today I faced the scorching sun to pump out a 5.5 mile run along the Charles. It was nice to be surrounded by serious runners. One guy ran backwards faster than I run forward. Umm... And this other guy paced himself to me which made me feel pretty good about my speed. Mostly, everyone looked good and I felt great.
I would have felt better if I had appropriate runner attire on. This is something I need to remedy sooner rather than later. Fractions of my next pay check or two will need to be dedicated to expanding my running wardrobe. RIght now, I'm jogging in baggy T-shirts and this one pair of shorts that actually fits correctly. I need more shorts, spandex shirts, pants and basically anything that doesn't make me feel like I'm running in a pile of my own sweat. I also need some new sneakers. My feet have absolutely had it with my old ones. And by "had it," I mean that my toenails look like they're going to fall off any day now. Which would be inconvenient.
Step 2 has been the most interesting and challenging so far. Last night, the two of us took over one of Wentworth's quads where Cait busted out some of her old track exercises. It was good to mix up the jogging with some good old speed workouts. It was also nice to get in touch with some muscles that I don't usually use while running. We followed these exercises with some stairs, which will always freak me out a lot. I don't know what it is, but I always feel like I am going to go tumbling down stairs and land on my ankle. Maybe it's because I've done that several times before, particularly when I went to Westfield High School. Regardless, we got those stairs did then we cooled off. For whatever reason, my arms were killing me. This makes little sense because we did absolutely no arm exercises during any part of the workout. Weird. Then today I faced the scorching sun to pump out a 5.5 mile run along the Charles. It was nice to be surrounded by serious runners. One guy ran backwards faster than I run forward. Umm... And this other guy paced himself to me which made me feel pretty good about my speed. Mostly, everyone looked good and I felt great.
I would have felt better if I had appropriate runner attire on. This is something I need to remedy sooner rather than later. Fractions of my next pay check or two will need to be dedicated to expanding my running wardrobe. RIght now, I'm jogging in baggy T-shirts and this one pair of shorts that actually fits correctly. I need more shorts, spandex shirts, pants and basically anything that doesn't make me feel like I'm running in a pile of my own sweat. I also need some new sneakers. My feet have absolutely had it with my old ones. And by "had it," I mean that my toenails look like they're going to fall off any day now. Which would be inconvenient.
01 September 2008
15 steps, then a sheer drop
Last night, I went to bed expecting to feel positively abominable this morning. Positively atrocious. So I stretched it out and prepared my mind for the worst. I woke up at 10 a.m. feeling just fine. Well, fine except for the fact that I had just endured a painfully realistic dream that one of my favorite guitarists died (turns out he's still alive and well). Absolutely no part of my body was sore. Not my legs, my arms, my neck, my anything.
This came as a shock because Cait and I worked it pretty hard last night. We ran from Northeastern, up Huntington Avenue and then up Massachusetts Avenue to the Mass Ave bridge where we stretched it out. Despite the brevity of this warm up, my heart rate was still all over the place. I blame the music. Remind me in the future to create a playlist with consistent upbeat jams. We then polished off a run to and from Harvard that clocked in at just under 8 miles total. This is the longest run I have done in quite some time and I paced us for such. I spaced out pretty hard to all of "Kid A" - OK, I skipped "Morning Bell," "Treefingers" and "How to Disappear Completely" - then tapped into the beginning of "In Rainbows." Maybe it's strange that I listen to Radiohead while running, but their music is exactly what I want to hear always so it only makes sense. And "Kid A" has this hypnotizing quality that makes it well-suited for longer runs. It was lovely.
And none of this is to say that I was not exhausted after the run. I certainly was. Cait and I downed some Vitamin Water like it was Jesus, while discussing our workout plan for the week. My legs felt like lead, but most of me was pretty excited to get my exercise on really hard over the next six days. Today is a rest day, despite both of us feeling totally fine after last night. Tomorrow we're going to do a shorter, quicker run and a lot of track exercises. Then I'm going to get up bright and early to see what kind of registration I can do on the marathon's website. I'm not sure if Wednesday's registration is strictly for qualified runners or if it includes those partaking in charity. Regardless, the applications for most of the charities will be released on or around that day so that should start getting exciting.
