Building blocks

After 5 miles on Sunday, I chose to scale back a little today to 2.5 instead of upping my mileage to 2.75.  It may seem silly to some that a 1/4 mile could be that big a deal, but I want to be sure that I'm not overusing or pushing anything to a breaking point.

It also allowed me to just focus on running longer.  No formal interval timing, just run until I wanted a little break, then walk a little until I felt like running again.  I focused on my posture and breathing as I ran along and had a really nice run this morning as a result, covering just over 2.5 miles in a little under 35 minutes.

Every run I try to notice something about the world around me and today it was the lilacs are coming out. I love lilacs, perhaps because they are only here for such a short time.  I love the scent, color and look of them, so it was nice this morning to get that surprise was just something worth smiling about.

Next week will include my 5 mile run on Sunday - I'm holding there for a bit, and a 3 mile run mid-week.  In a couple of weeks I'll split my mid-week run into two 2 mile runs and build from there.  When I have 1 5 mile and 2 2 mile runs, I'll start adding to the long run again.  Until then I'll keep going, one step at a time.

Doyle's 5 Mile

I love this race.

Have I ever told you that?  If not, I'm surprised because I love this race.

Quick recap: My goal was to run between a 13-14 min mile and finish in 1:10 or under.  I finished the 5 mile course in 1:09 before the rain came.

Full reca: All week long the weather has beautiful but today, the predictions were for rain and lots of it.  We need the rain as we're in drought conditions, but today?  Why?  At race time it was 55* and drizzly.  I could live with that, the hope was that the rain would hold off, and it ultimately did.  Gazelle Boy was shivering.  In his Kafka t-shirt and shorts, he was freezing in the raw conditions.  I know he likes to pass runners in these situations, but I was worried about him and wanted him to move up front.  He moved far enough front that I couldn't see him, but I had no idea where he was in the crowd.

To top it off, we were on our way to the race when I realized my watch and inhaler were on the coffee table at home (d'oh), so I took this as a a sign that I need to focus less on time and more on just running.  So I decided I would run through a song or two and then walk a song.

The start is always chaotic.  Two thousand runners trying to get across the start line is not a pretty sight.  This year was the first time the race was chip timed, so it didn't matter that it took a couple of minutes to get across.  I had somehow managed to start both the Nike+ GPS and the Nike+ - I'm not sure how but they were both battling for my attention on the course.   As always, the Boston Police Gaelic column stood at the 1/4 mile mark playing for us. :)

The drizzle stopped and we we were off.  I moved along to the my angry Irish run playlist and the beat of Floggy Molly.  Just before the 1 mile mark, there were a number of people jumping up and down trying to flag someone's attention.  I could see a small crowd gathered around someone and I said out loud, "Please G-d, don't let it be my son" as all I could see was a well toned leg in shoes like the ones he wears.  I got closer and caught a glimpse of the blue, long sleeved race shirt on the person and veered off.  Unless someone gave Gazelle Boy a shirt after he moved forward, it wasn't him.  There were a large number of people around the person, so I kept going saying a prayer that they'd be OK.

My heart went out of the race at that point.  I had no definitive way of knowing if Gazelle Boy was Ok or not, so I powered through.  He didn't pass me at his usual spot and I was starting to worry again until just after the 2nd mile mark I saw him in the distance coming down the road from the Franklin Park Zoo leg of the race.  I joyfully yelled my traditional greeting to him, "You're getting beat by a girl!"  He ran over and asked if I had an inhaler.  I said no, he said he was OK but... and took off in the direction of the last mile while I headed to the zoo and turn around.  A great weight had been lifted and I was back in the race.

I trucked along, pretty uneventfully, The women holding the 3rd mile marker were not in the right place, but it was OK since I knew about what I was doing.  I had settled into a good rhythm with some of the folks around me in terms of running/walking and passing/being passed.  This is perhaps my favorite part of the course.  Turning off the main road past the golf course and running through a wooded section with a little brook and ducks and green, green leaves of spring.  It's that feeling like you're somewhere other than the densest part of the city.  The final turn to go under the overpass and up the street to finish at Doyle's.

