Oh god, here we go again
It’s the annual walking/running stats blog! That nobody cares about!
JOY!!!!
Here are my walking stats for January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024.
Total number of days walked/ran: 366
Total mileage: 6,620
Total number of steps: 14,554,171
Total calories burned: 475,620
Total walking/running time (minutes): 97,325.05 [that’s about 67.59 days]
Average speed (mph) per walk/run: 4.25
6,620 miles is approximately the great circle distance between Calgary, AB and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, or between Mexico City, Mexico and Moscow, Russia.
Guess what I got for Christmas???
A MIGRAINE!!!!!
And a really cool book on the planets.
But mainly a MIGRAINE!!!!!
(This is becoming like a tradition now; I think this is the third Christmas migraine I’ve had in like the past five years.)
I am not built for the cold
IT’S NOT EVEN THAT COLD OUT YET
AND I WAS RUNNING
How does one get THIS COLD while running 18 miles? Someone tell me.
It’s Migraine Time!
I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but I tend to get a lot of migraines in August/September.
School anticipation, maybe? Although school started several weeks ago, so…who knows.
Bleh.
Claudia’s Dental Saga: Episode 13
Today’s Good: I got to run underneath some more northern lights this morning. They weren’t as prevalent as the last time I saw them on a run, but they were there and they were green and they were calming.
Today’s Bad: That was
THE
MOST
PAINFUL
dental cleaning I have ever had in my entire life. It actually may have been the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced, period. I like to think I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but this evening’s appointment involved thirty minutes of them pressure washing the plaque off my teeth. Because I’m a bad human, I had like millimeters of plaque on/between a lot of my teeth and when the underlying tooth/gum was exposed, it was painfully sensitive.
I was crying, yo. And shaking. And hyperventilating.
I’m not going back unless my fucking teeth start falling out, sorry.
Claudia’s Dental Saga: Episode 12
I got absolutely SOAKED during my very rainy run this morning.
Was very cold for hours.
Then had to go to the dentist in the afternoon.
Riveting, I know, right?
(I don’t have anything fun to say today, sorry)
Claudia’s Dental Saga: Episode 11
In the never-ending saga that is “Claudia Mahler and the No Good, Very Bad Teeth,” I got the mold done for my crown plus a cavity filling.
Man, I remember when I was a kid and had absolutely NO teeth trouble.
But then I grew up and destroyed my teeth in a matter of about six months with a really bad habit and now they’re all awful.
Ugh.
Somewhat Mid-Year Mileage Update!
So I had to switch to a new pair of shoes today and it’s been a while since I’ve done a mileage update, so LET’S GO!
Not counting today, I’ve walked/run 4,264.57 miles so far this year. That’s approximately 150 miles more than I’d done by this time last year and almost 700 miles more than I’d done by this time in 2023.
The ultimate goal is still 10,000 kilometers (about 6,200 miles)…can I do it???
Paranoia? Preparedness.
So since it seems like you can get Covid now just from looking at an infected person*, I decided to go get an air purifier for my office for an additional layer of protection.
I don’t let anyone in my office anymore because it’s my “Covid Safe Zone” (I hold office hours in a different room), but the cleaners come in there every few weeks and mop the floors and stuff, and I want a way to help clear the air faster and more efficiently after someone else has been in there.
And also just in general, because I don’t trust our ventilation system anymore, either.
Anyway, behold!
(Yes, I have Christmas lights in my office. They make me happy, fight me.)
*Obviously an exaggeration, but the newest strains seem super contagious
Claudia’s Dental Saga: Episode 10
More dental crap today. Teeth were cleaned. Looks like I’ll need a crown on that broken tooth but won’t need a root canal on it.
Hooray.
(I know nobody cares. I don’t care either, but whatev.)
Migraine! Again!
DIDN’T I JUST HAVE ONE OF THESE LIKE TWO WEEKS AGO
Claudia’s Dental Saga: Episode…9?
Dentist time.
Ugh.
So they weren’t able to do anything with the half tooth today, but they said as long as it’s not hurting, just be careful with it and chew on the other side of my mouth (which I can’t really do because I have a GAPING HOLE where that bridge needs to go…).
X-rays were done, though, and it sounds like they’ll be able to fix things next time I go in there.
I repeat: ugh.
Consistency, Persistence, Payoff
I think I have finally gotten to the point where running a marathon is routine. I’ve been doing a marathon basically every week this year (the only exceptions have been weeks where the weather just hasn’t allowed it, like those -30 degree nonsense weeks we had back in January) and they no longer feel that much more difficult than my regular 18-mile runs.
And that was one of my goals this year – to make that distance a “routine” distance – and now it is.
So that’s cool I guess.
Are My Teeth Made of GLASS??
So I lost a chunk of another one of my teeth this afternoon, YIPPEE!
Now I have to go to the freaking DENTIST, even though I should have already been going to the freaking DENTIST because I still need to get that bridge that I’ve been putting off since like September 2020 because I’m an adult who can handle the dentist.
