AudreyPodrey.com

Why can’t you unpress the buttons in elevators?  I mean, if i have a little kid on the elevator, and he presses all the buttons, now i’m stuck stopping on every floor.  Couldn’t we just press twice to undo it?

Perhaps elevator processing is just a lot more complicated than i think it is.  But, haven’t elevators been operating themselves for many years now?  If processor speed was the reason we couldn’t have this feature when self-operating elevators first came out, that can’t be the reason now.  Super-small fast computers abound, surely they could tackle this elevator problem.

Now maybe i’m just a spoiled american and an extra minute or so on an elevator because a little kid pushed all the buttons just isn’t a very pressing practical concern.  And that’s true.  So i’ll shut up now.

This is a tapering week, which means i only have to run 5 miles on Saturday. Because it’s a week where i’m supposed to lay off, i decided to skip a run this week to give my foot a chance to heel, er, i mean, heal. I think my foot is responding well to the physical therapy. I am using a Strassburg sock at night now. It’s helping (i think), although it’s kind of weird to sleep with it on.

Monday 9/24 8:09 am
Distance: 3.04 miles
Time: 33:34
Avg Pace: 11:05 min/mile
Calories: 416

I still have some configuring to do with the garmin to get it to spit out the right stats. These are useful, but there are more. And i forgot the heart rate monitor again.

Didn’t want to do the run this morning, but i forced myself. And i have my ipod now, so i can be entertained while running instead of having to entertain myself. My mom had been holding it hostage for almost two months. So i’m just a gadget girl while i run now - lots of fun toys to fiddle with.

Part I: Running

Saturday September 22
Running distance - 6.98 miles
Running time - 1:17:02
Avg pace (running) - 11:02
Calories: 1017
Total distance - 8 miles
Total time - 1:27:13

My new toy is a Garmin Forerunner and tracks all sorts of interesting and uninteresting stuff, as you can see above. It will also measure heart rate, but i forgot to wear the monitor on this run.

The eight miles this weekend was easier than the seven miles last weekend. My foot didn’t bother me at all until mile 6. Which is a great sign for my foot getting better in my opinion.

I listened to Cake for most of the run - good running music.

Part II: Football

I went to the NC State game with a buddy of mine. Great seats. Noon game. And in the first part of the game there was a glimmer of hope that we might have a chance. But no, we got stomped. And i got really really sunburned. Ouch. The kind that hurts more the next morning and makes it painful to have clothing rub against it.

Then i headed to the local Ohio State bar to watch that demolition, only this time it was the team i was rooting for doing the demolishing. I had half a beer, and then another half a beer, and started to get really drowsy.

Part III: Sleeping

So, with the extreme distance travelled on foot, and the very lengthy amount of time spent in the energy-sapping sun, and the consumption of the relaxant called beer, i went home and crashed. Watched a couple of netflix movies, then slept for ten hours. It was excellent.

Running makes me tired all the time. I’m doing okay with the muscle soreness - it’s not too bad. And i have hopes that my foot will get a little better. And i’m sleeping well. But i’m often tired and cranky. Looking back over my “moods” for the past few weeks of blog entries, i see the trend there, too.

Well, Week 4 of the training is complete, and this week is a tapering week. Maybe i’ll have more energy. Also we went to the grocery store today and bought a lot of GOOD food that should help with energy too.

The King of Kong was an interesting look at the competetive gaming sub-culture. The characters were so strange that you have to laugh at them. Then i remembered my own weird gaming sub-culture of bridge, and, well, i saw visions of the documentary that will be made about bridge. It will be very similar - there will be people you think “that kind of geeky person doesn’t really exist!” but they do!

Anyway, it was definitely worth seeing. Highly recommended.

My relationship with my boyfriend’s dad is amusing.  The following episodes may describe it.

- Last summer, my alma mater (NC State) won the NCAA Bass Fishing championship.  (There’s a collegiate bass fishing competition - who knew?)  Ken somehow discovered this and thought it was hysterical.  He sent me a congratulatory card and a Barbie fishing pole.

