Running to Stand Still

The silence on the blog was not because I was too tired from running to write. Oh, no. It was because I didn't run at all! *gasp* Not a particularly good thing, but I kept on finding myself out of pocket during the last week before spring break. I had things to clear up at work and prior engagements to attend to... so I was very, very bad. Very bad. Grades were due on Wednesday morning, so that destroyed Tuesday. On Wednesday I went out shopping with the girls because my pants don't fit anymore (not that shopping instead of running will keep me on this downward size trend). Thursday I had already made plans to get some drinks after work. I stayed out so late on Thursday that I was totally useless on Friday. That left Saturday, but I had scads of "yard work" to do. I have something that resembles a postage stamp of a yard, if it were cut in half and laid out in an L. And judging from my sore back and legs this morning, I did get some muscle work in from bending over to tear out all the crazy weed that had taken over.

Which brings us to today. I had already decided that I wanted to jump ahead and run an extra mile for this week's long run to make up for slacking off the prior week. And, I was determined to find the nice state park entrance so I didn't have to park in a crappy-ass neighborhood. Away I drove... and ran into a dead end. I had no choice but to keep on driving. I found myself at the other end of my proposed route, and in a fit of brilliance, I decided to run it backwards! Profound.

So, I ran. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and there was only a small breeze. I ran in my new, recycled tank top (seriously, it's made from recycled plastic) and my super-cute skirt. I admit to walking a bit for the last mile, but all in all, I was very happy with my performance.

Now, however, I am less than thrilled. I am sore. My knees are achey and I have a sunburn around all the edges where I didn't put sunscreen. I neglected some of my arms and my hands, and it's impossible for me to get to all my back, so I find myself a bit warm now. So, as happy as I am with my performance, I am definitely up for a rest day tomorrow.

For tonight, I will ice my knees and finish off with the Wet Sock Treatment. And finally, I think I've made you wait long enough -- this is the Wet Sock Treatment. First, take thin, cotton socks and get them wet in cold water. Then, put them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes so they get REALLY cold. In the meantime, get ready for bed and place a pair of thick, wool socks near your bed. Take the socks from the freezer, climb into bed, and put the socks on your feet. Yes, put the freezing-cold socks on your feet. It's only hard to do the first 5-6 times, then it gets easy. Once you have freezing-cold socks on your now freezing feet, put the wool socks on on top of them. Then, sleep.

The way I hear it, it works like this. Your body can not make enough energy to dry the cotton (hence the phrase: cotton kills), but it tries. So the blood rushes to your feet, but then the wool (which insulates and will keep you from dying of hypothermia) kicks in and warms your feet and the blood leaves. But then your feet get cold again from the cotton, and the blood rushes back. So, this uninsulating/insulating play creates a "heartbeat" through your legs, drawing the blood through all that sore, damaged tissue in your knees and helping to heal it. Also, it sucks the blood from your brain, so you fall asleep faster. Or so my massage therapist friend tells me. In any case, I haven't found it to do any damage, and I generally feel better upon waking. Of course, it could just be time.