Days 64-83: The Highlights 2

This is to be the second string of highlights over the last twenty-or-so days that I have been running and doing all sorts of things. I am highlighting some of the more important runs though I did run damn near every day. I hope you enjoy the highlight reel; it’s like the outtakes only it’s about running.

The next day I wanted to highlight was Day 72, an EPIC exercise day. For this day of amazing-ness I had prepared a slew of activities. It was to being at 5:40 am when my alarm went off and not end until somewhere around 1 am the next day. It was to entail a early Am run with my friend Jean, a long 9 hour day of work, rush home to walk my dog, hop on my bike and ride for 2+ hours with my friend Shea, and then shower, get changed, and go to the weekly wine night. If I could accomplish this day, I would be extremely impressed with my ability not to flake out of plans even when the going gets tough. So 5:40 am came and went. The time was 6:12 am when I finally left my house and it was nearly black outside. The only thing I dislike about running in the morning is the darkness. I am not going to say that I am afraid of running before the sun comes up; it just gives everything an eerie-ness that doesn't exist in the day time. I usually never run this early, but I had a running date and I was not planning on missing it. This morning I had a set plan to run to my friend’s house and meet her for a nice short morning run. I decided it would be best to run there, meet up with her, finish my run, go to work, shower and dress, and viola ready for the day. So I headed up and down a set of two hills toward my friends house, which is about 1.5 miles away. The air was cool, but not cold and slightly damp. I took this to mean there was humid day ahead and I should be prepared. I took many a deep chug from my water bottle and found the taste swirling about in my mouth most unpleasant. The water was old, and I felt out of sorts being tired and trying to push myself due to time constrictions. Finally I decided there was no way I could run to her house in time so I caught the next bus heading to the train station. Once at the train station I ran the last .3 to her house arriving only minutes behind schedule. At this point the sun had begun to rise and being outside made me feel less skittish.

My friend Jean is one of those runners who makes running fast look effortless. She is a very talented runner and a great running partner, though I am sure half the time I’m just slowing her down. I really enjoy running with her because in addition to telling interesting stories, she helps me push through the hard parts of a run and keeps me moving when I want to quit. This particular morning, I really needed that because I was tired and cranky and just wanted to sleep. As we started out on the run I realized that we were only going to do a couple of miles and I did not know the area super well. At the pace we were running I figured if we ran for around 30+ minutes we’d run about 4 miles. So I decided we would do mostly loops around her neighborhood and then loop back through town, which I am well acquainted with, then do more loops and then head back to her house. This plan actually was spot on. I still had to pay careful attention to the street names though. This was not only to not get lost but also to remember the route and track it later to see how far we actually went. After the initial “getting into the swing of the run” (read as first 10 minutes at a faster pace) I started to become comfortable with moving and began to enjoy the run. This negative energy at the beginning happens often, that’s why you must look past everything that could crop up in the first 10 minutes and write it off as your body being grumpy. The pace was steady but not hard and we kept moving along quickly. Jean several times commented on my habit of darting past objects in front of or to the side of me, like they were hurtles. I tend to play games with myself seeing how close I can get to a pole, trash can or bush without actually hitting it while running. This is something that will come up again later on our run down to the National Mall. The conversation was great, as it often is with other runners. We jumped from discussing her life and job, living in Colorado and now DC, new places, traveling, relationships, and of course, running. There seems to be a flow in conversations while exercising that is like movement. Breathe in and out. Extend leg, retract arm, push and pull. The conversations goes on one topic till, it has been exhausted, then quickly transitions. I appreciate this because when running you cannot have a deep philosophical conversation on one topic, it has to move on, around, and about. I always thought it would be interesting to, right after a run, sit down and map the conversation. I feel like this would give some insight into both you and your running partner, but also the ebb and flow of conversations in general. Anyway our conversation continued as did the run.

We ran just about 4 miles in around 34 minutes. That translates to a 8.5 minute per mile pace. For me this was very good and when we reached Jean’s porch I felt charged as if I had started off the day in the perfect way. While we had been running Jean had touched on something I thought was very profound. She was talking about why she preferred running as the sun came up in the morning, rather than as it sets in the evening. She said something to the effect of she liked running as the sun rises because it feels like she am starting the day off right. We started to talk about how running in the morning feels better because you are shrugging off the eeriness of the darkness and chasing up the bright beautiful day. I was an interesting idea, and I have been trying to hold onto it throughout my recent runs. I have been trying to channel that feeling of positive energy beginning the day, but I can’t say it has worked every time. Back at Jean’s we stretched on the porch as the sun continued to rise. Though the air was still cold, I could feel the hint of warmth as the sun’s rays played about across my face. I cherish moments like those. We then got our stuff and headed to the train and our respective work places. Once at work, I showered, dressed, and began the next nine hours of desk work. I kept thoughts of bicycles and tired quads alive in my brain all day and nearly sprinted out the door at 5:30 pm. I made it home in about an hour and quickly walked my dog, while calling my friend and determining where to meet up for our ride. Since it was nearly night time and a Wednesday, it wasn’t like this could be a several hours adventure and We decided to meet about 5 minutes from my house. The plan translated into something like this: Meet at Sligo, take it to Silver Spring, go toward Rock Creek Park, circle Rock creek Park and it’s hills for a while ad then head home around 9 pm. I quickly pedaled off to the trail dodging the usual bad driver and awkwardly breaking down steep hills. I quickly found my friends Shea at the bottom of a hill along the parkway and we set off for our epic bike ride.

