So many I'm not in space (today's thread title is brought to you courtesy of the old British tv sci-fi comedy "Red Dwarf"), but it certainly is cold in Toronto tonight.
My handy dandy firefox browser weather application has the temperature hovering around 7 degrees celcius (44 fahrenheit) with brisk 19 km/hr (12 miles per hour) winds. That means a windchill of 3 degrees c (12 f).
Yikes. And to imagine it's only going to get worse. As a lifelong Canadian (and not even a wussy Torontonian - a native Montrealer!), I shouldn't be surprised that winter comes along every year without fail. Or that it is cold. And yet... I kind of keep wishing that each year the meteorological Gods forget to change from early-fall temps to unfathomable below freezing ones.
Despite this, I bravely donned my shoes, sweat-wicking pants (that GOD I opted for the pants versus the shorts in May) and Vision TV t-shirt which OA got for free from a work colleague (she promptly handed it over to me to use for my runs).
Yes a t-shirt tonight. I still can't feel my arms completely.
It wasn't all sooooo bad tonight with the cold - although I came in under my "dream goal" of 2 miles again tonight by over 0.75 miles. My legs were feeling awfully leaden and my breathing was only so-so. The wind came whipping off of St. Clair and I kept dreading having to turn into it each lap.
So yes, I am slightly disappointed. But for my first two-nights in a row run in ages... not so bad.
A major fun goal this weekend is going to be picking up a long-sleeved workout top (the Vision TV shirt is going into the closet and probably won't be coming out until April).
Oh and I'm also going to start calculating the approximate length of my workouts in minutes (including a quick 0.25 mile walking warm-up to the track which I don't count in my overall mile goals). The first person to mock me for my BLISTERING 30 minute mile pace will get a virtual smack over the head. :)
I'm off to defrost in a nice warm shower!
DAY 40 REPORT
start time: 8:10 pm
Total Distance: 2 miles
Total Time Including Warm-Up: 40 minutes
Total Ran (approx): 1.25 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.75 mile
Legs - heavy feeling
Feet - fine
Lungs - uneven
Stomach - good
Sweat level - low
UPDATED Goal: Run 72 miles - 24 X 3 - by November 3, 2007 (My 24th Birthday!)
Friday, October 12, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Everyday a little run...
Thank you everyone who has been giving me such kind words of encouragement over the last few days. I must admit, I've been a little down of late, but things appear to be on the up and up now.
First, I got called for an interview for a random dream job in major gift fundraising for a very interesting organization today! I applied ages ago and had kind of given up on the whole shebang, so that was a nice surprise. Send me good vibes for Monday at 12:30!
Second, as many of you know, I have been upping my running mileage dramatically in recent days in an attempt to stay more or less on target of my goal from earlier this summer. Tonight, I had 2 miles of running planned... and I made it without too too too much difficulty.
I was breathing nicely, the temperature was a brisk 10 degrees and there was not a single other person out on the track. Yea!
DAY 39 REPORT
start time: 9:20 pm (too late really... I'm having difficulty keeping my eyes open now)
Total Distance: 3.125 miles
Total Ran (approx): 2 miles
Total Walked (approx): 1.125 miles
Legs - good
Feet - right foot numbness around 1.25 miles of running. It went away after I stopped for a moment and shook out my leg.
Lungs - good
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - low... it was ffffffffreezing!
First, I got called for an interview for a random dream job in major gift fundraising for a very interesting organization today! I applied ages ago and had kind of given up on the whole shebang, so that was a nice surprise. Send me good vibes for Monday at 12:30!
Second, as many of you know, I have been upping my running mileage dramatically in recent days in an attempt to stay more or less on target of my goal from earlier this summer. Tonight, I had 2 miles of running planned... and I made it without too too too much difficulty.
I was breathing nicely, the temperature was a brisk 10 degrees and there was not a single other person out on the track. Yea!
DAY 39 REPORT
start time: 9:20 pm (too late really... I'm having difficulty keeping my eyes open now)
Total Distance: 3.125 miles
Total Ran (approx): 2 miles
Total Walked (approx): 1.125 miles
Legs - good
Feet - right foot numbness around 1.25 miles of running. It went away after I stopped for a moment and shook out my leg.
Lungs - good
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - low... it was ffffffffreezing!
Further Stubborness
Helen, thanks so much for your comment on my post from last night - your feedback is really great.
I know I am being hard on myself with this goal, but I think I am still able to reach it if I follow my plan.
Not having a driver's license, I have always been a walker. I can walk for miles and miles without any difficulty (other than the occasional sore feet!) I have never been able to run... even at very slow speeds. When I started this program back in May I wanted to move away from just walking to exercise that would feel more... substantial.
My real goal has been to simply be able to run. Not super far, definitely not very fast... but just to be able to do it for once without wanting to curl up in the foetal position and die.
That is why I haven't been counting my walk breaks in my overall goal of 100 and then 72 miles of running by my birthday.
If I were to count walk breaks, my total distance travelled since May would be:
drumroll please
56.21 miles
... when you consider that of that amount, 62% was run versus only 38% walked, I am on the right track.
At this point, I want to keep to my goal of running 72 miles by my birthday (or... thereabouts) after which I will reevaluate to look at how I am measuring my progress. Is it abirtrary? Yes. Do I still think I can do it? Definitely with hard work.
I'm not going to kill myself attempting the goal. If I don't make 72 miles by November 3, so be it. But after so many months of looking to that date (which is now oh so close), I can't give up now when I've still a fighting chance.
And if I break 72 on November 4, 5 or even 15 - it will still be an accomplishment.
Yesterday, I was looking over some former posts from back in June when I was flabbergasted that OA's old street running route was 1.8 miles. I thought I would never be able to get to the point where I could run that far. Tuesday's run was 1.75 miles and tonight I am scheduled for my first attempt at 2 miles.
Progress is there, no matter whether I make 72 on 11/3 or not.
I know I am being hard on myself with this goal, but I think I am still able to reach it if I follow my plan.
Not having a driver's license, I have always been a walker. I can walk for miles and miles without any difficulty (other than the occasional sore feet!) I have never been able to run... even at very slow speeds. When I started this program back in May I wanted to move away from just walking to exercise that would feel more... substantial.
My real goal has been to simply be able to run. Not super far, definitely not very fast... but just to be able to do it for once without wanting to curl up in the foetal position and die.
That is why I haven't been counting my walk breaks in my overall goal of 100 and then 72 miles of running by my birthday.
If I were to count walk breaks, my total distance travelled since May would be:
drumroll please
56.21 miles
... when you consider that of that amount, 62% was run versus only 38% walked, I am on the right track.
At this point, I want to keep to my goal of running 72 miles by my birthday (or... thereabouts) after which I will reevaluate to look at how I am measuring my progress. Is it abirtrary? Yes. Do I still think I can do it? Definitely with hard work.
I'm not going to kill myself attempting the goal. If I don't make 72 miles by November 3, so be it. But after so many months of looking to that date (which is now oh so close), I can't give up now when I've still a fighting chance.
And if I break 72 on November 4, 5 or even 15 - it will still be an accomplishment.
Yesterday, I was looking over some former posts from back in June when I was flabbergasted that OA's old street running route was 1.8 miles. I thought I would never be able to get to the point where I could run that far. Tuesday's run was 1.75 miles and tonight I am scheduled for my first attempt at 2 miles.
Progress is there, no matter whether I make 72 on 11/3 or not.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Death at the doorstep
Thank you to Bev and Dave for your comments for my rather sullen post this morning.
I have recalibrated my remaining training plan and, if all goes well, I may realistically be able to achieve it.
It looks like this (the numbers on the right represent how many miles I should run that night):
If I follow this schedule to the letter, I will have run a grand total of 74.46 miles by November 3, which allows me a teeny bit of leniancy here and there.
Oh, and while I am a confirmed run/walker, I am not counting the miles I walk in my workouts as part of the mileage. This is my running tally and if I allowed myself to start counting walk breaks, I would not be able to push myself to go that extra running lap or whatnot.
As for tonight's actual run. 1.75 miles. Another longest distance ever. Woot.
I felt like I was going to die.
Don't laugh.
I'm serious. Death was there at doorstep calling me home to him.
Somehow I managed to shake off Beezelbub, because I'm at home now typing. It was a close call.
I have a feeling he will be back on Thursday when I have, suicidally, decided to schedule my first 2 mile run. Yikes.
DAY 38 REPORT
start time: 8 pm
Total Distance: 2.75 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.75 miles
Total Walked (approx): 1 mile
Legs - pretty good
Feet - another numb right foot
Lungs - below-average
Stomach - twingey in places
Sweat level - high
I have recalibrated my remaining training plan and, if all goes well, I may realistically be able to achieve it.
It looks like this (the numbers on the right represent how many miles I should run that night):
| 09-Oct-07 | Tue | 1.75 |
| 10-Oct-07 | Wed | |
| 11-Oct-07 | Thu | 2.00 |
| 12-Oct-07 | Fri | 2.00 |
| 13-Oct-07 | Sat | |
| 14-Oct-07 | Sun | 2.25 |
| 15-Oct-07 | Mon | |
| 16-Oct-07 | Tue | 2.25 |
| 17-Oct-07 | Wed | |
| 18-Oct-07 | Thu | 2.50 |
| 19-Oct-07 | Fri | 2.50 |
| 20-Oct-07 | Sat | |
| 21-Oct-07 | Sun | 2.75 |
| 22-Oct-07 | Mon | |
| 23-Oct-07 | Tue | 2.75 |
| 24-Oct-07 | Wed | |
| 25-Oct-07 | Thu | 3.00 |
| 26-Oct-07 | Fri | 3.00 |
| 27-Oct-07 | Sat | |
| 28-Oct-07 | Sun | 3.25 |
| 29-Oct-07 | Mon | |
| 30-Oct-07 | Tue | 3.25 |
| 31-Oct-07 | Wed | |
| 01-Nov-07 | Thu | 3.50 |
| 02-Nov-07 | Fri | 3.50 |
| 03-Nov-07 | Sat |
If I follow this schedule to the letter, I will have run a grand total of 74.46 miles by November 3, which allows me a teeny bit of leniancy here and there.
Oh, and while I am a confirmed run/walker, I am not counting the miles I walk in my workouts as part of the mileage. This is my running tally and if I allowed myself to start counting walk breaks, I would not be able to push myself to go that extra running lap or whatnot.
As for tonight's actual run. 1.75 miles. Another longest distance ever. Woot.
I felt like I was going to die.
Don't laugh.
I'm serious. Death was there at doorstep calling me home to him.
Somehow I managed to shake off Beezelbub, because I'm at home now typing. It was a close call.
