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[thinkaboutrunning]

The Stench of Summer

I'm plodding slowly during my morning run in the park on the path by the sea. There are a few dog walkers, a few cyclists and some runners too. I listen to an audiobook and I can hear the sounds outside my head clearly. That's how I hear heavy steps catching up from behind. A faster runner, no wonder there. A man in his late-20s, maybe early 30s, passes me by. Judging by his almost painful expression, he's not enjoying it nearly as much as I do. He wears short tights and some kind of colorful shirt made of synthetic fabric, what we call "technical". He is enveloped in a cloud of body odour so rich, it would make the smelliest Roquefort envious. I gag, then ease off my pace and let him put the distance, a lot of it, between us. I still smell him for minutes after. It makes me wonder if he somehow damaged my nasal paths and now everything will stink of him for the rest of my life. Luckily, the air and my nose clear after a (long) while.

Town of Split on the Adriatic coast of Croatia is my temporary home for the past several years. It's almost ideal for running - it has mild winters with lows at around 10° C. And, it has summers at around 30° - 35°. Yes, I know, I said ALMOST ideal. In the summer I get up at 5am, when the night finally cooled off the heat of the previous day, and go for my daily 10k. When I return, there's usually not a dry patch on me. It's a very sweaty weather. Which is also one of the earliest things I noticed about the town: people sweat! Of course they do, the sun is so hot, you could fry an egg just by holding it in your palm. From the moment I leave our air-conditioned home it takes a quick minute until I'm bathed in sweat. While there's nothing I can do about the circles under my arms and wet marks along the spine on my shirt, at least I try to stop the smell by using antiperspirant deodorants and taking frequent showers. Which, sadly, isn't really a habit of many of my new neighbours. Quite a few times I had to cut my coffee short because the smell coming off men sitting at the table next to me made my eyes water. In the recent face-mask-wearing reality, we found a disinfectant spray with long lasting refreshing scent and I douse my mask in it, because more often than not the person in front of me in the cashier line reeks. It's not completely foolproof, but it saves my smelling cells.

I walk along one of those charming narrow Mediterranean streets framed with stone houses and a young woman passes by. She's almost pretty, with a touch too much make up, botoxed lips and blonde hair which shows her true brunette nature underneath. She wears stylish white sneakers with some golden shiny decorations (they like glitter here), light breezy summer blouse and stylish 3/4-length pants. And, oh boy, does she smell! She wafts on a cocktail of body odour ripened to perfection, mixed with copious amount of sweetly perfume. It puts me in danger of losing my breakfast right there in her wake. So you see, it's not only men.

What baffles me is — those people, these women, they grew up with steamy summers. They sweat their whole lives. They stink their whole lives. One would think, by now they'd figure out how to deal with it. Take, for instance, good ol' stinky me! I was tricked on a couple of occasions early on; I stayed outside running errands without a shower break, and, alas, without a deodorant in my pocket. I watched people moving away from me. Heck, I wish I could have moved away from me! But, see, I learned! Now in the heat of summer in my pouch I carry a small pack of wet wipes and the aforementioned antiperspirant. When I'm away from the shower and exposed to high temperatures for too long, I find a washroom, wipe my smelly areas and re-apply deodorant. It only takes a minute! And if I could, I organize my days so that there'd be a shower break every few hours.

I understand runners shouldn't be judged for sweating. That's actually quite commendable, sweating it out on a long run. But, they could learn to wear fresh shirt for every run. If possible, not the technical one! I know, it's the bragging right to wear shirts from the race we conquered, and those are mostly plastic-fabric kind, the one that keeps stinking of sweat even when you freshly take it out of a washer. Maybe keep those for cooler weather, wear it over a long-sleeved shirt. For the summer though, put on something fresh. And, no one said a runner shouldn't apply antiperspirant before the run! It may not stop the odour completely, but it will lessen the ripening.

[thinkaboutrunning]

Tenth Marathon

"...I started feeling weird; I wasn't sure if I could add this race to the list of the other 9 marathons I ran..."

I ran ten marathons. I ran other, shorter races too, but these ten I consider my greatest running achievement. Now, running a big marathon race isn't for everyone. It's expensive and gruelling, of course. But, for me at least, nothing beats the atmosphere of a truly big race - Boston, Chicago, New York, Berlin...

