I Hate Treadmills

And winter. It's official. It started snowing too much to run outside (also, they don't salt, plow, or even shovel our street) and so I've consigned myself to the treadmill. I absolutely hate it. Needless to say there's not a lot to say about running in place, in front of a television, surrounded by 20 year old meatheads dropping 50lb handweights and grunting.

Someone who lives in a beautifully warm and balmy place please tell me how you're logging miles in the sweet sunshine. I will live on through you.

Back from Vegas!

And it was pretty awesome. I made a point of staying at the gaudiest hotel I could find and it was perfect. Upon returning home, though, I found it is truly the beginning of winter-the first snow had fallen and temperatures had plunged.



Great.



This wouldn't really bother me except for the fact that my neighborhood streets don't get salted. The cold I can handle, but trying to run on solid ice isn't going to work for me. So I pose a question:



Should I break down and buy a gym membership to use the treadmill or should I start looking for different routes to run outside?

3.02

You know there's always that mile that you think you'll never finish. My first mile was fine, my third a breeze, but the second mile...I was about to let my dog drag my body back home. But I made it.

I'm off to Vegas for the day tomorrow. Wish me luck! I'm taking 50 bucks and hopefully turning it into 100!

p.s. this is the longest run I've had in ages. I feel pretty damn awesome.

1.05

I was absolutely exhausted yesterday and didn't end up going for my short run. Maybe running the day that you give blood wasn't such a tremendous idea. I was laid out today as well but I really couldn't go two days without any activity. I have a good habit going and it would be a shame to let it lapse. I just went for a short walk with a few minutes of light trotting stuck in there. It's getting really cold, though, and my warm little couch is so very inviting. I dread the day when I'll actually have to run on the treadmill because the ice is too thick on the roads. 

I think I'm going to go to Las Vegas for a few days starting Monday. I've never been there and it's getting chilly enough that I could use some warm weather. I have to run while I'm there though. I still feel pretty guilty about not running in England. Especially since I gave up a ton of room in my bag for my shoes! I have the opportunity to totally redeem myself this week and, although the idea of partying in Vegas does sound amazing, I should probably fit in a quick run or two between mojitos. 

2.66

First hard day back after my little excursion. I forgot that I had committed to giving blood before I left and I sort of wish I didn't schedule it on the same day I had a 3 mi run. I went out anyway, thinking that I'd probably just do 2.5 instead of the full 3 miles. I felt pretty good all in all. Wasn't my fastest few ever but it was decent for leaving a bag of blood behind!

1.11

I'm back from England just in time for the election. I ended up not running on vacation but I don't feel too guilty about it considering I walked all over the place - from Piccadilly Circus to Buckingham Palace, I climbed all 212 steps (both ways!) of a medieval abbey, and stayed in a hotel on a hill which I had to walk up a few times a day.

I have to figure out how to post photos on Blogger!

P.S. HAPPY ELECTION DAY!!!!

Jet lagged in England

Be home in awhile.

2.05

Well I had a really awesome run tonight. I was a little tired but my leg cramp was completely gone and I'm glad that I moved my rest day.

I just looked at my calendar and I'm leaving for England on Thursday. WHOA. I thought I had another week or so. I've been planning this for so long that I really never thought it would come. I found out that someone I was very good friends with in college will be there at the same time. Reunion! So happy. I can't wait. My first time overseas (barring travel between Australia and America) and I cannot wait.

Goose egg!!

I woke up this morning with a really weird muscle cramp in my left calf. It feels like the muscle is twitching almost. I'm not sure if anyone has an experience with potassium deficiency but I used to get really intense muscle spasms (sometimes in the middle of the night-fabulous)  that felt just like this my calves. Maybe I should start taking a multivitamin again. I haven't had a potassium cramp in ages but I can't say that my nutrition has been amazing the last few months. I'm not exactly a banana-hound. I thought maybe I could work it out with some massage and a short, slow run but I thought better of it and decided to make today my rest day. 

I think I'll snuggle down into bed with my laptop and the new Antony & the Johnsons EP. 

1.02

Even though I was beat, I still went out for a short, slow, mile walk. I didn't think it was possible to actually fall asleep while moving but I do think my eyes closed a few times in that short while. I was trying to find some sort of explanation for my extreme fatigue and then I realized that I had run out of my pills and had just been too lazy to get refills. No freaking wonder I'm walking around like a zombie. 

