Deva Runs

Moving

2005-10-28T05:56:00.000-05:00

This blog has served me well through my first year of running, and I have been grateful to all those who have offered encouragement and inspiration.

As may be apparent, I have not been able to update here with much in the way of content, and the focus has changed. I am not certain whether I will be running much over the winter here in Maine, although I do intend to remain physically active. I also have very much enjoyed hearing about the daily fitness achievements of my mom and brother, who have been commenting here.

Thus, I am going to retire this journal, and leave it as yet another internet artifact. Perhaps the accounts of my experiences with the C25K plan and taking up running will be of interest to someone!

To better serve my current needs, I've begun a new livejournal for the use of myself and my family to communicate regarding our fitness progress. It may be found here

Thanks again, and good luck with all your fitness goals!

Metrics

2005-10-19T22:34:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
3 mile run in < 32 min
30 min walk

Metrics

2005-10-19T05:07:00.000-05:00

Monday:
~3 mile walk
4 mile run (43 min)

Tuesday:
40 min walk

Good work everyone! Keep up the activity!

Metrics

2005-10-15T05:40:00.000-05:00

Congratulations Dave, on lifting 300! I can't even imagine it. It's a credit to your dedication to your regular training that you made it to this goal. Hooray!

I don't have much to report. The rainy weather and early darkness has been stifling my running enthusiasm pretty hard, though I've been getting in at least 30 min of walking every day. I think we're going to go check out the gyms next week - the novelty of doing something different will hopefully bring back some of my enthusiasm. At least I've been eating healthfully!

Metrics

2005-10-13T04:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's Exercise:
60 min walking
3 mile run (~31 min)

The first 30 min of walking was at lunch. But the universe apparently decided Bob and I needed more walking, since then in the afternoon Bob locked his keys inside the house (including the car keys). So he had to walk the 30 min to my office, then 20 min to and back from the coffee shop while waiting for me to finish work, then we both walked the 30 min home again with my spare key. Then we went running! I was really pleased that Bob was able to both walk that far and then run (he did 1.25 miles, then walked .75, then ran another .5 or so with Maureen and I). It seems like the orthotics really may be helping.

Dave -- Thanks for the advice on weights. I enjoyed doing weights earlier in the year when we joined a gym in CT, and I'm looking forward to trying them again when we join this winter. I agree that it would benefit me overall: more muscle, better metabolism, help running. I know it's also supposed to be good for strengthening your bones. What I need to do is figure out a routine I can do regularly that breaks the circuit up into managable size pieces I can do over the course of the week. I had some trouble because I kept trying to do everything at once, twice a week, but that just burned me out I think. A little every day seems better. I also should be using my ball at home for doing ab stuff. Maybe that will be my goal for next week: to start doing crunches again.

Metrics

2005-10-12T05:35:00.000-05:00

Great work Mom and Dave! I'm really pleased to see both your progress reports, especially when my own are so sketchy. And hello John! It's always good to "meet" other runners up here in Maine. I hope you enjoy Portland!

My running floon is low at the moment, probably because of A. the decreasing daylight, B. the endless rain, and C. I've lost momentum. I know that what I need to do is just grind through it, so I will try not to complain. On the other hand, I have plenty of enthusiasm for walking, and I'm wondering if maybe it's time to switch over to an indoor gym to keep myself active. I must investigate the local Y and see if it's financially feasible to get some sort of 3-6 month membership.

This weekend's activity consisted of moving all our posessions still down in storage in CT into our trailer, then unloading them again up here in Maine. Also, some recreational walking. We got in a 3-4 mile walk in the rain on Monday, and 30 min walking yesterday.

Today the weatherfolk claim we may see sun!

Metrics

2005-10-07T05:31:00.000-05:00

Wednesday's Exercise:
30 min walk
2 mile run (it was very, very dark!)

Thursday's Exercise:
30 min walk
And plenty of walking around shopping for some new fall clothing :-)

I may switch to a weekly summation here, as things are hectic and we are away on several weekends this month. Keep up the good work Mom and Dave!

Metrics

2005-10-05T04:32:00.000-05:00

Just a short report!

Tuesday's Exercise:
30 min walk

Tuesday's Food:
1800 calories (20/60/20)

Summary

2005-10-04T04:50:00.000-05:00

Last Friday I ran at lunchtime with Bob, and we did about 1 mile, then walked, then another half-mile.

Saturday I ran about three miles in the woods with M & M.

Saturday and Sunday also involved a lot of walking and hiking.

