I Got My Rock Moves October 28, 2008

Let’s just get this out of the way and rip the bandaid off, ok?

It’s very likely I won’t be running the Philadelphia Marathon.

After a week off my feet, I tentatively took a test run on Saturday.  My shins held up pretty well, but I had taped a piece of Moleskin around the inside of my arch and over my healing blister.  A couple of miles in, I started to feel that annoying stab of chafing hell and when I gingerly peeled off my socks at home, my foot looked like this:

 

I'm Rotting!

That bright pink stuff?  I believe that’s what doctors refer to as RAW FRIGGIN’ FLESH.  My (extremely scientific) hypothesis behind this mysterious blistering is that when I hurt the top of my foot (one of the metatarsals) on my last 21 miler, it caused me to change my gait a bit to avoid pressure on that particular spot, and now my left foot is landing a bit different and thus, chafing where it never has before.  

Nothing’s broken or anything – the metatarsal is healing, albeit very very slowly, and I’m not sure it will be completely gone in time for me to be in sufficient shape for the marathon.  I was eyeing a spring marathon anyway, so I may just make Flying Pig or a similarly timed race my debut, and now I have an even more solid base to build on, not to mention the confidence of knowing I’ve already successfully toughed it out through several 20 milers.  I bought a monthly membership to my local community gym and elliptical-ed my ass off tonight to keep up my fitness.  Disappointing?  Sure, but as Mike reminded me the other day, running’s a long-term thing.  Not running this marathon does not mean I’m not a runner.  Not running for a few weeks does not mean I’m not a runner.  Or, as Pink puts it slightly more directly and confidently:

SO WHAT?
I’M STILL A ROCK STAR!

*   *   *

Of course, this does not mean I won’t be going to Philly.  First of all, I’ve already booked my plane tickets, and second, I’ve been drooling over Capogiro’s ever since I read Serious Eats’ Guide to Philadelphia and they adamantly proclaimed that anyone who goes to Philly and does not sample Capogiro’s gelato loses their foodie card forever.  THE HORROR!!!  Not running the marathon just means I have 4 extra hours to eat gelato. Unlike my foot, my jaw is still in perfect shape, so I’ve been practicing for the eating marathon.

 

Bulgolgi - Marinated Beef

 

Sunday Night Roast Chicken

 

With Potatoes and Green Beans

What Do I Have To Do – Sacrifice a Virgin? October 19, 2008

WHYYYYYYYYYY?!???!!!???????

WHY, RUNNING GODS, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME NOW??!!??

My beloved Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8 has accumulated more than 350 miles from these past months of marathon frenzy.  It was time for new shoes and I did what I thought was sensible – I ordered an identical pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 8.

For the past week, I have been struggling to run a single mile without excrutiating shin pain and a giant blister forming on my left arch.  The furthest I managed to go was 5.5, and every single step of it was sheer torture.  I have NEVER had these issues with my previous pair.  I went back to my running store on Saturday, exchanged them for a new pair of Saucony ProGrids, and took them for a test drive this morning – still shin pain (albeit slightly decreased), still blistering.  

I don’t know what’s wrong.  I don’t know why my legs and my feet have suddenly formed an Anti-Marathon Coalition.  When you have bad, painful run after bad painful run, you start becoming anxious about heading out.  You get frustrated and bummed and angry, and no longer look forward to running.  I am 4 weeks away from the marathon and I just want to run pain-free again, I don’t want to finish every run feeling like absolute crap and doubting whether I can do this marathon or not.  I am really just terrified – I started crying while picking out apples at the grocery store today.  I am really grateful no one came up and asked if I was ok, because I would’ve started bawling, “My training is all going to crap! I can’t fit in two more 20-milers if I can’t even run 5 miles! I can’t do this! I’m going to fail my marathon!”

People, back away from the crazy girl crying over the apples.

*   *   *

Let’s have some food photos to wash the taste of that emo-angst away.  

