Hello!

If you're still here and reading, hello! Sorry for the extended absence. I haven't had much to write about on a blog primarily devoted to running, seeing as I haven't run in 19 days. That's my longest bout of not running in quite a while, and it's going to continue for another month.

I was officially diagnosed with a stress fracture in my right leg about 3 weeks ago, and I've been in a very attractive boot since then. My orthopedist said no running, cycling, or swimming, in the interest of healing as quickly as possible. Admittedly, nothing feels quick about this. I have one more week in the boot. Once I'm out of it, I have a week to go before I can begin cycling and swimming. Two weeks of cross-training and I can start running again. Slowly. That's going to take a lot of discipline to not add the miles too quickly.

I've been trying to figure out how I got here, as a stress fracture is typically an injury of overuse. I was adding my miles gradually and really wasn't changing the frequency of my runs, so the only culprit left is speed. I didn't know speed could be a culprit, but it makes sense. I really didn't do any legitimate speedwork, but I was running faster miles. Plus, those sub-8:00 miles I would bust out at the end of some of my runs may not have been all that great for me. Who knew? (Well, I'm sure plenty of people knew, but I wasn't one of them.)

To add insult to injury, literally, I have been unable to find a buyer for my marathon bib, which leaves me out $95. I went from having two potential buyers to none, which is rather disappointing. This makes for the second race I've paid for and not run in the last year -- that's not cool, especially since I'm in grad school. I'd like to run the Baltimore Marathon in the Fall, so I think I just have to close my eyes, bite the bullet and sign up, because running a marathon is one of my goals for 2012; and I'm not going to give up this easily. Even if I can't eat for a month because my grocery money pays a race fee! (Ok - that's a total exaggeration, obviously. Don't worry!) Another goal was to finish the year with 1,000 miles under my belt shoes, so I'm very anxious to get back to running. I don't know if I can cover the 1,000 while recovering from an injury, but I'm sure going to try.

The goal now is to train smarter, not necessarily harder, which means I'll be incorporating more strength-training into my regime. For now, though, I can only dream about running, which I do, regularly.

Day 94 - Blerg, Nertz, Shark Farts, and Other Liz Lemon Expressions of Discontent

The view from here - RICE (rest, ice,
compress, and elevate)

Today I ran a total of .68 miles before I knew I was being foolish. Actually, I knew I was making a foolish decision as soon as I set out, but I've been ignoring that voice for a while. My stubbornness is astounding. I have handled this potential arch/calf pain with as little seriousness as possible, hoping it would just go away and ignoring it when it didn't. After all, nothing hurt during my runs, only after. And inconsistently throughout the day. I tried to elevate and ice it away, to no avail.

About 10 steps into today's planned 8-miler, I knew running was a bad idea. I can taste the marathon, which is a month away now. I keep thinking, "I'll just finish training and run the race, and then I'll tend to this pain." Today I even told a friend, out loud, that though my leg was hurting I was going to stick it out until the race and then probably be in a boot. That's dramatic, especially since I have no medical proof of what's wrong or that it would lead to a boot; but the sentiment behind that statement is so Leslie of me. I'll just push myself until I run into the ground, and I'll stop when I literally have no other choice.

So I'm stopping, which actually now takes more discipline than running 40 miles each week. That's weird. I'll rest for the next few days and see how I feel before starting again. In the words of 30 Rock's Liz Lemon: "Nertz! ... Shark Farts!"

Day 93 - I'm Going to Run a Marathon

Assuming my legs don't fall off between now and March 17, I'm going to run a marathon. Researchers currently are calculating the probability of my legs falling off; I'll get back to you when I know. But seriously... This just hit me tonight, as I was counting miles -- miles completed during training (397) and miles to go (112). By Friday, my miles-to-go will be in the double digits. Crazy! It feels as though I've been anticipating this for so long, and now it's almost here and yet still 31 days away.

31 days is not very many, though, especially when you have a busy schedule. It has already been a bit harder to juggle schedules to get runs in this semester. I've done a bit of shuffling, woken up super early some mornings, and passed on quite a bit of sleep. That's not ideal, but I'm getting the miles in. I'm already working on a post explaining why your first year of graduate school is both the best and worst time to train for a marathon.