I have a feeling he will be back on Thursday when I have, suicidally, decided to schedule my first 2 mile run. Yikes.
DAY 38 REPORT
start time: 8 pm
Total Distance: 2.75 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.75 miles
Total Walked (approx): 1 mile
Legs - pretty good
Feet - another numb right foot
Lungs - below-average
Stomach - twingey in places
Sweat level - high
The Bell Has Probably Tolled...
Last week's blerghyness (real word, that) may have been the final coffin in my plan to achieve my already re-worked goal of running 72 miles by November 3 (my 24th birthday).
As of this writing, I have managed to run only 33 miles - less than half of my goal. If I really stretch I can possibly run 4 times a week. There are four weeks left before my birthday.
I have never run more than 1.5 miles at a time. Weak, I know... but increased distance appears to come very very slowly to me.
So... if I average 1.75 miles (longshot) x 4 times a week (also a longshot) x 4 weeks remaining... I will have run an additional 28 miles and will fall 11 miles short of my intended target.
At the very least.
Plus, with sleet and snow always a possibility in Toronto in November (despite yesterday's 30+ degree scorcher of a Thanksgiving day) making long term goals now may result in weather-related disappointment.
SOOOOOO... what do I do now?
As of this writing, I have managed to run only 33 miles - less than half of my goal. If I really stretch I can possibly run 4 times a week. There are four weeks left before my birthday.
I have never run more than 1.5 miles at a time. Weak, I know... but increased distance appears to come very very slowly to me.
So... if I average 1.75 miles (longshot) x 4 times a week (also a longshot) x 4 weeks remaining... I will have run an additional 28 miles and will fall 11 miles short of my intended target.
At the very least.
Plus, with sleet and snow always a possibility in Toronto in November (despite yesterday's 30+ degree scorcher of a Thanksgiving day) making long term goals now may result in weather-related disappointment.
SOOOOOO... what do I do now?
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Welcome Back Me!
A great weekend in Montreal has now been nicely capped off by a great run tonight at my track. It is, by the way, officially "my" track. Tell that to the school who technically owns it!
I was joined in my endeavour by only one other runner (and he really was doing more walking than even *I* was... which is saying something) - not a dog or a soccer team in sight.
With the skies clear and temperatures around 16 degrees celcius, I knew that tonight could be the night I finally managed to run a half mile without stopping (i.e. 2 consecutive laps) AND go a full 1.5 miles total distance run.
Guess what? I did both! Huzzah!
Tomorrow I have another 1.5 miles planned which will be followed by ANOTHER weekend in Montreal with my family for Thanksgiving.
Turkey! Double Huzzah!
DAY 37 REPORT
start time: 8:15 pm
Total Distance: 2.2 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.5 miles (yea!)
Total Walked (approx): 0.7 mile
Legs - pretty good
Feet - right foot went completely numb about 3/4s of the way through
Lungs - average
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - medium-high
I was joined in my endeavour by only one other runner (and he really was doing more walking than even *I* was... which is saying something) - not a dog or a soccer team in sight.
With the skies clear and temperatures around 16 degrees celcius, I knew that tonight could be the night I finally managed to run a half mile without stopping (i.e. 2 consecutive laps) AND go a full 1.5 miles total distance run.
Guess what? I did both! Huzzah!
Tomorrow I have another 1.5 miles planned which will be followed by ANOTHER weekend in Montreal with my family for Thanksgiving.
Turkey! Double Huzzah!
DAY 37 REPORT
start time: 8:15 pm
Total Distance: 2.2 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.5 miles (yea!)
Total Walked (approx): 0.7 mile
Legs - pretty good
Feet - right foot went completely numb about 3/4s of the way through
Lungs - average
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - medium-high
Friday, September 28, 2007
Off to Montreal until Tuesday
... and there will be no running no jogging no anything other than work and stuffing myself with actual to goodness REAL bread, pastries and other assorted carbs that are at their best only in my home town (and possibly Paris... who knows?)
I may also partake of Quebec's national dish:
Have a great weekend everyone!
I may also partake of Quebec's national dish:
Have a great weekend everyone!
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
A pox on all yer soccer balls and cleats...
It turns out that my beloved high school running track has one disadvantage.
And its a biggie. Enter the boys' soccer team, stage right.
Grr.
Now, running with other people present at the track is not a huge issue for me anymore. I don't mind the occasional dog walker, family with toddlers or fellow jog/walker encroaching on my territory.
An entire team of athletic high school aged boys watching me trot around while they finished practicing the world's most idiotic sport? That's a whooooole other matter.
So I had to improvise another street route.
Improvisation, is not one of my strongest skills as you tell from the meagre amount I travelled (I *did* think I was running/walking further than I did... if that counts for anything).
DAY 36 REPORT
start time: 7:15 pm
Total Distance: 1.2 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.8 mile (yikes yikes yikes!)
Total Walked (approx): 0.4 mile (yikes yikes yikes!)
Legs - way better than Monday
Feet - sore
Lungs - average
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - high
And its a biggie. Enter the boys' soccer team, stage right.
Grr.
Now, running with other people present at the track is not a huge issue for me anymore. I don't mind the occasional dog walker, family with toddlers or fellow jog/walker encroaching on my territory.
An entire team of athletic high school aged boys watching me trot around while they finished practicing the world's most idiotic sport? That's a whooooole other matter.
So I had to improvise another street route.
Improvisation, is not one of my strongest skills as you tell from the meagre amount I travelled (I *did* think I was running/walking further than I did... if that counts for anything).
DAY 36 REPORT
start time: 7:15 pm
Total Distance: 1.2 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.8 mile (yikes yikes yikes!)
Total Walked (approx): 0.4 mile (yikes yikes yikes!)
Legs - way better than Monday
Feet - sore
Lungs - average
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - high
Monday, September 24, 2007
Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow
So I know I'm pushing this whole definition of "running" and my being a "runner". There are a ton of people reading this who are regularly running 5, 10, 15 even 20 miles in a single outing. Meanwhile I'm here babbling on about my silly mile and a quarter or less distances.
With that disclaimer, I still need to be able to say the following.
Tonight = ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow
It's been a while since I jogged twice in two nights. After the last two great sessions, I knew I was living on borrowed time.
As I write this my legs are still in extreme pain and I am resorting to tylenol.
DAY 35 REPORT
start time: 8 pm
Total Distance: 1.6 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.1 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.5 mile
Legs - really reall really bad
Feet - fine
Lungs - wheezy
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - enormous
With that disclaimer, I still need to be able to say the following.
Tonight = ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow
It's been a while since I jogged twice in two nights. After the last two great sessions, I knew I was living on borrowed time.
As I write this my legs are still in extreme pain and I am resorting to tylenol.
DAY 35 REPORT
start time: 8 pm
Total Distance: 1.6 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.1 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.5 mile
Legs - really reall really bad
Feet - fine
Lungs - wheezy
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - enormous
Sunday, September 23, 2007
I think I'm on to Something Here...
Another Sunday night, another great jogging session at the track.
How did I get by for so long on the mean streets without the red gravel dust on my shoes, the playful dogs on the infield, the lack of shin pain in my... er... shins?
I've no idea.
I probably could have kept going for longer tonight than the simple 1.25 miles I ran/walked, but tomorrow I have another session planned and I didn't want to go crazy tonight and compromise Monday.
DAY 35 REPORT
start time: 7:30 pm
Total Distance: 1.9 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.25 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.65 mile
Legs - good
Feet - fine
Lungs - not as "clear" as on Wednesday, but relatively good
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - medium
How did I get by for so long on the mean streets without the red gravel dust on my shoes, the playful dogs on the infield, the lack of shin pain in my... er... shins?
I've no idea.
I probably could have kept going for longer tonight than the simple 1.25 miles I ran/walked, but tomorrow I have another session planned and I didn't want to go crazy tonight and compromise Monday.
DAY 35 REPORT
start time: 7:30 pm
Total Distance: 1.9 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.25 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.65 mile
Legs - good
Feet - fine
Lungs - not as "clear" as on Wednesday, but relatively good
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - medium
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
In Goes the Good Air.... Out Goes the Bad Air
Tonight was one of those nights where things just seemed easier than normal. The absolute best kind of jogging session!
I tried paying very close attention to my breathing - doing the breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth technique I read about online. It seemed to help, I wasn't gasping for breath like I normally do.
I have two work events I must go tomorrow and Friday night until late, so running will be out of the question. OA and the girls are away this weekend, so I think I may make Saturday my next scheduled jog.
DAY 34 REPORT
start time: 8:15 pm
Total Distance: 1.5 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.1 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.4 mile
Legs - very sore
Feet - fine
Lungs - surprisingly good
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - medium
I tried paying very close attention to my breathing - doing the breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth technique I read about online. It seemed to help, I wasn't gasping for breath like I normally do.
I have two work events I must go tomorrow and Friday night until late, so running will be out of the question. OA and the girls are away this weekend, so I think I may make Saturday my next scheduled jog.
DAY 34 REPORT
start time: 8:15 pm
Total Distance: 1.5 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.1 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.4 mile
Legs - very sore
Feet - fine
Lungs - surprisingly good
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - medium
Monday, September 17, 2007
Amorous Dogs and Mini-Drill Sergeants
It was an absolutely, drop dead gorgeous evening - high teens, clear skies, light breeze. The whole she-bang.
There had to be at least six people on the track tonight, with a further dozen or so dogs and their owners milling about in the infield.
One particular male golden retriever kept me entertained with his less than graceful attempts to... er... make friends with some of the lady dogs present. Let's just say there was one very embarrassed dog owner who kept having to intervene...
Also of interest tonight was a mum running with her two children - one of who looked to be about six who ran beside her and another 1 or 2 year old who sat in his jogging stroller the entire time yelling "faster mummy, faster!" If only we all had a drill sergeant like that on our team!
DAY 33 REPORT
start time: 7:15 pm
Total Distance: 1.7 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.1 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.6 mile
Legs - only sore at the end
Feet - fine
Lungs - bad, but better than yesterday
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - medium
There had to be at least six people on the track tonight, with a further dozen or so dogs and their owners milling about in the infield.
One particular male golden retriever kept me entertained with his less than graceful attempts to... er... make friends with some of the lady dogs present. Let's just say there was one very embarrassed dog owner who kept having to intervene...
Also of interest tonight was a mum running with her two children - one of who looked to be about six who ran beside her and another 1 or 2 year old who sat in his jogging stroller the entire time yelling "faster mummy, faster!" If only we all had a drill sergeant like that on our team!
