How Much Discomfort Can I Tolerate?!

Weather - 71 degrees, sunny.

Amazing weather for November 1. My run was very enjoyable, the leaves in town and in the woods are yellow and red, and the warmth feels great.

After the run I stopped at Strawberry Fields, bought a sandwich, fruit, and juice, and sat under a nearby tree and had a satisfying lunch.

#351

Weather - 72 degrees, sunny.

Another great autumn day. Rachel and I went to Homer Lake, I ran, and she hiked. I did a full loop of the forest paths, the trees were spectacular. I ate too much before running, and it felt like a basketball was dribbling inside my stomach, but I still managed 7.5 miles.

#352

Weather - 74 degrees, sunny.

It felt like summer, looked like autumn, a good combination for training, so I ran to the South Farms and looped back through MBK to the arboretum.

After the run 3 sets of strength exercises, stretching, and 30 minute walk home.

#353

Weather - 73 degrees, sunny.

My allergies are lessening, and since it is still warm, I am able to run at close to normal speed. 

The last few days I have had good running energy, most likely caused by long, deep sleep. Today ran 10.50 miles  on the South Farms/MBK loop. After mile 5 I picked up the pace, but still was able to breathe easy. The final mile was the fastest, it felt really good.

I voted this morning.....

#354

Weather - 74 degrees, sunny.

Felt a bit of muscle soreness in my quads, so just an easy 3 miles today, then 2 sets of strength exercises, stretching, and 30 minute walk home. 

#355

Weather - 58 degrees, raining.

 I felt good on my run today. I was hoping to run in the rain, and the weather cooperated. The temp was 62 when I started, but dropped to 58 with some moderate wind when I finished. I was planning to run 3 hours, and I ran the South Farms/MBK loop 12 minutes faster than last weeks 3 hour run. I have been getting good sleep, and my lungs are returning to normal, and on my run today I had to keep slowing myself down because there is no need to run 8:00 minute miles for 3 hours. I think I averaged 8:30 miles, which is 30-45 seconds faster for my long runs during the last 2 months.

I stopped to refuel at Strawberry Fields, ate a hummus sandwich, banana, and some blue juice in about 6 minutes. When I restarted my run I could feel the chill of the wind and rain and decided 12 miles was good enough, so I ran a half mile back home and called it a day.

I am having a good week of training, so my confidence is beginning to return.

#356

Weather - 42 degrees, cloudy, windy.

November weather has finally arrived. I felt a strange tightness in my chest at the beginning of my run, so I decided to take it easy and run only 3.5 miles.

After the run 3 sets of strength exercises, stretching, and 30 minute walk home.

#357

Weather - 35 degrees, cloudy, windy.

Ahhh, cold, windy weather with gray skies -  a perfect day for running with an iPod.

I have been training on feel for the past couple of months, no set plans for any day. Today I found myself heading once again to the South Farms. It has such a lonely, melancholic beauty which interacts well with a solitary runner. I did a modified loop for 8 miles.

My iPod was perceptive of the mood of the day, the shuffle chose some appropriate music for such a blustery afternoon - Les Yeux Fermes : II Happy Ending, by Terry Riley; Philip Glass' Koyaanisqatsi; Death is a Disease and Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell - that is some heavy-hearted sound.

I have ended up with weekly mileage in the low 50's recently, and I am taking it easy, so I must still have some good fitness left over from the summer.

This morning I went photographing at the railyard, and while tramping around with my tripod and camera equipment discovered that carrying a heavy backpack yesterday morning was the cause of my peculiar chest tightness. Today the tightness was gone, so maybe it was a muscle spasm in the pecs.

#358

Weather - 33 degrees, windy, cloudy.

It felt like winter today, so I wore a lot of layers and trudged to the park and woods. After 2 miles my legs started to feel loose so I picked up the pace a bit. Just an easy 5 miles while admiring all the leaves on the ground.