After my internship today I hit the streets for 6 miles at an average 8:34 pace, which was created mostly by a very fast last mile in the 7's. I was scheduled for 5, but I felt pretty good and the route I chose mid-run was going to take me over the limit. As I approached my last intersection, I saw I'd reach my normal stopping point at about 5.75. I'm a stickler for all things even, straight lines and symmetry, so I knew I could get 6. (Further evidence of this neurosis is that, when gas did not cost $1 million per gallon, I used to top off such that the total cost was rounded to a tenth, rather than one-hundredth. Yup. I'm over that now, though.)

Tomorrow I'm scheduled for 8. I don't know where it's going to fit, but it'll go somewhere.

Day 90 - A Little Yog and Some Crafting

Let's be real: saying yog instead of jog is so much cooler. Moving on...

My very stiff muscles this morning required a little jog/yog. Well, I suppose they didn't require it, per se, but it was necessary if I planned to use my legs today. Coincidentally, I did. Even though I'd eaten breakfast, I discovered 1.5 miles in that I didn't have enough fuel for the machine. I quickly grew weak and nauseous and power-walked the 1.5 miles back home, which was actually fine, as it gave me enough additional blood flow to do some good stretching. Then, I stuffed my face with about two meals worth of food. I think I've recovered all the calories/carbs/etc. burned during the 21-miler. Just to be safe, I've continued stuffing my face all day. :)

I also did some crafting today -- a pretty easy and fun project from Pinterest that required only tiles from Home Depot, mini-felt pads, modgepodge, and some maps (which you can get from AAA for free if you're a card-carrying member). And voila! You have these great coasters. I've also seen people do these with race bibs; it's the same idea.

I did DC, B-more, NYC and SF.

By now, I'm certain you've heard of Whitney Houston's passing. It's sad -- an incredible voice and a gifted performer, but such a tragic off-stage life. I'd like to remember her like this (a great song to run to, by the way):

Day 87 - Dad Knows Best

Today's scheduled run: 5 miles

Today's completed run: 5 miles
Pace: 8:27 avg

Today was perhaps the most yucktastic of my training days thus far. That's pretty good, considering I've been training all winter. I suppose the weekend it snowed was the worst, but I'd already gotten my long run in, so I didn't have to do anything in it. Today I had five miles to complete and was ready to hit the treadmill. Ready, I said; not excited. As I was preparing to head out, I heard my dad's voice in my head: "You have to train in anything, because you never know what it will be doing on race day." (Or something like that.)

I groaned, audibly, even though I was alone, and traded my shorts for my fleece-lined running tights and a waterproof jacket. Weatherwise, I had wintry mix, snow, and plain old rain. The wintry mix/snow portion lasted about a mile, while the steady rain lasted for the remaining four. Ick. I don't like the cold, and I don't like being wet while cold. Does anyone?

Still, I was so glad I ran outside! I also decided not to obsess about pace and let my body decide what it could and couldn't do. I've been watching my Garmin like a hawk these last few runs, which can stress me out. It was really nice to just run for the first four miles (8:51/8:28/8:31/8:45). Hey - I never said I was a consistent pacer; that's typically what I use the Garmin for. As with several of my recent runs, I pushed hard to run the last mile at a sub-8:00. I achieved that goal with a 7:47, which explains the 8:27 average pace for the whole run.

I like ending with a fast mile; it's like I leave everything on the road. Whatever happened in the miles leading up to that last one doesn't matter, because I'm going to run my heart out for the last one and end strong. There's something to be said for ending strong. There's also something to be said for the fact that this post is starting to sound like the commercial designed by Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt's characters in What Women Want. With that in mind, I'll stop while I'm behind. :)

Day 85 & 86 - Oops

Clearly committing to blog once a day may have been a little over the top. Once "real training" is over, I don't think a blog per day will be happening. Day 85 was yesterday -- my normally busy Monday with some other things to make it even busier. It was also a rest day, so I have nothing related to running to report.

Today's scheduled run: 5 miles

Today's completed run: 5.17 miles
Pace: 8:37 avg

I wanted to run this morning, before my first class; but going to bed close to 1:00 am rendered me useless in all efforts to get out of bed and get moving. I was a little bummed but planned to run after my second class of the day. Then, wonderful surprise of all surprises -- my 9-12 class got out early, at 11:30, so I was able take advantage of the extra time and run in  some beautiful weather. I thought the wind would make it colder than it really was, so I was overdressed, but it was still a pretty good run. My legs felt a little heavy but nothing too serious. It was a lovely day to run around Baltimore and the Harbor. I think it's supposed to snow tomorrow, so I'm thankful for another day of warm weather in February. Hopefully it comes back!

