Smuttynose 5k

The name of this race is "Will Run For Beer," it even says so on the shirt. :)

Looking at the weather, I was a bit nervous as it looked like cold and rainy. If I hadn't arranged to go to the race with a friend, I might have blown it off. Instead, Tom pulled up and off we went to the wilds of Hampton, NH.

The race director had sent out a few emails telling people to show up early or you'd have to park a 1/2 mile from the finish line. What he didn't say was the finish line was almost a mile away from the start line. So before the race even started, you logged over a mile!

We got there at 9:30 for an 11:00 race and ended up in the far parking lot.. Fortunately, another friend got there early enough that she was parked near the finish line so we could sit in her warm car until it was time to walk to the start.

And walk we did. It was close to a 20 minute walk to the start and the crowd was huge. It took a minute and a half before I crossed the start line and fortunately people were running almost as soon as you crossed the start line. The first stretch was uphill and all I could see were a group of dotted colors of the runners. There was a see of safety yellow, bright orange, neon green and other colors all tightly packed up ahead of me.

This was a race over country road that looked like New Hampshire. There was even a covered bridge on the course. The first mile was mostly uphill. The mist that was falling would turn to rain at times and then back to mist. As I turned the corner and saw the first mile marker, I also saw a group of people holding "Go Runners!" signs and ringing cowbells. It made me smile because, while running in the rain can be pleasant, standing in it to cheer on runners is really special.

Running over the covered bridge I came up the hill and saw a couple of black llamas. That's right, a couple of llamas hanging out in a field next to a barn. My delight at the llamas quickly faded when we all caught the smell of the llamas and farm. Yep, there's a reason I live in the city and wet llama makes a wet dog smell good!

Mile 2 came up and I was still under a 13 minute pace. While the time had creeped up from just over 12 minutes/mile, it was still comfortably under 13. Here the course took a downhill turn and began to fold back on itself. It wasn't long before I passed the start gate and knew I was .8 miles from the finish. At this point I was feeling a bit winded. In the distance I saw people turning to the left and knew I was pretty much done. I crossed at the 42:10 mark on the clock but figured about 1:26 off that for the start. My final time was 40:17 for a 13:00 minute even pace.

I met up with my friends and we decided the beer line was too long, so we went out for ice cream instead. :)

Right now I feel pretty badass considering ran 2.1 in the rain and NH roadways.

Streaking 'round town

I didn't think I'd make it this far, but I've run 4 days in a row and I'm planning on a run after I get home today.

Last night it was 2.6 with the running club and I pushed myself a little more.  The push dropped me below the 13 min/mile mark.  That means over the course of May, I managed to shave over 30 seconds/mile off my time.  I'm shooting for a 12 minute mile by July 4 and this is the first time it's felt in reach in a long time.

Mostly I've been shooting to go out for a mile or two in the morning, but I want to try to mix it up a bit as I go into the end of the week here to see what kind of runs work best for me.  The general game plan is to stick to the plan: long run on Sunday, a mile or two daily until I meet up with the running club on Thursday and then a mile or two to end the week.

On Sunday I'll make the decision about a fall half.  Yep, I said it, a fall half.  I'm thinking the Smuttynose half in NH at the end of September.  My niece is doing the full, a bunch of friends are doing the half so it makes sense.  Perhaps I can get my sister to come too, that would be nice. :)

Right now, it's time to get ready for the day. :)

This one's for Bama

A running friend posted she was going for the Runner's World 38 day streak challenge.  The idea is to run at least a mile a day, every day, from Memorial Day until the 4th of July.  No small feat for someone like me.

For some reason, it sounded like a good idea at the time.  I held off on my normal Sunday run and went out for a strong 2 miles Memorial Day morning.

It was a great run, everything felt good about it from the fact that I was taking 1 - 1:30 minute walking breaks after 5 or more minutes of running to the route and pacing to... well, you name it.  It all felt good.  I was pumped and ready to go.

Then I woke up this morning and thought, "Damn, I have to run today?!"  I had nightmares about it (mixed in with scenes from Kung Fu Panda 2 and the Avengers... don't ask) and this morning I looked out on a foggy day and realized there was no way I was getting out of my pjs to go for a 1 mile run.

The powers that be then took aim at me with a cosmic clue by four and smacked me the way Salty smacked that ball Saturday night into the bleachers.  There it was calling from across the room: my treadmill.

Really... a treadmill?  It's almost June and it's unplugged and folded up with my husband's glider behind it now.  Rather than risk another smack from the cosmic clue by four upside the head, I sighed and moved the glider, lowered the treadmill bed and plugged it in.  A mile later I was still cursing the powers that be, but it was done.  Day two is now in the books.  Miss Bama, this one was for you as another OFA participant.

Tomorrow I will dress and go outside because it's just not worth all that work for one mile.  On the other hand, knowing I can do that will deter me from saying it can't be done.

Two down, 36 to go.

Poetry in Motion

I blew off Thursday night's Marsh Post run because I was in a really bad mood.  Like a "you don't want to be anywhere near me..." mood that even inspired my son to take out the trash without being asked and people not saying a word as I watched trash TV all night.

When I woke up Friday, I was still feeling grumpy and made myself go out for the 2.6 miles I normally would have done Thursday night.  I'm glad I did.  In the early morning air, I felt renewed.  I also realized I'm starting to get over the hurdle that goes from "shit this is hard," to "I got this."  It's an important hurdle to cross.

