Frustration Unending

I’ve gone well beyond the point of diminishing returns.  Early on in this little running plan of mine, I understood that, eventually, running would become difficult.  What I haven’t expected, however, is that it’s becoming nothing but.  My legs are dead, constantly.  I need at least 2 off days to recover, if I want to run completely fresh.  Which means, run Monday, and then Thursday.  And then Sunday.  And so on.  In between, my legs are so dead I cannot will myself to exercise.  I just want to sleep.
Part of this, of course, is allergies.  I’m suffering pollen or dust or something else.  Part of it is the new job I just started, which is messing with my sleeping schedule, in addition to keeping me on my feet in lousy shoes all day long.  I don’t know if I’m getting better at running, because, as I’m trying to run every other day, still, every run is a brutal struggle.  I’ve been doing 3:1 intervals for a while, and I haven’t been having any sort of easier time with them.  I’ve moved on to 4:1 intervals now, just to deal with something different.  Honestly, I like them a lot better than 3:1.  The run seems to go by much faster.

Here’s the playlist for the inaugural 4:1 run:

1. Radiohead – Bodysnatchers
2. Beatles – Dig It
3. Man Man – Hurly/Burly
4. White Stripes – Little Room
5. Mewithoutyou – Messes of Men
6. Liars – Why Midnight Walked But Didn’t Ring Her Bell
7. The Roots – I Will Not Apologize
8. Tom Waits – Let Me Get Up On It
9. Refused – Summerholidays vs Punkroutine
10. The Roots – @ 15
11. TEXT  – Sound is Compressed; Words Rebel and Hiss
12. Brian Wilson – Barnyard

• Total Time: 29:30

I honestly didn’t realize the run lasted just under 30 minutes until right now.  My playlists are huge–40 or more songs.  I just start at a random on the list, and go for a pre-determined amount of songs.  A 4:1 ratio means 12 songs should be 30 minutes long, but since the songs are only approximately 4 minutes/1 minute, the total came up a bit shallow.  Is anyone is curious, the longest run on there was for “I Will Not Apologize” at 4:34.  The shortest break was a tie between “Dig It” and “Little Room” at 50 seconds. I got a bit too winded during the whole thing, so I repeated one of the rest songs, and thus, the actual run was a touch over 30 minutes.  All the same, the next time out, I think I’ll add another run song.

The 4th of July is coming up, and we’re heading to Aunt Mary’s house for the weekend.  She wants to run with me, which should be properly terrifying, considering her skill level, and my lack thereof.  We’ll see how it goes.

 

Live Legs

I wish I understood what made some days easier than others.  Obviously, there are some effects that can be measured: temperature, humidity, sunlight, time of day, what I’ve eaten, how hydrated I am, etc.  Now, some of this stuff, I can measure.  I can look up the temperature and humidity.  I can monitor what I’ve eaten.  I guess I could guage the brightness of the sun.

What I cannot do, however, is figure out how much the effect of these things are.  I don’t know what an optimum running temperature is, for me, nor do I know how to measure the impact of running what it’s colder or warmer than that temperature.  I don’t know what I should eat to maximize my performance.  The magazines say “PROTEIN, STUPID”, but that’s not enough for me.  I’m trying to monitor as much as I can: time, distance, route, start time, finish time.  I bought a scale to monitor my weight.  I’m seriously considering a heart-rate monitor.  But what’s unclear to me is just the strength of impact any external (or internal) factors can or may have on my running.

Anyway, after two or so weeks of such daily exhaustion that I was seriously beginning to wonder if I was somehow sick, I woke up this morning feeling drowsy but okay.  I got out the door at about 6:40, and headed along my usual route.  The air was still, and mostly cool, as the sun was still golden and rising, instead of the lightbulb yellow that’s popular in Philadelphia in summer.  I didn’t bother to eat anything before I went.  I didn’t drink anything.  And I felt great.

I was running intervals of 3 min to 1 again, and my legs carried me through the first 2 running stages without issue.  With the third stage, my lungs warmed up and my saliva reduced to something as thick and viscous as maple syrup.  And on the fourth stage, I was cruising.  At times, I struggled, of course, and my legs got a bit rubbery near the end, but I was feeling great, and if time had permitted, I might have run longer.

As it was, however, I needed to scoot on home after getting in my requisite 30 minutes, and after a quick shower and dress, I paced my 3 mile bike ride to work nicely as a sort of cool down from the run.  Really, and outstanding way to start the day.  I can only hope that whatever was wrong with me lately is all but done, and I can get back on the pavement without pain.

