Took a little over an hour after work to bike over to the Bayfront Park for a quick workout. I can already see how it's going to become my default training ground/terrain park. Created over a landfill and Cargill salt mines, it's not nature's most wonderous wonder. But it's got gorgeous views of the bay, beautiful sunsets and a plethora of birds of all shapes in sizes, ducks, geese, and even herons. Most importantly, it's only a 12 minute bike ride away.
A hundred roads, paths and trails spiderweb this fairly small space (about 2 mile perimeter), so I can have a different run every time if I wanted to. Just go randomly in any direction. The fun part is that it's got a few good hills, even if small. So I can really have fun here sprinting up and down the mounds. There is also one little hill with two paths going down it which are steep and technical. So even though the hill's only like 25 feet, those would give me some technical downhill/balance practice close to home. I can already envision sprinting up and down like 10 times in a row.
Showing posts with label general. Show all posts
Showing posts with label general. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Back into it
Well... we did it! The quest from running 400m to running 100miles in just about a year. I'd like to write a longer recap of the race... but never got around to it. But I think the pictures and videos that are being put together by Michael Shlain will suffice for now.
On the whole, Wasatch was the hardest thing I've ever done... but it wasn't as hard as I expected. I think because running together, there were times Sarah had to wait for me, and I for her. Which means neither of us were running at our hardest.
And I think I'm hooked! I'd like to run two 100 mile races this year. Definitely the AC100 (Angeles Crest) in LA, and one more (Western States? *fingers crossed* - only 10% chance to get in through the lottery). But more importantly... my goal this year is to get faster. I want to push hard and go to the brink.
If I run Western States, I'd like to do sub-24. If I was to do the Wasatch again, sub-30, perhaps 28-29, would be the goal. Also I want to get faster to feel even more free on my run. To feel the wind in my face more often than not. To have more unbound energy instead of trudging up the hills. That would be fun! Oh, and if I'm faster, I can have more of a life while getting my runs in. Running 30 miles in, say, 6 hours, would be much better than 10.
So to get there, I decided to push hard on my workouts and do more sprints/intervals where I push hard. Now that I got the base mileage under my belt and my legs can take the punishment, I can focus on going fast.
Today I ran a 45:10 10K, which is by far my best time, though I never tried that hard before. My previous best time was maybe 49 or 50. It was HARD. My legs performed just fine but I couldn't get enough air. Just panting and panting while occasionally able to get a full breath in which felt SO good... for about 10 seconds.
I could have squeezed a bit more out of me, though it was a good workout on the whole. That's the hard part about running distance is figuring out early on how much to push now vs. how much to leave for the final lap.
On the whole, Wasatch was the hardest thing I've ever done... but it wasn't as hard as I expected. I think because running together, there were times Sarah had to wait for me, and I for her. Which means neither of us were running at our hardest.
And I think I'm hooked! I'd like to run two 100 mile races this year. Definitely the AC100 (Angeles Crest) in LA, and one more (Western States? *fingers crossed* - only 10% chance to get in through the lottery). But more importantly... my goal this year is to get faster. I want to push hard and go to the brink.
If I run Western States, I'd like to do sub-24. If I was to do the Wasatch again, sub-30, perhaps 28-29, would be the goal. Also I want to get faster to feel even more free on my run. To feel the wind in my face more often than not. To have more unbound energy instead of trudging up the hills. That would be fun! Oh, and if I'm faster, I can have more of a life while getting my runs in. Running 30 miles in, say, 6 hours, would be much better than 10.
So to get there, I decided to push hard on my workouts and do more sprints/intervals where I push hard. Now that I got the base mileage under my belt and my legs can take the punishment, I can focus on going fast.
Today I ran a 45:10 10K, which is by far my best time, though I never tried that hard before. My previous best time was maybe 49 or 50. It was HARD. My legs performed just fine but I couldn't get enough air. Just panting and panting while occasionally able to get a full breath in which felt SO good... for about 10 seconds.
I could have squeezed a bit more out of me, though it was a good workout on the whole. That's the hard part about running distance is figuring out early on how much to push now vs. how much to leave for the final lap.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Helping out at Western States 100
We volunteered at mile 78, Rucky Chucky/Far End. It was a good experience. I enjoyed being part of something so big and seeing so many amazing runners. So many people looked so good - I am inspired to train so I can run fast... and to be fast and efficient at my aid stations instead of treating them like a buffet!
There wasn't as much carnage as I was expecting - we were told this year was much better than normal due to cooler weather. They had a record completion rate of 82% and 120 finishers under 24. There certainly were some folks who were hurting and we did our best to help them, feed them soup and encourage them. Also our station had 2 podiatrists who were working double time popping blisters and bandaging beat up feet. My understanding is Wasatch won't be quite so cushy :).
We stayed there for over 12 hours and got to the finish line about 7 a.m. and watched a few folks finish. Maybe it was staying up all night, but I got really emotional and broke down crying seeing some of the folks finishing, particularly one runner holding hands with his or her crew as they rounded out the track.
Otherwise, training has been relatively easy the last few weeks, but now ramping up for the final push. We're going to Utah this weekend to cover as much of the course as we can (and snow allows!). Then plan on doing lots of back-to-backs, probably the headlands 50, going to Tahoe for altitude and to Utah one more time in August. I feel this lull in training did me really well. I feel a lot stronger.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Taking a breather
I decided to give the old legs a rest after the punishment of the last month and a half or so. I got to a point where my legs couldn't recover in between my weekend runs and took Aleve on the last three runs to help deal with knee pain/inflammation. So the last couple of weeks I did one little run, some working out at the Gym and a bike ride.
It's been nice and my legs haven't felt this good months! Even my shin feels pretty much brand new and my knees feel normal again. Wow.
I also saw a personal trainer - someone my boss and his wife recommended. She thought I had really good running form (yay! not bad for never having any formal distance coaching and picking it up from Born to Run
and YouTube videos). She thought my knee issues stem from a tight IT Band and a muscle imbalance. So she mainly recommended to use a foam roller
to release/stretch the IT Band and a couple of exercises to strengthen the side muscles of my legs (i.e. inner thighs and outer) which I've been doing regularly. Also it's nice having someone knowledgeable that I can now ask questions.
But... break is over!!!