DAY 33 REPORT
start time: 7:15 pm
Total Distance: 1.7 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.1 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.6 mile
Legs - only sore at the end
Feet - fine
Lungs - bad, but better than yesterday
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - medium
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
I just finished watching the movie version of the Tony Award winning play "The History Boys"
for the third time this week with OA. It brought back a ton of great memories from the summer of 2006 when I saw the same incredible actors from the movie with my friend Andrea5000. We took advantage of free accommodations through her paid-for dorm room at Columbia (where she was pursuing her Masters' degree) and bought tickets to every play and musical we could possibly get into over a five day period.
It remains my best vacation ever. And a lot of it had to do the unbelieveable artistry of Alan Bennett, the playwright as well as the director and performers of the History Boys...
For a show filled with great lines, this is perhaps the best. Warning - language!
Oh an this is also a great scene (and well sung!)
Oh but this is a running blog isn't it?
Okay... running.
I went out tonight for a very mediocre session on the track. So mediocre that there is very very very little to talk about.
Blergh.
DAY 32 REPORT
start time: 7:00 pm
Total Distance: 1.5 miles (woot! the 2 mile total distance mark finally broken!)
Total Ran (approx): 11 mile
Total Walked (approx): 0.5 mile
Legs - sore
Feet - fine
Lungs - really bad
Stomach - stitchy
Sweat level - medium
for the third time this week with OA. It brought back a ton of great memories from the summer of 2006 when I saw the same incredible actors from the movie with my friend Andrea5000. We took advantage of free accommodations through her paid-for dorm room at Columbia (where she was pursuing her Masters' degree) and bought tickets to every play and musical we could possibly get into over a five day period.
It remains my best vacation ever. And a lot of it had to do the unbelieveable artistry of Alan Bennett, the playwright as well as the director and performers of the History Boys...
For a show filled with great lines, this is perhaps the best. Warning - language!
Oh an this is also a great scene (and well sung!)
Oh but this is a running blog isn't it?
Okay... running.
I went out tonight for a very mediocre session on the track. So mediocre that there is very very very little to talk about.
Blergh.
DAY 32 REPORT
start time: 7:00 pm
Total Distance: 1.5 miles (woot! the 2 mile total distance mark finally broken!)
Total Ran (approx): 11 mile
Total Walked (approx): 0.5 mile
Legs - sore
Feet - fine
Lungs - really bad
Stomach - stitchy
Sweat level - medium
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
1.3 mile cha-cha
Unless my records are incorrect, tonight marks my longest run yet (puny as that may be to everyone who reads this blog).
And so... the 1.3 mile cha-cha:
*jog jog cha cha cha wheeze wheeze cha cha cha ow ow wheeze cough jazz hands collapse*
Lots of people at the track again tonight. One particularly annoying guy decided to run clockwise versus the rest of us counter-clockwisers. I may have a new pet peeve. Stupid clockwise guy.
DAY 31 REPORT
start time: 8:15 pm
Total Distance: 2.15 miles (woot! the 2 mile total distance mark finally broken!)
Total Ran (approx): 1.3 mile
Total Walked (approx): 0.85 mile
Legs - ow
Feet - fine
Lungs - about ready to collapse entirely
Stomach - stitchy in the middle
Sweat level - enormous
And so... the 1.3 mile cha-cha:
*jog jog cha cha cha wheeze wheeze cha cha cha ow ow wheeze cough jazz hands collapse*
Lots of people at the track again tonight. One particularly annoying guy decided to run clockwise versus the rest of us counter-clockwisers. I may have a new pet peeve. Stupid clockwise guy.
DAY 31 REPORT
start time: 8:15 pm
Total Distance: 2.15 miles (woot! the 2 mile total distance mark finally broken!)
Total Ran (approx): 1.3 mile
Total Walked (approx): 0.85 mile
Legs - ow
Feet - fine
Lungs - about ready to collapse entirely
Stomach - stitchy in the middle
Sweat level - enormous
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Welcome Back Track!
I have been very bad about updating this blog over the last week - unfortunately, there has not been any running to report on until this evening's work.
I had a Wednesday and Friday night jog planned.
Excuses drumroll please:
1) I forgot the fact that I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for Wednesday night (at 8pm... what doctor takes appointments that late other than mine?) so I couldn't run then. I did walk home along my normal street route which should have something in the positive column.
2) Thursday was then going to be the make-up jog night, but it ended up being the grossest, hottest and humidest day in the last month. Not happening.
3) Friday night then was also humid, but had high winds and lots of rain to boot. I left my house, being the trooper that I am, only to have a giant tree branch crash down from my neighbour's front yard and land directly on the sidewalk I would shortly have been on. Not happening x a million.
4) YESTERDAY night could have been a double make-up jog night, but I had friends coming in from out of town and had to stay home drinking margaritas with them. I HAD to. They would have tied me to the deck chair if I had resisted (which, being a good friend, of course I didn't)
Which brings me and my excuses to tonight.
The local high school track where OA and I started our jogging work back in May is finally open again to the public.
Hip Hip Huzzah!
I took my lazy bum-self over there at around 8pm after watching a lovely lovely lovely men's US Open Championship match. Novak Djokovic is my new Serbian pretend boyfriend after this post-quarter final impersonation series. Very funny stuff.
The run itself was pretty good. My doctor prescribed me a low dosage asthma controlling steroid which I have been taking regularly the last few days. I'm not sure if my improvement tonight was as a result of the meds or the flatter, more absorbent track surface.
Regardless, it was very nice to be back out a running (and the track was incredibly popular given that it was a Sunday evening - two walkers, a dog, a fellow jogger and some people doing tai-chi!)
DAY 30 REPORT (milestone alert - milestone alert!)
start time: 8:00 pm
Total Distance: 1.6 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1 mile
Total Walked (approx): 0.6 mile
Legs - tight here and there
Feet - fine
Lungs - good
Stomach - stitchy
Sweat level - high
I had a Wednesday and Friday night jog planned.
Excuses drumroll please:
1) I forgot the fact that I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for Wednesday night (at 8pm... what doctor takes appointments that late other than mine?) so I couldn't run then. I did walk home along my normal street route which should have something in the positive column.
2) Thursday was then going to be the make-up jog night, but it ended up being the grossest, hottest and humidest day in the last month. Not happening.
3) Friday night then was also humid, but had high winds and lots of rain to boot. I left my house, being the trooper that I am, only to have a giant tree branch crash down from my neighbour's front yard and land directly on the sidewalk I would shortly have been on. Not happening x a million.
4) YESTERDAY night could have been a double make-up jog night, but I had friends coming in from out of town and had to stay home drinking margaritas with them. I HAD to. They would have tied me to the deck chair if I had resisted (which, being a good friend, of course I didn't)
Which brings me and my excuses to tonight.
The local high school track where OA and I started our jogging work back in May is finally open again to the public.
Hip Hip Huzzah!
I took my lazy bum-self over there at around 8pm after watching a lovely lovely lovely men's US Open Championship match. Novak Djokovic is my new Serbian pretend boyfriend after this post-quarter final impersonation series. Very funny stuff.
The run itself was pretty good. My doctor prescribed me a low dosage asthma controlling steroid which I have been taking regularly the last few days. I'm not sure if my improvement tonight was as a result of the meds or the flatter, more absorbent track surface.
Regardless, it was very nice to be back out a running (and the track was incredibly popular given that it was a Sunday evening - two walkers, a dog, a fellow jogger and some people doing tai-chi!)
DAY 30 REPORT (milestone alert - milestone alert!)
start time: 8:00 pm
Total Distance: 1.6 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1 mile
Total Walked (approx): 0.6 mile
Legs - tight here and there
Feet - fine
Lungs - good
Stomach - stitchy
Sweat level - high
Monday, September 3, 2007
Woot!
Tonight's mini-run absolutely ROCKED!
True it was small - I tried out my teeny tiny 1 mile course again - but it managed to challenge me while not challenging me tooooooooo much. The perfect combo!
The temperature was a perfect 22 degrees celcius with low humidity and a nice solid warm breeze.
I have also changed my goal to mark the entire month I lost to the gallbladder removal. Instead of targetting running 100 miles by my 24th birthday on November 3, my new goal will be to run a cumulative 72 miles (or 24 - my soon to be new age - multiplied times 3).
DAY 29 REPORT
start time: 8:15 pm
1 mile
Total Ran (approx): 0.75 mile
Total Walked (approx): 0.25 mile
Legs - fine
Feet - fine
Lungs - asthma-tastic
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - low
True it was small - I tried out my teeny tiny 1 mile course again - but it managed to challenge me while not challenging me tooooooooo much. The perfect combo!
The temperature was a perfect 22 degrees celcius with low humidity and a nice solid warm breeze.
I have also changed my goal to mark the entire month I lost to the gallbladder removal. Instead of targetting running 100 miles by my 24th birthday on November 3, my new goal will be to run a cumulative 72 miles (or 24 - my soon to be new age - multiplied times 3).
DAY 29 REPORT
start time: 8:15 pm
1 mile
Total Ran (approx): 0.75 mile
Total Walked (approx): 0.25 mile
Legs - fine
Feet - fine
Lungs - asthma-tastic
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - low
Friday, August 31, 2007
Back on the Road Again...
I know I promised I would be back out on the road on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, at 9:30pm on Wednesday, it was still a horrific 32 degrees celcius outside. There was no way I was going to start my first mini-run in a month in that sort of hellish temperature.
So I postponed to yesterday which luckily was much much cooler.
The plan was to run a full mile along the same teeny tiny beginner's course I started out on back in early July.
I figured, at the very least, I could do three-quarters of it running with some appropriately teeny tiny walk breaks here and there.
I did not count on complications from ragweed - the cursed plant of late summer. My head was pounding all evening no matter how much water I consumed (normally, the best way to get rid of my headaches). A quick look at the pollen report for Toronto showed a nasty high reading for ragweed which confirmed that I am now going to be embarking on my annual two-three weeks of cursing mother nature.
Another result of the ragweed headache (and the water I drank all evening), was that my stomach was a little off for most of the quick jog and that, for the first time, I felt really and truly nauseous while exercising. Not a nice feeling.
OA, OAelder and OAjunior come home on Sunday from their three week vacation out west. Then things will get back on a normal schedule.
I'm hoping for the next two weeks to run three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays... distance will be determined largely by how soon I can complete my mini-course in the same way I could pre-gallbladder removal.
DAY 28 REPORT
start time: 8:15 pm
1 mile
Total Ran (approx): 0.5 mile (don't mock me... it was my first time out in a month... and my head hurt!)
Total Walked (approx): 0.5 mile
Legs - fine
Feet - fine
Lungs - my throat hurt and I wheezed like I have never wheezed before
Stomach - painful and included some nausea
Sweat level - low to medium
So I postponed to yesterday which luckily was much much cooler.
