Category Archives: Running

Nov 30

It’s been so long

Amazing how time gets away.

At the end of this week, I celebrate my 40th birthday and I run the longest race I’ve tried so far–10 miles! I’m woefully underprepared. I had a pain in my hip that I finally got looked at back in October, and the doctor thought it could be a stress fracture. While waiting to get my MRI, she told me not to run. And it took several weeks to get the MRI and then another week for the results. Good news! No stress fracture. Just inflammation that I’m receiving physical therapy to deal with. I already see a difference in my hip–it is much better now post-run.

But all the waiting took a lot of time from my training. My last long race was in September when I ran a 15K. However, I ran only 7.5 miles of that and then had to do a walk/run for the last few miles. I’m going into Saturday’s race having run a maximum of five miles so far, and it’s ill-advised to try and push mileage too much before a race. So, I hope to do a run on Tuesday and Thursday, and then rest until Sunday (and celebrate my birthday!). On the day of the race, I’m going to have to do a walk/run combo if I plan on finishing it. And I’m okay with that. It will still be a personal record because I’ve never done it before.

The reason this race is so important to me is because this is the final race to complete the running club’s Triple Crown Challenge. Participants run in three races that get progressively longer, starting with the 10k over the summer–my first long race. I’ll be quite proud of myself to complete this third race and be part of the Triple Crown crew. Plus there is all sorts of great swag you get for finishing, including having the entry fee paid for the Presidential Half Marathon in April.  Woot!

Aug 28

Wherein I love running

Though that’s not exactly accurate.

I love finishing a run. And often, for the first two miles or so, I love the act of running. I love the goal of distances and times, even when my times never seem to improve and the distances aren’t getting any easier.

I don’t want it to be easy. I just want to be better at it. I know the people I watch who run and make it look effortless are putting in more effort than I can imagine. Effort outside the act of running–they’re strength training, and cross training, and eating properly. 

That goes for all athletes, particularly the ones who excel at what the do. Whether they excel on the local stage, the national stage, or the world stage (all of which have different requirements for excellence). 

During the Final Four, NPR did a story on Lebron James and how he was playing in every game because many of his teammates were out on injuries. The reporters made the point that this was a difficult task to take on, playing in every single game for large segments of time. They talked about him barely able to keep his eyes open at times. His recovering days included time on a stationary bike (first thing in the morning) and dips in an ice bath. I imagine his muscles achey and sore. I think about the idea of recovery days still requiring a great deal of physical work.

I love running, and yet I can only get myself out of bed early on race days. Some people jump out of bed and hit the road at 5am in order to get the run in before work, but I’m too busy hitting snooze over and over.

I love running, but it’s not something I turn to as a way to unwind. It is an obligation; a promise to myself to keep moving, even if I’m tired after work. A promise to push myself more because life is short and I want to keep my body in motion.

I love running even though I see little to no change in the scale numbers. I’ve stopped looking at the scale these days. My only measurements are how far I can go and for how long.

I love running even though I will likely never win a race. The people who win races (even local races) are at a caliber beyond my reach, and I’m not meaning that to be a put down about myself. It’s as if there are people whose bodies are designed for running; people who have been running out of pleasure and fun since they were children. And so my goals are adjusted to beat my last time, or to run farther than I did last time. Those are the races I’m in, and they’re good enough for the time being.

Running is always a decision for me. It is not my default mode; it’s a mode I want to be in. Runner is a descriptor I want to claim for myself.

And though it’s mostly difficult, I love running.

(Next challenge: 15K in September)

Aug 23

Wherein I complete my first 10k race

It’s been a summer of training for my first 10K. Weekly group runs followed by solo runs on the days in between. And now summer is officially over because I just completed the race this morning. A summer of running to get to this morning.

The entire distance (6.2 miles) was more challenging than I thought it’d be considering I’ve run a few 5ks in my time. Six miles is still a difficult distance for me to hit on a regular basis. Four to five is my sweet spot. 

I also started interval running (see last post), and that method helped a lot. I think it will be necessary as I train for longer races.

