On friday I wanted to step out the door for a 3 mile run. Noah was home from work, but heading out for a chiropractic adjustment. No problem- I could leave Megan to babysit for less than an hour. But Megan wanted to rollerblade alongside me. "No, I need my babysitter" I said. As she protested further, Noah thought he could solve this with another approach..."Megan, rollerblade around the block with Mom. If she beats you back, you can't go with her." Megan beat me back.
So Noah cancelled his adjustment, and Megan came with me.
Now, Megan is my child that I assumed would probably not take up running with me. She says that running hurts her tummy. She does not like pain. So I had to smile as we zipped along the streets together. Life was handing me an unexpected gift. Megan had found her own way to come enjoy 3 miles with me. I hadnt run with Megan for 4-5 years. Since she outgrew the double running stroller and got replaced by younger siblings.
I am happy to add Megan to my list of fabulous running partners. (:
Monday, November 16, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
I Cannot Do My Run Today
Justine just sent this to me and I just had to share this with everyone. This is soooo me on some days! :) The writer was inspired by Shel Silverstein’s poem, “I Cannot Go To School Today”
-------------------------------------------------------------
“I cannot do my run today,”
Said little Jack or John or Kay.
“I have shin splints and the runs,
A gash, a rash and achey buns.
My mouth is wet, my throat feels like Charmin,
My sunglasses broke and I lost my Garmin.
My hamstrings are as tight as rocks,
I’ve counted eight different chafing spots.
And there’s one more, that makes it nine,
I have the flu, maybe swine.
My heels hurt, it must be plantar fasciitis,
And on top of that
I have achilles tendonitis.
I feel queasy, running makes me choke,
My last track workout was a joke.
My hips hurt when I move my legs,
My hamstrings feel like scrambled eggs.
My back is tweaked, my ankle’s sprained,
My ITBS flares each time it rains.
I get dizzy when I stand too fast,
I have six blisters on my left calf.
My foot has a stress fracture,
My psoas is weak,
I hardly talk about when running when I speak.
My favorite shoes are losing their sole,
I think my motivation is starting to go.
My arches are flat, my gait is off,
My rock hard abs are going soft.
I have runner’s knee, there are holes in my waterproof gear,
My brand new compression socks are covered in beer.
I have a neuroma, my quad is…
What? What’s that you say?
You say…. that it’s my day to race?
Goodbye then! I’m going out to run my PR pace!”
Source: http://www.runningrelays.com/?p=2001
-------------------------------------------------------------
“I cannot do my run today,”
Said little Jack or John or Kay.
“I have shin splints and the runs,
A gash, a rash and achey buns.
My mouth is wet, my throat feels like Charmin,
My sunglasses broke and I lost my Garmin.
My hamstrings are as tight as rocks,
I’ve counted eight different chafing spots.
And there’s one more, that makes it nine,
I have the flu, maybe swine.
My heels hurt, it must be plantar fasciitis,
And on top of that
I have achilles tendonitis.
I feel queasy, running makes me choke,
My last track workout was a joke.
My hips hurt when I move my legs,
My hamstrings feel like scrambled eggs.
My back is tweaked, my ankle’s sprained,
My ITBS flares each time it rains.
I get dizzy when I stand too fast,
I have six blisters on my left calf.
My foot has a stress fracture,
My psoas is weak,
I hardly talk about when running when I speak.
My favorite shoes are losing their sole,
I think my motivation is starting to go.
My arches are flat, my gait is off,
My rock hard abs are going soft.
I have runner’s knee, there are holes in my waterproof gear,
My brand new compression socks are covered in beer.
I have a neuroma, my quad is…
What? What’s that you say?
You say…. that it’s my day to race?
Goodbye then! I’m going out to run my PR pace!”
Source: http://www.runningrelays.com/?p=2001
Sunday, November 8, 2009
All About the Feeling
So, I had a race this morning. Well, really TWO races. :) It was the Phoenix 10K and 5K double header in downtown Phoenix. I've never had 2 races in one morning - I started to think of it as just one big 9.3 mile race. The 10K was to start at 8:00, the 5K at 9:15. I woke up at 5:30 to be downtown by our 7:00 team warm up time. I arrived, parked and had a couple of blocks to walk over to Wesley Bolin Plaza where the race start was. As I'm walking around the state capitol building I realize that my wrist is naked. I had forgotten my Garmin! Not only that, but I further realized that even my backup Timex is in my gym bag at home. No timing method! :( So, during my walk over to the start site to go pick up my timing chip I talked myself into the fact that this is a great opportunity for me to again NOT be dependent on something for my run. I figured I could go out, enjoy it and just do what feels good!
