Week 3: Halloween, Hamstrings, and Hell Freezes Over

Please give me the strength of candy resistance, Charlie Brown

So, did this week just happen? Honestly, it feels a bit surreal that one week could have this many moments in a seven day period. I’m having a difficult time just coming up for words that can possibly describe everything succinctly, so let’s just start recapping.

On Monday, I started off the week with an easy half mile run. It wasn’t anything too fancy, and it would seem that’s the way most Mondays should feel. However, somehow we had the misfortune of seeing Halloween arrive at the beginning of the week this year. I really don’t want to be this guy, but this particular holiday may have turned me into an elderly Clint Eastwood from Gran Torino (“Get off my lawn”).

As I was running through the neighborhood, I couldn’t tell an immediate difference between this year and the countless other Halloweens I’ve been through in my life. Families were out and about. There were heartwarming costumes. The dogs were going crazy, having never seen this many new faces in their life (well, at least since last Halloween). Then, almost out of the blue, I started noticing little ticks. Ticks that had me wondering if I ever truly enjoyed this holiday in the first place.

Since when did trick-or-treating become some inconsiderate affair? I’m seeing kids requesting a specific candy from a house *shakes fist to the heavens*. I’m seeing parents staring into their cell phones while their little Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle is two seconds away from having his shell cracked open by a car in the middle of the street *shakes fist*. I’m seeing a little kid, dressed as a ninja, get down in the fetal position as I’m jogging towards him, in what I can only assume is an attempt to tabletop me *shakes fist while high stepping over child*. Seriously, I’ve never felt that old in my entire life. I’m fairly certain I now hate Halloween. I don’t think I want to hate, but my god, people. We’ve got to pull it together, and also stop raising little heathen that tabletop unsuspecting runners.

I feel like I just grew a grey beard, gained 50 pounds from drinking Milwaukee’s Best, and bought a stained recliner after writing that paragraph.

As for the run, it was fantastic, especially after I hurdled that kid dressed as a ninja. I’ve noticed that the half mile runs have basically become walks in the park. There’s never a time where I feel stressed, and my endurance is well past them. I think I’ve officially graduated to one mile runs, exclusively (give me a ribbon and make me feel good about it).

I’ve also changed up the post-run workout, every so slightly. Derick added 30 push ups to the mix, in addition to the ab workout that I was completing last week. You never realize how weak you truly are until someone asks you to do something that is seemingly basic, and you can barely complete the maneuver. It wasn’t like I was passing out after five push ups, but somewhere around twenty the arms started getting the shakes.

The next day, I went for a brisk mile. For this run, I decided to make a more concerted effort on keeping my pace in check. I’m not sure how much I trust the Fitbit app I have on my phone, and everyone should feel free to throw better mileage apps my way, but I ran that mile at an 8:45 pace. Obviously, for any runner who has put in thorough training, that time is slow. I know that. You know that. We all know that. For me, it’s more about just feeling comfortable on these early runs, and feeling like I could keep running if I need to. I feel that’s going to be the smartest thing for me trying to run a distance that far exceeds anything I’ve done before. I’ll be able to worry about building a more consistent speed later on.

Wednesday was technically an off day from putting my feet to concrete. I do have a bowling league that my dad and I split on a part time basis, and that was going to count as my “exercise” for the evening. It’s at this point that I feel like I need to preface the events of the evening with a factoid about myself. I am a St. Louis Cardinals’ fan. It’s about the only professional sports team that I can actually say I am a fan of; fan equates to fanatic in this example. So, you can probably imagine the year that I’ve had, living just outside of Chicago, as the Cubs have put together one of the best seasons in the history of America’s game. Wednesday was the culmination.

Honestly, in the scheme of Game 7’s, and even baseball games as a whole, that was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen. I loved the resilience of Francona trying to work a three starter system in this day and age (this is another old man yelling at the sky moment) and just burying his opponents with a non-stop reliever merry go round of death (this is young me rolling my eyes at old man). I loved the ridiculous home run by Rajai Davis. And I tolerated, yes tolerated, an outstanding approach from Ben Zobrist in his final at bat. Seemingly just as this game was getting going in the later innings, it was over. The champagne was flowing off of Theo Epstein’s breath (there may have never been a more drunk man in history), and onto Bill Murray’s eyeballs. It truly was a beautiful sight for Cubs nation, and a train wreck for myself. Well, only for a little bit.

