Run For Life

If you actually read this you should update your RSS feeds (and/or bookmarks) to this location: http://runforlife3.wordpress.com  I'll be transferring over the posts later.  (Yes, I'm aware I've said this once...no false alarm this time, I promise!)  Have a great day!

Yes, I'm still alive and kickin' :P

I haven't been blogging because I've been in a foul mood lately and did not want to impose that onto my RBF's.  I've just been feeling down, mopey, and in a general state of unrest.  Which I HATE being like since it's so out of character for me.  I've decided to put a moratorium on my bad mood and list some things I've been mulling over because it might help.

The past couple of days I've been trying to pinpoint the reason I've been cranky.  I think it boils down to two factors: eating differently than normal (read: caffeine and sweets) and also UNDERtraining.  Yes, not overtraining, but undertraining.  (I now proclaim this a word.)  I've been keeping my mileage low for fear that I'll cause an injury since my legs were giving me such trouble a while ago.  Lately though, I haven't wanted to run because when I do, it seems like I'm just warming up when it's time to stop.  So, starting tomorrow the mileage will be increasing.  I'll report back to see if this is in fact helping later on.

A little tidbit about me: I am a shy person initially.  Once you get to know me, I'll open up and it'll be hard to shut me up at times.  I've also noticed that this has become worse lately.  So, I need to make some new friends around my age.  The first problem is that I do not know where to start...I know how to talk to people (I'm not socially inept, just shy) but WHERE do I meet people my age?  I don't go clubbing (and even if I did, I don't think I'd end up meeting a BFF there, haha.)   The second problem is I tend to have a few close friends and a lot of acquaintances.  The friends I do have are amazing people but we're all spread out all over the place (different parts of Canada, Europe, USA, China, etc.) so I rarely get to see them.  Time to make some local friends.  As for work, no one is even close to my age.  Any ideas would be welcome.  Yes, I feel extremely dorky stating all this here.

We'll end this on a happy note though ;)  I found out that Telefrancais is on YouTube:

So...there it is.  Pressing the "post" button is unexpectedly hard on this one.

Desert

Maybe I'm a little late to the party but I just became aware of Dean Karnazes goal of traversing five inhospitable deserts in a year.  He's in the Gobi Desert right now and it's pretty interesting so if you'd like, check out the blog for an in-depth look.

As in, my muscles are on strike.  For some reason, my arches and calves were super angry at me this morning and it didn't ease up.  I haven't worn heels, I did not differ from my normal workout, and I also did not do anything that I can imagine would make them rebel.  So, I took today off.  Despite REALLY wanting to go for a run because I do not want an injury.  C'est la vie mon ami.  We shall see how tomorrow goes.

Unrelated: Does anyone know of a really intense ab workout?  My normal ones are getting too easy.

I interrupt this regular running blog to post about another sport ::gasp::  Ready?

Now, since my beloved Canucks did not fair well this season I was routing for the Montréal Canadiens.  It progressed to the Habs vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins.  However, the Penguins prevailed and so I was certainly able to route for them in the battle for the Stanley Cup.  Note: I HATE the Red Wings.  Always have, always will.  Let's just not go there or my blood will boil.  Eeeeffff.

So, since I'm done sulking from this tragedy (sort of)....this is my little hockey post to myself. Confession: I have a (not-so-secret anymore) little hockey crush on one of the Penguins....YES, I am aware he is younger than me, he's just such a cutie.  I couldn't find the ad I was looking for (and believe me I looked for a pathetic twenty minutes.)  So here is a different one:

I'll also leave you with one of my favourite Canucks commercial (it's hilarious - non-hockey fans will probably even laugh) and some other hockey videos because I want to. :P

Sedin Commercial

Best Canucks Goals Of 06-07

Here's one for Lisa:

Top 10 Habs goals of 07-08

....and because watching grown men go flying is always fun:

Best Canucks Hits Of 06-07

You can't have hockey without some good tunes:

We Will Rock You (Queen Rocks)

zombie nation - kernkraft 400 (best version)

The Hockey Song

Finger Eleven - Good Times

I do love my hockey. :)

Today's Runner's Lounge Take it and Run Thursday challenged us to finish the following thought: As you start your marathon (or half marathon) training, don't forget....to enjoy the experience. 

Too many times we get caught up in the details (numbers, speed work, attire, hills, hydration, nutrition, cross training, etc.)  While these things are important they can sometimes make us lose focus of the main goal or bog us down.  We train because the distance deserves it and because we love to run.  Remember how far you have come and realize that you can always improve but ENJOY that you are able to run and be PROUD that you are doing something that most people don't understand.

(I apologize, I did write this on Thursday but had saved it instead of publishing.)

You know those days when some doubt creeps up on you?  Usually you can brush it off or tell your brain it's being ridiculous but every once in a while you let that nagging voice (the voice of un-reason?) get the better of you.  Yeaahhh, well, it's been that kind of WEEK for me.  Not fun.  Totally needed a kick in the butt. Which I not so kindly handed to myself on a silver platter yesterday.  It seems to be helping.  There's still a little bit of doubt lurking but I'm telling myself to suck it up and stop being a wimp.

