My iPod is Possessed by the Devil.

My iPod is possessed.

I’m convinced it’s the devil’s work. Who else would put Madonna’s Immaculate Collection on shuffle for an entire 14-mile slog in the middle of a wet and humid August? The infernal machine decided to skip from Track 3 to Track 12 and completely ruined any sense of continuum. Then, just for laughs, it decided to jump from track 15 to track 5. Yes: it skipped backwards. It was like it had mixed itself up with a Shuffle, but it could only play one particular Madonna album.

And frankly, my running habit is already too expensive to permit the purchase of a replacement, non-possessed iPod. Besides, a replacement would probably just get infected by some iTunes download. My only hope is that the devil will decide to haunt, say, one of my inexpensive lamps, which I could then pitch and replace without qualms. Because two and a half months of training to Madonna and only Madonna is not really going to work. No, really. I love Madge as much as the next girl, but I need variety.

Maybe I shouldn’t have bought the red one. In retrospect, that might have been asking for it. Although, I’m sort of convinced that Apple is actually the devil incarnate; maybe that was where I went wrong. Because it isn’t like this is the first iPod I’ve burned through.

That’s right: apparently I’m the only person in the world who thinks Apple products are a stupid waste of money. This being my second iPod, I can guarantee you I won’t be forking over any more money to that company until they start producing a product that works for longer than one friggin’ day after the warranty expires. Even with the damn warranty, every time you walk in to a Mac store for help from a Mac “genius” you have to fork over $60 and get a lecture about how you, a mere human, don’t deserve the absolute awesomeness that is whatever overpriced tech gadget currently malfunctioning in your hot little hand. Hahaha, you thought “genius” referred to being able to fix your machine? WRONG. It describes their facility for weaseling your credit card out of your wallet.

This is why I don’t buy Apple products. The company just sucks to deal with, and its products are attractive little boxes into which disappear your data, time, and money. At least with PCs I can get in there and mess around with the bits until they work again, if tech support is useless (which is often the case). Or at least retrieve my data without paying some zit-faced teenager three hundred dollars to scowl at me for actually trying to use whatever lovely but nonperforming piece of crap I’m bringing in.

Do I sound cranky? You’d be cranky too after hearing Madge for two and a half hours straight. I hate it when my equipment doesn’t perform. And it isn’t just my iPod that’s failed me of late. My expensive new Enell bras have chafed me badly enough to leave scars half an inch wide and two inches long on my torso. Which means I’m still without adequate bosom support, and will likely have to fork over money I don’t have for more bras I can’t return if they don’t work out.

Riddle me this, readers: why is it so damn hard to find:

• A functioning iPod
• A bra that holds your tatas in place without rubbing your skin off in big bloody patches that really sting when you’re sweating through mid-August long runs
• running shorts with pockets and WITHOUT some weird mesh liner intended to keep men’s balls in place but thoughtlessly replicated and foisted upon running women

Seriously. Who designs this shit? Whomever does the market research for these products ought to be fired. Maybe tortured by being sent on a 14-mile forced march while listening to “Vogue” on repeat.

I did have one minor breakthrough today, however: when I came home and took off my shoes, there was blood on my sock! That’s right – I have ventured into the territory reserved for real runners, where your feet begin bleeding partway through a run. Honestly, I was so annoyed with my iPod that I didn’t even notice any pain. Apparently one of my toenails was just a smidge too long and it cut into the neighboring toe during my run. What can I say? It made me feel kind of macho. I’m no glutton for punishment, however; I went out and bought a new pair of running shoes in a half-size larger than usual to prevent that from happening again. I may even buy some of those weird socks that encase your toes individually.

I also decided to try Shot Blocks from Clif Bar & Co. instead of gels during my run today. I liked them! They didn’t give me weird stomach issues like the gels sometimes do, so I think I’ll have to get more. So the run wasn’t totally worthless and painful. I discovered a new product that is a real improvement over my previous solution, and I managed to shave a couple of minutes off my half marathon time as compared to my time in the Brooklyn Half Marathon on May 30th: today I ran the same distance in 2:13:34, while my time last May was 2:15:52.