Tomorrow sairy and I are going to finish some unfinished business in Palm Springs. Last year we went there to do the Cactus to Clouds hike (C2C) from the Palm Springs Art Museum all the way up to the summit of Mt. San Jacinto, about 17 miles and 11,000 ft up one way. But due to a freak late spring snowstorm, the mountain was covered in snow and impassable without snow gear above 9000 feet or so. So we didn't make it to the top, though I did propose on said hike ;).
Well, now we're back with a vengeance to capture what has eluded us! Last year it took us about 9 hours to get to the aerial tram station (about 8,500 ft up). We went slow, had heavy packs, were subjected to 100 degree heat (due to being slow and starting at 7). At one point I had to lie under a bush for a while just to cool off.
So I'm hoping this year will be different. We're in way better shape. We are much better at managing heat, fluids, electrolytes and nutrition. We won't have packs - just CamelBaks stuffed with Clif Bars, Gus, and almost 3 gallons of water between us. And we're starting at 4 a.m. which should enable us to mostly avoid the heat on the way up while we're at lower altitudes.
So once we get to the tram station, we can refill water, do a quick up-and-down to the summit, and then do the grueling descent back from the tram. That will be a real test of my knees.
Also, I'm going to play around with a downhill running idea. Well it's actually an old idea. In my determination to break my heel-striking habit, as advised in Born to Run, I started landing religiously on my forefoot. And I think that's actually bad for running on steep downhills. On steep downhills, the angle is such that even if I land on the heel, the forward and downward momentum would have my foot roll naturally, if I let it, from the heel onto the forefoot. So even though I'm landing on the heel, there is little strike on it. Or so I think. Conversely, trying to land on the forefoot on steep downhills is awkward, creates a lot of braking force and is really hard on the quads and, I think, the knees. My trainer seems to agree. So... I'll give this a whirl! At least on the sections of the trail that are 'runnable'. A lot of it is going to be so steep that we'll be walking even on the down.
Other than this... the next 9-10 weeks are going to be intense training. We got the Headlands 50 coming up in July, and we'll be doing back to back 20-30 or 30-30 weekends. We'll be going to Utah twice to train on the course, and also we'll be going to Tahoe once or twice to get altitude training. So with luck and good preparation, I hope my body will allow me to get through all of that. Though I am prepared to step back at the first sign of injury or over-training. It's now getting to close to the wire to take unnecessary risks.
If we are indeed successful through this training, I believe we have a shot at a sub-30 finish. Still a long shot, but seems it would be within reach. We've been flirting with the idea a little bit. Partially motivated by the fact that the sub-30 belt buckle sounds way more exciting than the Finisher belt buckle. Inlaid turquoise or some crazy gaudy thing ;). But for now, the focus is on the training at hand. And 10 weeks later we'll know what shape we're in and decide what goals/hopes to set. No matter what, the goal is to finish and we'd be absolutely ecstatic if we do... though getting a sub-30 would be a cherry on top. A watermelon-sized cherry.
It's been nice and my legs haven't felt this good months! Even my shin feels pretty much brand new and my knees feel normal again. Wow.
I also saw a personal trainer - someone my boss and his wife recommended. She thought I had really good running form (yay! not bad for never having any formal distance coaching and picking it up from Born to Run
and YouTube videos). She thought my knee issues stem from a tight IT Band and a muscle imbalance. So she mainly recommended to use a foam roller to release/stretch the IT Band and a couple of exercises to strengthen the side muscles of my legs (i.e. inner thighs and outer) which I've been doing regularly. Also it's nice having someone knowledgeable that I can now ask questions.But... break is over!!!
Tomorrow sairy and I are going to finish some unfinished business in Palm Springs. Last year we went there to do the Cactus to Clouds hike (C2C) from the Palm Springs Art Museum all the way up to the summit of Mt. San Jacinto, about 17 miles and 11,000 ft up one way. But due to a freak late spring snowstorm, the mountain was covered in snow and impassable without snow gear above 9000 feet or so. So we didn't make it to the top, though I did propose on said hike ;).
Well, now we're back with a vengeance to capture what has eluded us! Last year it took us about 9 hours to get to the aerial tram station (about 8,500 ft up). We went slow, had heavy packs, were subjected to 100 degree heat (due to being slow and starting at 7). At one point I had to lie under a bush for a while just to cool off.
So I'm hoping this year will be different. We're in way better shape. We are much better at managing heat, fluids, electrolytes and nutrition. We won't have packs - just CamelBaks stuffed with Clif Bars, Gus, and almost 3 gallons of water between us. And we're starting at 4 a.m. which should enable us to mostly avoid the heat on the way up while we're at lower altitudes.
So once we get to the tram station, we can refill water, do a quick up-and-down to the summit, and then do the grueling descent back from the tram. That will be a real test of my knees.
Also, I'm going to play around with a downhill running idea. Well it's actually an old idea. In my determination to break my heel-striking habit, as advised in Born to Run, I started landing religiously on my forefoot. And I think that's actually bad for running on steep downhills. On steep downhills, the angle is such that even if I land on the heel, the forward and downward momentum would have my foot roll naturally, if I let it, from the heel onto the forefoot. So even though I'm landing on the heel, there is little strike on it. Or so I think. Conversely, trying to land on the forefoot on steep downhills is awkward, creates a lot of braking force and is really hard on the quads and, I think, the knees. My trainer seems to agree. So... I'll give this a whirl! At least on the sections of the trail that are 'runnable'. A lot of it is going to be so steep that we'll be walking even on the down.
Other than this... the next 9-10 weeks are going to be intense training. We got the Headlands 50 coming up in July, and we'll be doing back to back 20-30 or 30-30 weekends. We'll be going to Utah twice to train on the course, and also we'll be going to Tahoe once or twice to get altitude training. So with luck and good preparation, I hope my body will allow me to get through all of that. Though I am prepared to step back at the first sign of injury or over-training. It's now getting to close to the wire to take unnecessary risks.
If we are indeed successful through this training, I believe we have a shot at a sub-30 finish. Still a long shot, but seems it would be within reach. We've been flirting with the idea a little bit. Partially motivated by the fact that the sub-30 belt buckle sounds way more exciting than the Finisher belt buckle. Inlaid turquoise or some crazy gaudy thing ;). But for now, the focus is on the training at hand. And 10 weeks later we'll know what shape we're in and decide what goals/hopes to set. No matter what, the goal is to finish and we'd be absolutely ecstatic if we do... though getting a sub-30 would be a cherry on top. A watermelon-sized cherry.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Big Race this Weekend
Well, I was able to run 8-9 miles on Saturday without problems. The shin felt a little tender afterwards, but no pain despite repeated poking into the bones. So that's good.
