A few weeks ago I opted to back off on my running 1. to give my body a break, and 2. to taper for the Dorchester half marathon. The race follows the Eagleman run course so it would be a good opportunity to check out if I want to do Eagleman on a charity slot.
I did not plan on it pouring enough to float an ark on. Dorchester is a good hour and a half away, from both here and really anything (sorry Dorchester, but seriously).
Driving 1.5 hours in the pouring rain to run 2.5 hours in the rain then drive 1.5 hours back in the pouring rain sounded … not fun. And like a good opportunity to get bronchitis to go with my tonsilitis.
I chose French toast instead.
This week was filled with an emotional rollercoaster and not enough ice cream. I did actually buy the single serve kind this time so if I want to eat 500 of ice cream in one serving I at least have to run the stairs a few times. Drama at work and the potential for having to job search made me a little crazy.
Saturday was the tri club bricknic and I was sorry to miss it, but personal life won this round. I had intentions of running the Clyde’s 10K this morning, but the impending emotional meltdown hit and I spent the morning watching 90210 instead.
Eventually I’ll get around to running so I can keep my sanity.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
You’ll go blind!
If I had a dollar for every time I heard that.
Friday I had my second swim lesson, where I learned that having boobs does not in fact help you breast stroke. Kind of gets in the way, actually. I also learned that breaststroke seems to make my goggles leak more than freestyle, and I almost lost my right contact once.
I struggled with said contact all weekend. Sunday I got annoyed and threw it away, the left one got to stay in.
Monday, I put a new contact in, but something wasn’t quite right. Left side, fine. Right side, kind of fuzzy. Double checked the prescription, it was the same as the other one. I managed to drive to work. Threw it away in case it was just a weird one. New contact not better. Tried it in other eye, right eye still weird. I lived with the funky vision for about an hour before I gave in and called the eye doctor. Dealing with it gave me the worst headache all day.
Woke up today and my vision was fine, but I was overdue for my eye appointment anyways. Somehow I remembered not to put on mascara. Mentioned to technician that I’m swimming. I was chastised for not bringing glasses, and then again for not owning glasses. My job has vision benefits but good luck trying to get a claim filled.
A few drops in the eyes to make me look like a blinky Anime character and then back to the waiting room. Meanwhile, inexplicably, the fire alarm went off. The fire department showed up with two trucks and everything. According to the old ladies in the waiting room, the firemen (they were all men) were hot. I can’t vouch for this since my pupils were the size of dinner plates, but I have it on good authority.
Then I got to see the doctor where I was told that wearing my contact overnight was bad, and I needed to get glasses and clean my contacts overnight. Then he recommended that I not wear my contacts while swimming and that contacts are like sponges that soak up all the nastiness and hold it next to your eye. He gave me a prescription which I was supposed to use to get prescription goggles, which I planned on getting filled the 10th of Never. I must have had the "I’m totally feeding these lima beans to the dog the second your back is turned" look, because then I got a prescription for daily disposable contacts to wear while swimming. He also said something about increasing my chances of getting a corneal infection by like 20 times, but by that point I was thinking about cupcakes.
Friday I had my second swim lesson, where I learned that having boobs does not in fact help you breast stroke. Kind of gets in the way, actually. I also learned that breaststroke seems to make my goggles leak more than freestyle, and I almost lost my right contact once.
I struggled with said contact all weekend. Sunday I got annoyed and threw it away, the left one got to stay in.
Monday, I put a new contact in, but something wasn’t quite right. Left side, fine. Right side, kind of fuzzy. Double checked the prescription, it was the same as the other one. I managed to drive to work. Threw it away in case it was just a weird one. New contact not better. Tried it in other eye, right eye still weird. I lived with the funky vision for about an hour before I gave in and called the eye doctor. Dealing with it gave me the worst headache all day.
Woke up today and my vision was fine, but I was overdue for my eye appointment anyways. Somehow I remembered not to put on mascara. Mentioned to technician that I’m swimming. I was chastised for not bringing glasses, and then again for not owning glasses. My job has vision benefits but good luck trying to get a claim filled.
A few drops in the eyes to make me look like a blinky Anime character and then back to the waiting room. Meanwhile, inexplicably, the fire alarm went off. The fire department showed up with two trucks and everything. According to the old ladies in the waiting room, the firemen (they were all men) were hot. I can’t vouch for this since my pupils were the size of dinner plates, but I have it on good authority.
