When Pushing Yourself Leads to Falling

I didn't literally fall, but all's been quiet on the Blogspot front for awhile now. At the beginning of this month I started to experience quite a bit of pain upon impact of running in my knees and ankles. Where I was formerly running about four and a half miles, which admittedly was pushing it, one day I could barely make it around the 1/10th of a mile indoor track. I took that day to cycle, took about a week off and then did a mile-and-a-half jog, but was still experiencing pain. So, as I am wont to do, I justified to myself that injury and impending graduation meant I could just stop running for awhile.

I'm sure it was a good decision, but I feel endlessly guilty about it.Plus I miss the roommate running, but Danny is training for an event and I need to slow down. I've also been sluggish and moody from not running, and I think I've gained back a couple pounds, too. So today, when my first class let out over an hour early and my second class was canceled and the sun was shining, I thought, RUNNING. NOW. I bussed down to the good old South Bay Trail and jogged the whole length of it, Fairhaven to the edge of downtown, without stopping. My extremely casual fresh-off-a-two-week-break pace clocked me in at 22 minutes for the 2.3 mile trail, or about 9.5 minute miles.

...Of course since I have not up to this point timed any of my miles, that doesn't really mean anything to me, except that I'm fairly certain that in middle school when they used to make my lazy butt run the mile, it took me eleven to thirteen minutes. So it's nice to know that my tortoise pace now is faster than my best effort then. Even if I'm not one of those five foot tall speed demon girls who used to get six minute miles in middle school. MIDDLE SCHOOL. Those were the same girls who did the V-sit by simply collapsing their spines and pelvises and reaching like twelve inches past their toes. "What manner of beast is this?"

Anyway, nothing hurts and I enjoyed some lovely chipotle guacamole as an after-run snack and now it's time for a shower. Love to The Offspring for musically fueling my run. If it is two weeks before I post again, I shall be as disappointed as you, dear readers.

If you're still out there.

Hello?

Over the Parking Lot and Through the Woods, To Muscle Soreness We Go!

This past Saturday, Danny and I were on a time crunch. He got home around 4:00 and had to leave again at 5:00, but we needed to run! Tuesday and Saturday are the only days we can really get together to do that. So Danny suggested we head up to the arboretum but a short but intense trail workout with hills. I definitely have my days where running is unusually difficult, and this was one of those days. My legs were burning 100 yards into the first hill. Hills are bad, mmkay? And if I didn't have Danny's tiger spirit (yeah, he was actually dressed as a tiger, with face paint and a tail and all) I would have wussed out on myself. As it was I had to walk for a bit... but it was my first time out on any extended hills in months. I think with weekly training that will get much easier, and I will get much more buff, and the runners' legs will be mine. Oh yes, they will be mine.

I have heard and am inclined to believe that if you don't cross train you will never get ANYWHERE. Running at a consistent pace around a flat track for 6 months didn't really get me anywhere, as Mike and I gave up on the hills pretty early on, and then it was fall/winter/cold/gross/snowy/AUGH. I actually ran better when I started out than I had been prior to roommate running. Now I am going to focus on varying my runs, so that most Saturdays Danny and I will do hills, Tuesdays will be for the nearly 5 mile loop, and Thursdays I run on my own so I think I will do interval training (short sprints with walking in between).

The positive spin on the muscle-destroying hills of the arboretum was that the entire second half of the run (when we turned around and got to go downhill) was perfect. I was in that "casual run" mode where I was not at all out of breath. It was really comfortable, actually. And yesterday we went back to the nearly 5 mile loop and I held up okay. We also popped into Creativitea, where we're going to make roommate shot glasses together! Roommate running and roommate drinking go hand in hand, apparently. Along with roommate spandex. Shmexy.

