I found myself wondering if I am totally out of my mind. I am not quite 50 and am devoting a hellacious amount of time to training for a marathon, or rather, a series of marathons to qualify for Boston. Granted, I love the way it feels to have a warmish sun and a coolish lake breeze on my face as I run along Lake Michigan. And, I love the challenge of doing hill work with Debbie and the other ladies. And, I have to admit, I am vain. I like the way my body is getting firmer. But, the time. I think once I settle into a new routine and minimize the amount of extra runs or exercise in one day, that will help.
My house is a mess. Not horrible, but definitely not company ready. I need to work on some major projects, but don't really have a block of time to do them. Next summer, I will need to figure something out, because I want to do some trim painting and overhaul the garage. This past summer, many projects were neglected because I was so intent on doing a decent job running the Fox Cities Half Marathon.
Balance. It's all about balance. I didn't have to juggle a spouse/boyfriend so that made it easier. Jake was fairly understanding. I think when he saw me run the race he was proud and understood what I had been working toward. I can be kind of single-minded when it comes to a goal, so I'll just need to keep life in perspective.
Debbie mentioned a relay race that she is thinking about doing - Hood to Coast from Mt. Hood to Seaside, Oregon - http://www.hoodtocoast.com/ - and she wanted to know if I wanted to be part of her team in 2013. Sounds pretty amazing! I think I'll do it. The 2012 race is near the end of August so that would be doable. Jake would probably want to come watch. I'd love it if he ran it with me. It's right before his senior year. The race is about 36 hours straight of running in relays. Sleep when you can, eat, run, poop, drink lots of water, repeat.
Yup, I'm nuts.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
sleepy
The weather is not exactly frightful, but it certainly is demotivating. I only had a small window for running today. It could have been bigger if I had wanted to run in the rain before the sun came up. Once I got Jake to school and took the dogs for their walks, I had time for 30 minutes before I had to shower. So, I did the run that I first started out with a couple of years ago. Back then, it had taken me about a half hour. Today, I did it in 17 minutes. Of course, I didn't have Sophie to contend with or juggling her poop bags, which does make for more efficient running.
I had a Bodytalk session with Rosalynne yesterday. Maybe some of the 'clocks' she set are still working on me. Or maybe it is the fact that I read til midnight. I know I need more sleep. The weather is perfect nap weather: grey, dreary, damp. Since I cannot get a nap in before work, I will have to settle for sleep by 10.
I will start my research in earnest tomorrow, trying to figure out 3 qualifying races for Boston, spaced about 6 weeks apart, and as flat as possible.
I had a Bodytalk session with Rosalynne yesterday. Maybe some of the 'clocks' she set are still working on me. Or maybe it is the fact that I read til midnight. I know I need more sleep. The weather is perfect nap weather: grey, dreary, damp. Since I cannot get a nap in before work, I will have to settle for sleep by 10.
I will start my research in earnest tomorrow, trying to figure out 3 qualifying races for Boston, spaced about 6 weeks apart, and as flat as possible.
Monday, October 24, 2011
sun and wind
Well, I didn't think it would be such a good idea to start a running blog and then try to weasel out of a run just because I'm having my period. I would like to point out that I am 49 and am officially mentally finished with menstruating. I do not plan on having more kids. I think I have a greater chance of conceiving a Martian than a 'normal' child at this point, so if I could flip a switch and turn this thing off, I would. Okay. Enough bellyaching about that until next month.
I got into my running gear - and here is where I would like to sing the praises of arm warmers: they are incredible! I can wear a short sleeve shirt with some smack talk on it: I WANT IT BAD with the Nike swoosh under the word 'bad' and don my hot pink arm warmers that coordinates with I and BAD. So, even if I do not feel like a bad-ass runner during the first mile or so, my t-shirt propels me forward. It is a beautiful sunny day - about 58 degrees with winds about 24 mph (maybe I'm reading the national weather service wrong). It felt strong at times, mainly, of course, when I was heading into it. Today was just 30 minutes. I'm still running off my old training program until Debbie and I sit down and figure out the marathon plan. The first mile was creaky as usual. I just focused on my breath and landing my feet in a steady rhythm and it all evened out. My quads were a little cranky because they are still recovering from our 9 mile trail run along the Ice Age Trail on Saturday. http://www.icetrail.org/ Wow! I didn't realize it was a 1,000 mile trail - we did a section from Parnell Tower to Butler Lake and back. The section we did was very pretty and rugged - I'm not sure exactly how pretty because if I looked up, I wiped out. It only took once to learn that lesson. Hard to give massage with a torn hand. (In case you don't know me and what I do, I'm a massage therapist.)