Then I got to see the doctor where I was told that wearing my contact overnight was bad, and I needed to get glasses and clean my contacts overnight. Then he recommended that I not wear my contacts while swimming and that contacts are like sponges that soak up all the nastiness and hold it next to your eye. He gave me a prescription which I was supposed to use to get prescription goggles, which I planned on getting filled the 10th of Never. I must have had the "I’m totally feeding these lima beans to the dog the second your back is turned" look, because then I got a prescription for daily disposable contacts to wear while swimming. He also said something about increasing my chances of getting a corneal infection by like 20 times, but by that point I was thinking about cupcakes.
Opening Day
Crew started today.
I didn’t get up at 4am.
I didn’t drive to the boathouse.
I didn’t watch a 20 year old safety video from when they still had wooden paddles that could be used for flotation devices.
I didn’t take an erg test.
I didn’t Simple Green the boat.
I didn’t do all these things before dawn.
Because I’m not rowing this year.
I knew rowing for my own team (snicker) would be a bridge too far.
Annapolis has a Sunday recreational rowing program I considered, but they had a weird volunteer requirement and I like my lazy Sundays.
I’m already thinking next year will be a crew year with triathlon taking the background.
Maybe.
I didn’t get up at 4am.
I didn’t drive to the boathouse.
I didn’t watch a 20 year old safety video from when they still had wooden paddles that could be used for flotation devices.
I didn’t take an erg test.
I didn’t Simple Green the boat.
I didn’t do all these things before dawn.
Because I’m not rowing this year.
I knew rowing for my own team (snicker) would be a bridge too far.
Annapolis has a Sunday recreational rowing program I considered, but they had a weird volunteer requirement and I like my lazy Sundays.
I’m already thinking next year will be a crew year with triathlon taking the background.
Maybe.
I came, I swam, I conquered
I finally accepted that I am not going to be capable of swimming the IM swim leg unless I get serious help. So I signed up for an endurance lap swimming class through Parks and Recreation.
No, my swim instructor is not Amy Poehler. Although that would be awesome.
The first night there was only one other girl there, did I mention my class is at 8pm on Friday nights? I always forget that while I suck at swimming by competitive standards, I’m actually decent compared to the average American. It was nice for once not to be the worst person in the pool. And it was really, really nice to be able to comfortably complete the drills.
The other girl was really nice and I like her a lot, and the coach is really cool. He told me to kick more and harder which was interesting since my last swim coach told me kicking was essentially a waste of energy. The new coach also taught me this bobbing bubble thing which might be my new favorite thing to do in the pool.
After every lap I’m supposed to bob underwater and blow all the air out, repeating ten times. It gets rid of that tightness in your chest when you don’t breathe completely and properly the way I don’t.
While we were having our lesson the high school(?) synchronized swim team was practicing. It was bizarre and fascinating. All in all an interesting way to spend a Friday night.
No, my swim instructor is not Amy Poehler. Although that would be awesome.
The first night there was only one other girl there, did I mention my class is at 8pm on Friday nights? I always forget that while I suck at swimming by competitive standards, I’m actually decent compared to the average American. It was nice for once not to be the worst person in the pool. And it was really, really nice to be able to comfortably complete the drills.
The other girl was really nice and I like her a lot, and the coach is really cool. He told me to kick more and harder which was interesting since my last swim coach told me kicking was essentially a waste of energy. The new coach also taught me this bobbing bubble thing which might be my new favorite thing to do in the pool.
After every lap I’m supposed to bob underwater and blow all the air out, repeating ten times. It gets rid of that tightness in your chest when you don’t breathe completely and properly the way I don’t.
While we were having our lesson the high school(?) synchronized swim team was practicing. It was bizarre and fascinating. All in all an interesting way to spend a Friday night.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Lucky Number 13
Unlucky Number 10
First of all, I apologize for the lameness of my posts lately. I am super burned out. Work and the increasing miles are sucking my life force, and the diet is preventing me from replenishing those stores with ice cream and pizza (my version of dilithium crystals). Coke Zero consumption is at an all time high though.
Anyways, back to the topic at hand.
I need to run 10 miles this weekend. This is assuming I ever complete my 9 miles from this past weekend. I’m giving the sore throat another day to make up its mind then I’m proceeding with running regardless.
The problem is that 10 miles is possibly a cursed number for me. I really like running 5 milers, 10Ks, and especially half marathons. 10 milers have historically been disastrous.
