Just give me the pain that I’m used to

October 2, 2006

As a man of (relatively) sound mind and (decreasingly) sound body, let me be the first to proclaim that running a half-marathon whilst hungover is an inauspicious start to a day. That first mile or so was pretty grueling, but once I got past it I did pretty well. When I reached the Sellwood bridge I actually thought “What? Already?” I guess my body is rapidly adjusting to lengthy runs, though I’ve been lax in feeding my body what it needs post-run. I should fix that. I ate a big plate of pasta for lunch, but I was hungry again by about 2:30. I decided to just hang on and wait for dinner, which consisted of a whole pizza that I downed by myself. I woke up this morning hungry again, so I guess I must have come close to topping off the 1300+ calories I burned yesterday.

And I’m not entirely certain, but I must have a very strange form when I run, because this is the second time in two weeks that my left ankle has been sore the next day. Not both ankles…just the left one. I’m still puzzling over that, but fortunately it’s getting less tender. I was able to run on it last Tuesday after my Sunday run, so I’m hoping that it’s almost back to normal again tomorrow after work so I can run again.

As I came up the westside waterfront and passed the Hawthorne bridge, I happened to see a number of runners nearing the finish line of the Portland Marathon, and part of me was a little sad I didn’t try this year. I think if I’d had another three or four weeks of doing this kind of running I could have done it, but as it was I was around mile 10 of my own personal run, and I was pretty tired. I don’t get winded anymore, but the main problem is finding the energy and being aware of my feet and hips at the end of a run.

I spent my weekend mostly being a lazybug aside from my run, and Friday night, Saturday morning and afternoon, and most of the day Sunday were spent plowing through the first season of “The West Wing” Damn, I’d forgotten how good that show was. I’d never seen the 1st season so it was all new to me, but it was a real treat watching that show again. I’ve been enjoying the also Sorkin-penned “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” so far, though I’m currently acquiring the second, third, and fourth seasons of “West Wing” to round out the full Sorkin experience. Well technically, I’d had to get “Sports Night” and a coupel of movies to get the full Sorkin experience, but you know what I mean.

Friday night I was supposed to go out with a couple of friends, but apparently in the hours between making the plans in the morning and my contacting them in the evening to confirm, they’d both made alternate plans. Bastards. So instead, I went and bought a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a few beers and settled in for some “West Wing.” Probably had more fun that way, anyway. Saturday night I met up with a friend at a Mexican place near my apartment, and we had some dinner, then walked a couple of blocks to the Lucky Lab brewpub and had a couple of pitchers. We then walked a couple of blocks another direction and went and tried two glasses of Roots Brewing’s Heather Tip Ale. Guess I didn’t have enough water with my beer, hence the hangover Sunday morning. Those two margaritas with dinner I probably could have done without, too. Eh, que sera, sera. I drank a lot of water Sunday morning and I left my apartment just feeling a little light-headed, but well-hydrated.

I’ve been thinking about walking over the the Portland Rock Gym and giving rock-climbing a shot again. I did it a few times back in middle school and had a good time, and I’d be curious what it’s like with professionals on a real climbing wall, and not just something on the wall of the gym at Western View Middle School in Corvallis. They have some pretty good packages you can pay for, and a full membership includes climbing, exercise machines, and yoga classes included, so it might be worth me checking out. It’ll keep me off the streets, at least. And besides–it would give me something else to answer besides “running and cooking” when I tell people what I like to do. Plus, I’ve already got some decent lower-body strength going for me.

I don’t know what else to say. There’s stuff I’d like to say, but I won’t. Another time, maybe.

Posted in Beer, Food, General, Running