Stretching it

I went to a 45-minute deep stretch class this afternoon to work out some really tense muscles, a combination of bad posture at work and all this running. I'll treat myself to a massage soon, but in the meantime, a good stretch class will do. I haven't been stretching enough before and after, so I figured this class could remind me of what I should be doing. And it would also help me justify that gym membership that's been rather underused since this training program began. It was a goooooooooooood stretch, and less stressful than yoga, which is kind of an oxymoronic statement.

Biked home, had a bowl of cereal. Then thought about the 4mi I was supposed to tackle. Mapped out a route. Left. First mile was a little bit difficult. All these stretched out muscles just wanted to relax, to be sitting on the couch watching the MTV awards or something equally mindless. The second mile was a little easier. Then miles 3 and 4 just flew by. I hit Mile 4 just as I got to the pizza joint; ordered a large pepperoni pie. And to pass the time, I ran another 1.25mi. How's that for stretching it?

Coax me

I wasn't feeling it today. There was a whole lot of internal debate going on before I even laced up my shoes. A lot of negotiations, making excuses, battling negative thoughts. I was skedded for 8 miles today. Crap.

There was no way I was getting out of bed this morning for that distance before work, not after what I ate yesterday -- a lesson on how not to fuel your body -- but at least I still did the cross-train commuting to work thing. I ain't quick enough to run 8mi during a lunch hour. So that left me with the after-work option.

I got home at 6 and I was, by now, in even less of a mood to go. I had to really coax myself to change into running gear.

You can push the 8mi to tomorrow, I said.
Your calves, despite all that stretching, still feel tight, so maybe you shouldn't go at all, I told myself.
You are too tired.
You should do just 3mi, maybe less.
Maybe you should put your shoes on. That'll help.
You're hungry.

I can be my own worst enemy if I let myself. But at least I got out the door. The thought of barbequed meat that would be waiting for me post-run helped. But all those negative thoughts were starting to overwhelm. I felt out of sync, my legs weren't moving right. Eventually an awkward rhythm started to develop. I was also too obsessed with the Garmin today, looking every few steps and not liking the pace of progress, and wondering if time has actually slowed just for me today.
I found myself on a good downhill stretch and boom ... ran into the Sunday 10K group.

There was some instant recognition and I asked them where they were going, how far? Of course, the answer had to be HILL TRAINING. Argh. But I went with them. Because at this point, I still needed to find the desire to get 5 more miles in. I really needed them today. To kick my butt since I wasn't going to be doing it myself.

Funny enough, my negative thoughts seemed to melt away with this group. I honestly don't think this could've happened with the previous group I sort of belonged to. Or is it maybe I've gained some self-confidence in recent weeks? Well, we did 4x800m hills. I didn't complain once, did not stop for a single moment til it was over, even though chest was heaving. High fives were exchanged, many encouraging words called out.

We made our way back towards HQ, but I split off from the group part way to head home. It was a long road today, literally and figuratively. By the time I got home, I had completed 7.4mi. Close enough.

EXcuses

Tiny donuts dusted with cinnamon, a Montreal smoked meat sandwich, a steamie (as it is known in Quebec, but more commonly known as a hot dog everywhere else), ice cream waffle sandwich, schwarma, gyros pita, caramel popcorn, and iced tea. All of this consumed during an 8-hour day spent hanging with KidSis at the Canadian National Exhibition (the CNE, but more commonly known as the Ex). I begged off work ("Bosslady, I need a day off this week. I don't care which. You pick" ... which is how it came to pass that I spent a day at the Ex, which for me, is the sure signal that summer is drawing to a close ... it lands in Toronto about three weeks before the school year begins. I've gone every year for as long as I can remember. Tradition, nostalgia, something like that, keeps me going back, I guess. Or is it the food building?


Among the activities du jour, KidSis and I saw a circus act, bought a couple of sketchbooks, drew self-portraits for some local art project, looked for deals in the warehouse sales but came up empty, played a couple of midway games, and refused to risk our lives on any of the rides (yes, I have a thing about a rollercoaster that can be put together in a day with nothing but a monkey wrench and a screw driver!!)Generally, it was an expensive day, but you don't ever put a price on time spent with family, particularly a KidSis who asked to hang out -- am I the cooler older sister? -- so who am I to refuse such a request since we practically never have a chance to do so ... often enough.



Just as we were ready to leave, take our slothful, weary selves home, we bumped into Yumke, and Fitzy, another buddy from university days. Fitzy had already lost about $20 playing a shooting game, and proceeded to lose at least $8 more in the 20 minutes we hung out. Yumke said he was just there for the food. I guess I was too, based on that list. KidSis and I shared every item. Would you believe I was still hungry as I was driving home. I actually thought a cheeseburger from McD's would've been the crowning dietary achievement of the day, but I drove right past the golden arches and had a bowl of Cheerios instead. Definitely not as satisfying as a small order of perfect french fries would have been.

And no, I didn't run today. I probably could have this morning, but decided sleeping in was way more fun -- sleepover with KidSis! -- and frankly, I just didn't feel like it when I woke up.(But I swear I must have walked at least the 4mi I was scheduled to run. And then some).

Returned

I don't own the Asics Gel Evolutions anymore. Took them back to the store. No questions asked. My kind of return policy... though I felt a little bit bad because I gave them back to the same guy that sold them to me, who spent so much time with me to find me what was not the right pair. He had my favored 856s, the last pair in my size, but that particular pair had felt odd on my feet. Maybe they weren't the right width.

