The Runner Within

Well, I figured it was time to add a new playlist, since it’s been a while since I posted one. This one I call my Retro playlist, although, it’s mostly comprised of 80’s music with some 60’s and 70’s thrown in. I actually think that this is my preferred playlist to run to at the moment. I guess it is because a lot of these songs have dance appeal. Some of them I even dance to at the local 80’s night. Anyway, here they are in no particular order:

• The Longest Time - Bily Joel
• Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order
• Kung Fu Fighting - Bustop / Carl Douglas
• Tainted Love - Soft Cell
• Love To Hate You - Erasure
• The Final Countdown - Europe
• Things Can Only Get Better - Howard Jones
• Blue Monday - New Order
• Sussudio - Phil Collins
• Tarzan Boy - Baltimora
• Friday I’m in Love - The Cure
• You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) - Dead or Alive
• Love Shack - The B-52’s
• Panama - Van Halen
• Life is a Highway - Tom Cochrane
• Poison - Bel Biv DeVoe
• Unbelieveable - EMF
• Jump Around - House of Pain
• Two Princes - Spin Doctors
• Cold as Ice - Foreigner
• Good Lovin’ - The Rascals
• Ain’t Too Proud to Beg - The Temptations
• Joy to the World - Three Dog Night
• Roadhouse Blues - The Doors
• More than a Feeling - Boston
• Rocky Mountain Way - Joe Walsh
• (Don’t Fear) The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
• Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen
• Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
• What’s your Name? - Lynyrd Skynryd
• La Grange - ZZ Top
• Gone Daddy Gone - Violent Femmes

I got to start my strength training sessions back up today. It was good. I felt really relaxed afterwards, although it was disappointing to lose so much arm strength. I was doing arm presses with 5 lb weights and struggling by the second set. Katie, my trainer, mostly had me work on core and arms today, though, which was good. I definitely need to get back into the lunges, but I’d rather wait a week on it than cause more complications. I’ve also been attending a personal training class on Tuesday nights, for my own benefit. And it’s definitely been useful. The instructor goes over the machines and the proper form for lifts. I don’t see myself using the bar to do powerlifting or anything, but it’s always good to have a refresher on form. And it highlights how if you change your stance a little or your arm position, you work different muscles. I can tell that I’m going to have to bring a stability ball with me to Japan and maybe try to pick up some cheap dumbells in 5 and 10 lb weights… although who knows how I’d get them back to my apartment. Really, though, going 5 months without strength training will be really bad for me.

Well, I’m started to get frustrated here. I was supposed to be able to start running again tomorrow, but it looks like I have to put it off a week, again. I was feeling some pain in my leg near my sutures, and it was tender and hard there. So, my stepdad did an ultrasound (he owns his own ultrasound company, so he had an ultrasound machine at the house), and they found a loculated fluid sac in there. So, I had it drained this morning. It wasn’t infected, which is good news, but I can’t run on the leg for a week, because my surgeon wants the hole that was left behind when we took the fluid out to seal up properly. So… no more running for yet another week. Luckily, my training plan only requires 16 weeks, so it’s not dire that I start this week. However, given the various things that I have planned this summer, such as my brother’s wedding, a small trip to Vegas, a trip to NYC for my grandmother’s funeral, a trip to Atlanta for DragonCon, I will be cutting it close to not start my official training soon. I’m also really out of shape, as it has been like 4 weeks since I’ve worked out.

At least, however, I was told that I can start strength training, which is good. I already set up my appointments for Tuesday and Thursday at 5. So, I will start that this week. My trainer will have to go easy on me, however, since I don’t want that hole to not seal properly and cause further complications. Anyway, those are my current training woes. I haven’t forgotten about this site. I just haven’t had the ability to do much physical activity lately. I’m starting to go stir crazy though. So, next week, for sure!

I bet you’ve never heard of procrastinating by running… well, in an effort to put off the hard part of studying for my constitutional law final (the part where I catch up on some reading that I never did), I decided to go for a run. The weather was extremely nice (for Florida). It was 72 degrees and partially cloudy. Normally at this time of the year it would already be in the mid-80s… so I guess this bizarre weather is helping me out in some ways, although having to wear a jacket in the evenings in late April seems unsettling. I managed to beat my personal best, not that I have much of a benchmark to exceed, but I did feel a bit run down at the end, and I think it’s because I’m still not getting enough calories during the day. I should probably look into some kind of meal bars or some kind of ucky carb beverages. If anyone has any suggestions for stuff that doesn’t taste nasty, I’m all ears. I also need to be sure and up my water intake, because I think I am getting dehyrated as well. Ahhhhh… so many poor habits to change at once… it’s overwhelming.

Well, I guess I’ve put off reading Casey and Grutter for long enough!