It's hard to believe I have less than six weeks of training left. I have some pretty big weekend runs planned in there, which makes six weeks seem like a long time; but experience tells me those six weeks will fly. I can hardly believe how far I've come in training, particularly with regard to the mental aspect of running. All that running alone has turned me into a mental machine; I can occupy myself with the best of them.

But I'm still looking for running partners... Anyone?

Day 81 - New Shoes and a Groundhog

Today's scheduled run: 5 miles

Today's completed run: 5 miles
Pace: 8:33 avg

Old pair (L), new pair (R)

Two great parts about today's run: shorts and new shoes. It should be obvious as to why these two things would be a favorite part. Shorts -- because it's February. This time two years ago we were getting ready for 55 inches of snow. I'll take the warm temperatures, thanks. New shoes -- because they're new shoes. Duh. I purchased a second pair of Brooks Adrenaline (11th edition); this new pair is a bit more colorful, eh? This will allow me to swap shoes, something sagely runners suggest you do. I'll wear my already worn-in but still great pair for shorter runs and the new pair for longer runs.

In other news, you probably heard that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today, which means 6 more weeks of winter. The buzz on Twitter this morning was basically this: if temperatures in the 50s and 60s are this year's version of winter, we'll take six more weeks. For sure! I could not have been handed a better "winter" to train for a marathon!

A top-hat man, member of the Inner Circle

A few winters ago, in 2009, I had the distinct honor of waking up well before dawn to walk over to Gobbler's Knob for the Groundhog Day festivities. While other attendees had been out in the cold all night to secure their views of the rodent, my friends and I had VIP passes, courtesy of a friend who's uncle was in the Inner Circle. We were escorted right down to the front for what was one of the weirdest experiences ever. Did you know that Phil's teeth are so sharp his handler wears gloves with chainmail underneath? Me neither, until that day. It was one of those things that you do once in your life and are glad you did it, even though you don't ever plan to do it again.

Anyway, let's hope Phil's right and winter as we've known it these past few days is here to stay for six weeks.

Day 79 - A Run and Nothing Else

Today's scheduled run: 5 miles

Today's completed run: 5 miles
Pace: 8:30 avg

A good morning run. Although I don't normally run in the morning, I always love the feeling of finishing before 8 am. The day feels that much more productive, no matter what happens. It was another good time of thinking and praying and listening and finding silence even as rush hour was beginning to pick up.

It's a beautiful day in Baltimore. Thankfully, over the course of this blog and winter, I've been able to say that often. It'll be in the 60's today and tomorrow, barring a weird weather crisis. I'll take winters like this any time. It was chilly when I set out this morning, hovering at about 40 degrees, but the sunrise across the water made it well worth dragging myself out of bed, which is no small feat since I can't seem to get to bed before midnight these days.

Enough with the weather talk, though. I'm off to resume with the normal Tuesday crazy. Be well, blog readers!

Day 77 - Nothing but the Sound of My Feet

Today's scheduled run: cross-training

Today's completed run: 5 miles
Pace: 8:33 avg, with a sub-8:00 for the last mile

I tacked on these miles after yesterday's run, which was a little weird because it's been years since I've run on a Sunday. Aside from a Sunday morning race, Sundays have always been rest days. Other than feeling strong, especially compared to yesterday, there was something really cool that happened.

 I ran downtown, which is usually pretty busy, or at least carries with it the ambient noise of city life. Today, however, there were some points during my run that the only things I could hear were my breathing and my feet hitting the ground. Baltimore was absolutely silent, void of cars and other people. Much of this happened while I was running along the water. It was so serene and peaceful. Really, it was a gift. This run gave me the chance to think and pray and be silent. I'm so thankful for that.

Day 76 - The Day Running Broke Me

Distance and pace are insignificant here, just know that I didn't meet my goal for today. But something important did happen.

Today was a beautiful day in Baltimore, and I was excited to run. I headed out toward the airport, where there is a paved trail that circles the airport grounds. It's about 12 miles around, so I planned to run the full circle and then do an out-and-back on a portion of it to get in my full miles. I was excited, too, because I'd be running with GU for the first time.

