City Sports 5k

Finding the motivation to run / work out can be tough for me, as it is for almost everyone. I need something tangible to work towards; a hike, a race, etc. I signed up for the City Sports 5k run to benefit the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings, but overwhelming number of people that signed up forced the event to be cancelled for safety reasons. The Spartan Race was a 5k distance, but didn't require running the entire time. I needed something else.

A few weeks ago I got an email from City Sports for an ongoing series of free 5k's and decided, hey, why not? I had made plans to sign up for like five different races with Jaime and never followed through for a variety of reasons, so I asked her to run this one with me.

Reebok One Series Shoe

I felt underprepared. It was only 3 miles, sure, but I hadn't been running on a steady schedule. When I was running I would do about 2 - 2.5 miles before calling it quits. It was only 5 days after my Spartan and my muscles were just back to normal again. My goal was to just run the whole thing, no matter how slow my time was.

This 5k fun run (not race) was a wear-test for the new Reebok One Series shoe. We arrived at the City Sports store on Boylston St., where we had the option to swap out our shoes and wear the Reebok's for the run. Luckily they had my size, so I decided to wear the new shoe. Several people approached me while we hung around the store with the crowd of runners waiting for the run to begin. I was wearing my Spartan headband, partially because I'm a tad bit superstitious and I had a good run at the Spartan and partially because I lost my only other decent headband. It was the best conversation starter short of a cute dog. A handful of people had run the Spartan the same day as I had, and a few were running the Fenway one as well. One of the employees found me for a second time in the crowd. He was muscular, fit, obviously very athletic and strong... and he was nervous about running his first Spartan in November at Fenway. He wanted training tips from me. I tried not to laugh in his face (in a good way), and told him if I could do it then he could ABSOLUTELY do it. It was mildly flattering, though.

The Esplanade

The course was essentially a big rectangle around Back Bay, and I made sure to commit it to memory before we started because I assumed I would not keep up with the faster people (I was correct). One of the designers of the shoe was there and gave us a quick blurb about it, then promised us the best run of our lives. HA, OKAY. The gang of 30ish+ runners (I'm not a great estimator) stayed together for the first mile or so since we kept getting stopped at lights, but once we hit the Esplanade the groups split up. I knew from running at home that if I ran too fast in my first mile that I would burn out, so I was a little concerned when the MapMyRun voice said my split pace was 10:30 at the first mile (a decently quick mile for me). I picked a group ahead of me, decided to keep up with them, and tried to enjoy the run. The Esplanade is quite pretty, after all. By the time we reached the Mass. Ave Bridge I realized I wasn't in the fast group, but I wasn't last. Good enough for me.

Success

I surprised myself by doing a faster second mile, and then an even faster third mile. I attribute that to not getting stopped at any crosswalks, as we had several times in the beginning. If I had to stop at a crosswalk I don't think I would have run the whole thing.

I was curious to see how I would do in a group setting. I seemed to have some source of untapped energy during the Spartan race (adrenaline, I'm sure), and the same happened in this run. I wasn't in a large group, but I didn't want to be the one that stopped to walk. Maybe it's the competitive spirit in me, or maybe I'm vain, but it worked!

It was only a 5k, sure, but it was an accomplishment for me. I achieved my goal of not stopping to walk and I set a personal best. The shoes were great, and I did have my best time for that distance so far. I hesitate to attribute that solely to the shoes, but they certainly didn't hurt!

We grabbed our stuff, I exchanged my shoes, and we were about to head out when I remembered that I had submitted a raffle ticket when we first got there. I was meeting a friend for drinks and food, which I was eager to consume both of, and I've never won a raffle. Just as we were about to leave they announced they would be doing the raffle outside, so I called my friend and told him I would be leaving in a few minutes, ending with "I don't know, I feel lucky today". The first prize was two entry bibs to the Tufts 10k. I looked over at Jaime and said, "If I win this I will be livid. I'll pass." The first name was called, and called again, but no one responded.... so another name was picked. Mine. The first raffle prize I ever win in my 23 years on this planet and it's two entries to a 10k.

Damnit.

Now I have to run a 10k.

Well, guess I have something else to train for. I'm smiling, I swear. 

Photos from Massachusetts Spartan Sprint

I stole some photos of the Spartan race from my friends camera. Enjoy!

Who knew I could smile while running?

Sand bag carry

Traverse wall, pre-failure and yelling

Happy team!

Getting muddy

Tire pull

Thanks, Dennis.

Successful javelin throw!

Ahhhh... a soothing bath

Up and over a muddy hill and on to some more mud! MUD MUD MUD MUD

After our dip under the murky water

Fire jump!

Team finishers

Diet Fail

Three days past my deadline of "stop eating and start moving", and I am already failing. Why? Well, here are my excuses.

1. I am terrible at diets.

Or beer.

I'm always someone that says "never go on a diet! You're setting yourself up to fail! Just work on making healthier choices every day!" Then, not long after that, I do not heed my own advice and I do the exact opposite. And I fail.