Distance: 3.13 mi (5k)
Time: 32:02
Pace: 10:13/mi
Previous Best: 3.11 mi in 33:20 at 10:42/mi

Well, I finall took my nike+ ipod setup out on the open road and logged a 5k. I ran around my neighborhood, which ended up being surprisingly hilly. It didn’t compare to Coachman Park, but it gave me a run for my money (no pun intended). I didn’t run the whole way, which I was fine with. I haven’t been training regularly since I’ve been gearing up for finals, and, if my ipod setup was at all accurate, which I think it was, since I have gauged the area I ran at around 3 miles, then my pace was way down from what it normally is, which explains the huffing, puffing, and feelings of imminent doom. Additionally, after loading the data into NikePlus.com, I was proudly informed that my fasted 1-mile was a little under 10 minutes… lemme tell you, I have NEVER run a ten-minute mile before. I’m sure seasoned runners aren’t impressed, but I sure am, considering I was routinely the last person still on the track when we were forced to run the one and two mile distances in P.E. Here are the stats:

Distance: 3.11 mi (5k)
Time: 33:20
Pace: 10:42/mi
Previous Best: Iron Girl 5k, 38:26 at 12:24/mi

So, yay! Really, what it comes down to, however, is that I need to be able to modulate my running better so that I can run longer at a slower pace, rather than run at a faster pace and then have to walk. I guess on the treadmill, things are easier, because the machine regulates my pace for me. However, I doubt any marathons were ever run on the treadmill (not counting that crazy astronaut). Of course, I can never seem to run faster than a 12:15 pace on the treadmill, and that was for one mile, and I felt like I was going to die.

This brings me to my next topic…

Nutrition… and other concerns

I really have to try and muddle through this nutrition thing. I know that seems vague. What you eat to lose weight seems to be radically different than what you eat to train for distance running. I know this may seem obvious to those of you who are seasoned runners, but it’s causing a lot of confusion for me.

Obviously, as someone who has lost a significant amount of weight, I am used to eating a fairly calorie-restricted diet. However, I think I’m probably not getting enough calories to give my body the fuel it needs for longer runs. It’s just become a habit, I guess, to not eat too much. Also, I don’t eat a lot, but frequently, I’m not the healthiest eater. I’ll sometimes forgo a larger, healthy meal for a caloric cookie or some ice cream. *hides from the judgmental glares*

Really, though, I have a terrible sweet tooth, and red meat is often hard on my stomach, which makes for an unfortunate combination of not enough iron and too much sugar. I can start taking a vitamin for iron, and I bought some yogurts and other more healthful snacks, but, really, I guess it is just going to end up being trial and error that determines what I should eat and how much of it. I have some books, but as usual, they just quote the food pyramid to me, so I’ll just have to wing it I guess! Sugestions are welcome!

So, I wanted to post one last time before I hunker down and study my property book. I have a few playlists that I use when I run, so I thought I would post my general playlist to solicit comments. I also have one for oldies, dance music, strictly They Might Be Giants, and even some of the nike ones. Anyway, they are by no means perfected… and I’ll probably be adding and deleting songs fairly regularly. Anyway, here is what I have for now. The ones that are hyperlinks lead to iTunes. If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m a huge Apple fan, and I’m writing this on a mac, and I like my mac. So, anyway… here it is:

• Fly Me Away — Goldfrapp
• Doctor Jones — Aqua
• Higher Ground — Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Ooh La La — Goldfrapp
• Get Over It — Ok Go
• Suddenly I See — KT Tunstall
• Goodnight Goodnight — Hot Hot Heat
• Social — Squirt Gun
• Build Me Up Buttercup — The Goops
• Virtual Insanity — Jamiroquai
• Till the End of Time — DeVotchka
• Take Me Out — Franz Ferdinand
• Fever For the Flava — Hot Action Cop (This song… and entire album are like a guilty pleasure! :D)
• Here it Goes Again — Ok Go
• The Distance — Cake (probably on every runner’s playlist)
• Are You Gonna Be My Girl — Jet
• Hey Jealousy — Gin Blossoms
• Feel Good Inc. — Gorillaz
• A Million Ways — Ok Go
• You’re so Damn Hot — Ok Go
• I Was Wrong — Social Distortion
• Ants Marching — Dave Matthews Band
• Do You Want To — Franz Ferdinand

If anyone has any suggestions for additions, I’m always game to hear them!

Well, I wanted to add that I’m pretty excited to have received all my equipment to use my new iPod Nano with the Nike+ sensor. I don’t own Nike shoes, as I have a very nice pair of Asics Gel-Nimbus VIII shoes, which are excellent quality and pretty much the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever owned. So, I purchased a pouch made by Marware, which can attach to any running shoe and make it compatible with the Nike+ sensor. I have only had a brief opportunity to try it out since receiving it yesterday, but I plan to go for a nice run tomorrow (or later today as it were). I used to run with no music at all, but when I’m on a treadmill, I find it to be too monotonous without music. So, since I was going to invest in a Nano anyway, I chose to also pick up the Nike+ sensor, so that I could track my distance easily, even when outside. Supposedly, the sensor has a 90% accuracy out of the box which improves when you calibrate it. I will have to do some testing at some point to see how true that is, but, until I get it calibrated, I’ll just be using it as is. Still, I think it will be a welcome addition. I’ve also picked up some new tunes to get me through my runs, so maybe I’ll post my running playlists one of these days. I totally snagged the Pirates of Penzance for marathon day. Although, I really want the version with the movie cast. If that can’t take my mind off of the pain, nothing can!