At the finish, I crossed at 1:09 and change.  My husband and Gazelle Boy stood there with a beer for me and we drank up.  I ran into one of my running buddies, couldn't find the others and we decided to get Gazelle Boy in from the cold and get some food.

Gazelle Boy's slow pace?  A 7:41 mile for 38:25.  My pace?  A 13:39 for a 1:08 finish.

On Top of the World

I love the Boston Marathon expo. It's exciting and inspiring. It was also one of those moments that strike you hard and stick with you. When I first walked in there was the Adidas/BAA display with a big "Adidas is all in" sign. There were people everywhere and the end of the song "On Top of the World" by Imagine Dragons was playing on my iPhone. The words ringing in my ears as I walked in:



‘Cause I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I’ve been waiting to smile, ‘ay
Been holding it in for a while, ‘ay
Take it with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child

And I know it’s hard when you’re falling down
And it’s a long way up when you hit the ground
Get up now, get up, get up now.

Summed up the journey for so many of the people walking through those doors. The expo is overwhelming and inspiring all at once. It's the time you get to talk to people who are runners or support runners for a living. You find people like you, meet people from all over the world and just drink in what it all means.

I love that the runningskirts.com people are there and I can try on new running skirts and outfits. Last year I ranted about how so many companies don't get it. Big girls like me like to look cute too, and the folks at running skirts get that. I also look for this year's Boston shirts from Nike. It started a while back with the "Will run for chowdah" shirt. I also have "will run for a largah," and "Boston, it's wicked pissah" This year's was "Heartbreakah," which I wore with my new skirt this morning as I took to Heartbreak hill for a 4.5 mile run. I loved this morning's run. It was warm (in the 60's) and Comm Ave was busy with runners, walkers and local crews setting up for the Heartbreak Hill race this afternoon.

Tomorrow is the marathon and temperatures are predicted to be in the 80's, which is not good for marathoners. I know my water duties will be critical tomorrow. But today, today was a good day to run because I felt on top of the world.

Poetic running

Sunday and yesterday I got dressed to run but never made it out the door. This morning I declared "ENOUGH" and went out for the 4 miles I've been meaning to do the past couple of days. As I was running, I was thinking about lots of things. I was thinking about how I'm running a 6-7 minute stretch and bored after a 2 minute walk break forcing myself to walk the 3rd minute instead of running to keep building my stamina. I thought about my folks and trying to make them move more. I thought about the paper due tonight that I haven't written yet and that I'm taking the MTELs next week. It's a lot to carry and running is a great way to start shedding those burdens.

What made today's run different happened after I ran past the Johnny Kelley statue.

A little past the statue, I heard brakes squealing. Turning around, I saw a turkey darting across Comm Ave running towards Johnny. I was thinking, "Wow, everyone's getting a run in today." That's when the first haiku struck:

Morning brakes squeal out
the turkey crosses Comm Ave
against the red light

and I had to tweet it during my walk break. Then, as I finished up my run, passing the high school someone had written a bunch of messages on the sidewalk in chalk including, "You lose the game" and "Never give up." I laughed as I passed the spot and wrote another haiku on twitter for my cool off walk:

You lose the game scrawled
in colorful sidewalk chalk
I run past laughing

For some reason, finding a couple of poems as I ran made today's run that much better.

Put me in coach

Opening day is here! The Red Sox are in Detroit and the day in Boston loomed clear but cold. I looked like the Easter Bunny barfed springy goodness on me with my safety yellow accented running tights, pink hoodie and green running jacket and braved the 38* temps for 2.5 miles.

These were good, strong miles along the road where I am walking faster and running longer. Today it was 6 minutes of running to 3 minutes of walking. I could feel my back was straight and I remembered to lift my heels while I was in motion and I could feel the difference in how I ran as a result.