On Sunday we're doing the Mt. Diablo 60K, which is going to be pure brutality. The elevation profile is even tougher than the Wasatch (11K ft gain over 37 miles compared to wasatch 27K over 100 miles) (http://www.pctrailruns.com/elevations.aspx?dtid=6135, bottom graph). Of course it's shorter and at lower elevation than the Wasatch. But it's going to be by far the toughest thing we've done to date.
The cut-off is 12 hours, so at this stage my goal, given my recovering shin, would be for us to make it within the cut-off.
We'll be doing lots of hiking, so I'm thinking of getting the Black Diamond Ultra Distance Trekking Poles
to ease the impact on my legs. First, I'm going to try Matt's trekking poles on the trail tonight to see if I even like poles. If I do, than those would be a good addition to my arsenal. They weigh only 9oz for the pair and compress down to 1 foot, so can easily throw them into the camelbak.
I'm scared (because of my shin), but really excited at the same time. I just love spending so much time in the wilderness, going up and down mountains :). And it would be nice to have other folks taking care of food, water, logistics, routing, not to mention having like-minded crazy people out there.
The minimum event on that course is a marathon (compared to the 11K at the last trail race we did), which means only the really crazy people will be out.
On Sunday we're doing the Mt. Diablo 60K, which is going to be pure brutality. The elevation profile is even tougher than the Wasatch (11K ft gain over 37 miles compared to wasatch 27K over 100 miles) (http://www.pctrailruns.com/elevations.aspx?dtid=6135, bottom graph). Of course it's shorter and at lower elevation than the Wasatch. But it's going to be by far the toughest thing we've done to date.
The cut-off is 12 hours, so at this stage my goal, given my recovering shin, would be for us to make it within the cut-off.
We'll be doing lots of hiking, so I'm thinking of getting the Black Diamond Ultra Distance Trekking Poles
to ease the impact on my legs. First, I'm going to try Matt's trekking poles on the trail tonight to see if I even like poles. If I do, than those would be a good addition to my arsenal. They weigh only 9oz for the pair and compress down to 1 foot, so can easily throw them into the camelbak.I'm scared (because of my shin), but really excited at the same time. I just love spending so much time in the wilderness, going up and down mountains :). And it would be nice to have other folks taking care of food, water, logistics, routing, not to mention having like-minded crazy people out there.
The minimum event on that course is a marathon (compared to the 11K at the last trail race we did), which means only the really crazy people will be out.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
not running - boo
looks like i have very early beginning of a stress fracture in my shin, so I haven't run for a week. i think it's due to getting over-exuberant about new minimalist shoes and running 18 miles, 26 miles, and small runs in between. i think it's partially due to more heel-striking in the new shoes with less cushioning and also due to not landing as much on the outside of my feet.
even though i didn't follow my own advice of transitioning slowly (i kept running in them and it felt fine!), at least i caught it really early. it doesn't hurt, just feels mildly tender and discomfort, and has gotten a lot better in the last week, but hasn't gone away completely. so i'm taking calcium pills and taking it easy for at least another week. then will start working runs in slowly. i know i'm in shape to do the 38 mile run on April 30, so i will take the next 3 weeks to make sure it's healed. and will wear my old cushy asics. i'd love to transition out of them, but for now, i can run in them without hurting myself, and that's good enough for me.
and i'll probably wait till after the Wasatch to really work the minimalist shoes again. i love the traction and feeling the trail, but at this point there is no wiggle room for error.
one good thing about not running was a chance to support sarah on her 30 mile run this last Sunday. it was fun being her aid station. i think it will be fun supporting each other over, hopefully, many more ultras to come.
even though i didn't follow my own advice of transitioning slowly (i kept running in them and it felt fine!), at least i caught it really early. it doesn't hurt, just feels mildly tender and discomfort, and has gotten a lot better in the last week, but hasn't gone away completely. so i'm taking calcium pills and taking it easy for at least another week. then will start working runs in slowly. i know i'm in shape to do the 38 mile run on April 30, so i will take the next 3 weeks to make sure it's healed. and will wear my old cushy asics. i'd love to transition out of them, but for now, i can run in them without hurting myself, and that's good enough for me.
and i'll probably wait till after the Wasatch to really work the minimalist shoes again. i love the traction and feeling the trail, but at this point there is no wiggle room for error.
one good thing about not running was a chance to support sarah on her 30 mile run this last Sunday. it was fun being her aid station. i think it will be fun supporting each other over, hopefully, many more ultras to come.
Friday, March 18, 2011
2 days till the race... and i'm not feeling that great
did a 10K yesterday after not running for 4 days. i ran at marathon pace a bit under 8:30, which is pretty slow for a 10K and it didn't feel good. just felt slow, stiff, achy.
i haven't been running since saturday due to a weird bruise on my left foot. actually it feels like a very mild sprain of the "ring toe". i don't know how i got it, but i was feeling it during the 18 mi trail run on saturday. so i took 4 days off running, but i guess that wasn't enough as the 10K yesterday exacerbated it. it doesn't hurt too bad and it's not a muscle or joint, so i can still run on it, but it might get really irritating after 26 miles. it felt a lot better this morning, so hopefully staying off running today and tomorrow will fix it well enough for the race.
and then i woke up this morning feeling pretty shitty. just tired, and my stomach feeling funny. not hurting but not hungry, which is unusual. i had one night with 3-4 hours of sleep on tuesday as we were Billko-hunting, followed by 7+ and 7+, but i imagine i'm still not caught up.
i read somewhere on runner's world another person posting a similar thing where they had a shitty run the week of the race and someone responded that it's not uncommon and doesn't mean anything for race day, so i'm trying to take viewpoint and staying positive. just have faith that all my training combined with race adrenaline, a downhill course, and a couple of caffeinated gu's should do the trick.
i'm confident that i will finish, but i really want to meet my goal of 3:45. given some of my training runs, i thought this should be easy, but now i'm mentally preparing myself that it will be difficult, and i just need to push through. the worst thing one can do as a runner is have expectations that something will be easy when it's not, or so I read. so i'll mentally prepare for hard, and if it's easier.. .well, i can get a better time!
mission for tonight: in bed by 11.