I picked up my timing anklet and walked over to our team meeting location to head out for our warm up. Upon returning from our warm up, my friend Karine had arrived a bit late. I told her I forgot my Garmin and she immediately offered her's to me since she was doing the run with a stroller with a couple of other moms and volunteer stroller pushers that also have GPS watches. It took some considering on my part but I told her no. I said that I already talked myself into an opportunity to see how I can do without it. To go by just how I was feeling without alarms nagging and seconds staring me down.
Just before the race started I was searching for any of my teammates. I finally found Justine who was also searching for our friends. We were happy to find each other to start together. :) We started out at a seemingly easy pace due to the crowds. This is a VERY popular race. The first mile reminded me so much of PF Changs. It starts in the same area and the runner filled street was so strikingly similar. Not only that, but there were bands about every 1/2 mile - again a reminder of PF Changs. Each band I passed I took my headphones out to have a listen. I hate to be rude when they are out there for us. Some weren't so good, but I really enjoyed a few of the bands - there was even an all girl band rockin' out there. Fun times!
Side note: Water station first time incident...water up the nose!!!! Mental note for next stop: do not try running while drinking from a cup. Just walk the few steps to avoid this problem! LOL
I truly had no idea how far into the race I was at certain points. I just started to ask myself - "Do you think you could go a bit faster and stick with it?" Usually, the answer was yes and that is what I did. Just when I had turned the corner to run toward the 3 mile mark the motorcycle cops came through asking runners to move to the right over their loud speakers. They were clearing the path for the man in first place so that he had ample room on the left of the road. AMAZING! Wouldn't we all love to be fast enough to have a police escort!!! This of course made me pick up the pace a little, inspired by him. :)
At the halfway point I saw my friend James along the left side cheering for me as I ran past, then Suzanne and Jeremy on the right. All of them cheering on the 10Kers while waiting for the 5K start. Such a boost to have them there!
The 10K race was the 5K loop twice. I knew what to expect the 2nd time around, so the bands I liked the first time I made sure to remove the headphones early to soak in the good stuff! They rocked pushing me to the finish faster. I finished my last mile strong and saw the clock reading 1:03 something when I crossed. I knew I had to beat 1:02:13 to PR so this was a close call. I didn't know how far off from gun time my chip time would be. I remember it took a couple minutes to get to the actual start, but I wouldn't know until times were posted. Hmmmm...MAYBE. And there was Suzanne and Jeremy to welcome my finish then walk me over to our5K start. No more time to think about the 10K just finished!
Suzanne didn't have any particular goals. She is now almost 8 months pregnant, still very quick, but she said she would stick with me whatever pace I wanted to go after I had just finished the 10K. I was glad for this since I really felt I did my best to give the 10K an awesome effort - I wanted to just have a fun 5K. We had a nice chatty run around the same course I had just run twice. I pointed out all of the bands I liked to her. We saw some racing Elvises (Elvi??? hehe). They were in full jumpsuits "taking care of business"! Quite funny really. We kept our easy pace and finished the 5K in 32 and some seconds according to Suzanne's watch. Again, we'd have to wait for official times to be posted to know how we really did. We met up with my team and waited for Jeremy to run in. After that we milled around to get all of the free goodies being handed out and then we parted to get back to our cars to get home.
The waiting was killing me. I was checking the web site every half hour (well, except during my well deserved nap). ;) The results were finally posted at about 6:00pm. I DID IT!! I PRed the 10K by a mere 14 seconds. 1:01:59 - 9:59 min/miles. Yay! The 5K was still pretty good for taking it easy - a 32:46 - 10:33 pace. Not surprising since by that ninth mile my knees were getting sore, and my ankle too which has been sore since I twisted it October 2nd (ouch!). Still happy with that 5K though after a 10K PR! A beautiful morning and a great time. Maybe there is something to be said for not being a slave to my wrist all the time. It was nice to think about nothing except how I was truly feeling as I went along. To the Garmin girls...try a race once without it just for kicks. I surprised myself! Maybe you will too!
