I’m asking MetaFilter for advice about energy gels and running shoes…
Author: Kris
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16K
I ran 16 kilometers today. That’s TEN MILES. I’m a little surprised myself! Since my lower back is still bothering me, I slathered on some pain relief gel and took a prescription anti-inflammatory before I went out. (I had to get special ones from the doctor because normal ibuprofen is a NO GO for my stomach.) It still ached a bit, but not enough to hold me back. I did 5:1 run/walk intervals for the first 90 minutes before switching it up to 4:1 towards the end. Halfway through, I stopped in a convenience store and bought a bottle of Gatorade. Carrying it with me was surprisingly less annoying than I’d expected! I discovered, though, that Gatorade makes my mouth feel all gummy and dry so I still hit every water fountain that I passed as well. At the 14K mark, I crossed the threshold into Longest Run Ever territory. (The 14K City 2 Surf was my previous longest distance.) In terms of cardio fitness, I am fully confident in my ability to run the half-marathon without any trouble. It’s like I’ve had a breakthrough with my breathing, and at my normal pace I finally feel able to carry on a conversation without huffing and puffing. It’s really cool, actually. (Although I still gasp like a fish when I swim. Odd, that.) I think the real limiting factors are going to be my legs, feet, and back. I’m feeling some real soreness on the outside of my thighs, which is probably a warning sign for IT Band Syndrome. (I don’t feel any pain on the outside of my knees, so I don’t think it’s too far along.) Two hours of pounding on pavement just, you know, HURTS. So I’m going to take it easy this week and try to recuperate. I’d like to do one more long run this weekend (hopefully 18K) before the race, but with my endoscopy on Wednesday I don’t know how I’m going to feel. I’m just going to bask in this feeling of accomplishment for a while…
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Weekend Update… and it isn’t over yet!
Three-day weekends are so nice. Yesterday the Snook and I went to Newtown to meet up with Steve (visiting from London), Kenya, and Sal. Most places were either closed for the ANZAC Day holiday or packed with people playing two-up, so we ended up getting lunch at Kelly’s on King. It was good to catch up with friends we hadn’t seen in a long while.
Today was a busier day. I talked to both my parents on the phone, and my Dad mentioned how impressed he was with how far I’ve been running. I was so tickled I went right out and did five miles! Then I headed to Newtown for SSK, which featured the usual bunch of great folks. I finished one Twisted Flower Sock heel and got started on the second. On my way home, I stopped in Better Read Than Dead and picked up a new copy of American Gods (in preparation for Neil Gaiman’s visit next week). When I got home, the Snook and I headed over to Broadway to look at digital cameras. My old Canon had finally given up the ghost and I was looking for something small and light to carry with me. An hour later, I walked out of Harvey Norman with a brand new Fuji Finepix Z20 in cherry red. It’s so tomorrow! I love it. We also picked up a new litter box for that cat. You know how she likes to hang her butt over the edge? Snookums has finally gone for the nuclear option, purchasing a giant plastic storage tub that she has to jump in and out of.
Finally, there was food. I made homemade pea and ham soup from a Rick Stein recipe in delicious, and it was very tasty. I started by boiling a ham hock to make some stock. (Quoth the Snook: “Hot ham water? YUM!”) For dessert, the Snook cut up the pineapple I bought at the markets last weekend and created a from-scratch pineapple upside-down cake. We had it warm from the oven with ice cream. SO GOOD, PEOPLE.
And the best part of the weekend? That I’ve still got one more day of it left. Ahhhh…
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Indie FTW
My sister just had her first day alone with the new baby… and Indie broke her within one hour. Yikes. I feel really bad that I can’t do anything to help. At the same time, though, I’m really grateful that she’s giving us the warts-and-all look at life with a newborn. (Which reminds me, it’s time for my next Depo Provera shot.)
Edited 26/04/2025: Link is dead and not archived.
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Engineer’s Guide to Cats
An Engineer’s Guide to Cats. Another video link? What is WRONG with me? In my defense, that little movie is highly amusing. I especially enjoyed the section on “cat-yodeling,” which I’m going to have to try out with Dr. Amy Jones today. (Link courtesy of Christopher.)
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Beer Bath
While I’m sure that the Snook would LOVE to take a bath in beer, I can’t help but wonder if it wouldn’t be bad for the ladies. I mean, lukewarm unpasteurized beer with active yeast? Seems like a recipe for all sorts of, uh, unpleasantness.
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White Noise
Aussies: Can any of you recommend a white noise machine? It’s odd; despite our bedroom being farther from the street in the new house, I get woken up by noise a LOT more than I used to. (I think it’s because we have a window now, and the sound bounces off the outside wall of the old place.) During the summer it wasn’t so bad because we kept a fan running, but I’d prefer not to do that in winter. Any suggestions?
Also, nothing makes you feel older than bitching and griping about the sound of the neighbours’ party — and then realising it’s only 9:30pm. On a Saturday night. Which is a perfectly reasonable time to be having a party. A party that sounds pretty fun, actually. Grumble, grumble, grumble…
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“Crocodile came up, bit my guts out!”
I know I don’t usually do YouTube links, but you guys HAVE to watch this insurance commercial currently airing on Australian TV. It’s my favorite and it makes me laugh and laugh. It’s little kids telling stories about being eaten by monsters. And I don’t know who that third kid is, but he needs his own show now.
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RunningBlog
(Actually, it’s more like “StomachBlog” at this point.) After a series of some pretty good runs last week, I went out for my 10K on Sunday and it completely SUCKED. Within five minutes, the right side of my lower back was seizing up and throbbing with every step. I still managed to do 9K, but only by stopping every five minutes to attempt to stretch it out. It killed. I immediately fired off an email to my physio, who scheduled me in for an appointment Wednesday night. When I got there, I gave him an update about my stomach ulcer and he immediately tied the two together. According to him, my body is probably “in a state of inflammation,” and he didn’t want do any serious massage for fear of making it worse. He did work into my sides a bit (above my hips), which was incredibly tense and painful. Oddly, releasing that tension made me feel better (in my stomach) almost immediately. He says they’re my “worry” muscles, and tensing them (from stress or from pain) might be contributing to the lower back pain. I went out for a slow 5K this morning, and the change was really noticeable. I did feel a bit sluggish through the last mile, but at least I didn’t have to stop and stretch at every light pole. Two steps forward, one step back…
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12 Days
We’re up to 12 days of rain. On the upside, I do like the photo accompanying this story. Can you spot the Harbour Bridge?