So progress is happening, in baby steps. In the meantime, if anyone knows a good exorcist, preferably one specializing in demonic iPods, by all means let me know!

Hijacking the NYT Q&A

So I’m quite enjoying The New York Times’ series on marathon training. They have some wonderful writers, such as Liz Robbins, who is probably my favorite sports writer, contributing articles to the series. But if you’ve read this blog for more than a couple of posts, I’m sure you’ve already gleaned the childish glee I take in skewering things. So my skewers below are not intended as a dig on Tara Parker-Pope’s Q&A article.

The article to which I am referring is called, of course, “The Summer Running Slump.” And did ever respond to it, because I am slumping hard.

Starting with the good bits (from the “A” portion of the article):

“I tell people, right now the goal is consistency, just getting out the door to get your runs in. The pace or how you feel is less important than it will be a few months down the line. It frees them to not put too much pressure on themselves. They’re thinking, “14 miles is so hard, how am I ever going to run 20 miles?” But if they just focus on getting out the door and being consistent, usually things will come around…”

Please, god, let them come around soon, because even though I am lucky to be training during an exceptionally cool summer, I am so feeling the drag. I did 14 miles last weekend, and reading this, I thought exactly that! How the hell *am* I going to run 20, much less 26.2? Then I re-read the article (Like most of ya’ll, I don’t read on the Innernetz, I scan) and saw that the Q&A was with none other than Greg McMillan, who is none other than the architect of my torture training program!

It was like getting personal training advice from a coach! A coach whom I have never met or talked to, but hey, on the Innernetz we’re all best friends, right? So I kept reading.

“Q:  How much does running pace right now tell us about our marathon pace in the fall?

A: You can still make a lot of improvement. If you’re a beginning runner, your rate of improvement will be greater than someone who is more experienced. You’ve got more room to improve. You can expect, and you should expect, that you improve quite a bit as the race gets closer. This is the time you’ve got to focus on just getting your running in, and just living through the initial fitness building process. When you’re building fitness, it’s always the hardest part.”

Well this is fabulous news! I thought I was pretty fit before, flying through a half-marathon in a very respectable time, thank you very much. But I guess there’s always room for improvement. This explains the fact that the only noticeable difference in my pace thus far is…nothing. Not one whit of improvement. My hamstrings are getting extraordinarily tight, though. I’ve stopped wearing heels at the office, they hurt so much, and it’s not like I wore anything higher than an inch to begin with. Hopefully they’ll stop improving soon so the rest of my body can catch up.

(Remember back in the bubble days, when Sex and the City was on TV? Remember the episode where Miranda falls in her bathroom and can’t get up and she calls Carrie to come save her, but Carrie’s a flake and sends her boyfriend instead? And she hollers something into the phone along the lines of “my body’s all fucked up from the marathon!” when Carrie resists? That’s what I envision happening to me by the time this marathon is over. Seriously. Lying on the bathroom floor, so stiff that I can’t even sit up under my own power. Why did I sign up for this again?)

Anyway. I had two major giggle moments when reading Mr. McMillan’s answers to Ms. Parker-Pope’s questions. The first was when he talked about the weather breaking:

“The hardest part right now is the weather change. People are excited about running their fall marathon, but right when you want to be feeling your best the weather changes, and it can be hot and humid. The weather keeps you from feeling good right as you’re getting started in your marathon training, and that can be kind of a bummer.”

Uh, not in New York, bud. Here the weather got stuck back on “May showers” and never progressed as far as “April flowers”, much less to summer. We still haven’t broken 90 degrees yet this summer in New York, as far as I’m aware. So if we’re counting on weather changes to make that whole improvement thing happen, this program ain’t gonna work.