Meds = energy.

2.06

EXHAUSTION.

that is all.

1.15

After a few days of foot cramps and the beginning of shin splints, I decided to cave and head to the running store for new shoes. My good old Saucony Revolutions have been all over the world, including some serious time in the Australian wilderness. I thought it was time to trade them in for a new pair, with a bit more arch support. I ended up getting the Asics Gel Foundations 8. I came home, sort of unsure as to whether I should have spent 90 bucks on new shoes when my old ones weren't THAT bad. I always feel guilty about spending money if it's not absolutely necessary. I looked them up online and discovered that Runner's World named them the best update for 2008 and one of the recommended motion control shoes overall. That made me feel infinitely better. I took them for a test drive today, a short walk and a couple minutes run to test them out. They seem good so far, MUCH lighter than my clunky Revolutions, although I definitely need longer shoelaces. I might still take my old buddies out for a walk now and again. But my old Lottos are definitely getting donated. I think that will balance out my financial karma. 

A friend of mine found a flyer at the running store for an 8k in November. I won't be ready to run it by then but my friend suggested we walk it. It's a benefit run/walk for the local Friends of the Park. I wouldn't mind supporting that cause, since I know a lot of people use the park and they take good care of it. I think it would be a nice thing to be involved with, even if I am walking it.

2.02

Well then. My walk to run program has decided that I need to be beaten into submission before I get too confident. Today started both a mileage increase and a shorter speed interval. I'm now expected to do 2 miles a day and shorter walk breaks. Oh, and I'm also expected to avoid keeling over. Today it was raining buckets all day and I had a massive headache so I skipped out on work early, went to buy some new brushes (I'm starting a new oil painting), and came home to relax. I kept putting off my run, thinking the rain would let up but at 9:45 it was still sprinkling so I decided to gamble on it staying light for the next half hour. I was slower than usual today. I think the rain and my general sluggishness is to blame. Yeah, that's it. The rain made me slow. Right when I got home, the skies opened up and I was glad I had gone when I did.

I had forgotten how much I love running in the rain or snow, then coming home, stripping off all your wet clothes in the entryway and walking around in your underwear until you find some cozy old ripped teeshirt and a raggedy pair of shorts to sleep in. Is it just me? I probably should always live alone. 

1.07

I had this weird shin pain all day and I thought for sure it was going to splint-out on me during my short run. Strangely enough, it hurt at all times except for when I ran. I still iced it when I came home though. Paranoia and all.

1.46

Okay so I decided that I'm getting really sluggish and I think it has to do with me trying to run when all I've eaten that day is a big mac, fries, some twizzlers, chocolate ice cream, and diet pop. That can't be good fuel. The thing is, I hate the idea of a diet. HATE. I think any plan based on deprivation, constant monitoring, and guilt is-by its very nature-evil. I was a vegetarian for years and then went vegan in college. Along with animal product, I gave up refined white sugar (as it's often made with bone char from slaughterhouses) and it was the best I ever felt in my life. Then, when I moved to Australia, otherwise known as the land of beef, I caved and went back to vegetarian. It was bad enough I didn't eat meat, if I told Aussies I didn't eat ANY animal byproduct, they'd probably run screaming to alert the authorities that there was some sort of monster running loose. The vegetarianism went by the wayside when I was stuck in the outback,  having poorly planned my food rations, with nothing to eat but my friends donated tins of tuna. Of course it had to be tuna. The ONLY meat I missed. So I caved, and caved BIG. My grand plan is to eventually go vegan again, but it's hard when you live with people who think beef makes up the base of the food pyramid. Therefore, I am either vegan or I live on a steady diet of junk food. This seems like an unreasonable choice. Cheetos are awesome but can they really sustain a human being? 

Should I take the plunge and go veg again? Or should I just suck it up and call weight watchers?

I almost forgot!

I got tagged a few days ago by two people whose blogs I read religiously! I'm supposed to write 6 random things about myself and then tag some other people to do the same. Thanks to She Who Makes Waves and Nikki for tagging me! 