I noticed that November 9, 2007 was my first blog entry at FRB, and I ran 5 miles that day. So I have made a full rotation around the sun, my commitment to running and staying fit not wavering. With a full year of consistent running behind me, perhaps this year more progress can be made. I certainly feel more confident because I remained injury free, and I can run a variety of distances, from 5k's to ultras. Not much is holding me back right now.

Running in the cold today, it was like I never left last winter. In a perverse way, I kind of enjoy winter running, the toughness acquired last year never left me, and I am ready once again to battle the elements in my quest to remain fit.

#359

Weather - 28 degrees, sunny.

Cold, but clear, and I seem already accustomed to cold weather trudging. Did the South Farms/MBK modified loop again. I actually saw another runner on the South Farms dirt road.

During my 2 mile warmup I saw 2 ginko trees releasing an endless stream of golden leaves. It was a spectacular show, it looked like the sky was dropping sunrays. I stood beneath the trees and listened to the leaves striking the ground, it was just like rain.

After my warm-up I stopped at the arboretum and did 3 sets of strength exercises and stretching, then started the South Farms loop.

#360

Weather - 36 degrees, cloudy, raining.

36 degrees and rain is normally not a good combination, but riding my bike home from work in the rain felt pretty nice, so I was looking forward to my run. 

I did not have a plan for the run, I just wanted to get out the door and enjoy the interesting weather. I first ran to the park and Busey Woods and did a loop, admiring all the colors of the leaves - on the ground. Especially beautiful were the bare ginko trees. Unlike other trees, the leaf of the ginko falls consistently straight, and the weight of the leaf prevents them fron being blown around. Thus a clean circle of yellow leaves surrounds the base of the trees. Today I saw numerous Ginkos surrounded by a ring of yellow color, which made me stop to admire the odd mixture of late autumn gray/brown with bright yellow. 

I was feeling good after the woods loop so I decided to run to the arboretum. Once there I decided to head to the South Farms, and I enjoyed the muddy starkness of the dirt road and empty fields. When I was cutting through the harvested corn field a flock of crows flew into the air and I stopped to watch them battle the wind and the rain. The gray sky and rain, the large black birds, the "caw caw" sound, the muddy muted colors, with me standing solitary in the middle of a large field, reminded me of Van Gogh's last painting, and I once again felt the heavy melancholy of the season. I shook my head in awe and continued on with the run.

I ended up doing a full loop of the South Farms, and I finished the run in front of Jimmy John's, so I stepped inside to get a #6 veggie sandwich. I walked home, sandwich in hand, eating and grinning in the rain, my hands getting cold, and the wetness finally beginning to chill me. I was looking forward to a hot bath...

#361

Weather - 48 degrees, cloudy, misty rain.

Today was similar to yesterday, only 13 degrees warmer, and not raining as hard. 

I went out the door looking forward to another run, and after only 3 blocks I found myself moving quick. It normally takes me 2 miles to warm up, so I was surprised to feel so energetic and loose. After 1 mile I realized that my feeling of lightness was probably caused by my loss of 2 or 3 pounds. Yesterday I was slogging around town in 2 pairs of soaked sweats, 3 shirts, 2 jackets, and a hat. Today was just shorts and 3 shirts, and I was only misted, not saturated with rain. 

Today was also the first day in a while where my lungs were at 100% capacity. No matter how fast I ran my breath stayed calm, and my pulse remained consistently low. 

The run went by so fast, and before I knew it I had already covered yesterday's route, but 8 minutes faster. I even finished at Jimmy John's and got another sandwich. It was easier walking home today because it was warm.

#362

Weather - 47 degrees, cloudy, windy.

"If we really want to live, we'd better start at once to try; If we don't, it doesn't matter, but we'd better start to die" - W. H. Auden

The above quote is from the opening page of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book "Finding Flow". I was reminded of this book on my run today because I was reflecting on why I feel so good when running long distance.

