Eugene and I went to the wedding of one of my law school friends in Brooklyn this weekend. A lot of our trip involved running.
Lately, my feet and legs had started to feel achy after runs, which, for me, is a sign that I need new shoes. There are a few running stores in the DC area. Even though I could go after work, I never really do because I'm bound to the train schedule, and the only one I know of in the city is Fleet Feet in Adams Morgan, which is somewhat of a hike from my office. There are two running stores in Annapolis -- the recently sold Gotta Run, which had crappy and inattentive customer service the last time I went (the sales guy seemed annoyed to answer my shoe questions because I was tearing him away from the book he was reading), and Fleet Feet in Eastport. Both close too early for me to make it there after work.
Since we were in New York, which has a ton of running stores, I decided to get shoes there. Eugene thought it would be cool to go to JackRabbit Sports, which sells running, cycling, and swimming apparel, because the sales associates do a video treadmill analysis to determine what type of shoe will work best. Even though I had been evaluated for shoes before, it had been awhile and I wasn't sure if my stride had changed. Also, I had never had a video analysis done before. Based on the video of me running, I have a normal stride (no pronating or supinating) and therefore am best suited to a neutral shoe. The service was excellent, and I bought a pair of Brooks Glycerin -- neutral, yet well-cushioned.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Workweek Hum Drum
So, last workweek was a spotty running week.
Tuesday sucked. I went for my standard run around the national mall by myself. My legs felt like they were made of lead. I felt like I was running at a glacial pace and had no energy. I didn't really feel good until the home stretch. Maybe I'm better suited for long distances. In those races, at least on my non-elite level, it's okay to use the first 3 miles to warm up.
Wednesday wasn't much better. I ran with one of my running group buddies, and we wanted to use the run to buy newspapers that covered the historic election results. Because we wanted to run up to the Union Station newstand at the end of our run, we projected that it would be a longer run. As I mentioned before, my work running buddies are new to running and reluctant to push themselves too hard. Not only did we walk for the first quarter-mile to warm up, we walked at the end because the run was longer. We also ran at an extremely slow pace. Before this run, I had never really noticed when other people ran super slow, because I'm generally so slow. In this case, it was aggravating for me to slow down so much. I have a new appreciation for Eugene and how he puts up with my slow running. At the end, I felt like I didn't get much out of the run, and the newstand was sold out of papers. Blahhh.
I went to yoga on Thursday and got put through the ringer and then didn't run Friday. All in all, not the best training week.
Tuesday sucked. I went for my standard run around the national mall by myself. My legs felt like they were made of lead. I felt like I was running at a glacial pace and had no energy. I didn't really feel good until the home stretch. Maybe I'm better suited for long distances. In those races, at least on my non-elite level, it's okay to use the first 3 miles to warm up.
Wednesday wasn't much better. I ran with one of my running group buddies, and we wanted to use the run to buy newspapers that covered the historic election results. Because we wanted to run up to the Union Station newstand at the end of our run, we projected that it would be a longer run. As I mentioned before, my work running buddies are new to running and reluctant to push themselves too hard. Not only did we walk for the first quarter-mile to warm up, we walked at the end because the run was longer. We also ran at an extremely slow pace. Before this run, I had never really noticed when other people ran super slow, because I'm generally so slow. In this case, it was aggravating for me to slow down so much. I have a new appreciation for Eugene and how he puts up with my slow running. At the end, I felt like I didn't get much out of the run, and the newstand was sold out of papers. Blahhh.
I went to yoga on Thursday and got put through the ringer and then didn't run Friday. All in all, not the best training week.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Home Depot and Lowes Veteran's Day discounts
In honor of Veteran's Day, both Home Depot and Lowes are offering 10% to all Military personnel. Home Depot's promotion is running 11/6-11/12, Lowes promotion is from 11/6-11/11.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Gutter Sense
If you've ever visited our house, you know that we are completely (and I mean completely) surrounded by trees. And while I do enjoy the turning of the leaves every fall - this time of year marks the start my annual battle of keeping the gutters clear...
In case you're wondering why it's a big deal, I am particularly sensitive to keeping the gutters clear because I've had seen first hand the kind of water damage that can happen to a building that has clogged gutters (what were those storms? Isabel, Ivan, Dennis... and oh yeah, Katrina). If rainwater can't make it to the downspout and directed away from the house, it just pours over the lip of the gutter and then straight down the side - and sooner or later it can make its way into the basement.
I know, there are gutter covers that are designed specifically to prevent leaf build up out there, but I have my doubts as how effective they would be with the sheer volume of leaves we get every day (I have a feeling that instead of going into the gutters, the leaves would just build up on top). Sometimes it seems I am out there clearing them twice a week. The other thing is our gutters look like they were installed about the time the house was built, and while they are not in the worse condition, there are some sections that definitely could be replaced. I would rather not invest in covers now before having upgrading the gutters themselves.
The tongs themselves are adjustable to different angles, depending on how far you are standing from the side of the house. What you do is hook the tongs into the gutter, work them side to side, and then pull the rope. This thing pulls up a LOT of leaves, and then you go and dump them wherever. Note: if you've had any rain recently, and the gutters were full - you WILL get some water/mud dripping down on you, so dress accordingly.
Unfortunately, if you have the little screen traps at your gutter ends to prevent debris from entering the downspout, it is hard to clear stuff around them using this device alone, mainly because you're doing it in the blind. Every once in a while I still get up on the ladder to clean those areas out. Some other things to note - 1: The tongs themselves work off a spring mechanism that uses a little bit of fish line to pull them together, and this line is what's connected to the rope you pull. I pulled a little too hard one day and broke the line... was easy enough to fix, but I ended up doubling the replacement fish line to make it a little more sturdy. 2: The device comes with a 12 ft rope, which really isn't long enough to get to some higher second story gutters. I replaced it with a 25 ft rope, which combined with my 25 foot extension pole lets me get about anywhere on the exterior of the house.
