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Shoes, shoes, shoes
Written by Nathan on January 14, 2009 at 6:25 pm from A Month of Resolve.
Written by Nathan on January 14, 2009 at 6:25 pm from A Month of Resolve.
From the many runners I’ve talked to there is near consensus that my pain problem stems from my shoes. I’ve heard it so many times that I’m considering upgrading for the last-half month’s efforts. I have a big run on Monday—Bush’s last full day in office—as well as a 5k at the end of my month. If new shoes will give me a shot at toppling his time, then I’ll buy a pair.
But what makes a good running shoe? Anyone have good experience or words of caution? I’ll probably pick up a pair in the next day or two, so all advice is welcome. In the meantime, I’m going to hit the bike, stretch and maybe do some light weights tonight for my ongoing preparation.
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13
Cheat codes and a victory of sorts
Written by Nathan on January 13, 2009 at 11:40 pm from A Month of Resolve.
Written by Nathan on January 13, 2009 at 11:40 pm from A Month of Resolve.
Growing up video game cheat codes were every kids’ dream. In fact, finding ways to cheat games was so popular Game Genie came along and found a way to profit from it. Well tonight I managed to beat Bush and log three miles in 16:32. Of course, it required a cheat code of sorts. I had to use a stationary bike instead of running, so the victory is bittersweet like winning Contra always was.
On the upside, riding a bike gave my legs a break. After 30 minutes on the bike I didn’t feel much pain. Afterwards, my lower legs tightened up again but the pain was minimal. I’m going to log a full night’s sleep, wake up and then take tomorrow as it comes. Running? Maybe. Biking? Possibly. Trying to beat Bush before the month is out? Definitely.
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The value of sleep
Written by Nathan on January 13, 2009 at 3:46 pm from A Month of Resolve.
Written by Nathan on January 13, 2009 at 3:46 pm from A Month of Resolve.
Though my worst pain experience was yesterday, I awoke this morning to a pain-free body. Since starting this project two weeks ago, I haven’t been free from aches in the morning once and was pleasantly surprised. What happened? I think last night may have been the first time I’ve slept for more than six hours since starting this project.
I did walk around a bit much today, and my legs are sore now, but I’m hopeful this points to a speedy recovery back to running. Bush’s last day in a week away and I want to make a concerted effort to beat his time while he’s still in office.
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12
Hope and regret, all wrapped up in a couple of miles
Written by Nathan on January 12, 2009 at 11:57 pm from A Month of Resolve.
Written by Nathan on January 12, 2009 at 11:57 pm from A Month of Resolve.
I’ve been very achy all day, and strongly considered not running as a result. This is, after all, a project about resolve manifest through trying to beat Bush’s best 3 mile time. Strictly speaking, the daily 3 miles is just my intended means to that end. I don’t need to try to beat him every day – just once during the month. But since I’ve felt better while running even over the last few days than I’ve felt even just sitting around, I reasoned myself into a run.
During my first mile I felt great. I took it easy and ran a 7:50, then decided that I had proven enough and I should take it easy. So I cut out the middle mile and set off to walk and jog home. For most of that second mile I was fine, but the last few blocks to get home were awful. In fact, they were probably some of the worst moments of motion I’ve ever experienced. My tolerance for pain is very high, but I nearly broke down to call my wife for a ride home a number of times. (It’s pathetic that it took me so much time – probably 10 minutes worth.)
After hobbling like an rehabbing old man and barely having the muscle capacity to even stand in the shower, I will take it easy tomorrow. I may do an elliptical or I may do a half an hour of pilates or yoga. But tomorrow, in my resolve to beat Bush, I will not run at all.
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12
Achilles and his various tendons
Written by Nathan on January 12, 2009 at 8:17 pm from A Month of Resolve.
Written by Nathan on January 12, 2009 at 8:17 pm from A Month of Resolve.
The story of Achilles always struck me as funny. According to Greek mythology, Achilles’ mother, Thetis, had a change to grant him near-invincibility by dipping him in the river Styx (rock!). Every submerged part of his body would become immortal, but she held him by him heel leaving him exposed to the type of attack that later proved to be his downfall.