Coming home on Friday, my copy of Writer's Digest arrived and the monthly poetry corner had an article on Quaterns.  Quaterns are 4 quatrains (a four-line stanza) with no particular rhythm beyond 8 syllables a line.  There isn't a rhyme scheme, but the first line of the poem is a refrain through out as the 2nd line in the 2nd stanza, a 3rd line in the 3rd and the 4th line in the 4th stanza.  I scanned the piece and then headed out to the mall to buy a birthday present for my mother.  As we pulled out of the driveway, I saw a runner and immediately thought: I went out running this morning.  Wait that's 8 syllables!  Sure enough, the poem followed:



I went out running this morning


I went out running this morning
the fresh air moved my feet along
the black, buckled asphalt pavement
in the early morning sunlight.

Other runners greeted me as
I went out running this morning
with the promise of summer's kiss
lingering on my sweaty face.

I could hear the sparrows singing
saw puppies pull their masters as
I went out running this morning
at the end of the spring season.

My spirt felt renewed, refreshed
as the squirrels and bunnies played
on manicured suburban lawns.
I went out running this morning.

But first I'll run

It's that time of year where everyone is booked.  Between getting plants in the ground for the summer, cook outs, graduations, you name it, this is rough time of year for down time.

Or is it?

This morning I slept in until 6:30 (yes, that really is sleeping in for me) and looked at the day.  After thinking through everything, I decided one simple thing: but first I'll run.

Four miles, less than an hour out of my day to get a sense of me.  The other 23 can be scooting here and dashing there, but for just under one sole hour, it was me and the road.

Value of consistent workouts

Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's nothing new about consistent workouts making a positive difference but every so often, I have to find a way to remember that fact.

Sunday morning, I was pleasantly surprised when my 3.5 mile run went so smoothly.  I pushed myself for longer running times, took shorter/less frequent walking breaks and had a slightly less than 13:30 time.  Tuesday, I knew that I wasn't quite up for a run, but I was up for a walk so I walked 2 miles at a good pace.  Tonight I ran the Charles River course with my running club.  I shaved a full 15 seconds/mile off my time over last week's run.

Not bad at all.

That's the way it works though, if you're consistent in your training, your body responds consistently.  So now if I can get down to a 13 minute mile for the Smutty Nose 5k in a couple of weeks and a 12 minute mile by the big July race, I'll be able to think about which 10k I want to do this summer.

As always, one step at a time.  Just it's time for the steps to get a little quicker.

Poetry in Motion (Moody St 5k Race Report)

When Jim Walker (@brandnewwatch) sent out a tweet reminding folks that time was running out for signing up for the Moody Street 5K, I figured it was time for another race.  OK so I took a week off from running while I stressed over final projects for school and such and a race seemed like a good idea to get my butt back in motion.

I responded to him in haiku form:

Running Moody Street

5k on a May Sunday

hope the weather's nice

and he replied, "Hopefully we'll see some poetry in motion out there."

Hmmm... Jim, why'd you have to give me ideas? So I ran off to Target and picked up a cheap C9 wicking shirt and, in sharpie, drew a picture of a bear reading a book under some flowering plants and on the back I wrote:

Is there anything

as delightful as a run

in the morning sun?

I also added a couple of hashtags (#haiku #amrunning).  When I got to the race, someone said I should add my twitter name, so I found a sharpie and added @Karlsie.

The day started beautiful.  I left the house and the sun was out.  By the time I got to Waltham it was chilly and clouded over.  My husband was support crew and to show how supportive he was, he ran home and got a black compression shirt for me and drove back in time before the race start.  He now gets why I give myself a bunch of time before a race. ;)  I ran into a friend from the running club, we chatted for a bit before heading our separate ways for race prep.  We met up again just before the line up at the start of the race.  We realized there were a ton of kids from little ones up through high school as this was a race to benefit Waltham schools.  There were also a bunch of walkers, so it was going to be interesting.

We lined up on the bridge on Moody Street that goes over the Charles River, my friend near the front and me in the back.  A cold wind blew but just as the gun went off, the sun came out and the wind died down.  We started up Moody Street, which is a slight uphill.  I quickly fell into running 3 minutes/walking 2 minutes with a goal of a 13:30 mile.  This was my Sunday morning run and I wasn't going to push hard.  I had a goal of 42 minutes or less and the idea was to set a steady pace for myself.  We turned off Moody and down a side street at Mile One to loop around.  I was on track at a 13 minute pace and was relaxing into everything.  The loop was a mile through a side neighborhood with little glimpses of the Charles here and there.  At mile 2, I was still on track and we began the descent past the old Waltham Watch Factory and the DCR walkway along the Charles.  I loved being in the middle of the pack for a change at a race and really enjoyed knowing that there were plenty of folks behind me.

We wrapped down the side of the Charles and made the turn back onto Moody at the 3 mile mark.  Now here's were it got weird.  When I crossed where the start line was, you could hear the beep of the initial timer.  I kept running because the crowd seemed to be up ahead.  I'm glad I did because the finish was a good block or so up from the start line.  Had I slowed down/stopped at the beep, I wouldn't have finished the race.  As I crossed, the guy at the end yelled "41 minutes" - right in my goal range.

Later I checked the race results and saw that I did indeed finish in 41 and change with a 13 and change pace.  More importantly, nothing nagged, hurt or complained the whole time.  It felt good and I'm feeling a little more confident overall.