The plan was to run a full mile along the same teeny tiny beginner's course I started out on back in early July.
I figured, at the very least, I could do three-quarters of it running with some appropriately teeny tiny walk breaks here and there.
I did not count on complications from ragweed - the cursed plant of late summer. My head was pounding all evening no matter how much water I consumed (normally, the best way to get rid of my headaches). A quick look at the pollen report for Toronto showed a nasty high reading for ragweed which confirmed that I am now going to be embarking on my annual two-three weeks of cursing mother nature.
Another result of the ragweed headache (and the water I drank all evening), was that my stomach was a little off for most of the quick jog and that, for the first time, I felt really and truly nauseous while exercising. Not a nice feeling.
OA, OAelder and OAjunior come home on Sunday from their three week vacation out west. Then things will get back on a normal schedule.
I'm hoping for the next two weeks to run three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays... distance will be determined largely by how soon I can complete my mini-course in the same way I could pre-gallbladder removal.
DAY 28 REPORT
start time: 8:15 pm
1 mile
Total Ran (approx): 0.5 mile (don't mock me... it was my first time out in a month... and my head hurt!)
Total Walked (approx): 0.5 mile
Legs - fine
Feet - fine
Lungs - my throat hurt and I wheezed like I have never wheezed before
Stomach - painful and included some nausea
Sweat level - low to medium
Monday, August 20, 2007
Recovery and Recovery and Recovery...
It's been a while since my last post, but I thought I would fill you all in on my recovery from gallbladder removal surgery.
Saturday night was the two weeks post-op mark and, quite frankly, I'm feeling pretty darn good. No pain except for the very rare twinge when I stretch out my right abdomen while raising my right arm above my head. Excellent.
So... really I should be getting back on the jogging routine shortly. I'm half looking forward to returning to my routine and feeling better, yet I'm also partially concerned about the inevitable decline in my skills these three weeks off will have resulted in.
Also - my slightly OCD mum keeps phoning me from Montreal and insists I "not rush into things" which is giving me a bit of pause. Damn mothers are even good at adding to your own doubt from afar.
So here is the new plan of action. I go home to Montreal on Saturday, the 25th and will return on Tuesday the 28th. Wednesday the 29th is a vacation day. I will start my running program anew that night.
Huzzah. Hoo and Ray.
In the meantime, the birthday 100 mile goal will need to be look at and recalibrated. A month off is definitely going to affect the mileage... I will almost certainly bring it down to the 70-80 mile mark.
Saturday night was the two weeks post-op mark and, quite frankly, I'm feeling pretty darn good. No pain except for the very rare twinge when I stretch out my right abdomen while raising my right arm above my head. Excellent.
So... really I should be getting back on the jogging routine shortly. I'm half looking forward to returning to my routine and feeling better, yet I'm also partially concerned about the inevitable decline in my skills these three weeks off will have resulted in.
Also - my slightly OCD mum keeps phoning me from Montreal and insists I "not rush into things" which is giving me a bit of pause. Damn mothers are even good at adding to your own doubt from afar.
So here is the new plan of action. I go home to Montreal on Saturday, the 25th and will return on Tuesday the 28th. Wednesday the 29th is a vacation day. I will start my running program anew that night.
Huzzah. Hoo and Ray.
In the meantime, the birthday 100 mile goal will need to be look at and recalibrated. A month off is definitely going to affect the mileage... I will almost certainly bring it down to the 70-80 mile mark.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Thank you well wishers
So today marks my return to blogging 10 days after having my very unhappy gallbladder removed.
Unfortunately, despite this being my running blog, there has been no running to report. What there if to report is anywhere from 8 to 12 hours/day of watching tennis' Rogers Cup (aka the Canadian Open) since last Monday. On the same television. Perched on the same couch. Drinking the same ginger tea. This is the first time I can actually say I have watched an entire tennis tournament. Every single match. It is quite the couch potato feat - even for an expert like myself.
It was surprisingly exhausting yet the perfect way to recover from surgery.
Now for all of you who want to hear the nitty gritty story of my week of July 30-August 4... here goes.
It all begins back on Thursday, July 27 when I ate a burger. A simple yummy fatty as all get out burger from a neighbourhood bistro.
Indigestion followed. And continued. And continued.
I would wake up each morning feeling fine. Then I would eat... anything... and be doubled over for at least 4 hours at a time.
This went on until Tuesday when at work a colleague said she suspected I might have a gallstone problem and told me to go see a doctor. This was after having eaten two bites of veggie sandwich and being in pain.
Knowing that I needed to get on a plane on Wednesday for Edmonton, and being without a family physician, I figured the easiest thing would be to go to a walk-in clinic to ensure that I wasn't dying.
The first walk-in clinic google maps pointed me towards was a naturopath's office. No thank you.
The second was closed for the entirety of the month of August. Crap.
By this time, I had convinced myself that all this pain was in my head and that it would eventually go away if I fasted for a bit and took things more easily. A hot water bottle helped enormously on Tuesday evening. Especially coupled with the fact that I hadn't eaten anything since the two bites of sandwich earlier that day.
Wednesday, I got to Edmonton fine. Again, I ate nothing.
By Thursday morning, I was starving so I bought some rice cakes and apple juice to sip on. This was followed by agonizing pain.
By 5pm that evening, I knew I would not be able to make it until Sunday (my anticipated return flight) and was obsessed with getting out of Edmonton and home. So I booked a very expensive flight to Toronto which left Edmonton at 1am mountain time and arrived in Toronto at 6:45 in the morning.
From arriving at the airport at 10:30pm to touch-down in Toronto I was literally counting the elapsed time in quarters of hours. It was what I imagine a marathon to feel like.
By the time I arrived home and collapsed on my living room couch, OA was primed and ready to get me to her preferred emergency centre at Womens College Hospital downtown.
I was immediately admitted (accolades for the wonderful people at WCH please!) and shot up with enough painkillers to down a horse.
6 hours and an ultrasound later, my gallstones were confirmed (one big one "bouncing around" inside the gallbladder and another smaller one stuck in the bile duct causing pressure to build up and my enormous pain). I was transferred to Sunnybrook Hospital and on Saturday night had the offending gallbladder removed laprascopically.
The surgery itself was extremely cool - three tiny little mosquito-bite sized incision on my abdomen and a larger one just above my bellybutton. None of my doctors were McGill grads (darn - I couldn't get a single donation to the Alma Mater Fund and claim I was working!) but they managed to do an adequate job considering their lowly education :)
I returned home on Monday.
My parents left Montreal at 4am (!!!) on Saturday morning and didn't leave Toronto until Wednesday. My mother literally BLEACHED my room clean. I don't think she approved of my housekeeping skills.
So that was my week and am feeling great. I'm back at work today and am hoping to be able to start running again in two weeks or so.
Thank you everyone for the good vibes you sent me - they appear to have worked. :)
Unfortunately, despite this being my running blog, there has been no running to report. What there if to report is anywhere from 8 to 12 hours/day of watching tennis' Rogers Cup (aka the Canadian Open) since last Monday. On the same television. Perched on the same couch. Drinking the same ginger tea. This is the first time I can actually say I have watched an entire tennis tournament. Every single match. It is quite the couch potato feat - even for an expert like myself.
It was surprisingly exhausting yet the perfect way to recover from surgery.
Now for all of you who want to hear the nitty gritty story of my week of July 30-August 4... here goes.
It all begins back on Thursday, July 27 when I ate a burger. A simple yummy fatty as all get out burger from a neighbourhood bistro.
Indigestion followed. And continued. And continued.
I would wake up each morning feeling fine. Then I would eat... anything... and be doubled over for at least 4 hours at a time.
This went on until Tuesday when at work a colleague said she suspected I might have a gallstone problem and told me to go see a doctor. This was after having eaten two bites of veggie sandwich and being in pain.
Knowing that I needed to get on a plane on Wednesday for Edmonton, and being without a family physician, I figured the easiest thing would be to go to a walk-in clinic to ensure that I wasn't dying.
The first walk-in clinic google maps pointed me towards was a naturopath's office. No thank you.
The second was closed for the entirety of the month of August. Crap.
By this time, I had convinced myself that all this pain was in my head and that it would eventually go away if I fasted for a bit and took things more easily. A hot water bottle helped enormously on Tuesday evening. Especially coupled with the fact that I hadn't eaten anything since the two bites of sandwich earlier that day.
Wednesday, I got to Edmonton fine. Again, I ate nothing.
By Thursday morning, I was starving so I bought some rice cakes and apple juice to sip on. This was followed by agonizing pain.
By 5pm that evening, I knew I would not be able to make it until Sunday (my anticipated return flight) and was obsessed with getting out of Edmonton and home. So I booked a very expensive flight to Toronto which left Edmonton at 1am mountain time and arrived in Toronto at 6:45 in the morning.
From arriving at the airport at 10:30pm to touch-down in Toronto I was literally counting the elapsed time in quarters of hours. It was what I imagine a marathon to feel like.
By the time I arrived home and collapsed on my living room couch, OA was primed and ready to get me to her preferred emergency centre at Womens College Hospital downtown.
I was immediately admitted (accolades for the wonderful people at WCH please!) and shot up with enough painkillers to down a horse.
6 hours and an ultrasound later, my gallstones were confirmed (one big one "bouncing around" inside the gallbladder and another smaller one stuck in the bile duct causing pressure to build up and my enormous pain). I was transferred to Sunnybrook Hospital and on Saturday night had the offending gallbladder removed laprascopically.
The surgery itself was extremely cool - three tiny little mosquito-bite sized incision on my abdomen and a larger one just above my bellybutton. None of my doctors were McGill grads (darn - I couldn't get a single donation to the Alma Mater Fund and claim I was working!) but they managed to do an adequate job considering their lowly education :)
I returned home on Monday.
My parents left Montreal at 4am (!!!) on Saturday morning and didn't leave Toronto until Wednesday. My mother literally BLEACHED my room clean. I don't think she approved of my housekeeping skills.
So that was my week and am feeling great. I'm back at work today and am hoping to be able to start running again in two weeks or so.
Thank you everyone for the good vibes you sent me - they appear to have worked. :)
Monday, August 6, 2007
Gallbladder Out, Percoset In
So surgery on Saturday night for to remove my gallbladder.
Returned home this morning. Painkillers are my new best friend.
My 100 mile plan is in serious jeopardy.
Send good vibes my way.
Returned home this morning. Painkillers are my new best friend.
My 100 mile plan is in serious jeopardy.
Send good vibes my way.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
I am hypochondriac
I am now convinced that I am sufferring from a possible gallbladder problem. The same pain after eating has been around since Thursday evening. Thursday! And it is now Tuesday!