Time for a quick shower before I bike off to school but no matter how cold it was outside this morning, I felt the sweet, soft warm kiss of summer and the whispers of "play ball" in my ear.

A Spring in my Step

I'm starting to ramp up mileage, slowly but surly, in prep for Doyles at the end of next month. I'm taking it slowly but surly so I don't end up injured again, which is perhaps my biggest fear right now. Every little twinge or flutter has me catching my breath and praying, "Not again....." When it's nothing, I breathe a sigh of relief and move on, the moment gone but not forgotten.

Today I went out for a 5k run with the goal of running more and walking less. A goal I reached with an easy surprise. I kept my pace a little slower than I normally push and managed to push past my initial markers. "I want to get as far as the end of the park..." turned into making past the corner and to the water fountain. From the top of the hill back to the turn turned into a block from the park that turned into all the way past the high school to the traffic lights for my cool down walk.

Even my walk picked up the pace. My legs have that wonderfully tingling, "Hey, that was a good run" feeling. :)

Spring is good, it's feeling like things are picking up. Riding my bike and running outside are signs of spring which is a time of hope. I'm starting to find myself thinking about a second run because one just didn't feel like enough so even if our weather goes back to more seasonal temps, it's OK. Spring is here and I'm ready to jump in, both feet first.

A week that was

I totally heart my bike! I ride it around town looking like a nerd with my upright position and old school handle bars, but it handles smoothly and is a sweet ride.

Since picking it up after its annual tuneup,I've been riding it all over the place. Mostly to school and back since it's a 2 mile round trip, but also on errands. Thursday I rode it to Zumba class and yesterday to the bike shop and hairdresser.

When I run, my calves feel strong. When I ride, my thighs feel strong. When all is said and done, I know my body IS growing stronger and that is the thing I like the best of all.

Ras Na Heirann 5K (Race Report)

When you're part of the Running of the Irish (the literal translation of "Ras Na Heirann), the best thing to do is throw on some Celtic Punk music and let the drummer carry you through the mileage. I haven't done a lot of running outdoors over the months and I can't remember the last time I ran a race (last fall perhaps?), so all in all, this was going to just be a fun run for me. My fast goal was 40 minutes, my slow goal was 45 minutes. Over the years, as the race has grown, so have the costumes. It is no longer odd to see a guy run in a leprechaun suit, costumes are now the norm for this race unless you're one of the 5 minute miler guys in the front of the race.

So, having never run in a costume before, I figured I'd try making a running skirt. When I bought the fabric last week, the woman in line behind me did the squealie, "Who's going to be a fairy princess?" I was, "Um me." :) She gave me a withering look, but I went home and cut and hand sewed a running skirt for the day. Last night I realized it needed more and ran out to buy something for my hair and some fairy wings. I covered them with the fabric from the skirt and some bad-ass looking sprite wing-like things to wear.

At 10am, the streets were empty, all of a sudden, around 10:20, 4,000 runners came out of nowhere to start lining up. I dutifully lined up about halfway between the 14 minute/mile and walking gates and waited. Ran into folks I knew in the starting chutes and we got ready to run. I cued up the Nike+ and "Knuckles Up" by Flatfoot 56. It took about 6 minutes to cross the official start line from where I started, pushed the button on my watch and was off.

The first hill of the race is a 2-3% grade for about half a mile. I ran along, taking my headphones out to listen to the pipe band playing for the runners at the beginning of the race. Since I didn't have a firm plan, the rhythm I fell into was run for about 3-5 minutes (a song or two) and then walk for about 3 minutes and run some more. I cleared the first mile in 12 minutes. Feeling good and heading downhill, I figured I could ease up on the throttle a bit. Trotting along I walked slowly through the water stop and passed mile 2 at the 26:00 minute mark. I was feeling strong but certainly slowing down and walking a bit more and running a bit less than in the first mile. I was still the run a song/walk a song mode, but I wasn't pushing as hard as I had earlier. Facing the last hill, I was feeling a little worn out. It wasn't as drastic as the starting hill, but it was still enough to make me sigh. Then the song "The Long Road" came on:

