a review & a wrap

Per Josh, I am gonna give a review of my new Pearl Izumi Streak shoes: this a very light (6.9 oz) shoe. It is neutral and can be used as a racing “flat” or for longer distances. The shoe seems to run a little small, so even though i am size 8, they feel a little tight in the toe box. if you are gonna check it out, i would also check out the 1/2 size up from your normal size. I didn’t do this and although I feel ok with the 8, i would like to see what the 8.5 feels like. I love that they are so light. They feel sweet on my feet. I’ve run on treadmill with them and outside. I noticed when I ran outside on the wet streets that they seemed a bit slippery, so be cautious of this. They don’t seem to have as good a grip on the soles as most my other shoes. Overall, happy with my purchase. I will want to try Pearl Izumi trail shoes, but I have to at least wait awhile. I don’t need any new trails shoes. YET. 🙂

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ok. on to the week/weekend wrap. Wednesday woke up around 6, got out of bed, dressed, and went downstairs to the gym. Ran a good 3 miles on treadmill. I was proud of myself for getting up and doing this because I rarely workout on weekday mornings, but i just felt like i wanted to mix things up a bit. Ran about another 3 miles after work on Wednesday.
Saturday, it was ugly outside. We had rain most of the day on Friday and it continued Saturday. It wasn’t cold out, just rainy and dark and grey! Since it wasn’t very cold, I ran a good 6 after going into the office for a bit. My legs felt unusually heavy and tired. Not sure why. I was just happy to finish with 6.
Sunday comes along and no rain, but very grey skies and about 48 degrees. I woke up late and after coffee and piddling around I went over to Performance Bike.
It is about 1/2 -3/4 mile from my place. I got my tired pumped up and looked for some new cycling shorts. Unsuccessful. Was about to hop on my bike when my phone rang and it was my friend, Shu (pronounced SUE). I said i was getting on my bike and about to swing by her place. So, that’s what I did. I rode to her house and sat for about 10 minutes. Drank some water and then hopped back on the bike. The return trip was tough. Steeper hills and wind. Riding a bike in the wind is worse than running in the wind! But, i made it through the wind and hills back to my car. 10 miles total trip. I then drove back to my house and opted for the treadmill. My body was cold & I just felt like being inside. Ran a good 4.2 miles while watching some NCAA mens basketball. I felt strong & maybe thought of going longer, but decided to call it at 4.2. Did some AB work and then got cleaned up & fed.

And for Jeffro out there: i offer you more from Peal Izumi to try to help get you motivated! C’mon Buddy!

run easy is an oxymoron. what is about running that scares people so much? why do people feel they have to put friendly modifiers next to running so everyone can feel good about it? Well, here’s the ugly truth. everyone shouldn’t feel good about running. it’s hard. it hurts. running requires sacrifice and heart and guts. any attempt to water it down with feel good adjectives is a slap in the face to those of us who still hold running sacred. in fact, if you are running easy, chances are you’re not running at all. you’re jogging. so do us a favor, don’t run easy. Run hard. Run like an animal.

OH! and CONGRATS to all the folks who ran ING Half or Full Marathon this morning. Especially my buddy, Ryan Harry!!

new kicks

These are my newest and my very first ever pair of PEARL IZUMI shoes. The “Streak” is sweet and 6.9oz. VERY light. Wore them out tonight to dinner and cannot wait to wear ’em for a run. Maybe even tomorrow morning before work if i can get my act together. 

“If you ran without sacrifice, congratulations. you just jogged. running hurts. It always has. Woolly mammoths didn’t just roll over onto a plate and serve themselves up to prehistoric man with fries and a shake. they had to be caught – and running down woolly mammoths was a bitch. guess what? running is still a bitch. but, one with a purpose. it teaches us that good things do not come easy. it teaches us that we are capable of more than we think. it teaches us that hard work will be rewarded and laziness will be punished. don’t expect to learn those life lessons from running’s shiftless stepchild, jogging. next time you suffer on the roads or trails, suffer proudly. it means you run like an animal.” -Pearl Izumi 

 

 

my weekend in photos

Running this weekend was small in mileage. TINY, in fact. But, in terms of happy feelings, it was big because it felt like I had been cooped up all week long. Still not feeling 100%, but was better enough to get out and run a few miles.

Ran  several laps around this track at Piedmont Park. Midtown Atlanta Skyline is off in the distance. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ran 3.25 miles. felt ok physically but I could feel my body struggle a little. The sunshine and all the people out being active were positive forces. Some guys were playing flag football and i wanted to play too. After the run, i took about a 2 minute break and then did some repeats of this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yea – those are some good, deep, steps. 1 time up/down = 1 and I did 4 sets of 3. So, up/down 3 times, rest, repeat x 4. felt great. really like to see how i fare whenever I do stairs. These are some of the deepest I know of in my area. After that, i was done. 