- Ken’s alma mater (Ohio State) finished second in the championship games for both football AND basketball in the 06-07 season.  I sent him a baseball hat that said NCSU Bass Fishing which had a picture of a big fat bass on it, along with a card saying “so you can wear something from a team that actually something this year.”

- I received a baseball hat that says Golden Pants Champions 2006.  Players that beat Michigan get a pin of golden pants, or something.

- When the parents stayed overnight at our house recently, i left an April issue of Sports Illustrated on the dresser.  The cover title is “Gator Raid” and talks about the previously mentioned devastating losses of both championship games to Florida.

- For my birthday i received a sweatshirt that says “The Fish Whisperer”.  It’s awesome.

- For Ken’s birthday he received an NC State t-shirt.

There have been a few other subtle things as well.  It’s pretty funny.  (-:

Wow - my 3 mile run this morning was a piece of cake!  It must have been 55 degrees - superb running weather.  And after a super long and hard 7.5 miles on Saturday with plenty of rest and sleep in between, 3 miles was just easy.

Went to the doctor this morning to get tips for how to keep running but reduce damage to (and pain in) my foot.  Turns out, this is not the same foot i had problems with two years ago.  I’m not sure how to feel about that.  On the one foot, it means i have two bad feet.  On the other foot, it means the previously injured foot healed well because it has withstood the training no problem.

Anyways, Doc gave me a plan consisting of stretches, an aggressive ibuprofen regimen for 2 weeks, ice massage, and a contraption called a night sock that stretches the plantar fascia while you rest or sleep.  He’s even optimistic that we may even cure it as opposed to just controlling it.  That would be awesome, so i’m going to be a good patient and follow all my instructions.

I will be getting a new toy this week that will make running updates more quantifiable.

This morning i slept in. It was glorious - i haven’t been getting enough sleep lately. I decided i could sleep in since the weather has been pleasant and it would still be tolerable to run mid-day.

So i slept until 11. By 11:20, i was running.

The last few weeks i have driven myself over to Shelley Lake and run the two-mile lap around the lake multiple times in order to get in my mileage. Today, instead of driving, i RAN to the lake.

It’s a two mile stint from the house to the lake. The first mile was a typical first mile for me, trying to get into a groove with my breathing and waiting for my muscles to warm up. Mile 2 was easy, because it was all downhill, from Six Forks to the Lake. I was not looking forward to having to run back up it later.

At the beginning of Mile 3 i took a quick water break, then ran a partial lap. I was really tired, and starting to think maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to run without eating anything. Too late now. So, 3.5 miles into this run, i figured it was time to try a Goo. Energy Goo or Energy Gel is a mouthful of calories & caffeine to give you energy. I’d never tried one, but this seemed like a good opportunity. It was weird. The consistency was… well, gooey. Not exactly tasty, but it has a not unpleasant orangey flavor. I washed it down with some water, and kept going. 4 miles to go.

At 5.5 miles, i’m finished with the lake and heading back onto the road for the arduous journey uphill. I can’t say that i feel particularly energetic, but i’m still moving so i guess that’s something. As i start to run up the first incline, the edges of my vision start to go black.

I switch to a walk immediately. The sun is beating down, and i can tell my problem is my breathing. I force myself to breathe deeply, cursing the cigarettes i have smoked this week. I walk for a spell, but eventually i convince myself that i’m going to try running uphill again. Focusing on breathing, i persevere. I did take a couple more breaks, but i ran most of it.

The last mile was easy in comparison, and then i was done! 7.5 miles, and i’m starting to believe i will actually be able to do this half-marathon.

‘ve noticed runners tend to be pretty focused. Staring straight ahead, or at the ground about 6 feet in front of them. Sometimes you see two or three people running together, chatting, but more common is the lone runner. Usually they’ll have an ipod or similar device.

When i was a new runner, i felt a little self conscious about passing people and felt like i had to smile or say hello or give some other acknowledgment. But i’ve learned that it’s just okay to run on. In fact, when other people say hello, i’ve noticed it breaks my rhythm to acknowledge them back. So i will no longer be that person.