This is becoming No(running)vember
Leave a commentNovember 26, 2013 by Amy B
When I last left you faithful readers, I was about to try a friend’s bike trainer. I did.
And then I was informed that that squeaky sound (that I could live with but let’s be honest, was a little annoying and made it hard to hear Hulu shows) was from an under-inflated tire.
Solved. No more squeaking.
It turns out the bike trainer, when used properly, is not that bad. This borrowed one is a mag trainer as well, but instead of the mechanism for resistance being some clampy wheels hugging the rims, you roll on a roller. Kind of like a road but shiny and smooth.
I like this method much more, thank you.
I am very appreciative of the loaner (thanks, Nancy!) while I research some different models – I’m looking at fluid trainers that don’t cost $$$$ – but I think I’d also be perfectly happy with a decent mag trainer.
Sophie is, so far, getting by on her Oiselle box bike trainer.
Old trainer is pictured here. See the weird wheels?
The running, meanwhile, has been scarce.
Tuesday I went in for some dental work (double crown prep) that left my jaw/face/left side of my head in pretty bad shape. I expected some soreness for a day or two but a week later, I was still having massive headaches, swelling, and pain.
My view for 2.5 hours. I know you’re jealous.
This put a damper on the running. It’s hard to focus on splits and cadence when your head feels like it’s going to explode.
Can you see the swelling? Yeah, left side. Scarf is covering some of it, but no. That is not normal.
I took it easy and gave running a rest in exchange for a few spins here and there on the bike trainer. If I moved too quickly or in the wrong direction, my head started to implode with stabbing pain.
Wednesday I got in a 20 minute session on the trainer followed by a 30 min run.
Forgot to reset Garmin so you get this:
Hopped on the bike on Friday for 30 minutes and did nothing (run-related) the entire weekend.
Monday got some new instructions from the dentist on getting my mouth well again (for the next round of misery the week after Thanksgiving!) and did get out for a 5K last night (after 20 min on the trainer) in some freshly fallen snow.
I’d just read Lime Sarah’s post on yoga/long runs and it got me out the door for an enjoyable run on a mostly quiet wintery evening. There’s something about new snow, how it dampens the sound of cars whizzing by on the main drag, that makes me happy. Add in an almost windless night, and I was set.
The kids also took advantage of some perfect snowman-making snow. Hey, we might live in a place that gets about 220 inches of snow a year, but it all ain’t snowman snow. You snowman-building veterans know what I’m talking about.
That catches you up to today, when team /var/run member Josh and I braved the crappy weather for a runchtime run at run o’clock.
Surprised by the splits, since we were running in mushy crap for the last part of the run. Turns out runching isn’t too bad, after you get past the “sitting in your office with sweaty hair” for about 45 minutes. It did give me a chance to try out one of these ShowerPill wipes:
These are a little thicker than baby wipes and are pretty sturdy, which is nice. One wipe was plenty to get my entire body. I also had a camping towel I brought to dry off, but I probably could’ve gotten by without it. I heard about these as a must-have for Ragnar and I see why. I’ll start keeping a stash of these at work for future runches.
And also: if there isn’t a photo on the Internet, it didn’t happen.
Do we really look miserable? Hey, look closely and you can see my green bruised jaw. Goes great with that awful white hat I’m wearing.
amy (up north) runs 