1. I am actually a trained archaeologist. My specialization is in mortuary archaeology in the classical world, although for my senior thesis I wrote on the way burial goods reflected changing ideas of gender amongst a Native American community during the westward expansion in the United States. I can talk about this stuff forever, I'm such a nerd.

2. I speak fluent Latin and when I'm bored, I sometimes see if I can translate songs or rhymes into Latin. Like I said, nerdy.

3. I have seen three sharks at a time. I was snorkelling off the coast of Western Australia when my friend and I witnessed three black-fin reef sharks patrolling their turf. Strangely enough, I was more scared of the jellyfish.

4. I have a really sensitive sense of smell. I can pick out notes in perfumes, ingredients in a meal, and I can tell when someone's been somewhere by the certain smell they leave behind. Everyone I know thinks it's so freaky.

5. I have the strange inability to grow my hair long. It's only been past my shoulders three times in my life. I'd love to have long hair, but for some reason it grows so slowly that I almost always get frustrated and hack it all off. 

6. I am absolutely terrified of anything that moves sideways. Any animal that moves sideways like a Sidewinder snake, a crab, or even a bird that hops sideways freaks me out so bad that I nearly scream. I have no idea why, but it's always been a huge fear of mine. I can't look at a crab, even a dead one on someone's plate, without wanting to jump out of my skin.

I tag:

Hollie

Karen

Atrusnis

1.31

I was pretty tired today after work and was going to knock out my short run when I got home. Instead, I decided to ask my dad if he wanted to come with me for a walk and so I waited while he suited up (my dad cannot be seen if he is not looking as GQ as possible, even at night) and leashed up our old Aussie.

While I wanted to hurry up and get my short run done so I can do some reading (I'm in the middle of a strangely fascinating book), I'm glad my dad came out with me. He is in remission after having liver cancer and surgery to remove the large tumour that came with it. My dad and I have gotten closer as I've gotten older and the thought of losing him to cancer made me so glad we're good buddies. I was happy to sacrifice a run for a little bonding time. Plus his doctor put him on strict orders to walk, so I can goad him into it, which is one of my favourite pastimes. 

I was also looking up trails near my house. I'd like to try trail running, as I heard it was a bit easier on your joints and a hell of a lot more interesting than running past the same garden swans and lawn gnomes every night. I might go scout out the woods near my place on my next day off. Any trail runners have any advice for a beginner?

1.47

Tonight was a hard but good run. That 4 minutes is not impossible, but not really a piece of cake either. Next week I go into a different kind of interval training-very short walks in between short runs. My right shin was acting up a little in the beginning of my first interval. It might get some ice later on.

OT: Work was insane today. Here in Michigan, our unemployment is among the highest in the nation. The automakers are all in serious trouble and have laid off thousands of workers in the past year alone. Unfortunately, the entire state economy is built around the Big Three (Ford, GM, and Chrysler for those not in the rust belt) and when they started to go down, EVERYONE started to go down. I work in the airline industry which is incredibly unstable at the moment. I've seen at least five airlines go under in the last six months and the company is scrambling to combat high fuel prices, mechanical cutbacks, and climbing fares. While I have my issues with the airline industry (as we all do), I've ALWAYS been grateful for a job-a rare commodity here. This morning I watched as more than 30 people were laid off in my office alone. They had no notice, they arrived to work and were taken right away to a room and then were walked off the premises. Some were crying, some had young children at home, single mothers, people who just married, just bought a car, just bought a new home, sent their kids to college last month. I felt terrible for them. More than that, though, I know that I'm next. In our system, people who are hired last are laid off first. Now that they're gone, there's about 40 of us who will probably be on the chopping block in the next few months. I'll be okay as I have a really solid backup plan (the peace corps and then graduate school), very few bills, and no family to support but I know a lot of other people have aren't so lucky. I hope they're all okay...

1.08

I hurried up and did my run because I was rather tired and wanted to go to sleep ASAP. My shins are still okay but my run was a bit slower than usual. I think maybe because I was just not that into it. Also, my dog was being kind of bad, she got her nails clipped and even though I gave her lots of praise during and an apple afterward, she was sort of wary of me for the rest of the night. Maybe I was just tired and we were both sort of cranky.

I did make my goal, however, of running 16 times in 4 weeks. I'm going to up that to 20 and see how I go.