Hell, maybe it was just the music.  Today’s list:

1. Pixes – Debaser
2. Tom Waits – Bone Chain
3. Wolf Parade – Modern World
4. Beatles – Wild Honey Pie
5. Wreckless Eric – Whole Wide World
6. Cat Stevens – Tea for the Tillerman
7. The Decemberists – July, July!
8. Brian Wilson – Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine
9. Andrew Bird – Fake Palindromes
10. Liars – Why Midnight Walked But Didn’t Ring Her Bell
11. Mountain Goats – Michael Myers Resplendent
12. Tom Waits – Bend Down the Branches
13. Mountain Goats – Pigs That Ran Straightaway Into the Water, Triumph of
14. Beatles – Dig It
15. Elvis Costello – Lovable
16. Andrew Bird – The Supine

• Total Time: 30:54

For whatever reason, I especially enjoy running to numbers 5, 7, 13, and 15.  Make of that what you will.

 

Running a Bit More Aggressively

So, to my huge surprise, with each run, I’ve grown noticeably better at running.  My pace is a bit more consistent, and I feel stronger during the run than I had in the previous effort, and at the end of 30 minutes, I’ve gone just a bit farther than I ever had before.  Really, I’m amazed that I’ve improved with, literally, every run.

That said, it was time to up the difficulty.  If you recall, I’ve been running in intervals: two minutes of running, followed by two minutes of walking, and repeat.  In the end, I’ve run 16 minutes and walked for 14.  Well, it’s time to up the running portion of each outing.  Instead of merely increasing the runtimes and keeping the walktimes at 2 minutes, I’ve decreased my walking time to 1 minute, and kept the run at 2.  Now, after thirty minutes, I’ve run 20 minutes, and walked 10.  It’s a 20% increase in run-time, which I feel good about, and I hope to gradually up the amount I’m running until I’m running 30 minutes flat out.  From there… well, we’ll see.

Anyway, I still don’t have a watch, so I’m forced to use the iPod to tell me when to switch.  A whole new playlist today for the new run:

1. The Replacements – Waitress in the Sky
2. Queen – Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon
3. Beirut – My Family’s Role in the World Revolution
4. Operation Ivy – One of These Days
5. The Beatles – I’ve Just Seen a Face
6. Tom Waits – Bend Down the Branches
7. Vampire Weekend – Mansard Roof
8. Brian Wilson – Old Master Painter/You Are My Sunshine
9. Kings of Leon – Velvet Snow
10. Cat Stevens – Tea for the Tillerman
11. Johnny Cash – Send a Picture of Mother
12. The Beatles – Wild Honey Pie
13. The White Stripes – Hotel Yorba
14. Tom Waits – Bone Chain
15. The Mountain Goats – I Know You’ve Come To Take My Toys Away
16. Tom Waits – Midtown
17. The Fiery Furnaces – Asthma Attack
18. Andrew Bird – /=/=/
19. Sufjan Stevens – Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
20. Mewithoutyou – Orange Spider

• Total Time: 32:12

All in all, I felt pretty good after the run.  Tired, certainly, and a little sore, but good.  I ran about 2.8 miles, which is a pace of 10:43 per mile–my best yet.  In high school and college, I ran the mile in about 6 minutes.  Now, I wasn’t much for running, then, though I was in much better shape overall.  I’m certain I couldn’t run a 6 minute mile right now, but I’m thrilled–literally, thrilled–to see my pace trending toward that personal record.  I’m about 80% above it now, but I’m not just dashing 4 laps around a track as hard as I can, and accepting that on lap 4 I’m gonna be slowing down.  I’m moving intentionally slowly in an effort to just keep running as far as I can.  Every thirty seconds I drop off my pace is a big accomplishment for me, and in just the past week, I’ve dropped 1:33–from 12:16 on my first run to 10:43 on my next.

Now, I understand the nature of results.  A baseball team that one 60 games last year could, by picking up a few good players, win 70 or more games this year.  A team that won 90 games last year, through the addition of only the same players, is unlikely to reach 100 wins this year.  The better you get, the harder it is to improve.  So, while I’m seeing spectacular results right now, in a few weeks or months (or even years, what do I know?) I’m going to sort’ve stall out.  Maybe I’ll find that I pace at about 7:00, and so nearly every thirty minute run lands me at about 4 1/4 miles.  I’m not sure how I’ll handle that.  Maybe I’ll just run farther.  I’m just pleased with how I feel during and after each run.  My muscles are sore, but the ache is gentle, and almost pleasant.  I cramp less and less with each run.  My lungs feel better, I breath better.  When I repeat a playlist, I get to later and later tracks before I get tired.  And then I come home and plot my route and pace and distance, and I can tangibly measure my progress.