More interestingly, I should be a blonde.  Because the 10k road race I was contemplating signing up for (but didn't because I was wavering on the price) has sold out.  However, it's only THEN that I realized it cost $25.00 NOT $60.00 as I previously thought....yeah....I was looking at the price for the half plus pasta party.  Oops.  I feel really dumb.  In addition to that is yet another example:  I had read on a few blogs this week about "Google Reader" and had no idea what this was.  Now I have mine all set up and I'm sort of in the 21st Century.

BACK TO RUNNING NEWS, I did sign up for a half marathon!  The San Francisco Nike Women's on October 19th.  This will work out well in one of two ways.  It will either serve as a training run for whichever fall marathon I sign up for or it'll be used as a post marathon race so I don't lose momentum.  Woot!

P.S. My Runner's World July issue arrived yesterday, it isn't 3 months late for once!!!  :P

Lately, I have been ridiculously excited about starting marathon training.  I don't know what triggered this but I feel like a kid counting down the days to their birthday or even worse!

I've been craving those long runs that you "hate" because you're pushing yourself so hard you don't know if you'll be able to make it: the "zone" has faded and in its place your legs have numbed, your lungs burn, you're also hydrating and downing gu like it's going out of style.  Trudging up a hill you glare at a well meaning passerby that says "you're almost done" because in your head you think you have 10k to go but you aren't entirely sure because the runner's brain has taken effect and the only thing you know for certain is: math + runner's brain = empty set.

Then something clicks...the legs keep going, the lungs' labouring decreases and you find your rhythm again.  You're almost done and even though you are tired and sweaty with some salt crystallized on your forehead a smile forms on your face and you are able to shift gears to a faster pace.  Then you start laughing because you find everything funny in that moment...the running, the weather, the people you pass, the hill you just conquered, etc.  (Does anyone else get that way or is it just me?) 

Once you finish, a wave of relief (for being done) distracts you from the fact you are sore and tired.  In all reality, you end up loving that run because you completed it in (more or less) one piece.  It's one of those runs where even the ice bath doesn't seem so terrible and once you've cleaned up and had your postworkout nutrition you drift off to sleep for a few hours.  

Those adaptive runs are what I miss right now.  It's sooo tempting to jump the gun on marathon training but peaking beforehand would be horrid so I think that's the only thought keeping me at bay.  :: sigh ::  I haaaate being patient sometimes (ok, more often than not.)

...I had hit the frickin' wall and was in the miserable mind-game phase of my long run when I reached down and discovered my bottle was empty.  I grasped at the other two and found them to be empty as well.  "How can this be?"  I thought in utter disbelief since I was doing everything like I had previously.  Yet, I forgot to account for the fact that today it was a good 5-7 degrees C hotter.  I distinctly remember unscrewing the caps and trying to get any last drop.  The next place I could get water at was three miles away.  There was no shade and I could feel the panic start to spread.  I asked a few people around me if they had any water they could spare.  No dice.  My brain said "now you HAVE to pick up the pace so you can get water."  Probably counter-intuitive but that's what happened. 

I visualized swimming in the ocean that I was running around.  I thought how nice it would be to take a shower once the run was over.  How good some watermelon would taste.  I was definitely feeling the heat and not completely with it.  Once I realized how ridiculous I was being I told myself to suck it up and stop griping and that millions of people would love to have fresh water daily at their disposal.  I could run into a Starbucks and get free water if I couldn't make it to the water fountain unlike those that face the very real possibility of contracting dysentery from their local water supply.  Still, it was not a fun three miles and once I saw the outdoor pool come into view I knew that I was almost there.  Municipal water never tasted so good.

Fortunately, the lesson was learned as I have never had this problem again.  I now usually plant more water for long run routes, and make sure I'll have more water than I think I will need.  I put out some Gatorade just in case the water isn't doing it's trick.  If I'm traveling I take into account the difference in weather and humidity.  When it comes to hydration being over prepared is significantly better than risking dehydration or heat stroke.

I don't normally stretch before running (I'm too impatient for that!)  I was thinking though that perhaps I should start trying to and see if it made any difference one way or the other since my calves like to be tight a lot.  I do stretch afterwards and usually before bed as well.  Anyway,the RW website had a blurb about a study for USATF trying to figure out how stretching effects runners.  We've all seen the countless articles that say it might injure you more easily or that stretching really does help and even the ones that say it's non-conclusive.

horsing around

Is your cackling over there done yet?  No, I'll wait....OK, good...while I was filling out the form and reminiscing about this I was secretly hoping to be put into the stretch group so I could see for myself if there was any difference.  Alas, I am in the no stretching group.  Ah well, at least I won't forget to do them.

So now that you all think I'm perhaps more weird than most runners we will switch gears....my fun weekend got indefinitely postponed, blah.  My long run didn't happen Sunday because I slept in.  Ooops.  I did it Monday though and everything went well.  I'm excited to start marathon training again soon!

Now, stop smirking. :P