Agonotheta

January 10, 2005

Embarrassing Moment

One Saturday morning last summer I ran a 10k (6.2 miles). After it was all said and done, I quickly changed at a friend's house. I took off my running shorts and put on jeans. Now, for those of you who aren't runners or haven't ever seen male running shorts, they are very similar to male swim trunks in that they have "underwear" sewn into them. Trust me, these special shorts are needed after about three or four miles. So as I was changing clothes I realized I had forgotten to pack a pair a "draws."

"Hm, commando," I thought. "No big deal for an hour or so while I get my car's oil changed."

Cut scene: Interior car dealership.

I sit lazily and freely spread-legged, tired from the run, in a chair facing a long hallway for about an hour.

Cut scene: Interior of my house about one-half hour after arriving home.

I reach down, as I am accustomed to do, to check my zipper. And lo, and behold ... it's down. I laugh quietly to myself.

"Ha ha, good thing I'm not in public, since I'm not wearing ... any ... underwear ..."

The magnitude of this blunder hits me as I realize I was sitting, more like sprawled, facing a long hallway for an hour in the car dealership.

Not one who embarrasses easily, I told this embarrassing story that night to several friends at a wedding.

Later this week, I'm going to post a candid picture another friend took of me telling this story at the wedding. Photo here.

September 29, 2004

Knee Pain

Since one of my other friends has gone to the doctor recently for her broken tailbone. I figure I should tell you about my recent, well, a few weeks ago, visit to a doctor of sports medicine.

To give you some background information, I had been experiencing some knee pain during and after running, along with my left knee just "giving out" when making a hard cut in basketball. So I spoke to my running mentor and trainer and he referred me to what is supposed to be the best sports medicine doctor in the state of Utah. (He treats Utah Jazz players and University of Utah athletes.)

I was rather nervous before I went in, but when I arrived I was quite comfortable. He asked me about my training regimen, habits, diet and lifestyle. He did some basic tests, you know, jumping up and down on one foot, going into a squatting position while standing on one leg, and a couple others. He knew almost instantly what was wrong with me, but took an x-ray just in case. I read Sports Illustrated in the small seeing room while the film was developed.

He returned in a few minutes and showed me the photos of the inside of my knee. It all looked good to me, but what do I know? He, actually, said the same thing. Except he left off the "what do I know" part. He said I look good, look to be in good shape, am strong, weigh the right amount, and should continue my training as scheduled. He had an interesting explanation for whats going on in my knee.

He said my increased aerobic activity has thinned my muscles in all of my body. This is normal and to be expected for somebody running as much as I am. One of the main muscles that this is noticeable in is my thighs or quadriceps. It makes sense that these muscles would shrink. So when I ask them to hold my knee from buckling, as it is supposed to, they can't hold as much as I'm used to asking them to. That makes sense in my head, so if you don't understand, sorry.

Since then, I have begun to cross-train at least one day a week. My cross training is to cycle for 45 minutes.

I know its not as bad as breaking my tailbone, but hey, its my visit to the doctor.

August 03, 2004

Paradise

Last weekend, I went camping with my family and some friends. Actually, they went camping, I just met up with them for one night of their excursion.

At night, as everyone was drinking and having a good time I became pretty thoughtful, which is odd for me during libations. I usually become more talkative and outspoken. I was brooding about several things, which I don't want to talk about at this time. I think I probably drank too much too fast and thus got tired quickly. I stumbled back to my tent and threw myself into my sleeping bag. Sensing my mood, my sister, whom I'm very close with, came to talk with me before I fell asleep in my tent. I don't remember everything we spoke of, but I know it was comforting and even concluded with some crying from both of us.

I fell asleep with a light and carefree heart.

My slumber was disturbed the next morning very early by a playful chipmunk running around on top of my chest. (My tent-mate had forgotten to zip up the door.) I lay there in the peaceful quietude of the deciduous and decided to get up and go for a slow run.

I set out up the road taken to arrive at the campsite and saw a spectacular view of mountains, valleys, streams, and rivers. Aspens and pine. Livestock and serpent.

As I run, I realized that I was running through the closest thing to paradise that I could imagine. Miles and miles, relatively untouched by man. Breathing in the cool fresh air rejuvenated not only my body but my being. It felt cleansing and inspiring. It was amazing.

I ran for about 45 minutes and arrived back to camp with more energy than when I left. Cleansed emotionally and energized physically.

If only every run could be this same way!

May 19, 2004

Post-Race Fatigue

This was written soon after my race, however, I didn't feel like posting. Until now.

I ran the 10k in about 51:35. It was about one minute 35 seconds over my goal time, but I'm ok with that. It was a tough race, though. By the end, I was struggling, in fact. The reason, though, is that I was unfamiliar with the course and confused the meaning of distance markers. I thought I saw a last-half-mile indicator, so I kicked in my final push to cut a minute or two off of my time and come in sprinting. Apparently, it was not a last-half-mile indicator and after doing my best to keep up a sprint for almost a full mile after I had just ran five miles, I just couldn't do it.