Other than a few sore muscles from yesterday's Pilates class, I started off feeling good about running. Still, I was struggling to keep target pace. In fact, I was struggling to stay in the 9:15-9:30 range, which is a good 15-30 seconds slower than where I normally run for long runs. This was disheartening and compounded by some lower GI issues and some side cramping. I pressed on. Then, everything sort of fell apart.

I felt like I didn't know where I was or that I'd taken a wrong turn. I was winded. I couldn't pick up my pace. I was lonely. I didn't want to be running anymore. Eventually, the melodramatic side of my brain convinced the rational side that I was lost (on a circular trail, mind you) and that I would never make it home, or at least that the sun would set before I could make it back to my car. And I was despondent.

But only for a moment, because I soon realized how ridiculous (and wrong) it was that I was so upset about not getting in the miles I'd planned. It would be okay to be disappointed about that, because it's kind of a bummer; but I felt like a failure. Not just a failure as a runner, but a failure. That was when I knew that somewhere in the last few weeks, especially since I'd started upping my mileage, running had become something I didn't want it to be -- a priority above the rest, a god, an idol. It began to define me, and I began to derive from it a sense of self-efficacy that should only come from an identity sure in the Lord.

I sat down on a bench, regrouped and prayed, and continued on. I was still feeling directionally challenged, but I was able to pick up my speed a bit. I thought I might be able to make it the full miles I'd intended, but then I realized that the point of my miserable run's lesson was that my greatest discipline and obedience be rightly placed, not misplaced toward running. I'm not to be mastered by running, because in the end it's just another thing that I do.

So, I stopped. And tomorrow, with my priorities better placed, I will finish the mileage.

Day 74 - Recovery Food, Not Fuel

Today's scheduled run: 5 miles

Today's completed run: 3 miles
Pace: 9:07 avg, on the treadmill

This is my third post in a row about food. It would be cool if I was a nutritionist or dietician and actually knew what I was talking about. Instead, I come to you only with my own empirical research, both good and bad. Yesterday, you may recall, was a day of good fueling and, consequently, excellent running. Today started off as a good fueling day, until some friends invited me for Mexican food after class. I knew it was a bad choice, but I literally cannot say no to Mexican food. (Well, that's obviously an exaggeration. The truth is, I choose to never say no to Mexican food and friends.)

Anyway, the nachos were just a bit too much to take with me for five miles tonight. In addition to stuffing my face, I had to hit up the treadmill because it was dark and raining by the time I was ready to run. I really despise the treadmill, so on top of feeling very full, my run was less than stellar, because I couldn't get out of my own head.

I'm doing Pilates with a friend tomorrow, as well as going with her to pick out her first legitimate pair of running shoes, i.e. shoes that she is fitted for by people who know what they are talking about. This is exciting! Then, Saturday holds 20 miles for me -- let's hope they aren't 20 burrito-laden miles. I promise I won't eat Mexican food until I finish.

Day 73 - Goodbye, Slump; Hello, Power

Today's scheduled run: 8 miles

Today's completed run: 8 miles
Pace: 8:25 avg

There are several important things you need to know I need to remember about today's run:
1. It rocked.
2. I wore shorts. In January.
3. I hit a personal record (PR) for my mile time - 7:41 min. And I did it on mile 7.
4. I ate well all day leading up to the run.
5. I got enough sleep last night.
6. Matt Chandler's sermons on Ecclesiastes continue to rock and challenge me to think deeply. I listened to the second one today.

Numbers 2, 4, and 5 are a magical combination of wonderfulness (yup) that lead to numbers 1 and 3. First of all, running in shorts today made me realize that I may have been overdressing. Suiting up for winter runs is hard for me, because I spend most of winter being extremely cold. My internal thermostat is wonky; I wear leggings under my pants as soon as it gets to be 45 or below. This constant coldness likely has been leading me to wear too much while running for fear of being cold. Today, it was 48 degrees - the temperature where I never know what to wear. But it wasn't windy, so I went with shorts; and it was the best decision, as I kept a wonderful body temperature the whole time.

As for numbers 4 and 5, I know what you're thinking -- Duh! And you're right; these things are obvious to most people. If you eat well and sleep enough, your performance will improve. For some reason, I'm still learning this.