Another race is in the books and it's time to think about the next set of goals.  In the meantime, perhaps I'll put some of my haiku on the back of running shirts to inspire folks.  After all, poetry in motion is a good thing.

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.

Pneumonia ... really?

So the respiratory stuff turned out to be pneumonia. Not walking pneumonia but real, full-blown "if you don't promise to stay on the couch we're putting you in the hospital" pneumonia.

After a month of going from running a couple of miles to zero and a month of being winded walking up a flight of stairs, I am both happy and sad to say that yesterday I walked 1/3 of a mile to the store to pick up my prescriptions and 1/3 of a mile home.

Yesterday, 3 weeks after being diagnosed with pneumonia, my doctor still hears rattles in the base of my longs, but the rails and most of the crud are gone. I told the doc that I had been at the point of starting to run for real again and starting to look at races like 10ks and half marathons to train for as the season was starting to approach. She was sympathetic and said then I would have to do something she knew I didn't want to do: a course of prednisone.

Prednisone. A foul tasting drug that, at first, makes you feel like you have super powers. It also makes you eat like a horse because that little switch in your head in your head that says, "You're done eating," never gets flipped.

To give you an idea of why I hate prednisone, let me tell you about the first time I was on prednisone years and years ago. My son, who has a kidney problem, had been on prednisone for a while. I knew about it, I knew about it's side effects and everything else that went with it. So I dutifully took my prednisone and went food shopping. At the register the kids starting scanning the items. First he scanned the meats and fruits and veggies. Then he scanned the half-eaten bag of Oreos, slowed up a little at the almost empty bag of chips and pretty much empty 2-liter bottle of Coke Classic. After each item he looked at me a little more frightened. Finally I shrugged and said, "Drugs."

He chirped up and said, "Oh, OK," and finished ringing me up.

So here I am on prednisone and concerned about the graze factor but I feel like I can actually walk now. Hopefully after Thanksgiving I get the all-clear and can start a c25k program again. It will be the 5k in 5 weeks program from Runner's World because another 12 week graduate program will make me crazy. I may not be able to run the Hyannis Half at the end of February, but I'll be able to do the 10k. It also means that I have to sign up at a gym and use the deadmill for training because with the respiratory stuff, weather may be a factor until I'm finally over everything for real.

So... I'm taking advantage of the steroids and the Indian Summer weather and making sure, for at least the next week or so, that I take someone shopping with me so I don't eat my way out of the store. :)

Why it's time to take a break in spite of great progress

Last week I mentioned that I knew there was a bit of respiratory issues (read: a cold) hitting me. What I hadn't anticipated was going down for the count. By going down, I mean Wile. E. Coyote get hit by a ton of bricks going down.

Yes, it was a "touch" of the flu. The aches, the pains, the fever and the "shoot me now... please" feeling that goes with all that. While the fever has finally broken and it appears as though my appetite is close to returning, I'm still pretty weak. The cough is finally starting to subside and hopefully I'll be up to walking again before the week is over. Once I'm breathing freely again, i can rebuild my running stamina.

This is going to be a long recovery until I run again after getting so close to be able to start training for Hyannis at the end of February. But here's the thing, I can adapt things. This is just minor set back to a long term goal. I can't help but feel that I recovered as quickly as I did because my body is becoming stronger.

They say the definition of success is getting up one more time than you get knocked down and I'm working on getting back up again.

Wishing for the sun, watching my watch

I can feel the beginnings of a cold. The rumbling in my chest this morning was the early warning signal for me to break out the zinc. As a result I decided to alter my plans from a 20 minute run segment to run a lap, walk a lap. Some how I still managed to cover 2.5 miles during my half hour run this morning. Not bad at all for me.

But here's the thing, going out at 6 am the sun should be up, but it's not. In fact, the entire time I was out this morning, I needed to use the light on my watch. As I wrapped things up at 6:30, the sun was finally coming up enough to be able to see the numbers on there without the light.

One of the cool things about running at that time of day is watching the world wake up. If I run at the high school track, I start to see lights come on in the building one by one. On the street it's the single runner her and there. Every so often a car will go by. By the end of my run I start to see kids heading for the high school, teachers starting to arrive at various schools in the neighborhood, people heading for the earlier commuter trains, busses and other methods of getting to work.

It won't be long before the leaves start falling and I have to break out my running tights. In the mean time, I'll settle for pushing the button to light up my digital watch to keep track of time and stuff.

Running dark

I took off just before 6 am for a w5+r20+w5, it was dark when I went out.

Recently I've been running on the local high school track. It makes sense since I can run on the sidewalks to the track and then, on the track, I don't have to worry about vehicles and such. It's nice and even with a forgiving surface. As a result I can run at an even pace. Today it was an 11 minute pace. :)

My goal is a 10 minute pace, so I'm coming much, much closer. Pretty soon I finish the 12 week program and I'm able to just feel comfortable running again. The long term goal is to be able to go for a nice long run on a weekly basis. Probably a 7 miler on Sunday mornings, we'll see. Right now I am able to run 20 minutes without stopping and it's a good start.

The sun didn't come up until after I was back home, making coffee and hitting the showers. Like running through the leading edge of the hurricane a month or so back, I feel really bad ass. :)

Now it's time to get a move on the rest of the day while I think about tomorrow and speedwork. Today was a good run, it reassured me that I can do this.

Running dark

I took off just before 6 am for a w5+r20+w5, it was dark when I went out.