Oh well - I need to get myself a doctor and make an appointment upon my return from Edmonton on Sunday.
Yesterday's run turned into a "OMG THIS SUCKS" session really quickly and was therefore shortened considerably. Instead of distance, I concentrated on getting around my mile and a quarter course as quickly as possible (turned out to be about 18 minutes including walk breaks)
DAY 27 REPORT
start time: 9:30pm
1.25 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.75 miles [improvement after yesterday's debacle!]
Total Walked (approx): 0.75 miles
Legs - good
Feet - fine
Lungs - wheezy
Stomach - painful
Sweat level - medium
Oh well - I need to get myself a doctor and make an appointment upon my return from Edmonton on Sunday.
Yesterday's run turned into a "OMG THIS SUCKS" session really quickly and was therefore shortened considerably. Instead of distance, I concentrated on getting around my mile and a quarter course as quickly as possible (turned out to be about 18 minutes including walk breaks)
DAY 27 REPORT
start time: 9:30pm
1.25 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.75 miles [improvement after yesterday's debacle!]
Total Walked (approx): 0.75 miles
Legs - good
Feet - fine
Lungs - wheezy
Stomach - painful
Sweat level - medium
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Excuse me while I writhe in pain...
What I call the "pangs" of indigestion/acid reflux/gallstones have lasted far past their welcome.
I should NEVER have had that burger on Thursday night. Ever since then, there has been a pretty constant (and unfortunately familiar) feeling of discomfort in my upper abdomen - trending towards my back and shoulder blades.
All the same, today was a run day and, in the end, moving and feeling aches in other parts of my body were a welcome relief of sorts.
I have to go to Edmonton with my sister later this week to help her find a place to live so I will be adding an extra run day tomorrow.
DAY 27 REPORT
start time: 9:00pm
1.85 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1 miles [improvement after yesterday's debacle!]
Total Walked (approx): 0.85 miles
Legs - a little weak here and there
Feet - fine
Lungs - wheezy
Stomach - uncomfortable from heartburn, not running
Sweat level - high
I should NEVER have had that burger on Thursday night. Ever since then, there has been a pretty constant (and unfortunately familiar) feeling of discomfort in my upper abdomen - trending towards my back and shoulder blades.
All the same, today was a run day and, in the end, moving and feeling aches in other parts of my body were a welcome relief of sorts.
I have to go to Edmonton with my sister later this week to help her find a place to live so I will be adding an extra run day tomorrow.
DAY 27 REPORT
start time: 9:00pm
1.85 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1 miles [improvement after yesterday's debacle!]
Total Walked (approx): 0.85 miles
Legs - a little weak here and there
Feet - fine
Lungs - wheezy
Stomach - uncomfortable from heartburn, not running
Sweat level - high
Friday, July 27, 2007
20 mile mark!
I officially am 1/5 of the way through my goal of running 100 miles by by 24th birthday on November 3.
Huzzah!
Tonight's was a fairly uneventful run... 22 degrees with 85% humidity for a humidex rating around 30 degrees. So sweat coursing down my face was a bit of a problem.
I'm now off to watch Episode 6 of HBO's Flight of the Conchords... I am obsessed with this show. Two New Zealand guys in a folk band go to New York and hijincks ensue. The fact that their music and lyrics are so hilarious while they portray being absolutely serious about their music careers... gets me everytime.
One of my favourite songs of theirs is a satiric version of Puff the Magic Dragon. The humour is dry so be warned!
Albi the Rascist Dragon
DAY 26 REPORT
start time: 9:30pm
1.85 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1 miles [improvement after yesterday's debacle!]
Total Walked (approx): 0.85 miles
Legs - good
Feet - fine
Lungs - good
Stomach - more acid reflux related pangs
Sweat level - soaking
Huzzah!
Tonight's was a fairly uneventful run... 22 degrees with 85% humidity for a humidex rating around 30 degrees. So sweat coursing down my face was a bit of a problem.
I'm now off to watch Episode 6 of HBO's Flight of the Conchords... I am obsessed with this show. Two New Zealand guys in a folk band go to New York and hijincks ensue. The fact that their music and lyrics are so hilarious while they portray being absolutely serious about their music careers... gets me everytime.
One of my favourite songs of theirs is a satiric version of Puff the Magic Dragon. The humour is dry so be warned!
Albi the Rascist Dragon
DAY 26 REPORT
start time: 9:30pm
1.85 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1 miles [improvement after yesterday's debacle!]
Total Walked (approx): 0.85 miles
Legs - good
Feet - fine
Lungs - good
Stomach - more acid reflux related pangs
Sweat level - soaking
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Puppy! (oh... and another run too)
Tonight was just as hot and muggy as last night... but somehow the jog improved tenfold.
Go figure.
It also included a fairly lengthy break about 1 mile in when I was accosted by the cutest 4 month old golden lab puppy EVER. It's owner didn't appear to be in much of a rush and let me fawn over the dog for at least two minutes.
Tomorrow night should be when I break the 20 mile mark in my 100 mile odyssey. OA has been notified to put confetti on standby.
DAY 25 REPORT
start time: 9:30pm
1.85 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1 miles [improvement after yesterday's debacle!]
Total Walked (approx): 0.85 miles
Legs - good
Feet - fine
Lungs - better!
Stomach - meh... some non-running related digestive distress
Sweat level - high
Overall impression - yea adequacy... and puppies!
Go figure.
It also included a fairly lengthy break about 1 mile in when I was accosted by the cutest 4 month old golden lab puppy EVER. It's owner didn't appear to be in much of a rush and let me fawn over the dog for at least two minutes.
Tomorrow night should be when I break the 20 mile mark in my 100 mile odyssey. OA has been notified to put confetti on standby.
DAY 25 REPORT
start time: 9:30pm
1.85 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1 miles [improvement after yesterday's debacle!]
Total Walked (approx): 0.85 miles
Legs - good
Feet - fine
Lungs - better!
Stomach - meh... some non-running related digestive distress
Sweat level - high
Overall impression - yea adequacy... and puppies!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Worse yet
That really sucked.
Sucked x 1000.
Suck to the power of infinite.
I had to skip yesterday's planned run because OA invited the neighbours for dinner unexpectedly. These are the same neighbours who, when OA brought up the fact that she and I are now running regularly, mentioned that last year both of them signed up for a completed an ultra-marathon.
That started in Toronto. And ended in Hamilton (that's about 50-60 miles...) When you are running to an area that is a pretty darn far CAR COMMUTE from your starting point, you must be crazy.
So tonight. 23 degrees. Not all that sunny. What the heck - I've run in hotter conditions.
I must have forgot to look at the data that would show that running tonight would involve moving through a greenhouse. Needless to say, it was the uber humidity that did me in.
I changed course halfway through to something shorter.
I ran no further than 0.25 miles at a time.
I actually stopped to hang over a street sign at one point in exhaustion.
It was not pretty.
DAY 24 REPORT
start time: 8:30pm
1.35 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.8 miles [EWWWWWWWWWW]
Total Walked (approx): a lot (okay, okay... 0.55 miles)
Legs - ow ow ow ow
Feet - fine
Lungs - wheezey
Stomach - adequate
Sweat level - at one point, I am sure people on the street thought I was crying from the amount of sweat pouring off my brow
Overall impression - really horrible... I was looking forward to tonight and yet I felt terrible throughout the whole ordeal
Sucked x 1000.
Suck to the power of infinite.
I had to skip yesterday's planned run because OA invited the neighbours for dinner unexpectedly. These are the same neighbours who, when OA brought up the fact that she and I are now running regularly, mentioned that last year both of them signed up for a completed an ultra-marathon.
That started in Toronto. And ended in Hamilton (that's about 50-60 miles...) When you are running to an area that is a pretty darn far CAR COMMUTE from your starting point, you must be crazy.
So tonight. 23 degrees. Not all that sunny. What the heck - I've run in hotter conditions.
I must have forgot to look at the data that would show that running tonight would involve moving through a greenhouse. Needless to say, it was the uber humidity that did me in.
I changed course halfway through to something shorter.
I ran no further than 0.25 miles at a time.
I actually stopped to hang over a street sign at one point in exhaustion.
It was not pretty.
DAY 24 REPORT
start time: 8:30pm
1.35 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.8 miles [EWWWWWWWWWW]
Total Walked (approx): a lot (okay, okay... 0.55 miles)
Legs - ow ow ow ow
Feet - fine
Lungs - wheezey
Stomach - adequate
Sweat level - at one point, I am sure people on the street thought I was crying from the amount of sweat pouring off my brow
Overall impression - really horrible... I was looking forward to tonight and yet I felt terrible throughout the whole ordeal
Sunday, July 22, 2007
You Can't Stop the Beat
After a day of loungeing around in my bed, wearing pajamas, eating sushi and reading the entire final Harry Potter book, I knew I would have to face it eventually.
Another run.
Blerch.
I ran the course I intended. It was hotter than normal, but I know from the weather report today that tonight is probably the coolest it will be for the next 7 days at least.
Double Blerch.
Good news was that neither of my feet went numb tonight... progress!
Also good news was that just as I was going to fade tonight, my omniscient mp3 player decide to shuffle to the Original Broadway Cast Recording of "You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray. That definitely got my feet moving.
Give me Harvey Fierstein over John Travolta any day of the week :)
DAY 23 REPORT
start time: 9:00pm
1.85 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.05 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.8 miles
Legs - shins had some issues here and there
Feet - fine
Lungs - The "wheeze cough cough wheeze cough cough" returned with a vengeance
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - soaking
Overall impression - I'm too tired to recall much about tonight... and I have to go to work in the morning. Ewwwww.
Another run.
Blerch.
I ran the course I intended. It was hotter than normal, but I know from the weather report today that tonight is probably the coolest it will be for the next 7 days at least.
Double Blerch.
Good news was that neither of my feet went numb tonight... progress!
Also good news was that just as I was going to fade tonight, my omniscient mp3 player decide to shuffle to the Original Broadway Cast Recording of "You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray. That definitely got my feet moving.
Give me Harvey Fierstein over John Travolta any day of the week :)
DAY 23 REPORT
start time: 9:00pm
1.85 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.05 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.8 miles
Legs - shins had some issues here and there
Feet - fine
Lungs - The "wheeze cough cough wheeze cough cough" returned with a vengeance
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - soaking
Overall impression - I'm too tired to recall much about tonight... and I have to go to work in the morning. Ewwwww.
Friday, July 20, 2007
A Great Friday Evening
Because I work for a University with a very powerful Quebec-based union (please don't ask why I am in Toronto, it's a long story), I get every Friday from St. Jean Baptiste Holiday (June 24) to Labour Day as a paid holiday.
