You never knew me to be a runner

These days, I dedicate a lot of time to climbing and cycling (when I'm not doing some silly hike in the desert).. but if you knew me back in the day, you'd know that I used to be 110%-and-then-some about running (even doing the mile and steeplechase in college - poorly, I might add; haha).

But injuries, on-and-off since those college days, have kept me from doing any significant mileage/training in years; I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I need to keep it low-key if I want to maintain injury-free(-ish) legs, and, ultimately, maintain some sanity through (other) sport/activity. ;) That said, I do get out for a run every once in a while..

In fact, while visiting my brother this past weekend, I taped up my slightly sore right foot (the usual; it's an area that has given me trouble in the past) and ran my first race in a looong time - the Wissahickon 10k Trail Classic - in a great park just north of Philadelphia. It was some good bonding time, I think. ;)

Oh man, but even as I was treating the endeavor as a running "event" in my head (vs. a "race"), it was more physically demanding that you might think - with 90+ degree weather, and tons of offroad hills, it was a HOT and HUMID event to say the least; it was a buttkicker. On a side note.. for non-runners, you might think my mental designation of this being an "event" versus a "race" is just a matter of semantics, but, well, I'll just say that it's *not* and that, admittedly, it's an ego-thing that signals a difference in both intention-of-effort and expectation-for-outcome (i.e. it lowers them).

In any case, I think the wicked conditions helped me in the overall placing (34th out of 400-some) insofar that I'm not in particularly good running shape and therefore couldn't blaze a fast 10k on the roads, but the madhills and heat took their effect on everyone.. but I think they affected me less so. Physically, the hills gave a chance for some of my, um, beefy biking muscles to help out; and, mentally, my lack of specific goals let me just run and not worry about how the heat was lowering my time.. as it might with others worried about maintaining their usual pace.

Yeah, it was a good time overall (even if my thighs are still madsore today). And if you had any doubt to the quality of the event, let me say that one of the post-race foods was boxes and boxes of local pizza (in addition to the more-typical bananas and oranges and stuff). I'm glad I was in a place - mentally and physically - to enjoy 'dem slices!

Who ever said crutches were cool?

The Emergency Room is a funny place. And I'm glad that I haven't spent much time there over the course of my life. Minimal frequency is a statistic welcome, indeed, (and desired far into the future).

However, today I marred my record and stopped by my local ER for an x-ray. It's been about a week and a half since I started limping after a particularly hard run; to stress fracture city, I've wondered? On top of that, it's been about a week that I've been trying to schedule a doctor's appointment in the regular fashion (and in a timely manner - one not offered in 2008). The winter holidays is a darned time to hurt yourself.

So, against my intellectual instinct (but catering to my less-pain-is-better instinct), I slowly made my way over to the hospital at the end of the street, St. Mary's Medical Center. Luckily, the place was just about empty and they saw me as soon as I arrived. In total, the whole deal took about 3 hours as different medical people would cycle in and take care of different parts of the diagnosis/treatment; I thought ahead and brought a book, so the time went quickly.

The good news is that nothing is broken (yeah!); the pain be in my ligaments and other soft infrastructure. The bad news is that foot injuries of any stripe take forever to heal. But Santa bestowed a set of silver crutches into my possession, which will allow me to take the weight off my injured foot while I go about my daily business. Also, painkillers. Looks like Christmas was extended an extra day this year!

In any case, that was that; and I'm glad that I got myself looked at. You see, I now feel like I'm on the path to getting better (and getting back onto the bike, getting back into the climbing gym.. and getting back to the dance floor with TWO solid legs). I have felt a shadow of myself lately.. and with so many friends out of town, it's been easy to get a little stir crazy in the house, especially with Larry David as my main company. Baking walnut bread in your new cast-iron dutch oven only gets you so far from a mental health point of view. haha.

Still, I felt a little awkward being at the ER at all, especially as it started to fill up with folks suffering from some downright wicked afflictions. And given the tight quarters, you hear all the gory details; in fact, you hear and you see and you smell all the gory details. It's a place that puts a few things in perspective, and you thank your lucky stars that, ultimately, you are whole and well, regardless of any little bumps in the road; life is pretty good.

C'est la vie and all of that

I guess it's back to the swimming pool for me.

Man, I'll just say one more "what the fuck?" - I've been saying it a lot the past 24 hours - to the fact that I'm limping around the house today, icepack wrapped around my left foot. I even had to break a date at the climbing gym this morning. And, as, you can imagine, that's totally not cool, given my recent on-the-rock advances.. both physically and mentally; and I'm not interested in losing any hard-fought ground.

But, c'est la vie and all of that.

My consolation package comes in the form of the First Season DVDs of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (borrowed yesterday from the library), more time to self-study a half-semester of Russian before Russian 2B starts in January, and more time to finish a couple mix CDs that I started a while back.. oh, and, I guess, like work or something.