Anyway, Bellingham Bay is an absolutely GORGEOUS view to run next to, and the chilling wind felt amazing when contrasted with the almost-too-hot sun. What's funny is that while I am an over-70-degrees-loving solar powered lightophile (there's gotta be a fancier Latin word for that...), running seems to be best at like 50-55 degrees, slightly overcast. I can go out in shorts and a tank top for a 5 mile run when it's 50 degrees, cloudy, even maybe a slight drizzle... but same weather not running requires my largest ugliest coat and a grim expression. (P.S. Lucy means "light"--Lucifer means "light bringer," haha--so that may explain the love of the sun!)

Speaking of weather, it's currently dumping in a typical Bellingham fashion, and I'm watching it unenthusiastically from the library window, hoping those thundershowers predicted for tomorrow don't come to fruition. DON'T FRUIT, PLEASE DON'T FRUIT!

Eye of the Tiger, Man.

This song reminds me of grocery shopping in my old neighborhood in Seattle. It would always play in the QFC by my house, and it was so hilariously overexuberant for a simple grocery trip. I wanted some boxing gloves and fancy footwork, punching out the rows of Hamburger Helper and dancing around the tumbling displays of apples. But more importantly, I think it is the absolute best motivational song for working out.

It was my birthday on Saturday, and through the generosity and support of my family I was able to afford two very important components that contribute to my new goal (which I will get into in a minute)... new running shoes and an MP3 player. I have been complaining about my shoes since Day 1. You all know this. NO MORE! I got some sweet Saucony shoes that feel like clouds and help me push off with each new step. I'm breaking in both of these beauties today... although I have not yet downloaded Eye of the Tiger to aid me.

The aforementioned goal relates to how I'm graduating in less than two months and have no goals. "Pursue internships and jobs" is pretty much what I'm telling people. Which means, "I am scared shitless of the real world; these seem like good ideas." So since I don't want to face the job market and the student loan payments in my future I decided to settle on personal goals. You know, those friendly, unintimidating things that make you feel good about yourself. And it was about time I set a running goal, since I've been aimlessly wandering and not progressing. I have been running in my absence from this blog, but I haven't progressed. That is, until Tuesday.

My wonderful new roommate Danny is like my much more pleasant and infinitely more attractive Mickey, the gruff New York attitude trainer from the Rocky films. With his company and motivation we accomplished a nearly five mile run on Tuesday (about three times longer than I've been running lately and almost twice my longest run... how embarrassing). We stopped a third of the way through to check out Fairhaven Runners, where I got my shoes yesterday. (We also checked out the hot sales guy.) My legs and hips have been paying for that run ever since, especially because I was in my old shoes, but I was so amazed that I actually went that far. Danny is training for an 8 mile downhill run on Memorial Day weekend, so at least once a week we'll be running together. That way, if I wuss out running on my own, I'll have to make up for it when we work out together...

So, I'm back, aaand hopefully here I will remain, because of my goal: work my way up to a marathon. I don't have a goal date set for this, because I don't know anything realistically about pacing myself. But if I am capable of doing a five mile run now--which is only 1.2 miles away from a freaking 10K--I don't think this goal is impossible. I'm on my way.

"Why you runnin' like b****** with your tail up?"

I censored the title for the benefit of any kiddos who might be looking over their parents' shoulders while they're on Facebook. It's a lyric.

I'm pretty sure anyone who saw me in the Rec could not guess what I was listening to last night. I mean, would you guess (AND HEY IF YOU DON'T LIKE CURSING PLEASE DON'T CLICK THIS AT ALL, THE VERY FIRST LINE HAS A BAD WORD!):

Cypress Hill, Lucy? REALLY? But it's awesome workout music. Oh man it really is. It pumps you up and it has a really good beat. I was on one of those evil stair machines at the time I decided to turn this on and I was instantly revitalized!