 

Doing What I Do Best

 

Barbacoa Taco

 

Dim Sum in Chinatown - BBQ Pork Pastries

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings

 

And a Mini Egg Tart to Finish

 

MEH.

And here’s a baby alpaca, just for kicks.  Baby alpaca clearly does not approve of all this angsty whining and negativity.

Nifty Fifty October 13, 2008

Monday:  10 miles
Tuesday:  3 miles
Wednesday:  9 miles
Friday:  7 miles
Saturday:  21 miles
TOTAL:  50 miles

I skipped my tempo this week because my shoes are noticeably worn down, but my new shoes haven’t come in yet, so I’ve been suffering through mild shin splints and some tightness in my left calf.  And for some reason, I hurt the top of my foot during my LSD on Saturday.  It’s pretty tender and I’m walking slightly like one leg is shorter than the other, but it isn’t swollen or bruised or discolored, so I’m fairly certain necrosis hasn’t set in.  I’m glad.  Running a marathon with necrosis in one foot would probably bring down my time.  Luckily, next week is cutback week so I’ll take some extra days to stick my feet in the freezer and shoot myself up with ibuprofen.  I’m also thinking of wrapping my feet and legs up with bubble-wrap for the two weeks of taper.

I ran by a hole-in-the-wall, biker bar on my long run yesterday.  Standing outside against the wall were three middle-aged biker dudes – full on facial hair, sunglasses, leather jackets, and greasy bandannas – smoking cigarettes.  Oh no, I thought as I approached, preparing for insults or beer bottles to be hurled at me, they’re going to say something.

And they did.  One guy looked straight at me, and as I ran by, gave me a huge thumbs up and yelled, “Looking good!  Keep up the good work, young lady!”

Seriously, guys, I almost about burst into tears.  Now THAT is how you rock a run.

*   *   *

I went out for cheap happy hour drinks eats on Friday night with some coworker friends at McCormick & Schmick.  They have half-pound burgers with fries for $1.95, which is a pretty sweet deal for someone who is not making a lot of money (that would be me, if you weren’t sure).  Here’s how it went down:

Waitress:  Have you guys decided?
Coworker 1:  I’ll have the cheeseburger.
Coworker 2:  I’ll have the cheeseburger as well.
Kai:  I’ll have the cajun burger…
Waitress:  *starts to take our menus*
Kai:   Wait, I’m not done.  I’ll also have an order of the buffalo wings, and the tempura green beans.
Coworkers:  *stare*

Saturday, Fiancee and I had dinner at Cheesecake Factory and ended the meal with a tiramisu and their dulce de leche caramel cheesecake.

 

Dulce de YUMMMM

Yes, it was every bit as delicious as it looks.  And I liked that it wasn’t as rich and dense as most cheesecakes.  It was fluffy and light and pretty much the stuff dreams are made of.

Another favorite of mine this week?  Culver’s new pumpkin spice shake.

 

Blended With Heaven

How good was this?  I made a special trip tonight after dinner just for this shake, and I really REALLY do not like to move on Sundays.  Like, at all.  Especially since I’d just put in my first 50 mile week, my goal for today was to limit my movement to gesturing for food and water, and grunting at Fiancee when he cheered too loudly for the Bears.  But then I thought about the sign for this shake, and managed to remove myself from the couch.  It tastes like a thick, liquid pumpkin pie.  And it was only $3!  What more could a girl ask for?

(A big congratulations to the Chicago and Steamtown marathoners!  Take pride in limping around for the rest of the week!  And eat an extra large pizza with extra everything on it all by yourself!)

And the Oscar for Best Supporting Cast… October 9, 2008

On my run after work today, I encountered the following:

1.) A little brat who snotted, “There goes Chinese!” as I ran by.
2.) A douchebag in a pick-up who yelled, “I hope you trip!”
3.) High school boys who whistled and hollered at me.

