Tag Archive | running

Prepare for Everything, Still have Nothing.

Sometimes the best laid plans still fall short. You think you’ve got it all together only to realize that you haven’t got a clue. That was kind of how this weekends run started out. As I said to Dawn on the way there, ” Things always work out the way they are supposed to. Even if that’s not how you planned it.”

This past weekend was another 9 plus 1 run in the city. In the past, there have been a group of us who would drive in together. Usually, the driver is someone who is familiar with getting in and out of the city. Someone who knows the lay of the land if you will. But this weekend the clown car was unavailable which meant that my cohort in crime and I had to get there and back on our own. Now I am not afraid to drive anywhere solo. I’ve even driven my kids to Florida and back. I’m also contemplating taking them to Texas this summer. Doesn’t bother me at all. The difference is that this is usually on my schedule and usually there isn’t an event starting at a specific time such as was happening on Saturday. Still we were confident in our ability to get there and meet up with another Mama runner.

We knew that since it was an 8:00 AM start time that once again we would need to leave before the sun. All was set. Clothes laid out. Bag with Bib all packed. Garmin loaded with street near the entrance of the Park. We were good to go! Then I realize that the Garmin wants to take me a totally foreign way. When going into the City, I would normally take the tunnel, but for some reason my Garmin wanted to take me over one of the bridges. She kept leading me astray. I was getting annoyed with her and myself for not waiting till we got to the City to listen to her. Time was ticking. It was closer than we would have liked, but we did get there with a little bit of time to spare.

Besides the Garmin issue though, we realized that we did not have pins for our Bibs. I didn’t think to check the bag for them as they are usually there. I also thought that I had my handy dandy safety pin bracelet in my running bag. Nope, not this time as I needed it. Luckily I had a belt in my bag to use and Dawn did have one pin. Still it put a crinkle in things and added some unneeded stress.

Once we get to the streets close to the park entrance, it is time to find the perfect parking spot. Of course, it is a Saturday morning in NYC and there are no spots. We are running out of time to look for one, so we end up just pulling into a parking garage. Things to remember when parking your car in a garage for a race:

1. You do not have the luxury of going through your running bag to calmly get your sh*t together.

2. You do not have time to put your compression socks on.

3. You will forget your arm sleeves that you end up not needing but still.

4. You will also forget your hair band, but end up liking your hair down in your pictures anyway.

5. You will feel a little panicked and out of sorts literally jumping out of your car and not taking a moment

6. It all works out in the end.

7. You arrive at your corral with literally only a few minutes to spare. Giving you time to think about removing your throw away shirt.

Now one of the reasons that I wanted to do this run besides needing it for the 9 plus 1 is that it sounded like a fun event and it was. It was the kickoff to Scottish Week. There were bagpipers along the course, lots of people running in kilts, and just a gorgeous day. I, shockingly, was one of those people running in a kilt. Although mine was more of a tutu than an actual kilt. I wanted to be fun. I wanted to have fun. I wasn’t in it for a PR (personal record). I’ve actually only run one other 10K and that was when I was training very heavily for the Hat Trick. This was going to just be a race to get me a check mark and for some fun.

A funny thing happened along the way though.

The race started. It was packed. Packed. Packed. Packed. Dawn had decided that she was going to run with the other MRTT Mama and go for a potential PR. I had decided that I was just going to see how I felt and go with the flow. I’ve still been fighting these pesky foot issues and really haven’t been giving it my all. Race starts and we begin the bob and weave. We end up splitting up as we were in a huge field of other runners. Just keeping running. I just kept telling myself it was only 6 miles. A nice training run. I go out fairly strong. Experience a little foot discomfort, but nothing I haven’t felt before. Then one mile down. Then another. By mile three, I’m realizing that I’m making good time. By mile five, I realize that I could potentially PR which at this point I think would be cool. By mile six, I know I’m going to be close. I actually walked for a bit before someone with a Scottish accent, said something to me about keep going. So I ran some more. I finished.

Official Time 57:08

Previous 10K 57:19

Whew, that was close!

Then again, this wasn’t part of the plan, but it was a very nice bonus!

Moral of the story, sometimes you just have to roll with life. You can plan all you want. You can think you’ve got it all under your control, but the truth of the matter is that the best things in life happen when your not.

Finally,

Always tutu!

You Know Your A Runner When….

