It's over, man. Let her go.

April 26, 2024

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Location:

Bliss,ID,USA

Member Since:

Jan 04, 2010

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Recover From Injury

Running Accomplishments:

In late 2008 I decided I needed to get in better shape and started running again. I ran my first formal road race ever, a half marathon, in late 2009.

(unofficial) Track 1 Mile - ~~7:32 (4/24/2010)~~ 6:56 (9/27/2010)

5k - ~~27:31 - Riverview Run on 06/11/2010~~
22:39 - Gatorade Steelers 5k on 09/04/2010

10k - 50:43 - Riverside Run on 04/10/2010

Half - ~~2:02:58 - Just a Short Run on 03/27/2010~~
1:51:47 - IKEA Montour Trail Half on 09/11/2010

Short-Term Running Goals:

2011 Races:

Sept 25 - The Great Race 10k (59:15)
Nov 5 - Dirt Monster 5mi (52:59)

2012 Races:

June 8 - Riverside 5k (27:49)
Sept 2 - Gatorade Steelers 5k (route) with Steve! (27:39)
Sept 30 - The Great Race 10k (route) (53:48)
Nov 3 - The Dirt Monster 5mi (52:55)

2013 Races:

May - Pittsburgh Marathon (started, but DNF about the half way point)
June - Riverview 5k - Bummed I missed signing up for this one. It's one of my favorites!
Sept - Gatorade/Steelers 5k. (Signed up!)
Sept - IKEA Montour Trail Half (prob not, but leaving it on here)
Sept - The Great Race 10k (My Running 101 goal race)
Nov - Dirt Monster 5mi (Gotta do it again no matter what!)

Long-Term Running Goals:

Finish recovering from my injuries and build mileage. That is all.

Personal:

My name is Wes, I'm married with two wonderful children. The nickname BaldNSpicy came from the fact that I have been balding for a (long) while now and spicy for my love of very spicy foods (Thai and extremely hot wings are my favorites). If eating doesn't bring me near tears and leave me sweating, it's not worth eating. :-)

Oh, and I'm also known for my doorags.

Favorite Quotes:

"Running without hills is like motorcycling without corners." - rAtTLeTrAp

"Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you do repeatedly." - Shaquille O'Neal

"A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else." - John Burroughs

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:	This week:	0.00	Month:	0.00	Year:	0.00
NB 758s #2 Lifetime Miles:						596.90
Brooks Cascadia 7 Lifetime Miles:						165.17

Wed, Apr 21, 2010

Slow miles	Fast miles	Total Distance
4.42	0.00	4.42

The last 4 days have been horrible, but I got out today so I have to be happy about that. My weight is way down (170 is about normal for me)...not surprising with everything that has been going on.

Anyhoo, this was a pretty flat out and back along the river downtown. I felt really sluggish and definitely dehydrated, big time. You know when you're about 1/2 mile into your run and you've got cotton mouth, you're feeling sluggish, and have a side stitch that you haven't hydrated well and it's just not going to be a good run. The sun felt good and it was nice to just get out of the office.

I didn't wear my Garmin and just went by feel, concentrating on taking it easy and trying to stride out a little more but keep a midfoot strike, work the hamstrings, etc. I really felt I was keeping about a 9:45-10:00 pace but when I got back and put it into mapmyrun.com, I was very surprised by the splits. I tried to pick it up coming back, but I was running into the wind part of the time, so I missed my negative splits by a couple seconds.

Out / Back - 8:46 / 8:47, 8:20 / 8:22, 1:45 / 1:44 (0.21 = 8:20 / 8:15 paces)

Slightly slower coming back. It was a good run...just need to keep it up and DRINK!