Monday Bob and I walked for about an hour.

Mileage total for last week (through Saturday) is about 11 miles, which is what I was aiming for, so hooray! This week will be tougher since we are going away next weekend.

Good work Mom and Dave!

Metrics

2005-09-30T05:32:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the good words Dave! I'm really hoping to get under 30 on the next 5K I do. Congrats on keeping up the weightlifting - what are your goals for that? Are you shooting for a particular amount to lift one day?

And Mom, where are your reports? :-)

Thurs Exercise:
30 min walk

I had planned to run but the torrential rain and wind were making me too nervous to attempt it. Rain alone is fine, but I saw several large branches down in places... So instead Bob and I are going to attempt to run at lunchtime today - that will be a new experience. Thankfully, today seems to be inclined toward really great weather!

Thurs Food:
1700 Calories (21%Fat; 57%Carb; 22%Protein)

In a great victory for my diet as far as protein goes: I've discovered I like hard-boiled eggs provided I wrap them with a slice of non-fat cheese product.

Commonground Country Fair 5K

2005-09-28T17:58:00.000-05:00

Short report: Running has been a great source of energy lately, and I really enjoyed the first race with my Maine running crew (Matt and Maureen, with Bob as our "support crew") this past weekend. It was a somewhat haphazard but very fun foot race at the Commonground Country Fair. Despite getting a stich in my side partway through mile three, I still did better (30:42) than I think I ever had at a race, especially considering there were hills and that the time includes the 10 or so seconds I spent waiting to get to the starting line from the end of the pack of racers. I did 9:20 on my first mile, which may be one of the fastest miles I've run!

Today's Exercise:
Just a short 20 min walk at lunch

Today's Food:
1650 Calories (22% Fat; 58% Carb; 20% Protein)

I tried one of those "shortcut diet recipes" you read about occasionally, on a whim, because the ingrediants were all in the cupboard and it felt like a nice day to bake. 1 package devil's food cake mix plus 1 15oz can pumpkin, spoon into muffin tins and bake (350 degrees for 20-25 min). They were actually very tasty, satisfying, and moist. Good for chocolate cravings!

Metrics

2005-09-27T19:32:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
40 min walk

Today's Food:
1570 Calories (25% Fat; 59% Carb; 16% Protein)

I was pleased to find I continued to feel no muscle soreness even after two days of running. I really think stretching is the key, and will endeavor to keep it up.

Good luck everyone on sticking to exercise and eating plans!

Metrics

2005-09-26T20:01:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
4 mile run (44:20 minutes).
15 min walk warm up/cool down.

I was very pleased to make it out for a run even in the grey, drizzling weather we are having. And not only that, but I did four miles. And not only that, but I felt pretty good! I was surprised to feel so strong the day after the race. I was also very happy to have Bob running with Maureen and I for the first mile (he did part of a second mile too); so far the orthotics seem to be doing a good job. Hopefully he'll be running the entire way with us soon!

Today's Food:
1900 Calories (22%Fat/60%Carb/18%Protein)

Vague Metrics

2005-09-26T04:59:00.000-05:00

Saturday's Exercise:
Long walk, didn't mark the time...

Sunday's Exercise:
5K Race! 30:40 (and that's including the seconds it took me to get to the start line from the back of the pack, so maybe 30:30 actually) Race report will be posted tonight, hopefully.

Food this weekend has been rather indulgent and hard to journal (we were out at restaurants and at the country fair) but I had planned/expected that so all is well.

I'm all jazzed up for more running, and hope I can maintain the energy to go forward with my new training plan to increase mileage and long-run length.

I hope everyone out there is doing well. Congratulations to my Dad for running yet another half-marathon!

Daily Metrics

2005-09-24T06:19:00.000-05:00

Friday's Exercise:
40 min walk

Friday's Food:
2102 Calories (28%Fat/60%Carb/12%Protein)

It's my believe I've been experiencing more muscle soreness this year than I did at a similar point in my running training last year. I wonder if it might be the significantly less stretching I am doing lately, both before and after my runs. I am going to attempt to time myself and do at least 5 minutes of stretching after each run and see if this improves the situation.

My running floon is waxing again, thank goodness, after being low for the past weeks. I figured out a bit of a training plan for the next two months, in the form of weekly mileage goals (following the 10% rule). If I can stick to it, I will get up to 16 miles per week by the end of November, with a long run of 6 or 7 miles. It will almost certainly involve juggling which day I run what amount to suit our ever-changing schedule, but I think I can do it with some will-power. We'll see!

