there's an apple in my shoe

didja see this?

i wonder if the inspiration came from richard reid...

keep running

just thinking about what i want to do next.

i want to keep running. so there's that. i'd like to run the odd 10-15K here and there, to keep it interesting and to suppliment my cheesy t-shirt that i'll never wear collection. i have that.

do i want to keep blogging? i keep thinking about it, thinking of things i'd like to write. and then moving past them. and not writing them. this blog is about running. so if i keep that up, i could keep this up. and if i keep this up, i should keep that up. but how many times can someone write about running? (and how many times can one read about someone writing about running???) how rich is that vein? i mean, i've already written about butt-itch and blisters and toe-nail shedding. what else is there?

there is running....faster. i haven't really tried that. well, i guess i did in that running is faster than not running - and i was doing a lot of not running prior to starting this running thing. hm. then there is running with people - i haven't done much of that and have been getting requests. imagine that! people want to run with me. heh. next week my friend prue and i are going to run in forest park - we're training for a 8K or 15K trail in clackamas in mid-july. so i have that to keep me occupied. forest park is a new adventure, as is trail running. seems like a natural thing for me - i'm happiest surrounded by trees (so is prue :-) .

memorial day weekend already? wow, after being so bloomsday focused, the summer snuck right up behind me and slapped me in the ass. not hard to do, as i still only run 10 minute miles. and summer is fast.

mia - thanks for the inlanders!

battle scars

it happened after my backpacking trip this summer. my two big toenails, protesting the abuse, bruised, turned black, and slowly made their way off my toes. i understand. i didn't fully brief them as to what to expect in terms of miles and harsh conditions. but in my defense, i didn't know what to expect either. in any event, the toenails left. i've grown two others in their absence, and, frankly, i like them better anyway. so there.

then, after the 10K in corvallis, i developed a blister underneath another toenail. not sure quite how that happened, i think my toenail was a little long and it bumped against my shoe. i cared for the blister in hopes of not losing another toenail. toenails, you may have noticed, grow very slowly. and it's sandal weather. one thing i can say about the other toenails, at least they had the decency to leave during the part of the year when the horror could be hidden within stylish footwear.

yesterday at work, i moved to tuck my foot up underneath me, caught my toenail on my chair and POP off it came. no pain, no blood. but freakishly ugly nonetheless. i looked at my toe and found an empty bed where my toenail once lived. in a quick sweep of the area, i found the nail on my chair. i briefly examined it for any religious markings that might make it an ebay sensation, thereby making me rich and famous for my lady of guadalupe toenail. but it was just an ordinary nail. and disembodied toenails are creepy.

after that first run, i researched a little about what runners do to prevent blisters during longer runs. the strategies run from absolutely nothing, to wearing women's nylons underneath socks, to soaking their feet in a vat of warm nutella. okay, i made that last one up, but my point is the answers are as varied as the number of feet that run. for bloomsday, i took some of the advice, liberally applying rosebud salve (a fancy-pants vaseline-type substance) thickly to my feet and covering them with socks. in the shower the morning of the race, i washed my feet thoroughly and dried them, then applied more rosebud salve in between each toe to reduce the friction that causes blisters. i even convinced a slightly skeptical kenny to try this - and that involved him de-shoeing when he was all ready to run. but i gotta tell ya, longer run and nary a blister. brother is now a believer as well.

lubrication, my friend, it ain't just for...engines.

alas, that doesn't save my topless toe. so i gave myself a pedi last night, and painted the skin where the toenail should be. it looks, well, like painted skin where a toenail should be. but from 5'6" away, i can't really tell.

enjoy the closeup of my bulbous toes, pre-pedi.

the tale of 3 bloomies

bruce, age 62, traveled all the way from edmonton, alberta. he sported his yellow race number proudly, fresh off his blazing time in the "the REAL calgary stampede, eh" 10K run last month.

brian, age 44, lives locally and was making his first start in the green group this year, having worked his way up from the moms-n-strollers group 4 years ago.

heather, age 37, well she hates to run. she only started doing this to do something fun with her brother and family. she didn't care where she started or where she finished. fun was her mission, and dammit, she was gonna have fun if it killed her. judging by the expression on her face - it nearly did.

and how did they finish, these three runners? see for yourself...

bruce (yellow) - 1:45 / 14:12 minute miles
brian (green) - 1:34 / 12:37 minute miles
heather (orange) - 1:16 / 10:15 minute miles

moral of the story - manage your expectations, be realistic. and then you get to feel all cool-n-shit when you exceed them :-)

for a bigger version of the pic with all the "race photo" crap on it so you can't download it for free, click here

results!

and finally, what you've all been waiting for: THE RESULTS! you will all be very impressed to know that i finished second among people with my same last name. behind my brother. oh, and there were all of 3 hylands...

my results

kenny's results

and results for boofy, erin, ben, rob, barbara, hai and hope.

kenny was badass, his first mile around 8 minute, but finishing averaging a 7 minute mile. meaning, yep, he got faster. maybe we need to start calling him "kenyan"...

i finished with my usual 10 minute mile (10.15 to be exact). i felt great, ran the whole way (including up doomsday hill). i did have to stop once for to use the loo - wasn't able to make it into the honeybucket before my group got started. so i ran the first 2+ miles with a *very* full bladder.

highlights: the mass of humanity at the start (45,000 participants). the elvis impersonator playing carpenter tunes on an accordion. the hippy-dippy couple in colorful caftans, wigs and clown noses dancing in their front yard. the moment where i found myself sandwiched by a line of nuns in habits to my right, and a band of mop-topped teen-age punks playing ramones covers to my left (HEY! HO! LET'S GO!). high fiving little kids through the neighborhoods after doomsday hill. passing people on my way up doomsday (this was a very cool feeling). and elderly man running barefoot. running up to my cheering family at the courthouse. seeing kenny and shanna's smiles as i rounded the corner to the finish line. sprinting to the finish.

now THAT was a mission accomplished.

off to bed, i'm pooped... hey mia - post a comment would ya??? :-)

T minus 19 hours and counting...

okay kids - here we go. we're in the 'kane, all conversation centers around running and bloomsday. oh, and epidurals and other birth related medical procedures that begin with an e but shall remain nameless. this ain't no birthing blog fer chrissakes.

we just drove the bloomsday route, scouting out potential photo locations. looks like shanna will be covering the start and the finish, but shooting doomsday hill appears to be a logistical nightmare. kenny, the stud, is starting in the yellow group. you know, the one with the real runners. not quite with the kenyans, but close enough. i believe boof is starting in the green group, which is directly after the yellow. me? i'm starting in the orange group with rob, barb, erin and ben. and the rest of the walkers. and the moms pushing strollers...

weather looks bleak - supposed to be cold, rainy and windy. don't so much mind the rain and the cold, but the wind, man, wind is a huge bummer. wind makes me grumpy. and whiny. OH DEAR GOD i just found out i can't wear my ipod??!! what is that??? i want my music, i want my running soundtrack...mike doughty, nick drake, and more recently lucinda williams...craptastic.

oh well...spaghetti dinner tonight at chez (rob and barb) higgins. sauce courtesy of geno's, of course... SEE YOU THERE!

model - ken hyland; photographer - heather hyland