Commentary: If you want funny video clips and pictures, see RivertonPaul. If you want funny Photoshop'd pictures, see Burt. Me? I tell funny (to me) stories. Ok, so my bare feet have never touched the floor of a locker room...EVER. I've always been paranoid about getting athlete's foot, etc. So I always wear flip flops - thongs to some people (I prefer to wear my thongs elsewhere, but I digress) - from the time I take my socks off after exercising, into the shower, until I can stand on my towel getting dressed. Now that you know my issues and my locker room rituals (TMI, I know), here is the funny part.

So, I took only the bare minimum to work today in my work backpack and left my gym bag at home since I didn't feel like toting it in, hence no Garmin, etc. But when I get to the locker room, I realize that I didn't bring my flip flops. Paranoia sets in...do I let my bare feet touch the floor and the (gasp) shower? Do I not run? Do I just not shower (ewww)?

I ran, figuring I'd think of something...and I did. Got back and wore my socks into the shower. I'm quite certain the few other people in the locker room thought I was a freak, but hey, I wasn't going to risk athlete's foot the ONE time my bare feet touch the floor! That's like....nevermind. At least I wasn't wearing my 80's tube socks! Could you imagine the looks then???

NB 758s #1 Miles: 4.42

Weight: 161.00

Comments

From Burt on Wed, Apr 21, 2010 at 19:45:35 from 206.19.214.144

You're a NEVERNUDE!!! LOL!

From Coach Cara on Wed, Apr 21, 2010 at 23:50:26 from 74.107.148.31

Uh-oh, you DO know that germs pass through wet material just as though you had nothing on--right? I mean, not to make you paranoid or anything. Also, shopping carts are one of the germiest places ,along with keyboards. And have you ever thought about how people cough into their hands at a buffet restaurant, then go and touch the tongs? AND, to make it worse, they lay the tongs on top of the food, so even if you're wise enough to use a napkin to hold the tongs, you are still in germ danger unless you grab the item that's in the very back, where the tongs have not touched. But then, who knows what the cooks have done to the food. Not to make you paranoid, of course.

BTW, wow! Your comfortable pace is looking the same as mine! :-) I love that pace.

From baldnspicy on Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 10:46:14 from 72.95.170.250

Burt - LOL

Cara - I guess I won't be frequenting the Chinese and Indian buffets that I enjoy downtown for lunch. I hope they can pay their light bill. ;-)

From SlowJoe on Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 10:49:50 from 131.59.200.82

Wow, I would think the socks would make it feel more gross but I guess you're more worried about the fungus than the germs. Way to feed the beast Coach Cara!

Anyway, that's a legit fear - I spent some time at a base in the middle east where we were lucky enough to have showers but they were a recipe for foot problems. If you didn't wear sandals everywhere, there was no question that you would pay for it. So I feel your pain.

From flatlander on Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 12:39:09 from 198.207.244.102

Sounds like running is good therapy for you this week. Don't worry, if you get itchy feet you will just run faster (I mean "faster", sorry, I forgot the rule).

From baldnspicy on Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 15:22:16 from 72.95.170.250

Thanks Joe! Glad to know someone else is feelin' my struggle. :-)

Flat - running is ALWAYS good therapy! I hope to gain my "speed" through natural hard work, proper eating, sleeping, etc., rather than through the acquiring of a fungus. Besides, once the fungus is gone, I'm back to being a slowsky!

That would be like Jose Canseco going off steroids.

From KP on Fri, Apr 23, 2010 at 10:33:36 from 65.208.22.25

great story, john! i would be the complete opposite and could care less about shoes in the shower, etc. i walk around my office barefoot on most days (when i wear sandals to work, like today).

From RivertonPaul on Fri, Apr 23, 2010 at 12:19:52 from 67.42.27.114

Can't be too careful.

From baldnspicy on Fri, Apr 23, 2010 at 19:40:36 from 72.95.170.250

Oh, and Cara - our "comfortable" paces are not the same. You can keep that pace for 26.2 miles (easy) and I struggle with 4-5. LOL

I won't even get into the low 140 HR you have and the high 160 that I have at that same pace. But then again, I am older than you. :-)

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