My last half-mile then, turned out to be quite slow. Probably even five or six minutes, which is only a couple of minutes under what is supposed to be my last mile pace.

Other than that, the race went great. I had a great time, the scenery was beautiful, there was some pretty ladies just ahead of me who ran almost my exact pace the entire time, I met several very nice people along the way, and I was close enough to my goal time to keep me happy.

The Day After

I am pretty sore today. My knees were killing me last night. I had to go to a wedding reception whose host and hostess desperately underestimated the amount of guests that would be in attendance, and had about half as many chairs as needed. Thus, being the gentleman I am, I stood all night.

Whenever anybody tells you running downhill is easier, tell them to shut the hell up, from me. The race may seem easier, but is not. Most of the time, you have to hold yourself back from running too fast. After the race, your quads and knees are killing you. I have never felt this much pain after a run. Son of a bitch.

May 14, 2004

Pre-Race Mode

Today, I'm in pre-race mode. Which means I've pretty much got a water bottle permanently attached to my mouth. I try to drink at least my weight in ounces the day before a race. Trying especially hard to take in 64 ounces the evening before. Tomorrow morning I'll get up a couple of hours before I leave and make myself some breakfast, which will include some eggs, and a couple of bananas. Then about half an hour before the race, I'll eat as much of a bagel as I can so I'm hit about halfway through the race with some nourishment and energy.

I just realized I haven't told you yet, but I'm running a 10k. About three weeks ago, I ran my first race, a 5k. This week, I'm stepping it up to a 10k. I have another 10k in a couple of weeks, so this will be a good warm-up, especially since its downhill and has less racers.

Now, I've ran 6.2 miles before, but the funny thing about a race, is that it probably feels twice as long emotionally as your training runs. One thing that I think will be better about this race is that I will have a lot more time to execute my gameplan. The last race was so short and there was so much peer/mental pressure to run faster right out of the gate. This time though, I plan on sticking pretty strictly to my gameplan.

Wish me luck for tomorrow.

April 26, 2004

My First Race

On Saturday, April 24, I ran my first running race. It's not really a huge deal, because after all, I am not trying to win anything for my endeavors. However, every book and magazine on running says that racing at least once a month is a major aspect of every runners' training. I think this is so for at least a couple of reasons.

First, pulse. At the starting line, I took my pulse and it was about 105 beats/minute. Being my first race and I was nervous and excited, this was up about 40-45 from my resting pulse. So, the more I race, the more comfortable and less nervous I will become.

Second, pace. I had a bit of a hard time finding it. My first mile I ran in about 7:30; the second mile about 9:40; the third a 8:10 mile, for a 25:20 total race time. I knew going into the race that I wanted to run faster than I do in my training. But these three miles do not represent the goals I stated before the race. My goal miles were 8:30, 8:00, and 7:30 respectively. Posting negative splits for all three miles. I am not too happy that my fastest mile was the first one. Obviously a beginners mistake. I got easily carried away by the clip-clop echos of the runners' feet on the downtown city asphalt; all of their heads bobbing up and down to the same, yet different rhythm; and the sea of 2,600 runners being funneled though the city like a giant human river.

Third, the dynamics of a race. The first mile was a blur. From your "fun-runners" to your "slower" runners, the serious runner needs to dodge and dart to get ahead of the traffic . . . or so I thought. By the time I started the second mile, I was through all of the slower traffic, but now in a higher strain of runners, who although faster than the others, still were not running the pace I wanted. In fact, I would guess it was the 10 minute mile group I was in the midst of. After the first mile, even though I wasn't running at the speed I wanted, I ran at a pace which was more comfortable because it was more consistent and steady. By the time I "got out" of that group, it was the end of the 2nd mile.

"One mile left to get back on goal pace," I thought.

I knew I had about 8 minutes to finish, so I did my best to increase speed to what I thought I should be running to do it, which was almost a full sprint.

I finished strong and I felt great. So overall, it was a positive experience. Not exactly the goal time I wanted, sure. But nevertheless, fun, inspiring and addictive. One thing I would have changed is my amount of exertion. I really pushed myself the first and third miles, but the second, although I could blame it on the pack I was in, was not run with as much gusto as I would have liked. By the end of a race, I think I should be thoroughly exhausted because I used everything I had to do the best I could.

One of the best things about the race was that it was the inaugural event. There was a lot of hype involved and a lot of excited spectators eager to see what a marathon entails. What a great time!

March 26, 2004

Run With Me

The clip-clop of my feet upon the ground echo the rhythm of my heart.
Relaxed, my eyelids sag then spring back.
My eyes long to shut and run without sight,
Advancing in mind and body in the dark world of my own thoughts,
Seeing much more than the physical world,
Hearing much more than the music in my ears,
but sight hampers the sighted in this case.

Notions and ponderings take shape and often die a fruitless death.
But each becomes father and mother to young notions to be pondered and ponderings to be notioned.
A hundred failed conceptions gives birth to a thousand more.
Some are the kind only a mother would love.
Bastards locked away in dark pits, too ugly to emerge into the light.
Still, a mother loves these fatherless vagaries and coddles and babies them to clarity and maturity.
Physical miles are easy compared to the miles ran through my head.
I finish with a rejuvenated body and clearer mind.

