Category: running

November 13, 2001

Ok, so the plane crash was probably an accident. That’s good.

And today we went to the park. Yay! And we went the whole 30 minutes, barely a problem. The only thing was, I felt like we were going faster than normal, but it still took us 24:16 to go once around the park, 1.77 miles. That makes our pace still like 13:40 or something obscene. Ooooh – I know. Maybe my stopwatch is slow. Suuuuure. Maybe the park is really 2.77 miles around. Wouldn’t that be nice? Yeeeeeah, I don’t think so. I just can’t understand that. That’s even slower than normal. I mean, at some points, we did go really slowly, but at others, we sped up for a little while. Hmmm. I know I go on and on to Kristina that speed isn’t important, and I really am not all that concerned about it, but at this rate, it’ll take me 6 hours, almost exactly to finish the marathon. Woah, wait. That’s not too bad, is it? (I was thinking it would be over 8 hours or something, so 6 seems like breeze, comparably.) And the book I’m using for training stresses that I shouldn’t be concerned about time, not at all, but then I read that the London Marathon course closes in 5 hours. How is that? I know that 40,000 people don’t finish in 5 hours. Hmmmm. Well, anyway, maybe I’ll just get faster naturally. I shouldn’t think about it. I’m not going to think about it. Not yet.

November 12, 2001

I can’t believe there’s been another plane crash in NYC. Let’s just pray that it was only an accident.

Now on to the good news: I ran yesterday! And my foot didn’t hurt! It’s still a little sore when I’m barefoot, but since it’s hardly as if I run barefoot, I think I’ll be okay. Seriously, I couldn’t even tell that I’d ever hurt it. Just to be on the safe side, though, I’m not running today, but am going to start running again regularly tomorrow morning. Yay! So happy! It was a really nice run, too. We had to return a video to Blockbuster, which is about 2/3 of a mile away, and we ran the whole way there, pretty fast. I think our sense of pace has been thrown out of whack, but maybe this was just what I needed to go a little faster. We walked back home from the Blockbuster, so it wasn’t a huge workout, but considering we haven’t done anything in two and a half weeks, I’m very proud of us.

I think tomorrow we’ll go to the park. I miss the park.

November 9, 2001

Much less pain, even when barefoot. Yay! Still planning on a Sunday run. Aaaaannnnddddd….

I got tickets to see Harry Potter next Friday night! Yay!!! Ack! So excited! I thought it’d be sold out already, but it wasn’t! Yay! Yay! Yay! I can’t wait!!! And then Saturday night, mom’s new sugar daddy (I’m sorry, I can’t refer to him as a “boyfriend” if he’s in his 70’s and he’s rich, can I?) is taking me and Kristina (and mom, naturally) to Commander’s Palace, the nicest restaurant in New Orleans, and that’s really saying something. Must run on Saturday to work off the meal ahead of time! That’s going to be a really fun weekend.

November 7, 2001

Still can’t run. Foot still hurts. Not as bad, seems to be improving a little. On the other hand, everything to do with my car is going wrong. Nothing’s wrong with my car, at least, but I failed inspection yesterday because (this kills me. this is why New Orleans is corrupt) my windshield wiper blades were too short! Can you beat that? And I had them installed at the Ford dealership, so why would they be? And of course the Ford dealership is giving me trouble now about it. Arrrgh! What a pain! As if I can afford this?

Not to mention, Isabel (my cat, her real name) is sick or something. Her hair is falling out. So I have to take her to the vet today. Poor baby. I don’t mind spending money making her better, but for ridiculous things like new windshield wiper blades? Don’t get me started! Don’t even get me started! (sorry, possibly obscure SNL reference.)

I think I can run tomorrow. I want tooooooo! Until this enforced two week break from running, I didn’t realize how much my self-esteem and self-confidence relies now on getting out and exercising. Need to get started again!

November 5, 2001

What a weekend. Lots happened, no running though. My foot still hurts. Boo hoo! I want to run again! I wish there was something I could do to make it better, but aside from icing, really, what is there? (Yes, yes, rest and compression, blah blah blah…)

So Saturday morning, Chris (my London running partner who is running the Disney marathon as his first in January) ran the Baton Rouge Beach half-marathon, and I went to Baton Rouge to watch him finish. Yay! That was exciting and got me psyched up for the marathon. Everyone who I saw finish, though, was really fast (Chris finished in 1:43) and we left before the runners who are as slow as me got to the finish line, so I didn’t get to see any fellow slowpokes. But it was still cool.

