Running Meme

Cassie tagged me with this little running quiz, so here we go:

Q: What are you training for now?

Nothing in particular, in fact, I am horribly bad at running consistently during the summer. Lately I have been so busy that I’m always tired, and the past couple days I’ve actually been sick with a cold. Boo. However, I am planning to run the 8K held along with the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October (my friend Buzz is running the marathon, I’m going along for the fun). I also plan to run the Houston Half Marathon in January, and I’ll probably start training “seriously” for that in late September. I say “seriously” in quotes because I don’t really train for a certain time. I just train to cover the distance without hurting myself!

Q: If you are raising money for a cause, what is it and why is that cause important to you?

I have not done anything like Team in Training, though I considered joining when I was training for the marathon last year. I ended up training on my own. I have, however, ridden in the MS150 for two years in a row and plan to do so again in 2006. I don’t know anyone with MS, but it feels good to raise money for a good cause.

Q: What is the farthest distance you’ve run in your training and what is the farthest distance you will run before your event?

My farthest training run ever was the 22-miler I did three weeks before I ran the 2005 Houston Marathon (my one and only marathon so far). A lot of training plans top out at 18 or 20, but I’m very glad I chose to go a bit farther. The 22-miler was far more hellish than the marathon itself. When I start training for the half this fall, my longest training run will probably be a 12 or 13-miler. I’d like to improve on my time from the 2004 Houston and Austin Half Marathons (2:15 and 2:16), but that’ll take some work.

Q: What is your favorite flavor of gu? (or other sports gel)

I haven’t experimented with them much, but I did use them on my long training runs and during the marathon. I didn’t try different kinds, I just went with the first brand I tried since I liked it well enough — CarbBoom in apple cinammon or vanilla orange (the latter has caffeine).

Q: How many days a week do you run?

During the summer (i.e. now), one day per week if I’m lucky and the weather cooperates. I overheat very easily, so I spend a lot of time in the summer inside on the elliptical machine or riding my bike (at least there’s a breeze on a bike). During the winter, I try to run 3-4 days per week, and on the other days I usually have something scheduled like a softball game, soccer game, or rock climbing. While training for the marathon, I ran 4 days per week.

Q: Are you injured in any way right now? If so,what are you doing about it?

Yes, mildly, and it’s one of the reasons I’ve been even lazier than usual. I have an overuse injury in my right knee that has been nagging me for months. In April I finally went to the orthopedic doctor who gave me a brace to wear each time I was active for 8 weeks. I went back in June and my knee hadn’t gotten any better, but hadn’t gotten any worse either. I had an MRI and it’s basically just inflammation and tendonitis causing a lovely bump on top of my kneecap. No scoping necessary, just time. He offered a cortisone shot, but I declined for the time being. It hasn’t really gotten any better though despite me not doing much (it bothered me last Saturday at the Urban Adventure Race) so I may go back in another month or two and see if a cortisone shot helps.

Q: What is one item of running clothing/gear (shoes don’t count) you can’t run without?

A t-shirt. Sounds silly to say, but it’s true — you will never see me running in just a sports bra, or even in a sleeveless shirt or tank top. I like having sleeves, and I sweat enough that I like to be able to wipe my face on my sleeves.

Q: Do you have a talisman you are planning on taking to your event? If so, tell us!

Nope. But I do keep reminders of each race. I made a quilt out of the t-shirts from the first 30 races I ran, and have the bib numbers from every race hanging in my bathroom (odd place for them, but it’s motivating).

Q: Share one thing about yourself we don’t know.

I have a secret desire to kill Gavin. Ok, fine, I just said that because he’s standing here laughing at my sad Monte Carlos. Anyway, I was 7th chair flute in All-State Band my senior year of high school. It was very important to me at the time, but now doesn’t seem like that big a deal.