But the real you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me moment came when my coach suggested an insane list of cross training activities:

Q: What else should we be doing besides running to build fitness?

A: As you get more fit, the running gets a little bit easier. Augmenting running with cross training activities can help burn calories and improve fitness. Spin classes, swimming, an elliptical trainer is great. Aqua jogging or water running is an option. If you’re a beginning runner, that’s what you want to be doing to be as fit as possible.

Uh, yeah, I’ll fit those right into my schedule! Never mind that getting up at 5:30 AM to run 4 days a week barely gets me to work on time, plus I’m cranky as an unnapped preschooler every Tuesday and Thursday from sleep deprivation! Yep! Sign me right up!

So I’m thinking about switching to the Galloway method instead. While I’d dearly love to run a marathon in less than 4 hours – which theoretically means shaving thirty minutes off of my expected time, based on the half-marathon – it’s going to take more than a break in some comparatively pleasant weather to make that happen.

Have I made a tactical error in choosing this training program?

What do you think – drop it in favor of the Galloway method, or stick with it and see what happens in September?

Kicking It Up A Notch…Plus a Trip to Governors Island

This summer has been, thus far, one of the coolest on record. According to The New York Times,

“The daily average last month was at or below normal every day but two. The temperature broke 80 on 16 days in New York — one more day than in Fairbanks, Alaska. Depending on Friday’s high, this was the second or third coolest June and July recorded in New York.”

Essentially summer in New York has looked like this: gray and rainy, cool and muggy.

That said, yesterday I endured a very fun long training run in Central Park with the New York Road Runners. The groups did 4 loops of the park adding up to 20 miles, and you could drop out after any of the loops depending upon your training needs. Now, thanks to an imprudent night out with friends on Friday, I showed up late. I managed to join the 10:30 pace training around 1.5 miles into the first loop, and that proved to be a very comfortable pace for me to maintain. I went with them for 16 miles, which for me was about 14.5 miles. I admit I felt like an impostor getting my ice packs strapped to my legs, but I just wasn’t up to doing the last 4-mile loop and I decided that running farther than I ever had before was a pretty decent accomplishment for the day. I took my Utz pretzels and my banana and, feeling perfectly serene as the bags of ice strapped to my thighs melted in rivulets down my legs, wandered in the direction of the subway.

At some point it occurred to me that I was, at that moment, one of those lunatics people are talking about when they shake their heads and say, “only in New York” with a huge sigh of disgust and/or annoyance. I had become the person to whom rational folks give wide berth when walking along the sidewalk. And I can see why: my shirt was thoroughly soaked, and I do mean that there was not a single millimeter of dry cloth on my body. My hair looked gray from being covered with salt from my dried sweat, and I had plastic bags of half-melted ice Saran-wrapped to my rather wobbly legs. And I was walking around eating pretzels like this was completely normal behavior. For runners, it is: for anyone else, call the guys with the straitjackets and the white van.

In short, I had become a Runner of the Living Dead. A shuffling post-long-run zombie, mindlessly gobbling every carb within reach.

In any event, I’m proud to say that I made it 14.5 miles. I am fearful of doing the remaining 11.7 miles in a few months, but I think I can get there from here. I’ll probably sign up for some longer runs just to make getting out there a bit easier. Mentally it’s pretty challenging to cover the same few miles over and over again, so I’ve been trying to get out of the Financial District and the eternal pleasures of Battery Park City a little more often. One place that has proven to be a wonderful haven is Governors Island. (The name is plural, not possessive.)

The New York Times’ Roving Runner recently did a brief article about the Island. It’s as good as he makes it out to be. The views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the big orange Staten Island Ferry boats are all amazing, and I am very grateful to Brian Fidelman (the article’s author) for identifying the bizarro recording that plays over loudspeakers at the far end of the island. The first time you hear it, it’s weird and kind of wonderful. By the fifteenth time you’re hearing it, you begin to understand why the comfy free hammocks within hearing distance of the loudspeakers are the last to fill up. Maybe the recording doesn’t need to be played constantly, you know? I’ve been out on numerous occasions, and sometimes it seems to be going constantly and others it seems to kick in every half hour or so. I find the latter arrangement much preferable.