i haven't been running since saturday due to a weird bruise on my left foot. actually it feels like a very mild sprain of the "ring toe". i don't know how i got it, but i was feeling it during the 18 mi trail run on saturday. so i took 4 days off running, but i guess that wasn't enough as the 10K yesterday exacerbated it. it doesn't hurt too bad and it's not a muscle or joint, so i can still run on it, but it might get really irritating after 26 miles. it felt a lot better this morning, so hopefully staying off running today and tomorrow will fix it well enough for the race.
and then i woke up this morning feeling pretty shitty. just tired, and my stomach feeling funny. not hurting but not hungry, which is unusual. i had one night with 3-4 hours of sleep on tuesday as we were Billko-hunting, followed by 7+ and 7+, but i imagine i'm still not caught up.
i read somewhere on runner's world another person posting a similar thing where they had a shitty run the week of the race and someone responded that it's not uncommon and doesn't mean anything for race day, so i'm trying to take viewpoint and staying positive. just have faith that all my training combined with race adrenaline, a downhill course, and a couple of caffeinated gu's should do the trick.
i'm confident that i will finish, but i really want to meet my goal of 3:45. given some of my training runs, i thought this should be easy, but now i'm mentally preparing myself that it will be difficult, and i just need to push through. the worst thing one can do as a runner is have expectations that something will be easy when it's not, or so I read. so i'll mentally prepare for hard, and if it's easier.. .well, i can get a better time!
mission for tonight: in bed by 11.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
how do you make a marathon as just another training run for a 100 miler?
So over the last few weeks as the "OH SHIT" reality of doing a 100 miler in 6 months is starting to settle in. We started out just being really giddy and excited. We knew, logically, that we should also be very serious, but it hasn't started to really hit until the last couple of weeks as we've been talking to experienced people, reading race reports, and seriously working on our training plan.
Kristen Farley, a friend of my co-worker, has been particularly helpful. Her husband Ken is the chair of the Geology department at Caltech and they run 100 milers. Here are a few realizations that we've had.
1) THIS IS REALLY EXTREME. Not that we didn't know... but we didn't feel it in our bones until now. See below. Much more so for only having 6 months to train, with no previous experience running more than 20 miles on trails, and for one of us (me!) only having been a distance runner for 6 months. Not to mention it being one of the hardest hundred milers in the country at average altitude somewhere around 7,000ft, elevation gain of 27,000ft and all that good stuff. I'm sure we'll feel it a lot more as we start doing more 50 milers. Also Kristen recommended volunteering at a mile 80 aid station... to learn what others are doing and just to see what mile 80 looks like.
2) Every run leading up to the race is just another training run. So how does running the LA Marathon (26 miles on a downhill paved road with support every mile and ten thousand other runners) become a training run? Well apparently it does... you just have to do a hard trail run before or after the marathon, to practice running on tired legs. Since I have marathon time ambitions, it'd have to be the day after. Or maybe the evening of, if I'm feeling really ambitious. I can do Mt. Wilson if it's passable by then.
3) Kristen recommends we do "at least a few" 50 mile races. Shit. She says she thinks of races as just more training runs with your food and water taken care of. Makes sense. The idea is not to be a hero, but just put yourself out there for 12 hours at a time to practice nutrition.
4) Even if you do everything right and you're an experienced runner, you can still wind up in the ICU for a week with acute kidney failure. (See point 1). That's what happened to Ken after he successfully finished Western States, a popular 100 miler. He felt good for most of the run except for not having peed since mile 20. Finished in 27 hours, very respectable. Went home and was functioning and going to work, though not feeling good (pale, tired, weird pains). Finally went to ER, and they're like "dude, your kidneys are not working." So he got IV fluids pumped into him getting him to gain 26 pounds... and then, once the kidneys started working, he lost it all in a few days, peeing a pound every hour. Apparently other elite ultrarunners have experienced this, though it's still rare - perhaps 1/1000 runners, according to Ken. What do we say to that? We won't be trying to run hard (Ken was shooting for 24 hours), we'll watch for signs of not peeing.
5) The mantra used to be "Failure is not an option. Period." And now that's changing to "Failure is not an option. But let's have a contingency plan." Being our first 100 miler and having 75-100 people waiting at the finish line along with our wedding rings, the idea is JUST FINISH. Don't be a hero, don't try to run fast. Just finish. I would be beaming with pride if we can do it in under 30, but I won't push for it. This is not about feeling good about ourselves for doing it so fast. It's about completing a ridiculously hard journey together to seal our union for eternity and sharing it with the people we love. If we don't finish because of a bravado attitude of trying to run fast - not only is it terrible on a personal level (getting married at an aid station or worse at a hospital...???), but also terribly inconsiderate to all the people who love us enough to come out all the way to Utah and sit around waiting for us all day. So don't be a hero, JUST FINISH.
Kristen Farley, a friend of my co-worker, has been particularly helpful. Her husband Ken is the chair of the Geology department at Caltech and they run 100 milers. Here are a few realizations that we've had.
1) THIS IS REALLY EXTREME. Not that we didn't know... but we didn't feel it in our bones until now. See below. Much more so for only having 6 months to train, with no previous experience running more than 20 miles on trails, and for one of us (me!) only having been a distance runner for 6 months. Not to mention it being one of the hardest hundred milers in the country at average altitude somewhere around 7,000ft, elevation gain of 27,000ft and all that good stuff. I'm sure we'll feel it a lot more as we start doing more 50 milers. Also Kristen recommended volunteering at a mile 80 aid station... to learn what others are doing and just to see what mile 80 looks like.
2) Every run leading up to the race is just another training run. So how does running the LA Marathon (26 miles on a downhill paved road with support every mile and ten thousand other runners) become a training run? Well apparently it does... you just have to do a hard trail run before or after the marathon, to practice running on tired legs. Since I have marathon time ambitions, it'd have to be the day after. Or maybe the evening of, if I'm feeling really ambitious. I can do Mt. Wilson if it's passable by then.
3) Kristen recommends we do "at least a few" 50 mile races. Shit. She says she thinks of races as just more training runs with your food and water taken care of. Makes sense. The idea is not to be a hero, but just put yourself out there for 12 hours at a time to practice nutrition.