But, again, the one thing I'm trying to keep in mind is "c'est la vie and all of that". Still, it's a good thing I'm stocked up on quality beer.. and ingredients for making winter-inspired muffins; those will be delicious, and welcome, distractions of the highest order. And the framed Egon Schiele print, revived from storage and recently-hung in the living room - by the request of my roommate - will excite an altogether different set of senses.

The shoes make the man

They say the shoes make the man. And, for me at least, I'd have to agree.

You see, I picked up a new pair of running shoes - Nike Air Structure Triax 10 - a few weeks ago, and got myself back into the groove of running injury-free(ish); I'm back running 2-4 days a week now.. for maybe 3-5 miles at a time. In fact, my weekly total broke into double digits for the first time in years last week (which seems sort of pathetic to write, given that I've approached triple digits before - a lifetime ago). Still, my expectations have been reset and there's no where to go but up.

And shit-if-it-don't-feel-good. (It do.)

Well, I could stand to be a bit stronger, of course, but I'm enjoying the consistency. Just a touch of the running in a given day changes my whole attitude and outlook; I even enjoy the anticipation of a run I've planned for later. It's like whatever else I did (or didn't do) that day is all good.. because "at least I went for a run". Sounds like the old cliché about running being a drug and all that rings a little true here; forget your worries and just breathe in the contentment! For reals.

When I mentioned to a friend that I started running again, she asked, "What made you start?" To that I replied, "The better question is, 'What has been stopping me?'" In other words, I would run every day if I could! But I've had a string of injuries over the years which have held me back a bit.. and make for a whine-session I have no interest in recounting now; I'm at peace with respect to where I'm at (sport-wise).

As I mentioned, expectations have been reset; I still love to breathe, and I do it as often as possible. See you on the road!

UPDATE: On the walk over to the pool this afternoon, I remembered that I was also running regularly last winter, but didn't keep any formal training records; still, I'm sure I was getting in some weekly millage approaching 20 or 25. Man, that seems a long time ago..

Runner's World online: you done outdid yourself!

Runner's World added a free training log to their set of online tools not too long ago. Simply create an account on the site and you'll be able to plan, record, and track workouts from any computer. The interface does not limit you to running workouts; you can add biking workouts, strength training, and even general "health notes". As you add more and more entries, you'll be able to create custom graphs of distance, time, pace, heart rate, temperature, run quality, or weight over any time period you choose. There are a few other cool features as well, but one of the neatest is an integrated GUI for recording routes via Google maps (ex. your favorite running or cycling route).

The direct url is (http://traininglog.runnersworld.com), but I'm not sure if you need to be registered with the site first to be able to access it. If this link doesn't work, simply go to the Runner's World main page and you'll see a "Training Log" link in the top menu.

Whenever I'm "training" for something (ex. a running, biking, or swimming race), I do find it very helpful to keep a record of my workouts. And, further, if I can plan them in advance, I'm even better off; it helps my motivation just to mark which days I'm looking to run (or climb or whatever) in the calendar, even if I don't have all the details (mileage, pace, etc.) in mind ahead of time.

In short, start using the training log and you may find yourself in better shape just as the San Francisco "summer" is upon us. And if you're looking for a place to begin (spiritually or athletically speaking), Runner's World online also has a great set of articles for folks just starting out (check the "Beginners", "Training", or "Motivation" links), including specific workout schedules to get you to your first 5k, half-marathon or longer. Any other questions? Just ask me.. ;)

An act that blossoms two days a week

At first, the act crossed my mind as a practical matter; I would tie it tight.. but not too tight. You see, my hair is getting longer and longer by the day, and now intersects the plane of my eyes; my hair has arrived at a crossroads of fashion and inconvenience (I know, I know: a common affliction for the fairer sex). The white and tastefully-bepatterned fabric would keep the situation manageable and, therefore, on the side of the former, for now (I think).

In short, the carefullyish-folded bandanna just felt right; I bought it in Japan for god's sake.

It's been awhile since I've wore a bandanna seriously (well, as seriously as it gets, pre-Red-Queen), but I'd like you all to think back to high school: we could probably dig up some pictures that would make us *all* guilty of some swish transgression (cultural or otherwise). And here, while I wear a new - and particular - object (pressed first to my forehead, and, as part of the practical process, drawn around to the back), it is one that echoes the past and, furthermore, it echoes another version of me. The bandanna connects me to a former self; and, I like it.

You see, I am running.

And running.
And running.
And running.
And, well, it's an act that blossoms two days a week (for now).
And, well, I won't say no (to two days a week; there are worse punishments).