Then I went back to New Orleans that afternoon, and when I was online, I noticed that plane tickets from New Orleans to London (roundtrip) were only $195!!! That is insanely, crazily, fantastically low. But it wasn’t until later that night that I tried to get two tickets for me and Kristina (as her graduation present from me) and the fares had gone up to $425 or something. 😦 I was very sad. Now I’m determined to get really cheap tickets to London for us, through Priceline or something. We want to go the first week in January, before Kristina starts school again. It would be a perfect birthday present for meeeee! But, I know the money would be better spent elsewhere, but I’m sorry, I just can’t resist $200 plane tickets to London. No way.

The other thing that happened was I got pulled over by a police officer on the way to a work function, and I got 5 citations! Arrrgh! Fortunately, none were moving violations, all were because I didn’t change my address on my driver’s license when I moved. Just what I need! Yippee! So this morning, I had to sort all that out, getting a new driver’s license and registration and such. Bleeeccccch.

November 1, 2001

Nothing to say today, but I can’t start the month without an entry, can I? No way! Oh wait – I did get some new socks at K-Mart yesterday. That was exciting, in a sad, pathetic way, because I’ve been looking for another pair or two of socks like the ones I got a few months ago – they’re CoolMax and Lycra, so they don’t squish around in my shoe like cotton ones do, and they have ribbing around the arch which I like – it just makes them feel more secure. And, it was doubly exciting because they were only $4.50 for two pairs. And, wait, triply exciting, because they were women’s socks for big feet, which I have. What wasn’t exciting was that I got the last pack, so who knows if I’ll ever find them again.

Woah! That was exciting, huh?

Non running-related, mostly: Lucky Ren is going to New York this weekend to see the Chemical Brothers with Kristie and the Boston girls and her cousin. I’m insanely jealous. If I had gone (wish I had thought of this before two seconds ago, dumb Pam!) not only would I have gotten to see the boys, but I could have watched the NYC Marathon! Sheeeesh!!!! Come to think of it, I can’t believe Ren got such cheap tickets, considering…lucky! (BTW, in 1998, Kristie, Ren, and I got to meet the Chemical Brothers when they played in New Orleans. That’s why I’m jealous. And that’s why I can call them “the boys.” Tee hee.

October 31, 2001

Not much to say. Foot still hurting, not much improved, but not worse. Patience! (Okay, so I just wanted to write something…)

Oooh, I guess I can say that I’ve been making up my Christmas list. Yay! And yes, with the exception of a few CDs and (non-running-related) books, it’s all running stuff. First, I want a good sports watch with a 50 lap split timer thingy, and I found the perfect one – the Timex Rush VO2. It’s only $45, and it’s made for women (therefore it’s preeettttty) and it’s not overly complex. The Timex website is wonderful – I got to play with the watch and practice timing splits on the site! Fun! And it’s not too expensive, but compared to my $6 watch from Wal-mart that I’m using now, it’s a real luxury.

I’d also like a basic heart rate monitor, but the one I want tells you when you’re in your target range, and it’s a bit more expensive than I’d like. I wish Timex made one that was not too too expensive but also had the lap timer, but they’re all expensive. Then again, how many watch like devices do I want to wear? Plus, I suppose it’ll be around $100-$125 with both devices no matter what, whether they’re in one watch or two. Also, SportBrain is finally coming back (yay!!!) and they offer a heart rate monitor situation with that device, so maybe I’ll just use that. That way, I don’t have to wear a second watch. But…it won’t tell me anything useful while I’m actually exercising. Hmmm….we’ll have to see about that. I’m such a gadget-fiend. I don’t really need any of this, do I?

But…if anyone reading this has any advice or suggestions regarding the above products, please drop me a line!

October 30, 2001

Status of the foot: still not purple. Hurts when barefoot, not so much when I have shoes on. I think I’ll be able to do more next week. We shall see.

Status of my life: good. Mood is good, weather is gorgeous, wish I could run! But, I’m alive. I’ve been surrounded by illness (or news of) so much recently, it seems like. Notwithstanding the whole anthrax business, there’s Paula’s baby, and Anne’s dad, and okay, so that may not be a whole lot, but it’s more than normal. And last night, I started thinking about my dad, and for the first time in a long time, I cried. I miss him so much, you think you’re over it, but I guess you never really are. Maybe it was Anne’s dad that made me think of him. Well, isn’t that cheerful?

