Tag: 95 Books

forty two by forty two week one

Books Read:
…some architecture stuff…

Kilometres Ran:
week ten — 73.7

To date: 563 km

Other than some architecture stuff around my course and an architecture book that SC lent to me and the odd article in the New Yorker and Playboy I haven’t read much of anything. I was sort of disappointed that Playboy went nude again. Fortunately, it has retained its clean layout and design, but I don’t quite understand why it felt it needed to go back to bare. The course I’m taking is very interesting and much more course-y than I expected. I’m enjoying it, and just like real school I’m already well behind. It’s ten weeks, but I have a year to complete. I won’t take a year. I also won’t make it anywhere near 95 books this year. Not at this pace.
Pacing is the issue. Thus ends week one of marathon training. SC introduced me to Hal Higdon (no not actually introduced me jeeze) while I was looking for training plans. The appeal of the one I chose is that all the technical mumbo-jumbo is nadda. It’s an 18 week plan, but week nine was pretty close to the same as what I’d done last week so it seemed reasonable to jump in. Plus I wouldn’t need to learn WTF a tempo and a fartek is. Maybe one day. Today was long run day, and until probably yesterday I did not know that LSD means something far different to people that run. And I’m not very good at it. Following Hal’s advice I tried to stick to a pace of around 5:30/km but ended up being quite a bit quicker: 5:16/km over 30.6 km (19 miles), which on one hand I was rather pleased about since I’d never run more than 25 km before today, but on the other hand I’m really trying to follow the training plan…something that I am not very good at in any situation, running or otherwise. Next week I’m staring down 80 km with a 32 km run on Sunday and already there’s a part of me that wants to do the 32 at 5:10.

forty two by forty two

Books Read:
Zilch

Kilometres Ran:
week nine — 55.5

To date: 490 km

So I didn’t read anything this week. Well, I read some bits of some stuff and a couple New Yorker articles. And I signed up for the architecture course through Harvard online called The Architectural Imagination and I think I’m going to like it a lot so I’ll probably be talking about that for the next ten or so weeks. Maybe I’ll read some stuff too. Hey, it could happen. Stranger things have happened. For instance, did you notice this post isn’t covering multiple weeks?

For the record I abhor the RHCP

I got this lamebrained idea I’m not quite sure when exactly, but I’m pretty sure that it was while I was running, that I should run 42 kilometres on or around my 42nd birthday and then in the midst of the run I spent entirely too much time trying to figure out when I turn 42. So that’s embarrassing. But I’ll write about it, publicly, so now it’s comedy. Anyway, once I figured out that I turn 42 this June it did seem really lamebrain. I’ve said, out loud, that I have no interest in running a marathon and that I probably never will. But lately. Lately…. I ran 12-and-a-bit kilometres today, and/but my past three runs have been over 20 kilometres each and I’m well aware that 20 km isn’t exactly 42 km but the BMO Vancouver Marathon is nine weeks away and although I signed up for the half-marathon back in June of 2016 or whenever the super good deal was for past participants after spending the past 24 hours or so looking around for eight-week marathon training plans today I changed my BMO Vancouver registration from a half marathon to a full marathon and put down the $70 difference plus the $10 change fee plus Justin Trudeau’s share (I’ve decided to just imagine that all taxes go directly to him) so I guess I’m going to run 42 kilometres a little less than a month before I turn 42 years old. And just think, after that I’ll never have to do it again!

persuasion

Books Read:
9. In Persuasion Nation — George Saunders

Kilometres Ran:
week seven — 53.4
week eight — 68.3

To date: 434 km

I lent someone my copy of Tenth of December and I cannot for the life of me remember who. I thought that I remembered who but I asked her and she does not remember borrowing it, which doesn’t necessarily mean that she didn’t or and that I didn’t but it also got me to thinking that maybe I didn’t lend it to anyone and maybe my copy was an epub copy and not a physical copy at all. My copy of Persuasion Nation is an epub copy. I really liked Tenth so I thought that I would really like Persuasion but I didn’t really like I just liked it. It was good. It didn’t make me want to stop reading Saunders or anything. Yet I’ve been having trouble finding motivation to read much of anything lately. I do spend a lot of time on the sofa listening to music and just thinking about stuff. And the clock just seems to spin.

Strava says third best half at 1:45:14. Doppelgänger says that’s what you get for being social.

I am not bored with running, though I still only run three or four days per week. But I’ve been running longer on those three or four days. In lieu of the canceled Vancouver First Half, Forerunners hosted a social half marathon on February 18. It took a little bit of sitting on the sofa listening to [probably Underworld] and pondering the mysteries of the universe to persuade me to participate. I’ve written many times about my solitary-itude when it comes to running. But I did it, and I’m glad that I did. I even *gasp* talked to people while I was running. I blame being social (though it could have very well been the stopping for water around kilometre 15) that I failed to post a new PR, but I had a good time and I ran a route that I’ve only sort of run once before — the route follows parts of the Scotiabank Half route. And I learned that running down hill (obviously forgot after last year’s Scotiabank) absolutely destroys my quads and maybe I need to do some hill training or something. I’ve been saying that for about a year now…. So I didn’t post a new PR, but I learned something and had a good time. Also, beat my Scotiabank time, so there’s that too. So now the lingering thought, do I persuade myself to up my BMO Half to the full marathon. I turn 42 in June, and I’ve been thinking that running 42 the year that I turn 42 would be, I dunno, interesting? I checked the other days, and I have until mid-April to persuade myself, and put down the $70 race registration change fee. I think I need to decide sooner than that.