I've been trying to push myself harder at the gym. I want my progress back. One of the problems is that I need to have a really good pre-workout snack, keeping in mind I can't eat anything for 90-120 minutes before a workout. Otherwise, stomach cramps just wreck me and I physically can't continue. I often roll right out of bed and out the door, workout clothes in the bag. I'll maybe eat an Erin Baker's Breakfast Cookie 90 minutes before. But that is not sufficient workout fuel, and I usually leave the gym not overworked but hungry. I'd rather leave the gym exhausted, but the stomach rumbling gets embarrassing and I can also get a little dizzy from physical exertion without enough fuel.

In three different short trips to the track, in between weight machines, I did about 2 miles yesterday. That's still not very good, and I remember doing 3 miles (with a break at 1.5) more than once last year. However, since I am adding in weights and stairs, I am exhausting myself on multiple levels. So I'm trying not to get too down about it.

This song pushed me to make the final trip back to the track. I'm pretty sure I almost threw up when I was done. I was at the gym for like an hour and a half. Oh well, it was worth it.

Oh right, I have a blog.

Oops. Hi there! I actually got up this morning earlier than I needed to. I don't think you understand the monumental status of such an event. THIS NEVER HAPPENS. And I had a good reason for it. I haven't jogged since last Friday.

Yes, I jogged a few times after my last blog post, but I figured that if I posted EVERY TIME I JOGGED you would get sick of me and I would run out of things to say. (Did you catch the pun there? Run out? I'm so clever.) Then Week 4 of school happened and I have been buried in mounds of deadlines since then, especially since my campus job recently started. I finally got a light homework evening last night, and naturally all I wanted to do was cook, bake and watch TV. All of those were very good ideas. (I made acorn squash stuffed with quinoa, hominy and bell pepper, topped with nutritional yeast--AMAZING--and then blondies--you know, brownies without chocolate?--with dried cranberries and flax seeds. My taste buds were writing me love letters.)

So this morning I don't have class until 11:30, but I woke up at 9:30 to go for a run. I can definitely tell that I haven't run in a week, which is why I insisted on going today. I felt like if I waited any longer I'd be back at square one. I only ran for about 15 minutes before I had to stop, but then after walking for 5 minutes or so I pushed it and jogged two blocks uphill before walking home. Morning air definitely has a terrible feeling in my lungs--oh yes, it's the cheese grater effect back for more. Blaaah. I tried to breathe in through my nose, as some had suggested, but I think that will work better when I get back to the condition I was in last week. This week I was so winded that nose breathing just was not delivering the oxygen fast enough.

Anyway, I still need to squeeze in a shower before class, but I just wanted to say hi and, you know, I haven't forgotten about you.

I wear my jogging shoes at night.

So last night, after a rather uneventful, gloomy, rainy day, Mike and I decide to go jogging. In addition to it being gloomy and rainy, it was then also dark. Normally I would protest, as even though I'm a native Seattleite, I've never gotten used to cold and rain--still hate it. However, the thought of the exercise spreading warmth through me, the same way a nice mug of hot chocolate does, put a smile on my face. I figured if there's anything I could enjoy in the rain, especially after dark, it would be jogging.

Face-sweater?

Sure enough, the rain pouring down my face as I ran was refreshing. It also made me feel like I was working harder. I'm not a face-sweater. ...Face-sweater? Hmmm that didn't come out like I wanted to; it sounds more like a robber's mask, or a sweater someone's grandma knitted Santa's face onto. No, what I mean is that during physical exertion I sweat from my armpits and back. That's usually all the sweating I do, so I don't get the dramatic Gatorade-ad style dripping face syndrome (especially not in bright green), which I typically associate with someone who's really pushing themselves. The rain provided that illusion for me. Anyone I passed last night must've thought, "There goes a brave, hardworking American." Okay, maybe not.

But the rain also adds to the idea that I'm in the midst of a cinematic masterpiece, running towards my long lost love, or away from a serial killer. A little imagination is always good for your endurance, I think. Anyone I passed might also have thought, "Go! Keep going! Don't stop! You can achieve your dreaaaammm!" They probably stopped right there on the sidewalk and applauded, tears of admiration streaming down their faces and mixing with the cool September rain. Or, you know, not.