Feb16

You get ready to leave for a run and say, “I’m going for a short run today. I’m only going 3 miles.”
When you have more running clothes than any other type of clothes.
When you think nothing of ringing a friends bell to use her bathroom because your out for a long run.
You buy your GU by the case
You have more running shoes than days of the week
You consider your running time your me time and guard it accordingly.
You think the best way to help your sore legs is more running to “work it out.”
You are not only willing but excited to spend 15 minutes getting dressed for cold weather because it means you will be able to get your run in no matter what the thermometer says.
You match your pedicure nail polish to the shade of blue one of your toenails is already colored.
You check to see if there are any races taking place where you plan to vacation.

How Do You know Your a Runner….

Baby It’s Cold Outside!

Jan11

I woke up this morning at 7:00 after setting my alarm last night to meet my MRTT Mama’s for a cold winter run. Normally, I do not meet them on the weekend. Often they meet too early for me and I do enjoy sleeping in on the weekend. I really had no excuse not to go seeing as they were not meeting till 8:00 and I did need the miles. On top of that I really did need to get out there and run in the cold and it was cold. The car thermometer registered 17 degrees when I got in. I will admit that running in the cold is not at the top of my list of things to do, but seeing as I have a Half Marathon coming up on the 25th I need to suck it up!

Besides I needed to try out my new running jacket that I got just for cold weather running. If you recall in my previous post The Most Expensive FREE Sport Ever, I have been searching for the perfect coat to run in. So far nothing that I got seemed to work, but I do think that I have a winner!!

Ding. Ding. Ding.

The Athleta Full Speed Jacket

My only problem that I had today is that I thought this was like a normal jacket and ran with one too many layers.

Layer One – Under Armour Long Sleeve Shirt

Layer Two – Under Armour Short Sleeved Heat Gear Shirt

Layer Three – Athleta Long Sleeved Extra Long Chi Top

Outer Layer – New Full Speed Jacket& Reflective Power Lift Tights

And off my BA MRTT Mama’s and me went.

I will also admit that even though the whole point of the jacket is to reflect my body heat back to me to keep me warm that I had my doubts. No more. By mid run, I had my gloves off and my jacket fully unzipped as I was warm. So next time, I will try just the short sleeved Heat Gear over the Chi Top as that one promises to be unstinkable and was so soft! I do know though that I will have to suck it up at the beginning and realize that I will be toasty warm in no time. I got the large for comfort with added layers which did make the sleeves a little long but to me that is a plus for running in the cold.

Overall I would highly recommend this jacket. I wish that I could have waited for a sale,

but as Violet from Charlie in the Chocolate said,

So I paid full price.

It was not cheap.

But it was so worth it.

Like the Reflective Running Tights.

Now I wish I could say that Athleta was sponsoring this post or giving me a freebie for saying these things, but they aren’t. This way though you know I speak the truth as I always do.

So Athleta feel free to sponsor me for some honest feedback:)

What is your favorite winter running item?

Check Your Ego at the Door

Dec15

I have gone for runs in the rain.

Light rain, but the rain.

I have gone for runs early in the morning.

I have gone for runs at dusk.

What until today I have never really done is gone for a run at dark. I mean dark. Unless you count one summer night where my sister and I ran my neighborhood block for a short mile. I don’t count that one because it was really just around the block. Today was different. I didn’t get out for my run until after 6:00. It was dark, but I really, really, really needed this run. The Christmas cookies all said so. You do what you have to do to get it done.

Now I will readily admit that before running if I saw someone out at night, I would think to myself, “What is wrong with that person?” I realized once I started running that there was nothing wrong with that person. That they just needed to get their run in and obviously this was when they needed to get it in. That being said, I have seen some boneheaded runners at night and I knew early on that I would not be one of them. So even though I never ran at night, I was prepared for I knew that the night would arrive when I would have to go out in the dark if I wanted to get a run in.

The most important thing to do when running in the dark is to check your ego at the door. This is not the time to worry about how cute you look if you are one to worry about those things. This is the time to make sure that not only can you see where you are going as we all know how wonderful the sidewalks and roads can be, but you also have to make sure that others can see you.

1. Headlamp – yes, you look like you are getting ready to go on a mining expedition, but that’s ok as long as you can see and oncoming cars can see your little light bouncing while you run.

2. Reflective Vest – I will say that I bought a bright neon Pink one with pink reflective strips on it. You know pink is my color!

3. Since it wasn’t that cold, I wore a short sleeve shirt with arm sleeves that happen to have reflective strips on them too.

4. I didn’t need my running belt tonight but I wore it again because it had a reflective stripes on it.

5. My running tights which I love also reflective lines on them.

6. Just for good measure, I put on my ankles those yellow reflective bands that most normal people wear on their arms,but I kind of liked them on my ankles and we all know I’m not normal.

Now, I hope you noticed a pattern here with my outfit.

REFLECTIVE!

