Marathon

chemical spill

I think that I forgot to mention, when I was talking about my Saturday morning with migraine aura, that there was a very strong smell of enamel paint or some other type of chemical solvent near one side of the track. It was so strong that I didn’t want to breathe through my mouth on that half of the track. I wonder if this contributed to the migraine? I probably shouldn’t have stayed, now that I think about it. Live and learn.

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migraine run

I ran my official 5-mile run this morning. It was harder to do than the 5-mile I did last Monday, possibly because it was morning instead of evening (less energy) and I was running by myself, but one of the crazy things about today was that I started getting a reverse migraine aura a little more than halfway through. I began having trouble seeing the screen of my iPod clearly but thought it was just due to glare from the fluorescent lighting overhead and the large number of “floaters” I have in my eyes. A few laps later I realized that it was because the center of my vision was disappearing. The little silver diagonal sparkle lines had started in the middle. I decided to keep going as long as I could, but to stop if I started to experience any pain or if my vision disappeared past the point where it was safe to run. I developed a plan for what to do if the pain started, involving finding a quiet dark room and a wet washcloth, possibly with the help of a gym staff member. The sparkles grew outward from the center of my vision in a donut-shaped oblong, slightly to the left of center with the right side pointing slightly upward, and I began to feel slightly nauseous. Eventually the aura reached the edge of my peripheral vision, and it disappeared completely by about 4.75 miles. I finished the run and cooldown walk, stretched, and felt well enough to drive home. My head has felt kind of funny all day, though; not pain exactly, but a strange feeling of pressure or like the pain is there right below the surface and if I thought about it, it would burst on through. So I’m trying to ignore it. […]

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and miles to go before i sleep

I know y’all totally don’t care, but I still have to post my marathon training progress. Yesterday I drove over to the gym* to do my 4.5 mile long run (the long runs occur on the weekends, and we’re upping them by 1/2 mile every weekend until the race). I didn’t realize that the gym opened at 11 on Sundays, and it was only 10 a.m. I didn’t want to wait around for an hour and I really didn’t have anything to do in the meantime, so … (yes, you guessed it)… I went running outside instead. In this motherfucking SNAKES ON A PLANE heat. Not having eaten breakfast. From my office to the start of the Katy Trail (not named after me, thanks for asking, but it is well marked and flat and wide (somewhat like me)) is 1.5 miles of partial shade, and from there I hopped on the trail and went an additional 3/4 mile before turning around and starting back. Up to that point I’d been feeling pretty good, but shortly after the turnaround I had to stop and walk for a little while. Then about 2/3 of the way back I had to stop and sit down in the shade for a bit, then I walked most of the rest of the way. I think that getting cold chills on a 90 degree day is a sign that you’ve overheated yourself. “I am gonna be SNAKES ON A PLANE if I don’t just walk from here,” I thought, and actually took my own advice. You’d think I would have learned my lesson after the last couple of times I decided I could handle running outdoors in Texas in the hottest part of summer. But noooooooo. Give me a few weeks to recover, and some part […]

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mile(age)stone

MILESTONE!! I ran 4.2 miles tonight. That is the farthest I’ve ever run without stopping. 44 minutes, so that translates to… let’s see… about a 10:30 mile. I’m very pleased with that; my goal is not necessarily to run quickly or to decrease my time per mile, but to increase my endurance, even if I’m doing 15 minute miles or whatever. If I can complete the half marathon in under 3 hours, I’ll be very happy. I sprinted the last lap and a half to catch up with Brittney, and after slowing to a walk it felt like I was starting to have an asthma attack. It subsided after a few minutes of wheezing. Which reminds me, I should make a doctor’s appointment so she can reassure me that my body will be able to stand up to this crazy training schedule. I was supposed to do 4 miles on Saturday (my long run day) but only did 1.5, on the treadmill. Sunday I did an additional 1 mile on the treadmill, then went outside and ran another 1.5. I don’t think that really counts, even though it adds up to 4. I felt really awful about myself all weekend as a result. On the treadmill I have been running a 12 minute mile. I don’t know how I will ultimately feel about the treadmill. Right now we have a love-hate relationship. (I hate that I don’t love it.) The most I’ve been able to run on it is 1.5 miles. It feels much more difficult than when I run on regular non-moving ground. I seem to get hotter and sweatier, and I’m really unhappy and my muscles hurt and I tire out quickly and I’m always looking at the mileage gauge. Maybe it’s that I know I can step […]

