Category: Slice of Life

While running the other day, I was thinking about how relaxed my pace was and that I’m actually a pretty slow runner. My pace is just under 11-minutes per mile (for a five-miler). I’d like to blame my body type, if I may, which can be described as short and stocky. As I was thinking this, the phrase “heavyset” entered my mind. Apparently some connection in my brain was made to a 40-year old memory! When I was a kid, we used to play a boardgame called “Manhunt” which was really cool because it had a pseudo computer, codes to figure out, and a detective handbook. Each player had to figure out who the criminal was, and one of the descriptions of the possible suspects was “Heavyset”.

Thinking back to that time, I wonder how our family came about getting that particular boardgame. Did my parents just see it at the Toys R Us and decide it looked fun? Was it a birthday wish by one of my brothers?

Later in that morning’s run I continued thinking about body type and a book I am reading, “Unbroken” which is the story of Louis Zamperini (we share the same hometown, Torrance and high school!). In it, the author describes Zamperini’s track career, his body type and the way he ran – smooth. He was also super-fast, and many thought he would break the 4-minute-mile barrier. That’s kind of the opposite of how I run! 🙂

For the last month, I have been making some good progress with my running. My knee is probably about 90% and I don’t worry about it too much. My cardio is pretty good in that I don’t get winded unless I run uphill, my legs feel pretty strong, and I am pushing the distance of my runs up little by little. I feel like I am kind of at my limit though, but not because of physical barriers. I could (and would like to) keep adding distance to my runs but the limiting factor is time. I am now comfortable running over an hour at a time but I don’t know how I am gonna fit an hour of running into my daily routine when the family returns from vacation and we resume our normal schedule. But I’ll figure it out when the time comes. It’s all good!

It’s funny how my body is changing now that I am running regularly. I suppose it’s not surprising, but it is interesting the way different parts of my body are getting slimmer at different rates. It seems natural to want and expect the belly area to lose inches and flab immediately, but since fat is reduced throughout the whole body at a similar rate, it’s a more gradual process. But it is kind of cool to realize that the fat that is deeper inside the body (as opposed to near the surface) is being reduced too. I’ve noticed that my hands have lost fat and are much firmer, for instance the fleshy part between the knuckles is definitely slimmer and more toned.

It’s really encouraging to see these changes but I am actually enjoying the process more than experiencing the results. Running is really fun and I look forward to going out and seeing what there is to see. Sometimes I see some cool stuff, like deer, beautiful sunsets, and unexpected rainbows. I always try to see something new.

Many people like to spend time gardening to reduce stress. I also like to garden and get my hands dirty, but oftentimes the pleasant activity of backyard gardening is mixed with the unpleasant activity of yard work. Actually, most of the yard work is fun (trimming trees and shrubs, weeding the garden beds) but the actual clean up portion is what I dread. And while I am zeroing in on the unpleasant parts, I have to say that the worst plants to deal with are the rose bushes in our front yard.

Our rose bushes grow like crazy during the summer, so they require a lot of maintenance, otherwise things can quickly get out of control. The thorns on those branches are sharp! Of course I wear gloves and long sleeves but they don’t offer that much protection, especially when bagging all the clipped branches, and this is where the stress-reduction comes in.

I don’t curse or use bad words often, but during the bagging of those thorny rose clippings, F-bombs fill the air. Normally I am doing yard work alone so I can really let loose with the cursing without having to worry about offending anybody. I used to just focus on the frustration and pain (physical), but now I’ve found that by focusing on the actual cursing and imagining the release of all that tension, it turns into a positive experience. I kind of imagine that attached to each swear-word is a small amount of stress, and it is being released from my mind and into the air. This is stress that has built up throughout the week, not just because of the rose bushes. You know what? This positive spin seems to work. And it is actually pretty funny – I can’t help but laugh at myself!

I got a new pair of running shoes last week: On “Cloud” running shoes. They are very light and would be classified as a minimalist shoe, but they do have some decent padding. I’ve always run in a standard-type running shoe – shoes with a medium amount of padding, but in the past several years there has been so much variety in the market, with minimalist shoes becoming popular a few years ago, and now super-cushy shoes are getting the spotlight. So for my latest pair of shoes, I wanted to try something besides my standard shoe. A few of my friends really liked their minimalist shoes so I decided to try some, figuring I would ease into the new type of running by alternating between the Cloud shoes and my standard running shoes.

Running in the new shoes the first time was great! First of all, these shoes are so light – they weigh almost nothing! I was expecting a really different feel because these shoes supposedly have less support and cushioning than my regular running shoes, but it was really comfy. The angle of the shoe is different, so I do have to change my running form to a more forward posture, with shorter strides. My normal running style is with pretty short strides, so there wasn’t too drastic a change form me, but the shoes felt really good. I ended up running 2 miles on that first run.

The next day, my feet were a little sore. But it was a good kind of soreness, not like an injury or anything. The following day I was fully recovered and went running again in the Clouds and enjoyed the run even more. My third run was the best so far and I haven’t actually went back to my normal shoes yet. Today I am taking a day off from running, but I am planning on trying to run maybe three days, then one day of rest. We’ll see how that goes. Overall, I am happy with the On Cloud running shoes and would recommend them!