I was half an hour into a projected hour and twenty-five minute workout, and all I could think was that I couldn't decide what was worse: the melon flavored endurance drink in my water bottle, or the tiny white Pomeranian who was utterly determined to chase me out of town.
Yes, everyone, it was time for Long Run Number Two. I was doing intervals today for an hour and fifteen minutes, not counting the five minute warm up walk and five minute cool down walk I do. I went six miles pretty much exactly, which, yes, means I was moving at the blazing average speed of 14 minutes per mile.
Naturally I was actually *running* faster than that, because I run for three minutes and then walk for two, and there's ten minutes of just walking. Most of my run times averaged eleven minutes per mile (which is what I am for) although a few in the middle were more like twelve to twelve and a half.
Memo to Self: I need to pick up my walk speed, which averaged 18 minutes per mile pretty consistently. I can do 16 and still recover adequately.
Today I had two particular adventures. The first adventure involved my hydration belt, which I was using for the first time on a longer run today. The second involved my encounter with a very small dog.
The hydration belt was, well, pretty dorky. It's like a reverse fanny pack that holds a water bottle and has a few zipper compartments for keys, gels--that kind of thing. I'll put gels in it when I start getting closer to two hours on my feet, but as of right now, I figured an endurance drink would do me fine. I had a sample of one--Hammer Nutrition's HEED--and figured, heck, why not try that? Gatorade and I don't get along, and HEED is low in all the stuff I try to avoid, like crazy artificial colors and stuff. I'd heard it wasn't awful.
My nose wrinkled the moment I got done mixing it. I then checked the flavor.
Melon.
I don't like melons.
I don't know WHY I don't like melons. I wish I did. Melon is very good for you and I keep trying it, hoping this is the magical time I will take a chomp out of a slice of cantaloupe and go "Oh, yummy!" rather than "UGH! UGH! SOMEBODY GIVE ME SOMETHING TO WASH MY MOUTH OUT WITH!!!"
I like most fruits and vegetables. I am a fan, for instance, of the much maligned brussel sprout (try roasting it in the oven with olive oil and garlic). I willingly put spinach in my fruit smoothies. There are two members of the plant kingdom I just can't bring myself to love, though, and that's 1. anything melon and 2. onions. The onion thing is mostly a texture problem. The melon thing might be a texture problem, too, but I don't much care for the taste either. I just don't like it, man.
I hate to waste things, though, and I didn't have anything ELSE I could use as an endurance drink handy. So I figured, well, I'll tough it out with the *gag* melon HEED.
The hydration belt takes some getting used to. For one thing, it bounces a bit until it finds a place to settle around your hips. At least I think that's what happens. It might be the case that I just learn to ignore it, rather like I ignore my heart rate monitor.
Drinking out of it isn't hard, but I don't try to do it when I run; I do it when I walk. I took a mouthful every walk break or every other walk break, and I think it worked well because I got through the run without getting thirsty. I also managed to learn to ignore the melon flavor, more or less, though I'm seriously not going to buy my marathon training stockpile in melon, though I think I might buy HEED instead of Gatorade or PowerAde. I'm of two minds since they tell you to "train with what you're going to get on the course" but I'm running Disney, and they will offer me PowerAde, and I HATE PowerAde.
The most useful thing the HEED did for me, honestly, was give me something to flick at Cujo the Pomeranian, who decided I was a vile intruder who needed to be chased into traffic.
I've been running for two years but I've NEVER been chased by a dog before today. This was a little dog that was just sitting in his (unfenced) yard. The dog charged me and then began to chase me while barking and growling in his very best "I AM A FIERCE DOGGY!!!" manner, while the owner yelled at me for yelling at her dog.
My town does in fact have a leash law and I am getting very tired of people yelling at me for getting annoyed because their dog/child is behaving badly.
Said small dog ran after me and ran after me into the street (and into oncoming traffic) with no attempt by the owner to restrain said dog, for more than two minutes, until I flicked some HEED at the dog and it stopped to lick it off its fur, and then decided that taking a weewee on the hoodies of some kids who were practicing on the middle school track was more fun.
I feel bad for the kids. If the dog chases me again, though, I'm calling Animal Control. I wasn't sure what concerned me more: that I might get bitten or that the dog might get hit by a car, since the owner made no attempt to keep it from chasing me and it was running in a busy street.
I did manage to get through this run without getting lost, though, and I feel pretty good, which is great, because NEXT week I have to run for an hour and a half (which means I'll be out there for an hour and forty minutes). Joy!
Showing posts with label Dorky Running Outfit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dorky Running Outfit. Show all posts
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
The Run From Heck, and the Dorky Running Wardrobe Grows!
