Goodwill Grab Bag

/

Why do I not shop at Goodwill more often? I ran into our local Goodwill store today on the hunt for a throw away sweatshirt and pair of sweatpants for Boston. Mission accomplished. I found a pair of blue nylon Adidas pants, cotton lined, for $3.25. And a bright orange zippered-neck Syracuse sweatshirt for $3.00. 

I also found three summer sweaters, each for $3.25 apiece. And another pair of keeper sweatpants for another $3.25. They look like they just came off the rack in a "regular" store, in perfect condition. Hell-lo! If I'd had more time to nose around I probably could have done a lot more damage. 

I don't know about other Goodwills, but our local store divides clothes by color instead of size. So there's a row of yellow shirts, followed by red shirts, followed by all brown, etc. It's actually a practical way to shop. Looking for something blue? Hey, aisle three. 

I'm feelin' the Goodwill today, people. FEELIN' IT.

Freaking Out

/

I've been visiting the blogs of runners who have run Boston. I thought I'd calm myself down, maybe discover some posts that talk about the "hills of Newton" being overhyped. 

Not so much. Instead, I've discovered the vast majority of the course is rolling hills and the advice of every runner I read was "Do your hill work." 

Just how many hills do you think I can run in the next 10 days?

Why People Who Are Bad At Math Shouldn't Run

/

I just returned from a 5 mile tempo run. No, wait. That's untrue for two reasons.

  1.  I've been back for well over an hour but have been eating Haagen-Dazs Mango Sorbet in the hopes that concentrated, flavored, frozen sugar water would cheer me up from a dismal run. But it sounds more hardcore if I insinuate I came in dripping from a run and sat straight down at the computer to write about it.
  2. I cheated and only did four miles of the 5 mile run.

I've been wondering--between gulps of sorbet--why I cheated. I've decided it's because I'm bad at math.

Read More

Long Runs, Tempo Runs, & AAA

/

My legs ache. 

I don't mind. It's the kind of ache that comes from using them.

I had some long, fast runs this week. On Thursday, Barefoot Josh was kind enough to agree to drive to Greensboro with me for a 10-mile tempo. (Side note: What kind of training plan takes you from a 4-mile tempo run one week to a 10-mile tempo the next? Those Furman people are sadists.) Our run turned out a little different than planned when, less than one mile in, I realized I'd locked my keys in my car. Luckily, Josh had his cell phone. Josh called his wife, who looked up the # for AAA, relayed the number to us, and we got a rep on the phone.

"I'll send someone out right away," said the rep.

 

Read More