I don't quite know what to say about today's run. So why am I writing? I suspect it's to go back to the old days when this blog was young, and complain about my fitness and my aches and pains. Sound like fun? Yep.
When I started today I didn't feel good. I felt tight and sore. I did a really intense run yesterday. Not long, but I went fast, by my current standard. Today was supposed to be some LSD. (L being very relative. I'm not really running long distances right now. Everything I run these days is slow, though, so I guess I should just say today was going to be some SD.) Anyway, after yesterday, I felt bad. Even after 2 or 3 miles, I still felt bad. So I cut it short. Even shorter than it would have been.
And the real reason I'm writing now is that I have a hurting toenail. That may not sound like much, but whenever any part of my feet hurts it is a problem. One thing running does require, after all, is feet. I haven't had toenail problems since some of my 18-20 mile runs back in the day. Now even though I'm not doing anything like those distances I've got a bruised toenail. Bummer.
One reason it's a bummer is that there's nothing I know of that you can do about it. Even listening to Christmas music, as I am right now doesn't help. (I'm listening quietly, because Christie is trying to nap before she goes to work. Talk about a bummer.... Christie has to be at work for the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift tonight. Thanksgiving night. And I'm complaining about a toenail!)
So I'll go out for a run again tomorrow and see if I feel better, and see if the toe is going to be a real problem rather than just a nuisance. I'll let you know how it goes.
Before I go, I want to give you one piece of advice. If you play Word Feud, don't do it with a random playing board. I'm in a game right now, and it's worked out great for me, because I've had a 142 point word and a 204 point word. The random board lined up a couple of triple word score spots side by side in several places on the board. I was able to use some of those. Sure, it's fun to get big scores and win (I'm at 580 points right now, with 31 tiles remaining), but it's not as fun as playing with a traditional board.
Oh, and one more thing. This time of year at White Rock Lake has got one major disadvantage. It's bird poop time. Especially in the northwest corner just where Lawther goes from divided to two-way. I got pooped on today. And it always smells terrible. I hate inhaling bird poop air.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Thoughts on a cool (but hot) day....
Just did my first run in almost a month. Had a pulled hamstring, and then did something to my back that had me walking leaned forward about 20 degrees. If you've ever hurt your back, you know what I mean.
So I went out today, and was reminded of quite a few things that taking a month off caused me to notice. Here's a list of at least some of them:
1) Horses are big, powerful beasts. I'd love to ride sometime.
2) I hate some of the machinery I see out there at the lake. Specifically, recumbent bikes and those things that have a v-shaped base and a tall upright in front to grip, and you lean one direction and then the other to drive yourself forward. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, sorry. I never claimed to be a good descriptive writer.) Why do I hate those things? Because they remind me how prejudiced I am. Both recumbents and those "V" things are perfectly good ways to exercise. Arguably even better than my running, overall health-wise, because they are lower impact. Yet when I see them I have an immediate, but unjustified and shameful, feeling of smugness, as if I am somehow tougher or better than them. Silly.
3) Bikers and runners are equally rude on the trail and on the road.
4) Being unfit (remember, I just took a month off) makes even a slow 4 mile run seem hard. There was a time when I thought "just" running 4 miles was little more than a waste of time. Of course, it's not a waste. Anything is better than nothing.
5) There's no shame in being slow. The important thing is being out there doing something. The only thing to be ashamed of is not doing what you can to improve your fitness -- whatever that means for you in your situation.
6) I need to keep a piece of paper and pen in my car so I can write down all the things I think of while I'm running so I don't forget them, as I'm doing now. I usually have that, but didn't today for some reason.
(I love the Smithsonian Institution. Their collections of classic jazz and blues and country, etc. are really great. Listening to blues right now. Son House, Lightnin' Hopkins, Big Bill Broonzy, and a bunch more. Fabulous stuff!)
7) Even a reasonably cool day becomes a hot day when you run.
8) Running is fun.