1.61

I actually made it through 4 minutes and really didn't think about walking at any point. I took water with me this time and I think it made all the difference. That and the fact that I avoided running any of the uphill slants in the neighbourhood. I didn't check my time every 5 seconds either, which for me is a pretty huge deal. I still hate being slow but I can say that my average pace went down about a minute from the last time I ran. I took a look at my stats on the Nike+ website and I'm continually improving. My mileage is getting higher and my avg pace is getting lower every week. I know I'll hit the wall soon but hopefully looking at things like this will help me get through it.

1.06

Well hurray, my shins seem okay now. The biggest problem I had when I started running was terrible shin splits. I went to a running store, switched my shoes from my trusty New Balance to some stability Saucony Revolutions. It pretty much went away after that but I've been semi-terrified of an injury ever since I spent a month in bed after pulling a muscle training which ended up pinching my sciatic nerve. It is so, so, so unfun to go to doctor appointments where you get both electric shocks AND needles. I felt like maybe I shouldn't be paying to be tortured.

I took it slow, observed my rest day, and then just did my 15 minute walk, 1 minute run, 2 minute walk as per my training schedule. No jumping the gun. Tonight is my long run and I hope that the rest and active recovery has paid off. If not, I'm back to square one...

1.63

While I was shuffling along home tonight after my interval run, I wondered why my feet and legs were so sore and heavy. I wasn't in serious pain, but I felt sluggish on my cooldown walk. I wondered if I shouldn't have just walked yesterday when I was supposed to instead of running intervals. When I got to my door and ended my run on Nike+, not only had I just finished my second longest run but I also ran my fastest mile yet. It brings my horribly embarrassing mile time from 15'07" to 14'50". I am officially under 15 minutes! There are actually people in the world who are slower than me now! Mediocrity, I'm comin' for ya!

Also, my left shin hurts a little. I'm glad tomorrow is my rest day.

1.29

I had a decent run last night. It was supposed to be my slow day but I didn't really feel like walking for 15 minutes. Maybe it was bad of me but I did 5 minute walk, 1 minute run x2 and then walking the rest. I definitely don't want to fall in the beginner trap of overtraining and trying to be a couch commando, getting injured quickly, and then giving up. I'm just not a fan of walking with no purpose. I guess that's contradictory.

OT: I've been preoccupied by trip planning lately and have had a stupid worry. I'm taking my first trip to Europe later on this month and I'm going to bring my shoes and my Nike+ with me. I took it with me when I lived in Australia and I was pretty proud of having red outback dirt on my shoes (they're still a nice ruddy color, a year later) so hopefully I'll have some English dirt on them as well. I'm just sort of concerned about keeping to my running schedule as I'll be by myself for half of my trip. I know that my travel buddy will trot beside me for part of the trip but I need to stick to it or I think I'll fall far behind.

Anyone ever run on vacation or do you just let it rest for awhile?

1.27

Well, I didn't die. That's just about the best thing I can say for tonight. I was tired, I put it off for as long as possible, and it was so cold I think I froze my lungs. But I did it. I REALLY didn't want to run tonight. I also REALLY didn't think I'd be able to do 3 minutes again. 

I'm trying really hard not to think about how painfully slow I am. I know, logically, that I will get faster. In fact, I ran my fastest mile tonight. I try to just think of one or two days ahead and I know that eventually, I will run 5 or 6 miles and not even think twice about it. But today it seems hard. Not impossible, just really hard. 

I think I need to lay off the cheeseburgers and fries.

1.08

I decided to run early because it was absolutely bloody freezing today. It started sprinkling and despite wanting to rush home, I wished today was my long run day. It was really refreshing. 

I had a question as I was running though, that I think I'll pose to the one or two people who actually read this blog: Do you carry water with you on your runs? If so, is it every run or just your long ones? How many miles should I run before I take water?

1.76

I got lost.

My subdivision is brand new and thus mostly unfinished. It's great for running because there are streets but no cars, no houses, just woods and meadows. There are also lots of strange empty cul-de-sacs and dead end streets which, at 10:30pm, can seem sort of creepy. I took a few wrong turns in the dark and ended up on this weird loop through the woods. It was pitch black, late, and my dog is afraid of her own shadow at night. I'm sure it's very pretty and peaceful during the day but tonight I kept thinking I was going to trip over a garbage bag with a torso in it or something. It didn't help that I was watching a show about the Boston Strangler right before that. 