In case you're wondering why it's a big deal, I am particularly sensitive to keeping the gutters clear because I've had seen first hand the kind of water damage that can happen to a building that has clogged gutters (what were those storms? Isabel, Ivan, Dennis... and oh yeah, Katrina). If rainwater can't make it to the downspout and directed away from the house, it just pours over the lip of the gutter and then straight down the side - and sooner or later it can make its way into the basement.
I know, there are gutter covers that are designed specifically to prevent leaf build up out there, but I have my doubts as how effective they would be with the sheer volume of leaves we get every day (I have a feeling that instead of going into the gutters, the leaves would just build up on top). Sometimes it seems I am out there clearing them twice a week. The other thing is our gutters look like they were installed about the time the house was built, and while they are not in the worse condition, there are some sections that definitely could be replaced. I would rather not invest in covers now before having upgrading the gutters themselves.
Which brings me to my nifty tool of the week - Gutter Sense. This is a incredibly simple and inexpensive device ($19.95 plus s/h) I found while surfing the net one day. Basically it's a set of tongs that get placed on top of a standard extension pole, and are operated by pulling on the connected rope. It is very easy to use, and I have found that I can actually get all the gutters on my house clear in about 20 minutes.
The tongs themselves are adjustable to different angles, depending on how far you are standing from the side of the house. What you do is hook the tongs into the gutter, work them side to side, and then pull the rope. This thing pulls up a LOT of leaves, and then you go and dump them wherever. Note: if you've had any rain recently, and the gutters were full - you WILL get some water/mud dripping down on you, so dress accordingly.
Unfortunately, if you have the little screen traps at your gutter ends to prevent debris from entering the downspout, it is hard to clear stuff around them using this device alone, mainly because you're doing it in the blind. Every once in a while I still get up on the ladder to clean those areas out. Some other things to note - 1: The tongs themselves work off a spring mechanism that uses a little bit of fish line to pull them together, and this line is what's connected to the rope you pull. I pulled a little too hard one day and broke the line... was easy enough to fix, but I ended up doubling the replacement fish line to make it a little more sturdy. 2: The device comes with a 12 ft rope, which really isn't long enough to get to some higher second story gutters. I replaced it with a 25 ft rope, which combined with my 25 foot extension pole lets me get about anywhere on the exterior of the house.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Priorities: Eat, Run, Sleep
So, I listed my priorities in that order. On Sunday, I was drained and tired. I forgot about daylight savings and woke up an hour too early and was coming off of a rough weekend. I thought that it would be nice to go for a run to blow off some steam, but I also wanted to take a nap. Running and sleeping are both nice forms of escape. For the first time ever, I chose the run over the nap with some encouragement from Eugene. It was a wonderful run. I ran 4.2 miles -- out of our neighborhood and down the road to the next one, where I ran a wicked hill. The fall colors were beautiful. The road that runs by our neighborhood is windy and lined with hills, streams, and trees. I ran for a few stretches where I was the only one on the road -- no cars on the usually busy road. It was beautiful and peaceful and just what I needed.
Today, I was all set to go for a run during lunch, but I got a call from one of my friends who invited me to lunch. You can read about Proof, where I went, in my food blog. I never turn down time with friends and good food for running. So that's where my priorities lie. I'll pick running over sleep but definitely not over good food.
Hey, at least I went to yoga this evening. It was hard but relaxing, and I fell on my head doing a handstand. That's another story....
Today, I was all set to go for a run during lunch, but I got a call from one of my friends who invited me to lunch. You can read about Proof, where I went, in my food blog. I never turn down time with friends and good food for running. So that's where my priorities lie. I'll pick running over sleep but definitely not over good food.
Hey, at least I went to yoga this evening. It was hard but relaxing, and I fell on my head doing a handstand. That's another story....
Vote and get free Starbucks!
In case you missed it, for all you Starbucks junkies out there (like me)... Starbucks is offering a free 12 oz coffee to anyone who votes tomorrow.
Of course, even if you don't drink coffee, I encourage you to exercise your civic duty and vote anyway :)
Of course, even if you don't drink coffee, I encourage you to exercise your civic duty and vote anyway :)
Sunday, November 2, 2008
A Parallel Universe
So, Eugene always used to harass me for not running, and oftentimes, he would go running while I would sleep or laze around the house. He would also usually run every day or close to that during the week. This week, something unprecedented happened. Something that has never happened in the history of the world. I ran more than Eugene! I ran on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Eugene ran once during the week and on Saturday. Saturday was pretty funny because normally, he tries to get me to run. He really didn't want to go out on Saturday. I kept bugging him and bugging him, but he told me that his knee was bothering him, so I relented. In the end, he decided to go out despite the knee. A run with me is still like a recovery run for him because I'm still so slow (although a tiny bit less). We had a nice four or so mile run and did some killer hills.
I guess I have to burst my bubble a bit. The only reason Eugene didn't run a lot this week was because he ran the marathon last Sunday. Even so, the normal me wouldn't have run four times in one week, so that's something.
It's still a parallel universe, though, because I've gotten to the point where I look forward to running every day. I have never felt like that in my entire life, even when I was training pretty faithfully for my first marathon.
I guess I have to burst my bubble a bit. The only reason Eugene didn't run a lot this week was because he ran the marathon last Sunday. Even so, the normal me wouldn't have run four times in one week, so that's something.
It's still a parallel universe, though, because I've gotten to the point where I look forward to running every day. I have never felt like that in my entire life, even when I was training pretty faithfully for my first marathon.
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