So I have an exciting new addition to the dorky running clothes. I now have dorky running sunglasses. Previously, I felt these were quite unnecessary because I wear transitions lenses in my prescription glasses and they get pretty dark these days. However, I have realized I really can't wear my glasses when I run because they tend to bounce off my face. Likely at worst this would result in a lense getting scratched if they landed badly, but I admit I have images of them getting run over by a car or something, leaving me stranded, badly nearsighted, out somewhere in the back roads of my town when I don't have a very good sense of direction to begin with.
I have contacts. In fact I used to wear them basically all the time, until I attended law school and spent much of my time reading. They tend to irritate my eyes after a while, so I got used to the glasses again. I still have lots. They're a prescription behind how bad my vision actually is these days (but the lenses themselves, thankfully, have not expired). But for running, that's fine as it's mostly driving distances that are affected. So I figured, heck. Better to spend like nine bucks on a cheap pair of runny-no-slippy sports lenses than it would be to replace my glasses if something happened.
Running without some form of vision correction is quite out of the question. I have only slightly better vision than a blind person. Perhaps you feel I am being insensitive to the vision impaired by being flip. I am, in fact, accurately describing how nearsighted I actually am.* I am surprised I can find my way out of my bedroom and into my bathroom at two AM when I have to pee without ending up in Tuscon or something.
I got nifty little pink Ironman Girl sports glasses at Target. Okay. So they're not so nifty. They make me look like a deformed dragonfly. And I wore them out today, mostly to make sure they'd stay on my face.
Today, in what was quite literally the RUN FROM HECK.
I expected today's run to be a weather challenge, honestly. We were supposed to get heavy rain and strong, gusty winds, but it wasn't supposed to be dangerous if I got out early so I went, well, I'll just get out early. There's no guarantee the weather will be perfect at Disney, after all. I mean, it is in Florida.**
My first attempt to get out the door--when it was in the mid sixties and raining--failed. I had forgotten to charge both my iPod AND my Garmin. I can run without them. I refuse to do so unless there is somebody present to talk to and pace me. Yes, yes, probably it would build character. Still not doing it. So I went in and let them charge. I had a phone appointment, though, which meant I didn't really get back out until about one PM.
I checked the forecast before I stepped outside and I was a bit concerned because we were under a high wind warning. I was also assured the high would be something like 72. I decided to run around the block, just in case a tornado should appear or something and try to suck me to Oz.
HAH.
Wind? What wind? It was still, which was a shame about half the time, because it was exceedingly humid, so the air felt like it was trying to squish me. I felt rather as if I was running through jello, except hopefully the jello would have been cool and it was, in fact, eighty, not seventy-two. So I was not cool. I felt like I was running in a steam room.
Except, of course, when it was gusting up over twenty five miles an hour, and I therefore felt like I was running in a wind turbine.
I normally don't have to blackmail myself to stay out. Today I did. Toady it was "I'll just do one more interval. Well. No I'll do two because I'm more like two away from the house. Oh. and now it's breezy. Okay. So I'll do one more. Oh $#!% the wind stopped. But now I'm like two intervals away again."
I was drenched. I was hot. I was even slower than normal. I lost an minute per mile off both my run and walk speeds.
I am pleased to report I finished the workout and the dorky dragonfly glasses stayed on my face, and did not bounce off. But that was abnormally exhausting, man. I need a nap.
* I worked, as one of my many, many, many college jobs, as an optical assistant. This was a handy job to have as I am quite nearsighted. I used to listen to people with little -0.25 mild vision correction needs whine about being blind as a bat. I wanted to sock them, because at the time I was already more than a -6.00 in both eyes and it's only gotten worse; I'm above a -7 now and I'd have to check, but I think I might have cracked a -8 in my left eye. For the record, the "average" strength of your average myopia corrective lense is a -3. I am notable for wearing large, black frames. This is not because they are frequently trendy. This is to ensure I can see them if they are not on my face--if, for instance, they have bounced off from the sheer force of my running and are now laying on the grassy strip by the cocker spaniel leavings. Yuck! Yuck!
** I have a very good friend who's a native Floridian. His tales of running ten milers in high heat AND high humidity are frightening, and he's a dude, which means he can take his shirt off at least. I can't. Well. I could. But we already established I don't want to get arrested for public indecency. He has also never seen snow, I might add. Some day when I am a rich and powerful attorney I will fly him to Vermont in January so I can hit him with a snowball.
