i might be wrong

Training is starting to catch up with me. My legs are really hurting. I ran 10 miles on Saturday, 4 on Sunday and 4.42 yesterday. Tonight I run with the Road Runner's. I'm looking forward to it, too since I missed last Thursday's class. Wonder what the coaches have in store for us tonight. Speed drills? Centipede? Time trial? Last week they introduced us to a track in Central Park. I didn't even know there was a track in the Park. It's near the 102nd Street Transverse. It's gravel and it's fast. I think my fastest time around was a minute and 24 seconds.

Well, my new Saucony Triumph 4's have given me blisters. The first 2 appeared right after the Brooklyn Half Marathon, however they were flat by the next morning. I currently have a nice big one on the side of my big toe. It's been there for a week or more and I don't know what to do about it. The blister doesn't hurt but I'm afraid it'll burst while I'm running and then it'll throb nonstop. What to do?

Why, consult the internet of course. I Googled "how to treat blisters" this morning and the advice is divided. Some folks advocate popping and draining. Others say to leave it alone and it'll drain into itself on its own (as my first blisters did). I don't really want to pop it because I'm afraid it'll hurt if I do. Right now it doesn't hurt at all. It's just not so nice to look at. I think I'm going to take my mother's advice and go with, if it doesn't bother me then I won't bother it. If it doesn't go away or get smaller by Tuesday night, I'll drain it and treat it with something called NuSkin. Apparently, it is a product used to keep blisters from becoming infected. It is also recommended to get some moleskin and make a donut in it the size of the blisters so it doesn't rub against the sock/shoe while out on the next run. I also learned that wearing 2 pairs of socks can protect one from blisters because the socks rub together and not against your foot. It's a little too hot for that these days. Not that I'm complaining because I felt like winter would never end!

I have been wondering if I should take the sneakers back to Jack Rabbit. The salesman did say I could return them if I get blisters or experience any other problems. It has been almost a month since I bought the shoes, however, so they probably won't take them back.

I love my new shoes despite the blisters. I am faster, they're lighter on my feet, and the design and color have grown on me. I also feel better about the fact that I didn't need those other motion control shoes. There's something about knowing my runner's stride is normal that makes me feel strong. This knowledges give me confidence and makes me feel graceful and fast out on the road.

Speaking of faster, we ran the Central Park track again last night. We did 4 repeats/sprints around the track. Slowest time out was a speedy 1:28. The fastest and last time around was 1:24. Coach Doug said we were at 7 minute pace that last time. I usually don't want to run with Doug because he's really fast and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up with him. Something has moved. I was right on his tail yesterday every time we went around. Right out in front. I will try to run with Doug again next week.

The size 12 dress from Ann Taylor I only wore once. The size 12 Adrianna Papell cocktail dress that I'll never wear again. The Kenmore serger I never used. The Seychelles pumps I bought too big just because I liked them. The guitar, case, tuner, picks, and lesson book. The white vintage steel framed Peugot. The blue vintage steel framed Peugot with a new seat, tire set, front wheel and brake pads. The Original Harvey's Seatbelt Bag in SUV blue. Even the dress form will be sold.

It's all gotta go. It's all for sale on Ebay. Well, the bikes aren't on Ebay but they'll be on Craigslist soon. Right after I take pictures of them.

Here are some of the items you can find on Ebay. I'm letting the dresses go because I don't wear a size 12 anymore and I don't plan on wearing that size ever again. Click the picture to go to the auction. Buy my stuff!

Not bad. Average pace was 10:29. I could have done better. I should have put down the hammer right after the Harlem hills but I was too timid. Next time.

Looks like the new sneakers have caused more problems than blisters. Now it seems I have acute achilles tendonitis. It's been bothering me since the 10M on Sunday and seemed worse tonight on the training run. The pain could be caused by hill running, but I haven't run up any more hills than usual. I can't blame it on "too fast, too soon" either. My speed varies depending on the day. I put ice on it tonight and took a hot bath. It's feeling a little better. I have the Healthy Kidney 10K this Saturday. I will skip the race if my achilles tendon is still giving me grief. I should let it heal.

The Saucony Triumph 4's are not working out for me. I now have pain in my achilles tendon. A coach at the Road Runner's Club suggested it might be my shoes. We'll see if she was right. This weekend I ran 8 miles in my old Saucony MC 5 Stabil's and the pesky tendon started to bother me at 6 miles into the run. It wasn't bad enough to stop me from completing my run (The Williamsburg Bridge was the thing to do me in — more on that later) but it was a little uncomfortable.

Today, I picked up my number for tomorrow's Wall Street Run, which is only 3 miles. On the way back from the Road Runner's Club, Debra and I stopped into The Super Runner's Shop and I talked with sales guy there. I told him what I was running in now and what I'd run in previously. I told him about my gait analysis at Jack Rabbit Sports. He looked at me with a hint of skepticism and told me to take off my shoes and walk across the floor. He watched me walk and stared at my feet. He told me there was no way he'd recommend a neutral shoe for me even though my gait is neutral. The problem is my low arches. He wouldn't recommend a motion control shoe for me either because I don't overpronate. I do need some stability, however, due to the low arch problem. He recommended a stability shoe with no motion control. I tried on some Ascis but found them to be too hard and stiff under the arch so I tried on the Saucony Hurricane. They felt great. They're well cushioned, the have a big toe box and they provide good arch support, but not as much as the MC5's. I'll try them out tomorrow. Deb says she's been running in Saucony Hurricane's for 10 years. I hope I've finally found my shoe.

My Pearl is gone.