4) Even if you do everything right and you're an experienced runner, you can still wind up in the ICU for a week with acute kidney failure. (See point 1). That's what happened to Ken after he successfully finished Western States, a popular 100 miler. He felt good for most of the run except for not having peed since mile 20. Finished in 27 hours, very respectable. Went home and was functioning and going to work, though not feeling good (pale, tired, weird pains). Finally went to ER, and they're like "dude, your kidneys are not working." So he got IV fluids pumped into him getting him to gain 26 pounds... and then, once the kidneys started working, he lost it all in a few days, peeing a pound every hour. Apparently other elite ultrarunners have experienced this, though it's still rare - perhaps 1/1000 runners, according to Ken. What do we say to that? We won't be trying to run hard (Ken was shooting for 24 hours), we'll watch for signs of not peeing.
5) The mantra used to be "Failure is not an option. Period." And now that's changing to "Failure is not an option. But let's have a contingency plan." Being our first 100 miler and having 75-100 people waiting at the finish line along with our wedding rings, the idea is JUST FINISH. Don't be a hero, don't try to run fast. Just finish. I would be beaming with pride if we can do it in under 30, but I won't push for it. This is not about feeling good about ourselves for doing it so fast. It's about completing a ridiculously hard journey together to seal our union for eternity and sharing it with the people we love. If we don't finish because of a bravado attitude of trying to run fast - not only is it terrible on a personal level (getting married at an aid station or worse at a hospital...???), but also terribly inconsiderate to all the people who love us enough to come out all the way to Utah and sit around waiting for us all day. So don't be a hero, JUST FINISH.
Monday, February 7, 2011
checking in, thoughts
haven't written in a while. probably because i haven't been running a whole lot. i never did get into a good running groove in BsAs. partially because i was stressed out with work, partially because it's not that great for running (most of the parks are not super pretty and just have concrete paths... the ecological reserve is better), and partially due to the unbearable humid heat.
i'm becoming a bit more picky as a runner, perhaps. i am not that excited about running in cities. the initial few exploratory runs are fun and interesting, but running in a city, with cars and traffic lights, on pavement, day in day out is not that enticing. the reason i did so great with running in brazil, i think, despite the heat and working a lot can largely be attributed to having a gorgeous enticing park nearby with an amazing trail all around it. it was a prefect place for regular workouts.
though i've certainly picked it up here in Christchurch. the city is nothing short of gorgeous. not grand or majestic, like Rio, but very pretty, with a river going through it, lots of parks and gardens, and paths, and little trails everywhere. so out of the 5 days that i've been here, i went out running for 3 of them, and would have been more if i didn't hurt my hip, which is the other thing i wanted to write about.
despite getting into distance running rather suddenly, i've blessedly remained injury free, knock on wood. on saturday, i decided to do a roughly 2 hour run through the parks in christchurch and i wanted to do it at a "fast" pace. i don't have a watch and not even a phone here (my little nokia phone requires a super bulky adapater, due to being from HK, so i decided not to bring it) to keep time and no GPS to know how far i'm running. so i just said, i'll run through the park until it gets dark, which should be roughly in 2 hours, and i'll run at a speed that feels faster than my typical long distance speed. scientific!
upon coming to a ginormous field of grass, without thinking about it, i took of my shoes and started running barefoot. i thought i'd just run around that whole grassy portion of the park barefoot, and then continue the rest of the run. well... it turned out to be HUGE. i probably ran 3-4 miles barefoot which is more than i've ever run barefoot, and more than recently for sure. also i ran at a faster pace than i normally run barefoot, in concert with trying to make it a 'fast' run. it felt good, but i started feeling a small tweak in my right hip. i've felt small tweaks like that before, so i didn't pay it much mind.
when i put on my shoes and kept going around the park, the tweak got worse and started to hurt. once i figured out that it's not going away, i called it quits and went to watch the free Classical concert in the park (featuring Beethoven, swing dancing, the local choir, waltz and more - great time).
learning to listen to my body, i took it easy for the next 2 days, and went running again today. i thought i'd run along the river all the way to the ocean. gorgeous run. glad i did it as i was feeling really lazy earlier in the day, and pretty much went to bed to read and take a nap... but while in bed, i just had the urge to get out there and run, so i did!
wasn't running particularly fast - not feeling terribly energetic due to not getting full sleep for 2-3 nights (can't seem to sleep in too late) - but steady, and feeling good. then a few miles into it, i felt the hip again. GRRRRR. i tried to go a little further, and realized it wasn't going away. determined to see the ocean, i continued to walk along the river, but then got bogged down with bridges, not being able to cross, and having to backtrack, which would have been no problem if i could run, but would take way too long walking, so i decided to just turn back.
listening to my body, i walked back instead of running. but walking was boring and slow. though gave me time to think. i'm pretty sure that barefoot run was what did me in. 1) it's much different from my normal running routine, 2) i don't quite have the form. i'm pretty sure i was heel-striking somewhat. it was particularly obvious when running on aslphalt - my heels kept hitting it and it was hard so i could feel it very well. i think running on grass gave an illusion that i wasn't heel striking as hard thanks to the cushioning, but perhaps it was deceptive.
as i kept walking along, running was tempting. so i started playing around with different things to see if i can find a way to run and make the hip feel fine. i tried stepping more gingerly, using more of the forefoot springiness. and tried something else, and suddenly i felt a faint, but distinct pain in my left shin. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! shin splints/!?! a small wave of panic engulfed me. i haven't felt shin splints for months, since i first changed my form from heel striking to landing on the toes.
i'm clearly doing something wrong. i tried a few more things, and i still either felt the hip or the shin. and it didn't feel right. ok, i thought to myself, how's this, what i'm trying to do, different from the way i run normally? so i relaxed and just ran the way it felt natural.
magically the shin quieted and even more amazingly the hip stayed quiet as well. i ran on, at a slow pace, but ran on.... and felt fine! there were a few tense moments in the hip, but no pain. i even picked up the pace a bit a few times and pretty much ran all the way home.
i was exhilarated! i did it! i conquered the pain with form, again!
and now that we got into the wasatch 100 (OMG HOLY SHIT OMG), form is going to be crucial from avoiding injury, both in training and during the race. i think working up the stamina to withstand this sort of punishment is going to be relatively straightforward, since we're young and energetic, and already in good shape. but making sure that my muscles, bones, and joints can take all this punishment, particularly going up and down mountains on uneven, treacherous surfaces, would be the greatest challenge.