No running plans for today, but hopefully there will be a long walk and healthy eating in preparation for the 5K race tomorrow at the Commonground Fair!

Catch up

2005-09-23T04:37:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I was away and got plenty of walking around but no organized exercise. Then I came back and was out of commission for a few days not feeling well. I finally got back on track yesterday, so here I am. I was down about not having any running to report, thus the lack of posts. It was great to see Mom and Dave posting about their progress though. You guys kept me inspired!

Thursday Exercise:
50 min walking
32 min run (3 miles) on the Rail Trail

It was Matt and Maureen and I running, and we did two sets of a sprinting exercise where you run in a single-file line and the person at the end sprints up to get in the front, repeat, repeat, etc. It made the distance whiz by! I still don't think I was quite recovered though, as by the last set I was feeling slightly nauseous on the sprints. I'm still pleased with my time overall though.

Thursday Food:
1646 Calories (17% Fat; 69% Carb; 16% Protein)
I think that's actually not quite enough fat, but otherwise I feel good about my eating for the past few days. I've remembered how much I like ground turkey in its various incarnations: meatloaf, burgers, sheperd's pie. I also made some gazpacho, one of my favorite way to eat raw vegetables in a virtually non-caloric way.

Weekend non-Metrics

2005-09-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

As is usual on weekends away, I got in lots of walking but no official exercise, and ate odd foods. Today was mostly dedicated to recovering. But tomorrow it's back into running. My first race since last year's Turkey Trot is coming up on Sunday. Our "running club" is all very excited!

Great work Mom and Dave on keeping up the exercise and eating sensibly! Keep it up!

[Edited to add: I turned the word verification back on since the comment spam started right back up again. Hopefully that won't result in comments getting lost again as they seemed to be before.]

Ick

2005-09-14T19:59:00.000-05:00

I don't think I ever swallowed a bug all last year running. In the past two days: 3. Blech. All the water and tea in the world does not seem to be getting the feeling of it out of my throat.

In better news, I ran 3.5 miles tonight, in ~37 minutes. It's sad how early it is getting dark now, but the run felt good.

Today's Food:
1700 calories (27%Fat; 55%Carb; 18%Protein)

Daily Metrics

2005-09-12T18:55:00.000-05:00

Today was a rest day, and I was glad of it. My legs feel considerably less sore than they did yesterday. Not much else to say so I won't blather on about it!

Today's Food:
1800 Calories.

Weekend Metrics

2005-09-11T19:20:00.000-05:00

Saturday's Exercise:
40 minute run - I ran from our apartment to the Vaughn Woods, around the loop, then back home again. It was probably just less than 4 miles total. The weather was brilliant and I felt as if I could have run longer. This sort of run is such a blessing when it happens.
I also got in a 20 minute walk.

Sunday Exercise:
Speed workout at the track. We did about 3 miles total: 1/2 mile warm up, then intervals in a progression 100 meters, 200, 300, 400, 300, 200, 100, then another 1/2 mile recovery. I was definitely feeling the effects of the sports on Friday and the run on Saturday, in the form of a burning along my hamstrings and a general soreness to my muscles. I tried to do some extra stretching because of this. I'm glad tomorrow will be a day off!

Food:
Saturday - 2283 Calories
Sunday - 1970 Calories

Several social events, complete with cookies and ice cream and pizza. Lots of good fruits and vegetables in there too, though. Bit low on protein but I will try to make up for that tomorrow.

The Effects of Picnics on Diet and Exercise

2005-09-10T04:47:00.000-05:00

Our company picnic was yesterday, but I avoided doing something silly like eating all the cookies. There was very good BBQ chicken and veggies and watermelon and lots of bottled water. End tally for the day: 1900 calories.

There were also lots of activities going on, preventing that thing that can happen at social events that revolve soley around food, where you end up going back and nibbling constantly. I spent the bulk of the four hours playing volleyball and softball. I was surprised at how much fun I was having with both sports - I started to feel as if it might be fun to just go out and practice throwing or hitting the ball. I was enjoying that purely physical challenge of "can I catch it?" and "can I hit it where I want it to go?" I don't remember ever feeling this way back in school, during gym, etc.

We were out at the UMA campus for the shindig, and I hadn't realized they had such nice nature trails! I'll have to go back there to run sometime. They are hilly, but wide and beautifully groomed and smooth. I probably spent 45 min walking during the picnic and to go meet Bob afterward. Then I brought him back and we walked for another 45 min or so, exploring more of the trails. So, no running but lots of other exercise.