The entire island is like a really interesting 2.2 mile track. You can also run in the interior, although that’s where a lot of the arts and culture events take place, so it’s more crowded. By crowded, I mean amply spacious by New York standards. This is where I’ve started doing hill work.

I only have two complaints about the island: the ferry schedule doesn’t run often or late enough to accommodate clockwatchers like me during the week, and there are no drinking fountains on the island.

This, to me, is a huge oversight in Brian’s otherwise excellent piece. I asked a guard about a non-functioning fountain near the ferry terminal, and he explained that there’s a problem with the water system on the island and that the water is thus non-potable. If you are looking for hydration during a long run, be advised that you’ll either have to pack it in or buy it from one of the vendors in bottle form. Or, you can always hit the new Water Taxi beach for a post-run beer. Just bring a change of clothes or something, lest people run in terror from the invasion of the Running Zombie.

Happy running!

Jumping on the Recession Bandwagon: The Cost of Running

This morning’s Wall Street Journal had an interesting article about a marathoner named Seth Matheson, who has multiple sclerosis. Apart from being impressed with his incredible dedication to running and resulting race results, what struck me was the section on how much Seth spends on gear each year:

“Mr. Matheson estimates that he spends about $1,000 a year on workout clothing. Overheating is one of the symptoms associated with MS so Mr. Matheson buys wick-proof clothing which repels sweat (he prefers Nike Dri-Fit shirts). He will also wear organic cotton T-shirts and built-in compression shorts, which are similar to bike shorts. He wears Saucony Progrid Ride sneakers ($85) and usually goes through three to four pairs a year.

Mr. Matheson belongs to an athletic club and will also occasionally drop in at other gyms to take classes. He estimates his gym fees add up to about $200 a month. Fees for his soccer league cost about $75 per season.

Mr. Matheson has a single-speed, fixed-gear commuter bike that cost about $1,000. His Cervelo Soloist racing bike cost about $3,000.”

Now, it makes sense to me that the Wall Street Journal, which is after all dedicated to all things financial, would include some cost analysis. My estimate, based upon the figures in the article, are that Mr. Matheson spends approximately $4,500 a year (assuming that the bikes don’t need annual replacement, but do need tuneups, new tires, etc.). That isn’t chump change, and it made me start thinking about how much I spend on my running habit. I have to say that this is not a cheap hobby.

Typically I shell out between $15 and $20 per race, plus $40 a year for membership to New York Road Runners. Last year when I was qualifying for the marathon, I ran 10 races, so let’s say around $200 plus the $40 membership. Then there’s shoes: I buy two pairs a year at around $120 a pair (I like Mizunos, which are apparently more expensive). Orthotics are another $40 per pair of shoes. Socks, sports bras and shorts are another $200 or so ($70 per bra, $30-$40 for shorts). I don’t buy running tops, but I do like my gear: Garmin 405, iPod, specialized sport headphones. Marathon registration was another $170, plus there’s the copays from physical therapy required for running-related injuries. I’d say that I spend at least a $1000 per year on my supposedly inexpensive hobby.

It takes time, too. I could spend the time doing many other things (reading? I miss fiction.), but at the end of the day, running is my therapy. It’s time I purchase for myself, and the achievements last longer than any mani-pedi or sample sale shopping spree. By spending money on quality gear, I make the time I spend running as comfortable as possible. And that, to my mind, is money well spent – when it must be spent.

How do you reconcile the cost of running with your well-being? How are you coping with the expenses of sports activities in light of the recession?

Post-Hiatus Update

Apologies for disappearing; summer vacation called, and I answered. The great news is that I have lots of good running pictures and stories to write about in the coming weeks – some good blog fodder!