It is lurvely.
I spent this "Summer Friday" - as they are known - sleeping in until 11 and then puttering about in my pajamas until 5pm. 5pm!!! The best day ever.
I then made homemade falafel for OA, OAelder and OAjunior, and for payback, required they watch the PBS Live from Lincoln Centre performance of Broadway's "The Light in the Piazza". This show simply makes me happy. Plain and simple. Joy.
The joy extended into my evening run. I was only supposed to run 1 mile today, but was able to stretch in an extra 0.15 of a mile - my longest jog ever!
My right foot went numb again, but this time much further into my session... really only with one tiny bit left to go.
Oh well.
It was nice and cool - only 18 degrees celcius, with a very firm breeze that cooled me off the whole way.
DAY 22 REPORT
start time: 9:45pm
1.85 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.15 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.7 miles
Legs - not much of a problem
Feet - right foot numb for last quarter mile
Lungs - good
Stomach - some momentary stitches
Sweat level - high
Overall impression - a great way to start the weekend!
It is lurvely.
I spent this "Summer Friday" - as they are known - sleeping in until 11 and then puttering about in my pajamas until 5pm. 5pm!!! The best day ever.
I then made homemade falafel for OA, OAelder and OAjunior, and for payback, required they watch the PBS Live from Lincoln Centre performance of Broadway's "The Light in the Piazza". This show simply makes me happy. Plain and simple. Joy.
The joy extended into my evening run. I was only supposed to run 1 mile today, but was able to stretch in an extra 0.15 of a mile - my longest jog ever!
My right foot went numb again, but this time much further into my session... really only with one tiny bit left to go.
Oh well.
It was nice and cool - only 18 degrees celcius, with a very firm breeze that cooled me off the whole way.
DAY 22 REPORT
start time: 9:45pm
1.85 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1.15 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.7 miles
Legs - not much of a problem
Feet - right foot numb for last quarter mile
Lungs - good
Stomach - some momentary stitches
Sweat level - high
Overall impression - a great way to start the weekend!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
And now for something slightly different...
I tried something new today. Instead of taking my teeny tiny 1.25 mile course, I trimmed my existing jog legs and added two whole new long quarter mile blocks.
Now, if I had done it exactly as I planned, I would have run 1.25 miles and walked 0.6 miles. That didn't happen because of a number of issues including:
1) it was humid as hell
2) my mp3 player broke down halfway through my course
3) I had a sudden desperate urge to use the washroom at several different instances while running which caused me to stop to avoid any embarrassing situations (tmi again?)
4) it was so dark in spots on my new blocks that I was afraid I would accidentally land in a crevice and hurt myself
... and the clincher
5) at the exact mile mark, my right foot went numb
Now the big news is that my shin issues were not rearing their ugly heads this run. The numb right foot - which wasn't caused by shoes which were too tight or anything similar - is worrisome.
Hopefully it is a one off event.
In other news, this is my first full mile run. Huzzah and Hooray! Broken up as it is by numerous walking sessions, it is still a mini-milestone!
DAY 21 REPORT
start time: 9:30pm
1.85 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.85 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1 mile
Legs - nothing
Feet - right foot dead
Lungs - gaspy
Stomach - stitchy for a bit
Sweat level - medium-high
Overall impression - a run that left me (well almost all of me except the foot) feeling good. Tomorrow will be another attempt!
Now, if I had done it exactly as I planned, I would have run 1.25 miles and walked 0.6 miles. That didn't happen because of a number of issues including:
1) it was humid as hell
2) my mp3 player broke down halfway through my course
3) I had a sudden desperate urge to use the washroom at several different instances while running which caused me to stop to avoid any embarrassing situations (tmi again?)
4) it was so dark in spots on my new blocks that I was afraid I would accidentally land in a crevice and hurt myself
... and the clincher
5) at the exact mile mark, my right foot went numb
Now the big news is that my shin issues were not rearing their ugly heads this run. The numb right foot - which wasn't caused by shoes which were too tight or anything similar - is worrisome.
Hopefully it is a one off event.
In other news, this is my first full mile run. Huzzah and Hooray! Broken up as it is by numerous walking sessions, it is still a mini-milestone!
DAY 21 REPORT
start time: 9:30pm
1.85 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.85 miles
Total Ran (approx): 1 mile
Legs - nothing
Feet - right foot dead
Lungs - gaspy
Stomach - stitchy for a bit
Sweat level - medium-high
Overall impression - a run that left me (well almost all of me except the foot) feeling good. Tomorrow will be another attempt!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Morning Run
My first morning run in a long time.
Mornings are officially not for me. They should not exist. From now on, there is no such thing as a 5:45 wakeup time.
According to Environment Canada it is only 18 degrees outside... there must be a storm on the way because it is awfully humid out.
Oh... have I mentioned recently my love of cricket? ;)
DAY 20 REPORT
start time: 6am
1.25 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.5 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.85 miles
Legs - shin issues again! I am going to have to start researching this
Lungs - back to wheeziness
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - high
Overall impression - another merely adequate run... tomorrow will be an attempt at something bigger
Mornings are officially not for me. They should not exist. From now on, there is no such thing as a 5:45 wakeup time.
According to Environment Canada it is only 18 degrees outside... there must be a storm on the way because it is awfully humid out.
Oh... have I mentioned recently my love of cricket? ;)
DAY 20 REPORT
start time: 6am
1.25 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.5 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.85 miles
Legs - shin issues again! I am going to have to start researching this
Lungs - back to wheeziness
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - high
Overall impression - another merely adequate run... tomorrow will be an attempt at something bigger
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Not Huge in Japan
I finally got around to checking out my blog's stats on Google Analytics. Overall readership (or, as I like to think of it, the number of people who have accidentally fallen on this page) is impressive - over 334 individual visits!
Okay... so given the world's population of approximately 6 billion and discounting any issues relating to people who have visited the site multiple times.... 1 x 10 to the -10 power percent of the world have seen my whinings. I think. It's been a while since I've had to deal with 10s to the power of blah.
Huzzah!
World domination is imminent.
What is especially fascinating about Google Analytics is that it shows where all you people are coming from...
I'm huge in just about every corner of the world EXCEPT Japan. Clearly, there is no wheezing nor whining in Japan.
Okay... so given the world's population of approximately 6 billion and discounting any issues relating to people who have visited the site multiple times.... 1 x 10 to the -10 power percent of the world have seen my whinings. I think. It's been a while since I've had to deal with 10s to the power of blah.
Huzzah!
World domination is imminent.
What is especially fascinating about Google Analytics is that it shows where all you people are coming from...
I'm huge in just about every corner of the world EXCEPT Japan. Clearly, there is no wheezing nor whining in Japan.
| Canada | ||
| 63 | Toronto | |
| 37 | Etobicoke | |
| 3 | Edmonton | |
| 2 | Calgary | |
| 1 | Milton | |
| 1 | Abbotsford | |
| 1 | London | |
| 1 | Ottawa | |
| 1 | Scarborough | |
| 1 | Burnaby | |
| US | ||
| 35 | Wisconsin | |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | |
| 13 | Nebraska | |
| 10 | Indiana | |
| 10 | Illinois | |
| 9 | North Carolina | |
| 6 | Alabama | |
| 6 | Maryland | |
| 5 | Texas | |
| 5 | California | |
| 4 | New York | |
| 4 | Florida | |
| 4 | Tennessee | |
| 4 | Michigan | |
| 4 | Oregon | |
| 4 | Georgia | |
| 3 | Colorado | |
| 3 | Arizona | |
| 2 | Kentucky | |
| 2 | Massachusetts | |
| 2 | Ohio | |
| 2 | Missouri | |
| 2 | Oklahoma | |
| 1 | Mississippi | |
| 1 | Iowa | |
| 1 | West Virginia | |
| 1 | New Jersey | |
| 1 | Washington | |
| 1 | Idaho | |
| South America | ||
| 1 | Chile | |
| 1 | Argentina | |
| UK | ||
| 7 | England | |
| 2 | Scotland | |
| Ireland | ||
| 6 | Kilorglin | |
| Northern Europe | ||
| 1 | Denmark | |
| Southern Europe | ||
| 1 | Portugal | |
| 1 | Italy | |
| West Europe | ||
| 3 | Germany | |
| Eastern Europe | ||
| 1 | Poland | |
| 1 | Ukraine | |
| Africa | ||
| 3 | South Africa | |
| Western Asia | ||
| 1 | Georgia | |
| 1 | UAE | |
| Southern Asia | ||
| 4 | India | |
| Eastern Asia | ||
| 1 | Macao | |
| South East Asia | ||
| 1 | Thailand | |
| 1 | Malaysia | |
| Oceania | ||
| 4 | Australia | |
| 3 | New Zealand |
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Salsa (dancing), Salsa (condiment), Jogging
The annual "Salsa on St. Clair Avenue" street festival took place this weekend. It was a soggy, cold and generally weather miserable two days for the latin community in my neighbourhood, but that didn't stop a few hundred people from getting together.
Oh... it also didn't stop me from eating two wonderful chicken and chorizo sausage tacos with great salsa verde AND two churros.
World peace can be attained by having ever nationality and religion share their ethnic deep-fried dough dish with their enemies. Seriously. I should contact the UN with this proposal.
Peace by doughnuts is the way to go!
It was also yet another running day. Today was much less painful than Friday's. Those days off really help.
The problem today was mental fortitude. I know how long I can jog for... why then do I suddenly find myself losing track of what my feet are doing and come to an abrupt stop in my forward momentum? It's like a switch gets turned off in my head.
A few seconds of walking after this "turn off" and I am able to start up again. It just kills any sense of progress I have.
Oh well.
Tomorrow I get to see a press preview of the Hairspray movie with OA, OAelder and OAjunior and am very excited. In preparation, we sang along to youtube karaoke tracks of the OBCR (that's Original Broadway Cast Recording for all you non-musical theatre geeks!)
DAY 19 REPORT
start time: 9:00 pm
1.35 miles (more than normal... made up for the sudden tiny walk breaks here and there)
Total Walked (approx): 0.4 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.95 miles
Legs - twinges in my shins here and there - the first leg of the course was fine
Lungs - no big issues... my wheezing is definitely improving
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - medium
Overall impression - a good, adequate jog. I must break through my mental/physical 1 mile block... let's hope the music from Hairspray helps on Tuesday!
Oh... it also didn't stop me from eating two wonderful chicken and chorizo sausage tacos with great salsa verde AND two churros.
World peace can be attained by having ever nationality and religion share their ethnic deep-fried dough dish with their enemies. Seriously. I should contact the UN with this proposal.