March 16, 2004

Trailrunning Photos

Here's the photos I promised from my run on Sunday. The day was a little overcast, and as you can tell there was snow on the ground, but it was a great day to run. In fact, I wore a t-shirt and shorts.

March 15, 2004

Refreshed

I had a pretty good weekend. Not much really happened, but it felt great. I've returned to work on this Monday morning recharged and refreshed. My above-average state of being can be accounted mostly to my run on Sunday afternoon. It was only about six miles, but the wear and tear on my body was at least double that. The reason is because instead of street running, we did some "trail running." We followed part of the completed Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Here's the exact area we ran. If you look at that map, we started between the "City Creek Gate" and "Morris Meadow" and ran to the right a.k.a. East. We finished on the far right and then ran back through the neighborhood below to our beginning point. The view was amazing! I actually managed to carry my camera with me for the run, and took about 25 pictures. I'll try to post a couple of the better ones later today when I get time.

Also, on Saturday night, my "friend" came with me to hang out and have dinner with my family. I'm sure she had fun, but the jury is still out on what she thought of everything. Like I said before, my family is a very nice, fun-loving one, but can be quite overwhelming. I think it went well, all things considered . . .

March 02, 2004

Running Update

Well, its been over a month since I decided to run a marathon and I just thought it was time to let you all know how my training is going.

I've steadily increased my mileage and am now sitting at about 32 miles per week. I've been running five miles every day monday through friday and then 12 miles for my long weekend run. Its pretty grueling. One day of rest on sunday doesn't seem like enough to allow my body to heal itself. In fact, it is very strange putting your body through something like this. I feel very "in touch" with every muscle, joint, tendon, etc. Throughout the day, while climbing stairs and walking up and down the hall, I subconsciousy monitor every step. I've never felt so in tune with my body.

One thing about running this much, is that I've lost a lot of weight. Well, a lot, for me. For instance, I've lost about 15 pounds in the last month and a half. I certainly didn't need to lose any weight to begin with, so I've gotten lots of comments from people about how much weight I've lost.

For somebody who is trying to lose weight, these would be welcomed comments, for sure. However, I'm not trying to lose weight, so they have started to get pretty annoying.

I'm only about 5' 9" and as of right now I weigh 150 pounds. So I don't want to lose too much more. I have definitely lost the majority of my "beer gut" that I managed to accumulate during the last three or four years, which is a good thing.

Another thing to note, is that I cannot run the Salt Lake Marathon because of a prior engagement. Its sort of a bummer, because I wanted to do my first one in my hometown. But it will be ok, because now I'm going to San Diego to run the Rock and Roll Marathon. This gives me an additional six weeks to prepare, plus it'll be in a more scenic place. It even runs along the Pacific Highway for a few miles!

Onward and upward!

February 17, 2004

Ten

Well, I'm back from a long weekend. I had yesterday off of work for Presidents' Day. Isn't it funny how a three-day weekend is all of a sudden long? It didn't really seem that long. Actually, it seemed to go by very quickly. Well, actually, that probably has to do with my activity for two of the three days. I have a big announcement, but I'm going to wait 'til I can post a decent picture before I tell you what it is. Let me just tell you . . . Its exciting!

One cool thing I did was run 10 miles. Apparently there are mental barriers one hits when running certain distances. The only barriers I'm concerned with is five, ten and twenty miles. I remember the first time I ran five miles, I thought my lungs were going to pop right out and leave a massive hole in my chest. After that first time, it became exponentially easier to run five miles. The next big one is 10 miles. Well, I thought I was going to die about seven or eight miles in, knowing I still had two or three miles left. But my last mile was fairly easy. I even ran at my goal pace for the marathon.

Running this ten-miler was a little nerve-racking for me because last week, while running outside, I jarred my knee a bit. I stepped on a small piece of ice and slipped. Only a couple of inches, but I felt a sharp, needle-pricking-type pain in my knee. I felt it all week until the day before my long run. But miraculously as I arose the day of my run at seven in the morning, my knee felt fine. And did the entire run.

I ran up a gorgeous canyon here in my city. So I worked muscles which haven't been used in my usual jaunts around town. Needless to say, I have been sore ever since.

Someday, I'm going to take my camera with me while I run. I always see some very cool/pretty things.

February 03, 2004

Senses

While running, the world can pass by like graffiti on a tunnel wall. Two-dimensional shapes and figures flying by like a dream. Running is agony in a world like this. It hurts physically and is torture mentally.

I choose not to run like that.

For me I try to stay in tune with my body. Every step is a dialogue between my body and my mind. My senses are atuned to the world around me. I pay attention to as many colors, sounds, and smells as I can. Running is the best part of my day. I'm stimulated physically, while my mind is consumed.

I run in a three-dimensional world. I love it and look forward to it everyday. I ran by the picture above this weekend.