Aug 29

FUEL:
1030: Chinese Squash; 2 Personal WW Pita Pizzas w/ garden tomato sauce, Sharp Vermont Cheddar; garlic & herbs, tomatoes (g)
145: Kashi GoLean w/ Skim Milk & Flax Seed Booster; Peanut Butter & Jalapeno Smokehouse Almonds (v)
445: Pear; Vermont Sharp Cheddar; Peanut Butter; Brown Rice... very full
815: Broccoli, Zuchinni, bit of carrot; Watermelon; Jalapeno Smokehouse Almonds
1115: Instant Oatmeal fortified w/ vitamins & minerals; Vermont Sharp Cheddar (g)
1230: 1/2 Tomato; Vermont Sharp Cheddar
315: Jalapeno Smokehouse Almonds

Instant oatmeal, a wonderful thing I almost avoided all summer since I ate it so much for breakfast last year at school. I like it and didn't want to get sick of it. It's nice to have again.

FIT:
- 2.2mi warmup/cool-down total, to and from gym.
- 30 min Elliptical... supposed 1306Cal (but ellipticals lie like nothing else, maybe b/c they discount the carrying over of momentum from the elliptical motion itself, so you're not really doing that much work, just a theory... there's no possible way), ave 55rpm, resistance 10.
- Arm strength.

I went at night (like 5 min after eating at 815), so I used reflective arm bands and my new hand-crank led light (gear guides eventually), but neither saved me from stepping in dog doo somewhere along the way :(

FUN/FAITH:
Just some thoughts. I think I've developed a new understanding of running some time during college, specifically this summer. I used to go running websites and RunnersWorld just to check out nutrition and physio-related articles, perhaps a few training ones. I thought the other articles about runners and their expeirences, what running did for them, how they feel during their runs, etc., was boring and for older runners who maybe wanted to live vicariously through these guys or identify with these feelings. But now, I'm into them.

In HS, I was just about competition. Pushing myself as hard as I could, doing what I could nutritionally and somewhat training-wise to put it all on the table when it came to race day. Now that I don't have a team to run for, and am not fast enough to do anything competetively, I've enjoyed new aspects of running. In HS, I would also use running as a good time to think about things (though with oxygen in the head lacking, I think the type of thinking is different, maybe different speed or something) and meditate on the words to Christian songs, and I still do that.

But now when I go out, it's not so much to train - though with ultimate that's a big motivator, too - but also just for the adventure and excitement. I like to shop and run, so I go 6-10mi round trip to get both in. It's wooonderful. It's one of the things I look forward to most, big blocks of time in my day that are free (since it's usually a 2.5-3hr affair, plus showering afterwards) to use it on this. Campus can feel so stress-filled sometimes, with schedules and assignments and commitments very rigid. But running is free. I go where I want. I can take my time. With the orange Jansport Diablo on my back, stuffed with my wallet, phone, maybe camera, and food or clothes I bought, I'm set to explore.

So now I am able to savor all of the articles and podcasts (another wonderful thing to listen to, better than music in getting your mind off the physical running). Ones I really think are cool are the stories of ultramarathoners and endurance runners (350 miles in one sitting!!!!!!!!!). I wish I had the body to do that. It would be amazing. But my knees and ankles start giving out at mile 11 for sure, if not before that. One day, though, I'll have a new body. I wonder if there's running in heaven. Maybe an even better analog. Let me explain. Someone who's totally 2-D and only knows 2-D can't really comprehend what a cube may be like, though they can sort of get a picture with a square. They could never quite wrap their heads around what something 3-D is like, though they get a glimpse, and the 3-D really is there and possible. It's similar to God and spiritual things. We get a glimpse of what love is and the goodness of God, and even that 2-D taste is good. But you're in for a treat, because you can't even imagine yet what the 3-D will be like. I read that idea somewhere before, maybe from C.S. Lewis. He probably articulates it much better, but I don't remember the source.