hiking

Been doing some hiking lately, visiting trails listed in a book I got for my birthday. (It's "60 hikes within 60 miles of San Diego.") I'm not sure I'm getting any fitter, but at least I'm getting out of the house and giving the dog some exercise.

Maybe I'm not cut out for running, or maybe I just need to find a partner. I'm awfully slow. I'm not sure if it's bad genes or I'm not trying hard enough or what.

Also, I need new running shoes again. I wish those things were, like, self-renewing or something.

down in sandy San D

I'm not dead! I just haven't, um, kept up with this blog in months and months and months.

Yeah ... I keep a personal blog elsewhere, but this one was just going to be for workouts. I ran into a frequent problem of mine, which is not keeping up with a project for more than a couple months at a stretch. (This may explain a few of my issues with school as well.)

I'm still running a few miles a times a week, though without a timer (I haven't measured the distance at any of my usual running areas). I am not at all sure my physical fitness has significantly improved, though. It's hard for me to do a good workout alone, without even a machine to keep me honest. I really need a team or a running partner to drill with -- it's finding one that is proving tough.

The family I now live with has an active young dog, but the dog likes to do 10 minutes of sprints and then go lie down in the shade and pant. Distance running is not his thing. Unfortunately, it's hard to find an excuse to not take when I go running, so he's sort of slowing me down, but maybe he'll shape up over time. Or else I'll start doing longer runs and then I really won't be able to drag him with me. The dog will happily hike until he drops, but running is a different story. Of course, at the pace I run, he might indeed be able to keep up if I went longer. I dunno.

I didn't run the San Diego Rock'n'Roll Marathon, because there was no way I was going to be ready in time for that one, but maybe a marathon this winter would not be out of reach. I did GET to the marathon, though, because I sat down and asked myself: "Hmm, what would my favorite athlete do if he couldn't run the race?" Answer: volunteer for the marathon staff. So I got an authoritative-looking t-shirt and spent about ten hours putting ice into small bags and handing it out to people. It was hot and I got soaked. The time I used to spend carrying groceries pays off: those sacks of ice weighed 20 lbs each (before the hot weather melted off some of their water, of course) and I could carry two at a time. They didn't feed us, either, so all I could do was grab snacks from the finish line (fortunately we were right there, but we were also the station where ALL the runners who managed to stagger to the finish started crashing. Oh my god, the hordes.) But at least it was a good deed, I suppose.

moving out of town

Well, it looks like I am not going to be doing the Seattle Rock'n'Roll Marathon, because I have taken a position in San Diego. I'll be moving down there in a couple weeks.

San Diego has lots of distance sports, so I am sure I will find another race to do. (It's just as well I didn't spend the money on registration for a Seattle marathon yet.) I will keep you guys posted.

I'm looking forward to beaches I can actually swim at, though not without supervision of course. From my preliminary research (yay Google), it appears that San Diego is very friendly to triathlons, which is great, because triathlons are more friendly than marathons are to slowpoke me.

Also, my running speed has improved, but a casual survey suggests I am still much slower than is normal for someone of my age and weight. erg. Perhaps I should get tested, but I keep putting it off because, look, what are they going to do if they find a defect? Nothing. They'll just tell me not to go too hard, which is nothing my own system isn't telling me already. And if nothing is wrong, they'll just tell me I'm not trying hard enough, which would just depress me and not help at all. I do need to get a heart rate monitor, though. When I go to San Diego, I'll start earning some money and then I can buy one.

back ... better than ever?

Went out of town, now I'm back. I did not run consistently when I was out of town. Sigh. I have a hard time sticking to projects like this for long.

But I'm determined not to let it all go to ruin. That sub-four this summer is looking less and less likely, but there's always the second marathon in November. Besides, I get credit for effort, remember? So I'm not going to quit running. I fell off the wagon, but it happens. On we go.

p.s. Those running books and magazines talk about getting so hooked on running that you won't want to stop. I can understand that happening to some people, but it's hard to imagine it happening to me. My mother gets fidgety when she doesn't get to go for a walk after a while (kinda like the dog), but running is more work than walking.

Out of town

Been out of town for a couple weeks. Still out, but I'm up late, procrastinating sleep, and thought I'd let you all know. And by "you all" I mean the persons reading this blog, by which I mean "all two of you."

Not that I want lots of people staring at me, but a little attention was sort of the point.

Definitely need to find some running buddies when I get home. I wish I knew some good places to start looking (other than approaching random people in places where runners congregate).

Horrible, lame-ass day.

So I took a walk down to the stadium yesterday, and found the entrance to the track. It's way in the back, of course. I did a lot of walking yesterday, probably added up to 3 miles at least, but that's not an official workout, just exercise.

Then today I walked down there again, and timed myself on the track. After jogging one lap to warm up, I managed a faster circuit in about 2:15. As far as I know, it is an official quarter-mile track, so that would add up to a 9-minute mile pace, if I could actually keep it up for a whole mile. Unfortunately, I couldn't. I went around a couple more times, occasionally sprinting to catch a soccer ball kicked by one of the handsome Husky soccer guys practicing on the field. I got a stitch in my side and a nasty dip in blood sugar (which eating an orange did not cure, and eating a banana before I left the house did not prevent), and walked back home.

I am feeling very depressed. Partly because I am a slow, unfit runner, but mostly because I'm unemployed and I have a lot of bills due soon which I cannot pay. This may have been a factor in my shitty workout. It is hard to run fast (or, let's face it, run at all) when you're depressed.

I try to remind myself that lots of people (especially in Haiti at this moment) would be very grateful indeed to be in my shoes. I have all my body parts attached and in reasonably good condition, and I have lots of earning potential and a family that loves me. I just don't have a job ... or a greyhound body. Such is life.

Rain sends my train swiftly down the dwayne... er, drain.

So the weather has been absolutely horrible (pouring rain virtually nonstop) for the last several days. I haven't gone running since Monday. Blah. I feel really bad about it. Those running shoes of mine, by the way, are very nice and breathable, which around here also means they suck up water like big sponges.

This evening, it finally occurred to me that I have an alternative to getting soaked. Thanks to a recent investigation of the YMCA (for purposes of employment and/or gym), I have a visitor's pass which is good for three free visits!

So off I hie me to the Y. Only to find, when I arrive, that they close at 5 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Because they have classes in the evenings those days.

What the f. Seriously. I realize they're a busy nonprofit and they have many things to do for the community in a fairly limited building space, but what the hell kind of gym closes at 5 pm two days a week? The whole POINT of a gym is so you can work out when it's dark or otherwise inhospitable outside. Give me a freaking break. They don't even have a swimming pool, so at this rate, the only thing that would attract me to join is if I got to work there and it was free.

So that killed THAT plan pretty fast. I went to the bookstore and browsed around a while, then went to the grocery store and filled up a basket with fruits and veggies.

The total bill was less than I feared; skipping nuts, hothouse-grown produce, and cheese (and cookies) definitely saves money. Not that I want to live without cheese, or without nuts for that matter, but I have a good stock of cheese at the moment since my parents recently started a new diet and gave me all the cheeses in their fridge, and until I get a job, I must regretfully forgo expensive whole nuts in favor of peanut butter. One thing my mother never really taught me was how useful a freezer is in managing one's food. At their house, stuff tends to sit in the fridge until it gets eaten or (more frequently) spoils and has to be thrown away. But I'm learning to use a freezer now, and it's a good thing. Frozen produce can actually be superior to fresh this time of year, and it's cheaper and doesn't rot.