Number 1 is most important because, as of yesterday, I felt like I was in or heading into a slump. Apparently, I just needed some sleep and some fuel. As for number 3, well, it's just exciting. I've really enjoyed improving as a runner this year, but I don't have aspirations of being ridiculously fast. I don't have the body type (i.e., long legs) that runners who were clearly born to run possess. I'm okay with this; I run for distance, not for speed. Still, it's exciting to run a sub-8:00 mile, on mile 7 of 8, no less.

I needed today's run to propel me forward in training. We all have days where the run is miserable, but the days where the run is amazing significantly outweigh those. A run like today will carry me through several miserable runs in the future. (Please remind me of that after Saturday's 20-miler.)

Day 72 - Gotta Feed the Machine

Today's scheduled run: 5 miles

Today's completed run: 5 miles
Pace: 8:24 avg

I tried something new today: running during the two hour break between my classes. I have class from 9-12 and 2-5 on Tuesdays, and all last semester I struggled with knowing what to do with that in-between. It's just enough time and yet not enough. Because I couldn't drag myself out of bed to get my miles in before class this morning, and I knew I wouldn't have time between my second class and small group, I ran during the two hour break. This was a good idea and the weather was wonderful, but there were a few problems.

Even though campus is only a 10 minute walk from my house, the two-hour window wasn't enough time to walk home, gear up, run, cool down, stretch properly, shower, eat, and then leave for another class. I did everything in urgency mode, except for the run, which suffered because I was SO hungry. This is normally my lunch hour, after all. You know... the hour where I eat. So, push comes to shove I can use this window, but I don't plan on making a habit of it.

I did start listening to a new sermon series today on Ecclesiastes out of a church in Dallas -- The Village Church. I know that doesn't seem like a great topic to run to, seeing as the book essentially proclaims that everything under the sun is the same and meaningless; but the first sermon was great, and I expect the others will be, too. The pastor is witty but also drives his points home well and with much wisdom. I'm sure I look goofy chuckling while running, but I'm okay with that. It's nice to be stimulating my brain and heart and thinking about important things rather than just listening to bad pop music.

I'm already thinking about this weekend's 20-miler, and I'm getting nervous. People told me to find a training partner for long runs, but no one wanted to join me in running the marathon, so I've gone without. I am a total extrovert; I can only stand being with myself for about an hour before I get a little weird. I guess I'll make several of those sermons my running partners that day...

Day 67 - The Many Greetings of Runners

Runners are weird. We run in spandex and compression gear and suddenly want to wear it everywhere. We count tenths and even hundredths of a mile; we measure minutes per mile, not miles per hour. We carbo-load while others do the Atkins Diet. We spend more on a pair of shoes than some people spend on their monthly utility bill. We even have our own mid-run language with which we greet other runners. I give you some of the more common runner greetings: 

The sing-song: This is the chipper runner. They may sing-song a "Hell-lo" or "Good morning" to you. Depending on where you are in your run, this will either encourage you or make you extremely angry. You will respond accordingly, with a kind reply or a grumble that disguises an "Oh, shut up."

The grimace: This runner wants to smile at you and extend a friendly greeting, but they cannot bring their face muscles to do it. Perhaps all the blood has left their face to tend to the muscles doing all the work. What they intended to come out as a smile may come out instead as a strange facial contortion, leaving you wondering if you make them want to hurl. Take heart; they would smile at you if they could. 

The nod: This person has only slightly more energy than the grimacer, meaning they are able to muster up a head nod for you. The central movement of the nod is found in the chin - it either dips down or up. For those with energy levels somewhere between the nod or grimace, you may see a slight eyebrow lift.

The wave: The wave can come in a few forms, though the most common seems to be created with a bent right elbow, palm facing toward the oncoming runner, fingers spread. Sometimes accompanied by a mild smile or nod, the wave signals your fellow runner is pretty friendly. 

The stare-straight-ahead-with-intensity: This person is pretending like they are running too intensely to see you. Unless you happen to be passing Ryan Hall while he is running an Olympic trial, it is unlikely that your fellow runner cannot see you. I don't like these people; they take the community out of running. 

The heavy-breather: This person is either half-dying as a result of extreme exertion (unlikely), or they want you to think they are working hard. Typically, their lips will form an O-shape as they push air out in order to make a noise that is as intimidating as it is unattractive. Unless they happen to be sprinting up a gigantic mountain, this noise is likely for dramatic effect only. 