I've noticed, though, that running at night seems to be harder on my lungs than daytime running. It must be the cold air, or maybe it's the dampness, but I get lung cramps instead of side cramps or anything else. I can push through them, though. I have to stop for side cramps, but the lung pain is just a nuisance. I also get an increased presence of the lovely cheese grater effect in my esophagus, or wind pipes, or whatever. I'm going to have to figure out how to remedy this, as fall and winter are a-comin' and nothing--including my sobs and futile attempts at harnessing the sun and pulling it closer--is going to stop them. I'm certainly not stopping my running just because it's cold out. It's going to be a game of chicken between me and the weather. Who caves first? Stay tuned. 

Dramatic Running

Had a good run this evening. I've been having some housing-related frustrations that I won't really elaborate on here, but with school starting in just a couple of weeks, it's gotten me really stressed out. I decided that the best remedy, besides doing expensive things that I would ordinarily do (like go out for food or drinks, or browse around clothing stores), would be to go for a long run.

This of course made me think of all the dramatic running scenes in various movies. I thought this video was pretty cool. It was kind of like me, except I was running to The Grouch and Eligh, I was not in spandex, and I was not in a marathon. Okay, so it wasn't like me at all. I was by the water, though!



Or maybe it was more like this:



(Just wait for it, the song takes like a minute and a half to really start.) Maybe someday I'll have Mr. Gump's endurance.

Anyway, I went on the trail that Mike and I took three days ago. It's really close to my house, and it's flat and relaxing, with a great view of the water. I started running from the same spot. I got a little tired before I'd even made it to our original stopping point, but I just kept slowing my breathing when it got too labored. I kept closing my eyes and breathing, focusing on the music. I pushed through, and the struggle went away. It was easy to keep going. It felt so good. I made it the extra half-mile or so I needed to get to Boulevard Park (which is absolutely beautiful, by the way). I had jogged about 1.4 miles without stopping or even slowing down! This was a new feat in itself. When I slowed upon entering the park, I experienced what I think is the famed "runner's high."

It was basically a headrush that made me smile. My legs felt extremely heavy and exhausted, moreso than when I had been running. But my breathing slowed to normal in just a minute or two, and I felt relieved from the exertion, instead of just fed up and disgusting like I tend to feel after runs. I must be making progress all the time. I felt better about what had been stressing me out, and I was motivated to keep going. I went out for a long, dramatic, "I'm running away from my feelings" movie montage run: 1.4 miles wasn't going to cut it. So I circled the park on a slow walk, pausing at a dedicated bench. Unfortunately the memorial plaque had a damn typo on it (really? You can't get its/it's straight for a commemorative bench?!) so I had to get up quickly. I cannot deny the editor in my bones.

When I'd made the loop of the park, I started up jogging again. I passed a lot more people on the way back than I had on the way to the park. I got to be the jogger passing everyone on the trail! I'm meeting new goals all the time... Without fail, they would all turn their heads back to see me about 2 seconds before I went past. I don't think I imagined a look of congratulations on an older man's face--he seemed to be glad to see a college-age person staying active. I feel like a lot of college students in Bellingham jog or bike or go to the gym on a regular basis, but I was glad for the glance anyway.

I've used the gym at WWU many times, but I don't think I've ever really pushed myself there. Running on an elliptical machine and running outside are two very different things--and ellipticals never get me to break a sweat. They really don't. I'm not sure what it is, but I just can't get a good workout on those things. I never breathe as hard as when I'm really running.

I made it all the way back to my starting point without slowing or stopping as well, making a total of about 2.8 miles run! It's only been 4 hours and I'm already sore, so I hope tomorrow can be a "sit around and do nothing day" as much as possible. Except I need to go to the grocery store. And Value Village's Labor Day sale is on. I did labor pretty hard today, after all.

Happy Labor Day, everyone