Mile by mile is more like it. THREE today - I'm fairly sure that's the most I've ever run, ever. Make no mistake about it, running three miles is tough. My legs began to tense up right about 2.3 or 2.5 or so, and for the first time in this whole running extravaganza, I actually felt my body compelling me to walk. A few times I had to mentally overcome that feeling, and to be honest I'm not sure how I did it. I did walk a bit. When we got to Fairfax for the second time, I had to stop bouncing up and down until the light turned. I don't really regret that, but believe it or not, I'm sitting here wondering why I did it....
Another first - running three miles takes a fairly significant amount of time (I judge significant amounts of time by lengths of TV shows. So running 3 miles is more than an episode of The Office, which is pretty damn long). I experienced for the first time something I'm slightly dreading as these runs become longer - what am I going to do with all that time to myself? The marathon, if I get there, will take me more than five hours to complete. What the hell am I going to do for five hours? I welcome your suggestions.
This brings me to my wish list. It might be a bit personal, but today I ran in briefs (from H&M) for the first time and found it much more comfortable- cross that off the list. Next up:
-New pair of running shoes...........I've been walking, hiking, and running in these old New Balance shoes for a long time now, and it's high time I got a pair of shoes that's meant for my style of walking/running, and one that doesn't feel a little too small.
-iPod nano............I just have to have something to entertain myself while I'm running or else I know I wont get to the marathon. Music will help; I think even better than that will be downloading podcasts to listen to.
-Nike+..............makes running into a video game, and let's face it, that's just too friggin cool.
The best news of the day: I just ran about 5k. Today I registered to run the Nike Human Race 10k. Now I know I can do half of it.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
I hurt. But I did run 2 miles.
Now is when it gets tough.
I went to the gym with Mario on Sunday and he worked me. Hard. And sweaty. All sexual innuendo aside, I knew I'd be sore and I was absolutely correct.
Monday was my day off and I was happy to take it. I wasn't hurting too badly, perhaps because of the Tylenol I rocked in the morning, perhaps because of the caffeine I was drinking while filing papers at work, or maybe just because I wasn't really using those muscles. Taking a day off was nice but I was slightly terrified that'd be the end for me.
It wasn't. The next morning I was awake at 6:50, trying out the morning as a new time to try to fit in a run. What a great idea, I thought! I've always been a morning person, and this way I'll still have the flexibility to do whatever I need/want at the end of the day. Mom tells me exercising is supposed to wake you up anyhow, so this'll be great.
How wrong can a person be?
The run itself was fine. I made it all the way up the hill this time, though I did have to walk a bit once I reached the top (more on that later). it was the aftermath that amazed me. I got home and did my normal stretch routine...and as it was happening, I was falling asleep. I was in my bedroom, and all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed and sleep for the rest of the day. Part of me was worried - I've never felt this way in the morning before! As I stumbled toward the shower I consoled myself thinking this feeling had to pass, all I needed was a shower and some coffee and I'd feel just like I normally do in the mornings.
The feeling continued, past the shower, all the way to me eating my cereal in front of the TV. Just that awful fog all around my head. I was a little dizzy, couldn't finish my breakfast because of my nausea, an contemplated whether or not it would be safe for me to drive. Tylenol did not make it better. I made it through the day, but needless to say, I will not be running in the morning any time soon. This will of course make my dedication to the training all the more difficult, but we'll see how it goes.
Today was a banner day for soreness. I cannot fully move my arms and I'm beginning to think I may have done some serious damage. That's probably the neurotic Jew in me but a man can worry can't he? But despite the pain in my upper body, my legs feel surprisingly fine; so fine that I decided today was a great day to up the ante a little and run two miles.
I don't want to deal with hills anymore - they're giving me an unfair picture of my actual health/readiness. The fact is I can run a mile just fine, and in fact could probably run more, but you wouldn't know that by seeing me after I run up Havenhurst. So today I planned a different route. Running to my new gym and back is just over two miles, so I wanted to try that. Turns out, hills don't go away. They disguise themselves. The whole run to the gym was fine, but as we turned around I suddenly had a sinking feeling in my stomach as I saw just how far UP I had to run along with just the lateral part...why???
My hammies are killing me. I am limping around my apartment because my right leg hurts so much when I walk. But I finished those friggin two miles.
So just to keep score:
-I can't walk
-I can't hold a phone to my ear
-I can barely put a shirt on
-I am planning on running another 2 miles tomorrow before my rest day on Friday.
I'm still wondering if this whole lifestyle choice is going to work out for me. But I'll be damned if I'm not trying.
I went to the gym with Mario on Sunday and he worked me. Hard. And sweaty. All sexual innuendo aside, I knew I'd be sore and I was absolutely correct.
Monday was my day off and I was happy to take it. I wasn't hurting too badly, perhaps because of the Tylenol I rocked in the morning, perhaps because of the caffeine I was drinking while filing papers at work, or maybe just because I wasn't really using those muscles. Taking a day off was nice but I was slightly terrified that'd be the end for me.