I try to make healthy choices, but I tend to go through phases. I'll eat really well and exercise a lot for a few weeks, then I'll fall off the wagon and be an obese sloth for a bit. That could be an exaggeration. Making the switch to a healthier lifestyle (like, 90% healthy eating) has been difficult for me... but, who isn't it difficult for? Plus, once I "fall off the wagon" I tend to just throw caution to the wind and shove all of the food down my gullet. "Well, I already failed so why not FAIL HARDER?!"

Dreams really do come true.

2. It is summer.
And all I want to do is float in my raft, the USS Awesomesauce, with some sort of alcoholic beverage in the cup holder. I want to sit next to a lake. I want to sit on a beach. I want to sit in my yard and watch my mom make me giant-ass burgers.

Speaking of giant-ass burgers, not only do I want to sit on my ass next to some body of water but I also want to eat every single typical summer food item possible. It's like I'm coming out of hibernation from what seems like 9 months of New England winter and have finally reached my Utopian paradise filled with fruity drinks, burgers, hot dogs, BBQ, pasta salad, potato salad, lobster, ice cream, margaritas... etc. And I am on a mission to eat all of it. Anyone who has been to King Kone in Merrimack, NH, will know that you must consume as many ice cream cones as you can before summer ends.

Not only am I lazy and preoccupied with shoving my face with summer food, but it has been hot and really fucking humid. I can deal with the heat, no problem. I'm cold unless it's above 85. But the humidity... man. I referred to running through hot clam chowder in my last post, and that weather trend has not let up. Walking to the train in the morning (about 5-7 minutes, downhill) leaves me sweating. Do I have a gym membership? Why, yes, I do. But when I'm sitting in my apartment sweating my ass off just by simply existing the last thing I want to do is pull on some tight spandex and hop on the train to the gym, or, even worse, go outside for a run.

3. I am too focused on the numbers.
I'm up 3 pounds from my average (5 pounds above my lowest), and when people hear me say that they immediately want to punch me in the face. Rightfully so, I suppose. My logical brain knows that three pounds isn't that much (though it's about 2.5% of my body weight), but my illogical brain doesn't like to see the number. My logical brain knows that my BMI and body fat are well within the healthy range, as I had my friend measure me last night, but my illogical brain is still like THREE POUNDS THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SIT ON YOUR ASS. The gain could also be muscle weight. I've been focusing on my upper body  more - I did five REAL pullups, all in a row, last night (oooooooh aaaaaaaaaaah) - and the increase in amount of running/hiking/cycling could definitely build muscle.

Ironically, I tend to ignore the "good" numbers. I started running at the end of January because I was that bored. I didn't really think about how much I would be running, so I picked a random number out of the air and decided "it would be kind of cool if I ran 100 miles in a year". I joined a gym in February, and hit that goal pretty quickly.  I'll recap my "good" numbers in an attempt to make myself feel better about life.

January: 6 miles (I started at the very end of January)
February: 12.23 miles - actually not that bad considering it was like 20 degrees for most of February and I was running outside.
March: 12.25 miles
April: 46.26 miles of running, 1.57 miles of biking
May: 30.1 miles of running
June: 20.33 mile of running, 40.42 mile of biking
** I didn't count hiking miles

So, it's obvious that I've definitely made improvements over the months but even as I was writing I said "damn, I ran HALF as much last month as I did in April." You can see the hotter the month the less I wanted to be inside at the gym or running outside in the humidity.

4. My routine changed.

Drinking on the beach is much more fun than running.

I think April was such a good month for me because I was getting into the swing of things at work, I got through my bout with mono at the end of March, and I had my routine down pat. I was working from 9-2, so I would get out at 2 and go to the gym on my way home. It was a good time frame; not too long after eating that I was starving but not too soon after eating that I was bursting at the seams. My schedule changed for the summer, so now I get out at 4. I was usually starting to get hungry and the gym would fill up with the after-work crowd. I started going home a lot more. I want to park my ass on the beach at every opportunity.

Then my schedule changed even MORE when I got my second job at REI (which I am very, very excited about, but more on that another time). I don't know what my schedule will end up being like, but for the past two days I've come to job # 1 from 11-4, then straight to training sessions until 8:30 or 9. So, either I wake up a few hours earlier and get a workout in or I skip it altogether. I have opted for the latter. The schedule change has meant adjusting my eating schedule, too. I have been hopping around from my apartment, to NH, to friend's places so often that I haven't really gone food shopping in a while, meaning I have no (healthy) food to cook and bring with me to work. Working through lunch and dinner often means eating something small, snacking all day, or waiting until I get home and eating late at night (sooo bad for you).


Well, hopefully once things settle down with my schedule a little more I'll get back into the routine of working out more frequently. If I can find it in myself to stop being a gypsy, or at least being a smarter gypsy, then I can stop eating out all the time and make myself some healthier meals. Let's face it, I'm not reaching my summer goal of hiking Mt. Washington by sitting on my ass eating cupcakes and drinking beer!... that would be nice, though.