I have contacts. In fact I used to wear them basically all the time, until I attended law school and spent much of my time reading. They tend to irritate my eyes after a while, so I got used to the glasses again. I still have lots. They're a prescription behind how bad my vision actually is these days (but the lenses themselves, thankfully, have not expired). But for running, that's fine as it's mostly driving distances that are affected. So I figured, heck. Better to spend like nine bucks on a cheap pair of runny-no-slippy sports lenses than it would be to replace my glasses if something happened.
Running without some form of vision correction is quite out of the question. I have only slightly better vision than a blind person. Perhaps you feel I am being insensitive to the vision impaired by being flip. I am, in fact, accurately describing how nearsighted I actually am.* I am surprised I can find my way out of my bedroom and into my bathroom at two AM when I have to pee without ending up in Tuscon or something.
I got nifty little pink Ironman Girl sports glasses at Target. Okay. So they're not so nifty. They make me look like a deformed dragonfly. And I wore them out today, mostly to make sure they'd stay on my face.
Today, in what was quite literally the RUN FROM HECK.
I expected today's run to be a weather challenge, honestly. We were supposed to get heavy rain and strong, gusty winds, but it wasn't supposed to be dangerous if I got out early so I went, well, I'll just get out early. There's no guarantee the weather will be perfect at Disney, after all. I mean, it is in Florida.**
My first attempt to get out the door--when it was in the mid sixties and raining--failed. I had forgotten to charge both my iPod AND my Garmin. I can run without them. I refuse to do so unless there is somebody present to talk to and pace me. Yes, yes, probably it would build character. Still not doing it. So I went in and let them charge. I had a phone appointment, though, which meant I didn't really get back out until about one PM.
I checked the forecast before I stepped outside and I was a bit concerned because we were under a high wind warning. I was also assured the high would be something like 72. I decided to run around the block, just in case a tornado should appear or something and try to suck me to Oz.
HAH.
Wind? What wind? It was still, which was a shame about half the time, because it was exceedingly humid, so the air felt like it was trying to squish me. I felt rather as if I was running through jello, except hopefully the jello would have been cool and it was, in fact, eighty, not seventy-two. So I was not cool. I felt like I was running in a steam room.
Except, of course, when it was gusting up over twenty five miles an hour, and I therefore felt like I was running in a wind turbine.
I normally don't have to blackmail myself to stay out. Today I did. Toady it was "I'll just do one more interval. Well. No I'll do two because I'm more like two away from the house. Oh. and now it's breezy. Okay. So I'll do one more. Oh $#!% the wind stopped. But now I'm like two intervals away again."
I was drenched. I was hot. I was even slower than normal. I lost an minute per mile off both my run and walk speeds.
I am pleased to report I finished the workout and the dorky dragonfly glasses stayed on my face, and did not bounce off. But that was abnormally exhausting, man. I need a nap.
* I worked, as one of my many, many, many college jobs, as an optical assistant. This was a handy job to have as I am quite nearsighted. I used to listen to people with little -0.25 mild vision correction needs whine about being blind as a bat. I wanted to sock them, because at the time I was already more than a -6.00 in both eyes and it's only gotten worse; I'm above a -7 now and I'd have to check, but I think I might have cracked a -8 in my left eye. For the record, the "average" strength of your average myopia corrective lense is a -3. I am notable for wearing large, black frames. This is not because they are frequently trendy. This is to ensure I can see them if they are not on my face--if, for instance, they have bounced off from the sheer force of my running and are now laying on the grassy strip by the cocker spaniel leavings. Yuck! Yuck!
** I have a very good friend who's a native Floridian. His tales of running ten milers in high heat AND high humidity are frightening, and he's a dude, which means he can take his shirt off at least. I can't. Well. I could. But we already established I don't want to get arrested for public indecency. He has also never seen snow, I might add. Some day when I am a rich and powerful attorney I will fly him to Vermont in January so I can hit him with a snowball.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Dorky Running Gear Extravoganiza!
I found the camera cable to my digital camera a couple of days ago, so as soon as I can con Howard into acting as my camera man you will all very soon get to see pictures of me in my Dorky Running Getup. I know you are all very excited by this idea.
My Dorky Running Getup is certainly something that must be seen. Many running getups are pretty dorky, but I honestly believe that mine is quite special.
1. I run in baggy capris or pants (nylon, of course--for reasons perhaps I will explain at a later date, I--and most runners--NEVER run in anything cotton). Most runners run in shorts unless the weather is cold (and then they wear running tights. UGH.). I do, in fact, own several pairs of running shorts. I have a running skirt, too. They have not seen the light of day since I weighed twenty pounds less than I currently do. I am sort of afraid zipping down the streets of my town in them might get me arrested for public indecency. If nothing else, the little kids playing in the parks and in the schools I usually run around would be scarred for life by my blinding white legs.