It’s a long road, and you’re waiting at the gates for me
...so for him I will run the race marked out before me

It was perfect and drove me up the hill in beat with the drummer as I pounded up the hill step by step to the top. With a smile, I started down the last stretch. I could see the finish arch in the distance and knew I was in the home stretch. As I reached the finish line, I could see Pi off to the side helping at the final gate. I made it across, my watch read 42:17 even though the clock read 48:17. It's OK, I suspect when times are finally posted that the gun/chip times will show 42 is closer to my real time. So I hit in between the two times I set for my goals, which works for me.

Right now, the next up is training for the Doyles 5 miler at the end of April.

Uphill - both ways

This is my uphill both ways route. I run uphill, dip a little and then back uphill again before the final downhill home.

It's a 2 mile route and this was a training run for Sunday. I know the race route has a big-ass hill, so I needed to do some serious hills. It was a good, slow run. I'm thinking it's time to start thinking about goals for the race. What do I want to do for a time? Is a 15 min mile of run/walk a good thing or do I push myself for a faster goal.

In the meantime, I feel pretty badass having run uphill both ways. :)

Exercise kicked my fat butt

Yesterday the morning dawned at 51*F, a radical change from Monday morning's 28*F start. I went out for a pleasant 2 miles focusing on a course that has some good hills to push myself a bit even though it was a short, short, run. Good thing it was a short run as I discovered my Superman tights are cut for a tall man. (The waist band was under my bra line!) Of course I want to find some liquid green glitter tights in my size (I've been finding them in smaller sizes) for the Ras, but may just settle on the UA black tights with green stitching and inset panels. So it goes.

It was a good run. I didn't push hard and was able to run much longer distances than I expected of myself.

So what's a girl to do to celebrate? Go to Zumba class after work. Zumba is a fitness program based on Latin rhythms that combines dance moves with fitness routines/steps to make you feel really, really, really uncoordinated. Apparently I mastered "the booty roll." I'm still unsure of some of the steps, but ti was my first class so maybe by the time I finish up the series just before my running club starts up again. The moves work with the rhythm of the music and and are easy to follow.

In the end, I came home and crashed on the couch around 8:30. This morning, my abs are feeling strong and I'll see how it works out after next Thursday's class.

Heading Outdoors again

With the Ras looming large, I realized it's time to get back outside so this morning I suited up and headed out the door. It was 28*F out there and I felt like I was crazy heading out the door, but I did it.

In a new pair of tights with visibility insets and my high-visibility jacket, I set out to get a 5k baseline for myself. Heading out the door I managed to run strong segments of my usual route. It didn't take long for my heart to get pumping and warm me up. While I was out there, I could see the folks getting their morning runs in. It's easy to tell who is marathon training and who is just out running on a morning like this.

Me, I'm out there doing my thing and feeling good that the spring is coming soon and I have a 5k run in books.

Does this jumprope work?

As the PE teacher again, I got to do the jumprope unit with the kids. Ever the entertainer, I had to develop a schtick to teach 1st and 2nd graders some key things, mostly what "aerobic" means and that we're helping them with activity for life.

Jump rope, how hard can it be? We have different lengths plus speed ropes as our regular ropes are encased in plastic tubes (the rope is protected when you're on a playground that way). Most of the kids in the 2nd grad and all the kids in the 1st grade use the small ropes, but kids are kids and you have to remind them that you have to step on the center of the rope and make sure the handles come to between your armpits and shoulders. So how do you tell them the obvious without talking down to them?

If you're me you run up to the rack and yell, "COOL! There's a red one here. I LOVE red!" as you grab the smallest jumprope you can. I let the kids giggle and yell things like "That's too small...." I looked at them puzzled and said, "No it's not! It's just fine, here I'll show you!" and then proceeded to jump having it get caught between my legs, nail me in the shins and calves.