A couple of updates from prior posts:

• Enell bras are pretty good. My biggest complaint is that when you sweat in them, you get really itchy between the boobs, and there’s no way to scratch through all that fabric. Also the band is pretty tight around my chest, so I have to be very careful about what I eat before running or I get a serious case of indigestion. So far I am chafe free, however!
• My new Sennheiser earphones are still great, although I’m discovering that I can go for longer and longer distances without music.
• Since my disappearance, I’ve been trying out The New York Times interactive training tool, with moderate success. I’ve opted for the McMillan Running Race Ready Program, and while I’m not running any faster, I am now able to run in warm weather without feeling ill, which is really nice. It was 85 degrees out yesterday, and I managed to do a six-mile run including some speedwork, which used to kill me. I’m liking the four-day running schedule pretty well, too.

So that’s it for now. More coming soon!

Gear Review: Head Phones, Sport Bras

If you’re a woman who runs, there are three pieces of equipment which are absolutely essential to get right, because the consequences of getting them wrong are, at minimum, extreme discomfort. These three things are worth spending a little money on to get right. I’m going to talk about two of these things today: head phones and sports bras.

Head phones take a little trial and error. The biggest thing to look for when shopping for them is to look for a reasonable return policy – at least 30 days, and you want to be able to return items when the package has already been open. Unfortunately these terms can be hard to find on the Internet, so it’s worth checking your local stores. While doing some research beforehand can help narrow down the possible candidates, there’s nothing like trial and error for finding the right headphones.

Recently I bought a pair of Sennheiser PMX70 Sport Headphones. While I could have spent more for the newer PMX80s, the price difference was enough to make me opt for the earlier version. Also I preferred green to orange.

I had some qualms about the shape of the speakers, since one of my less successful experiments with listening devices has involved earbuds. I’ve been using noise-canceling covered-ear headphones for several years, but recently the buildup of sweat has become too gross to contemplate putting on my head. One thing I hate about earbuds is how they leak sound – anyone who has ever sat next to someone wearing them on in close quarters can hear everything they are listening to. Apart from the annoyance factor, earbuds are really bad for your hearing.

The Sennheiser PMX70s are leaky, although not quite as bad as earbuds. I was willing to try them because I wanted something that doesn’t cover my ears during hot summer runs, that would stand up to sweat, and that would allow me to hear my environment better. My noise canceling headphones were great for blocking out catcalls, but they did make me less safe by making it easier for me to tune out my environment. The PMX70s balance my competing objectives quite nicely.

Not only did I not have to crank up the volume on my iPod to hear the music, the sound was easily drowned out by the fanfare at the beginning of the race. I can hear the ring of bicycle bells when running along the West Side Highway, and they aren’t so tight that they pinch my ears as some have reported. My only complaints are that the cord only comes out the left side, and if you don’t have a handy pocket that arrangement can be awkward, and that the headband part is really, really big. As in Sasquatch big. It sticks out almost two inches from the back of my head. This is an aesthetic issue only, however, since it doesn’t move around while I run. And having tested this in the Brooklyn Half Marathon, I think it’ll work fine for the full distance in November.

The second thing that women need to get right is sports bras. I’m an unusual size, so I’ve been experimenting with sports bra solutions for years. My usual favorite brand is Moving Comfort, which makes bras in a broader range of sizes than most manufacturers, but I’m finding that over long distances the underwire is chafing me to the point of bleeding. It could be that my bras are simply old, so today I trudged up to Paragon Sports and spent a lot of time trying on bras with the generous help of their sales staff.

(Out-of-towners who will be in New York for the marathon: Paragon is a great resource for your last-minute running needs, but it is also constantly mobbed. Once you track someone down, the staff are helpful, but sometimes finding someone can be a trick.)

I came away with one bra, from Enell. I haven’t used it yet, so I’m cautiously optimistic that this will be a chafe-free solution to my underwire problem. The press is good – apparently Oprah is a fan, so if it keeps her girls from flinging about like a couple of kids in a bouncy castle, I’ll give it a try – but the real test will be my weekly long run. More soon!

