Fun in the rain

Today I did the 3.3 ISES Run (International Society of Endovascular Specialists) at the Scottsdale Phoenician. It's a scenic, hilly run along the golf cart paths. I was so ill-prepared for the hills and need some exercises that will help me power thru them. Afterwards they have a spread of muffins, danish, bagels, croissants, jellies, fresh fruits, juices.....perhaps this was what I was remembering instead of the hills. They also give 3 medals for each age group and I won silver with an abysmal time of 39:03. Gotta love a run sponsored by a classy resort.

I got nothin

I ran at the high school track today. Tried to work in some speeding up intervals. Really tough for me. I have 2 discernible speeds: slow and walk. Also I'm sorry to relate that nothing crossed my mind during all my treks around. How is that possible?

Just why

This is one of those days that I understand the wisdom of setting a long-term goal. Otherwise I can think of no earthly reason why I would want to run. As my feet pound along, "No, still not thinking of one." And why is the first mile so much longer than subsequent miles? (I'm at 83 miles.)

Physics for runners

It's hard to be in a bad mood for very long when you run but I continue to test that theory. Possibly it takes energy to maintain negativity and that energy is displaced by the energy it takes to run. Newton may even have come up with a formula for this.

Fun Run

"You're going down, Grandma!" is what my son-in-law (affectionately) told me at the start of our 5K Fun Run to benefit my grandson's school. Hayden's parents ran it with dad pushing Killian and my job was to run alongside Hayden. Different strategy from my usual races and a lot of fun. We'd run to a predetermined spot and then speed walk until he was ready to run again. He wanted to know how long it would take as he'd only run one mile prior to this. I thought maybe 40 - 50 minutes and told him that, like 12 and a half times around the track. Then wanted to know how long we'd been running already. "3 minutes." He did awesome though, never giving up and sometimes running for longer periods than he'd planned. We passed 2 miles at about 1/2 hour and by the time we got to the 3 mile marker his mom was there to cheer us on to the finish.
Hayden got first place for the 12 and under group! I think he'll be running again.
(I'm at almost 80 miles.)

Army of One

Some 35 years ago I was in the Army so if needed I can conjure up my old drill instructor's voice when I'm ready to give up on a run. "Quitting is not an option, Private! ......ain't no need in looking down, ain't no discharge on the ground ......your left, your left, your left, right, left ..........." and the like. Sometimes that's enough to defeat the part of me that wants to wimp out.

Hiking Superstition

We hiked the Siphon Draw trail in the Superstition Mtns yesterday. Three miles up to the Flatiron at 4861' that took us 3.5 hours of (some)strenuous climbing. There's an awesome 180 degree view from on top. Going down took 2.5 hrs and was grueling on the knees. Harder than any run I've done but totally worth it.

Back at it

Running doesn't get easier just because I passed another milestone (the 10K). But it is nice to have a friend to run with for a few days. We ran 2 miles yesterday and 2.5 today in beautiful spring-like weather. She lets me set the pace and runs a few steps behind me. When we pass someone on the sidewalk I want to say, "Is she still chasing me?" but I can't really converse while running yet.

10K: Mission Accomplished!

We did our Lost Dutchman 10K. The event features a marathon, half-marathon, 10k, 8K, and 2 mile walk/run. Weather was in 50's (going up to 70's) and the event was really well organized. I struggled through almost the first 2 miles but at our halfway marker turn around point I started to feel better. Kept my pace up through the 4 mile not feeling too bad. By the time I hit the 5 mile marker I was walk/running and energy level was on "low battery." It was all I could do to run the last section to the finish line but I kept my daughter in sight and plugged on. They actually have bleachers set up near the end with spectators cheering so it makes you want to run to the finish. My daughter, Brigette, finished 1:14:41, I finished 1:16:23, and Nancy was 1:20:36. My friend, Luanne, set a new PR for the 2 miler and we were a happy group going through the food line. Then we all helped each other up and headed home.