One of the things I have discovered that is easier while biking, is talking and I enjoy this thoroughly. I often find on runs when I try to carry on a conversation I sap my energy very quickly. This probably comes from running by one’s self ALL of the time and then going to running with partners who would like to chat. I love having conversations while running, it just makes the journey a little harder for me. So biking is ideal for having long drawn on conversations and is also good for catching up with old friends. On this particular ride, that was the main topic of conversation, hey how are you, haven’t seen you in like 4 years; fill me in on the details, please. So it made for some interesting stories, a lot of laughs, and me mostly ignoring how cold, tired, and worn out I was. We covered nearly every topic one can cover in a two hour conversation, what we had been up to, our jobs, our lives, biking, running, and of course, stuffing pigs with dust. That last one was a result of my very tired brain trying to explain that most runners have very strange careers. This is also probably a good time to begin to explain that during feats of endurance my “brain-to-mouth” filter turns off. Like completely off, I will tell my endurance activity partners all sorts of strange and private things, because most of the time it just seems like the appropriate thing to say in that moment. I tend to just say the first thing that comes into my brain and not think about it to see if it makes sense or is appropriate. Hence my brain going, “runners, careers, stuffing pigs with… dust, yeah that’s makes sense say that,” and these words coming right out of my mouth. While at first this comment seemed to throw Shea for a loop, it generated a series of questions about if this was actually possible. We decided this was not only possible, but also practical if you can find enough dust. Although, by all the dust buster ads on TV, you’d think, well hey, we have enough dust to stuff animals. Let me be clear, I was trying to describe the career of a taxidermist. Anyway, it ended up being a very amusing episode. A while back I read an article in (duh) Runner’s World about a group of guys who loved running together, not so much for the sense of comradery or anything like that, but to tell raunchy stories and jokes. I found this interesting because I thought, hey, clearly I am not the only one lacking a brain-to-mouth filter when I run. I think it has to do with your brain being so tired focused on the run that whatever seeps in there seems like it’s a good things to say, even if it’s X-rated apparently. Any good stories, especially lurid ones, will keep your mind off how sore your quads, feet, and calves are becoming. So here is my challenge to you: the next time you are on a run, listen and pay attention to where your conversation goes and see if it helps your run and how many strange things come out of your mouth.

While we chatted, we climbed the hills of Rock Creek Park and descended into night. I found it quite interesting that I both started and ended the day with physical activity. When the sun dipped below the tree line, I realized how terrible the little light I had bought for my bike was. Try as it might, it could not brighten the darkness of the road in the park. I did my best as my eyes acclimated with the dark to see the road in front of my and avoid pot holes at all costs. On a mountain bike, you could run over a small animal or nail a cavernous pothole and be totally fine, but on a road bike, the thin tires only can handle so much. This is not something I am complaining about, but I do feel that it makes riding at night a bit more difficult. So I was unprepared and Shea spent much of the time holding his monster of a light out in front of the both of our bikes. This was fine and dandy; until a car needed to pass us and I didn’t see the pot hole of the century. BOOM! I nailed the hole so badly the shock reverberated up from my tires, through my hands and elbows and into my back. In addition to blowing out my tire, I was in a good deal of pain. My elbows had been locked in a position, probably because I was cold, and the shock definitely did a number on my arms. So we pulled over to a bench and proceeded to attempt to assess and fix my damaged bike. Mind you, it is about 8:15 at night and freezing and almost pitch black outside. The only light we had to help us with this task was Shea’s bike light. Also did I mention that I don’t know how to change a bike tire? Let’s just say thank god for riding partners. Shea is something of a bike master or wizard, because not only did he have all of the tools necessary to fix my tire, he also had a spare tube (mine had popped) and a portable tire pump. Within a few minutes, we were back on the road riding a bit slower as I went out of my way to avoid the other potholes. I should mention that this was no leisurely ride with your grandma through the park. We were consistently moving at a 14 mph pace and climbing hills, a lot of hills. My quads were very quickly being beaten to death, but I was having so much fun I didn’t mind. I knew tomorrow I would be sore and cranky. I also began to notice that it was starting to get very cold. I was wearing pants and my usually two or three layers, but for the night time whipping winds, it wasn’t quite enough. As we neared the end of our ride, I was grateful that soon I would be indoors and warm. It was a very fun experience and the beginning of many long bike rides. The night ended for me with a warm shower, dinner, and then off to me and my friend’s weekly wine night gathering. It was a long exercise filled day, but a great one.

There were more runs I was going to highlight, including one of the saddest runs of my life, but I am trying to focus on the positive experiences both with life and running, so I am intentionally skipping the hard times emotionally and moving onto better things running wise. You shouldn’t need more clarification beyond that, but I basically I was going through a rough emotional time and it only made my runs harder. Sometimes running can be an escape from pain and sometimes it just helps you drag yourself down further. I am just grateful that I am now moving out of that time and settling into a more comfortable space were my mental state for life and running is more stable and joyous. The next post will be an update of updates and yes I know I am very behind. Please continue enjoying. :)