I once again ran the same loop I have been traversing for the past two days. In the hours leading up to these runs I can feel my body/mind craving the experience which occurs at about the 70-90 minute mark of the run - when the energy level begins to swing back and forth, and my being becomes wholly immersed in the experience.

"The metaphor of 'flow' is one that many people have used to describe the sense of effortless action they feel in moments that stand out as the best in their lives. Athletes refer to it as 'being in the zone', religious mystics as being in 'ecstasy', artists and musicians as aesthetic rapture."

I have found various activities which  produce this flow-like experience - photography, reading, chess/poker, and of course, running. I have also found activities which produce the opposite reaction to flow, which is when time seems to stand still, for all the wrong reasons. I will admit that so called "parties" have always had a sobering (even when drunk) effect upon me, and is an activity I place in the anti-flow category - time slows down to a crawl, I feel mental discomfort, and I look for any excuse to get out of the crowded room.

Some people would call this outlook anti-social, but that is a negative term which does not fit. It is not the people I don't like, it is rather having to endure gossip and idle chit chat. "Pro-solitude" is perhaps a more accurate word.

But to get back to my recent training days, I have found that once the run extends long enough, flow, which was already present from the beginning of the run, becomes more intense, and could be called "flow squared".  It is such a potent experience that I very well could be addicted to it. I can think of worse addictions, I suppose.

After the run I wanted to do some strength exercises, but instead I stopped at Jimmy John's and ate a sandwich as I walked home.

#363

Weather - 49 degrees, cloudy, raining.

A time in the not so distant future :

Will : "Hello, my name's Will"

 Crowd : "Hi Will"

Will : "I'm a runaholic, and I haven't had a training run in 24 days.

Crowd : claps

Will : "umm, sometimes when I am at work, I read running blogs when the boss isn't in the room. I am trying hard to kick that habit. I find myself having trouble listening to people because my mind constantly daydreams about what it feels like to run a 5:30 mile. In my closet at home I have 9 pair of running shoes and 46 race tshirts. I know I should throw them in the trash, but if I ever have to paint the house, they could be put to use.  It is my hope that with the help of this group, I can kick my running addiction."

#364

Weather - 38 degrees, cloudy.

I was finally able to run a short distance today, although if I had not overdressed, and was bothered by nipple chafe, it may have been a different story.

Yesterday was another great run, a steady rain fell for the first 9 miles, then it just misted for the final 8. I was so into the pleasure of running that I did not notice that my left nipple was bleeding. Usually that can be a painful experience, but it wasn't until I saw the round red stain on my bottom running shirt when I got home that I realized the heavy soaked clothing had caused problems.

Today my nipples were sore, and I thought it was going to be colder, so I was sweating a good amount. Those two things made me stop at 4 miles.

It is hard to believe how well my legs are holding up with all the middle-distance long runs I did this week. I thought for sure that I would be a little sore from yesterdays 17 miler, but instead my legs were lively and felt fine.

365 consecutive days of running. I didn't know if I had the type of body that could withstand the strain of everyday running, but I had no injuries, and there was rarely a day that I felt like I couldn't go. I was sick only 2 or 3 days, but I was still able to get out the door and run a mile or two.

This week I have been running as if in a dream. I have two types of running dreams, either I am going so slow that it feels like a crawl, bending over, even, to claw my way to the next step, or I am moving effortlessly quick, and for a long distance. These fast runs usually occur along the Chicago lake shore, probably because I lived there for 6 years in the 90's. This week I was going effortlessly long, and although it wasn't very quick, it felt fun and good. The fact that I am not tired at the end of the week from doing 75 miles in singles lets me know that I wasn't overdoing it, or trying to reach some mileage goal come hell or high water. It was just running in its purest form, to get out the door, to live life for the joy of it, to see and to be in the beauty of the world.