My three minute intervals were pretty easy. I'm running better this time around than last time I think. I'm remembering to go slow, concentrate on my form, lean slightly forward, use my core and not my legs or my back, avoid t-rex arms, and relax my shoulders. As a result, I'm not getting as winded as I was the first time around. It was a pretty decent run despite the fact that I kept looking behind me every 10 seconds expecting to see Jack the Ripper. 

OT: I'm planning my October trip now. I want to spend a couple of days in London, a few days in Scotland, and then fly back down to spend the rest in Bath with a friend. Anyone been that way? I know what I want to see in London and Bath but I'm clueless on Scotland.

1.24

I was so exhausted today that I tried to weasel out of work early, to no avail. It is so wrong that I can basically go home early every day if I wanted. Great for my free time, horrible for my paycheck. I spent the entire day eating halloween cookies, talking to my work buddies, and planning my upcoming travel on Lonely Planet. Best. Job. Ever.

I came home at about 6:30pm, ate a bit of dinner, and tried to take a nap. I tossed and turned for about an hour and a half, changed nap strategies and crashed in my bed instead of my couch, and finally fell asleep at about 8pm. I woke up to complete darkness and my dog dreaming in his bed (so cute, except when it wakes you up). I thought it was the middle of the night and I was kicking myself for missing my run. I flopped over to check the time and it was only 10! YES. Even though I could have just rolled over and slept through the night, I got up, got my scrub-gear on, and went out for my run. I've been nervous about running more than 1 minute at a time as my walk-to-run program has assigned me a (gasp!) whole 3 minutes tomorrow. I know it's idiotic to be nervous about a 3 minute run when I used to run 5k but I feel like a total noob. I took a crack at running 2 minutes straight tonight and didn't even really feel out of breath at the end. I could have easily gone at least another minute. This makes me feel a lot better about my previous visions of keeling over and possibly dying tomorrow. Death averted!

Has anyone else ever been nervous about running such a small distance? I cannot be the only one.

1.1

Despite being ridiculously tired this evening, I had a great run. Also, I realised that my Sunday 5min run/1min walk was a typo. SWEET.

I don't want to jinx myself but after my walk to run program is over, I'm going to start training for a 5k. I'm sort of paranoid about injuries though. When I was boxing I pulled a muscle in my lower back during a training session and it pinched my sciatic nerve which laid me up for nearly a year. Now I'm so worried about something like that happening again. I try to take things slow and read all I can about common beginners injuries and how to prevent them.

I was wondering as well if I should join some kind of running club. Part of me is amazingly embarrassed about my slowness but I was looking up some race times tonight and I realised that I'm pretty solidly middle-of-the-pack time-wise. I don't mind being mediocre in the least. I tried to scam someone into running with me but everyone I know lives too far away or refuses to run on principle.

How can I convince someone to be my running buddy without resorting to extortion, blackmail, or torture?

1.03

As I finished work and walked to my car, I thought about how much I didn't want to run tonight. The biggest reason being I was absolutely exhausted. I was toying with the idea of skipping tonight or just taking the dog for a slow walk when I got a message from one of my friends saying she had posted some pictures from a wedding I attended as a bridesmaid. 

Have you ever seen a picture of yourself where your heart stopped because you had NO idea you really looked like that? I'm not one to hate on my body, I'm all about body confidence, but that's probably because I used to look halfway decent. When did I get a double chin? A HUGE double chin? When did my upper arms start to look like mattress stuffing? I don't think I've ever been this big in my life. It really shocked me. I was a little sad, too. It seems like a monumental task to get in shape. I was feeling a little discouraged and then I thought that, really, I can only take one step at a time. Literally and figuratively. So I took a step out of the door, a step into the road, a step down the street, and before I knew it I had finished my run for today. 

One step at a time.

.26, .29, .32, .69...