the other thing that i don't like is that even though i managed, now twice, to do something with my form to get rid of pain... i still don't have a good understanding of what i did and why it worked, particularly for this second time (the first change was rather drastic, but this time around the changes i was trying have been more subtle). this makes me rather uncomfortable. not knowing how it works, i can make the same mistakes over and over, or not be trying the right solutions when something else flares up. so i'd like to find a book on biomechanics to better understand the musculoskeletal system. also, once we're back, i'd like to find a coach who's both an ultraunner and obsessed with form/biomechanics, and do a some sessions to correct whatever i'm doing wrong (which i'm sure is a ton) and pick his brain.
the other unrelated thing i wanted to mention quickly, which probably deserves its own post sometime, is how running has integrated itself into my life. no matter where i am, LA, chile, argentina, new zealand, i'm drawn outside, drawn to the wilderness, drawn to run. it's an itch and a craving. it gives me a sense of independence and freedom... no matter where i am, i can always run. it's something to do, and a way i can always feel free and happy. the happy feeling "i can run like this forever" is amazing. i'm sure it's the endorphins speaking, but it is what it is.
the run in the dark in chile along the beach was probably the happiest of them all... i felt SO exhilarated. just those few moments are worth all the other times when it feels like work and effort.
i'm becoming a bit more picky as a runner, perhaps. i am not that excited about running in cities. the initial few exploratory runs are fun and interesting, but running in a city, with cars and traffic lights, on pavement, day in day out is not that enticing. the reason i did so great with running in brazil, i think, despite the heat and working a lot can largely be attributed to having a gorgeous enticing park nearby with an amazing trail all around it. it was a prefect place for regular workouts.
though i've certainly picked it up here in Christchurch. the city is nothing short of gorgeous. not grand or majestic, like Rio, but very pretty, with a river going through it, lots of parks and gardens, and paths, and little trails everywhere. so out of the 5 days that i've been here, i went out running for 3 of them, and would have been more if i didn't hurt my hip, which is the other thing i wanted to write about.
despite getting into distance running rather suddenly, i've blessedly remained injury free, knock on wood. on saturday, i decided to do a roughly 2 hour run through the parks in christchurch and i wanted to do it at a "fast" pace. i don't have a watch and not even a phone here (my little nokia phone requires a super bulky adapater, due to being from HK, so i decided not to bring it) to keep time and no GPS to know how far i'm running. so i just said, i'll run through the park until it gets dark, which should be roughly in 2 hours, and i'll run at a speed that feels faster than my typical long distance speed. scientific!
upon coming to a ginormous field of grass, without thinking about it, i took of my shoes and started running barefoot. i thought i'd just run around that whole grassy portion of the park barefoot, and then continue the rest of the run. well... it turned out to be HUGE. i probably ran 3-4 miles barefoot which is more than i've ever run barefoot, and more than recently for sure. also i ran at a faster pace than i normally run barefoot, in concert with trying to make it a 'fast' run. it felt good, but i started feeling a small tweak in my right hip. i've felt small tweaks like that before, so i didn't pay it much mind.
when i put on my shoes and kept going around the park, the tweak got worse and started to hurt. once i figured out that it's not going away, i called it quits and went to watch the free Classical concert in the park (featuring Beethoven, swing dancing, the local choir, waltz and more - great time).
learning to listen to my body, i took it easy for the next 2 days, and went running again today. i thought i'd run along the river all the way to the ocean. gorgeous run. glad i did it as i was feeling really lazy earlier in the day, and pretty much went to bed to read and take a nap... but while in bed, i just had the urge to get out there and run, so i did!
wasn't running particularly fast - not feeling terribly energetic due to not getting full sleep for 2-3 nights (can't seem to sleep in too late) - but steady, and feeling good. then a few miles into it, i felt the hip again. GRRRRR. i tried to go a little further, and realized it wasn't going away. determined to see the ocean, i continued to walk along the river, but then got bogged down with bridges, not being able to cross, and having to backtrack, which would have been no problem if i could run, but would take way too long walking, so i decided to just turn back.
listening to my body, i walked back instead of running. but walking was boring and slow. though gave me time to think. i'm pretty sure that barefoot run was what did me in. 1) it's much different from my normal running routine, 2) i don't quite have the form. i'm pretty sure i was heel-striking somewhat. it was particularly obvious when running on aslphalt - my heels kept hitting it and it was hard so i could feel it very well. i think running on grass gave an illusion that i wasn't heel striking as hard thanks to the cushioning, but perhaps it was deceptive.
as i kept walking along, running was tempting. so i started playing around with different things to see if i can find a way to run and make the hip feel fine. i tried stepping more gingerly, using more of the forefoot springiness. and tried something else, and suddenly i felt a faint, but distinct pain in my left shin. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! shin splints/!?! a small wave of panic engulfed me. i haven't felt shin splints for months, since i first changed my form from heel striking to landing on the toes.
i'm clearly doing something wrong. i tried a few more things, and i still either felt the hip or the shin. and it didn't feel right. ok, i thought to myself, how's this, what i'm trying to do, different from the way i run normally? so i relaxed and just ran the way it felt natural.
magically the shin quieted and even more amazingly the hip stayed quiet as well. i ran on, at a slow pace, but ran on.... and felt fine! there were a few tense moments in the hip, but no pain. i even picked up the pace a bit a few times and pretty much ran all the way home.
i was exhilarated! i did it! i conquered the pain with form, again!
and now that we got into the wasatch 100 (OMG HOLY SHIT OMG), form is going to be crucial from avoiding injury, both in training and during the race. i think working up the stamina to withstand this sort of punishment is going to be relatively straightforward, since we're young and energetic, and already in good shape. but making sure that my muscles, bones, and joints can take all this punishment, particularly going up and down mountains on uneven, treacherous surfaces, would be the greatest challenge.
the other thing that i don't like is that even though i managed, now twice, to do something with my form to get rid of pain... i still don't have a good understanding of what i did and why it worked, particularly for this second time (the first change was rather drastic, but this time around the changes i was trying have been more subtle). this makes me rather uncomfortable. not knowing how it works, i can make the same mistakes over and over, or not be trying the right solutions when something else flares up. so i'd like to find a book on biomechanics to better understand the musculoskeletal system. also, once we're back, i'd like to find a coach who's both an ultraunner and obsessed with form/biomechanics, and do a some sessions to correct whatever i'm doing wrong (which i'm sure is a ton) and pick his brain.
the other unrelated thing i wanted to mention quickly, which probably deserves its own post sometime, is how running has integrated itself into my life. no matter where i am, LA, chile, argentina, new zealand, i'm drawn outside, drawn to the wilderness, drawn to run. it's an itch and a craving. it gives me a sense of independence and freedom... no matter where i am, i can always run. it's something to do, and a way i can always feel free and happy. the happy feeling "i can run like this forever" is amazing. i'm sure it's the endorphins speaking, but it is what it is.
the run in the dark in chile along the beach was probably the happiest of them all... i felt SO exhilarated. just those few moments are worth all the other times when it feels like work and effort.