(I cannot handle the dentist.)
At least it doesn’t hurt.
But ugggggggggggggh.
It’s Migraine o’ Clock!
I know my “I had a migraine today!” blog posts aren’t the most riveting*, but I basically use this blog to record when they happen in case there ever appears to be some sort of consistent pattern to them.
As far as I know, there isn’t a consistent pattern, but you never know. The universe may surprise me one day.
OKAY THAT’S ALL
*NONE of my blog posts are riveting, let’s be real.
The 3 AM Run
Pros:
- No sun
- No sunscreen
- Nobody’s out on the trail
- Minimal traffic
- 18 miles done by 6 AM
- The ambient temperature is actually still decreasing until like 5:30 AM, so there’s that to look forward to rather than a constantly increasing temperature like I’d get if I left at my usual 6 AM
Cons:
- Getting up at 2 AM
- Moose encounters (namely, the heart-stopping experience of seeing a silhouette slowly emerge in your headlamp beam and realizing that it’s a big-ass moose that’s looking right at you)
- Bowness Park is pretty creepy in the pitch black
A Follow-Up that Nobody Asked For
So remember back at the beginning of the year when I was suspecting that ibuprofen was destroying my insides?
I’m pretty sure I was right.
Reflecting back on the symptoms I had – super bad upper gastrointestinal discomfort (especially when running, which was conveniently right after I took ibuprofen), lots of gastro pain in general, puking, puke that looked like coffee grounds, and very dark stool (TMI, sorry) – I’m pretty sure I had some sort of gastrointestinal bleeding going on. My guess is the source of the bleeding was higher rather than lower based on the pain and that it might have even been an ulcer.
The fact that the pain and other symptoms stopped a month or so after I stopped taking ibuprofen and switched to Tylenol is another hint.
Now I guess I have to worry about too much Tylenol, though, haha.
Or just be in pain all the time.
Either/or.
Vrooma-Vroom-Vroom
I didn’t mention this when it happened because of SHAME, but a few weekends ago I went running early in the morning and, around mile 7 or so, started feeling some twinging at the back of my ankle. It wasn’t too bad and it wasn’t constant, but it was a sharp enough pain that it actually made me stop running and call Nate to come pick me up because I didn’t want to risk it becoming an actual injury.
(Ultimate humiliation, by the way. I still feel embarrassed. I’ve never not finished a run before.)
It didn’t hurt when I walked or anything, but I gave it a few days before I ran again. While there was still a little pain on the first run, it wasn’t too bad. It slowly got better and I limited my runs to my shorter distance (17 miles) instead of doing any long runs.
Today, though, I tried my first long run since the twinging and was able to do a marathon with no twinging/pain/whatever.
So that’s cool.
Hopefully it was just a little bit of tendonitis? I feel like I’d experienced that pain before, but not since I really first started running. I’m 98% sure I have some shin splints* going on in the opposite leg, so maybe I’ve been running weird to compensate for that pain. Also, I think I was wearing my old pair of shoes a bit too loose. Also also, I did that 60K several weeks ago and was running in less than ideal conditions for about half of it, so maybe that angered the tendon or muscle or whatever the hell was twinging. I’m not actually sure.
Hopefully it’s all better now and I can get back to my regularly scheduled running programming and possibly do a better 60K before the Calgary Marathon virtual cutoff so that I don’t have to count that pathetic 10:30 minute pace one.
*It’s either that or, like, a hairline fracture. Not sure which and too scared to find out.
A Migraine Prodrome?
While on my run this morning, I started feeling really, really weird. I sometimes get this super strong “déjà vu”* sensation, and that was happening so severely this morning that I actually had to stop running for a second and just try to let my brain chill out before I could continue. I also just felt off all morning, and the combination of these things made me think that I was going to end up getting a migraine sometime soon.
And so guess what happened this afternoon?
Fortunately I was done with the ASHA adjudication meeting that I had to go to in the morning, but unfortunately I was about two blocks out from my office and on the way to FreshCo. Another fortunate thing though was that I noticed the vision stuff right as it started, which means I took some Excedrin immediately. The faster I take the meds as the vision stuff begins, the better it seems to do in terms of making the actual headache part more bearable.
So that was fun.
At least it didn’t happen while I was running.
*It’s not déjà vu, but that’s the closest thing I can think of to describe it. It’s almost like what I would describe a smell to be like in terms of how it permeates my sinuses and head, but it’s obviously not that, either.
Huh…
I just finished another pair of shoes (500+ miles), which meant that in addition to starting the new pair, I saved and exported the old pair’s mileage from my iPod so that I could start the count anew with the fresh pair.
As mentioned somewhere previously on this blog, I’m not actively going for a new mileage record this year (which has been incredibly demotivating), mainly because I’m pretty sure my entire family would want to throw me in the river if I were to obsess over mileage even an iota more than I did last year.
So when I checked my mileage progress for this year so far as I entered the new miles in my little spreadsheet, imagine my surprise when I found this:
- Cumulative miles from January 1 to May 2 in 2023 (my record year so far): 2040.27
- Cumulative miles from January 1 to May 2 in 2024: 2125.24
UM.