Recently I've been running on the local high school track. It makes sense since I can run on the sidewalks to the track and then, on the track, I don't have to worry about vehicles and such. It's nice and even with a forgiving surface. As a result I can run at an even pace. Today it was an 11 minute pace. :)

My goal is a 10 minute pace, so I'm coming much, much closer. Pretty soon I finish the 12 week program and I'm able to just feel comfortable running again. The long term goal is to be able to go for a nice long run on a weekly basis. Probably a 7 miler on Sunday mornings, we'll see. Right now I am able to run 20 minutes without stopping and it's a good start.

Now it's time to get a move on the rest of the day while I think about tomorrow and speedwork. Today was a good run, it reassured me that I can do this.

Hello Goodbye

Today was w5+r15+w5 for 2 miles, not bad for the first cold morning of the season. But it was a bit bittersweet as I ran, as usual, listening on my Apple in-ear headphones to the playlist on my iPhone that tracked my stats on my Nike+. I thought a great deal about the man responsible for those things - and so much more.

If anything spoke to the elegance and understanding of design, it was my run. An article in Wired about 18 months ago spoke of how he was at Nike visiting his friend, Phil Knight and Nike's clumsy and/or failed designs to deliver music and record stats for runners. Lo and behold, the iPod Nano and Nike+ were born. The real reason I have an iPhone is because they added Nike+ capabilities 2 years ago and given how I had gone down twice on a run with no cell phone, it was a no-brainer.

The playlist I chose this morning is one I put together for the Tufts 10k a couple of years back. It is a combination of music used in Apple commercials and music from a Joan Benoit training mix: think Warped tour at the Apple store. What made me smile though was the Fratellis. When I started working at the Apple store years ago, the Fratellis' song "Flathead" was in the overhead mix. I remember telling my co-workers that it was my "happy running song."

It still is.


Steve Jobs is partly responsible for getting my butt out on the road and keeping it going. So as I type this on my little black macbook, moving around the page with my Apple wireless mouse, I say thank you to the man that, in spite of being CEO of one of the most successful companies in the world, took the time to send me an email telling me he didn't agree with my opinion on a company policy.

So.... so long Steve, and thanks for all the fish.

Speedwork works, who knew?

Today was a w5+(r1+w2)+w5 day. The whole run 1, walk 2 thing is a form of speedwork. Me, normally I use hills as speedwork in disguise, but this is the plan so I followed it and put in 2.5 miles. One of the things I noticed was that I was covering more and more ground in those little 3 minute stretches.

I've been running on the local high school track lately. The gate has been open and there have been folks making use of it again. So it was easy to see the speed differentials on the track and it's markings. Because the sun is rising later now, I actually had to use the light on my watch for the first half on the run to check my timing. It wasn't until the 20 minute mark or so it hit me, "Oh, I can read the numbers!" So I guess there's no turning back, it's really fall.

So in the cold, dark, damp fall morning, I managed to move my butt along... all in all a good work out.

Holly Hill Farms Discover the Woods 5k

I've never done a trail race before. My son is the XC runner and this is really his sort of thing. But I have always wanted to try one. Now, living in New England I can honestly say there are certain things to be expected: there are hills, there is dirt and there are rocks. After several days of rain, that dirt turns to mud.

Most trail racers revel in these realities. Me, I now see the appeal but I"m not sure if it's my thing.


Sunday was overcast and fall like. After all the rain, I knew it was going to get muddy so I packed a change of clothes knowing that I would need a shower and met up with my sister and niece to go to the race. This was on a community farm in Cohasset that has over 130 acres of woods. Four years ago they started this race to let the local community become aware and explore the woods. There were maybe 75 or so people that turned out, several had done this race before. My sister and I started in the back of the pack and my niece ran with the bulk of the pack. We rounded the first bend and it was pure, deep mud. It was deep enough that the one passable spot required carefully balancing yourself in a narrow one foot after another passage.

We rounded that first veggie patch and circled past the start line and into the fields to the woods. There were lots of rocks and roots. Not surprising, after all, it was a discover the woods trail race. We ran the better part of the first mile, but after slipping a bit in some mud, both of us quickly came to the conclusion we were walking this race. It wasn't worth hurting ourselves, so we'd enjoy the surroundings and push when we could other wise, we wouldn't sweat it.


About a mile and a quarter in, we heard someone huffing and puffing behind us. Both of us were surprised as we thought we were the last, but another woman ran past. Then, crossing a bridge over some water, she started walking because she didn't want to hurt herself either. We caught up to her quickly and the three of us walked the last half of the race together. All of us were glad we didn't wear our "good" running shoes. We joked that we were surprised they hadn't sent out a search party for us.

Just as we were coming up on the 3 mile point, I saw my niece jogging at us and we started laughing. She had tried to explain to the race organizers that we were fine, but they were concerned someone might be hurt. We crossed the finish with a lot of laughter at the 55:59 mark.

Yes I was covered in mud and yes there was definitely dirt in the skirt; however, it was a good run. I did figure out I'm not really warrior dash material - no matter how much fun it looks. I haven't caught the trail bug... yet, but it was certainly a good time.

An Odd 1.9

Today there were runners... runners I say!

I've gotten in the habit of my (w4+r6)2+w5 being a walk to the local track with a run around the 1/4 mile, a walk around the 1/4 and a jog home. I've gotten used to doing this early enough that I'm often the only person on the track. It's a good thing.