I briefly thought about trading in the Asics for another pair of my current New Balance 1222s, but think I'll go to the NB store, instead, and see what else is on offer. I see they have my 856s available online.

UFC: Ultimate Fifteen (mile) Circuit

Okay, I admit it. I just finished watching the Ultimate Fighting Championship 62, taped from last night pay-per-view. I was supposed to watch this last night, but I was a superbad date as I fell asleep before the opening credits were finished. It was 10pm, I had a bellyful of rotini primavera and I had 15 miles waiting the next day ... I probably had no fighting chance of staying awake!

So I woke up this morning, not exactly raring to go, but ready. It was very overcast, and humid -- the most humid it's been in weeks, it seems. The rain overnight hadn't helped. And it looked like it would start again soon. Packed two gels, a water, and a bus ticket (always) in the fuel belt, then strapped the Garmin to my wrist and opted to leave the iPod at home today (wouldn't want to get that waterlogged).

I left at 7:30, and ran for 54 minutes, covering 4.5mi before meeting the running group. The group was doing 10K today, so that worked with my plan as it did last week. I did this portion of today's run at a much slower pace, almost a minute per mile slower -- I wasn't fast enough to keep up with the lead pack, but I was a little bit too fast (!) for the back of the pack. No midpaced people today. So I slowed down, because what's the point of running with a group if you run the preset course by yourself?

What this meant was that when I parted ways with the group afterwards, I had lots more energy left for the 4.5mi I needed to finish the task. So, I decided to try out the "virtual partner" function on the Garmin. I set the distance to 5mi. And the time at 12:30/mi, which is probably a little bit slower than I do on average, but something I thought I could hold for the whole distance. I raced the little virtual dude across the beach, then home. I miscalculated the distance home, and had to run a little bit more. I was very happy to see the end of the run. Because the screen flashed "Success!"

And it wasn't so bad to run a little bit extra around my neighborhood. Because I ended up at Tim Hortons. The reward: a medium coffee with milk and a chocolate dipped donut. I don't even feel exhausted.

Total distance today: 15.21mi/24.48K.
Time: 3:17:10.
Calories burned: 1407. So that's a no-guilt donut, thanks.

Weekly tally (for weeks 9, 10): 20.31mi + 27.21mi = 47.52
Training-to-date: 258.97mi/416.77K

A Friday Four

My new New Balance 1222s are fabulous. Maybe I won't have to lament my NB 856s anymore. I think the new shoes were a huge part of the excellent run I had on Wednesday. So to make sure that was no accident, I took them out again today (it should have been a rest day, but it turned into a make-up 4mi since I skipped it last night in favor of having pizza). I used the treadmill instead of going outside, looked like rain was coming, and even though I typically don't like to do more than 3mi on the treadmill. But I felt good during the whole thing, running a nice comfortable clip and increasing speed every mile. I think I may have been mesmerized by my own ponytail. That sounds so stupid, but seriously, I was absolutely transfixed by the way it bounced, swished side to side.

Each mile in tribute

So after my big goalsetting post from Sunday, I followed that up with keeping my running shoes in the closet. I had to. The past couple days have been for family, not for self.

HK Grandpa passed away on Sunday after 89 years on this planet. Geography kept us thousands of miles apart, and I wish I could say that shouldn't have mattered since we live in the age of the Internet, telephones, the written word, photographs, all available vehicles to be able to keep in touch. But the truth is that I didn't know him very well. I saw him only a handful of times in my life -- the last time in July 2004 during my trip to Asia. I talked with him just once over the past couple of weeks, when he was released from the hospital for the second or third time in as many months. I somehow dug deep enough, strung together enough Chinese words to ask him to get well, be well, and to have tea with my mother. I'm ashamed that my conversational Cantonese isn't good enough to have been able to better communicate when there were opportunities for exchanges. He had a strange sense of humor, and I remember his toothless smile, but it seemed he would never smile in a photograph. I guess he might have been embarrassed about his teeth.

I thought about him a lot during my run today. I tried to remember him best I could, but some of the memories are fuzzy...perhaps not exactly accurate, maybe embellished, but mostly very real. I thought about the time he took me to the market and we bought a live chicken, which would later be a featured dish at dinner. I thought about how he liked to go to the local dim sum shop, order a bamboo steamer of BBQ pork buns and something else, and read the paper for hours. I thought about the times when we'd go to the courtyard by his apartment and he'd tell all his friends that were playing Chinese chess that his grandkids from Canada were visiting. I thought about the welcome dinner in 2004 when I stayed with him during my visit. He ordered some kind of baby bird -- it might have been duck I don't quite remember -- just for me. And I ate it on top of the ridiculously large, but very yummy, seafood feast. I thought about how I wish I could go to his funeral, pay my respects, but it's next to impossible right now. Even my mom can't, but she was just there. I'm so glad, relieved even, that she got to spend time with her father because she hadn't much since she moved to Canada some 30 years ago, leaving her whole family behind.

I ran 8 miles today, each mile in tribute for each decade of his life. I should have ran closer to 9 then -- I wanted to -- but I ran out of time, and was actually just scheduled for 7. Anyways, I don't know what it was but I was in some kind of zone during my 90 minute outing. I didn't adhere to my regular 10/1 ratio of minutes of running/walking. I ran straight through most of it, feeling stronger by the step. No gels. No water. Barely looked at Garmin, and my iPod was off for 85 percent of the run. It was just me and HK Grandpa today.