Dave: One thing I like to have as a snack, which may or may not work for you, is small bowls of cereal. I measure out a cup of cereal (choosing something that's only 120 or so cal per cup) into tupperware to have on hand, and then add a cup of skim milk when I want it. It's only around 200 calories but fills me up. I also have sat down and made up lists of the healthy foods I actually like, and sort of figured out a bunch of standard dinners/breakfasts/lunches that I can throw together that I know will be reasonably healthy. Great work with the weight lifting!

Mom: Sorry I haven't been posting regularly, but I hope you are still doing well and getting in your walking!

Daily Metrics

2005-09-08T18:22:00.000-05:00

[Edited to add: I have turned on the word verification option for comments since I seem to be getting a bit of spam. Sorry to the non-spammers for the inconvenience.]

Welcome back Dave - I almost didn't come and post here today but then I saw your inspiring list of activities and decided I should, even though today was a day off for me.

I realize that with Bob having persistant injuries my own exercise suffers, because I am much less likely to go out and be active if he is not. Hopefully we will see things changing however, as he had a physical today and the doctor found that one of his legs is a half inch shorter than the other. He's got an appointment to see a podiatrist next week, and may get an orthotic. I have high hopes that he will be able to run without pain once he has that. My fingers are crossed!

Today's Food:
1492 Calories

Daily Metrics

2005-09-07T18:30:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
30 min walk
30 min run on the trails

I was not in the highest flow of energy, and the back of my right quad felt strangely tight throughout the run, but otherwise it went well and I am very glad to be back.

Today's Food:
1605 Calories (24% Fat; 56% Carb; 20% Protein)

Lots of veggies and fruit and lean meat and whole grain (except for that blueberry scone, but it sure was tasty!). Bulgur wheat is really neat stuff! And so easy! I made a sort of tabboleh salad last night with roasted tomatoes and feta, and it was very quick and tasty and healthy. I also see you can have it as a hot cereal, which might be interesting.

I hope everyone else is doing well out there and keeping up the activity!

Vacation

2005-09-02T07:10:00.000-05:00

Bob and I spent the past three days out on Monhegan Island, on our vacation (and celebrating our 7th anniversary). The weather was cloudy and drizzly on Tues and Wed, but beautiful and blue on Thursday. We went hiking for several hours each day, out into the pine woods, along the rocky shore, and through the picturesque old village. The hiking varried from easy to almost-rock-climbing. The island is only 1 mile by 1.7 miles in size, but there are about 17 miles of trails winding around it. Happily, there are no cars allowed on the island (just several trucks owned by the locals). We had a lovely time eating tasty food and exploring the trails; the grey weather actually leant a sort of mystical quality to the first few days, and added to the feeling we were all alone out in a sea of mist. When it finally cleared on Thursday I was startled to discover I could see the distant shore!

And now, back to more normal eating, and some running!

Daily Metrics

2005-08-30T05:12:00.000-05:00

Sunday's Exercise:
Speed workout, consisting of:
1 mile jog to warm up
200 m fast, 200 m recover x 3
400 m fast, 400 m recover x 2
200 m fast, 200 m recover x 3
.5 mile jog to cool down

That totals to about 4 miles. I think I would like to try a similar thing, but with fewer intervals, done faster. I think my "fast" speed was around 6.5mph at the fastest, and probably only 6mph much of the time, while my "slow" speed was probably down to 5mph. Overall it didn't leave me as exhausted as I thought it might, which is good since I then spent the rest of the day on vacation, walking around the Old Port in Portland, and I would not have wanted to be completely wiped out!

Monday's Exercise:
Just lots of walking around Portland. I would guess we covered several miles total, but have no way of telling for sure. My soreness from kayaking finally set in, too, but it wasn't too bad.

Sunday & Monday Food:
I'm not going to even try to enter it in Fitday. It wasn't completely out of control, since both days I more or less skipped one meal and just had a snack, but we were taking advantage of being in a city with some new restaurants!

And now we will be away on Monhegan Island for three days, hoping the rain lets up enough for us to get in some hiking, and maybe even a run.