I understand why so many people run, and why more than one person has told me it’s addictive.  I find myself thinking about running when I’m not doing it.  I want to run more.  I want to run farther and faster.  It’s a wonderful activity just because of it’s versatility.  You can run by yourself or with others–with different types of pleasure.  You can choose your route, and your choices can be versatile–maybe something utilitarian with hills and traffic, or maybe something scenic along a river or through the park.  Running is flexible.  I can get up early and run before work, or I can unwind from work by running away all my stress when I get home.  Or I can wait till evening and run between dinner and dessert (note: haven’t actually done this yet, as it’s baseball season).  There are tons of resources for people who are into running, because it’s something that can be done by anyone.  There is no ego in running.  No prima donnas.  No overpaid self-important asshat sport celebrities.  Hell, the most revered members of the sport are anonymous Kenyans and Ethiopians who populate the record lists.  I can’t name one, and you probably can’t either.  And that’s part of the beauty of the sport.  I cannot name any of its greatest athletes, and yet I’m utterly in awe of them.

Yeah, I think I’m going to stick with this running a bit longer.

 

Oh It Burns!

I just finished my first run.  I’m happy to say I’ve survived, and that I only expect it to get harder, then slightly easier, and then harder again from here on out.

My instructions were to run for one half hour, alternating running and walking.  I expect I’ll be doing this for a while, as, at this point, running for 30 minutes straight would probably result in dizziness and headaches and vomiting and unpleasantries like that. I don’t own a watch, so to run/walk for 30 minutes, alternating a regular intervals, I created a playlist on the iPod.  15 tracks, all about 2 minutes long.  I hoped to run for 8 of them and walk for 7, but that didn’t quite work out.  First, the list:

1. Operation Ivy – Vulnerability (run)
2. The Mountain Goats – Magpie (walk)
3. The Futureheads – Robot (run)
4. The Beatles – Do You Want to Know a Secret (run)
5. The Beatles – And Your Bird Can Sing (run)
6. Panda Bear – Ponytail (walk)
7. Neutral Milk Hotel – King of Carrot Flower Part 1 (walk)
8. Radiohead – Hunting Bears (run)
9. Elvis Costello – No Action (walk)
10. The Mountain Goats – Going to Malibu (run)
11. The Replacements -  Waitress in the Sky (walk)
12. Beirut – My Family’s Role in the World Revolution (run)
13. The Beatles – I’ve Just Seen a Face (walk)
14. Vampire Weekend – Mansard Roof (run)
15. Pixies – Doolittle (walk)

• Total time: 30:37

As I assume you can see, I took a bit of an extended vacation early on.  After 12 minutes of activity, my lungs were burning, my head felt hot, swollen, and I was getting a little dizzy, I’m afraid.  So, by necessity, I took another 2 minutes to walk.  I’m pleased to say the two minutes were just what I needed, as I felt well enough to complete the run.  Though I certainly struggled toward the end, I never felt like that again, and my endgame struggles were more along the lines of my legs getting tired, instead of my body trying to explode.

All in all, I ran for 14 minutes and walked for 16, and covered about 2.5 miles in the process.  I’d estimate that about half that distance was covered in the first 12 minutes, as I was discernably slower after the break than I was before, and I was definitely moving slower than I would have liked during the final 8 minutes of so.  I wish I could’ve run farther in 30 minutes–a 12 minute mile isn’t something to brag about, but I have to admit I’m pleased I actually made it for the duration.  In my previous, less guided, efforts to run I have always given up at that 12 minute hurdle.  I’m pleased that I was able to handle it reasonably well.

I also learned a stunningly important lesson today.  One I’ve learned before, in fact, but always forget when I lose the habit of exercising: eat before you run.  Not necessarily right before, but if you run in the morning, have breakfast first.  I didn’t today, and I’m fairly sure it contributed to my dizziness, and it’s also the main suspect in the confusing feelings of extraordinary hunger and nausea that I’m feeling presently.

I don’t think I’m going to do most of my running in the morning, as my job will have me working from 6:30AM until the early afternoon, and though I like getting up early, I don’t think I have an extra half hour for running like that, when I’ve got nothing but free time in the afternoons.  Hopefully, I’ll just remember to eat lunch first.