Typical...

The universe hates me. As soon as I get really psyched to work out and run and I have my new super awesome running shoes...I get sick. I actually started to get sick on Wednesday, decided to not run but just do some walking on thursday and friday and then as soon as my weekend officially started, I REALLY got sick! I was dizzy and coughy and sneezy and stuffed up-y. I basically laid around ALL DAY doing nothing and taking several naps. Today was the same. More laying around, not much movement and I REALLY don't feel like going to work tomorrow. Of course, even if I was 100% I wouldn't want to go to work. If I get the itchies when I start running again I'm really gonna be pissed!

What has 10 toes and is awesome?

I know your first thought is to jump straight to me, BUT NO not in this case. IT'S MY NEW VIBRAMS!!! I thought I was going to have to wait until Christmas or something but for whatever reason (I am not complaining) Paige decided that we should go and take advantage of the Labor Day sales (of which didn't even apply to the vibrams) and after a lot of thoughtful pondering and reflection I consented!! I will post a picture of a my new totally awesome shoes as soon as I can find the camera but I did some light running in them and it felt pretty good except for one thing that I found out about my feet, or I guess my foot. My second toe on my left foot is really long. It sticks out farther than my big toe; more than it sticks out farther than my big toe on my right foot. HOW STUPID IS THAT!!! I should count myself lucky though. I was born with my feet on backwards. No, not backwards, but on the wrong feet. What I mean is that my left foot was on the right leg and vice versa. At least that is what I gather from the pictures of me as a baby. Anyways, Paige is making some slight modifications to my vibrams to make them ultra personalized. And who knows, maybe my freak toe long-ness will come in handy if I need an edge in racing or if I'm in jail and the guards drop the keys just out of reach of my right foot second toe and then BAM!! I use my other toe AND I'M FREE!!!! No jail can hold me. I digress. Where was I? Goats........no..........running. Goats running? No. Just running. Ok so i ran in my new favorite shoes and HOLY CRAP it has discovered muscles I never knew I had and certainly had never ever ever used before in my entire life!! I can barely walk!! I have had to steam-roller everywhere and do you know how many questions you get when you are steam-rollering to see patients? 7!! 7 Questions!! I don't have time to go into all of them. The vibram people weren't kidding when they said ease into it slowly!

Oops, Itches, and Ouch

I work in the very bowels of hell. I am doing an optometric rotation in my fourth and final year of optometry school so i can't really quit. But that place sucks the very soul and desire to live from every cell in my body. So, when i got home yesterday from work i needed a quick nap. I managed to sweet talk myself from a 10 minute nap in to a 2 hour nap! I was so groggy that i couldn't run and pretty much just laid around like a blob until 1 in the morning when i went back to sleep.

HOWEVER, this morning i woke up earlier than i thought i would have after messing with my sleeping schedule so much and so i decided to get my run in early. I don't know if this happens to every one, or maybe just me, but whenever i have gone a long time without running and then i start running again my whole body itches! Like all over!! Maybe its dry skin? I don't really know, but it sucks and i have to stop running and scratch like crazy until I'm bleeding!! After consistent running for a few days my body adjusts and it doesn't happen anymore though. I HATE IT! So i am going through that phase right now.

Finally to the ouch. So my running shoes suck. I really want those vibram 5 fingers, but until then i have two choices. Run in my sucky shoes or go barefoot. I started off with my shoes and noticed that my feet were very uncomfortable. I ran another whopping 2 times around the track, then i walked one, then ran another and i decided that on my final lap that i would run barefoot! Ahhh, the way nature intended. When i reached that point i flung off my shoes and starting jogging around the track NAKED!!! Well, naked feet anyway. First thing i noticed: holy crap this asphalt is made of broken glass!!! It was just pretty rough on my pads. Other than that though, it felt AMAZING! It was exhilarating to be running in bare feet because i felt just like a kid and my feet didn't feel uncomfortable like they did when in the shoes and once i hit a part of the trail that was smoother concrete it felt even better!!! A few more times around the asphalt part and my feet should be much tougher and i should be able to run longer without those ridiculous clod-hoppers i call running shoes.

This is going to be trickier than i thought

Soooooooo, here's what happened: I was all ready to go out and run a full on marathon. I was stretched (even the little toes), i was hydrated, my shoes were tied and out the door a go..........oh wait NO!!! Turns out that paige was having a crisis of universal proportions. She was hungry. and sleepy. The sleepiness prevents her from being able to get food and the food prevents her from getting the energy she needs to be alive etc etc etc. So instead of running, i now have to pick up my wife and carry her to the car and take her to Potbelly. I wasn't even hungry but i didn't want to be rude at the sandwich shop so i ordered something as well. I told myself that i wouldn't eat my sandwich until i had gone running but paige informed me that my sandwich would become soggy and gross if i didn't eat it right away! Sooooooo, i ate my sammich. Then i went running. Then i almost barfed. I actually only did two laps around the park behind our house which is about not quite a half mile. Lets say it was 2/5ths of a mile. Lesson learned: don't run right after eating. Even if i hadn't eaten, i don't think i would have lasted much longer. I didn't realize just how far out of shape i had become but at least i got out there today. You have to start somewhere, right?

In the big inning

Hi, you have no doubt accidentally stumbled upon my blog. I strongly suggest you turn back now because even the smallest glimpses into my mind can cause irritable bowel syndrome. That seems appropriate based off of the title of my blog, but this blog is actually about running, not the runs (although don't be surprised if something about fecal matter ends up posted here). I read a book called "Born to Run" and was infected with the urge to run. And run. And run. That was several weeks ago and I am yet to get above 1.5mph. BUT TODAY IS THE DAY FOR REAL!!! Unless I find something else to do, but that is the purpose of this blog, to help motivate me by keeping track of my running. My ultimate goal? Marathons. Ironmans. Ultras. Being the first to run across the English channel. Yes, my goals might be lofty and in some cases not likely, but I am not a goal oriented person, so the fact that i have them is a HUGE leap forward. Ok, enough of this drivel, I'm going running, I'll probably be back in about 5 minutes.