The improved-form: This person will visibly straighten their back, lock their elbows into 90 degree angles, and land with a perfect mid-foot strike every time. They also will be looking straight ahead, which may mean a combination of improved form and stare-straight-ahead-with-intensity greetings. Still, this improved-form greeting could be accompanied by one of our friendlier greetings, such as the wave. 

The stare-intently-at-watch: The cause for this greeting may be multi-fold: 1) The runner is too nervous to make eye contact, 2) The runner is too intimidated by you to make eye contact, 3) The runner wants you to think they are intently pacing themselves by watching the seconds tick by, and/or 4) The runner is nearly dying from exertion and cannot wait to reach their planned running time.

Can you think of any others? What's your greeting of choice?

Day 66 - Yawn

Today's scheduled run: 8 miles

Today's completed run: 8 miles
Pace: 9:03 avg.

After yesterday's fast 5.75-miler, I think my legs were a little sleepy today. Also, even though I thought I exceeded yesterday's training mileage by .75, I actually exceeded it by 1.75, because I was only supposed to run 4 miles. I don't know where I got 5 from, though that's the schedule for next week. Alas.

I really struggled with pace today. I couldn't keep it below a 9:00 for very long. Tiredness is one plausible explanation. Along with it was the whipping cold wind (25 mph down by the water) that seemed to always be blowing as a headwind. A blessed tailwind gave me 8:58 for mile 6, but that's the best I could do. Oh well; there's always tomorrow.

Day 65 - Dark and Rainy

Today's scheduled run: 5 miles

Today's completed run: 5.75 miles
Pace: 8:37 (avg)

I had to run this morning, rather than later in the day, because of a busy schedule today. I don't mind running in the morning in the summer, when the sun comes up at 6 am; but waking to run on a dark, cold, wet winter morning is not my idea of a good time. After a fervent internal debate, I got out of bed and headed out. I thought it was going to rain all day today, so I was pleased that it was just damp and cloudy, with some light rain toward the end of the run. Overall, I felt strong. I definitely came out of the gate too swiftly, running an 8:02 mile, even after slowing myself down. One day, I'm going to test myself on a mile and see if I can go sub-8:00. I think I can.

Now, I'm plum tuckered out, so I'm off to bed. One last note, though - the sun came out around noon and the afternoon was stunning. I also got out of my afternoon class early, which left me with plenty of time I could have used to run in the sun at a reasonable hour, rather than in the dark rain at an unreasonable hour. Story of my life.

Day 62 - Don't Eat the Chocolate Lava Cake

Today's scheduled run: rest day

Today's completed run: 12.18 miles
Pace: 8:52 (avg.)

Technically, I was supposed to race a half-marathon tomorrow, according to my training plan; but I couldn't find any in the Baltimore/DC area. Plus, I wasn't really in the mood to cough up a bunch of money for another race. At least not right now. So, I planned to shift the 13.1 to a normal long-run-Saturday and make attempts to do it at a race pace.

I succeeded for the first 7 miles, but then everything fell apart. Well, that's how it felt; nothing really fell apart. However, my lower digestive system went on strike (TMI?), with no bathroom in sight. It is ill-advised in any city to knock on a random door to use a stranger's bathroom, so I wasn't about to do that. Unfortunately, my chosen route didn't really provide me with a viable option, so I stuck it out until 1 mile to go, at which point I had to stop for fear of internal combustion.

That's a bit of a disappointment, but my splits show a pretty good run, despite exploding insides. Still, I was a little bummed out when I got home. I kept wondering what I ate that affected me so poorly. I think it was the chocolate lava cake from Trader Joe's. Then I kept thinking, surely I could have just toughed it out and finished the mile. Yeah, maybe if I'd wanted to ruin my new fleece-lined running tights. (TMI again, sorry!)

Somewhere in the initial stages of my wallowing, I saw this tweet from Josh Cox, who ran in Houston today but didn't make it to the Olympic team. (Still, wicked fast and an amazing run.) The quote -- "How you think when you lose determines how long it will be until you win.” -GK Chesterton

Next weekend, I'm going to kill an 18-miler.

Day 60 - Old Faithful

Today's scheduled run: 4 miles

Today's completed run: 4 miles (or 3.9998, if you consult Garmin's non-rounded- number)
Pace: 8:24 (avg)

I felt really strong today. Helping me along was the little guy on the left. In case you are actually technologically advanced and are unfamiliar with this small white thing, that is an original iPod Shuffle. Released January 11, 2005, this baby was all the rage when I got it, which I think was shortly after it's release date. I even have an armband made just for it. I guess if I was really cool I would have used the lanyard attachment that came with it, but I can only handle so much cool at once.

