Have You Seen My Blog Name? Titles Aren't My Forte.

Aaaand we're off to a running start (see what I did there? Like I said, gems). 6 page views! I wonder if my looking at the page counts. If so, good job, me. Keep it up.

I started this blog on a whim, and last night after my computer charger died, I sat around wondering what to do with this thing now that I've got it. I'm not the briefest of people, and to be modest, I type like a madman. This combination could lead to some very wordy posts. I'll work on it. My extensive blog-viewing tells me that people like lots of mini-paragraphs, brevity, and inspiration. Oh, and pictures. Lots of pictures. Well, I can try to deliver on the pictures front. Not so sure about the others. If you're looking for an inspirational story, or a little optimism to start your day, you're not going to get that here. I'm not a great writer, certainly not a great runner, and I can promise you I will rarely be sentimental or sappy. Don't get me wrong, I'm a very happy person, but I'm also kind of a jaded bitch. I also cuss like a sailor, but I'll try to keep this blog PG-ish, with the occasional -13 and R thrown in the mix for some diversity.

So here's the deal: I'm Jean, I run, and I wear minimalist shoes. THESE shoes, to be exact:

I'll bet you couldn't tell I'm not actually standing here. I'm lying down with my feet against the wall-laziness, another endearing characteristic. And yes, those are compression sleeves. Guys are all over that hotfire elf-shoe/compression combo.

 

I know, barf, gag, gross, terrible, she's one of those freaks, yada yada... but really, I love minimalist running. I've been running for 3-4 years now and only made the switch 6 months ago. I'm one of those bullshit "miracle" cases where I used to experience intense hip pain when I ran, only to be magically healed when I changed my running style. Call it what you like ("she's a witch!"), but it works for me. This might be a good time to make it clear that I'm not one of those hateful minimalist runners who hates anyone who doesn't run like me. I just hate everyone! No, not really, I just hate assholes. Those are Softstar Runamocs, by the way. And with 6 blog views, you know they're paying me to say that. I was running in classic Vibrams, which are totally fantastic, but my friends shamed me into giving them up after I wore them to happy hour a few too many times (in their defense, my shoes smelled absolutely rancid). I decided to go with the 5mm Runamocs even though the ground feel isn't as great since winter is coming (WINTER IS COMING) and I wanted something with a bit more traction. So there you go, minimalism.

Until semi-recently, I didn't really understand blogs. Sure, I knew what they were, but I mostly thought they were a website designed to deliver Paul Krugman's gospel straight to me. My friend told me about Ali on the Run (should I link to that? No, too embarrassing. Go hit up her blog, though, it's awesome), I made fun of her for being obsessed with other people's lives, and was immediately hooked. Surprisingly enough, I love reading other runners' happy thoughts. But anyway, I don't understand how blogs work, so excuse this one's embarrassingly-basic setup until I have a chance to figure it all out. And I apologize again for the ridiculous title. Back in my gymnastics days (the "glory days") they called me "Jean, Jean the gymnastics machine," and that was the first thing that came to me. "Jean, Jean, the running machine" was too many syllables, so I went for the always-appreciated (not) Forrest Gump reference. Plus I got the word "run" in there not once, but twice, so you know I'm serious. Maybe I should figure out a way to incorporate it a third time...

Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Too long. But I haven't even gotten to this morning's workout! I'm doing a half marathon this weekend in Annapolis (did you know people from Annapolis are called Annapolitans? The most interesting fact I could find about it) and had a quick tempo run on the training schedule. Like, really quick-the "tempo" part was shorter than the combined WU/CD, only 1 mile. I'm wicked fast and ran an entire mile in a whopping 7:54. I'll probably be a sponsored runner soon, nbd. This whole minimalism thing has made me slow as molasses, which I'm fine with, since running fast hurts and I'm lazy. I'm trying to keep an even 10:00 pace on Saturday, but this will be the first half I've done in minimalist shoes so I'm not expecting great things. I should probably look up the course profile at some point too. Or not.

A scene from my run. Not bad.

I try to use as little extra time as possible to do runs, so I usually do them during my commute to work. I live in Brooklyn now (collective groan), so I took the L to First Ave. and ran along the East River. It's no Alaska (home), but it's not the worst thing to look at while running. I hit 3 miles before I got all the way to work so walked the rest of the way. At one point, woman walking towards me suddenly got the most horrified look on her face, grabbed her crotch, and started hauling ass past me. I tend to have that effect on people.

Once at work, I tried (and mostly failed) to snap a picture in our sleek bathroom. My phone's being a twat so you're being deprived of my dark, blurry photo. Look forward to many more in the future.

Until next time!