9) (I probably shouldn't write this.) I think running somehow releases testosterone or something like that. I sometimes have these kinda weird violent thoughts when I'm running. Like, for example, today a cyclist refused to move over when coming toward me. I was already right on the edge of the road, so I couldn't easily move over any more. He almost brushed my shoulder. A real tool. After he went by I had an involuntary moment of -- I don't know what else to call it -- rage. I saw myself sticking a stick in his spokes, stomping his bike's drivetrain and then throwing his bike in the lake. When I "woke up" a few hundred yards later, I realized I was running a full minute and a half faster pace than I had been before the bike guy went by. I remember reading once how Lance Armstrong would motivate himself with anger. (It's my impression that he was angry a lot anyway.) I understand what that means. Adrenalin, fight-or-flight, all those things relating to the physiology of anger make sense to me.
10) Once you take a long break, it's easier to rationalize not going out there "one more time." I'd been off a long time already, and I know regaining a reasonable degree of fitness is going to be a long haul. So it's easy to say to myself, "I'll just wait one more day. My back will feel even better after another day or two, so I'll just wait a little longer." Something about a long break is de-motivating to get restarted.
11) I still don't want to try running with earbuds and music.
12) Probably all dog owners love their dogs, but Golden Retrievers really are the most attractive dogs out there. I REALLY hope when Abbey's 6 weeks are up, she has better stamina than she had before her treatment. The vet is cautiously optimistic that she will.
I *think* there were quite a few other things I thought about today, but I've forgotten them. And that's enough for this post anyway.
So I went out today, and was reminded of quite a few things that taking a month off caused me to notice. Here's a list of at least some of them:
1) Horses are big, powerful beasts. I'd love to ride sometime.
2) I hate some of the machinery I see out there at the lake. Specifically, recumbent bikes and those things that have a v-shaped base and a tall upright in front to grip, and you lean one direction and then the other to drive yourself forward. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, sorry. I never claimed to be a good descriptive writer.) Why do I hate those things? Because they remind me how prejudiced I am. Both recumbents and those "V" things are perfectly good ways to exercise. Arguably even better than my running, overall health-wise, because they are lower impact. Yet when I see them I have an immediate, but unjustified and shameful, feeling of smugness, as if I am somehow tougher or better than them. Silly.
3) Bikers and runners are equally rude on the trail and on the road.
4) Being unfit (remember, I just took a month off) makes even a slow 4 mile run seem hard. There was a time when I thought "just" running 4 miles was little more than a waste of time. Of course, it's not a waste. Anything is better than nothing.
5) There's no shame in being slow. The important thing is being out there doing something. The only thing to be ashamed of is not doing what you can to improve your fitness -- whatever that means for you in your situation.
6) I need to keep a piece of paper and pen in my car so I can write down all the things I think of while I'm running so I don't forget them, as I'm doing now. I usually have that, but didn't today for some reason.
(I love the Smithsonian Institution. Their collections of classic jazz and blues and country, etc. are really great. Listening to blues right now. Son House, Lightnin' Hopkins, Big Bill Broonzy, and a bunch more. Fabulous stuff!)
7) Even a reasonably cool day becomes a hot day when you run.
8) Running is fun.
9) (I probably shouldn't write this.) I think running somehow releases testosterone or something like that. I sometimes have these kinda weird violent thoughts when I'm running. Like, for example, today a cyclist refused to move over when coming toward me. I was already right on the edge of the road, so I couldn't easily move over any more. He almost brushed my shoulder. A real tool. After he went by I had an involuntary moment of -- I don't know what else to call it -- rage. I saw myself sticking a stick in his spokes, stomping his bike's drivetrain and then throwing his bike in the lake. When I "woke up" a few hundred yards later, I realized I was running a full minute and a half faster pace than I had been before the bike guy went by. I remember reading once how Lance Armstrong would motivate himself with anger. (It's my impression that he was angry a lot anyway.) I understand what that means. Adrenalin, fight-or-flight, all those things relating to the physiology of anger make sense to me.
10) Once you take a long break, it's easier to rationalize not going out there "one more time." I'd been off a long time already, and I know regaining a reasonable degree of fitness is going to be a long haul. So it's easy to say to myself, "I'll just wait one more day. My back will feel even better after another day or two, so I'll just wait a little longer." Something about a long break is de-motivating to get restarted.