Friday, December 17, 2010
I am a trail runner
first post about running overseas!
in my 8 days here i managed to run 5 times. and i'm going to run today, so that'd be 6 out of 9. not bad at all. all the runs have been in the 6-10 mile range and not particularly fast. so if i'm going to beat sarah palin, i gotta start pushing myself and pick up the pace. also i gotta do a long run, probably on sunday.
Palermo, where i stayed in BsAs, has a whole lot of parks, and they're all next to each other. so one can run from park to park for miles. though the parks are not particularly inspiring. the grass is bleak and somewhat faded, there is little variety of plants - just bleak grass and bleak trees. and lots of concrete roads and a few concrete bike paths going through. and completely flat. so i was glad to have a park to run in, but as parks go, it wasn't particularly exciting. i guess it had one good part which was a big pond with hundreds of fat white geese as well as some exercise machines - i got to do dips for the first time in a while! i <3 dips.
running barefoot along the beach in Rio was loads of fun. i love running on packed wet sand. right between where it gets too dry and starts giving and it gets to wet and starts giving. i ran up and down along the beach for about an hour, cooled by gentle rain, wet by the occasional outlier wave, and with an idiot grin on my face. life is hard, i thought to myself with a smile, as i pictured my co-workers running round and round the rose bowl.
i finished the run off with two cocos - they serve green coconuts there which are not quite ripe (that's when they brown). so you get clear water instead of milk. and apparently it's the best workout recovery drink one could have. and i also had two cheeseburgers. i don't know what they put in brazillian beef, or maybe i was just too hungry, but those cheap cheeseburgers on the beach were GOOD!
the best run of all though was the run two days ago here in Sao Paulo. i found a huge park, which is their Central park. it's not nearly as big as central park, but big. it's close to 1 square mile or so. and unlike argentina, it's lush green with a huge variety of plants and birds - black swans, tall ducks, and a bunch of others i didn't know. also lots of art and cool-looking buildings.
the thing that was most exciting is that i found the local cross country trail - it was clearly marked with distance markers every 100 meters, and it was a trail, going all around the park. the whole thing was a 6K which is a standard cross country distance. now i can time myself and know exactly how much i'm running. it made me really happy. i felt a sense of camaraderie with those high school or college kids running around it (not when i was, but at some points in time). and it just made me happy to run on a trail. no matter how hard i tried to explore the park i always found myself back on the trail near the perimeter.
i love the feel of earth under my feet. i love all the little roots and bumps. i love the variety of textures. i love the soft cushioning (as compared to the hard asphalt or concrete). i love running along trees and dodging branches. i love all the curves and turns. i love feeling like i'm going somewhere which is a feeling often elusive when running on roads through a monotone city with cars weezing by. and i also love the feeling of being among grass and trees and going nowhere at all.
so yes, i'm officially a trail runner. i'm sure i'll do my share of road races, but they'd probably be far in between the trail runs.
in my 8 days here i managed to run 5 times. and i'm going to run today, so that'd be 6 out of 9. not bad at all. all the runs have been in the 6-10 mile range and not particularly fast. so if i'm going to beat sarah palin, i gotta start pushing myself and pick up the pace. also i gotta do a long run, probably on sunday.
Palermo, where i stayed in BsAs, has a whole lot of parks, and they're all next to each other. so one can run from park to park for miles. though the parks are not particularly inspiring. the grass is bleak and somewhat faded, there is little variety of plants - just bleak grass and bleak trees. and lots of concrete roads and a few concrete bike paths going through. and completely flat. so i was glad to have a park to run in, but as parks go, it wasn't particularly exciting. i guess it had one good part which was a big pond with hundreds of fat white geese as well as some exercise machines - i got to do dips for the first time in a while! i <3 dips.
running barefoot along the beach in Rio was loads of fun. i love running on packed wet sand. right between where it gets too dry and starts giving and it gets to wet and starts giving. i ran up and down along the beach for about an hour, cooled by gentle rain, wet by the occasional outlier wave, and with an idiot grin on my face. life is hard, i thought to myself with a smile, as i pictured my co-workers running round and round the rose bowl.
i finished the run off with two cocos - they serve green coconuts there which are not quite ripe (that's when they brown). so you get clear water instead of milk. and apparently it's the best workout recovery drink one could have. and i also had two cheeseburgers. i don't know what they put in brazillian beef, or maybe i was just too hungry, but those cheap cheeseburgers on the beach were GOOD!
the best run of all though was the run two days ago here in Sao Paulo. i found a huge park, which is their Central park. it's not nearly as big as central park, but big. it's close to 1 square mile or so. and unlike argentina, it's lush green with a huge variety of plants and birds - black swans, tall ducks, and a bunch of others i didn't know. also lots of art and cool-looking buildings.
the thing that was most exciting is that i found the local cross country trail - it was clearly marked with distance markers every 100 meters, and it was a trail, going all around the park. the whole thing was a 6K which is a standard cross country distance. now i can time myself and know exactly how much i'm running. it made me really happy. i felt a sense of camaraderie with those high school or college kids running around it (not when i was, but at some points in time). and it just made me happy to run on a trail. no matter how hard i tried to explore the park i always found myself back on the trail near the perimeter.
i love the feel of earth under my feet. i love all the little roots and bumps. i love the variety of textures. i love the soft cushioning (as compared to the hard asphalt or concrete). i love running along trees and dodging branches. i love all the curves and turns. i love feeling like i'm going somewhere which is a feeling often elusive when running on roads through a monotone city with cars weezing by. and i also love the feeling of being among grass and trees and going nowhere at all.
so yes, i'm officially a trail runner. i'm sure i'll do my share of road races, but they'd probably be far in between the trail runs.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
I'm improving?
Two things recently:
1) I seem to have recovered from the 20 miler way faster than I expected given how shitty I felt the night of. The next day I ran up and down the stairs no problem, and a day later (yesterday) I ran a 5K with my coworkers at around 8:10 pace, which is fast for me, and it felt good. Maybe it's a fluke and it'll take me longer to recover from the next big run, or maybe I'm really improving.