I understand parts of Thetis’ rationale. Obviously she didn’t want his head or chest vulnerable. But the heel? That seems like a pretty risky move. Even without the constant war Achilles lived in, I’ve injured that part of my body many times. Would immortality be so delightful if you were stuck with a game ankle? Limping forever seems like it would get old, fast. Why didn’t she did just hold him from one ankle, then switch to the other? Or use some sort of cage? Even holding him by his hand would’ve made more sense. At least then he could’ve just spent eternity wearing a sweet metal fitted glove for safety.
All that to say, as I apparently seek to remake a month of resolve into a month of self-diagnosing self-inflicted injuries, now I’m wondering if my problem is really my Achilles Tendon. I suppose the silver lining to all of this is getting to find graphics like this.
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11
Slow
Written by Nathan on January 11, 2009 at 11:56 pm from A Month of Resolve.
Written by Nathan on January 11, 2009 at 11:56 pm from A Month of Resolve.
28:40. Crap.
I’ve plotted and replotted, but this loop is definitely 3 miles and I can’t figure out why it’s so much harder to run that my normal loops (which I’ve also checked and rechecked). Maybe it’s the crowning of the road, which requires lateral force to run straight and stay upright. Or perhaps it’s the older roads that offer less cushion. Or more likely it’s that my body is tired of running and it’s asking me to stop in ever-increasing firm fashion.
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10
A new way to stretch
Written by Nathan on January 10, 2009 at 10:14 pm from A Month of Resolve.
Written by Nathan on January 10, 2009 at 10:14 pm from A Month of Resolve.
I woke up to very achy legs, so I decided to take it easy this morning to give my body 36 hours for recovery. Before heading out, I went with the family to downtown St. Petersburg which may be my favorite part of Florida. (If you ever visit the area, stay here!) We had a picnic and played for an hour or two which in hindsight probably diminished the impact of my supposed recuperative run.
The weather here was surreal today—around 80°. When I finally started my miles I saw sailboats out, swimmers in the bay and so many beach volleyball games that there were groups milling about waiting for open courts. Senior citizens were in bathing suits playing bocce in the sand and there were runners everywhere. It seems like every other person was in a bathing suit or shirtless, so midway through the course I joined suit.
There are many times I don’t enjoy Florida weather, but it’s hard to argue with a day like today. I hope my body will return thanks for this break (a leisurely 1:05 for the 3 miles) in the form of healing and recuperation.
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09
The pain of getting lost
Written by Nathan on January 9, 2009 at 11:58 pm from A Month of Resolve.
Written by Nathan on January 9, 2009 at 11:58 pm from A Month of Resolve.
I ran a new course tonight while visiting my mother-in-law, which contrary to the default mother-in-law jokes, is usually a great experience. But as much fun as the trips usually are, the run was not so much fun. I took a wrong turn somewhere around the 1.5-mile mark. I didn’t particularly run the wrong distance, because St. Pete, FL uses a great grid for their roads. But I lost my sense of pace and I lost my focus and the whole experience was diminished.
Usually, in or out of pain, I enjoy these runs. I have a sense of purpose (beating Bush!) and like the scenery (my hometown!). But without my bearings, feeling lost, the miles crept by painfully. To top it off, owing to my mapped run I had a 1/10 mile cooldown walk after my last mile and it wrecked me. I spent half an hour after the run rolling around on the ground, experiencing various degrees of burning pain. A few bags of frozen vegetables later my legs are feeling mostly normal. Well, mostly normal. The muscles are still slightly cramping.
Of course even getting lost, I still finished. And I still finished in 26:45 which falls in the better side of my runs. But my splits reflect my disorientation (I think) – 8 minutes, 8:45 minutes and then 10 minutes. At least my first 1.5 miles were in 12 minutes on the dot, so perhaps when I know this course a little better I can trim down the time.