It wasn't. The next morning I was awake at 6:50, trying out the morning as a new time to try to fit in a run. What a great idea, I thought! I've always been a morning person, and this way I'll still have the flexibility to do whatever I need/want at the end of the day. Mom tells me exercising is supposed to wake you up anyhow, so this'll be great.
How wrong can a person be?
The run itself was fine. I made it all the way up the hill this time, though I did have to walk a bit once I reached the top (more on that later). it was the aftermath that amazed me. I got home and did my normal stretch routine...and as it was happening, I was falling asleep. I was in my bedroom, and all I wanted to do was crawl back into bed and sleep for the rest of the day. Part of me was worried - I've never felt this way in the morning before! As I stumbled toward the shower I consoled myself thinking this feeling had to pass, all I needed was a shower and some coffee and I'd feel just like I normally do in the mornings.
The feeling continued, past the shower, all the way to me eating my cereal in front of the TV. Just that awful fog all around my head. I was a little dizzy, couldn't finish my breakfast because of my nausea, an contemplated whether or not it would be safe for me to drive. Tylenol did not make it better. I made it through the day, but needless to say, I will not be running in the morning any time soon. This will of course make my dedication to the training all the more difficult, but we'll see how it goes.
Today was a banner day for soreness. I cannot fully move my arms and I'm beginning to think I may have done some serious damage. That's probably the neurotic Jew in me but a man can worry can't he? But despite the pain in my upper body, my legs feel surprisingly fine; so fine that I decided today was a great day to up the ante a little and run two miles.
I don't want to deal with hills anymore - they're giving me an unfair picture of my actual health/readiness. The fact is I can run a mile just fine, and in fact could probably run more, but you wouldn't know that by seeing me after I run up Havenhurst. So today I planned a different route. Running to my new gym and back is just over two miles, so I wanted to try that. Turns out, hills don't go away. They disguise themselves. The whole run to the gym was fine, but as we turned around I suddenly had a sinking feeling in my stomach as I saw just how far UP I had to run along with just the lateral part...why???
My hammies are killing me. I am limping around my apartment because my right leg hurts so much when I walk. But I finished those friggin two miles.
So just to keep score:
-I can't walk
-I can't hold a phone to my ear
-I can barely put a shirt on
-I am planning on running another 2 miles tomorrow before my rest day on Friday.
I'm still wondering if this whole lifestyle choice is going to work out for me. But I'll be damned if I'm not trying.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Two's better than one
Lesson #1 learned today: run with a friend. Mario and I went together, and despite being sore from yesterday (stretching was not fun), it still felt easier than before. We stopped for a brief break in the middle, but even so, the whole uphill thing didn't affect my lungs the way it did yesterday. I thought I might have had exercise-induced asthma. Guess I was wrong... If I keep improving every time I run, there is an end in sight.
Oh how I can't wait for the posts that will inevitably come where I swear Ill never run again.
Of course more goes with this whole marathon thing than just running. The training schedule I'm starting in October specifically includes some cross-training...which means I need to do something I've never wanted to do: join a gym.
Gyms freak the hell out of me. I just feel so out of place watching people go around the machines and complete their usual workouts while I fumble around on machines that do things to my body I'm not sure I want them to do. I always feel in the way, I don't want to interrupt anyone who knows what they're doing.
Despite all that, Mario and I ventured into our local 24 Hour Fitness today and signed up for a week long trial membership. I'm not guaranteeing I'll go, I'm not guaranteeing I'll even like it, but again all of this is much easier with a friend. Mario just finished a trial membership at a 24 Hour in San Francisco, so he's used to the vibe. Me, I'm just hoping I can get some advice from people who know what they're doing so I seem to have some confidence while all the gay men (there are tons) go about their business around me. At $39/month for the membership, I better learn to like it.
Oh how I can't wait for the posts that will inevitably come where I swear Ill never run again.
Of course more goes with this whole marathon thing than just running. The training schedule I'm starting in October specifically includes some cross-training...which means I need to do something I've never wanted to do: join a gym.
Gyms freak the hell out of me. I just feel so out of place watching people go around the machines and complete their usual workouts while I fumble around on machines that do things to my body I'm not sure I want them to do. I always feel in the way, I don't want to interrupt anyone who knows what they're doing.
Despite all that, Mario and I ventured into our local 24 Hour Fitness today and signed up for a week long trial membership. I'm not guaranteeing I'll go, I'm not guaranteeing I'll even like it, but again all of this is much easier with a friend. Mario just finished a trial membership at a 24 Hour in San Francisco, so he's used to the vibe. Me, I'm just hoping I can get some advice from people who know what they're doing so I seem to have some confidence while all the gay men (there are tons) go about their business around me. At $39/month for the membership, I better learn to like it.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Day 1
Let the fun begin! Today my goal was to run a mile. Seems easy enough right? I haven't run a mile in over a year, but as of a year ago I was able to do it fairly easily...
Trying to make this as easy as possible for myself, I planned it out way in advance. I knew what to wear. I remembered my sunglasses so I didn't get a headache from squinting. Google told me the other day that running the perimeter of my block plus the block directly to the south of me is almost exactly one mile - what a convenient coincidence! Never mind that I'd be running uphill half the way, that was clearly the route I'd have to take.