2) Last Thursday had to run about 1/3 mile from my car to the terminal as I was cutting it way too close to make my flight (I parked the car at like 20-25 minutes pre-flight). I had on a heavy leather jacket, a reasonably full backpack, and work shoes. Before I wouldn't even try running in non-running shoes. But now, using my forefoot landing technique, I completed the run quickly (didn't time it, but ran the whole way without stopping) and made my flight. Wasn't even short of breath.
Friday, October 15, 2010
I Ran Like An Antelope
It is a warm summer day in Moscow. I am playing with my little brother and some other kids outside my grandparents' Khrushchev-era five story apartment building. We're all frolicking around in the greenery and the trees playing tag.
As I'm running through the trees being chased by one girl, I suddenly notice that another kid is flanking me from the left (I suppose it was some sort of a team version of tag!). I don't have a moment to think and do the one thing that comes naturally - veer right and pick up the pace.
I feel fast. Really fast. The trees and the bushes zoom towards me and past me, in a green-black blur. I forget the feel of ground under me and not notice as I'm brushed by tree branches or bushes. I remember, with great satisfaction, the look of surprise on the flanking kid's face as I streak past his stretching hand.
"Я бежал как антилопа" or "I ran like an antelope" I think to myself that night, looking back on that moment. Why would a six-seven year old kid be thinking about running like antelopes? If I had to guess, it was because about that time I was reading lots of Mayne Reid - he writes about adventures in places like Africa, such as The Giraffe Hunters. Bottom line is the phrase stuck and is one of my earlier memories.
Though this was sprinting. My first encounters with distance running were hateful. Our PE teacher was an old, gruff and grumpy man. He was also short and skinny and walked with a permanent limp. He looked like the sort of guy who smoked a lot and spent lots of time in the sun. Or maybe he had some Caucasian in him. Not white, but someone who is from the Caucasus - I just don't know how to say it in English. He was strict, could weave magic with his hands and a basketball, but couldn't run to save his soul.
OK, so he did have a limp, but that didn't make me any less mad at him when he made us run circles around the Gym while standing on the side and barking commands. Oh, I hated those days. Unlike running fast and short, which is all fun and WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, running those circles, I felt pain in my side, pain in my legs, I sweat, I was short of breath. It was all sorts of bad news. I remember cutting corners, just wanting the whole ordeal to be over.
My feelings towards distance running didn't change much in high school. I dreaded the days we had to run the mile - or one lap around the school (it was a big school - 4500 kids - 3rd biggest in the US. We had to have three staggered tracks so only 3000 kids would be at the school at one time.) I was light on my feet and skinny, so I did OK - my time was typically in the low 6s and once I broke 6. But it wasn't any fun and I dreaded the pain and having to push myself as my legs didn't want to move and were turning to Jell-O. There was one guy who had his friend pick him up in a car and drop him off close to the finish line. If I wasn't so straight-laced, I would have wished I was him.
Where am I going with this?
Oh right, how I hated distance running ever since I can remember.
So in college, I didn't do any organized sports for the first two years. (I guess I didn't do any organized sports in high school, or ever.) Then one summer evening in 2004 I was watching the High Jump event of the Olympics. Those women looked beautiful, with their rippling quads, and it looked like SO MUCH FUN. I love to jump. Jump over trash cans, jump to reach the ceiling, jump over rivers, jump out of a second floor window. Jump jump jump. So the next morning I emailed the track coach and asked what it would take for me to be on the team at my college?
"Just come to practice," she replied. That's it??? Yay for Division III.
Despite what I consider a pretty good natural jumping ability (I cleared 5' with a scissor kick jump), I was not on my way to becoming a world champion high jumper. I could never get the flop down for the life of me... I just have a hard time multi-tasking and keeping track of so many things in such a short period of time. Stomach tucks in where and legs and arms and head and then reverse it all in the next split second.
In the meantime, I started dabbling in the sprints. Oh I LOVE the sprints. They're short, painless and I can run like the antelope again! Painless - that's before I discovered the 4. To my surprise I fell in love with the 4. It's the longest run that doesn't require any strategy. Well, maybe the pros have strategy, but my time improved by a few seconds when the coach told me to stop pacing myself and go all out as if I'm doing a 100 from the very start. I looked forward to putting on my spikes. I had these zebra spikes that made me run completely on my toes. It felt light and FAST. I hear my feet in those spikes clacking on the rubber track just thinking about it. But what I loved the most about a 400 (and what I dreaded too and anticipated every time) is the feeling of complete exhaustion at the finish line, from giving it all I've got.
That's how I became a snobby sprinter. When every once in a while Sarah convinced me to go running with her, it was all bitching and moaning the whole way. "I'm a sprinter," I would say. "I like my pain in short sweet intervals, and I'm done." I complained about the pain - that's the thing that got me the worst in distance running. I didn't have a very high pain tolerance. I bitched about her going too fast. I got mad at her for wanting to talk to me ("I don't want to talk when I'm in pain! Leave me alone, I'm only doing this for you."). Back then it was very puzzling why people would subject themselves to these things. Particularly the marathon, which Sarah ran. That's ~4 hours of non-stop pain!! What are they thinking?!?!
How did I go from that to wanting to run 100 miles? I'm frankly puzzled myself, but I'd have to write about that in the next post.
Why This Blog?
As some of you may know, since about a month and a half ago I got obsessed about running. I think about it a lot. All the time. Whether it's mental analysis of how to improve my technique, anguishing hopes of not getting injured, or imagining all the crazy runs I can do in my lifetime, running is my preoccupation.
I think this fits pretty well the definition of obsession: "the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc." hence the name.
So the reasons for starting this blog are three-fold:
1) To provide a creative outlet for all this mental energy (running is certainly an outlet for the physical one!)
2) To share my experience and hopefully find like-minded people
3) It'd be interesting to read this stuff years from now! I read over some of the things I wrote back in high school and Oh Boy, what was I thinking??
So, there you have it.
I think this fits pretty well the definition of obsession: "the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc." hence the name.
So the reasons for starting this blog are three-fold:
1) To provide a creative outlet for all this mental energy (running is certainly an outlet for the physical one!)
2) To share my experience and hopefully find like-minded people
3) It'd be interesting to read this stuff years from now! I read over some of the things I wrote back in high school and Oh Boy, what was I thinking??
So, there you have it.
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