We all know how people drive during the day when your highly visible. Why not make yourself as visible as you can at night too because their driving really doesn’t get better at night?

Now another way to check the ego at the door that must be done (at least for me) is to SLOW DOWN. Yes I knew the road I was taking, but that doesn’t mean I know every bump in it. I also adjusted my routine to run on roads with both wider sidewalks and more visibility. I also knew that I needed to run safely and take it easy out there. Even though I run these roads all the time, it is different at night. Just know that your night runs are not the time to do a speed workout unless you are at the track.

Lastly, I will say that only other runners understand the need to go out at night. When I shared the picture of me from my run, all of my running friends gave positive comments. Then there was the one non running person whose comment was “Goofy.”

Well I wasn’t trying to be Goofy. I was just trying to get a run in and make it home safe. Just remember that that is the most important thing when you are out on a run. Getting home safe.

As they said in one of my favorite shows growing up

Let’s all be Careful out there!

Do you run at night?

Word of the Week – Salutations

Dec3

Greetings and Salutations.

We’ve all been there. Your out for your morning/afternoon/evening run and you see a runner coming at you on the horizon. You’re a friendly person and bring your hand up to wave. Then bam nothing. No wave. No smile. Nothing. Why? What’s the problem? Too much effort to be polite?

Then instead of it being a normal polite thing to do, you start to think when you see a fellow runner –

Do I wave?

Do I smile?

Do I do the head nod?

Do I just pretend I don’t see them?

Well I admit it. I always acknowledge them. More times that should happen in a civilized society, these people who I am sure are pleasant in every other aspect of their life don’t conform to social standards while on the road.

Actually, I would never do that! Besides this is not a “talent’ that I have mastered yet. Although, come this winter I just might. But back to the topic at hand.

sal·u·ta·tion

noun \ˌsal-yə-ˈtā-shən\

the act of greeting someone

Full Definition of SALUTATION

1 a : an expression of greeting, goodwill, or courtesy by word, gesture, or ceremony

b plural : regards

2: the word or phrase of greeting (as Gentlemen or Dear Sir or Madam) that conventionally comes immediately before the body of a letter

So why do some people make this so difficult?

Rule # 1 – If someone says Hi or acknowledges you, acknowldeg them too

Rule # 2 – If you run right past a person, a head nod is acceptable too

Rule #3 – Don’t be an @ss

It’s really that simple!

I will tell you that on one of my long training runs where I was at about mile 10, I was running towards a gentleman pondering if I would do the wave. He one upped me. He put his hand out for a High Five as we passed each other and made some remark about keep up the good work. I said something like same to you. I don’t remember the exact words, but I will say that his actions reminded me of being at a race and people pumping you up. Just the simple act of the High Five helped put the spring in my step for a bit. It was like acknowledging that we were both in it together to get it done which is true. We are all out there running for our various reasons. We are all out there for ourselves, but we are not out there alone.

Now I am not saying that you need to high five every runner that you see. Although it might be cool if you did. I’m just that we are all out there together getting it done and it would be nice if we didn’t pretend we don’t see each other out there.

Do you say Hi to other runners?

Do you like it when others say Hi to you?

One Hot Mama!

Nov14

I must admit that I am one Hot Running Mama!

Unfortunately for me, I am Hot as in I heat up as I run

and

not Hot as in “Wow look at that Mama run:)”

This makes running in the cold difficult for me as I want to dress appropriately, but I also don’t want to give myself heat stroke.

What to do?

What do do?

Well first I’m going to link up for Cold Weather Running Tip Friday Five

through You signed up for what, Eat Pray Run DC

and Mar on the Run!

Then I’m going to plan my cold running strategy.

Last year I will admit, I was a bit of a baby when it came running in the snow and cold.

Not like one of my awesome running on a streak, more motivated than anyone I know, Running Mama’s!

Case in point

This is a woman who knows how to dress and run in anything.

Proven by the fact that she is almost at a year of her running streak without missing a day.

She’s more reliable than the Mailman!

Me, not so much.

But seeing as I’ve already signed up to do a half in Central Park in January, I better get it together.

What I do know is that I’m going to need to go shopping!

Boo Hoo

Just kidding!

1. Proper Running Jacket!! – I need one that will be breathable, will keep me dry, and isn’t heavy. I think I may get it and wrap it up for myself for Christmas (but of course using it right up till Christmas Eve)!

2. Hat – Normally, I run with a bolder band and they do have some new winter ones that I will try; but it really is important to keep the head covered and the ears! Don’t forget the ears. Love my running hat with a slot for my pony tail too. It’s the little things that make me happy.

3. Chapstick – Yes, chapstick. Do you want to spend all winter with chapped lips? I don’t think so. Don’t forget to apply it before and during your runs.

