Monday, August 19, 2013

Running evolution (part 2)...

All right - the last post ended with my running the Color Run - great experience, great first race, and everything I had hoped it would be.  So here's some of the run-centered highlights since:

c210k
After the Color Run, I decided to attempt to "level up".  The same outfit that made the c25k app that I used also makes a c210k app, so I commenced download.  Since I was still riding the high of finising c25k as well as the Color Run, the increasingly long runs (peaking at 60 minutes with no walking) didn't seem completely daunting.  Off I went, and after a few runs I came face to face with my first running related (I guess we can call it an) injury:

Nipple
After I came in from one of my runs, I was sitting out on the deck, cooling off.  My wife came out to chat, and upon seeing me, started laughing hysterically.  We snapped a pic for posterity:
Yes, yes it is - that is my nipple bleeding through my shirt.  After doing a bit of Google research (which had a fairly shocking start due to my admittedly poorly chosen search string "bloody nipple"), I found out that this is somewhat of a common running issue, especially with men.  It turned out to be fairly easy to remedy - I gave the nipple a few days of hard earned rest, and then busted out the next few runs wearing band-aids (which is an awesome look for me.  No photos of that one - you're welcome).

The long term solution for my pink little buddies is to apply a product I found from Gold Bond before each run that goes on like a stick of deodorant.  It's called (and I've decided that this will also be my name if/when I become a superhero) "FRICTION DEFENDER"!!

The next 5k
I found that I really liked having a race "out there" that I was training for.  I'm not sure exactly why, but I find it motivating, so I signed up for another local 5k that was a few weeks away.  Come race day, this one was a different experience, but also fun.  I ran it alone, since my daughter has a bunch on things on her plate this summer.

This race was a bit more competitive.  (Well, for some people, that is.  The only things I was competing against were myself and common sense.)  Unlike the Color Run, this one was timed via a chip you tie to your shoe, and to my surprise they announce your name and snap a picture of you as you cross the finish line:
Even though the Color Run wan't officially timed, I knew how long it took me to run via my fancy-dancy GPS watch.  To my surprise, I beat that time by four minutes on this run.  It's true what they say about race day adrenaline.

Thank you sir may I have another
By now, I'm well into the c210k program (I've got two more runs until I "graduate").  While I didn't feel comfortable signing up for a 10k (my 60 minute runs are only taking me about 8k, not the 10k pace the app expects you to run), I wanted to have a race out there on my horizon, so I signed up for another local 5k.

Once again, I beat my previous time (by three minutes this time), and it was a complete blast.  Here's the requisite finish line photo they took:
With this race, however, I think I've come to an epiphany.  There were two races run here on this day:  the 5k, and a half-marathon (13.1 miles/21k).  We all started and finished from the same spot.  In watching everyone mill around at the starting line, and watching some of the half-marathoners finish, I've come to the conclusion that I think I want to run this half next year.

I really think I can do it - and I'm going to make it a goal.  I've run my last race for this season, but I'm going to continue training throughout the winter (I'm not quite sure how that is going to work yet, but...yeah.), and I'm trying to put a race schedule together for myself that culminates with this half-marathon at the end of next summer.

In other news, inches are still disappearing, but as you may notice in my weigh-ins to the right, the pounds are coming off ever so slowly.  I'll address this in my next post.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Running evolution (part 1)...

First of all, when I do it, I'm pretty sure it's called jogging (at best).  But fuck it - I'm going to call it running because it sounds cooler.

So, there have been a few developments with where running fits into my fitness plan since I first started the c25k program almost three months ago.  I can't really say that I hate running now.  That said, I can't really say that I love it either.  I guess you could say that I love that I don't hate it.  I get a huge sense of accomplishment when I finish a run, and I'm almost always (pretty much) looking forward to the next run.  The only time my mind really goes to a dark place is when I'm about ten minutes into the run, I have a moment of clarity and say to myself "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING??!!"

Anyway, here's some of the highlights from the past several months:

w5d3
This stands for "week 5 day 3" in the c25k program, and it was kind of a turning point for me.  I wrote a previous post about it.  Once I did that run, I realized that even longer runs were actually possible.

Buying shit
I always do this - I get all jazzed up about something, and I find a bunch of shit related to it that I all of a sudden feel the need to purchase.  My wife (understandably) hates that about me.  With running, it started out with shoes.  I didn't feel too bad about that purchase, since my feet were starting to hurt on off days, and one of the first pieces of advice you read regarding beginners and running is to get yourself fitted for a good pair of running shoes.  And the advice rings true - the foot pain went away after I started running in them.

Next came the running shirts.  I had one "tech" type shirt that I realized was extremely comfortable to run in - it was light and wicked the sweat away nicely.  So off I went looking for running shirts.  I didn't go crazy (you certainly can), and got a few generic-type ones from Target.  They actually turned out to be a fortuitous purchase, as you'll see in the "nipple" entry in my next post.  (I know - quite the teaser.)

The latest purchase was this:
a gps running watch.  As I was clicking the "Buy it now" on Amazon, I'm thinking to myself "Why the fuck do I need this???"  In my defense (and there really isn't much of one), it was one of the cheapest ones out there.  I just kind of got tired of driving my latest route in the car to figure out the distance, and pretty much guessing at my pace.  Strangely, the purchase has been kind of motivating.  I know that if I stop running, I'm going to hate myself every time I look at the damn thing.

Color run
By the time the Color Run rolled around I was feeling mostly confident.  I say mostly because my latest training runs hadn't been quite a full 5k yet.  I was running slower than the c25k program assumed you would go, so my 30 minute run only took me about 4k.

My neighbor, who is an honest to goodness "for real" runner told me not to sweat it, and that I'd have it in the bag come race day.  She was right - adrenaline took care of that last one k.  The run itself was amazing - the atmosphere was great, and (unbenounced to us), my wife had made "congratulations" signs for my daughter and I at the finish line.  Coming around the last corner and seeing her there screaming her head off for us was a priceless moment.

All right, this post is getting long enough, so tune in next post for "part 2".