2. I run in a vest. This is one of my more moronic pieces of running gear. It isn't that other runners don't wear vests, they just usually save them for days when it is a bit cool, very windy, or very wet. I wear mine ALL THE TIME. I do this because it has a breast pocket I can put my house keys and iPod in. I could, of course, get a little shoe pouch for my keys and a different holding-rig setup for my iPod (though the latter might be difficult, as I have a 1st G nano and they don't make much in the way of accessories for them anymore). The vest, however, also functions as a running security blankie. That way when people look at me funny as I huff past them (or at least when I think they do), I can make believe they can't really see me because I have the MAGIC VEST on. There are an assortment of tek shirts I wear beneath the vest, depending on the weather, but nobody will ever really see them because of the magic vest.
3. I always wear a hat. I have three running hats: my TNT running hat, a plain blue one, and one branded by some athletic wear company or another I found on clearance this spring. I look amazingly dorky in all of them. I have sort of chin length, nail-straight hair, so when said hair is under the hat, I always feel like a dorky 16 year old boy with a mullet in a trucker hat.
4. I wear a Garmin Forerunner 305. I love the hell out of it, but there is no escaping the fact that it is HUGE and CLUNKY. I find this acceptable because this is basically how I feel when I run: huge and clunky. It is also, as I have already stated, giving me a totally gnarly tan line.
I am considering adding a gigantic pair of wrap around sports sunglasses to the deal, as sun glare and I are not friends. This will require me to wear my contacts, however. And probably also a moisture-wicking headband either under the hat or instead of the hat. So you can see, I am working VERY hard to find ways to be still more entertaining to those I happen to cross paths with as I plod around the neighborhood. And this is also not to mention my water belt, which holds a bottle of water firmly attached to my butt for when I am going to be out hoofing it for more than an hour. It's a fanny pack for runners. It's every bit as fashionable as you think.
This is what you all have to look forward to pictures of! I hope you're really looking forward to the fashion show. I know I am.
My Dorky Running Getup is certainly something that must be seen. Many running getups are pretty dorky, but I honestly believe that mine is quite special.
1. I run in baggy capris or pants (nylon, of course--for reasons perhaps I will explain at a later date, I--and most runners--NEVER run in anything cotton). Most runners run in shorts unless the weather is cold (and then they wear running tights. UGH.). I do, in fact, own several pairs of running shorts. I have a running skirt, too. They have not seen the light of day since I weighed twenty pounds less than I currently do. I am sort of afraid zipping down the streets of my town in them might get me arrested for public indecency. If nothing else, the little kids playing in the parks and in the schools I usually run around would be scarred for life by my blinding white legs.
2. I run in a vest. This is one of my more moronic pieces of running gear. It isn't that other runners don't wear vests, they just usually save them for days when it is a bit cool, very windy, or very wet. I wear mine ALL THE TIME. I do this because it has a breast pocket I can put my house keys and iPod in. I could, of course, get a little shoe pouch for my keys and a different holding-rig setup for my iPod (though the latter might be difficult, as I have a 1st G nano and they don't make much in the way of accessories for them anymore). The vest, however, also functions as a running security blankie. That way when people look at me funny as I huff past them (or at least when I think they do), I can make believe they can't really see me because I have the MAGIC VEST on. There are an assortment of tek shirts I wear beneath the vest, depending on the weather, but nobody will ever really see them because of the magic vest.
3. I always wear a hat. I have three running hats: my TNT running hat, a plain blue one, and one branded by some athletic wear company or another I found on clearance this spring. I look amazingly dorky in all of them. I have sort of chin length, nail-straight hair, so when said hair is under the hat, I always feel like a dorky 16 year old boy with a mullet in a trucker hat.
4. I wear a Garmin Forerunner 305. I love the hell out of it, but there is no escaping the fact that it is HUGE and CLUNKY. I find this acceptable because this is basically how I feel when I run: huge and clunky. It is also, as I have already stated, giving me a totally gnarly tan line.
I am considering adding a gigantic pair of wrap around sports sunglasses to the deal, as sun glare and I are not friends. This will require me to wear my contacts, however. And probably also a moisture-wicking headband either under the hat or instead of the hat. So you can see, I am working VERY hard to find ways to be still more entertaining to those I happen to cross paths with as I plod around the neighborhood. And this is also not to mention my water belt, which holds a bottle of water firmly attached to my butt for when I am going to be out hoofing it for more than an hour. It's a fanny pack for runners. It's every bit as fashionable as you think.
This is what you all have to look forward to pictures of! I hope you're really looking forward to the fashion show. I know I am.
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