Without the 365 days of running, perhaps this week could not have been possible. It took a whole year to get to the point which my dreams declared was possible. A year is long time, but then again, it is not. May year two be just as long, and short....

#365

Now that I am making photographs again, I will sometimes post new pictures here. It does not have much to do with running, but it shows what I see when I am out on my training runs. 

Weather - 32 degrees, cloudy.

The colder weather is not too inspiring, so I ran just an easy 4 miles today.

#366

I made this print a few days ago :

Wyalusing, WI, No. 1
Printed 2008

Weather - 31 degrees, cloudy, snowing, windy.

I was not intimidated by the weather, so I ran the now routine South Farms/MBK loop. It felt nice to run in the first snow, although it was only light flakes with nothing on the ground. The final 5 miles were into a stiff wind, so it was a challenge to finish. I kept my mind on the Jimmy Johns sandwich awaiting me at the end of the run, that was good inspiration.

I stopped at the 2 mile mark of the run to do 3 sets of strength exercises, then I started the run again.

#367

A few days ago I made a print of the sculpture which I pass during the MBK portion of the loop. A few weeks ago there was a field burn and the black earth, gloomy sky, and the sculpture seemed like a powerful combination. I'm not sure I expressed its essence, but it felt good to  try.

November Loss
Printed 2008

Weather - 32 degrees, sunny, no wind.

The usual, 13.75 miles and a Jimmy John's sandwich.

#368

A print made last week :

The Railyard, Winter Study
Printed 2008

Weather - 40-45 degrees, sunny, windy.

13.75 miles, 3 sets of strength exercises, and 1 Jimmy John's sandwich.

I registered today for the Clinton Lake 30 mile Trail Run on March 28, 2009. Game on...

#369

Print made a couple of weeks ago :

Wyalusing, WI, No. 2
Printed 2008

Weather - 32 degrees, cloudy, windy.

I was planning to run short, but before I knew it I had already covered 7 or 8 miles, so I decided to challenge myself and go long. When I turned into the 15mph wind at mile 9 I had to slow down and it was a struggle to move forward. 

At mile 15 I reached the arboretum hill, and I stopped, thinking the run was over. I was tired, I had been running against the wind for 6 miles, and the last thing I wanted to do was run up the hill. But my mind became inspired, thinking - "I have run 15 miles to get to this point, which is really the start line of the long run. Do I really want to stop at the starting line?" I started running up the hill and so had my answer.

The final 5 miles were on the South Farms/MBK loop, and it was not as pleasant as the first time around. I now had to battle my growing fatigue along with the elements, but I am happy to say I completed the run, and I feel it was one of my more gutsy training runs.

I did the whole run without food or water, and since I did not bring any money along, could not even reward myself afterward with a Jimmy John's sandwich.

The 2 mile walk home against the wind seemed more difficult than the preceeding 20 miles. I was tired and could not keep my eyes open, I wanted to lay down on someone's front lawn and fall asleep. I was happy when I arrived at my doorstep.

#370

I made this print 2 days ago :

The Railyard, Autumn Study
Printed 2008

Weather - 27 degrees, sunny.

I realized today when I started my run that somehwhere in the last 2 or 3 months I have become stronger and fitter. How else to explain feeling fresh as a daisy the day after a tough 20 miler? 

I felt like running another 20, or at the least, my usual 13.75 route, but yesterday at mile 15 I promised my body a short easy one today, so I settled for a South Farms/MBK half loop.

Last year at this time 6.5 miles was my long run. Amazing how far one can go in one year.

After the run 3 sets of strength exercises and 30 minute walk home.

#371

Printed last month :

The Railyard, Winter Study
Printed 2008

Weather - 29 degrees, cloudy.

Just an easy 4 miles. I wanted to give my body 2 days of short running for recovery. Feeling good, just being safe.

Afterward 3 sets of strength exercises, stretching, and 30 minute walk home.

#372

Printed a couple of days ago :

Weather - 45-35 degrees, clear.