I Spent $50 on Socks, No Wonder I'm Broke.

How snazzy

I can hike for hours on end, but when I run my body wants to implode after a mile. I've been able to build up my endurance and speed over the last 5ish months, but I'm constantly battling the typical runner woes of cramps and fatigue. My biggest cramping issue, aside from the dreaded side stitch, has been my calves and feet. It seems no matter how much I stretch I end up with "dead legs" after a mile or so. My calves feel like they seize up; not necessarily tighten but just cease to work, like something stopping and stretching it out wouldn't necessarily help. The same happens to my feet; it feels like I don't have any control over their actions and they flop around hitting the pavement like two bricks. I noticed a lot of the Boston Marathon runners this past year had colorful sleeves over their calves, so I did some research and started debating if I should get myself some compression gear. It seemed they were mostly for high-performance, like racing or distance running, so it made sense that so many Marathoners were wearing them. I kept thinking it was probably a fad, especially since most compression sleeves/socks look more like a fashion statement than anything. Compression socks/wraps are not new, and the science behind them seemed logical, but I'm not a marathon runner so why would I need them?

2XU Women's Compression Socks, $50

...Well, two months after doing the initial research I was still not able to figure out an at-home cure. No matter how much I was stretching beforehand I was still getting my "dead legs". Then I saw a picture of my cousin/self-proclaimed-Godfather wearing the compression sleeves during a race, and he told me that he absolutely swore by them and they were the best investment he made when it came to running. Alright, I'm convinced. I figured if someone with as many joint/muscle issues as me (I mean we are related) was swearing by them, then I could definitely benefit, too. I debated ordering some offline, but instead I went to Marathon Sports in Copley Sq. The store was pretty much right at the epicenter of one of the bombs  during the Marathon bombing, and had to shut down for the entirety of the investigation along with most of Boylston St. The store has been really busy every time I've passed it since the re-opening, but I figured I would keep my money local and shop there. I was trying to decide between the sleeves ($40ish) and socks ($60ish). Honestly, the cheaper of the two, the sleeves, had an awesome colors which made me want to go with those over the socks. The salesperson told me the sleeves were mainly for performance (racing, which I haven't done since track in high school), but the socks would help more with overall muscles recovery. After trying on, like, ten different pairs and staring at price tags I found a $50 pair that were unfortunately did not come in fun, neon colors. I had to remind myself that it's not a fashion show, and that me running is about the least attractive thing in the world so who cares what I'm wearing anyway. Regardless, I had high hopes.

Then I got my first student loan bill. OHFUCKNOHOLYSHIT. I eyed the box and thought "I just spent $50 on fucking socks, good thing I kept the receipt". I figured I would test them out before I hastily returned them to the store in hopes I could make my first of many torturous student loan payments. This morning I called Federal Loan Servicing to set up a more reasonable payment plan, and based on my income the government decided I could afford a payment of $0 a month. I felt relieved for a millisecond - "OH THANK THE LORD I don't have to send a check today" - then I felt overwhelmingly depressed - "I have a Bachelor's Degree, I was on the Honor's list for almost my entire college career, I have been actively looking for full time work since graduation, and I am so broke that the government just told me I can't even manage to pay them ONE PENNY a month". After walking around my house shouting things like "OH, MY LIFE" and laughing out loud like a truly insane person, I decided I should take out my frustrations in a run.

Admire my highly professional photography

It was so humid out that pulling the skin tight socks over my large calves was like stuffing a sausage into its casing. I did my usual leg stretches before setting off, but I was feeling off and started to think how miserable it would be. I made it about a half mile before my "dead legs" came on very strong. I made it just over a mile before I had to stop for fear that my feet had actually turned into two blocks of cement. The pain in my calves, specifically on the front-right side of my leg, seemed to be more pronounced. I tried briefly stretching, but nothing helped. I pushed through another mile, stopping every couple hundred yards from the pain, but it was not pretty and I cut my usual route short by almost a mile.



So do these things really suck that badly? Well, I'm not giving up hope yet. The fact that it was 80 degrees and disgustingly humid certainly didn't help (I felt like I was running through hot clam chowder). I also realized that I was probably nursing a minor, delayed hangover from yesterday's day-drinking. I didn't feel hungover, but I certainly wasn't properly hydrated enough to go running in 80 degree mugginess. I think my big problem is a combination of not stretching enough and not warming up my muscles enough. Next time I go out with the socks on I'll do at least a 5-minute walking warm-up and see if that helps. One positive thing I did notice was really fast recovery time. Usually my dead legs have me limping around the house for an hour or two after a run, but with the socks my legs felt okay within minutes. So, I'm holding out hope that maybe the perfect storm of dehydration, shitty weather, and lack of a proper warmup were the reasons I was so miserable today. I spent $50 on socks AND THEY BETTER DO THEIR JOB NEXT TIME.