Yes it was somewhat deliberate as well. ;)

I let the kids then instruct me how to pick a rope. Hanging the red one up the kids would yell things like, "Try a medium rope..." and then direct me to stand on it and measure the handles. I would then "try" it out to make sure it works. After jumping a few times, I would then go backwards and say, "Hey, it works in BOTH directions!" The kids would laugh and we could then pick our ropes from there.

For the finish up lesson, I had the kids put their hand on their bicep (after naming it) and try flexing back and forth to feel it. We did the same thing for the tricep and I then asked how do they know they're working their heart? The kids came up with things like: sweating, rosy cheeks, breathing hard/shorter breaths, taking their pulse. I then did something most of those kids don't think about, I told them I was a runner.

I had a kid read the sleeve of my hoodie and then loudly repeated the words, "I run like a girl." As they giggled I then said, "and I'm proud of it! When I run I wear a skirt, I wear cute tops and I am proud to say I run like a girl." In every class, at least one boy would find this amusing so I threw down a challenge: I challenged that kid to line up with me at the start of the Doyle's 5 miler in April and run the race with me.

Same result every time, they would gasp. I told them I'll be running the Ras Na Heirrann in a couple of weeks through the hills of Somerville and, even though I don't look like a runner, it's something I love to do. I don't have to win or run as fast as my son (who runs a 6:30 mile when he's not training), it's about going out and doing something that's good for my heart. I'm not embarrassed to be slow or not look the runners that win. I'm glad that I am out there running strong and my heart is glad I'm out there too.

I keep hoping that these kids, particularly the ones already casting themselves as "not good at...", take away that we can all be athletes because we line up at the starting line and give it our best. This morning I may need some ibuprofen for my shoulders after spending the better part of a day jump roping for the first time in years, but it was worth it. I hope to see some of the kids with the thicker glasses and rounder bodies to line up with me and, maybe, even beat me to the finish.

Making kids sweat

It has been an active week, picking up running again but I've also been trying to cross train. Cross train is really athletic speak for "do something else so you don't overwork your running muscles."

But the big thing was covering for the Phys Ed teacher on Friday. That meant a bunch back-to-back periods of letting kids throw things at each other and, every so often, getting to throw things at kids. It's a great feeling to just make kids cut loose, sweat and have fun. This week it was the foam pins set up on either end of the gym and dump a bunch of yarn balls that look amazingly like tribbles into the middle of the floor.

I started each session reminding the kids "Whose house? MY HOUSE! Which means MY rules." I didn't care what the PE teacher normally had, they were my rules. I entertained them with the rules getting them to participate by telling them when to stop (at the center line); charging kids who I knew were good sports to ask if I could peg them deliberately (and the kids yelling "NO") and ended with: play hard, play safe, play fair and we'll (everybody) HAVE FUN!

Now here's an interesting observation, the kindergarden kids who cry over anything would crash into each other, get nailed in the face and everything else and jump up laughing. The first graders would complain about "it's not fair" and I would tell them "you'll live, get back in there your team needs you...." The surprise was the third graders - they dropped liked flies. I think six of them ended up in the nurse's office at some point.

At one point, I noticed a couple of kids trying to hide in the corner. I made one of them gather yarn balls to toss back into the field of play. The other one began playing at that point. That "Damn! I'm busted!" look on his face. The other one kept moving slowly, so I made him run 2 laps around the gym, which drove home the "oh, she's serious about the sweating thing..." and started playing for real.

During the 3rd grade session, a kid nailed me in the forehead with a tribble (as I refer to the yarn/fuzz/puff ball things) by accident. It hurt like anything and I yelled, "It's on baby!" I got him about 3 or 4 times and it became open season on me by the kids. We laughed and had a blast.

The kids had a great time and I ended up logging over 20K steps on the day and got to listen to the Beatles all day. I have no voice now, but it was a blast. I kept thinking that if PE had been like this when I was a kid, perhaps it would have been a lot easier to go to PE. It wasn't a class of fear and it wasn't a competition. It was just fun for everyone: from the girlie girls in dresses to the rough and trouble boys. It didn't matter if a kid was weak or strong, it was just run and scream and have fun.