I also plan to buy another Moving Comfort bra, either the Helena or the Calli. I haven’t decided yet, so if anyone has either bra and an opinion about it, I’d love to hear from you.

If you get the essentials right, you can more or less fudge on things like shorts, t-shirts, singlets, headgear and the like. As long as it doesn’t chafe, bounce, or cause blisters, and it does what it is supposed to do, there’s no reason to spend a ton of money on equipment for running. Unless you have and you want to, of course; the decision is up to you, based on your budget and needs.

Oh, that third thing? Shoes. Get some good running shoes. This should be really obvious, but I do see people running in Converse, which is just so seventies and so WRONG. Jack Rabbit Sports will record you running on a treadmill and make shoe recommendations based on your gait, so there’s no reason to run in bad or uncomfortable shoes.

Race Report: 5/30/09 Brooklyn Half Marathon

Yesterday I ran 13.1 miles through Brooklyn, which gave me a a small taste of what the full marathon is going to feel like. Although I can’t say I’d yet like to go back for seconds, it really was a good run.

Some stats:

Weather conditions: Mid-to-high seventies, mostly sunny, low humidity.

Course: Hilly for the first 7 miles through Prospect Park, then a long flat run along Ocean Parkway to Coney Island. [link to course map]

Time: 2:15:52

Average Pace: 10:22

Before I get back to my regularly scheduled snark, I’d like to start by saying that I’m really pleased with my pace. Last year, before I decided to run more seriously and sought physical therapy for my knee problems, I ran the same race (in the opposite direction) in 2:37:24. So I ran this year’s course a whopping 22:28 minutes faster than last year. My goal time this year was 2:10, but I’m happy anyway. It was nice to be solidly in the middle of the pack instead of bringing up the rear. That said, I would like to complete the marathon in 4:30, which would be slightly under a 10-minute mile. This means I need to get faster.

The day was warmer than I would have liked, but honestly this was partly my problem because I was woefully unprepared. I’ve carped previously about how I dislike running in warm weather: it gives me a headache and makes me want to barf, and I would go so far as to say that the scientists who claim that you can adapt to running in the heat are flat-out liars. It occurred to me as I looked around at other racers that maybe I just need better equipment so as not to exacerbate the discomfort inherent to running in the heat. For one thing, I was in capri-length CWX running tights. For another, I was wearing a sports bra that is at least two years old and black. I was wearing one thing that might make it onto the Approved Warm-Weather Running Gear List, but only in the event that no other acceptable substitute is available: a white t-shirt. In short, I was one unfashionable and uncomfortable runner on Saturday.

And if you don’t think there is running fashion, you have clearly never been on the wrong end of it. The fashion is naked. Apparently, even in January, the most appropriate thing to wear while running is as close to nothing as possible. When it’s hot out, I get this. My bosoms do not. They love the support that comes from Spandex. My behind is not a thing of glory. It does not want to be lovingly encased in Spandex, although for that matter it was during the race, to the point of looking like a strained sausage.  I was the only moron not wearing tiny shorts, and the most anyone else covered-up was one of those absurd running skirts. I really think that if one is going to be engaging in athletic activities, one should expect the probability that people are going to be able to see up your skirt. Either wear shorts or just get one of those bikini-esque things that elite athletes run in and quit being coy about displaying camel-toe in public.

Last year I was in the bathroom after having waited 30 minutes for a stall when the starting gun went off. This year I was hoping that the new course arrangement would mean additional bathrooms. It did not. This year I was again hopping from foot to foot outside the Port-a-Potties when the gun went off. I really hope this doesn’t happen at the marathon proper, or I swear I’m going to not drink any liquids for a week before the race. If I’m wearing my no-longer-fashionable-but-too-expensive-to-discard CWX capris, everyone will probably mistake me as someone running the marathon dressed up as dried-up piece of beef jerky.