I picked up my timing anklet and walked over to our team meeting location to head out for our warm up. Upon returning from our warm up, my friend Karine had arrived a bit late. I told her I forgot my Garmin and she immediately offered her's to me since she was doing the run with a stroller with a couple of other moms and volunteer stroller pushers that also have GPS watches. It took some considering on my part but I told her no. I said that I already talked myself into an opportunity to see how I can do without it. To go by just how I was feeling without alarms nagging and seconds staring me down.
Just before the race started I was searching for any of my teammates. I finally found Justine who was also searching for our friends. We were happy to find each other to start together. :) We started out at a seemingly easy pace due to the crowds. This is a VERY popular race. The first mile reminded me so much of PF Changs. It starts in the same area and the runner filled street was so strikingly similar. Not only that, but there were bands about every 1/2 mile - again a reminder of PF Changs. Each band I passed I took my headphones out to have a listen. I hate to be rude when they are out there for us. Some weren't so good, but I really enjoyed a few of the bands - there was even an all girl band rockin' out there. Fun times!
Side note: Water station first time incident...water up the nose!!!! Mental note for next stop: do not try running while drinking from a cup. Just walk the few steps to avoid this problem! LOL
I truly had no idea how far into the race I was at certain points. I just started to ask myself - "Do you think you could go a bit faster and stick with it?" Usually, the answer was yes and that is what I did. Just when I had turned the corner to run toward the 3 mile mark the motorcycle cops came through asking runners to move to the right over their loud speakers. They were clearing the path for the man in first place so that he had ample room on the left of the road. AMAZING! Wouldn't we all love to be fast enough to have a police escort!!! This of course made me pick up the pace a little, inspired by him. :)
At the halfway point I saw my friend James along the left side cheering for me as I ran past, then Suzanne and Jeremy on the right. All of them cheering on the 10Kers while waiting for the 5K start. Such a boost to have them there!
The 10K race was the 5K loop twice. I knew what to expect the 2nd time around, so the bands I liked the first time I made sure to remove the headphones early to soak in the good stuff! They rocked pushing me to the finish faster. I finished my last mile strong and saw the clock reading 1:03 something when I crossed. I knew I had to beat 1:02:13 to PR so this was a close call. I didn't know how far off from gun time my chip time would be. I remember it took a couple minutes to get to the actual start, but I wouldn't know until times were posted. Hmmmm...MAYBE. And there was Suzanne and Jeremy to welcome my finish then walk me over to our5K start. No more time to think about the 10K just finished!
Suzanne didn't have any particular goals. She is now almost 8 months pregnant, still very quick, but she said she would stick with me whatever pace I wanted to go after I had just finished the 10K. I was glad for this since I really felt I did my best to give the 10K an awesome effort - I wanted to just have a fun 5K. We had a nice chatty run around the same course I had just run twice. I pointed out all of the bands I liked to her. We saw some racing Elvises (Elvi??? hehe). They were in full jumpsuits "taking care of business"! Quite funny really. We kept our easy pace and finished the 5K in 32 and some seconds according to Suzanne's watch. Again, we'd have to wait for official times to be posted to know how we really did. We met up with my team and waited for Jeremy to run in. After that we milled around to get all of the free goodies being handed out and then we parted to get back to our cars to get home.
The waiting was killing me. I was checking the web site every half hour (well, except during my well deserved nap). ;) The results were finally posted at about 6:00pm. I DID IT!! I PRed the 10K by a mere 14 seconds. 1:01:59 - 9:59 min/miles. Yay! The 5K was still pretty good for taking it easy - a 32:46 - 10:33 pace. Not surprising since by that ninth mile my knees were getting sore, and my ankle too which has been sore since I twisted it October 2nd (ouch!). Still happy with that 5K though after a 10K PR! A beautiful morning and a great time. Maybe there is something to be said for not being a slave to my wrist all the time. It was nice to think about nothing except how I was truly feeling as I went along. To the Garmin girls...try a race once without it just for kicks. I surprised myself! Maybe you will too!
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