At first I wanted to test if I have it in me at all, so I registered for a local marathon in Canada. It was fun. Then I wanted to qualify for Boston, because that's pretty much a dream of every non-professional distance runner. After experiencing the crowds in Boston lining up the course for the whole 42.2 kms and getting louder and crazier the closer you get to the finish, I was hooked. I decided to do all Marathon Majors (the largest marathon races in the world). At the time there were 5: Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin and London. By the time I was done with the first four, World Marathon Majors organization added the sixth one - Tokyo.

I managed to qualify for both, Boston and New York. Chicago and Berlin I registered for with pure luck. I guess I was quick enough and my internet was fast enough so I got in minutes after the registration was open. But, I couldn't get into London marathon. Now, there are two ways to get in: lucky draw or charity fundraising. The later was out of the question for me. It's not that I don't support fundraising for a charity, I do! But, I suck in asking people for money. My natural shyness and introversion gets in the way. Every time I tried to raise money for anything, I ended up paying for the whole thing from my own pocket, because it was just too unpleasant approaching people and asking for money, regardless if they were friends or not. With such an insurmountable embarrassment factor, my only way into London's marathon was the lucky draw, which I never won.

Then, last year COVID-19 happened. The pandemic cancelled most big races. London was postponed to October from its regular calendar spot in April. Even then, the race was held for the elite runners only. But, the rest of us got a chance to run it virtually, in our home towns. There was an official London Marathon app one can download on the phone and it tracked the run. It was active for 24 hrs on the day of the marathon only, so in a way it was as close to the real thing as possible. It even had the audio track cheering you on and letting you know where you'd be passing had you been running in London with some information about the famous landmarks. And, after you finished the whole distance within the same day, the organizers would send you the finisher's package with a shirt and finisher's medal. I signed on!

By the time I registered, it was only a little over a month left for training, so I did the best I could to increase the mileage. Then, on October 4th 2020 I woke up early in my temporary home on the coast of Croatia and ran the London marathon. It took me 4 hrs 2 min. I know, I wish I paid more attention to the time, I'd have run 2 min faster!

Within a month (because London Marathon was overwhelmed and also just slightly disorganized when it came to mailing packages to people outside UK) I got my shirt and medal. Then I started feeling weird. It said on the finisher's kit that I finished the London marathon, but I felt like a fraud. Because I didn't travel to London and didn't run the famous course, but did it on my own. At first I wasn't sure if I could add this race to the list of the other 9 marathons I ran. Then I realized - damn right I should add it! Maybe I didn't run the streets of London, but I ran the whole 42.2 kms (or 26.6 mls if you prefer). I didn't get to experience the crowds and atmosphere of London, but if anything, I was worse off for it - I ran alone, without support and without extra boost from cheering crowds. If anything, I should be even more proud of my race. I earned the bragging rights and have been telling everyone that I've ran London marathon, my tenth full marathon race.

Now, if only Tokyo organizers would do a proper virtual race too! Because, Tokyo entry is also a lucky draw I failed twice so far. Besides, I kinda like the idea of running the race without spending a small fortune on plane tickets and hotel. And although I'd love to see Tokyo, I'd settle for the virtual race too!

[thinkaboutrunning]

Things I can't run without

I know, running is supposed to be the most basic of all exercises, except maybe walking. We should be able to run without any additional gear, even without special clothing. And if we must do it that way, we certainly can. But, it's so much more fun and so much more pleasant when we arm ourselves with available gadgets and gizmos. I've tried many and kept only a few I can't run without, sort of. From run trackers to podcast players, here's what I use.

I started "au naturel" wearing my ancient sports shorts from high school (I was lucky they made them so stretchy that I could fit in) and sneakers I bought for walking. They were comfortable and felt great. Sneakers were already moulded by my feet. Those were simple, chafing and blister-free runs.

The more serious I became about it, though, the more I started reading online and offline about things advertised as "essential" to improve my running. To tell the truth, I was mostly interested in finding a way to measure the distance I ran. Those were the days just before GPS became omnipresent. Sometimes I drove the route I was going to run to measure the distance on the car's odometer; on one occasion I even talked a friend into following me in a car. He avoids me ever since.