Oooh, I can say something about running! I’ve decided to run the half Mardi Gras Marathon, on February 17. It actually works out perfectly, it’s the weekend of my 14 mile run. I’m sure I can squeeze in the extra .9 miles warming up or cooling down or something. And Chris is going to run it with me! So he can get used to running at my snail’s pace. I’m excited. I’m paying for his entry as a birthday present, since the one I bought is stuck somewhere and I won’t be able to get it for him until Christmas. Can’t say any more, it might give it away!

October 29, 2001

My foot’s not purple! Wonder if that’s a good thing or if it doesn’t really mean anything? Actually, I wish it was, since Kristina laughs (rather cruelly, I think) at me whenever I ask her if it’s purple yet. Hmmph. I just want some drama! Ha ha. Well, it’s definitely feeling better today, so I’m not so worried. I can walk on it (but I suppose I shouldn’t) and it’s not too bad. And on Saturday, I was standing on my tippy toes trying to get something out of my closet and I felt something pop in my foot and a muscle on the side of my calf cramped. But my foot felt much better. So today, my calf is sore but my foot doesn’t hurt. Gary says I stretched a ligament or tendon (in a good way) so I’m not worried. Hopefully, it’ll be better by next week. Enough to go walking, at least, if not running? Hmmm.

This was a pretty busy weekend, so I didn’t have much time to rest, unfortunately. Anne came in Thursday night, then our friend John came in Saturday afternoon, and Anne’s friend Rebecca came in last night. And everyone stayed with us last night, so we have a full house right now. Saturday night we went to the French Quarter in our costumes and the Popeye’s box (don’t ask) we made for Anne’s sister Becky (in five minutes, for free) was a much bigger hit than mine and Kristina’s expensive, time-consuming teabags. Ah well. Typical.

So I guess for the next few days, this will be my “foot journal” rather than my running journal. Fun!

October 26, 2001

*#$%*&@! Oh, the pain! Today was our off day, but not that it matters. Even if we hadn’t scheduled it as such, today would have been an enforced rest day, just as the next week or two are going to be…

Last night, Kristina and I went out to eat dinner and as the hostess was walking us to our table, I did not notice a small step down to the section we were headed to. So I fell. Of course I fell! Not only did I fall down this little 3 inch step, I also fell off my 3 inch shoes. Not heels, just platform-y sandals. And twisted the crap out of my left foot. It’s always my left foot. When I fell off a curb in London, it was my left foot. When I totalled my car, the only casualty was my left foot. Sigh. (How many times can you say “my left foot” without thinking of that movie? Zero.)

It is now painful, very painful. Not purple yet, I still have that to look forward to (well, at least that’s dramatic) but I can’t put any weight on it. I have to hop to get around. Last night I took two Tylenol PM because the pain was so bad and I still didn’t sleep well. Gary (my friend Ren’s husband who’s a fourth year med student – they live downstairs) said it’s not broken, just bruised, thank God. Ren hurt her ankle in a bicycle accident a few weeks ago herself. Sigh.

At least this didn’t happen two months from now. And I learned a very very valuable lesson – I will not be wearing anything but the flattest shoes when I start the actual marathon training. I suppose this will be my time for strength training.

October 25, 2001

Ran at the park again today. Chilly today, at last. But with the humidity being as low as it was, I got pretty thirsty. You just can’t win! Well, give me cool weather any day. Plus I got to run in my new prescription sunglasses, which was exciting. I think those will be my running glasses. Let’s just hope I’ll need them for the marathon (i.e., it’s not raining…but cloudy would be okay, so I shouldn’t say that.) I think you could say we did a little fartleking today. (Can anyone really say that seriously, with a straight face?) Kristina is getting a bit frustrated with our lack of speed so we did a bit of running faster in spots. She didn’t really understand the point, but whenever I try to explain something to her, her eyes either glaze over or she gets defensive and argues with me (no matter how many books I’ve read it in.) It gets somewhat frustrating. But I feel like we’re getting stronger, as the 30 minutes is getting easier. Next week I’m going to suggest running for 32 minutes or something. And on Saturday, I’d like to run 45 minutes. On the levee, maybe.

Anne’s coming in today, we’re picking her up at the airport this afternoon (in the MardiGrasStore.com limo, yessireeee) and bringing her to a restaurant where she’s having dinner with her family. Her dad’s starting radiation treatments today, which may indicate that his cancer is treatable? Otherwise, what’s the point? Hopefully…

Also…if you haven’t checked out The Reluctant Runner website yet, you have to! Mike’s my male counterpart across the pond…training for the London Marathon, just starting out…(but already doing better than me. sigh!)