Running with RG3 in Fed Hill

No, not that RGIII, this RG3. Apparently they had the name first. Ended up being a 7.75 mile run total at about 7:40 pace. I was running with a guy who had a metatarsal fracture this past summer/fall, and it sounded an awful lot like what I have been dealing with my toe... although that's just from two runners comparing war stories. Who knows? It was a decent run, a little slower pace than normal, but that's fine because I was feeling it from last night's run for some reason. Afterwards, pizza and beer at Social Pub & Pie. Always good pizza and good beer. Also as per usual, good conversation. A very social group, and one that I am glad I found.

Summary:
Miles: 7.75 - Inner harbor
Calories Burned: 900
Calories consumed: 2443 (Carb = 0.44, Fat = 0.36, Protein = 0.12, Alcohol = 0.08)

I dub thee, "Super Toe"!

I think I found a solution for my toe problems, and I term it the "super toe". Basically taping my three middle toes into one cohesive unit has distributed any stress among the three toes and has served to stabilize the middle one. This is the toe that went south on me last night. In my Nike Frees, I was able to get through 8 miles this afternoon with only one tweak that I felt. That was when my right toes got caught going up a curb cut, and they flexed a bit too much. I focused the entire run on a nice, level mid-foot strike and it was smooth. I am hoping this bodes well for the upcoming half. Oh, I also fought the vurps again, the last two miles this time. Damn beef burrito.

Summary:
Miles: 8 - Catonsville, MD (w/a 350 ft elevation gain over 4 miles - not steep, but not cheap either)
Calories burned: 910 (according to Map My Run)
Calories consumed: 1886 (0.46 Carb, 0.40 fat, 0.14 protein) - damn beef burrito

Bum Toe and a Hard Shoulder

Well, today was a very frustrating run. I had planned on about 7 miles, but just had to shut it down after about 3.1 miles due to the toe on my right foot acting up. I was running really well, despite fighting off a case of the vurps for the first two miles. Too much beer last night, and too much coffee today. I had just gotten them out of my system, when I flexed my toe downward on a stride. Not sure why I did it, but it was a conscious action. Next thing I know, my toe has a really sharp pain in it. The middle toe on my right foot, has been tender on the top, with some swelling right where the toe meets the foot. Not sure exactly what is going wrong with it... broken, sprained, strained, torn... but it all goes back to last Saturday with those damn Newton shoes... I am sure of it. So, I have a week before the Caesar Rodney half, and I am pulling lame after 5k with a hurt toe. Not looking good.

Summary:
Calories burned: 404
Calories consumed: No idea... there was eggs benedict involved at breakfast.
Injuries: toe is worrisome at best.

As an aside, I saw a very interesting movie at the DC Indie Film Fest on Friday night. It was Hard Shoulder, a British "genre-bender" from director Nicholas Lean (his first film, actually). I have to say that about half way through it, I was thinking what is the point of all the sexual deviance, physical violence, and threats of much more to come. It was really starting to taste like a Saw or Hostel type of flick, which is not my thing. It wasn't making any sense to me. Then, with one abrupt scene, it all made sense. There were hints of what was really going on throughout the film, but that jolt made everything apparent. All of the "pointless" violence and sexual assault suddenly had a purpose, and I was thankful for that.

At the end of the movie, Lean held a question and answer session, and you could tell from his answers that he really did set out to make something that was much more than a shock-horror film. According to him, "some parts were autobiographical..." And, I have to say that some of the emotions experienced by the protagonist, and some of the threats and intentions of the antagonists were somewhat familiar to me. I remembered thinking during parts of the film that I had often felt the same denigrations that the protagonist was undergoing. So, some of the emotions, while portrayed in a shocking, overtly violent manner, really resonated in me. I could relate to the character and his desperation to act like the person that he wanted to be.

Very interesting.

PS - As a further aside, shown with Hard Shoulder was a short entitled Head's Up. As I was watching the short, I was trying to figure out where I knew one of the actors from... turns out it was Poet from Oz, Craig muMs Grant. Pretty funny, very well shot film. If you want to see it, I think you can contact the film maker through the website to find a link for it.