Again, the object and the acts (of folding) (and running) connect me to the past; these acts connect the present to a former life. And it feels right. So, regardless of the fashion-sense (or lack thereof) - I shampooed and conditioned today; I shaved - I will take the fabulously limp fabric and fold it upon itself four times (¡no más!); it must end up a certain width before it becomes accessible to my intention and appropriate for my purposes. The (my) hair and the (my) sweat never reach gravity's final destination; physics be damned. In the meantime, I'll keep running.

And running.
And running.
And running.
And, well, it's an act that blossoms two days a week (for now).
And, well, I won't say no (to two days a week; there are worse punishments).

Sunday is for breaking personal taboos

Wow. I had no idea what I was in for. Bay to Breakers is the real deal - an all-day, or at least all-morning/all-afternoon - block party of epic proportions, as if your block is 7-something miles long, with views of both the East Bay and the Pacific Ocean, and your neighbors, numbering sixty thousand, have descended from all corners of the Earth, as if all your neighbors are ripe for silliness and dressed to impress. Or not dressed at all..

Yes, so it was my first time - even just seeing the event. Really! And I've lived in San Francisco for five years now. I fully admit, I had been irrationally intimidated by Bay to Breakers from the first time I had been invited to go (I imagine it would have been Shotwell roommates in 2003). But I've had different reasons over the years to always take a pass..

At first, I didn't want to do it because it was a "race", and I still had issues getting near a "race" when I wasn't actually "racing".. like it was a tease or something that I wasn't running and competing anymore. Running was a lifestyle for me back then, and, as such, it defined a HUGE part of my life (more accurately, when I first moved to SF I was still defining a post-running worldview - an Achilles injury the year before put me out of commission - and had many mental holdovers I hadn't resolved yet); I could be militant in my approach to certain things.. haha. My next round of excuses revolved around me being a stick in the mud over drinking in general (more holdovers), so drinking in the day - and on a Sunday, no less - didn't really grab me as a fun and glorious time. Both those ideas could spawn conversations on the couch (or cafe or pub) in and of themselves, so suffice to say that a brother - this brother! - has moved on, has opened his mind, and, well, is ready to rock! Well, I did have one last excuse that has now evaporated: I let myself be a victim of inertia.. as in, well, I hadn't done it any years prior (which was a little embarrassing), so I could just put my head in the sand about it. There is probably a more complex analysis here, but, again (and thankfully), it's all moot.

This year a friend (bigups Moira!) got me off my butt, and got me out and about, if only with a plan to watch; we met at Fell and Divis, and well, the hubbub and general good spirits drew us in and, ignoring our lack of costumes, we decided to walk a little walk, westward into the Park. Little did I know that many (most?) folks don't actually have costumes (and this put me at ease, actually, because I wouldn't want to be all up in the business sans-costume if everyone else was rocking one). However, most folks *were* drunk, and as implied before, that's an idea I can get behind - for a good cause like this (Sunday *ahem* be damned) - so we made a brief stop at my place for a 12 pack of that most hipster of value brews: Pabst Blue Ribbon. Wait, is PBR still hipster anymore? Nevermind; I imagine it is 2nd or 3rd generation hipster now, but, still, I'll pick up a 12 pack every once in a while just to have in the fridge; that shizz is cheap, and, admittedly an awesome bang for the buck.

So, we walked and we drank (while walking); we met up with a friend or two along the way; we basically took in the party scene. It wasn't anything mindblowing; that is, we weren't voyeurs on the sidelines, but we weren't in full-blown partymode either. Still, it was solid and it was good; and it was sunny (and I've got a little sunburn on my face to prove it). We napped in Alamo Square afterwards (well, at least I passed out for a little bit)..

And it got me excited for next year! I mean, who knows exactly where I'll be - mentally or physically - but still let me list these goofball ideas (at the least these may be fodder for "what were you thinking" jokes):

1. Put a real toilet on some sort of platform, its bowl filled with alcohol (TBD - maybe a party ball keg?); recreating a whole movable bathroom scene would be awesome, but would take some real carpentry work (worth it? - probably not). Oh, and everyone in the crew is dressed up as dogs so they can, uhh, drink from the toilet. Get it?

2. I always love the costumes that are of two things, but there is only one person. For example, a costume of a guy riding an ostrich or something (the picture is from the Greener Living blog); where your legs are the ostrich legs and your upper body is the rider's body. Do you know what I mean? Ok, you do, and you think those things are stupid? I can see that, but it's just one of those crazy personal proclivities.. like they remind of something from my youth, like they are so Muppetty or something. In any case, we could get a whole pack of folks dressed in these things, have saddlebags for beer or whatever..

3. That's it. Really, I'm not going to think too hard about this now. I'll just say that if I get all wishy-washy about Bay to Breakers 2008, you give me some shizz, ok?