Yoga this morning was like sleepwalking. I almost dozed off in every stance. Tree: swaying and falling. Sacral circles: almost snoring. Dang period (sorry)! Not even my dark chocolate and sea salt croissant could wake me up - but creating the blog and drinking copious amounts of coffee did.
Time to shower and get ready for work.
I got into my running gear - and here is where I would like to sing the praises of arm warmers: they are incredible! I can wear a short sleeve shirt with some smack talk on it: I WANT IT BAD with the Nike swoosh under the word 'bad' and don my hot pink arm warmers that coordinates with I and BAD. So, even if I do not feel like a bad-ass runner during the first mile or so, my t-shirt propels me forward. It is a beautiful sunny day - about 58 degrees with winds about 24 mph (maybe I'm reading the national weather service wrong). It felt strong at times, mainly, of course, when I was heading into it. Today was just 30 minutes. I'm still running off my old training program until Debbie and I sit down and figure out the marathon plan. The first mile was creaky as usual. I just focused on my breath and landing my feet in a steady rhythm and it all evened out. My quads were a little cranky because they are still recovering from our 9 mile trail run along the Ice Age Trail on Saturday. http://www.icetrail.org/ Wow! I didn't realize it was a 1,000 mile trail - we did a section from Parnell Tower to Butler Lake and back. The section we did was very pretty and rugged - I'm not sure exactly how pretty because if I looked up, I wiped out. It only took once to learn that lesson. Hard to give massage with a torn hand. (In case you don't know me and what I do, I'm a massage therapist.)
Yoga this morning was like sleepwalking. I almost dozed off in every stance. Tree: swaying and falling. Sacral circles: almost snoring. Dang period (sorry)! Not even my dark chocolate and sea salt croissant could wake me up - but creating the blog and drinking copious amounts of coffee did.
Time to shower and get ready for work.
baby steps
When I first started running again this past summer, it was with the goal of doing a half marathon and checking that off my bucket list. I did not count on getting hooked. I saw a flyer at Yogaloft (http://www.sheboyganyoga.com/) for an Enlightened Training program which would culminate in a half marathon or full marathon. I didn't think I would be able to do a full marathon, so I thought for sure I could do a half if I put my mind to it and followed a reasonable training program. Marci Tousey developed the yoga portion of the training and Debbie Posewitz developed the running program and provided each of us with a personalized training program. It was a hot, humid summer and I followed the schedule as closely as I could.
Each of our long runs (once we got past 6 miles) was longer than I had ever done, so I felt an ongoing sense of accomplishment all summer long. The 9 mile run in Elkhart Lake was a bit rough with the hills and the 8 mile and one of the 10 mile runs coincided with my period - oh joy! Men are so darn lucky they don't have to deal with that.
The Fox Cities on September 18 rolled around quite quickly. Race day! Good thing for chip timers, because I got to the race after the gun was fired and was trying to find my training buddy, Michelle, for 8 miles--trying to spy her black and white checkered arm warmers. When I finally caught her, she did not have them on. We ran together for a bit, but she was generous and told me to go ahead, so off I went. I finished in 2:04:26 and felt as if I could have kept going at that pace for many more miles.
A couple of weeks afterwards, I was giving Debbie a massage and she asked me if I had considered qualifying for Boston. I hadn't, so I joked that if we did, I have friends in Beacon Hill and could stay with them. After she left, I checked the Boston website and found out that it would be doable. Qualifying times for females aged 50-54 is 4:00:00. Now to find a few fast and flat marathons.
Each of our long runs (once we got past 6 miles) was longer than I had ever done, so I felt an ongoing sense of accomplishment all summer long. The 9 mile run in Elkhart Lake was a bit rough with the hills and the 8 mile and one of the 10 mile runs coincided with my period - oh joy! Men are so darn lucky they don't have to deal with that.
The Fox Cities on September 18 rolled around quite quickly. Race day! Good thing for chip timers, because I got to the race after the gun was fired and was trying to find my training buddy, Michelle, for 8 miles--trying to spy her black and white checkered arm warmers. When I finally caught her, she did not have them on. We ran together for a bit, but she was generous and told me to go ahead, so off I went. I finished in 2:04:26 and felt as if I could have kept going at that pace for many more miles.
A couple of weeks afterwards, I was giving Debbie a massage and she asked me if I had considered qualifying for Boston. I hadn't, so I joked that if we did, I have friends in Beacon Hill and could stay with them. After she left, I checked the Boston website and found out that it would be doable. Qualifying times for females aged 50-54 is 4:00:00. Now to find a few fast and flat marathons.
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