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Fleet of Foot
Mar. 18th, 2010 03:33 pmI really like running. I'm pretty shit at it, and totally out of shape in general, but I do enjoy it. The challenge of pushing myself when I feel like, OMG I am going to die, the accomplishment of making my goal for the run, but mostly just *moving*. I have always associated movement with idea and daydream: when I get a good idea or excited about something, I pace, or I sprint, or I run up and down the stairs if it's a really good one. Inspiration lives in my gut and my legs; creativity is physical. At about age four I started channeling all of my giddy excitement for story and character into, well, spinning. Around in circles. I would enter some kind of trance state where I became unaware of the outside world, could just focus on the fantasy inside my head. Music was a really important aspect of this, and still is. It helped shaped my daydreams and gave them focus; power fantasies had certain songs and sad scenes others, some invoked single powerful images and others great theatric overtures.
I can't spin anymore; I did so up through my sophomore year of college, and then moved into a space where I had no room to do so. Now, if I try, I am only rewarded with dizziness and nausea. So I run instead, which is less satisfying for the pain and discomfort that comes with the moving. I could spin for 45 minutes without muscle ache or exaustion, and never dizziness. It takes me about 20 feet before I start feeling tired when I run. But it's something, and if I keep doing it, maybe that pain will go away.
My short term goal is to make it through my "short circuit", which is about a mile and half, maybe a little bit more. I've made it about a little less than two thirds through, but every time I run I push myself a little further. When I'm running that consistantly, I'll move to my longer route, which is roughly three miles. Eventually, I'll be trying to do that at least five times a week.
The biggest issue aside from my whining and overall laziness is my craptastic knees. All the people in my mother's side of my family above 40 have had theirs replaced, and at age 24, they already creak. I have a nice pair of shoes for running, but they are your typical crosstrainers, and for all of their supportiveness of my high arches, they jar my legs something awful. Honestly, the best luck I've had for making sure my knees don't hurt? Soft ballerina flats. They let me run farther, faster, and they reduce how sore I am the next day. But my ankles and arches *hate* me for it, and I wore through my last pair anyway.
Which is why I really, really want a pair of these: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/
They're super hideous, but look so much more comfy for running and walking. I have no money now, as every red cent should be headed for the wedding, but maybe for my birthday I will get a wonderful fug-ass pair of creepy toe shoes, and all parts of me will rejoice.
A question for anyone else out there who runs: when you do, do you run straight? or do you run until you can't do so anymore, walk, and then start running again?
I can't spin anymore; I did so up through my sophomore year of college, and then moved into a space where I had no room to do so. Now, if I try, I am only rewarded with dizziness and nausea. So I run instead, which is less satisfying for the pain and discomfort that comes with the moving. I could spin for 45 minutes without muscle ache or exaustion, and never dizziness. It takes me about 20 feet before I start feeling tired when I run. But it's something, and if I keep doing it, maybe that pain will go away.
My short term goal is to make it through my "short circuit", which is about a mile and half, maybe a little bit more. I've made it about a little less than two thirds through, but every time I run I push myself a little further. When I'm running that consistantly, I'll move to my longer route, which is roughly three miles. Eventually, I'll be trying to do that at least five times a week.
The biggest issue aside from my whining and overall laziness is my craptastic knees. All the people in my mother's side of my family above 40 have had theirs replaced, and at age 24, they already creak. I have a nice pair of shoes for running, but they are your typical crosstrainers, and for all of their supportiveness of my high arches, they jar my legs something awful. Honestly, the best luck I've had for making sure my knees don't hurt? Soft ballerina flats. They let me run farther, faster, and they reduce how sore I am the next day. But my ankles and arches *hate* me for it, and I wore through my last pair anyway.
Which is why I really, really want a pair of these: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/
They're super hideous, but look so much more comfy for running and walking. I have no money now, as every red cent should be headed for the wedding, but maybe for my birthday I will get a wonderful fug-ass pair of creepy toe shoes, and all parts of me will rejoice.
A question for anyone else out there who runs: when you do, do you run straight? or do you run until you can't do so anymore, walk, and then start running again?