4. Yatracks – Although, I bought them last year, I haven’t tried them yet; I know they will get a workout this year. It’s hard enough running with the roads clear, I don’t want to worry about falling in the snow/ice!

5. Layers, Layers, Layers – As I said, I’m a hot Mama, so I need to be able to cool off even when it’s cool outside. In the fall, I’ve discovered the joy of running in arm warmers. This way once I warm up, I can take them off while running and loop them into my belt. So not only layers, but layers you can easily take off and still run with unless you have a place to stash your running clothes on the fly. (although, I have mentioned to my friends that might just happen at their house:)

So now I’m off to see what everyone else is doing and get some more ideas how not to freeze my behind off this winter!

Don’t do the Crime if you can’t do the Time

Nov4

So the word is out.

Probably because I’m putting it out there.

I signed up to run a marathon.

I am not crazy (ok a little), but I signed up thinking that I’m ready to do this. As I said before, I may not have been in marathon training, but the Runner’s World Hat Trick Training was very intense. My marathon training friend (yes, you Dawn), has said to me that this plan was very similar to Marathon training. Obviously, not the same but it was intense. When we ran the 20 miles, it was hard but I did it. As much as I wanted to stop, I didn’t till we hit the 20 mark. So I signed up thinking in my mind that I can do this. I’m ready. I won’t be in the front of the pack. I won’t be in the middle, but I do plan on finishing.

Now when you tell people that you are running a marathon, you get one of two reactions.

There is no middle of the road.

That’s Awesome. Good for you!
Your crazy!

Now, I’ve said it before, I know I’m crazy and if you knew my family you would know that I’m the most sane one. That being said, I am not crazy enough to sign up for this thinking that I can’t do it. I do not have a death wish nor do I wish to injure myself. Starting at the end of July with the training and running the Hat Trick, I have logged 43.21 hours and 250.3 miles in running. I’ve put in my time. I’m still training. Although I’m tapering but I’ve still got some solid runs in this week. I am not taking this lightly.

So when you call me crazy or think that I am not ready for this, I will tell you flat out that you are wrong. It may even push me to run when I do hit the wall. As those of you who know me personally know, I can be one determined SOB and right now I’m determined to cross that finish line.

And as a final thought, please remember what your mother would say to you as you were growing up and probably what you teach your own children,

“If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

6 Days

Oct25

Today is 6 days without a run. Is it crazy that I can tell you this? Maybe. I have friends who think I’m crazy with all the running that I do. Now, by no means, am I saying that I’m not crazy; BUT not about my running. The rest we won’t get into that today. These are the friends who don’t understand why I am constantly running around town, getting up at the crack to do events, and just “giving up” so much time. I honestly don’t get it sometimes too.

When I started running it was simple so that I would be able to finish the run in my Sprint Triathlon. I remember bitching about how much I hated running. I remember not being able to complete a mile and I when I did I remember how slow I ran it. Now don’t take offense as I am not dissing anyone’s who runs time. I am just saying that I am faster now than when I started. I am by no means fast as to compared to some of my friends who are Speedy Gonzalez, I look like a turtle. A mile is a mile no matter the pace. I am just trying to say that over the course of my training for various events, something happened.

I have not only developed a love for running (OMG WTH), but I have developed a NEED for running. It has become one of my sanity busters along with cake decorating. Yes, I know opposite spectrum, but the balance each other out don’t you think. As with running, I need to concentrate solely on the task before me and it clears the mind. You can’t always decorate a cake, but it is usually easy to squeeze in a run. Except this week.

I purposely took Monday and Tuesday off to recover from my Hat Trick. No, I wasn’t really that sore. I did have some soreness in my right calf and I didn’t want to push it. I’ve done that before and it’s never good. So I did want to take a few days off, but now I am at six days and it’s too much. I kept thinking that I would be able to squeeze a run in during the week, but that never happened. Dear Hubby went back to work on Wednesday and there has just been too much stuff to do that either didn’t get done last week, needed to be done before today, or just the normal stuff that has to get done in life. But today is day six and I can’t take it.

Today is also going to be a rough day. Today is the day we say goodbye to truly one of the good guys, My Father-in-law. A man who worked his whole life with the simple focus of taking care of his family. He raised 9 children (5 natural, 4 adopted) and that doesn’t even begin to touch the scope of who is was. It will be a day of tears. A day of remembering and a day to say goodbye.