11) I still don't want to try running with earbuds and music.
12) Probably all dog owners love their dogs, but Golden Retrievers really are the most attractive dogs out there. I REALLY hope when Abbey's 6 weeks are up, she has better stamina than she had before her treatment. The vet is cautiously optimistic that she will.
I *think* there were quite a few other things I thought about today, but I've forgotten them. And that's enough for this post anyway.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Cold Running
No, I'm not talking about Jamaican bobsledders. It's cool weather here in Dallas, and my latest runs were reminders of lessons learned and nearly forgotten over the hot summer (and spring and fall). Here are a few things for me to remember, in no particular order:
-- It's easy to be lulled into forgetting you are running with the wind, until you turn around. Obviously, running into the wind is a lot harder and colder. Be ready for the shock.
-- Cold weather seems to be more conducive to mentally solving the world's problems. After a long run, make me king of the world and I would usher in a millennium of peace and happiness for all. Pax Patricka. Heat drives those thoughts out of my mind.
-- Dogs love the cold. (I don't know at what temperature I should put Abbey's sweater on her when we go for a run. 20? 30? 40? I suspect that she warms up while running just as I do, and that a sweater when it's too warm for it would be uncomfortable. But what's the temperature?)
-- Even for us humans, it's very easy to overdress. Sweat = wet = cold = even potentially dangerous.
-- It's easy to anthropomorphize our animal companions. I'm not sure we really know exactly how they experience things like pain and cold. Obviously, they feel pain and cold. In what way do they "know" it? I can't say. People have researched this, and I read something interesting about it once. I will, however, err on the side of assuming they feel it roughly the same way I do. That way I know I'm safe. I think.
-- Other runners and cyclists seem frequently to be friendlier in the cold. Perhaps it's just that there are fewer of us, and we are all feeling insufferably smug about being out in the cold when all the other wimps couldn't hack it!
-- I need some waterproof running shoes for snow days.
-- You still need to drink in cold weather, even though you don't seem to need to. Couple that with the fact that outdoor water fountains may be turned off, and prep is needed.
-- Clif's Crisp Apple electrolyte drink is great hot.
-- My insulated Polar water bottle works great in the cold, keeping hot drinks warm, at least for a while.
-- I am reminded that I always wonder why people run with earbuds in their ears. Not having tried it, I'm not passing judgment on anyone, but I enjoy the total experience -- sights, smells, sounds -- so much that I believe listening to music would seriously detract. A sizable minority clearly disagrees with me on that.
-- The sun is warm.
-- Arm warmers and my Mountain Hardwear "Mighty Power 3/4 Tights" (No, I did not make up the name. And no, you don't want to see me wearing tights. They are extremely functional, though.) are the greatest.
-- I'm not sure, but I'm beginning to think that on balance I disapprove of Wikileaks and Assange.
-- No doubt that I love my new (1st run with it today) Garmin 310xt HRM. Much cooler than the 305.
And that's it for now. Except to say that I've really enjoyed listening to The Witch's Garden, by Abandoned Toys.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Here for my semi-annual post
This is a bit strange. I came here just wanting to dash off a few words about running and a couple of other things that have been occupying my thoughts lately. When I arrived, though, all these opportunities jumped out at me! I could add linking widgets at the bottom of my page, for all those people who have been chomping at the bit immediately to distribute my wisdom via Twitter, Facebook and all the other new arbiters of social interaction. So I did it!
Then, even better, I could Monetize my blog. Monetize? My blog? As if the readers of my blog, in their vast numbers, would make this a side biz for me. So, what the heck. Now (until I decide it's too obnoxious --probably the next time I visit the blog) my fans will have the opportunity to click through to -- I don't know what -- and make me a fortune.
And now that I've spent all the time to set up that foolishness, my budgeted time for posting has expired. I'll try to get back to it later today. Just as a teaser, though, I'll tell you it has to do with running, alternative therapies and positive thinking. It's sure to be thought-provoking and compellingly written. I promise.
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