My family in NC returned the shuffle to me while I was home for Christmas, informing me that it no longer worked. I was skeptical. This is an Apple product after all; they don't break... ever. (Except for that one iPod touch I have that's only ever given me trouble, but that's not the point.) Anyway, back to the point - I occasionally enjoy running with music, and I've very much appreciated it during these last few runs, which I fear would have been sluggish and boring otherwise. However, I really hate running with my iPhone - it feels so big, and it doesn't ever seem to sit on my arm properly. Enter: Gen. 1 iPod Shuffle, which I was certain would work despite my family's statements that it is dead. Needless to say, I was right; and this little stick of an iPod has made the perfect running companion for me.

I'm all about technological advances. I love my iPhone, and I love my MacBook Pro; but I can honestly say that Old Faithful has carried the day better than the iPhone for running. I guess it's carried the day better than my MacBook, too. Could you imagine me trying to run with that?

Day 59 - Erratic Pacing

Today's scheduled run: 7 miles

Today's completed run: 7 miles
Pace: 8:55 (avg.) with splits ranging from 9:07 (slowest, mile 1) to 8:34 (fastest, mile 7)

I successfully yet inadvertently completed a negative split, the term used when the second half of your run is faster than the first. I would like to know myself well enough as a runner to be able to know that my paces are that erratic. I think the Garmin will help me in this area, because I can see instantly what my pace is and know how I feel. Strangely, though, the first two miles, which were moderately-paced, felt torturous, while the last 3, which were quickly-paced, felt awesome. I think it was just a weird running day. It was also cloudy and rainy and almost dark. Still, the miles are done.

I've been having some weird Rocky Balboa moments while running around Baltimore. I suppose the city and Philly are somewhat similar in appearance depending on where you are, i.e. more industrial, a lot of row homes, narrow streets, etc. Every now and then, particularly around train tracks, I imagine myself also climbing the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and throwing a few punches. Depending on where I am and how I'm feeling, I might throw the punches mid-run anyway, just for kicks. Or punches. This is especially prone to happen if "Eye of the Tiger" is playing. (The '90s were too cool for school.)

I do often find myself running through Little Italy, just like Rocky. However, no one has ever started cheering for me or high-fiving mid-run. Then again, I also don't hurdle benches. And the whole city of Baltimore doesn't run after me with encouraging shouts. But those are just a few minor differences between us.

Day 58 - Getting Out the Door

Today's scheduled run: 4 miles

Today's completed run: 4 miles
Pace: 8:36, 8:29, 8:15, and 8:32 (Thanks, Garmin, for making me a numbers girl)

Megan is right - most of the battle is found in getting your shoes on and getting out the door. That could explain why it took me over an hour to get out of my house for this run.

I confess, it was pretty cool to run with my new Garmin Forerunner 405. I didn't worry about planning a route; I simply chose a direction and headed out. It was also helpful to watch my pace change and learn just a teensy bit about how I control that. Obviously I knew that I was controlling my pace, but I'm so bad about knowing whether I'm going fast or slow. I had a great run today, which was very encouraging given Sunday's yucktastic ick.

I also had some really sweet moments at field placement today, including a gigantic hug from a beautiful little first-grader and some laughs from a sixth-grader as she tried to incorporate my last name into a rap. Yup. I really enjoyed being a school social worker today.

In running/fitness related news, I finally got my act together and "joined" Operation Hardcore Fit, which was started by Megan over at Watch Me Go Run. I expect it will be fun to see other people meeting their goals, even as I hope to meet mine. Ah, the camaraderie of pain... I mean, success.

And finally, in completely unrelated, uninteresting and mundane news: currently, there are zero e-mails in my inbox. I sat down tonight with great focus to clean it out and I exceeded my own expectations. I normally try to keep it under 15, but I've been hovering around 25 for the past week now, including some that desperately needed responding. It's a relief. I know that those of you who keep hundreds or thousands of e-mails in your inbox at all times are shaking your heads right now, wondering what kind of weirdo I am, but I can't help it. I'm a minimalist when it comes to my inbox.

Goodnight, friends.