I Love Icons (no, not that kind)

So my friend, Nancy, is here in Arizona to run the 10K with me and I'm excited. She told me maybe she could put some little icon in my blog that will show the progress on my running 500 miles in 2010. And that makes me really excited. I love checkpoints and calculations of all sorts. I've been known to make a "To Do" with a few items on it that I've already accomplished just so I can have some things crossed off. Today I coaxed myself to do a two mile run by telling myself I could think about these little icons and whether they would be pie-shaped or bar graphs or maybe a map with my distance markers. As I neared 2 miles I was thinking that if we were only doing the 2 mile run tomorrow I wouldn't have any qualms. But I realized that I wouldn't run any faster and when it was done I could have still run another 4.2 miles (theoretically.) And I thought that maybe with my relaxed pace, I'm better off doing a longer distance. Could it really be as simple as that? That all I have to do is keep running? Tomorrow will tell.

"It's Gonna Take Some Time . . ."

I was going to complain about my 2 mile run today -- how I felt disjointed, my hips and knee ached with the each pound of the pavement and I wanted to quit the entire run. But by the time I showered and had coffee I felt pretty good. I need to remember that the benefits of running are not always immediate (or obvious.)
I found a 5K Nun Run in March. My first impulse was to make sure I'd read that correctly and my second was, oh, I gotta do this! I've never done a run sponsored by nuns I told anyone that would listen. It's for the Poor Clares who are raising money to build a chapel. They have a website called "desertnuns." How cool is that?

Blogging about it does not a runner make

I realized that I haven't posted my distance as it pertains to my goal of 500 miles. Currently I'm at 61.3 miles. I only count the miles I run without stopping, except for races, which will include the whole amount even if I have to walk some of it. This just keeps me honest. I use mapmyrun.com to check out any variations from my run routes which are mostly in our neighborhood or at the track. So today when I ran my 2 miles I was almost surprised to still be struggling. Apparently having finally blogged about running does not make one a runner.

Race thoughts

Sometimes at the larger races there will be paramedics positioned along the route. It has not escaped my notice that as I run by they slowly assume full alert status undoubtedly thinking, "I won't be caught flat-footed if this 55 year old collapses. Not on my watch!" And sometimes a concerned runner passing me will ask, "Are you okay, ma'm?" I have found that a grimace or a short exhale will suffice. The exception to the rule is if the finish line is in sight. Then I can smile and have been known to high-five bystanders.
Did I mention my anxiety increases as the race date draws near? Five days and counting til the 10K. Currently my buddy signed up to run with me is snow-bound (all flights canceled.) And my daughter who was also going to run is now pregnant.......geeeez, what people won't do to get out of a run.

Fakin it

When I start to run I feel stiff and awkward. Like my feet are being forced to bend and my gait is unnatural.It's like I'm trying to imitate someone running. It takes me at least a half mile and sometimes almost a mile before I feel like I'm running and not play acting running. Around that time I can feel that it's not getting worse with each step. And I actually tell myself, "it's not going to get any worse than this." At least there's some comfort in the routine, knowing I just have to fake it until my running becomes real.

Those little voices

I swear the hardest part of running is mental. I have trouble getting motivated and trouble starting out. My reluctant heart does not like to be pushed and sometimes my mind tries to suggest "dire health consequences" if I exert myself. Ignoring this, the little voices start in with "what about your knee? That knee is not good and it's starting to really ache" (I have a bad knee and my alternate blog title was "Run Missing Meniscus Run" but it felt too cumbersome) If this isn't enough, then I get "maybe your hips aren't just sore, they could actually be deteriorating, afterall you're losing bone mass." I just think that maybe older runners have it tougher because all of these things make a lot of sense. But then I get a good Rolling Stones or Billy Joel song and just drown them out.

The 10K looms

About 8 months ago I signed up for the Lost Dutchman 10K because last year I did the 8K and it seemed like a good idea. It seemed possible. A few months ago it even seemed plausible. And now it seems sort of crazy and approaching way too fast. I also realized that I don't want to do any distance longer than a 10K. This is why I came up with my 500 miles in a year --it's an achievable goal and should increase my consistency. I figure that I should average 42 miles/month but running in the summer (about 6 mos long in Phoenix) is KILLER so I need to get some big numbers on the calendar during the early part of the year and make adjustments late in the year.