Sunday, I started the run in my old neighborhood of Virginia-Highlands and just did an easy 4.25. again, didn’t feel too great physically, but glad I was able to get in even a few miles. It was such a gorgeous day, warmer than yesterday and lots of people out and about. 

Later in the (late) afternoon, i went and sat outside at a coffeehouse. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. A slight breeze would intermittently swing by. I love sitting outside at this place in weather like today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I will leave with with this last shot; my favorite shirt to wear these days! LiveStrong, baby!

“You get one shot. Don’t miss your chance…” – Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”

“…makes me that much stronger, makes me work a little bit harder, makes me that much wiser, Thanks for makin’ me a Fighter” – Christina Aguilera’s “FIGHTER”

more randomness

been out of commission this week as i had some kind of a bug that kept me home for a couple of days. think i will be ready to get back to running tomorrow. or i hope so, at least. 

something i have been thinking about is different occupations i would not mind trying…you know, if i could just try it out for a week or something. some are occupations i’d truly like to do and others are ones i just kinda fantasize about because they look so cool in the movies. in these cases, maybe I want to be an actor playing the character with the particular occupation. then i was also thinking of occupations i’d definitely NOT want to have. here they are:

would like to try:

air traffic controller

FBI agent

criminal detective

sports psychologist

trader on NYSE 

running store owner

athletic trainer for college sports team

radio sportscaster

tv sportscaster

prosecutor

auto mechanic

architect

a farmer – coffee beans

Would NOT want to try or do:

hotel maid

car rental agent

accountant

miner

plumber

someone who has to clean up after a boxing match

fed chairman

weekend

“When the meal was over, we all had a quiet rest in our rooms and I meditated on the race. This is the time when an athlete feels all alone in the big world. Opponents assume tremendous stature. Any runner who denies having fears, nerves, or some kind of disposition is a bad athlete, or a liar.” – Gordon Pirie

March 15: 4.15 miles, 39:00, 9:21 pace – rain

March 14: 8.15 miles, 1:22, 10:03 pace – hills/rain

Took some photos after I finished my run today. Again, just messin’ around w/ camera

and a new great quote

Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, ‘Bring it on, darlin’, and don’t be stingy with the jalapeños.” – the late “Red” Spicer (Ultra Runner & Texan)

yay! i finally am using my camera…here are some 1st pics i have taken

obviously the first one is just of the trail head of Silver Comet Trail where I was last Saturday for a Run and Ride. 2nd photo is of the Nike wristband I am wearing these days. I have a few with different words on them. I like the word here, but I like the color even better. ORANGE baby. I’m thrilled to  finally take the time to figure out how to upload pics to computer!

flashback

woke up and had a random memory this morning. about 7 years ago, i was living in SF in a house with 3 other women. I had a dinky sized bedroom and very few things in it. I had a car, but couldn’t drive it to work because i would have had to pay an obscene amount to park downtown. So, i had to take BART to work. I had to drive to BART from my house and search (at 5am) for a place where I could leave the car all day. (these spots were few and far between) Not only was I paying for a car I couldn’t drive most of the time, I was also paying for public transportation. But, my memory wasn’t even about this…my memory was one day I was in the kitchen and my one of my roommates said to me, “All i ever see you eat is boiled eggs or broccoli”. I laughed. It was true. That’s about all I ever ate in the kitchen. At times, all I could afford and also I never felt comfortable there and like i wanted to use the kitchen. I was struggling financially, emotionally, and about every which way. Felt like I had massive weights that I carried around on a daily basis. 

Life is much better these days. And I am grateful. Very.

lately

I’m sitting on my sofa, eating a cherry Starburst. yum. 

ok, so here is what I have done lately:

March 11: 5 mile bike ride, 20: 24 followed by 2.2 mile run, 20:08 – outside. gorgeous day. 

March 10: 3 miles at track. 27:10

March 8: 33 minute run. legs pooped!

March 7: 6 mile run, 54: 31, 9:05 pace followed by 14:50 mile bike, 55:01 – all on Silver Comet Trail

As you can see I am mixing in some cycling. why? cause i just want to and want to see what i can do. I don’t have any specific races near-term so i am just kinda feeling things out. Saturday, my run started off a little slow, but once i passed 3 miles, legs felt great. as if i had just started. leg turnover felt really good. I made a transition to my bike and off I went. Pretty good ride. Nice to mix it in. Wasn’t really feeling too tired until last mile. Even so, I felt good afterwards! 

Today, I rode bike first, then ran. Man, i think that is harder for me. Seems much easier to run first. Legs feel heavier after riding. Will be interesting to see if this pattern continues. I may do a triathlon in the summer. I definitely would like to find another Duathlon to do like the one I did 2 yrs ago at Lake Lanier. 

My “rough patch” is still lingering a bit, but getting better. I’m trying to see it as an “opportunity” for growth rather than something just unpleasant. I do believe something positive is on the other side. Just need to remember to breathe and be present. 

Be good.