But then I realized that 1) I had not yet bumped up my daily mileage to 18 miles in 2023 by this point in the year, and 2) I had not yet run a marathon distance in 2023 by this point in the year, whereas I’ve done multiple marathons, multiple 50 Ks, and a 60 K so far this year.
Still, though, I was not expecting the mileage to be that close and for 2024 to be (even a little bit) higher.
I’m going to have to try really hard not to use this as a sign from the universe to go for a new mileage record.
Really, really, really hard.
Also, I’ve taken over 101 million (recorded) steps since I moved to Calgary, which is pretty sweet.
Sixty
It’s done, yo!
My first 60 kilometer (37.28 mile) run.
This was NOT The day to do this. I was not in the mood to run today, I felt like garbage this morning, I got up later than I wanted to, and I ran approximately 18 consecutive miles into 30 mph headwind.
(Hence the terrible pace)
But I did it anyway because I’m stubborn like that.
So this is currently acting as my virtual ultra for the Calgary Marathon. Will I do another one of these? Possibly, if for no other reason than to overwrite that terrible pace.
But the distance has been accomplished at least once, and that’s fine with me.
Early Morning Vrooming
I was planning on just doing an 18-mile run this morning because we were going to head to Nate’s parent’s place for an overnight stay, but plans fell through and I ended up doing a 50k instead.
Because I’m that kind of person now.
I probably could have gone for my 60k if I had taken water with me. The drinking fountains aren’t on yet and by the time I was at mile 28 or so it was starting to get quite warm out.
So maybe next weekend.
Oh. Also. For the first twenty miles or so, I’m just minding my own business, thinking about all the weird stuff I always think about on my runs…but then guess what song pops into my head?
It was stuck in my head for ELEVEN MILES.
Freaking AI.
Adventures in Running: Ultra Marathon, Non-Potable Water, and Waiting to Die
Ha.
So.
Today I went for a run. Nothing unusual there. I was aiming for at least 29 miles, but was hoping to do another 50k because it’s been a while and I REALLY need to get my mileage up for the 60k coming in May/June.
The run was really nice. Not too hot, not too cold, not too many people out, and I was deliberately trying to take it a bit slower than normal so that I wouldn’t completely burn out if I decided to go for the 50. Also, rather than run through the icy/slushy/wet hell that is Sue Higgins Park (a dog park), I took Nate’s advice and crossed the river to run on the other side.
I also did this because there were public bathrooms there that I was sure I had gotten water from last summer (we had walked down there with my mom).
So all was going well. The other side of the river was WAY nicer than the dog park side, and when I got to 14.5 miles, I turned around to head back home with the intention of stopping at the public bathroom (mile…18?) to grab some water with my little collapsible silicone cup.
Luckily there was no one in there, so I just held my breath (Covid fears…yes, I know, I know…), filled up the cup all the way, and went back outside to drink it.
Tasted kinda off, but not too bad.
Went back in to get some more just to wash out my mouth a little.
And when doing so, I noticed the big sign on the wall: “DO NOT DRINK THE WATER”
Sooooo…yeah. Apparently I’d just drank non-potable water.
(Which is weird, because I’m sure that I drank from that sink last year, hence my not even considering there was a “don’t drink the poop water” sign anywhere)
So I spent the rest of my run wondering if/when I’d experience any negative side effects from that.
I did do 50k, though, and was actually able to run up our hill at the end of the distance, which is not something I thought I’d be able to do at mile 30.5.
So maybe the poop water gave me extra power?
We’ll see if I die in the next few days, haha.
(One can only hope.)
Ew.
This is…this is disgusting.
“So while the rest of the world seems to have moved on from the pandemic, in our house, it is still 2020. We wear masks when we go into public indoor spaces. We don’t eat inside restaurants. We don’t go to movies. We have people take COVID tests before they enter our house. All this leaves me feeling torn between two emotions. I want to keep my husband safe and healthy. But I also want our old life back.”
Before that quote, she talks about how her husband is immunocompromised and how his first COVID infection left him very ill. And how she’s pregnant. And how there’s still so much more we don’t know about COVID yet.
Like…I want my old life back, too. But it’s gone. I don’t think we’ll get back to that for a long time (if ever).
This whole thing is also something I fear. I’ve never had COVID (as far as I know) and thus don’t suffer from long COVID, but I’m still cautious as hell because I don’t want to get COVID and risk the chance of long COVID. My family members put up with my cautiousness for now and still (to some extent at least) maintain a level of caution themselves, but what happens when they decide to stop? What happens when they decide that my caution is unwarranted and not worth keeping up masking in public spaces or being careful around others (even if they probably don’t have COVID)?
What happens when our levels of caution are no longer compatible? I feel like I’m going to be masking still for a long time, especially given my job. How much longer will my family want to put up with my caution?
I don’t know. And it’s not a fun thing to think about.
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