A Case of the Runs

Hi Future Self, I hope you're still alive when you read this. I hope you completed both the Mud Run and Marathon this past weekend like you were supposed to! I'm really sorry that I didn't train for the San Diego Marathon or eat as perfectly as I should have. You see, I have only really been able to run since mid-April. And sometime in mid-May, what started as a nagging leg soreness became a full-blown new injury that starts cramping/pulling when I run. So my longest real run since my last marathon in March has been 9 miles. That's about as far as I can go before the cramping really gets bad. The other day, one week before the big race weekend that you just endured, I woke up early to do a long run and ended up having the same thing happen at mile 1. So I gave up, trying to rest and heal. I hate being this "weak sauce," and I hope it hasn't caused you too many issues. I declared that my goals for the Mud Run/Marathon weekend were to 1) survive, an...

My dairy intolerance confuses me. Sometimes I wonder if that's what I really have, because I can eat most yogurt (see all my food posts for the yogurt I've reviewed here) without issues. It could be probiotics kicking in, but every now I let some amounts of dairy-ridden boba slushies or cheese into my system with no major issues. Anyway, this post is supposed to be about yogurt! Yogurt is protein-rich, creamy, filling, and yummy. I especially love Greek yogurt because I can use it as a sub for sour cream if it's plain, and it doesn't leave that icky aftertaste that normal yogurt can do. However, this yogurt has made my stomach feel unsettled since I had some yesterday. I was eating it with bread (dipping bread in yogurt has been a joy of mine lately) and realized after wondering why it was so yummy/milk-like that one of the ingredients is CREAM. Thanks, Voskos! Cream is one of those things that definitely sets my stomach off into some mode of abnormalcy. My stom...

This lovely diagram captures the last 4 years of (memorable) injuries I've had, ranging from minor (about 1 week heal time) to... less minor (4 months of healing). Note that these do not include toenail ailments (which probably are at 10 by now -- not on all the toes, though). Also notice that the blue dots are injuries I've had in my first two years of running, and the red is everything I've had within the past 12 months. I have no idea what's going on. I am racing less frequently but for longer distances and basically running the same mileage in training as before (when injuries don't keep me from doing so). Plus, in the grand scheme of things, I am eating better as well. "The Ukrainian" thinks it's stress. I fail to see how my lagging career and dissertation (at least to my standards) can affect my running. And then there's the shoe story. I haven't been able to find a "perfect" pair of running shoes. Even with "pro" fitt...

So right now, I really just want to dash away in a swimsuit and run along the shoreline of a beach until I'm out of energy. Instead, I'm stuck here at work after having to drive nearly 80 miles for meetings this morning. All in a day's work, I suppose. This morning, I succumbed to coffee. I was up late last night because I was attending a wedding rehearsal. "The Ukrainian" is in the bridal party, and I have been asked to help with the events of the day. I'm super excited to see my first church wedding, but I think most of that excitement is due to caffeine. To be fair, I thought the coffee was decaf, but I later found out that it was mislabeled. I had a cup and started feeling like I wanted to run run run while I was on the road. I know I've been taking some caffeinated GU s to race lately, but they don't seem to get me THIS pumped up. Or maybe the running cancels out the effects. I know caffeine is not good to rely on, and usually if I deliberately h...

EVENT: Santa Barbara Wine Country Half-Marathon DATE: Saturday, May 8, 2010 LOCATION: Santa Ynez/Los Olivos/Solvang, CA RACE BEGAN: 7:15 am FINISH TIME: 01:41:24 (49:41, 51:42) I re-registered to run this relay again for the third year in a row. Since this race was nestled in between marathoning, a cold I got afterward, and injuries, I consider myself lucky that I had become well enough to dedicate some time to specifically train for my leg of the race, which was once again the shorter 5.8 mi portion. The course is hilly for both runners (I am now going to attach the elevation map). I did hill training, though considering my injuries and how I've only been able to "really" run for a few weeks now, it was not easy to suddenly do this. And due to the lack of training and weak lungs from my cold, I didn't get the fair chance to train like I had intended. Our time in Solvang this time around was quiet. I think we both needed that day off... or maybe it was just me. Th...

While I'm still working on my blog entry for my race this past weekend, I thought I'd write about how incredibly sore I am today. As you can see on my side bar, I am doing the Camp Pendleton Mud Run on June 5 and San Diego Marathon on June 6. And, as you know, I had been injured for about two months. My IT band is doing much better, though somewhere in the process of recovery, I pulled a hamstring, but that's a lot easier to run through than most ailments. So given these improvements, I am subjecting myself to a "boot camp" that aims to get me in shape for a marathon in 3.5 weeks. So here's how the past few days have gone down: - Saturday: 6 miles at race - Sunday: 10 (weak sauce) miles - Monday: 1.5 hr cardio + weights - Tuesday: 10 (faster/hilly) miles And here's the tentative plan for the rest of the week: - Wednesday: Windsor pilates (I don't have time to work out tomorrow) and salsa - Thursday: 8-12 miles (depends on how I'm feeling and t...

This not-to-appetizing in name soy yogurt was purchased at Fresh & Easy , which is a small market near my work, for 99 cents. I'm not sure if it is sold elsewhere, but I can tell you that I have tried soy yogurt in the past and was rather displeased with the strange taste. It's tough to describe, but the bean-y flavor of soy, normally not very detectable in other soy products, gets magnified x 100 in yogurt. But the fact that this soy yogurt came with additional antibiotics to help me if I needed to eat some regular yogurt to clear my taste buds had me sold. I can eat normal (milk) yogurt for the most part, though I almost always choose Greek due to the additional probiotics it contains. This yogurt was actually decent. The blueberry flavor was great and probably covered up any weird "bean-y" taste, the texture was a little off but not too bad, and I did not need to eat anymore yogurt that day. If you're adventurous, feel free to try this out yourself. It ...