At the beginning and end of each class, I talked to kids about offense and defense. If you only have offense, you score a lot but you get scored on as much as well. If you only have defense, you may be blocking being scored on, but you don't score either. It takes both - a good offense and a good defense.

Like anything I do in school, I hope my words and actions reach those handful of kids that need to be inspired. I remind them all the time that I AM a runner even if I don't look like one. That it's not always about "winning." I don't win the races I enter, but when I cross the finish line, I feel as if I were the first over the line. I know I'm making a difference when I see a couple of kids wearing pedometers. They're wearing them because I wear mine and answer their questions and show them how it works. Last year it was the group of kids wearing the Pokemon one that came with Nintendo DS game, this year a couple of kids started wearing the cheap New Balance ones from Target.

It's nice for the kids to know that I'm not just the woman standing in the front of the room declaring, "If I can't hear the music, you're too loud and we will move to silent work time...." That when I say I'm good with the right voices in the right places at the right times that I mean it.

I really need to check in more regularly

So here I've been spending lots of time using Just Dance 3 to rebuild my cardio for the past few weeks thinking, "Man I gotta lay out a training plan for Doyle's." Post it? Nah.. who wants to hear "today I got 5 stars on 'Forget You' before taking a walk on the treadmill?" Seriously.

Doyle's kept nagging me with that sort of "Horton Hears a Who" sort of, "We are here" calling me. So finally I laid out a plan in the Nike+ coaching program and started up the other day with a mile on the treadmill. Today was a 2 mile session with my treadmill and I discovered I can easily run a quarter mile with the incline at 2.5. I'm still doing walk/run intervals (.25 each) for now, and I'll be shortening the walking as I go. It won't be long before I feel good about running outside.

The other thing I'm using the treadmill for? To wean myself from music when I run. Yes I love running to music but after a woman got jumped in an area I normally run around the time I'm usually out there, I sadly realized it's time be more cautious. Right now it's listening to the alternative channel on Music Choice. It's going well.

So yes, I'm still moving. Like Dorie says, "Just keep swimming."

Day 4: Tread Lightly

Four down, 96 to go.

I love things like freecycle, you never know what you'll find on there. Yesterday I struck pay dirt when I saw "treadmill." It turns out that an academic couple is moving across country and had a Proform 995 that was free to whomever would haul it away. Bless my brother and his station wagon for picking it up for me and delivering it to the house where, along with my three boys, they brought it into the living room for me.

After downloading the owners manual and learning how to use the various programs, tonight I took it for a 30 minute test walk. While I've never been a big treadmill fan, the idea of not being able to use the weather as an excuse any more is a good thing. My next move is to probably find a professional who can come in and do a tune up on the machine to make sure I have it for a long while longer... at least until I put it on freecycle myself.

Day 3: The Glider

Several years ago, I picked up a Tony Gazelle glider on sale to keep in the back of the living room so I could hop on when I was watching TV. I don't love the thing, but it was there for when I needed a push.

Today I've been cleaning, organizing and next thing I know it's time to throw dinner in the oven and I made a commitment to intentionally move for 30 minutes a day for 100 days. Good thing the glider was there to save me today. I popped for 30 minutes while watching the season premier of my guilty pleasure show. The 30 minutes flew past as a result

The better news is that I will have a new to me treadmill tomorrow. The glider will head to the basement and I will no longer have an excuse not to run due to weather conditions. In then end, day three is in the book and the glider is heading to the basement.

Day 2: The Intentional Errands

Today I had a few errands to run so I figured this is where I can sneak in a few minutes here and there. The first thing was doing some laps around Target. I needed to pick up a set of shelves that were on sale and figured this was an opportunity. I did two laps around the store, picked up the shelves, walked up and down every aisle two more times before finishing with one last lap.