Ah, such is the sophisticated, erudite community I live in.  Tell me more.  Would you like to add some racial slurs to that mix, or try to run me over with your truck, perhaps?  Please, don’t let common decency hold you back from expressing how you really feel about my running.  

*   *   * 

I’ve mentioned before that running keeps my crazy female insecurities and psychotic tendencies at bay.  Somewhat recently, my company hired a couple of tall, thin, absolutely gorgeous blonde girls.  I’m talking perfectly rosy skin, glowing yellow hair, always dressed immaculately with mile-long legs.  Pre-running, my thought upon seeing them would’ve been something like this:

“Hey, there’s [X].  I bet she eats 3 ice popsicles for lunch and then throws it up to stay that thin.  What is she always smiling at?  I bet she’s dumb.  I wonder if Fiancee thinks she’s prettier than I am.  He probably does.  How did she get so tall?  I’m such a hobbit.  Life is so unfair.”

Now, in the midst of marathon training, my current thought process is more like this:

“Hey, there’s [X].  I wonder if she has any food on her.  Maybe that leftover pizza in the fridge is hers.  Mmmm pizza.  With bacon.  And french fries.  Oh, I see a bag of chips at her desk.  I wonder if she’s going to eat that.  I’m so hungry.  Maybe she’ll share.  Maybe I should go downstairs and just buy a bag of chips.  I wonder if she would notice if I ate her pizza.  Man, I could really use a nap.”

I think it’s better for everyone if I keep running.  (Except maybe the pizza.)

Step It Up October 6, 2008

Here’s how my week shook out:

Monday:  10 easy, 10×100 m strides
Wednesday:  9 w/ 6×800 m repeats
Thursday:  7 easy
Saturday:  15 (cutback long run)
TOTAL:  42 

For my long run, I tried to do something of a marathon-paced workout but seeing as how I still have no idea what my marathon pace should be, it was rather useless.  What I did end up running was 5 easy warmup miles, followed by 8 miles at about 8:50 (20 seconds faster than my tempo pace EDIT: that should read 20 seconds SLOWER than tempo pace!!!  I’m not that crazy or fast!), and 2 miles of cooldown.  8:50 is much too fast for a GMP (goal marathon pace) – but I’d love to shoot for around 9:00 or 9:10.  I’ve got time for at least 2 more 20-milers (maybe a 21, just too boost my mental confidence), so we’ll see.  Next week, I’m tacking on another day of short, easy mileage.  

I spent half an hour in my local running store yesterday talking to the owner, Mel, about pre-race routines, post-race routines, pacing strategies, proper tapering, and everything under the sun pertaining to marathon training.  He suggested I start out in the 10 minute mile coral, just to absolutely make sure I’m not starting out too fast.  ”I don’t care if there’s a 300 pound guy plodding past you – you stay put,” he told me.  ”Make a surge around mile 8, and then turn it into an 18 mile long run.”  He also advised me to pop plenty of vitamin C during taper, as my system is so used to the higher volume of training and my immune system may become more susceptible once my mileage dips.  He dismissed my suggestion that I just lock myself in a room with an air purifier drinking chicken noodle soup.  

“And of course, the night before, you want to eat a lot of carbs.  Have a lot of pasta with marinara sauce, meatballs, whatever.  Have a BIG bowl.  Have a lot of apple pie.”

“Stuff myself?  Yeah…that’s not a problem for me.” 

*   *   *

I stuffed myself Saturday night, as a matter of fact, with a bento box from Ichiro Sushi.  I ate it all – miso soup, seaweed salad, a California roll, chicken teriyaki, and this pile of various tempura:

 

Tempura Pile

Then I did it all again this morning, doing brunch with some friends at Wishbone.  Denver omelette (green peppers, onions, ham), a side of bacon, homefries, and the softest biscuit ever.  I was the only one at the table who cleared my plate, and after I finally put my fork down, Tricia glanced at my plate and snarked, “Um, I think you missed a crumb.”

Favorite part of marathon training so far?  Definitely getting to eat whatever the hell I want.