Today there was a pack of 3 people doing speed work and I felt like the turd in the punch bowl as I ambled around my lane getting my mileage in. Normally faster, fitter runners don't intimidate me at all. I'm used to admiring the gazelle like creatures nature and the universe use to inspire me but today the universe taunted.

Or I should say, the runners' looks did. As the fast split shorts, jog bra skinny babe blew past, I got a "get off the track" look. I know the look from the gym I used to go to when I went right after the work crew hit the machine before heading out for the meat markets of Allston and Boston. She was followed by two runners. The man actually shot me an "atta girl" smile but the other woman gave me a look similar to the first one.

It's one of the first mornings I felt glad to leave the track for my jog home. The universe must have felt my heaviness because the dust mop was out early. His owner said he was busy examining a stick when she said it was about time for me to come running past and the dog jumped up and ran towards my direction. A couple of belly rubs and ball tosses later, I was feeling better.

I still have my chops at home too. In the 10 minutes it takes to toast my eggo, I made coffee, packed my lunch and poached an egg just at the timer dinged.

I'm off to school, most likely to be in a first grade room. I love first graders, they're still full of hugs and smiles. I don't know if I could teach them day after day, but on days like this, I prefer their happy faces to surly 4th and 5th graders who are chomping at the bit to join the "big kids" at middle school.

So another 1.9 miles and some fuzzy belly rubs are in the books on a fall day and life is pretty good as I finish my coffee.

It feels a bit more like fall

Yesterday's run was not good, the humidity felt like worst of summer. This morning was a different story. This morning it was still humid but it felt and smelled like fall. The scent of leaves and bursts of color made this morning's quick run delightful. Today was w5+r10+w5 and it was really comfortable. Given yesterday's struggle, it was a sweet surprise to just be able to run.

This is the first time that I'm thinking the Tufts 10k in a couple of weeks may not be out of the question. I'll decide after Sunday's trail run. If my ankle feels strong after that and I'm able to continue training, then I'll go for it. If not, there will be other 10ks and races to run. Right now, I'm feeling pretty good about things but I have to remember to take it easy so I don't hurt myself again. One step at a time... one step at a time. :)

The difference between walking and running

For me is about .25 miles this morning. This week is another (w4+r6)2+w5 week. The humidity was as bad as some of summer's worst today and breathing was not easy. As a result, the second run segment ended up being a w4+r4+w2+w5. Also, as a result, I was about a quarter mile shorter of what I normally do in that time.

I won't sweat it too much as tomorrow's the first time I move from a walking chunk with a little touch of running to a chunk of running. We'll see how it goes.

Hopefully the humidity breaks tonight and we're back in the right season again. It may take a few days to get there... we'll see. In the meantime, if you think that minute or two doesn't make a difference, think again.

Surrealism

I love a surreal run every so often and today's (w4+r6)2+w5 was certainly surreal. There are battling weather fronts around us that produced this incredible fog bank today so in the quiet dawn. Again the gates to the high school track were open so I took a quick detour for a couple of laps. While there, I couldn't resist catching a quick shot of the school from the opposite side of the track.

The blanket of fog quiets everything while you're out there. The sound of cars are muffled, and other runners would suddenly appear and disappear in the fog. While out running through the streets and on the track, I couldn't help but think of the nuggets of some SF stories that involve a runner coming out of the fog from seemingly no where with something that could change everything we know. A tool, a weapon, a disease, a message... it was the perfect setting for that one mysterious stranger to change life as we know it.

In the end, there were no mysterious visitors or messages. Just a couple of dog walkers, runners and the rare car as I wound my way home.

Share our Strength

Today is Weight Watchers Lose-a-palooza where Weight Watchers will donate $225k for every million pounds lost and $1 for every mention of Lose-a-palooza today up to 75k on social media. One of the organizations receiving the donation is No Kid Hungry part of the Share our Strength campaign which I totally support.

Today was (w4+r6)2+w5 and it was harder than what I thought it would be. I got to run 1/2 mile around the track as the gate was open this morning. It was nice to run on something flat and level. It also meant I pushed myself a little harder in some ways. Sure there really weren't any hills this morning, but that meant I felt I needed to move a bit faster as a result.

In the end, it was a good run on a crisp morning. I'm feeling good and strong as I keep on keeping on.

It's fall

You know it's fall when you need a long sleeve shirt for your morning run. Yesterday was that day.

Yes the calendar says there's another week of summer, but the temps are starting to drop and it was below 60* when I headed out the door for my (w5+r5)3+w5 for 2.5 miles. Unlike the other day where the uphill run was a labor that left me huffing and puffing, I was able to comfortably do a longer loop as the sun began rise.

It was the first time in a while I saw other runners out and about, so it was nice having company on the roads before traffic picked up for the day. Not only that, in looking at my stats, I realized that I'm running at a good pace these days. I still have quite a way to go, but it's nice. Tomorrow I start the next phase where I build to running more than walking and it shouldn't be long until I get to the speed building weeks.

I'm back on the road again, and it feels great.

Recovery Run

I forget how much giving blood takes out of me. After such a confident and good run on Sunday, I was disappointed at how hard today's run was. On tap this week is (w5+r5)3+w5 but what happened was a (w5+r4+w1)+(w5+r1+w4)+(r5+w5). Now granted the toughest stretches were the uphill stretches (surprise surprise surprise), but I kept going.