I turned to the internet, bought a Nike+ pedometer, put it on my shoes and paired it with my iPod. It was inaccurate, for sure — for example a marathon I ran with it was measured as a 45 kms run, full 3 kms longer than actual distance — but it was ingenious when it comes to motivation and goal-setting. Now I could set the weekly, monthly and other goals in distance and time. And, it had a feature I miss ever since - a "Power Song". I could pre-program my own pick-me-up tune and then play it whenever I want or need it during the run by pressing and holding iPod's menu button.

If you promise not to laugh at my taste in music, I'll tell you the song that carried me through the heavy-legged final stages of quite a few marathons and half-marathons; it was Christina Aguilera's "Candyman". Other than catchy melody and cheerful vibe, it also had the perfect beat-per-minute rhythm to which I could match my stride and get some badly needed speed. When I evolved to more sophisticated distance trackers, I lost that Power Song feature and miss it ever since!

I already outed myself as the non-purist runner. (The purists being runners who don't listen to anything other than the sounds of their surroundings and their own breathing.) Yes, I run with headphones, and am not apologizing for it. Nowadays, my phone is my tracking device and a few "essential" apps keep track of my runs and make them more enjoyable. Before I bare my running soul and sole in front of you, I want you to know that I'm kind of an old geek. I like to experiment and try new things all the time, sometimes to my own detriment. One can't know if something's really good until he tries it, right? So, here are my running essentials.

A GPS-capable smartphone is a must. I have an old-ish iPhone 8 which still tracks my distance quite well.

Comfortable headphones. My ears are large — I know, I'm not proud of them and didn't ask for them, but there they are. Most of the earbuds and other fancy small earphones won't stay in my ears. They wiggle and slide out after a few running steps. So, I'm looking for headphones that hook in place in some way. Trust me, running with an earbud that needs to be tucked back in every few steps can ruin your mood run! The current ones I have is the simplest of simple sets of Panasonic wired sport headphones with plastic hook over the ear. What I look for in headphones? I want them light, with some sort of hooking solution either over ears or around the head. Waterproof, or at least water-resistant is preferable. Because, no amount of sweat or rain can stop us, right? Bluetooth wireless are great, but tend to be heavier due to the battery they need to function, which makes them fall outta my ears easier. Also, some bluetooth headphones have connection problems, even though my phone is in my waist-belt less than a meter down from my ears. Further, I prefer earphones which sit outside my ear canal, thus allowing me to hear the sound of my surroundings. It's always useful to hear the car approaching. I know it spoils the sound quality, but ask yourself do you really need a studio-quality sound while running on the road?

I've seen people running with fancy over-the-ear noise-cancelling headphones — I'd love me a pair of those for when I'm on an airplane, but there are two problems I have with them in running situation: they tend to be hot and make me sweat even more; they make me unaware of the traffic and things approaching me outside my field of vision.

My favourite run-tracking app is iSmoothrun. It has more data of my run than I really need, but hey — better too much than not enough, right? It tracks the mileage on my shoes, too. It has easily programmable intervals with great audio feedback. And it syncs with many running community and tracking sites, from Strava to RunKeeper and many in between.

Running community site I use is RunKeeper. It's neither better nor worse than the others. I have used it since 2010, all my running data since then is there and even though I tried Strava and many others, I haven't found a compelling reason to switch, yet. RunKeeper is owned by ASICS, which sort of guarantees they'll be around for a while. But really, it's the matter of preference. I can only suggest that, when you find the site that works for you, stick with it and keep all your data in one place.

One more essential app or site is a weather app. I'm currently running in Europe and use two weather mobile websites which, between them, give me the most accurate hourly forecast: Yahoo weather and Norwegian YR. In North America I trusted The Weather Network the most. Whichever app you choose, I suggest check if it offers the wind speed data per hour. Also "feels like" feature for temperature, whether it's the humidex factor (humidity index) or windchill (in the winter) is very helpful when you need to decide what to wear for the run. All the sites I mentioned above have it.

When it comes to on-run entertainment, there is your music app, whether it's the streaming one (Apple Music, Spotify) or just music playing one. I can't help you much with it, as I'm using Apple Music because it's pre-installed and all my music is there.

Then, there's a podcasts app. Podcasts are radio on demand on any topic you can think of and many you never thought of. They are great way to break the monotony of a long run. My "weapon" of choice is Overcast.