I’m still feeling good about tomorrow. Sure, I got lost and my legs hurt. But if I run tomorrow, it’ll be a course that’s no longer unfamiliar. I’ll regain my sense of direction, purpose and pace. I can’t help but find the parallels in my wife’s pregnancy, now in it’s 8th month. We haven’t done a ton of mapping, but we know the route of pregnancy pretty well with two other children. Perhaps that’s why this 9-month course has seemed to easy.
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09
Disney, distance, and driving
Written by Nathan on January 9, 2009 at 6:12 pm from A Month of Resolve.
Written by Nathan on January 9, 2009 at 6:12 pm from A Month of Resolve.
This morning my family and I went to Animal Kingdom, one of Disney Orlando theme parks (go free on your birthday this year!). My wife’s very pregnant and my foot’s sore, so the plan was to take a short trip and just hit up the best couple of rides. I found after we were in the park that this morning was Disney’s annual 5k. Tomorrow, they’re hosting a marathon.
Marathons are crazy. Well, more specifically, marathoners are crazy. I’ve done three miles every day of the month and I still haven’t run the 26 miles required to complete a marathon. That’s insane. I have very little inclination to run that sort of distance. I get so incredibly bored even running for half an hour, I can’t imagine what would hold my attention for four hours. It’s such a weird achievement too – I ran the same distance a mythic Greek figure ran! Do you know how that story ended, anyways? Pheidippides died! The marathon’s supposed originator perished after his run. There’s just no real appeal to me.
But people love comparing themselves, so I suppose the marathons maintains its popularity just for it’s commonality. Speaking of common experiences, after Disney we drove to my mother-in-law’s home which required driving through Tampa’s rush hour traffic. It’s the first time since running I’ve been in the car for a prolonged time and I can still feel the affects in my now-knotted muscles. I’m not sure who came up with commutes in the first place, but perhaps he should suffer the same fate as Pheidippides.
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08
Treadmills are far too noisy for social running
Written by Nathan on January 8, 2009 at 8:43 pm from A Month of Resolve.
Written by Nathan on January 8, 2009 at 8:43 pm from A Month of Resolve.
Today, owing to all sorts of scheduling strangeness, I had to cram in my run at the YMCA. I love the local Y—great staff, good equipment, free childcare, nice pool. I’m a happy member. But I don’t like treadmills, so I haven’t run there yet. Since I needed childcare for my daughter in order to run tonight, I had to head to the Y for my first 3-mile date with stationary running.
Treadmills are noisy, hard on my shins, and force me to obsess about my time instead of enjoying the run. In my neighborhood, I only check my time 6 or 7 times per run. But on the treadmill I can’t go a tenth of a mile without checking. The numbers are a foot from my face and I can’t get away. It’s also frustrating just how hard it is to speed up or slow down rapidly on the machines. But I was pleasantly surprised that the YMCA’s treadmills let you rapidly accelerate to any target speed with only two button clicks.
But my least favorite “feature” of a treadmill is the large “stop” button often on the handrail. For whatever reason, I tend to hit it regularly. Today, for instance, during my second mile I managed to end my run by swinging my hand into the button. In my haste to restart my run I didn’t log my distance. Fortunately I keep time on my iPhone so I know how long total I ran.
So I know how long I ran total, and how long I ran 3 miles, but I ran more than 3 miles and I don’t know precisely how much. Here’ s my breakdown: First mile in 6:50, first 1.5 miles in 12:03. Then I accidentally turned off the treadmill. I marked my time midway through the restart at 14:04.9. When I restarted the machine, I ran another 1.5 miles in 13:33. So I know I ran three miles in 25:33, but my total time on the treadmill was 27:38.
As annoying as all that was, it was nothing compared to having to run with CNN and Fox News cycling through footage of Israel’s devastation of Gaza. Do I really want war footage while I exercise? All that aside, I feel great right now. I’ve only managed 3 hours of sleep each of the last two nights (and short naps here and there), so I’m really looking forward to a run when I’m fully recharged.