I am ... doing okay

Well, after Wednesday night's calf cramps, I had to take the rest of the week off from hard physical exercise. I could barely walk Thursday morning; by the end of day, my right calf felt normal again, but the left was still felt like I'd torn something in my calf. By the next morning, the pain had radiated down to my ankle and up to the back of my knee; by Friday night, it had spread even further upward. Fortunately, over the weekend, the pain subsided completely, which let me get back on the road today.

I wish I'd done my running yesterday, as I dawdled getting out of the house today and wound up running during the hottest part. It was 83 degrees for most of my run. I headed straight up and went across the Brooklyn Bridge; my goal was Union Square, but I called a halt after crossing the bridge. (It was nice and cool up there!) I was so overheated and already out of fluid. I bought a Gatorade and a power bar, but that isn't an instant fix for stomach cramps brought on by improper before-run hydration. Stupid Cris. Well, all was not lost. It was a surprisingly good run except right at the end, and my legs didn't give me trouble at all, though they were tired. I put in 4.8 miles, as measured on gmaps, in 58 minutes.

I finally found my Nano when I was cleaning my apartment saturday, so I ran with that and the new shoe sensor I'd ordered while on my big trip. It worked great, but as it read out a distance of 5.76 miles, I knew it needed some calibration!



I proceeded up to Paragon Sports to buy a new pair of running shoes. I wanted to take advantage of tax-free weekend and my NYRR members discount. I also picked up some new bar wrap for my bicycle, including gel inserts, and considered the various types of clip-in pedals. If I go that route, and I do think I want to, it will be a real investment, even for beginner's clips. I think, though, I can do better research in a real bicycle store and then get some stuff online for a much better price.

So I resolved to calibrate my ipod today and waited until the worst of the heat was over, then went out running again. It was only a mile, but it was the first time I've ever done two runs in one day, at least that I can remember. And this mile was steadily-paced, no walking. So I'm pretty happy with that. I'm even happier that I wasn't pushing the pace at all (didn't want to start coughing and have to slow to a walk while calibrating) and still managed a sub-10 minute pace.

So, here's the new shoes.



I got new laces to go with them, too! The regular ones are white, but these, by SofSole, are dark blue and light blue edges - perfect to go with the shoes. Much more manly, too. No more, "hey, nice shoes Cris! Or should I say, 'CRISSY'??" from the peanut gallery. Now I'm a stud in my matching shoes, shoelaces, and Team Boomer running gear. And the fact that this DOES match the TB logo is pure coincidence, I swear. I'm not actually looking to be color-coordinated, really.

So. Not QUITE the seven mile long run I had planned, but nevertheless a good running day. I am doing a show this week, so I don't know if I'll be able to put in my Wednesday run, but I will try. I'm eager to see if the ipod calibration turns out better results.

BTW, if you've been thinking of getting a Nano and the Nike+ kit, hold off a bit. Apple is scheduled to make some announcement on wednesday and it is widely believed they'll be announcing a 3rd gen Nano. If so, it may be time for me to upgrade. I need more storage anyhow. Or if you can't hold off or want a cheap Nano, go to the Apple Store (online) and find the Refurbished section - they have 2GB silver nanos for $99.

ouch

No bicycling to work this morning for me. Had multiple charley horses last night between midnight and 2 a.m. I can barely walk this morning.

I am back on Wednesday runs

What I need is structure; a steady, continual pace of work; predictable and plannable. Of course, that's the GRIND, but it does wonders for getting me out for some exercise.

I changed into running clothes at work at 7:30 p.m. and ran towards home. I have no hope of running 9.5 miles home, not yet, but I thought I'd see how I do. I found the running difficult at first because the muscles I've been straining when bicycling were really not happy. But I didn't have to walk too much and the whole 3.3 miles (I ran to West 4th subway entrance) really felt pretty good. Three apples. A couple of very short walk breaks, but didn't have to walk for every coughing fit, just to catch my breath. The run was a lot better than the one weekend before last, a 2.7 miler that felt like twice that.

I did have opportunity to scream at some smug jerk in a small jeep. He came down the little sidestreet along Chelsea Piers and blasted his horn at a trio of pedestrians crossing from the studios towards the West Side Highway. And they were IN A CROSSWALK. He started blasting from 100 feet back and continued right on through the crosswalk without tapping his brakes. I got a good look at him as I screamed from five feet away, "What's your PROBLEM, Asshole???" and he had what can only be described as a smug "fuck you" smirk on his face.

I was enraged. I ran after him, knowing he had a stoplight up ahead about 300 feet, but he didn't STOP AT THE RED. He went right through it, turning right and went down the WSH. Had I caught up to him, I may have tried to drag him from his hermetically-sealed little rolling coffin and beat him. Yeah, I'd be risking get the shit beaten out of me, but it'd be worth it. And the headlines would be phenomenal - a real motorists v pedestrians kind of thing.

We really need stricter control on licenses, more traffic cops on the street and in general more cops patrolling on foot. We need the police to actually enforce the laws and the most effective way to do that is going to be to start on the front end - by connecting with the community. And you can't do that from inside a patrol car. You hear me, Commissioner Kelly?