But Race Day! I bought a head band that I though perfectly summed up my feelings about the whole thing:  

 And my right hamstring felt really tight yesterday–like, tight enough that I was altering my walk. So I bought a massage stick at a local sports store and used it the last night, and increased my stretching before bed. When I woke up, I felt GREAT (considering it was 6am).

The race took place at the fairgrounds and my husband dropped me off so I didn’t have to worry about parking.

Lots of people!  

 I submerged myself in the middle of the pack. I’m a realist like that.

Then we were off! I decided not to start my interval running until I was out of the fairgrounds and we could spread out a bit.

There were so many people ahead of me. In 5ks, I’m pretty good about staying in the middle of the pack, but it seems the farther the distance, the farther behind I fall in the pack. I tried to not dwell on that.

Finally, I turned my interval app on. And I’m running and running and running and running, and I think to myself, “surely four minutes has lapsed by now.” I pull out my iphone and see they have lapsed and I’m half a minute into my minute of rest! It seems sometime during my setup efforts, I turned the buzzer off the app and now it was running through the intervals without alerting me. So, I had to run with the damn phone in my hand, which I hate. (I like my hands free when I’m running.)

Then, I’m about fifteen or twenty minutes into the run and I see a police car coming toward us in the other lane. The roads are closed to traffic so I was a bit confused until I heard some cheering. The eventual winner of the race was already on his way back (with a police car leading the way). And the guy was killing it–practically sprinting his way to the finish line. It took him just over 30 minutes to run 6.2 miles–something like a 5 minutes 13 second pace. It was incredible to see–as were all the runners right behind him, though he was the clear leader. The winner is actually well known in this area. He’s the president of our running club and an all around running enthusiast and race winner.

Most of the rest of the race went as planned without a lot of difficulty. I stopped to save an earthworm that was crawling in the dirt on the road. I talked to my legs as necessary, letting them know this was the last time they’d have to run up this hill or that hill. (This course has a lot of intense hills.) At one point I thought to myself, “hmmm…I’m not so sure distance running is for me.” I finished strong (once I see the finish line, I can push myself to speed up a bit), and I completed the race in an hour and eight minutes. I was hoping to get closer to an hour, but now I have a goal to work toward.

Yes I did wear my medal all day.  
Then there was french toast and coffee, a shower, and a five hour nap where I slept like the dead.

And already the next race is close–a 15 K the third week of September!

 

Aug 15

In which I run and walk and run and then walk

I call myself a runner. But not a Runner. Because a Runner doesn’t walk, I think. But a runner does. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say a jogger. Or a jogger/walker.

Why the concern about labels? I don’t know. I have a 10K race next week that I’m nervous about running, but there’s no reason to be nervous because I know I’ll finish. Even if I have to walk for part of it. It’s not as if there’s any chance I’ll win. Not even my age group. These runners are crazy fast. 

I’m a member of the local running club and I was perusing the newsletter they sent me. There was a two-mile race I’d missed when I was on vacation in July, and they had photos of the winner. They said her time was 12 minutes and some seconds. I remember thinking, How did she win that if she ran 12 minutes a mile? I run faster than that. Then I realized, Ohhhhh…that’s how long it took her to finish the entire race. Basically she ran six minutes a mile. Hot damn. That’s fast. There’s a guy runner who finishes 5k races in, like, 17 minutes. It borders on superhuman to me. 

On the other side of the spectrum, I’m happy if I break a ten-minute pace. Anything below a ten-minute pace is like me embodying the roadrunner. I’m even happier if I can run most of my distance without stopping to walk. I don’t know why that’s a thing for me, this idea that real runners don’t walk. Maybe elite runners don’t. Maybe race winners don’t. But I’m neither of those things. I run to challenge myself and keep my body in motion, and to feel good, which I do after each run.

Don’t get me wrong. I’d like to imagine that becoming a winner of races is within my scope of possibility. If I worked harder, I know I’d improve…enough to win a race? Probably not. I’m a firm believer that any body can run, but I have to be honest when I say my body is not exactly an ideal runner’s body if one wants to win. I’m heavy and lumbering and thick with a short stride. But aiming for an age-group win could be possible. Maybe when I’m in the 70s age group. (Though there are some super fast seniors out there, too.)

But that would be a lot of work. I think I’m motivated enough to do it. But first I need to take a nap.