Thanksgiving Weekend

I'm thankful for so many things this year, but a big one is having friends from home in Barcelona.

What Would You Do?

I’ve had a rough last couple of weeks. Work has been stressful, life even more so, and I haven’t gotten much running in because I’ve been dealing with lingering leg pain. Not running makes me less capable of dealing with stress and sadness and thus begins the endless cycle of winter woes! However, I think I’m winning the battle with this leg pain. A trip to the osteopath helped quite a bit as has cutting way back on mileage and switching back to stability shoes. Now here’s my dilemma: I’ve signed up for a half marathon for next Sunday and I haven’t done a long run in over two weeks. Come to think of it I’ve only done one run over 5 miles in the last two weeks! I have been running short distances consistently and cross-training…

Should I try to sell someone my number? Or just run slowly and take it as a training run for my next half on January 31st? I already missed a 10-k due to the leg pain and missing another race would really fustrate me at this point.

Sometimes

Sometimes it rains all day and your hip hurts a lot and that scares you because you're secretly terrified that the joy that is running will suddenly be taken away.
Sometimes you have a long, tiring but positive and productive day at work.
Sometimes, despite promises to yourself to rush to run group right after work, you decide to enjoy your excellent work outfit for a little while longer and you invite your charming coworker to have a beer and sometimes,
not always, but sometimes, that's perfectly alright.

Shoe Review

Anyone who’s ever run a mile in Barcelona knows that Domingo Catalan, owner of Atleta’s shop and world champion in the 100 km, is a running sage. Domingo—who loves cats and New York City, but loathes George Bush—is both wise and witty. He will not allow you to request a specific brand or size of shoe. “Brands and sizes don’t matter!” he yells as he takes a look at your feet. He brings out four or five pairs of shoes, all different sizes and brands and you (obediently and gratefully) try them all on, even if they look too small or way too big.

Last week, my visit made Domingo uneasy. First of all, he was dismayed that such a pretty girl (the man knows how to charm the lady runner) could have such ugly toes. “I’m concerned about those nasty nails,” he said. “And I’m sure your husband is as well.” Secondly, Domingo was running low on women’s shoes. My next-door neighbor, Lourdes, is NYC-marathon-bound and she had just gotten the last pair of Mizunos in our size so Domingo came out with some men’s shoes, the Saucony Progrid Jazz 13. I gave him so lip about the fact that maybe men’s shoes would be too wide for my narrow heels, but he told me that these would be perfect and, of course, they are! After three pairs of Asics 1100s, it turns out that a neutral shoe made for a small man feels great—at once light and cushiony. Also, these guys are bright red with black laces so I feel really cool and tough in them!

At first, the arch felt too flat. Perhaps I was missing that snug arch support you get in the Asics, but after a few runs it seems that the Sauconys have formed to my foot. My toes have lots of wiggle room and so far my knees and ankles feel fine and dandy.

Have any other women tried wearing men’s shoes? Have you switched from stability to neutral shoes?

October Stats and New Goals

My October goals were to

- run 125 miles (this will include a taper week pre-half marathon and maybe a few rest days) I ran 134 miles.
- discover some new long run routes I did, although I still like running along the beach best of all. Cars and pollution make the rest of Barcie a very rough place to run.
- PR in half marathon by a whole heck of a lot Ahem, we all know how this turned out. I pr'ed technically, but I wasn't happy with my performance. I've learned a lot about myself and have been humbled, which is a good thing.
- finish current short story and send it out, then start another Still working on finishing "Mireille," but I have started two new stories. The fall weather will help me write more.
- write outline for thesis statement Big fat zero.
- stop doing so much trash talking at work. Just go in, write my texts, answer my emails, and get out in time to run. I've done well with this one! My mantra: "I'm just a busy little worker bee with fantastic work fashion." I eat my lunch from a tupperware and steer clear of gossip.
- start marathon training! Deep breath. I don't know what to do! After my last half, a marathon just seems impossible--too big & too stressful-- so for right now I'm concentrating on doing more shorter races and being more disciplined about food and cross training. However, I do have the full-marathon training program printed out and I can still dream.

November Goals

-run 145 miles
-cross train for real
-send two stories out
-cut back on sugar
-have fun at my 10k