All in all, though, it was a good race. And my determination to get some good warm-weather running gear means I’ll be able to go shopping and start doing gear reviews! Wohoo!

NYT “Well” Series on Marathoning

Apologies for the lack of posting, the long runs have been taking over my life as I ramp up for the Brooklyn Half Marathon in a week, and I’ve also been sidelined with a little guest posting for another blog. It has nothing to do with running, but if you’re into ogling expensive real estate, you might want to meet my other online persona, Evnyc. Check it out here. The internet is a fantastic tool for those of us who were always kind of jealous of Eve and thought multiple personality disorder was kinda cool, even though it doesn’t actually exist.

Yesterday I had one of the best runs of my life thus far. It was simply gorgeous out, and the prospect of going to work was unbearable. I wanted to run and run and run. So I called out from work and laced up my shoes and did just that, for twelve miles. It was work, don’t get me wrong, especially the last mile or so. But once I had finished, I didn’t feel wrecked. I felt a little sleepy, so I slathered on some sunscreen and went out on the lawn (public; this is New York) with a beach towel and took a nap in the sun. Then I went shopping and rode my bike up the West Side to meet some friends. I felt so good that I was even able to wear heels – after a 12-mile run. That has never happened before. It was awesome.

However, you happen to be my boss and you’re reading this, then I’m going to substitute my experience last week running 11 miles as my excuse for calling out sick. Last Saturday I got up late, ate too large a breakfast, and ended up running when the sun is high in the sky along a poorly chosen path in direct sun. I spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch with a headache, unable to eat anything at all. I downed half a bottle of Pepto Bismol and finally fell asleep, and I woke up the next day with a severe headache. It’s alarming how the symptoms of running too much in bad weather can mimic a hangover, although honestly, being hungover feels better. Regardless, alcohol was not involved in the yucky feelings, I swear.

Which brings me to The New York Times. Upon arriving at work on Monday, I was thrilled to see that they are going to do a series about the New York Marathon.  They’re off to an excellent start, interviewing Kara Goucher and having Liz Robbins follow up with some of the people she interviewed for her book A Race Like No Other. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series. It’s an all-star sports writing lineup, and written with newbies in mind. I’ll be doing more analyses of the articles in upcoming posts.
In the meantime, I’m about to embark on a holiday weekend that isn’t going to involve any running, just lots and lots of wine. Happy long weekend, readers!

And Now Presenting My Formerly Unknown Twin

On Saturday I ran for nine long miles. Count ‘em, I ran nine miles in 1:28 and change. I know, not exactly the spectacular result I was hoping for after my recent forays into 8-minute-mile territory, but still: it didn’t hurt (my knee, anyway) and in the process, I discovered that I am not alone in my marathon endeavor. Yes, on any given morning there seem to be a couple hundred runners out there at 6:00 AM, but I thought I was the only one training. I mean, a marathon is serious stuff, right? Clearly these recreational runners breezing by me are just out doing a short, fast run for fun.

Turns out that life spices up a bit if you get off your high horse and start talking to people. For one thing, I have a twin! Or a doppelganger, I’m not sure. For the record, I was not aware of this outfit when I started blogging. I picked my blog name because a) I liked the sound and b) everything else I tried was already taken. Enter www.runnyc.com (warning, the site doesn’t seem to be functional yet).

I found out about this when, at the end of Mile 9, reeking to high heaven I’m sure, I stopped at the shack that’s parked along the West Side Highway at Chambers St. This shack looks remarkably like my father’s ice-fishing shacks, only slightly larger – perhaps purchased from Home Despots. It’s been closed since I moved into the neighborhood. Even though I was probably more offensive to the olfactory system than a rotting zombie corpse, I stopped to check it out. It’s the Nike Runner’s Station, and no shit – they give you FREE THINGS.