We'll see how it goes on Thursday or Friday.. I'm still trying to figure out the best days for running around my work and school schedules. But it's clear I still need to recover a little because my body wasn't fully ready for the strain of running uphill.

Today is a new day, time to make a new start

Those words really stuck with me in my run today. The oversaturation of 9/11 coverage has left me somewhat numb. Like so many others, my heart broke that day as well; however, I fail to see how rolling around in the grief and anger then wrapping myself in a flag will make things better.

On 9/11/2002 I made my son's talit for his Bar Mitzvah. He had asked for a black, Jimmy Buffett talit. I found a rainbow of batik fabrics and worked in a piece of fabric I had saved for years from his first "big boy" quilt I had made for him. The rainbow was an echo of the first baby quilt I made for him. I spent the day watching MTV talking to teens about what they learned, how they had coped, where were they at after a year of change. On 9/11/2003 and every year since, I have given blood on this day. I would rather give life in honor of those who lost theirs on this day than wave a flag and scream "never forget."

Never forget what? The anger, the fear, the shock?

I said something to my boys that day, which started with, "I have to tell you something but I want to start by telling you Auntie Weasel and your cousin Randy are safe...." I then told them what happened and reminded them that the men who flew those airplanes into the towers were bad people. But just like the IRA bombers were a reflection of the people in Ireland, nor were these people a reflection of all the people from their faith and country. I still believe that.

This morning, the Dalai Lama posted these words to his face book page: "We need to learn from our painful memories of September 11th and become more aware of the destructive consequences that arise when we give in to feelings of hatred. This tragedy in particular has reinforced my belief that fostering a spirit of peaceful co-existence and mutual understanding among the world’s peoples and faith traditions is an urgent matter of importance to us all. We must therefore make every effort to ensure that our various faith traditions contribute to build a more caring, peaceful world."

He is right.

So today, I ran to my "Running Inspired" play list and did (w5+r5)3+w5 for just over 2.5 miles.

Now I'm going to go give blood before I celebrate my parents' 65th wedding anniversary. Go forward and live your life in peace and honor, not wallow, in the memories of those who fell today.

Efficiency

When I run in the rain, I think about how I'm efficient. At least that's what I tell my students when they show shock that I run in the rain. "But it's raining?!" they often exclaim. That's when I say, "Well, look at this way, at least you don't have to take a shower when you're done."

I got my (w3+r2)5+w5 in early. I wore my bright safety yellow jacket as I ran in the dark morning as I was out there, alone. No cars, no other runners... just me, my music and my thoughts. I start back at my school today as in school support. Tomorrow I start my class for the semester. As a result I needed to clear my head so that I start the year.

But I also need to head out and pick up some coffee as we have none in the house.

So much for being fully efficient. :)

Halfway Point, you have (six) weeks to go

If, like me, you run with a Nike+ device, then you know the voice. It comes on halfway through your run and tells you "Halfway point, you have (x) (parameter) to go."

I have been doing this for five weeks and this is week six. While frustration still sets in at what I can and can't do compared to what I once could do, the reality is I am halfway there. This week is the (w3+r2)5+w5 week. Next week is the (w5+r5)3+w5 week. After that it's odd intervals to get your body up to speed and such. I have a goal fo the Tufts 10k again this year. I don't know if I'll make it or not, but it's the goal.

Good Run

Today was a good run, tough but good.

The problem with restarting a walk to run program is that frustration of pushing your limit at 4 minutes of running when there was a time when I could run 5 or 6 miles without thinking. Now I'm pushing myself through four minutes of running. My first time through years ago it was "Woo hoo! I can run for 4 minutes!" Now it's like, "C'mon body, you know how to do this!"

But I have 2 miles in today and feeling stronger. I have a run scheduled for tomorrow and a rest day Saturday. Next week school starts so I need to push myself out the door earlier as school starts Tuesday which means traffic in the area by 7:30 am. It won't be long before I'm running in the dark wondering what happened to the sun. But until then, I'm out in the morning to get another run in.

When the Party's Over

One of my old work friends described yesterday's storm this way, "The city looks like it had a tree confetti party that everyone was invited but nobody wanted." That's a good description of what I noted this morning doing the same run [(w5+r3)2+w5] I did yesterday.

Things I noted:

- without running into head winds, I managed to add a full tenth of a mile to my timed distance
- it may have been more if I wasn't dodging branches of all shapes and sizes on the roads and sidewalks
- the air was cool, crisp and clean
- DPW crews were out busily trying to clean up after yesterday's party Mother Nature threw for us
- there was a lot more traffic, as in there actually was traffic

To make it fair, I ran to the same sound track, Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown.

It's time to start progressing to earlier morning runs as school is back in session next week. That means 7:30 am around here is a crowded mess of traffic of people trying to get to all the different schools in my neighborhood. Not such a bad thing as lately I've been giving into the luxury of sleeping in a bit more and more.

Well it's off to a full day, including registering for class and picking up my textbooks. Time to peel off the running gear and get to daily running. So goodnight Irene, I'll see you in my dreams after I get through cleaning up confetti in my driveway left by yesterday's party.

I feel like such a bad ass right now

With the way the local news media folks are wringing their hands and speaking in dangerous but giddy tones, it can only mean one thing: the French Toast Alert level is elevated or higher. This time for Hurricane Irene.

