"Time to make my pay..."

"...but put some away for an off-beat day."
- Dizzee Rascal

Yesterday a sudden case of remarking all the assignments for the class I am a Teacher's Assistant for results in me not getting any running done. Spent the day adjusting my rubrics until it was time to catch my Greyhound down to Toronto to visit my girlfriend. By the time we had eaten and gotten back from Downtown, it was already 11:00 at night.

Also everyone has been telling me that I shouldn't run more than five times a week. My thighs felt like rocks made of pain yesterday - I actually wanted to be running around, or just moving quickly, as when I walked slowly (read: down stairs) it was sometimes excruciating.

Anyways, I'm about to make up for it (or not be having a resting day, depending) by going out for my first run in Canada's biggest city. Using the pedometer again, I've mapped out a route of 3.263 kms. Probably a bit less than my last run, but this is a hill-infested area, so I imagine it may be more difficult anyways. Plus it was just sort of hard figuring out a route that made sense/I could remember.

A report to follow when I return.

I was very good yesterday. I ate papaya salad and fresh rolls for lunch, sushi for dinner, Thai-style pineapple shake for dessert.

Alternatively, I was very bad yesterday about spending too much money at asian restaurants.

Stay True.

Streets Is Rough Out Here

Today I woke up to find the damage of Thanksgiving weekend: a three pound increase. Thus putting me at 5 ’10, 178 this morning, the heaviest I’ve been in a while. Of course, for some reason I thought that I should put a halfhearted “last hurrah” on top of it and scratched the itch I’ve had for Harvey's for the last month. I got a grilled chicken sandwich though, so that should count for something.

Nevertheless, I got out for my run when I came home from my group meeting. It was about 8:30 and it was starting to spit again, so I had to substitute my Nike track jacket for a MEC waterproof breathable shell. Also, because my headphones are being replaced under warranty, I was running with DJing headphones on, which actually turned out to be pretty great, aside from having to account for its’ insanely long cord.

I felt really proud of my run tonight. Using this handy device that allows you to use Google Maps as a pedometer, I set out a run of about 2 kilometers that would take me from my house, around the large part of my uptown neighbourhood and back. According to the calculations I am about to do, I actually ended up running…3.689 kilometers. This took me about 26 minutes.

I know this because I was jogging to LCD Soundsystem’s 45:33. It’s an album from a series Nike commissioned where artists wrote music for a run. I know Aesop Rock did one as well, and I’m not sure who else really. It’s an absolute banger to run to. More on it later I think.

The whole time during the latter portion of my run, I was essentially doing smaller and smaller concentric circles around blocks surrounding my house, thus allowing me to set modest goals (“only that much more”), achieve them and then do more. Pushing myself that much felt really great. I kept thinking about what I’d write here, fantasizing about reaching my goal so early of being able to run the full 45 minutes and 33 seconds of the LCD Soundsystem album. But I wasn’t breathing like an asthmatic this time, and I found it a lot easier to keep pushing myself. I really felt a sense of ownership over what I was doing, if that makes sense, and I’d actually been relatively excited for going out for the run beforehand. I was looking forward to it.

Jesus I hope I don’t become one of those middle-aged guys “taking life one day at a time”, running in the park in obscene spandex pants.

Albums bumped while running: LCD Soundsystem - 45:33

Stay True.