I lost my 4 day old Blackberry Red Pearl in a cab last night on the way home. I took it out to check my email and was sloppy about the way I put it back in the bag. I figure it must have fallen out when I went back into my bag for money to pay the cab driver.

I've been calling the number this morning to see if anyone picks up. No one ever does. I filed a missing item report with the TLC. Hopefully someone has found it and turned it in.

I've lost cell phones twice before. The first time I lost a phone was in a movie theater a long time ago. It was a really petite Panasonic phone. I loved that phone. It was small, got good service and was cute as a button. I never got that one back.

The other time was during the New York City Half Marathon last year. The phone fell out of my pocket along the course and an auxillury police officer found it. She went through the phone, noticed I had lot of people in the address book with the last name of Becker and called one of them. Luckily Kristin answered when she called and Kristin passed along this kind person's contact info. I met her at Chelsea Piers and she returned my phone. I was very grateful.

I really do hope the phone is found. I just bought it and it was kind of expensive. I'd like to buy another one, but I don't think I'll be able to afford it.

Shit happens, I guess.

I usually keep a log of my training, but this week I've been a bit lax. So to keep track of my progress, I'll post a recap of my week in running:

Saturday - Didn't run the Healthy Kidney 10K. Missed out on a cool technical shirt. I took the day off the rest my achilles tendon.

Sunday - So much for rest. I couldn't stand it anymore and went for an 8 mile run. The course I ran started as a joke. Over dinner at Dressler, Clay suggested I run over there the next day for brunch. Via Manhattan. I took him up on it. I ran from home, to the Manhattan Bridge, over the bridge, up the Bowery to Delancy Street and then over the Williamsburg Bridge to meet Clay at Dressler again for brunch. I ran slowly because it was hot and I was overdressed for the weather. I was doing great until the Williamsburg Bridge. Had to stop and walk a few steps before I could get back in it. Stopping was a mistake because achilles tendonitis hurts only after you stop running. Thankfully the bridge was the end of the run, so I was able to finish without too much discomfort.

Monday - Designated day of rest

photo by ultraclay

Tuesday - Wall Street Run - 3 Miles - 25:51
My fastest time ever. I ran at an 8:37 pace. A co-worker, Debra, also ran. She beat my time by 11 seconds finishing in 25:40. Ah well. Can't win them all. Anyway, 25 minutes for a 3 mile run is a PR for me. I don't even run training runs that quickly.

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday - Central Park 1/2 Mile Repeats
We practiced water strategy for the races. I ran with Doug, the really fast coach. We did the half miles in between 4 minutes and 4:50. I was pretty whipped when I got home and basically a zombie.

Friday - That's today. I ate a slice a pizza today for lunch. Thin crust, but I feel guilty. I will run from home to the Williamsburg Bridge, over and back. Not sure of the mileage, but I want to do at least 6. Saturday, I can't run because of a wedding and Sunday I'm going to the Bronx. Maybe I'll get out for a run before heading up there.

My Best Friend's Quilt - In Progress, originally uploaded by digitaltammi.

So I can't find this quilt I started before Clay and I moved in together. God, that is such a ridiculous sentence. How could I lose I quilt I'm working on!

This quilt is for Dorla. I was finished with the top and was about to get started on the back. Then the quilting. I do hope I find it. I get really angry/sad/frustrated when I think about how dumb it is to lose an in progress quilt.

Hey, didn't I post about another dumbly lost item this week.

I couldn't figure out how to get the Flick Blog This feature to work with my Movable Type blog. I finally figured it out last week. For those of you who can't get the Blog This feature to work in Flickr with your Movable Type blog, here is some help. I'm using Movable Type 3.33.

Log in to your MT account
Click your name (next to "Welcome" at the top of the screen)
Scroll down until you see the Web Services Password field and enter a password different from the one you use to log in to MT.
Now go to Flickr
Click the You tab and select Your Account
Click Extending Flickr
Select Blogs
Enter your blog's CGI directory and then your login info. Be sure to enter the web services password you just selected.
Save it and you can start blogging directly from Flickr.

I really hope this helps someone. I saw a lot of posts on the Flickr forums about people having this problem and few were able to solve it.

...on the last 6 pounds.

A few weeks ago I posted about having 7 pounds to lose until I reach my goal weight. Well, it's been a few weeks and I've only lost 1 more pound. Unacceptable, I say.

I'm swearing off carbs as much as possible for the next few weeks. The only kink in the plan is Tokyo. Can I get away with not eating rice or noodles over the 10 days we're there? Unlikely.

So what to do? What will my war plan be? What's the secret weapon?

Running.

I'm going to run every day while we're in Japan. At least 4 miles. I'll need to get a long run in there, too of at least 10 miles. I'll get up early and run, even if I have to run around dodging people on the sidewalks and on the streets, I'll run. I'll get to know the back streets. (And seeing the Tokyo streets mapped out on my Garmin is going to be so cool.) If I have to run on the boring ass treadmill, I'll do that, too. And I fuckin hate treadmills.

The war can not be won by running alone so I'm going to implement a simultaneous food offensive. I'll limit my portions, especially on the carb and protein front and eat a lot of fruits and veggies. No dessert. Very little sake drinking. Absolutely no beer. Lots of tea. And no fried foods.

I can do this. I just need to put the work in. I've taken it easy the last couple of weeks. I've had cake and cookies. I ate that biscuit at Amy Ruth's. I've had a lot of barbecue. I was just coasting. That was exactly the wrong thing to do. I was hoping to go into this trip with all the extra weight gone. I still have work to do.

I'm calling you out, 6 pounds. Get ready to get your ass kicked.