I'm going to participate in what Caution: Redhead Running and runjessrun call Three Things Thursday. I have to say, I've had a LOT of fun discovering these blogs and the blogs they link to. I started reading a few scrapbooking blogs a few months ago, and it's fun to do the same with running. I have some ideas of new directions for this blog, I think.
1. Tuesday and today I ran on the 'mill, 4 miles each day. Like I said in my last post, I'm working on pace these days. Today, I'm happy to report, I shaved 8 seconds per mile off my average pace, down to 9:33/mile, still including a (shorter) warm-up and cool-down. I'm pretty excited about the long run this weekend, since having more miles between the warm-up and cool-down will mean more time to bring that average pace down.
2. Both days, I had no choice but to shower at the gym before returning to work. It had been a long time since I'd done this and I'd consequently forgotten the...experience, we'll call it.
On Tuesday I was half way to campus before realizing that I'd left my flip flops at home, and I didn't have time to go back. All through my run I debated what to do about this. Could I get away without showering? Could I shower in my socks (no, too porous I decided)? Did I dare shower barefoot? Then it occurred to me--running clothes are made to dry quickly. I could stand on one of my articles of clothing, then trust it to dry out during the day. But what? I settled on my shorts. So there I was, standing in the shower on my shorts. When I got out I threw them in the bathing suit drying thingamajig, then threw them in my gym bag. We do what we must. :) I wasn't gonna do something crazy like miss my run!
Today I got of double dose of gross in the locker room. Upon entering the first shower stall I saw that its previous user had stuck her boogers and hair to the wall. GROSS!! So I backed out quickly and moved down a few stalls. The partitions between stalls don't go all the way to the floor, so you see the feet of the person next to you. About half-way through my shower I looked down and saw bare feet with disturbingly long toe nails. Eeeeww!! PEOPLE--certain bits of disgusting behavior are permitted among runners (e.g., discussions about missing toenails, chafing) but seriously?!? Pull yourselves together.
3. DISCOVERY! I've read a few times recently (once in RW, once from my teammate AM) that setting the incline on the 'mill to .5% or 1% better mimics running outdoors. To be honest, I was skeptical. It just sounded like more....work. But on Tuesday I tried it and I am officially a new fan. I think that it's helped ease the common treadmill shin problems, and it really *does* feel more like running outside. Effort-wise, I don't even notice the change. Do it! And please let me know how it works for you.
mileage: 37.9 + 4.0 + 4.0 = 45.9
3 comments:
Ick...I thought about braving the locker room today at my run, but I'm now rethinking.
I saw the same thing about the incline in RW and I tried it, but I ended up with some major hip pain. But I jacked it up to 1%...maybe I'll try the .5%.
i retold your story (in so many words) to Husband after we had lunch the other day. and i couldn't stop laughing even as i told it to him. i don't think he got it quite the way i did (i guess you had to be there ;-) )
N-I know! While writing that blog post I was trying to recreate our conversation but maybe you just had to be there. Or live with us in college. :)
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