More to the point, we need better traffic control in general. That man was the sole occupant in his vehicle and wasn't hauling commercial goods or supplies. That, in my book, is the kind of driver that should be banned in Manhattan, and would be under 24/7/365 HOV laws. I am sure the upcoming traffic study (a precursor to our experiment in congestion pricing) will be revealing, but we could be DOING something about the congestion problem TOMORROW. Literally tomorrow! Are you listening, Mayor Bloomberg?

Oh, and no, you don't have a right to drive in Manhattan, or anywhere else. Driving is a privilege, one that must be earned and one a person has to remain qualified for. Clearly, something in that system has gone awry - because I tell ya, that asshole earlier tonight is by no means a rarity.

I am addicted to work

and it is probably because I'm addicted to things like, oh, food. And shelter. So I work and work and work. I can hardly turn down a paying job if it doesn't conflict (badly) with my other paying gigs.

Unfortunately, it leads to where I am now: probably getting sick. I haven't been running like I should. I worked this whole weekend, and so didn't get run in. To be honest, I prefer to get a full eight hours of sleep rather than cut it to six in order to go run.

So I'm bicycling in to work these days. And I'm loving it, actually. The weather is good, I'm riding pretty well, and my commute time keeps dropping. But it is hell on my legs. I got to work Monday and my legs were jelly. My friend and colleague, Nico, suggested I do what he does: bike in one day, bike home the next. Nine and a half miles is quite a workout (an hour for me) and to do it twice every day is asking for joint trouble, he says.

Well, after working an eleven hour day, I left the building at exactly 8 p.m. and headed home. During the first part of the ride, down to Chambers street along the West Side Highway, I was coughing quite a bit. I brought up a lot of gunk, but at least it was coming freely. And my lungs were feeling better and better. I know I slimed myself at least once, maybe twice.

Now, keep in mind it is dark already and I've got sunglasses on because I forgot my clear riding glasses, but I won't go without eye protection. I can see just fine...mostly. I probably endanger a couple of pedestrians who, like idiots, were wandering in the bike lane as I'm going over the Brooklyn Bridge...

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I know I slimed myself because as the big clock across the river read 8:15, I passed Canal street, coughed, spit, and thought "that didn't quite hit the ground." I saw a dark blob on my sleeve and I smeared it a bit - yep. Slime. Good thing it's dark and no-one will notice.

I got home about 5 minutes 'til 9 - so 55 minutes on the bike at a "working for it" pace. Once I got home, I changed clothes...and found that the expected green smear was not green. It was red. Meaning this was more than minor spotting, this was a pretty good bleed, though not full-on hemoptysis, I don't think.

And this has all happened before: the long slow slide into illness, requiring IVs for several weeks. First the easy running gets difficult, then the coughing increases, then the sputum gets bloody. I still feel good and I'm not having to pause just walking to the subway... but I've got to increase my therapy and running and try to stave this off. I can't afford to get sick until late November, after the dance concert is over.

I also got some good news: Thunder Press will be running my Alaska trip article as a two-parter, even in its shorter, edited version. (My editor cut the epic tale from 14,000 words to 6,800; still about 5,000 words too many for Thunder Press usually.) So this is quite an honor, actually; NOBODY gets two-part articles. It also makes sense, as my article concentrates first on more mundane topics, like how the group got together and how we prepared to go to Alaska; and the second half concentrates more on the adventure itself. At some point, I'll post the expanded version of the article (and I left out a lot, too) and everyone can read it; but that may be awhile since I'm so fuckin' busy.

I am pissed off

So many things have been disappointing lately; chief among them - ME.

The running is not going well. Work sucks up ALL of my time. I am pedaling like hell and it feels like I'm barely making headway, though apparently I am able to make rent. Not much more than that, but at least I can be pissed off with a roof over my head.

Which is a good thing, because it's been fucking RAINING all damn day. It was like the middle of October around here; we even set a record for the coldest August 21st ever. Global warming my ass.

I don't have time even to go shopping enough to get a decent amount of groceries, buy some envelopes, go the post office, etc. Nothing is getting DONE. Just work, sleep, eat, repeat. And I'm in a pissy mood because work is not going well right now at one particular place.

I did run a little last weekend, around my aunt's neighborhood. Again, not a lot of time for running, but at least the jog felt good.

Here's the fact: I'm not going to run the New York City marthon this year. I WILL continue to try to find enough time to run and perhaps can train up enough to run the Staten Island half a month from now. This will be my third year in a row and I've always enjoyed it. I'm not even going to cancel my entry to the NYM, I'll just not show up. I'll easily have enough NYRR races to qualify for next year. Perhaps, when work slows down and I am, essentially, unemployed for most of November through February (perhaps even longer after that, given how work went today), I will be able to train up for a spring marathon. Make no mistake: I will eventually, someday, run the NY marathon. I HAVE to. But it will take a better summer of running than I had this year, which may mean - really - that that summer will be spent mostly unemployed and hurting for money. But time will be available - and with time comes better attention to my running, my therapies, my eating, my health. What a balancing act. I can either own a home, have no life, and work myself sick; or I can be a fabulously healthy homeless dude.

Well, at least dinner will taste good tonight, and since that is ready; adieu.