In other running news, Cait and I are hoping to partake in Northeastern's first "Big Dog 5K" along the Esplanade on September 20. I don't plan to be remotely competetive, since I'm sure there are tons of runners who have been running a lot more frequently and for a lot longer than I have, but I think it should be fun. It's considerably shorter than I'm used to running, which could be interesting or terrible. We'll see.
This came as a shock because Cait and I worked it pretty hard last night. We ran from Northeastern, up Huntington Avenue and then up Massachusetts Avenue to the Mass Ave bridge where we stretched it out. Despite the brevity of this warm up, my heart rate was still all over the place. I blame the music. Remind me in the future to create a playlist with consistent upbeat jams. We then polished off a run to and from Harvard that clocked in at just under 8 miles total. This is the longest run I have done in quite some time and I paced us for such. I spaced out pretty hard to all of "Kid A" - OK, I skipped "Morning Bell," "Treefingers" and "How to Disappear Completely" - then tapped into the beginning of "In Rainbows." Maybe it's strange that I listen to Radiohead while running, but their music is exactly what I want to hear always so it only makes sense. And "Kid A" has this hypnotizing quality that makes it well-suited for longer runs. It was lovely.
And none of this is to say that I was not exhausted after the run. I certainly was. Cait and I downed some Vitamin Water like it was Jesus, while discussing our workout plan for the week. My legs felt like lead, but most of me was pretty excited to get my exercise on really hard over the next six days. Today is a rest day, despite both of us feeling totally fine after last night. Tomorrow we're going to do a shorter, quicker run and a lot of track exercises. Then I'm going to get up bright and early to see what kind of registration I can do on the marathon's website. I'm not sure if Wednesday's registration is strictly for qualified runners or if it includes those partaking in charity. Regardless, the applications for most of the charities will be released on or around that day so that should start getting exciting.
In other running news, Cait and I are hoping to partake in Northeastern's first "Big Dog 5K" along the Esplanade on September 20. I don't plan to be remotely competetive, since I'm sure there are tons of runners who have been running a lot more frequently and for a lot longer than I have, but I think it should be fun. It's considerably shorter than I'm used to running, which could be interesting or terrible. We'll see.
drove through ghosts to get here
The 8 mile run last night felt surprisingly good. In all honesty, I was expecting a struggle to make it any mile past mile number 4, but the run felt easy. Julie and I met up on campus, although there was some meet up location confusion. I should also mention that we met up for our run after 10 p.m. On a Sunday night. That's dedication right there.
We ran up to the Mass Ave bridge, which was about a mile out from out starting point and stopped to stretch it out. I always feel terrible while running the first mile. I had started getting into what I call the "warm zone." It's the point at which I finally feel like a runner and find my rhythm because my muscles are warm and loose. Once I got to that point last night, I went into autopilot mode and just kept the same pace the entire run. I felt like a running machine.
For the duration of the run, I listened to 65daysofstatic's One Time for All Time. I don't what it is about 65, but whenever I listen to them, my focus increases by a factor of at least 5. I usually listen to something upbeat (i.e. Girl Talk, almost exclusively), but I knew I needed to pace myself for this run. Turns out I chose correctly.
The last surprising thing about this run is that I'm not sore this morning. I have no doubt I will feel it tomorrow morning though. It's always the day after the day after.
We ran up to the Mass Ave bridge, which was about a mile out from out starting point and stopped to stretch it out. I always feel terrible while running the first mile. I had started getting into what I call the "warm zone." It's the point at which I finally feel like a runner and find my rhythm because my muscles are warm and loose. Once I got to that point last night, I went into autopilot mode and just kept the same pace the entire run. I felt like a running machine.
For the duration of the run, I listened to 65daysofstatic's One Time for All Time. I don't what it is about 65, but whenever I listen to them, my focus increases by a factor of at least 5. I usually listen to something upbeat (i.e. Girl Talk, almost exclusively), but I knew I needed to pace myself for this run. Turns out I chose correctly.
The last surprising thing about this run is that I'm not sore this morning. I have no doubt I will feel it tomorrow morning though. It's always the day after the day after.
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