I worked in the darkroom in the early afternoon, then got out the door for my run at 3:15pm. The weather was very nice for late November, and I wore shorts and 3 shirts. Consequently I felt very light, and the run was beautiful and effortless. 

It is hard to believe running 13.75 miles can seem so easy. I get into a trance-like zone after 1 or 2 miles, all discomfort fades, and I am left with the late autumn sunlight and a few field crows pushing me onward.

Part of the reason my daily mileage has recently increased is because of having found the South Farms route. I have an affinity with the landscape there. When I start my run I don't know how many miles I am in for, and I usually begin by going to Busey Woods. After 3 or 4 miles I find myself running to the arboretum, and once there I can't resist the pull of the South Farms. Once on the dirt road I feel happy and child-like, and I gaze at the sublime beauty that surrounds me.

When I reached the South Farms road today the sun was sinking into the horizon, and the sky was an  ethereal pink/orange/pearl blue, with clouds shooting like arrows into space. I stopped a few times to gaze at various vistas, and I thought of Van Gogh, how he would have liked to paint the big clumps of shadowed dirt that edged off the road into endless space.

Once I got into the corn fields I felt the depth of the fast fading shadows, and the cool evening air put a charge into my stride. 

When I reached run's end at Jimmy John's, the last vestiges of light were being swallowed by long lines of car lamps. 

#373

I made a second version of the Railyard, Winter Study a few days ago :

Weather - 44-34 degrees, clear.

Another mild day, and I started at 3:15 pm again, so when I got to South Farms the sun was setting. Very inspiring to be out there when the light is fading and the air is turning cold. 

I wanted to do some strength exercises, but it was dark and I was hungry. Tomorrow I will have to do some.

#374

Print made 2 days ago :

Lake Study, Fog Effect
Printed 2008

Weather - 38-29 degrees, clear.

There is only one thing better than running the South Farms, and that is running the South Farms at dusk...

#375

Printed last year :

North Avenue Beach, Chicago
Printed 2007

Weather - 45 degrees, sunny.

Nice weather, but my energy was down, so only 4 miles. Did 3 sets of strength exercises, stretching,  and 30 minute walk home.

#376

Printed last month :

Lake Pontchartrain Study
Printed 2008

Weather - 35 degrees, sunny.

Just some easy miles before leaving town.

#377

Weather - 38 degrees, clear. 

Caught a cold, so decided it was not wise to run more than a few miles. 

After the run 3 sets of strength exercises, stretching, and 30 minute walk home.

#378

Print made a few days ago :

Logging Pond
Printed 2008

Weather - 45 degrees, cloudy.

Feel pretty bad today, so just 2 miles around the neighborhood.

#379

Weather - 32 degrees, snow.

Very unusual day. I woke at 6:00am, am not sure why. I felt sick, but I got out of bed and looked out the window. The sky was just beginning to gather some light, and it illuminated a fantastic snowfall. Snow was clinging to all objects - trees, fences, bikes, sign posts, etc.

Even though I felt like crap I gathered my photography gear and headed out the door. I knew I was going to the railyard, and I couldn't wait to see what it would look like.

I recently decided to try both film and digital photography, film for b/w, and digital for color studies. I don't own a digital camera, so I borrowed Rachel's. I ended up getting 30 shots on digi and 11 with film at the railyard. It was fun switching to both cameras, but my hands got numb and I left the yard earlier than I wanted to.

When I got home I let my fingers thaw, then I headed out the door with my running shoes and the digi camera. The camera is so small it fits snugly in my running jacket. I wanted to take some pictures of the South Farms, and also anything else along the way that looked interesting. 

I ended up going 6.5 miles, and got about 50 more digi captures. A fun and beautiful day!

#380

Turning into the corn fields

Running in the corn fields with some rock doves

 
South Farms road at mid-point

 Running in the corn fields

End of the South Farms loop