I feel old...

I woke up Tuesday morning and felt a shooting pain in right hip. I did manage to run that night although I just felt like I was shuffling along like an old lady. Yesterday morning, I woke up feeling pain in every part of my body, even my stomach didn't feel quite right. I went for my run; I was scheduled to do five miles at easy pace but I only managed to do have half the mileage.

Later on, I went in for my gum graft. Essentially, the periodontist takes gum from the roof of my mouth and then transplants it to my front tooth where the gum is receding. It as much as fun as it sounds. This was my second round, so at least I knew what to expect this time around. I have one more to go. My diet for the next few days will consist of soft foods like pudding and creamed corn.

Hip pain, receding gums, eating mushy food... I feel so old.

Ultramarathon Man

I just finished reading Dean Karnaze's book Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All Night Runner. Most people know Karnazes from his most recent endeavor in 2006 which was running 50 marathons (one in each state) in 50 days. The book is bascially a memoir of his early running years up to the completing a 199 mile relay race by himself. Karnaze's may be an amazing athlete that repeatedily pushes the envelope on human endurance but his writing style is rather banal. Some of the andecotes are amusing (like projectile vomiting after his first 50 miler and ordering pizza in the middle of nowhere) but the book lacks any depth or inspiritation. Instead of feeling inspired to push beyond the 26.2 mile distance, I was just left the thought of "wow, this guy has a real Type-A++++ personality". I am quite happy with my Type Y (not quite a Z because I manage to some things done) lifestyle, no ultras for me.

I am so cool

On Friday night, I jogged down to the high school track which is about a mile from my house which is perfect for a warm up and cool down when I do my speedwork. As I entered the road that leads to the high school, there was a group of girls that I passed. One of the girls said "that is sick, I want one of those" as I passed. She was referring to my super cool Fuel Belt that I was wearing. If you are not hip on today's lingo, "sick" means cool these days. Yes, I am very cool.