Eyebrows

If you look at sketches of homo erectus you'll see some seriously bushy eyebrows, maybe even a monobrow.  I'm a scientist so I'm pretty sold on the whole evolution thing.  I'm convinced that big furry eyebrows were beneficial to Cro-Magnon guy.  You can imagine the unfortunate results of having sweat drip into your eye just as you're throwing a spear at a charging mammoth.  Darwin says that natural selection is going to favor the big eyebrow guys.  But then something happened.  Maybe Cave Joe stared at Cave Jane's monobrow for just a couple of seconds too long on their second date and Cave Jane spent the next day with Cave Sue and Cave Betty obsessing about why Cave Joe hadn't called her yet and it must be because of her hideous eyebrows that make her look fat and thus began the painful rituals of plucking and waxing.  Whatever the cause the modern day females favor thin, tailored brows to the prehistoric bushy ones (except for the occasional Brooke Shields) and for the most part this works for them.  However, evolution is a sneaky little thing.  It would appear that those fuzzy eyebrows still do serve a purpose.  That is, at least in some situations like, say, when you go out running when it's 70 degrees and 96% humidity.  And while there were no charging mammoths the sweat still stings when it gets in your eye.  Damn Cave Joe.  I knew there was a man to blame for all of this.

A very nice run

I got out for my first run in over two weeks the other day.  It was great.  It was the first time in a very long time when I didn't have a time or distance or pace goal.  I just ran (and no, I didn't run so far away - flock of seagulls fans).  I've always found it somewhat depressing how quickly one loses cardio ability after a break in exercise but I also know it comes back pretty quickly.  Rather than pushing myself and getting all out of breath and feeling bad about it I decided to take it easy.  The weather was quite nice and I just enjoyed the day and the run.  I'm heading out again today, hoping for a repeat performance.  I'm looking forward to getting back into a routine again.

Oops!

Wow.  I can't believe I never posted after the race.  I guess that tells you that I didn't shatter any records, huh?  And it also tells you that not too many people read this silly blog.  Oh well.  Let's see... the Broad Street.  The weather was on the miserable side.  While it didn't rain the entire time it was very humid and drizzly.  Despite that I did manage to improve slightly on my time from last year, finishing in 1:26 which translates to 8:36 splits.  The skies opened up shortly after I crossed the finish line and I discovered that my fancy running watch was not waterproof.  Live and learn.  A week later I ran the Philly Race for the Cure.  The plan was to go all out since it was only a 5K, however the fact that there were over 40,000 other people on the course made that a little more difficult that I had anticipated.  I should have pushed closer to the front of the pack before the start as I spent at least half the race working around slower runners.  While the official results aren't in yet I estimate I did 8:30 splits.  Nowhere near my 8:00 New Year's Resolution but that's OK.  Maybe next year.

I'm already registered for the 2009 Philadelphia Marathon.  181 days until the race.  I have 6 weeks before I start training.  I've taken a couple of weeks off from running but I'll be back out there on Tuesday.  Looking forward to it.

Fidgety

I had forgotten how weird it feels to taper.  I get all fidgety and have a hard time sitting still.  Tomorrow is race day.  Today I was scheduled to run a comfortable 20 minutes.  However, since I was feeling restless I decided to push myself pretty hard to see what I could do.  I managed 2.4 miles with 8:16 splits.  Not too bad.  It's hard to say if I could have done better.  I certainly wasn't sprinting and I was trying to avoid hurting myself since I do have to run 10 miles tomorrow but I am very curious if this 8-minute mile thing on the 10th might actually happen.  I don't know.  I think it will be close.  When you're running in a huge crowd of people you tend to run faster and there's the whole adrenaline thing, too.  All I can say is we'll see.  For now I need to just focus on tomorrow.  The forecast is for rain.  Yuck.

Aim low

I started out the year with the idea that I might be able to run an 8-minute mile sometime this spring.  I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions but, hey, I was at the Crayola Factory and there was this station where the project was making resolution scrolls and, you know, when Crayola says to do something you don't say no.  So I got this idea and I wrote it down on the paper (in crayon, no less, and that stuff is permanent) and then got so bold as to hang it up in my office.  It's now just a little over 2 weeks until my first race of the year (and I only do 3 of them).  I like to think anything is possible but, honestly, I think there is a higher chance of monkeys flying out of my butt than me running an 8-minute mile on May 3rd.  We'll see.  Either way, somebody should bring a camera.  The week after that, on May 10th, I'll be running in the Philly Race for the Cure.  This is only a 5K and I'm planning to go for broke so I suppose there is an outside chance I could run 3 miles at an 8-minute pace before I collapse (or a monkey sneaks out).  However, I'm not going to hold my breath.  I think the lesson learned here is aim low.  Stupid crayons.

Casualties of Running?

I headed out for my 8 mile long run today not feeling very confident.  I haven't been keeping up with my workouts as much as I would like so I knew that today would be tough.  Turns out there was more in store for me than I realized.  First of all, I was trying out a new route.  I had looked it over on Google maps just to make sure I could get my distance in.  I didn't look at the details.  When the majority of the streets are named "something-or-other hill" that's your first clue that perhaps there are a lot of hills.  So there was that.  Then, at mile two, some flying insect slams into me at what had to be at least 50% the speed of light and hits me right in the eye.  !!!  I'm trying not to break stride while I pry this thing out of my eye, cursing the whole time because it hurts like you would NOT believe.  I finally peel the stupid bug off and now I'm thinking that it must have had a stinger because the pain is incredible and I'm imaging my eye swelling shut as I continue on my run.  (turns out there was no lasting damage to my eye but it still hurt like the bejeezus)  I plod along up and down the hills and try to distract myself from the pain in my eye by enjoying the beautiful weather (low 60's and sunny) and the expensive houses.  Gray clouds are coming in from the distance.  Thunder storms had been predicted for the evening but I was sure I would be home long before then.  Now I'm not so sure.  With just a little over 2 miles to go the sky is starting to look pretty threatening.  I decide I need to think about heading for home.  All the people who had been outside in their yards are taking notice of the clouds and are packing it up.  I try to run a little faster but it's hopeless after all those damn hills.  My iPod tells me I have one mile to go and I see the first flash of lightning.  Crap!  In the next few minutes the air temperature drops noticeably and the wind picks up.  At the half mile mark I hear the first clap of thunder and the rain starts.  When my iPod tells me I have 400 meters to go I can see my front door and I decide that this is good enough.  The skies open up just as I get my key out.  Whew!

In 7.7 miles I encountered brutal hills, almost lost an eye, and just missed getting soaked.  I think I prefer the easy, uneventful runs.

Blech

Sometimes a good run can be the cure for a bad mood.  Other times a bad mood can make for a horrible run.  The latter was the case today.  I was tired and weather.com said "feels like 37" when I headed out this afternoon.  It was a slow, plodding run around campus.  The occasion twinge of pain in my left knee only made matters worse.  When the best part of a run is the fact that it's over then it's definitely not a good day.  I'm hoping for a better frame of mind for my 7 mile run this weekend.