At 6 am, I got up to pill the cat and there was nothing. The sun was peeking through, it was a bit windy and nothing. OK, so I turn on the news and I'm seeing images from yesterday, cut to news people telling everyone to stay home, images of an empty Times Square, more news people standing in storm winds and such on Long Island, back to the studio for more predictions of gloom and doom before the news people outside in Boston and on the Cape trying to pretend it's much worse than what's outside my window.

Seriously folks?

Through all the weather model maps showing tracking no one tells me what I need to know right now. So I tweet to @DavidWade: Where's the storm now? Can I get a 2 mile run in?

Nothing. Radio silence baby.

So I make the call as I recall a line from Zaphod Beeblebrox: "I get weirder things than you in my breakfast cereal."

I suit up and the rain comes. Seriously folks?! After hemming and hawing for a moment, after all, it's only a 21 minute walk/run scheduled today, I decide to go for it. I felt bad ass out there in my safety yellow BAA jacket and iphone enclosed in a baggie. It was rainy and windy with no one on the road. None of the usual Sunday morning runners, no traffic, nothing. Just me trotting along Green Day's "21st Century Breakdown" getting wet. I hit a head wind as I came around the back of the high school by the football field but for the most part, it was a rainy day run like most rainy day runs.

Except I feel bad ass because I can now officially say, "I ran through the leading edge of Hurricane Irene."

Now, when I'm hiding under the bed when the worst of the winds and rains come through at noon time with no baseball to distract, I may not feel so bold and brave. But at 7:30 am on a Sunday morning, I feel like bring it on baby!

I did 1.5 miles of (w5+r3)2+w5 in the leading edge of a hurricane and lived to tell the tale.

it's on... again

For the past year running and I have been in an on again/off again relationship. Today it is officially on again. I'm in week 2 of a walk to run program and I wasn't fully committed to week one to be honest so I wasn't sure how this would go. Then I made it out the door this morning in spite of my best efforts to stall.

Today was a (w5+r3)2+w5 day and I managed to get outside by 7 am. What shocked me was how easily three minutes came. No huffing and puffing and straining, just a good workout. It was a reminder of why I do this, early in the morning with the sun shining and the streets relatively empty (except the landscapers ogling my butt at one point as they drove past). It ended with the dust mop dog charging up the block for me to give him a belly rub and toss his little mini tennis ball a few times.

Yes, today running and I are a couple again. Hopefully this time it's for life.

Slow down

The Reel Big Fish song "Take it Easy" is stuck in my head right now. One of the reasons my ankle barked and told me to die a slow, miserable painful death on the fourth of July was because I got bored. Why take 12 weeks to do a walk to run when I'm ready to run NOW!

Yeah... I see how well that worked.

So here I am, happy the ankle is happy and taking it nice and slow. I'm in week two of the walk to run and spent a half hour on the treadmill this morning doing my (w15+r1)2+w5 nice and easy. I may not be able to run a half this year, but February isn't that far away and Hyannis may be a good one half to choose.

In the meantime, I'm going to listen to Reel Big Fish.

Just a reminder

I'm about to lace up my shoes for a short run but this morning, I remembered why I do this and thought I'd share about why I do this even though running can be a bit a high maintenance:

So go run already will ya... I am. :)

Wardrobe Malfunctions

Skirt Sports, Nicole DeBoom's company, is really on my shit list after today.

I get it, she's an athlete and thinks that every woman should have washboard abs of steel, but that ain't me babe. I have abs that resemble the Michelin man or the Pillsbury Doughboy. So after years of being told by her reps that I should buy this skirt or that and me tossing them into the back of the rotation pile - often left untouched - today one of her skirts came up. The very skirt I was assured would fit a woman of "my size."

Here's what happened on my mile run this morning, the waist band kept slipping down and down and down until it was under my belly. I spent the whole mile yanking the skirt up, tucking my shirt in, yanking up the skirt again... and again... and again.

I compare this to runningskirts.com's product and it's night and day. They get that women like me who want to run in a skirt shouldn't be humiliated at the same time and actually design the waist band to *gasp* sit on the waist! What a concept, a running skirt that fits.

In spite of the wardrobe malfunction, I shaved another 30 seconds off my mile to 14:30 before jumping in the pool and doing my PT exercises and a few laps. The peacefulness of the pool combined with the sun and the smell of the new mown grass and buzz of lawn mowers on the athletic fields help to erase the anger I initially felt.

I'm feeling stronger and I'm ready to take on the world... after I drop a couple of running skirts off at the goodwill box.

Everybody join in!

OK, the aqua jogging experiment became a lot more fun the other day when some of the older women in the pool decided to join me. I find myself a mentor of sorts because everyday I hit the pool, do my warm ups and then run in the pool for 20-30 minutes before cool down and some PT exercises.

Who knew?

Yesterday I did run a mile and shaved a minute off my time on Tuesday. The problem was I had a crazy schedule so I didn't have time to ice or elevate my ankle until much, much later in the day and by then I was limping a bit. Again, in one of those "that's weird" moments, walking was difficult but dancing along to music was not. Whatever works I guess.

Today things feel much better and I'll go back to the brace for a couple of days until things feel happy again. It was my own damn fault for not taking care of things properly at this stage of the game. I'll head back to the pool in the disgusting heat this afternoon and promise I'll do things right today.

Getting Ready to Run

Today I ran in the pool for a half hour. I like the odd scissor like motion running in the pool entails, but it's been over a week of my ankle feeling like it's fine. I've been doing my ankle exercises and such so tomorrow we'll take the puppy out for test.