Boston and Back

Last night's elliptical session never materialized. But, tonight was 8.77 miles down to Canton and back (with a few spurs). I probably was at about 7:10 pace or so; didn't take a watch. I did come across a rat so large that I stopped to let him cross the street. Of course, this being Baltimore, he jaywalked. Otherwise, I felt damn good during and after the run.

Summary:
Calories burned: 981 (according to Map My Run
Calories Consumed: 1712 (Carb: 0.57, Fat: 0.30, Prot: 0.13)

Seems that my diet is more reactionary than proactive. I'll have to start working on that.

Not doing as well as I thought would.

Following up my last post... Apparently the "pinched nerve" in my toe has turned out to be something else. When it happened, it felt just like the start of my previous neuroma. However after running on Sunday, it was apparent that something else was going on. The pain in my toe was rather bad at 0.25 miles, dull at 0.5 miles, and gone after 1 mile. Great. I did a nice 6.25 miles at 7:10 pace into a stiff headwind for half of the loop. When I got home, the top of my toe, extending onto the top of my foot was swollen and bruised. Funny, because it really hadn't bothered me for the last 5.25 miles. Oh well, I'll try to baby it as much as possible.

Summary:
Miles: 6.25
Calories burned: 686 Calories consumed: 1400 (Carb: 0.70, Fat: 0.22, Prot: 0.08)

Monday - I had every intention of running, but work got in the way of that. I was at an ISPE conference in Baltimore, and I had to take care of stuff in the lab after that. Which left me about 15 minutes before I had to be at Capital Grille for a dinner with fellow speakers from the conference. I didn't even keep track of calories, as it would not have been pretty.

Tuesday - Kind of the same story as above, including leftovers from Capital Grille. Same damaging calorie count.

Wednesday - Winter storm Saturn is hitting, which is really just a fizzled out storm that is alternating between rain and snow. Wind is brutal though. Tonight will be an elliptical evening, I swear.

At least my toe has been getting some rest.

I have recently started reading the book Faster than Forty, which was given to me on my recent 37th birthday by my sister. Faster than Forty is first-hand account of what it took one ex-college runner to make it to Masters level champion at the age of 40. It logs his training regimen, discusses methods (both his and those of others), diet, inspiration, and pain. One of the most striking things about the book, was that the dedication of the primary author, Mark Gomes, to documenting his training. Every mile, whether it was on the streets or on the stairs was recorded and analyzed. As scientist, I can appreciate this, and that is what I would like to try to do with this space. Henceforth, the Parched Problematic Porter will serve as a space for me to document my journey from 37-year old scientist/distance runner/cranky-ex-Rho-Dielander to a 40-year old scientist/hopefully better distance runner/still-cranky-ex-Rho-Dielander.

This morning, I awoke with two notable pains in my toes after a 13-mile run yesterday through Baltimore. That was my first run over 9 miles in distance since about early-December. Lots of little injuries (some precipitated by indoor soccer) and illnesses have impeded progress.

The first pain is in my right foot. At about mile 10, I pulled up with what I can only describe as a pinched nerve under the third toe on my right foot. I have had this before, on the left foot, and it actually devolved into a self-diagnosed neuroma that was rather painful. I now officially blame my current set of Newton shoes for this issue. When I experienced the last one, it was when I had started going over 10 miles in my Newtons. Eventually I went back to an old set of Nike Free shoes, and the problem went away. Now, back in Newtons for a longer run, and bang another nerve issue. Like someone sticking a knife up between my toe and the ball of my foot. I was rotating shoes, but now it appears that I may have to ditch the Newtons and stick with the Frees. They're cheaper anyway.

The second pain is on left foot; what may be the start of athlete's foot between my big and second toes. Ahhh Trichophyton, you little bastard. The perils of running and training. At least this one is easy to fix.

Summary
Miles run: 13 (Canton, Downtown, Fed Hill)
Calories burned: 1457
Calories consumed: 2631 (Carb: 0.47, Fat: 0.41, Prot: 0.12)