I thought when this day came I would probably want to crawl in a hole for four months of pure hibernation; never showing myself to the outside world. While I wasn’t rooting for the Cubs to win on Wednesday, I did feel like the situation was basically null of any emotion. As I sat back and reflected, I really didn’t feel myself caring too much one way or the other. Kind of freaked myself out if we’re being honest. To me, this just makes the Cubs another team. The entire narrative of the franchise was being a lovable loser brand, and it was especially true for them in terms of a rivalry with my beloved Cardinals. Always the bridesmaid, and never the bride. Until they got hitched this year. They’re officially off the market, and now, I’m not positive how much I care about the narrative. Of course, they’re still the Cardinals’ rival, and I’ll continue to look for the Cardinals to win anytime they play. Yet, something about it won’t feel the same. It’s hard to put into words, but it just doesn’t feel like anything that changes my life as a baseball fan going forward. Oh well. Cubs fans will say this take is fake.

Perhaps even bigger news for me on this night was the fact that my little pup, Roo, came back home. If you read last week’s blog, you know that the gal was not having a good run of it; she was suffering from Parvo and a few other parasites when she was admitted to a vet hospital. By some good graces, she did well in the care of the hospital and was released back home on Wednesday. She’s showing some noticeable signs that she’s still feeling some of the effects of the illness. She’s not as energetic as she was before, and she’s having some issues with her stomach, but it’s amazing to have her back. I’m hoping that after some time spent back home, along with steady medication, she’ll be back to feeling like herself shortly.

On Thursday, I resumed running, and took down another mile. The time was still around that 8:45 mark that I had set on Tuesday, but somehow this run felt infinitely better. My pace was constant and steady, and I felt as though I still had some distance left in me when I finished up. The workout after felt fantastic, as well. I can notice a difference in my posture when I run now, as I’m more upright and relaxed, and I feel like this is making a huge difference this week.

The only drawback on the evening came later on. We’re currently finishing up the last few nights of a fall softball league, and after not stretching extensively after my run, I found that my left hamstring tightened up significantly. It’s an injury that I’ve had off and on since college. It hasn’t ever been anything more serious than a pull, but it does seem to strain itself about once a year. In addition to the hamstring, I was able to take a throw directly to the bottom of my back and make a terribly awkward slide to add on the pain. Needless to say, I woke up the next day with more than a few bumps and bruises.

Ouch

Unfortunately, after waking up on Saturday morning, the hamstrings were still feeling like they were pulled taught. Other than a few walks with the dogs on Saturday and Sunday, I was out of commission for the weekend. I’ll be back up on Monday with a mile run, and then a whole weeks worth of training to report on next time. Until then, here are the mileage recaps, and the soundtracks.

Week 3 Breakdown:

Mileage

Week: 2 ½ Miles

Total: 7 ½ Miles

Daily Mileage/Playlists:

Monday: ½ Mile

Playlist - Japandroids - Celebration Rock. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this Vancouver duo, they play a blistering fusion of punk/arena rock. It’s adrenaline. Pure speed. Pure joy. Pure celebration. See what I did there? Seriously, if you ever need a pick-me up with just a bunch of “kiss-off, I’m awesome” self-confidence, this band is perfect. They’re coming back soon with a new album, which should be out January 27, 2017. They’ve already debuted the lead single, “Near to the Wild Heart of Life,” which continues the legacy of their previous albums. Give it a listen, ASAP.

Tuesday: 1 mile

Playlist - Schoolboy Q - Blank Face LP. Descriptions for Schoolboy Q’s work as a rapper are all pretty one note when you look at reviews. He’s gritty, he’s street, and he’s gangster. While he is all of those things, he is always able to take familiar tropes and make them his own. His energy is infectious, and his bravado is unmatched by many rappers in today’s era. I was listening to “Groovy Tony/Eddie Kane,” on this particular run. The track is a play on the alter-egos of Q and an equally gritty, Jadakiss. After you listen to this, you’ll probably start speaking like you’ve had laryngitis for months because it’s just that damn catchy. And, you can’t NOT scowl out the lyrics.

Thursday: 1 mile

Playlist - Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full. I’m not sure why, but I’ve been listening to a lot of hip-hop/rap lately. Whatever, it’s been an enjoyable kick. I brushed off the dust (even though I don’t think I’m allowed to say that if I’m listening to it on an Apple device) on this classic after I heard word that Eric B. & Rakim are getting back together. Praise Allah, throw some wine in the air, because I NEVER thought these two would be the reuniting type. If you’re unaware, Rakim basically laid the groundwork for 90’s golden age hip-hop. He was a pioneer as far as internal rhyme schemes were concerned, and many of the immortal emcees to come after him owe him their lives. This is arguably their most iconic album, and the production from Eric B. is never off the mark. Honorable Mention: Also listen to the new Czarface record if you haven’t already. It’s a project that combines Wu-Tang’s Inspectah Deck with the duo of 7L & Esoteric. I honestly don’t think I’ve skipped one of their new album’s 13 tracks.

Until next time, please donate, donate, donate

-Ryan