Let’s look back:
Cherry Blossom, a few years ago. Saturday is spent on a walking tour of the Tidal Basin and at the Smithsonian. Sunday I get up to run the race and feel like death. I bail. Sleep a lot and barely eat. Monday- kidney stone.
Cherry Blossom last year. I optimistically sign up. I get in. Unexpected Third Time’s The Charm shoulder surgery. I offload my race number and take walking tour again.
GW Parkway 10 miler. Supposed to run with S. I can’t remember what my issue was but I didn’t run it. And S got runner’s knee.
Baltimore 10 miler. I don’t remember what happened last year, just that I bailed on it for injury or illness again.
I really want to run the Baltimore 10 miler and I need to run 10 this weekend. I’m just worried that I’ll twist an ankle, tweak a knee, or blow out a kidney or something.
How do I break a running curse? Burn some sage? Throw a pair of new running shoes into a volcano?
First of all, I apologize for the lameness of my posts lately. I am super burned out. Work and the increasing miles are sucking my life force, and the diet is preventing me from replenishing those stores with ice cream and pizza (my version of dilithium crystals). Coke Zero consumption is at an all time high though.
Anyways, back to the topic at hand.
I need to run 10 miles this weekend. This is assuming I ever complete my 9 miles from this past weekend. I’m giving the sore throat another day to make up its mind then I’m proceeding with running regardless.
The problem is that 10 miles is possibly a cursed number for me. I really like running 5 milers, 10Ks, and especially half marathons. 10 milers have historically been disastrous.
Let’s look back:
Cherry Blossom, a few years ago. Saturday is spent on a walking tour of the Tidal Basin and at the Smithsonian. Sunday I get up to run the race and feel like death. I bail. Sleep a lot and barely eat. Monday- kidney stone.
Cherry Blossom last year. I optimistically sign up. I get in. Unexpected Third Time’s The Charm shoulder surgery. I offload my race number and take walking tour again.
GW Parkway 10 miler. Supposed to run with S. I can’t remember what my issue was but I didn’t run it. And S got runner’s knee.
Baltimore 10 miler. I don’t remember what happened last year, just that I bailed on it for injury or illness again.
I really want to run the Baltimore 10 miler and I need to run 10 this weekend. I’m just worried that I’ll twist an ankle, tweak a knee, or blow out a kidney or something.
How do I break a running curse? Burn some sage? Throw a pair of new running shoes into a volcano?
Friday, March 27, 2009
It takes a week to run 8 miles
The final event of an Ironman is a marathon. That’s 26.2 miles for people who are too lazy to Wikipedia it or big fat cheaters like Dane.
Anyways, I’ve never run a full marathon. I’ve run a baker’s dozen of halfs (halves?), but not a full. I decided I need to run a full so I’ll know at IMFL that I can do it.
Originally, I had planned on running Shamrock. It’s pretty there, it won’t be too hot, and I’d have people who are obligated to take care of me there. Even though as they frequently remind me, they have a lot of life insurance on me.
I did not plan on getting sick twice and food poisoning so that plan was kind of screwed.
I got on Marathonguide.com and checked out other options. My logic was, I should travel for it, since it’s a cool way to explore the city. And I don’t really like to travel too far for tris, since it involves packing the bike and a lot of other gear. Running just requires shoes. Although I heard TSA will confiscate “The Stick”.
So I settled on San Francisco. It’s in July which gives me enough time to get settled in my training, not too close to the IM or any planned training halfs. And even in July it’s 50 degrees, so it won’t be miserable. And, you get to run across the Golden Gate Bridge. Awesome!
I hit both Hal Higdon’s site and the RW Smart Coach and came up with what I felt was a reasonable plan. Mostly cross training, since I do have two other sports to work on, with a medium run and a long run each week.
I’ve been sticking to the plan pretty well, not always on the day they’re scheduled, but gotten them done. Then came last weekend’s 8 miler. My last long run before recovery week. I so needed recovery week last week. I had that irrationally cranky burnout feeling.
I should have run on Saturday. I wasn’t feeling it. Biked instead. Went to Cheesecake Factory.
Sunday, woke up late. Abandoned plan to run loops at local park with friend. Watched Psych. No gym.
Monday, sleep deprived. Cranky.
Tuesday, intended to run on treadmill. Instead conference wore me out. Who knew standing was so exhausting?
Wednesday, should have been medium run day. I didn’t have to be at the conference until 10. Planned to get up at 7 and run before conference. Slept until 9.