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Music and marathon progress

Ten songs I’m listening to right now: Mining for Gold (Cowboy Junkies) :: recorded in a church, you can hear the echo Whistling For His Love (Danielle Dax) :: i had a dream about giant skiing chickens and this song was the soundtrack Alison (Elvis Costello) :: makes me want to play spades, and i wonder what david nathan is doing these days Something I Can Never Have (Nine Inch Nails) :: why the hell is this one not available on the iTunes music store? Life’s What You Make It (Talk Talk) :: life is what you make it Silent All These Years (Tori Amos) :: i’ve got twenty-five bucks and a cracker, do you think it’s enough to get us there? October (U2) :: yes, but the music and the lyrics are really more november in my head, somehow The Unforgettable Fire (U2) :: carnival, the wheels fly and colors spin through alcohol, red wine that punctures the skin Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around The World (U2) :: a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle Plenty (Sarah McLachlan) :: i thought i’d be with you until my dying day Kathryn has finished up her classes and is now interning at the massage school. This equals cheap massage for me! I’ve scheduled with her for next Wednesday night. I can’t wait! It is fairly easy for me now to run 3.5 miles at a stretch. My last three runs have been 3.5, 3, and 3.5 miles each. So I think that the 4-mile I’m gearing up for this Saturday will not be too difficult. The hardest part is getting into that “zone” thing, where I’ve passed the point where my body’s yelling at me to stop, and everything kind of evens out — the breathing, […]

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more “nobody likes me” dreams

Ran 3 point something miles after work today, despite a twinge of nausea and a very strange spaced out feeling that makes me think that there was something funny in the birthday cupcakes at work today. I’m not sure how many if any pounds I have dropped, but I feel better physically and my shape is changing into something a bit more pleasing, gradually but I can tell. Dreamed the night before last that I was running the trail at White Rock Lake, and we’d gone way past our normal turnaround point, and I realized that we’d run five miles already. The trail went up a hill and ended inside someone’s apartment living room. I recognized many of my friends inside the apartment — Debbie, Kathryn, Ginger, etc. — and realized that it was a party for Kathryn who was getting married, and that I hadn’t been invited. They were kind of finishing up, and there was cake on the table and giftwrap all around the floor, and everyone was dressed fancy and not paying much attention to me. I stood there in my running clothes, sweaty and utterly crushed, and tried to pretend that I wouldn’t have been able to come anyway and I had to get going, had things to do, you know, see you later.

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excuse me, did you say a.m.?

News flash: I think I have lost my mind. I am meeting Yvonne at the lake at 5:45 tomorrow morning to go running. Yes, you read that correctly. 5:45 in the A.M. That is the time of day that is also known as Fucking Hell O’Clock. If you know me, you do not need me to tell you how much of a morning person I am not. Tune in on Thursday for exciting updates to your morning wake-up show, Katy’s Sunrise Agony.

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the weekend

Saturday I ran about 3 miles at the lake. I’m never quite sure how far I’m going because the mileage markers leave something to be desired. So I just run it by time, which isn’t of course as accurate. But then again, accuracy is not really my goal. It was very humid Saturday morning so I heated up really fast and had a tough time cooling down, and I had to walk some. Tonight I ran a very easy 3 miles (or so — we lost track and I think we probably went a few extra laps) at the gym. Man, I tell you, air conditioning makes all the difference. Saturday night we went to Yvonne’s birthday party at her house. She and Nate cooked dinner (grilled stuff and salads — she makes a mean peanut noodle salad) and made the most massive vat of sangria I’ve ever seen in my life. Seriously, there was probably 10 gallons of the stuff in a huge octagonal glass jar that sat on ice in their sink. It was Yvonne’s Magical Mystery Sangria. It sneaks up on you! I even ate sangria-soaked watermelon. It wasn’t bad! Walker was freaked out at the sight of me again, but I bribed him with a milk-bone and then we were best friends. I think he must have had a bad experience with a tall or curly-haired woman in his former life as a street puppy. Mom and Dad were in town Saturday night but left early Sunday morning, so we didn’t get to see much of them this time. We’re going to Lubbock in August to see Bob graduate and we might go to Houston for a couple of days afterwards just to spend some time with them. This is (knock on wood) their last summer […]

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