Peace by doughnuts is the way to go!
It was also yet another running day. Today was much less painful than Friday's. Those days off really help.
The problem today was mental fortitude. I know how long I can jog for... why then do I suddenly find myself losing track of what my feet are doing and come to an abrupt stop in my forward momentum? It's like a switch gets turned off in my head.
A few seconds of walking after this "turn off" and I am able to start up again. It just kills any sense of progress I have.
Oh well.
Tomorrow I get to see a press preview of the Hairspray movie with OA, OAelder and OAjunior and am very excited. In preparation, we sang along to youtube karaoke tracks of the OBCR (that's Original Broadway Cast Recording for all you non-musical theatre geeks!)
DAY 19 REPORT
start time: 9:00 pm
1.35 miles (more than normal... made up for the sudden tiny walk breaks here and there)
Total Walked (approx): 0.4 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.95 miles
Legs - twinges in my shins here and there - the first leg of the course was fine
Lungs - no big issues... my wheezing is definitely improving
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - medium
Overall impression - a good, adequate jog. I must break through my mental/physical 1 mile block... let's hope the music from Hairspray helps on Tuesday!
Friday, July 13, 2007
Lacklustre but something
My lungs were willing but my legs were not tonight.
Go figure.
I managed a puny 0.75 mile run/0.5 mile walk. Very disappointing. There were so many mini-walk breaks I lost count.
Oh well - it's nothing that a ton of stretching and a much deserved day off won't help (I hope)!
DAY 18 REPORT
start time: 9:00 pm
1.25 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.5 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.75 miles
Legs - very tense and painful shins and upper legs... probably a result of two nights of running in a row
Lungs - fine for the first time!
Stomach - no problems
Sweat level - medium-low
Overall impression - bleh, but not a complete waste
Go figure.
I managed a puny 0.75 mile run/0.5 mile walk. Very disappointing. There were so many mini-walk breaks I lost count.
Oh well - it's nothing that a ton of stretching and a much deserved day off won't help (I hope)!
DAY 18 REPORT
start time: 9:00 pm
1.25 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.5 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.75 miles
Legs - very tense and painful shins and upper legs... probably a result of two nights of running in a row
Lungs - fine for the first time!
Stomach - no problems
Sweat level - medium-low
Overall impression - bleh, but not a complete waste
Thursday, July 12, 2007
A Run in the Rain
It was perfectly clear and relatively cool all day. Then, about 15 minutes before my now traditional 9pm jog time, the heavens opened and it rained fairly heavily.
Running in the rain, as I discovered early in June on the only other day my run day and time coincided with a shower, is a lot of fun.
Coupled with the light breeze and really pleasant 20 degree celcius temperature, I was a very happy camper.
The only problem today was that I got about halfway through my course and suddenly had a tremendous urge to... er... use the washroom.
Yikes!
I made it home a little faster than normal after that (and without any accidents to boot!)
TMI? :)
DAY 17 REPORT
start time: 9:00 pm
1.25 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.35 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.9 miles
Legs - a little twingey at the very beginning but any pain cleared up quickly
Lungs - my throat felt sore again, but nothing compared to Tuesday night
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - medium (the rain washed most of it away)
Overall impression - back to good old adequate runs... yea!
Running in the rain, as I discovered early in June on the only other day my run day and time coincided with a shower, is a lot of fun.
Coupled with the light breeze and really pleasant 20 degree celcius temperature, I was a very happy camper.
The only problem today was that I got about halfway through my course and suddenly had a tremendous urge to... er... use the washroom.
Yikes!
I made it home a little faster than normal after that (and without any accidents to boot!)
TMI? :)
DAY 17 REPORT
start time: 9:00 pm
1.25 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.35 miles
Total Ran (approx): 0.9 miles
Legs - a little twingey at the very beginning but any pain cleared up quickly
Lungs - my throat felt sore again, but nothing compared to Tuesday night
Stomach - fine
Sweat level - medium (the rain washed most of it away)
Overall impression - back to good old adequate runs... yea!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Goal Setting Time
This week marks my 6 week jogging anniversary.
When I started back on May 29, I had no idea I could keep up with something this long and, quite frankly, exactly what everyone says would happen happened - I started to look forward to my running days. Shock.
I'm still wheezy. My distance is still puny. But there's progress. And I have come to the realization that small amounts of progress are enough.
So I have reviewed my goals in the last few days. My first one was simply to be able to run one lap of a quarter mile track without stopping. Check.
The next one was to be able to run the equivalent of two laps. Check.
Still, the fact that both of those accomplishments have taken me so long makes me think I need to have a larger goal to be looking forward to/pushing me faster along my small goal checkpoints.
So as of today I have made a new goal. My 100 mile plan.
I want to have run 100 miles by my 24th birthday on November 3. Starting from my May 29th get off my ass date, that makes 22 weeks and 4 days, or the equivalent of approximately 4.35 miles per week.
So far, I have run 10.61 miles - or approximately 10.5% of my goal in approximately 25% of my available time.
Clearly, I need to start aiming for higher mileage totals on a weekly basis. Last week - one of my best so far - I ran only 2.5 miles.
Despite this, I think the goal is realistic - especially as I start adding more and more distance each week.
Plus, now I have a very cute little ticker to update! What more could a girl ask for?
When I started back on May 29, I had no idea I could keep up with something this long and, quite frankly, exactly what everyone says would happen happened - I started to look forward to my running days. Shock.
I'm still wheezy. My distance is still puny. But there's progress. And I have come to the realization that small amounts of progress are enough.
So I have reviewed my goals in the last few days. My first one was simply to be able to run one lap of a quarter mile track without stopping. Check.
The next one was to be able to run the equivalent of two laps. Check.
Still, the fact that both of those accomplishments have taken me so long makes me think I need to have a larger goal to be looking forward to/pushing me faster along my small goal checkpoints.
So as of today I have made a new goal. My 100 mile plan.
I want to have run 100 miles by my 24th birthday on November 3. Starting from my May 29th get off my ass date, that makes 22 weeks and 4 days, or the equivalent of approximately 4.35 miles per week.
So far, I have run 10.61 miles - or approximately 10.5% of my goal in approximately 25% of my available time.
Clearly, I need to start aiming for higher mileage totals on a weekly basis. Last week - one of my best so far - I ran only 2.5 miles.
Despite this, I think the goal is realistic - especially as I start adding more and more distance each week.
Plus, now I have a very cute little ticker to update! What more could a girl ask for?
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
That... was a disaster
After not running for three days straight (two legitimate rest days + one heat related day off), I knew I had to get back out on the road tonight.
When I left the house at 9 pm, it was still over thirty degrees.
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
This was as close to a full-on disaster, step-backward jog as I have in the last three weeks.
Everything hurt. My legs. My stomach. Even my throat felt sore.
It didn't help that today was day one of my monthly visit from Aunt Flow either.
DAY 16 REPORT
start time: 9:00 pm
1.25 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.5 mile (YIKES!)
Total Ran (approx): 0.75 mile (DOUBLE YIKES!)
Legs - very, very pained shins
Lungs - wheezy, and my throat felt super sore - probably smog related
Stomach - really stitchy... I felt like an idiot holding my arms above the head to get rid of the cramp during one of my many walk breaks
Sweat level - high
Overall impression - the most craptastic run I have had so far
When I left the house at 9 pm, it was still over thirty degrees.
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
This was as close to a full-on disaster, step-backward jog as I have in the last three weeks.
Everything hurt. My legs. My stomach. Even my throat felt sore.
It didn't help that today was day one of my monthly visit from Aunt Flow either.
DAY 16 REPORT
start time: 9:00 pm
1.25 miles
Total Walked (approx): 0.5 mile (YIKES!)
Total Ran (approx): 0.75 mile (DOUBLE YIKES!)
Legs - very, very pained shins
Lungs - wheezy, and my throat felt super sore - probably smog related
Stomach - really stitchy... I felt like an idiot holding my arms above the head to get rid of the cramp during one of my many walk breaks
Sweat level - high
Overall impression - the most craptastic run I have had so far
Crumpled in the Heat
At 9am yesterday morning I told myself I would be running twelve hours later.
At noon yesterday I went outside, hit a wall of 33+ degree heat, came back inside my office building and told myself I would be running later that night when it cooled down.
At five pm yesterday I sufferred through an entire streetcar ride home next to a man who smelled like the inside of my running shoes. I told myself that the dark clouds approaching would cool things down and I would be running as of 9pm.
At seven pm yesterday, I sat outside in the sun while sweating profusely and turned down OA's invitation of a glass of wine because I would be running two hours later.
At eight pm, I drank a glass of wine and gave up as the temperature was still over 30 degrees and it was definitely not going to rain.
It is now 10:45 am. I will be running in 10 hours and 15 minutes :)
At noon yesterday I went outside, hit a wall of 33+ degree heat, came back inside my office building and told myself I would be running later that night when it cooled down.
At five pm yesterday I sufferred through an entire streetcar ride home next to a man who smelled like the inside of my running shoes. I told myself that the dark clouds approaching would cool things down and I would be running as of 9pm.
At seven pm yesterday, I sat outside in the sun while sweating profusely and turned down OA's invitation of a glass of wine because I would be running two hours later.
At eight pm, I drank a glass of wine and gave up as the temperature was still over 30 degrees and it was definitely not going to rain.
It is now 10:45 am. I will be running in 10 hours and 15 minutes :)
Monday, July 9, 2007
Adventure in Southern Hickville Ontario + Holy Crap it's Hot!
I went to a suburb of St. Catharines, Ontario on Saturday to celebrate my friend, A's, birthday. Last year, she moved from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to the town whose motto is officially "Where Ships Climb Mountains". Unofficially, the motto should be "Thorold - a town so boring even you can't find ways to spend money here"
We spent the afternoon swimming and eating and playing endless rounds of Catchphrase until about 10 when, it being July 7, 2007 (07-07-07), we decided to high-tail it over to the Niagara casino.
About 20 minutes into our journey my friend S stopped her car at a red light while waiting to turn onto the QEW. Twenty seconds after that we heard a giant squeal and were plowed into by some idiot who was a) clearly speeding and b) clearly idiotic since he admitted to having his head down to look for something on the floor of the car.
Two hours after the crash - in which no one was hurt - the St. Catharines police finally showed up.
We stayed the night at A's condo but were seriously cranky the whole remaining time of our trip.
In other news, it is now officially monstrously hot and humid. Stuffy, as my mother calls it. That lovely mix of horrible heat combined with air like that which you would find in a bathroom right after taking a hot shower.
OA went running this morning by herself. I am going to attempt to go this evening when the hourly forecast is showing a temp of at least 27 degrees celcius and humidity levels in the low 50% range.