Finally, for the book-loving runners among us, there's an audiobooks app of your choice. On Apple's platforms Apple Books app (former iBooks) doubles as an e-book reader and an audiobook player. Personally, I'm a big reader, but find the audiobooks not affordable, especially at my reading pace of 3-5 books a month. I tried Audible too, it gives one book a month within the subscription, the rest costs extra. Too much for my pocket!

Then I found the solution! There's an iOS app (I'm certain there's something similar for Android too) called Epub Reader. It not only lets me read ebooks, but it also reads it to me. There is selections of voices to choose from and some of them sound almost human. When a book is so good I can't put it down for a run, I listen to it in the same app, while running. My version of the app takes only epub formatted ebooks, but there are plenty free online book conversion sites to help if your book is in a different format. You can try ToEpub, or just search for "free epub converter online".

There you go — these are the gizmos that made my runs enjoyable for years. What are yours? Also, if you have any question, just ask!

[thinkaboutrunning]

What's your story?

Tell me yours, I'll tell you mine — how, why and when did you start running? I started on a dare. Or, rather, out of spite.

I was bent almost double by a slipped disk in my lower back. Walking was a very slow and very painful process. I shuffled around stooped at 90°, supporting myself against desks, doorframes and any other object I could lean on in my path. I was in early thirties, but walked like a feeble 80-something. For a while there was no position to soothe the pain; I couldn't sit, standing was as excruciating as laying down, and walking was the worst. Only after about ten days of physiotherapy the pain started easing off. Another week later, I could walk bent at "only" 45°. My legs were tingling and the left one often fell asleep on duty. I'd get up from the chair and find myself sprawled on the floor, because the left leg was numb and didn't receive the signal to prop me up and make a step. It felt like it wasn't a part of me any longer. The therapist suggested a cane. I seriously considered it too, but the colleagues at work were already teasing me about skipping the middle age and going from youth to senior in one shuffling step.

The nerve in my leg slowly tingled to life, but I had to learn to walk again. Or, maybe not quite learn, but I had to practice walking. A lot. From micro-distances like going to the bathroom without propping myself against something, to short outings around the building. Those became gradually longer walks around the neighbourhood. Then longer still.

Back at work Paul, a colleague with big mouth and rugby-sized shoulders, enjoyed acting out my bent office crawl. He wasn't bad either, but one can only laugh so much at his own misery. As days of Paul's shenanigans wore on, I kept the smile plastered on my face while he clowned around the office, stumbling and falling over the chairs and imitating - badly! - my accent, but internally I just wanted to kick his ass. One day he overheard me telling a lady co-worker how I managed to run a lap around my building. Paul stopped, inserted himself between me and her and said "so, are we going to run a marathon?" with a wink to her and a goofy grin.

"Is that a challenge?" I asked before I even thought about it.

He looked me in the eye, really LOOKED for the first time in the long while. His smile soured. Nobody laughed. Then his chin lifted.

"Sure," he said with defiance - "if you think you can do it, I'm in. Just don't blame me if you fail."

That was untypically sullen answer for Paul the jokester, and it gave me great satisfaction.

I focused on the next year's marathon in our city. I knew nothing about training for a marathon, but there's so much about it online that I only needed to choose the training plan that looked the most doable. I opted for a slow 20-weeks training plan. It was a fantastic learning process. I made mistakes, many of them, and I learned from them. The magical thing that happened along the way was that running became easy. I mean, at first I'd go out for a run and had to walk back slowly, winded and exhausted. When I managed 5 kms without stopping and without walking, I felt like celebrating! Then it lengthened to 7 kms, to 8, 10 and more. I could think about things other than how to make another step and where to put the next foot. I noticed the neighbours mowing lawns, the goldfinches flying beside me in that funny way of theirs: two wing-flaps then a short drop, then two flaps again. I passed a skunk strolling by the sidewalk — it gave me a surprised look, but didn't seem threatened by me, while I couldn't say the same. I chased the squirrel who sprinted atop the fence next to me faster than I could run. In short, I learned to enjoy the act of running.

The climax of this story is very anti-climatic, I'm afraid. I ran my marathon. It was the first of many. It was also my fastest marathon, at 3h 05min. Paul never showed up. His teasing ceased long before the race and he always had somewhere else to be when I showed up at work. Still, I'm grateful for his teasing. His big mouth set me on the lifelong path of running.

Who — or what — was a "Paul" on your running path?