My plan had been to do my first run tomorrow, Saturday. On the weekends I have no excuse - with no work to attend to, there's no way I could be too tired to run, and I couldn't make any excuse about not having enough time. So there you have it: I would help my friend Al move, then I would do my little run for oh ten minutes or so.
But today was a great day at work. I've been assisting a new executive at NBC, helping him out until he hires himself a professional assistant, and he asked me what I'd be doing this weekend. "Well...I decided this week to try to run the LA Marathon." I smiled slightly proud that I had made the decision. Yeah, the decision was that hard to make. "That's awesome," he said, "I've run a few. Mostly I do triathlons these days though." Well that got me all excited - I had found something we had in common! He was a runner, and I was attempting to pretend I was.
So when I got home there was only one thing to do. I laced up, stretched, said hi to Mario's friend Joanna, and set off.
I started down hill. A nice warm up, I thought. Easy enough - I glided past all the dog-walkers and smiled at how easy this was. I couldn't do 26.2 of them tomorrow, but I could at least see myself doing it more often. The only thing unpleasant about it were the smells; garbage, dog shit, diesel engine fumes, car engine fumes...it was enough to make me choke. But I powered through. Around the corner and still doing great. Around the next corner and...
The hill. Oh how I hate hills. Why do I always live on a hill? Why do hills seem flat when you're in a car? Why can't they seem that flat on foot?
I start huffing and puffing, doing just fine. I see a street up ahead and know it's Fountain St, about my halfway point, and I know I'm at least going to make it there --- and then something terrible happens. At Fountain, I have to stop for a moment to make sure I'm not hit by a car, and suddenly my body feels the inertia stop and starts to sag. My legs feel suddenly heavy. Blood rushes from my finger tips. Oh no! I start running again but it's too late.
I have to stop to walk about a quarter mile. At the top of the hill, I start running again, and make it back to my apartment, feeling my lungs burn and knowing I couldn't even do it, I couldn't even run a single mile. Up hill, but hey still. Mario and Joanna comfort me - Mario says when he started running a few weeks ago he could run about a half mile before getting tired. I know he's right.
So it wasn't the best first day. I slipped into my bathing trunks and took a dip into my apartment's pool (for the first time) and it felt great. I just took step two toward something: I started. If you will it, it is no dream, right? Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Trying to make this as easy as possible for myself, I planned it out way in advance. I knew what to wear. I remembered my sunglasses so I didn't get a headache from squinting. Google told me the other day that running the perimeter of my block plus the block directly to the south of me is almost exactly one mile - what a convenient coincidence! Never mind that I'd be running uphill half the way, that was clearly the route I'd have to take.
My plan had been to do my first run tomorrow, Saturday. On the weekends I have no excuse - with no work to attend to, there's no way I could be too tired to run, and I couldn't make any excuse about not having enough time. So there you have it: I would help my friend Al move, then I would do my little run for oh ten minutes or so.
But today was a great day at work. I've been assisting a new executive at NBC, helping him out until he hires himself a professional assistant, and he asked me what I'd be doing this weekend. "Well...I decided this week to try to run the LA Marathon." I smiled slightly proud that I had made the decision. Yeah, the decision was that hard to make. "That's awesome," he said, "I've run a few. Mostly I do triathlons these days though." Well that got me all excited - I had found something we had in common! He was a runner, and I was attempting to pretend I was.
So when I got home there was only one thing to do. I laced up, stretched, said hi to Mario's friend Joanna, and set off.
I started down hill. A nice warm up, I thought. Easy enough - I glided past all the dog-walkers and smiled at how easy this was. I couldn't do 26.2 of them tomorrow, but I could at least see myself doing it more often. The only thing unpleasant about it were the smells; garbage, dog shit, diesel engine fumes, car engine fumes...it was enough to make me choke. But I powered through. Around the corner and still doing great. Around the next corner and...
The hill. Oh how I hate hills. Why do I always live on a hill? Why do hills seem flat when you're in a car? Why can't they seem that flat on foot?
I start huffing and puffing, doing just fine. I see a street up ahead and know it's Fountain St, about my halfway point, and I know I'm at least going to make it there --- and then something terrible happens. At Fountain, I have to stop for a moment to make sure I'm not hit by a car, and suddenly my body feels the inertia stop and starts to sag. My legs feel suddenly heavy. Blood rushes from my finger tips. Oh no! I start running again but it's too late.
I have to stop to walk about a quarter mile. At the top of the hill, I start running again, and make it back to my apartment, feeling my lungs burn and knowing I couldn't even do it, I couldn't even run a single mile. Up hill, but hey still. Mario and Joanna comfort me - Mario says when he started running a few weeks ago he could run about a half mile before getting tired. I know he's right.
So it wasn't the best first day. I slipped into my bathing trunks and took a dip into my apartment's pool (for the first time) and it felt great. I just took step two toward something: I started. If you will it, it is no dream, right? Let's see what tomorrow brings.
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