Then I needed to run an errand in the village near the house. So I strapped on my Nike+ and walked down to pick up what I needed and then took the long way around home turning a short walk to and from the store into a one mile walk.

By the end of the day I not only logged over 30 minutes but more importantly, I logged a second day.

Two down, 98 to go.

I'll take that challenge John Bingham

John Bingham (aka "The Penguin") issued a 100 day challenge. The idea is to move for 30 minutes a day - intentionally. It doesn't matter if it's playing Wii, walking the dog, going for a run or more, the idea is to get off the couch for 30 minutes a day for 100 days.

Not a bad idea. So I made my husband take a walk with me. We walked the 2 miles around the local reservoir for 35 minutes. Because it's so mild out right now, the reservoir was crowded with walkers and runners. Singles, couples and groups made their way around the periphery as the sun began to set. There were people discussing things in Russian, Hebrew and English. People sprinted past while others shuffled by. Some were wearing headphones, some weren't. Either way, it was a pleasant walk with my husband.

I discovered this a couple of hours after I signed up for the Doyle's 5 mile race, which will be on April 22 this year. So 100 days of motion building to a 5 mile race on day 112. I can do that.

So John Bingham, I accept your challenge! Moving 30 minutes a day from now until Easter, I can handle that.

Curves

With the realization I have to build up to running when it's below freezing; after all, it's that time of year, I decided to take up a trubate deal that rolled into my inbox the other day. It was for a 30 day Curves membership.

Curves, for the uninitiated, is a women's only workout place where you move between stations every 30 seconds. So it's 30 seconds of running or something in place, then work on a hydraulic strength training piece, run in place, strength train, etc for a total of 30 minutes. I checked them out when they first opened a decade ago and it felt... well, stupid then. It feels stupid but necessary right now. They play peppy music and a little voice and chime come on every 30 seconds to say, "Change stations now...." About every 10 minutes or so, the voice tells you to stop and take your pulse. No one does, but the voices tell you to do so.

For a month, a combo of light strength training and running in place should be tolerable.

So for a little while, I'll be a curves girl. Heaven help us all.

An easy, uncomfortable 5K

I was given the all clear to run again. My lungs were still a bit noisy, but my doctor was happy with my progress and told me I could restart running. That was a week ago and the past week has been overcoming the fear of running. All those what ifs that creep up in my mind: What if I have an asthma attack? What if I fall? What if I hurt myself again? What if I'm not supposed to be a runner after all?

I started by leaving my running gear in the bathroom Saturday night. But Sunday morning I overslept a little. Monday I went to NYC and Tuesday I was just going to watch the news for a little bit before I got in my gear. This morning I woke up at 5:30 and enough was enough. I put on my gear and came downstairs to watch the news long enough to get the current weather. 60* on December 7th? Really? Well, it was a sign to put on my shoes and get out on the road.

What if I have an astma attack? I followed my doctor's instructions to use my inhaler 20 minutes before I went out to run (which is why I waited for the weather instead of using the widget built into the TV set). My lungs crackled a little at first and then settled right down. Check.

What if I fall? Add my run this morning to the rash of tripping over the curb and going down that seem to be happening with my running buddies. I swore, got up and motored on knowing I need a new pair of running tights. Check.

What if I hurt myself again? Running with a skinned knee is doable. Check.

What if I'm not supposed to be a runner after all? That's the real question. After tripping over the curb, I decided to just run on the high school track. The plan became my 5 minute warm up walk (an unplanned trip) 2 minutes running, 2 minutes walking (repeat until reaching track) walk a lap, run a lap. Could I run a 1/4 mile? The answer was yes... repeatedly. Walk a lap, run a lap, repeat and repeat again. I averaged a 14 minute mile that way.

Not my greatest run, but I did it. I beat back the bed magnet, I beat back the what ifs and I found my body, in spite of pneumonia, didn't betray me fully.

It feels good. It feels like progress and it feels like I'm ready to set goals and get moving again.