The road the pool is on is a 1 mile loop. Tomorrow morning I'll go for a one mile test run and then dive into the pool for some recovery. If it goes well, then I'll try again Thursday. So think of me tomorrow morning and wish me good luck.

The times they are a changing

Swimming has been a good thing over the past week. I'm not as apologetic about aqua running these days and my ankle survived a full day of the Warped Tour's Mansfield stop.

But the changes will be to my blog itself. I may migrate the whole thing over to google sites, as google owns blogspot these days. I want web pages where I can add recipes and combine my neglected "What Pikas Eat" blog with this one. So expect to see changes here soon.

Something new...

I started swimming again last week. The season opened at the pool and I picked up a tag so I could start doing laps during adult swim.

Then I tweaked my ankle a bit running on Monday. I'm not surprised, but it is what it is and I don't want to lose any conditioning. So yesterday I tried running in the pool with little success. It was awkward and difficult. My inner loser rejoiced at my flailing attempts to push through the chest high water and maintain posture.

But the competitive DNF piece of me reared it's head and beat up the inner loser. I hit Marshalls this morning to pick up an aqua belt (on clearance, so it was half the price of the other day... SCORE!) and strapped it on. While it was still awkward, I managed to push back and forth through the water for half an hour. A couple of the old ladies that show up for adult swim told me about using aqua belts in the past when they were rehabbing from broken bones.

As I pushed through the water today, I realized that when I'm out running again without the resistance, the results should be pretty exciting.

Today the ankle feels stronger, I think my body is liking the no-impact work outs. Tomorrow I'm trying a twice a day: running in the water for the early morning adult swim and then going back at lunch time for some laps. I have a month-long pass for a local gym so I think I'll head over there Friday and start using the elliptical to continue to strengthen my ankle in a non-stressful way.

It feels good. There's something deep inside that is waking up. It won't be long before I'm back on the road stronger and faster than ever before.

Happy Fourth!

Today: Hingham 4th of July Road Race

Distance: 4.47 miles

Finish: 1:08:??

Yes I am enough of a nerd to think, "Hey, it's July fourth, I bet HBO w

ill be showing the complete John Adams

miniseries today. Let me see if 1776 is being shown too...." And yes, I am right on both counts. I was also right that I probably should have thought twice about doing a 4 mile race the day after running 4 miles.

I love this race. It's a mostly gradual down hill slope from the start at the Hingham Middle School to the finish under the big flag flying over Hingham Center. It's a friendly race. The annual parade rolls down the street a few hours later and people line the street. Often families set up unofficial water stops and stand with hoses for runners to run through. People play music, set out flags and cheer, cheer, cheer.

One of the sights along the way is a home owner who covers the front of his Colonial every year with the US flag. It's an amazing and inspirational sight shortly after the half way point as you make the turn from Main Street towards Hingham Center.

What isn't visible in the photo is the white chimney with black stripe rimming the top. In Revolutionary times, this was to show the home owners were Tories.

The first two miles went well. After a slow start (20 seconds before we even moved) I did a run 2/walk 2 pattern. I covered the first mile and half easily when my ankle began to bark at me.

I slowed down a bit from the 13 minute pace I was maintaining but quickly realized that running the rest of the race really wasn't in the cards for me today. I am not a DNF kinda gal, so I walked on.

I had the chance to observe the number of families around me. People with younger children being coached through by parents and family members. My favorite was a young girl running with an older brother. She was struggling so he started teasing her as only a brother could. He encouraged her, he scolded her and then, when she started whining a bit, he said, "Hey, you can run or I can throw this water in your face..." that triggered the "if you do, I'll tell mom!" threat. In the end, she ran and he didn't dose her but it was a wonderful set of moments to watch.

The most difficult part of walking was not the act of walking, it was hearing the Nike+ voice in my ear that kept calling the average pace. It continued to creep up until, just as I passed the four mile mark at the 1 hour point and it declared my 15 minute/mile pace.

After four and a quarter miles, the flag over the finish was clearly visible. I decided to jog to the finish, ankle willing. I was for a bit and I headed down the last stretch of road. I crossed at 1:08 and change.

In the end, I felt strong. In spite of the twinges in my ankle that required a bit of icing and rest. Tomorrow I will swim. A non-weight bearing exercise should further help things along and I'll test things out with a short run on Thursday.

Until then, I'll retreat into American history nerd mode watching patriotic miniseries and finally diving into "Plain, Honest Men: the Making of the American Constitution."

Alway Wear Sunscreen

w5 +(r2+w2 *12)+w5 = 4 miles

I lost a week of running for a simply stupid reason: I didn't wear sunscreen for an outdoor festival last Saturday because it looked like it was going to rain the whole day. The result was a painful sunburn and the discomfort of any weight on my shoulders. This meant no running bras were going to do and so running didn't happen for a week.

It reminds me of a quote Jimmy Buffett had about the international date line: "Damn, I do detest losing a day for no good reason at all. Back in my wilder periods I used to lose lots of days, sometimes weeks, but that was because of my own lack of discipline. Just to cross some imaginary line on the globe and be told that it is now Friday when a minute ago it was Thursday just doesn't seem fair, even if you eventually get it back."

I lost a week of running for no good reason. I went to CVS the other day and stocked up on spray on sport quality sunscreen so that it doesn't happen again.

But I'll take todays run. It was a bit more than I was probably ready for, but it felt good to get out and run.