Like hair ties. And Band Aids, and SUNSCREEN! This is gonna save me a fortune. I can also buy Gu at this place for cheap(ish), which might not be such a bad idea as the mileage creeps up. They have Nike shoes you can try (I like Mizunos and Sauconys, but hey, free is free) and bulletin boards with runner meet-ups and training runs. This is where I got a little shock at the thought that people were actually reading my blog, just not commenting! (Hint, hint, I know you’re there. WordPress includes free stats.) Then I wised up and realized that someone else had thought of the same fab URL and had the good sense to register it first. So now I just hope I don’t get sued or anything, because it was an accident. Honest! It’s like a romance novel or something!

And to conclude, I’m going to tell you a story about hustlin’ in the city, mostly because I can’t figure out a more graceful way to shoehorn this story into my post.

Walking through Grand Central Terminal this evening during rush hour (read: chock-a-block with people as only New York can deliver) I saw a little shadow scurrying toward the train platform. Well, not that little, about the size of a young mouse. I looked a little more closely and realized that it was a very large cockroach running desperately to make his train. Apparently even cockroaches commute. I realized that I was completely unfazed by the presence of the insect when up ahead of me, someone dropped a pocketful of change.

If you’ve ever tried to stop in the middle of a crowd in New York, you probably know that it’s akin to getting steamrolled. Wisely, whomever had dropped the change declined to stop and pick it up, which meant that a coin about the size of the cockroach rolled right by my foot. I’m quick, I’m flexible, and nothing will stop me in my tracks like free money, so I leaned down and scooped it up, and was rewarded with a Susan B. Anthony silver dollar! Wohoo!

When I first moved to the city I would have had the cockroach heebie-jeebies so bad that nothing could have enticed me into scooping up a lost dollar. Now, I’m thinking of switching careers to “free money finder.” Because the day before that I found ten bucks on the ground, sopping wet but still legal. My goal is a hundred bucks by the end of the week, so feel free to throw some change my way! Just don’t include any cockroaches in the mix. Please.

Hardcore!

Yesterday I did something truly, truly nuts. It felt great. I might have to do this more often.

I ran twice in one day.

My first run wasn’t so much fun.  I dragged myself out of bed at 5:45 AM and went outside for a tempo run. It was horrible. I hadn’t had any coffee yet, and none of my pieces seemed to fit together right. My form was off. My shoulders were tense and aching and I couldn’t remember to push off with my toes for more than two strides. I was just concluding that I really need to get acquainted with the concept of “the warmup” when I looked down at Master Garmin and said, “oh! Only a tenth of a mile left to go!” That last tenth of a mile it all came together. My feet remembered to bend. My back kicked in and my shoulders came down. I was fast! And then I was done.

It was a strange feeling, to be tired and a little sore but still feel as though I could have done more. I went to work figuring I was done for the day, but that midafternoon, a colleague called.

“Hey, want to go for a run?” she asked. I thought about it for two seconds. Did I want to go for a fun run, in the middle of the day, no slave master Garmin, no orthotics, no iPod, no agenda? You bet your teeth I did. So we went. I even almost managed to keep up with my new running partner. When she found out that I was running for the second time in the day, she burst out (as best one can while keeping up a good pace) “wow, you’re hardcore!”

Honestly, this made me melt a little inside. I’m so used to being the nice/friendly/unhip type that being called hardcore was quite a compliment. I went back to my desk and found this article from Runner’s World. Apparently running twice a day gives you better results. Then again, most runners would gargle swine flu if they thought it would improve their running, so who knows?

One thing the article seems to have gotten right is the issue of enhanced calorie burn:

“Double workouts have an added appeal: they increase calorie burn. Even after you stop running, your metabolism takes a few hours to return to its resting level. So when you work out twice a day, you get the calorie expenditure of the two bouts of exercise, plus the double postexercise boost.”

All I know is that I sucked up the contents of the fridge with more enthusiasm than a Dyson vacuum cleaner when I got home that evening.  This is probably why I can’t seem to lose any weight.