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.
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