So I've had better runs. I was pretty excited for tonight's run/walk and I decided that, since I haven't been running for awhile, I should re-calibrate my Nike+ sensor. I tried it once, running, and it clocked me at 27' mi. I knew that couldn't be right, even on my worst day, and so I tried it again walking. It clocked me in at 24' mi and when it got to its calibration distance (.25 miles) it didn't say anything so I stopped it and tried again, and again, and again. Finally it took the calibration but it had me running at a pace of 30' mi! I'm slow-actually really really slow-but not THAT slow. So I finally deleted the calibration and everything went back to normal. Then I realised that it doesn't count your calibrations into your mileage. So then I had to do ANOTHER mile. I was tired and I'm pretty sure my Dalmatian went to the bathroom in the middle of the street. And not the bathroom that evaporates. I usually carry baggies with me tied onto the end of her leash but of course, they had fallen off somewhere on my route. So I littered AND left surprises for my neighbors. 

Needless to say, it wasn't the best night of my life.

.83

Fell a little short of my goal of 1mi but not by too much. Well, not enough to feel bad about at least. Again, like yesterday, I chose the wrong partner. I have two dogs: one is an 11 year old Australian Shepherd with a trick paw, the other is a 7 year old Dalmatian mix with boundless energy who loves to run. Who do I take with me? My Aussie. Because I'm just that smart. I figured I'm running at night, he's big and mean-looking, clearly very intimidating, I'll take him with me. Every other house (I ran in the subdivision tonight) I had to turn around and make sure he was still behind me. He's pitch black and to spot a black dog at night on a street with no lights is...sort of difficult. The poor guy, he wandered into a ditch at one point and was totally confused about why I kept running away from him and then running back towards him. I think I'll let him live out his golden years napping on his warm rug and taking leisurely strolls in the woods.

The run itself was good. I'm not sure if I can still call it a run. I'm only really running for 1 minute at a time and then walking for 5 minutes. Still I thought that being away from it would make it so hard it would be like when I started and couldn't even run 1 minute without compulsively checking the time. I remember I thought I was running for ages and it was only 10 or 15 seconds. Yikes. I was pleasantly surprised, though, when I ran my one minute and wasn't even breathing hard. That bodes well for the future. We'll see on Sunday when I have to run 5 minutes...

1.03

I logged back into Nike+ and absolutely cringed at how long it's been since my last run. Ages and ages does not cover the dust that has gathered on my running shoes. I did find, however, that they have a new coaching and training section with a walk to run program. Walk to Run? Yeah, I think I can do that. I was supposed to start off with a 15 minute mile walk. I thought it would be nice to ask Dad to come along, seeing as his doctor told him he needs to walk every day. I know he'd never do it by himself. I goaded him into coming with me and regretted it only slightly when I realized that, at our leisurely pace, I wasn't going to walk a mile in 15 minutes. I decided that I'd rather spend some time with Daddo than be spot on with my training. It was a gorgeous dusk-no mosquitoes (amazingly) and a nice cool breeze. 

I probably could have trotted a little bit but my eagerness won't make up for my rustiness. 

Well, I'm back

I didn't always like to run. Actually I'm pretty sure that if you asked me five years ago what I thought about it, I would probably say it was borderline inhuman and most likely covered by the Geneva Convention. I'm not sure how it started or why I suddenly decided to do something I hated, but one day I just started running. I am not exaggerating when I say that I could barely run 30 seconds without feeling like I was going to die. I actually had to work up to a walk/run program I found on the internet. I think I did it mostly out of boredom. The gym was down the street and it seemed that most of the people I knew were athletic. I started off slowly and found that I actually really enjoyed it. By the time I ran my first 5k, I was already on two sports teams and regularly improving my mile time. 

Then I got sick. I noticed that I was sleeping all the time, I was always hungry, and I no longer wanted to do anything that involved effort. As time went on, it got worse; I gained 40lbs, was sleeping up to 14 hours per day and had all but lost contact with most of my friends. I thought I had mono so I went to the doctor. He ran a gamut of tests and they all came back perfectly normal. He suggested it might be depression. How could I be depressed? I wasn't sad, just frustrated at my mystery illness. I took a referral to a behavioral health doctor and, after I described my symptoms to her, she described the symptoms associated with atypical depression-sleeping all the time, eating more than usual, and lack of motivation. She explained to me that atypical depression is depression without the helpless, hopeless, and sad feelings. 

Now, with the help of medication, I am slowly getting my life back, which includes getting back into what I really began to love-running. So here goes!