Thursday. Migraine. Light hurt. Sound hurt. Moving even fractionally made me nauseous. Managed to drive home and ordered Angelico’s. Also, Smucker’s makes the best sugar free fudge ever.
Friday. Gave in to the recovery week. Researched possibilities to run on Saturday or Sunday. Went to swim lesson.
Saturday. Tried to run with Tri team. Made it three miles. Confusing course left me feeling unsafe. Also, eating Friday night and more Saturday morning would have been a better plan.
Sunday. Should have run 15K. Beautiful outside. Swam instead.
Monday. Finally freaking ran the F-ing 8 miles. On the TREADMILL. Really, painfully boring. Took two episodes of CSI Vegas to do it. Came home. Ate leftover Chinese food, ice cream from the carton, Smucker’s from the bottle, and fell asleep in my gym clothes.
Anyways, I’ve never run a full marathon. I’ve run a baker’s dozen of halfs (halves?), but not a full. I decided I need to run a full so I’ll know at IMFL that I can do it.
Originally, I had planned on running Shamrock. It’s pretty there, it won’t be too hot, and I’d have people who are obligated to take care of me there. Even though as they frequently remind me, they have a lot of life insurance on me.
I did not plan on getting sick twice and food poisoning so that plan was kind of screwed.
I got on Marathonguide.com and checked out other options. My logic was, I should travel for it, since it’s a cool way to explore the city. And I don’t really like to travel too far for tris, since it involves packing the bike and a lot of other gear. Running just requires shoes. Although I heard TSA will confiscate “The Stick”.
So I settled on San Francisco. It’s in July which gives me enough time to get settled in my training, not too close to the IM or any planned training halfs. And even in July it’s 50 degrees, so it won’t be miserable. And, you get to run across the Golden Gate Bridge. Awesome!
I hit both Hal Higdon’s site and the RW Smart Coach and came up with what I felt was a reasonable plan. Mostly cross training, since I do have two other sports to work on, with a medium run and a long run each week.
I’ve been sticking to the plan pretty well, not always on the day they’re scheduled, but gotten them done. Then came last weekend’s 8 miler. My last long run before recovery week. I so needed recovery week last week. I had that irrationally cranky burnout feeling.
I should have run on Saturday. I wasn’t feeling it. Biked instead. Went to Cheesecake Factory.
Sunday, woke up late. Abandoned plan to run loops at local park with friend. Watched Psych. No gym.
Monday, sleep deprived. Cranky.
Tuesday, intended to run on treadmill. Instead conference wore me out. Who knew standing was so exhausting?
Wednesday, should have been medium run day. I didn’t have to be at the conference until 10. Planned to get up at 7 and run before conference. Slept until 9.
Thursday. Migraine. Light hurt. Sound hurt. Moving even fractionally made me nauseous. Managed to drive home and ordered Angelico’s. Also, Smucker’s makes the best sugar free fudge ever.
Friday. Gave in to the recovery week. Researched possibilities to run on Saturday or Sunday. Went to swim lesson.
Saturday. Tried to run with Tri team. Made it three miles. Confusing course left me feeling unsafe. Also, eating Friday night and more Saturday morning would have been a better plan.
Sunday. Should have run 15K. Beautiful outside. Swam instead.
Monday. Finally freaking ran the F-ing 8 miles. On the TREADMILL. Really, painfully boring. Took two episodes of CSI Vegas to do it. Came home. Ate leftover Chinese food, ice cream from the carton, Smucker’s from the bottle, and fell asleep in my gym clothes.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Things I’ve Bought that I love Too
Last year I bought a Danskin tri kit. It was aqua with an aloha print, and possibly one of the most comfortable outfits I’ve ever owned. It’s soft. It never chafes. There are lots of pockets in good places, and breathes even on the hottest of days.
Last week, REI sent me a 20% off coupon and notification of my member rebate. What to spend it on? More water bottles for my protein shakes? New snowboarding goggles? Or the new Danskin tri suit. In PINK!!!
The patterend top was a bit busy and the totally pink top was too pink even for me, and I like pink. So I got the black top and shorts with a hint of 80’s pink printing. Pandarific.
Last week, REI sent me a 20% off coupon and notification of my member rebate. What to spend it on? More water bottles for my protein shakes? New snowboarding goggles? Or the new Danskin tri suit. In PINK!!!
The patterend top was a bit busy and the totally pink top was too pink even for me, and I like pink. So I got the black top and shorts with a hint of 80’s pink printing. Pandarific.
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