This is why, for me, I do need my run. As you know, running is my time alone. My time to let off stress. My time to just let things tumble through my mind at will as my feet hit the pavement. No running isn’t therapy, but running can really help to release stress, tire you out, and sometimes you have runner’s tears when the wind hits your eyes even if you have sunglasses on. I know though that today though that there once again may not be time to run and I will be ok with that as tomorrow I will get up before my house and go for a long run. Not because I’m in training, but because both my body and soul need it.

How does running help you?

Find the Joy!

Oct22

So I’m taking a step back from all Runner’s World Hat Trick talk to tell you a cute story that happened today.

In my town, we do not have pick-up for recycling. You are required to take recycling to our town recycling center.

Yes, I know you are scratching your head thinking,

“What? You can’t just put it on the curb?”

No we can’t, but that’s a whole different post! Now even though I have to sort and drive over my recycling, I still do. I am THAT Recycler who even recycles the box her butter comes in, but considering the amount of butter I use in my house I feel like I’m doing the world a favor. I firmly believe in taking care of the earth and that there is no Plan B.

Anyway, that is not the point of this post.

Now, I’ve been dropping off my recycling now for about 15 years. Over time you get to know the people. To be honest most of them are a little on the grouchy side, but there is this one gentleman who is a sweetheart. We chat every time I go and he has such a positive outlook on life and makes the trip a little nicer. In talking to him today, he was telling me how everyone is thinking that he’s sick because he’s lost 25 pounds. He further goes on to tell me that he decided that he needed to start taking better care of himself and setting a better example for his grandkids since he’s older now ( I don’t know exactly how old he is, but I swear he said that he was in his 70’s). He started telling me how he just goes out and runs. He said, ” I run here. I run there. I just go out and do it. I don’t need to be doing marathons or any of that. I just want to be healthy. I used to be able to do it, so I just decided to do it again.”

I will interject to add that he has no idea that I like to run or that I run races (one day, I will get to say marathons). He was just so cute telling me how good he feels just because he started running. He said that he couldn’t stop telling people how great running is and how much better you feel doing it. He brought a real smile to my face simply with the joy he obviously gets simply from his runs.

I can further guarantee that this is not a gentleman who has any type of GPS training watch, fancy shoes, ear-buds, or any such thing many of us, myself included, think that are needed to run. He runs for the joy of it and there really is joy in running if you have the right attitude.

So next time I go out for a run, I am going to go out Naked and Afraid (not that way!!!!). I’m going to leave my GPS off (ok, I will never do that, but I WON’T look at it) and I will leave my music off just to run for the run. I will feel the wind on my face, the air in my lungs, and just experience the joy and beauty that is around me.

This Is It!!

Oct19

Today was the last day of the Big Event. I’ll be honest as Dawn as my witness, once I signed up I wondered if If could do it. I went into this with a goal of just finishing all three races. I went into this not really knowing if I could do it. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to run it a few days ago. As you know though, I didn’t take this weekend lightly. I trained and busted my butt. I can say that now because not only is it over, but I am really happy with the way it ended.

If you read yesterdays post, you know that yesterday was also a good day.

For a recap

5K – used it as a warm-up

Time: 29:39

Wanted to finish under 30

Age Division (45-49) – placed 41 out of 99

Gender 390 out of 959

Overall 793 out of 1595

Pace: 9:31

10K – Target Race

Time: 57:19

Wanted to finish under 60 minutes

Age Division – 29 out of 64

Gender 265 out of 1016

Overall 605 out of 1635

Pace: 9:13

Half Marathon – Crap Shoot

Time: 2:06:08

Division 50 out of 152

Gender 556 out of 1333

Overall 1206 out of 2311

Pace: 9:53

To say I am pleased is really an understatement. You are talking about someone who NEVER would have ever thought of herself as a runner. Someone who still remembers the “fat kid” she was as a young child. I’m still shocked at myself. I honestly was worried that I would not be able to do the half after running the previous day. But not only did I finish, I ended up with a personal record. I didn’t get here alone though.

So I would like to give a shout out to the people who made this possible

Yes, I know I didn’t win, but for me this is a big win.

(Hey I will never win an Academy Award, so I’ll take my moment:)

Dawn (Yup, you made the blog again) – Thank you for being my biggest cheerleader and being the one to encourage me to sign up for this in the first place. Without you there pushing me (you know it’s your specialty -getting people to sign up for things). Plus, you’ve been so helpful with sharing your knowledge, words of encouragement, and a fun running buddy too.

My Running Group – You know who you are! You guys kept me on track and honest with my training.

Cue the music….

Ok, this was a BIG, BIG, BIG event. So Big that they call it a festival.

Expect more posts about it because there is so much more to tell.

Don’t be that Runner

Running with the Pack

and

more!

The Accidentally Running Mama

Run, Bike, Swim and Have a Life!