Ew.
We spent the afternoon swimming and eating and playing endless rounds of Catchphrase until about 10 when, it being July 7, 2007 (07-07-07), we decided to high-tail it over to the Niagara casino.
About 20 minutes into our journey my friend S stopped her car at a red light while waiting to turn onto the QEW. Twenty seconds after that we heard a giant squeal and were plowed into by some idiot who was a) clearly speeding and b) clearly idiotic since he admitted to having his head down to look for something on the floor of the car.
Two hours after the crash - in which no one was hurt - the St. Catharines police finally showed up.
We stayed the night at A's condo but were seriously cranky the whole remaining time of our trip.
In other news, it is now officially monstrously hot and humid. Stuffy, as my mother calls it. That lovely mix of horrible heat combined with air like that which you would find in a bathroom right after taking a hot shower.
OA went running this morning by herself. I am going to attempt to go this evening when the hourly forecast is showing a temp of at least 27 degrees celcius and humidity levels in the low 50% range.
Ew.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Warning... Battery Low
Was all ready to leave for my first back-to-back run (I went yesterday evening as well), turned on my MP3 player and saw "Warning - Battery Low".
I must have left the darn thing on all last night and today and completely drained it's power. Ooops...
30 minutes later and a quick emergency charge, I was back out on the road.
I actually felt pretty good again despite the relative heat - it had been very warm all day (low 30s) and the sun had been beating down pretty well. Luckily, once the sun set, it was fairly cool with a bit of a breeze steadily pushing me along.
The only difficulty I had tonight was with my shins which were definitely voicing their concern by the end of the jog.
Oh well - I am taking tomorrow off for sure and will probably wait until either Sunday (if I feel particularly enthusiastic) or Monday (much more likely!) for my next jog.
DAY 15 REPORT
start time: 9:30 pm
1.25 miles
Total Walked (approx): 3/10 (0.30) mile
Total Ran (approx): 19/20 (0.95) mile
Legs - definite soreness in the fronts of my shins... pavement still sucks
Lungs - wheezy, but far less gasping than yesterday
Stomach - again some small stitchiness as I ran the last corner
Sweat level - less than yesterday's, still enough to leave me feeling soaked
Overall impression - less dog walkers than at 9... probably because it's a Friday night. My noticeable improvement in my enjoyment of these runs is making me think good things are on the horizon in terms of beefing my mileage/stretching out those run-walk intervals to greater distances.
I must have left the darn thing on all last night and today and completely drained it's power. Ooops...
30 minutes later and a quick emergency charge, I was back out on the road.
I actually felt pretty good again despite the relative heat - it had been very warm all day (low 30s) and the sun had been beating down pretty well. Luckily, once the sun set, it was fairly cool with a bit of a breeze steadily pushing me along.
The only difficulty I had tonight was with my shins which were definitely voicing their concern by the end of the jog.
Oh well - I am taking tomorrow off for sure and will probably wait until either Sunday (if I feel particularly enthusiastic) or Monday (much more likely!) for my next jog.
DAY 15 REPORT
start time: 9:30 pm
1.25 miles
Total Walked (approx): 3/10 (0.30) mile
Total Ran (approx): 19/20 (0.95) mile
Legs - definite soreness in the fronts of my shins... pavement still sucks
Lungs - wheezy, but far less gasping than yesterday
Stomach - again some small stitchiness as I ran the last corner
Sweat level - less than yesterday's, still enough to leave me feeling soaked
Overall impression - less dog walkers than at 9... probably because it's a Friday night. My noticeable improvement in my enjoyment of these runs is making me think good things are on the horizon in terms of beefing my mileage/stretching out those run-walk intervals to greater distances.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
A teeny tiny mini microscopic milestone
Today, 1 month and 7 days after starting running from an absolute comatose state I finally managed to break my semi-physical semi-mental hurdle of the 1 mile mark.
So here's how this milestone broke down:
RUN - 0.25 mile
Walk - 0.15 mile
RUN - 0.35 mile (the most I have ever run without stopping... mock me if you must - I'm proud at least!)
Walk - 0.15 mile
RUN - 0.2 mile (I hoped to do at least another 0.25 but completely ran out of steam at the end!)
Walk - 0.05 mile
RUN - 0.05 mile (the last corner of my street and up my driveway... the neighbour had seen me leave walking and I wanted to make it clear to him that I was not just a walker... I'm a walker/runner!)
DAY 14 REPORT
start time: 9 pm
1.2 miles total (+walking to starting point)
HUZZAH HOORAY WHOOPEE
Total Walked (approx): 1/3 (0.33) mile
Total Ran (approx): 6/7 (0.86) mile
Legs - fine (yea progress!)
Lungs - wheezier than Sunday which sucked... I was so looking forward to having finally progressed sounding like a dying seal
Stomach - minute stitchiness at the very end
Sweat level - can be measured only in buckets... it was hot
Overall impression - mock me if you will for my very short distances... but progress feels great no matter how small the number increased is!
*happy dance*
I think I am beginning to like jogging at night. Seeing all the neighbours walking their dogs makes me happy, and several of them even waved and said hello to me. In Toronto! Imagine! I would have been happy if no one tasered me!
So here's how this milestone broke down:
RUN - 0.25 mile
Walk - 0.15 mile
RUN - 0.35 mile (the most I have ever run without stopping... mock me if you must - I'm proud at least!)
Walk - 0.15 mile
RUN - 0.2 mile (I hoped to do at least another 0.25 but completely ran out of steam at the end!)
Walk - 0.05 mile
RUN - 0.05 mile (the last corner of my street and up my driveway... the neighbour had seen me leave walking and I wanted to make it clear to him that I was not just a walker... I'm a walker/runner!)
DAY 14 REPORT
start time: 9 pm
1.2 miles total (+walking to starting point)
HUZZAH HOORAY WHOOPEE
Total Walked (approx): 1/3 (0.33) mile
Total Ran (approx): 6/7 (0.86) mile
Legs - fine (yea progress!)
Lungs - wheezier than Sunday which sucked... I was so looking forward to having finally progressed sounding like a dying seal
Stomach - minute stitchiness at the very end
Sweat level - can be measured only in buckets... it was hot
Overall impression - mock me if you will for my very short distances... but progress feels great no matter how small the number increased is!
Nothing to see here...
Yep.... so much for yesterday's run. Tonight is the night. I promise. I swear!eep.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Tonight's New Route with an Extra Quarter Mile
Please don't mock me for the punyness of the distance I jog/walk (i.e. 1 mile for the last month). It has been very difficult to do even my now standard 0.25 mile run-0.10 walk-0.25 run-0.15 walk-0.25 run but I feel comfortable enough to now be adding to my mileage...
So behold the new route in all its glory.
Essentially, it will be the following:
RUN, Benson/Alberta -> Benson/Arlington 0.25 miles
WALK, Benson/Arlington -> Benson/Christie 0.15 miles
RUN, Benson/Christie -> Tyrell/Christie via Wychwood Avenue 0.35 miles
WALK, Tyrell/Christie -> Tyrell/Turner 0.15 miles
RUN, Tyrell/Turner -> My homebase on Alberta Avenue 0.35 miles
Total to be Run: 0.95 mile
Total to be Walked: 0.30 miles
Total Distance: 1.25 miles
It is going to be nice and cool this evening with a light drizzle helping me out in this first attempt.
After Sunday night's great experience, I may be turning into an evening jogger!
So behold the new route in all its glory.
Essentially, it will be the following:
RUN, Benson/Alberta -> Benson/Arlington 0.25 miles
WALK, Benson/Arlington -> Benson/Christie 0.15 miles
RUN, Benson/Christie -> Tyrell/Christie via Wychwood Avenue 0.35 miles
WALK, Tyrell/Christie -> Tyrell/Turner 0.15 miles
RUN, Tyrell/Turner -> My homebase on Alberta Avenue 0.35 miles
Total to be Run: 0.95 mile
Total to be Walked: 0.30 miles
Total Distance: 1.25 miles
It is going to be nice and cool this evening with a light drizzle helping me out in this first attempt.
After Sunday night's great experience, I may be turning into an evening jogger!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Wow... that felt great!
I was very, very, very bad all of last week and skimped out on OA for our planned Thursday morning run. There was simply no way I was getting out of bed for anything... insert guilt here.
The next time I ran was Sunday night - the first time I have ever jogged outside of the morning hours. It was surprisingly cool temperature wise and my weekend lethargy allowed me to get excited to be moving. Also, it was the first time I was trying out my new MP3 armband.
The combination of all of these factors led to the absolute best running session I have had since starting five weeks ago. I was exhausted and sweaty and gross by the end... but still felt an incredible high.
Gardening for 5 hours straight yesterday completely knocked me out though. I am so very, very weak. Gardening is for little old ladies! Why am I unable to move today???
DAY 13 REPORT
start time: 8:45pm
1 mile total (+walking to starting point)
Total Walked (approx): 1/4 mile
Total Ran (approx): 3/4 mile
Legs - fine (yea progress!)
Lungs - wheezy, but the advantage of listening to music while jogging is that I couldn't hear my own wheezing and get freaked out by the horrible sounds I produce while exerting myself in any way
Stomach - fine except for a little nausea after the jog... probably this is a result of having drunk a large glass of water an hour before starting out and the liquid not having been fully processed in my stomach
Sweat level - medium-high... more from exertion than from any heat. Which is good.
Overall impression - the best run so far... I want more and more and more like this one!
The next time I ran was Sunday night - the first time I have ever jogged outside of the morning hours. It was surprisingly cool temperature wise and my weekend lethargy allowed me to get excited to be moving. Also, it was the first time I was trying out my new MP3 armband.
The combination of all of these factors led to the absolute best running session I have had since starting five weeks ago. I was exhausted and sweaty and gross by the end... but still felt an incredible high.
Gardening for 5 hours straight yesterday completely knocked me out though. I am so very, very weak. Gardening is for little old ladies! Why am I unable to move today???
DAY 13 REPORT
start time: 8:45pm
1 mile total (+walking to starting point)
Total Walked (approx): 1/4 mile
Total Ran (approx): 3/4 mile
Legs - fine (yea progress!)
Lungs - wheezy, but the advantage of listening to music while jogging is that I couldn't hear my own wheezing and get freaked out by the horrible sounds I produce while exerting myself in any way
Stomach - fine except for a little nausea after the jog... probably this is a result of having drunk a large glass of water an hour before starting out and the liquid not having been fully processed in my stomach
Sweat level - medium-high... more from exertion than from any heat. Which is good.
Overall impression - the best run so far... I want more and more and more like this one!
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