Daily Metrics

2005-08-28T05:38:00.000-05:00

Saturday's Exercise:
2.5 hours kayaking
2 mile run in ~21 minutes
30 min walk

The kayaking was as fun as I hoped it would be. We met our guide (we decided since it was our first time we should have someone there who knew what he was doing) at 8, out at a state-owned lake that's about a 7 min drive from our apartment (and which we had never known the location of before!). It was a gorgeous spot: one large pond with an island, edged with lots of tall pines and grey rocks, with a narrow channel connecting it to a small pond full of water lilies. Only two were houses visible from the water. The weather was perfect too: clear and blue, not so hot. My favorite time was the first 30 min, when the mist was still burning off the water. But the whole trip was very fun. Bob kept with the guide, learning more about wildlife and history, while I paddled faster (I wanted the exercise, and I enjoyed going fast more than going slow) and then circled back to join them occasionally. It was interesting to feel how my core muscles were involved in the paddling, as well as my arms. I'm surprised not to be sore today, but I feel fine.

Thanks to being out in the sun for all that time, not to mention waiting too long to eat lunch and then having a large sandwich that sat leaden in my belly, my planned run was not that great. I had to fight just to go two miles. I just felt like Not Running. It didn't help that I was alone (not even more than three other strangers on the trail, let alone my running buddies), it was hot and sunny, and I knew that once I got home we could go have fun visiting our friends. I'm pleased that I managed the two miles, in good time (for me). I really just wanted to do one. Or to turn around and do NONE.

Today I am meeting my partners-in-crime to try out a speed workout at the HS track. Ack. If it's too much I can just do laps, I suppose.

Saturday's Food:
1641 Calories (37% Fat; 49% Carb;14% Protein)

We're away on vacation for the next few days, so likely no postings. Possibly no running either, though I am going to bring gear with me and see what I can manage.

Keep up the good work Mom and Dave! Sorry you won't have a daily post to put your updates on, but I look forward to reading them when I get back!

Daily Metrics

2005-08-27T05:55:00.000-05:00

Friday's Activity:
Just a short walk, probably 30 min at a slow pace in the woods.

Friday's Food:
2080 Calories (31 %Fat/61 %Carb/8% Protein)
Those percentages are due to having blueberry tart and popcorn for dinner last night, and Thai fried rice for lunch. Today is likely to be more balanced! :-) On the other hand, I am going to be on vacation and probably having a few more indulgent meals than normal over the next week.

Keep up the good work, everyone!

Daily Metrics

2005-08-26T04:36:00.000-05:00

Thursday's Exercise:
30 min walking
~4 miles in 39 minutes on the Rail Trail
I went out with Maureen and Matt, planning to do our "long run" (4 is long for us, right now!) but to try to keep a good pace (6mph is quite zippy for us, right now). The first mile, which is clearly marked, took us 11 min. The second (which doesn't appear to have a clear end marker) took us 9 min, though we suspect we only ran .9 mile or thereabouts. Then 9 min again (backtracking), and finally 10 for the last mile. All in all, I can definitely tell things are improving!

Thursday's Food:
1759 Calories (23 Fat %/55 Carb %/22 Protein %)

I was very pleased to have worked things out in advance (thanks to handy-dandy fitday) so I could include a slice of fresh Maine blueberry tart AND a small piece of homemade "healthy" pizza in that.

Good luck with your planning for today, Dave. And I hope things went okay at the State Fair mom. I know there would be a lot to tempt me, as I love fair food. Whatever the case, remember what Anne Shirley says: tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it!

Daily Metrics

2005-08-24T17:41:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
Just some minor walking and stretching. Rest day!

Today's Food:
1720 Calories (20 Fat/60 Carb/20 Protein)

Good work on your eating yesterday, Mom! And Dave, great work keeping up the weight lifting. How are you doing on cutting down on sugar and juice? I try to avoid too much sugar but it's probably my biggest weakness with respect to striving for a healthy diet, especially since I don't really want to eat stuff with artificial sweetners.

Hills

2005-08-23T19:13:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
30 min walking
35 min running (trail and hills)

Maureen and I headed out to the trail and ran a loop. We still felt energetic after that, so we decided to take the long downhill road into the center of town and then try to run up one of the steepest hills. It was the toughest part of the run, though it must have only taken less than a minute. My quads still feel tight though. We were proud of ourselves for doing it though!

Today's Food:
1495 Calories (Fat 22%/ Carb 58%/ Protein 20%)
It would have been more but after running I didn't feel hungry for the PB&J I had planned and just had a plum. I'm pleased with the protein (thanks to Quorn and eggs!).

Keep up the good work, everyone!

Recovering and Planning

2005-08-23T05:35:00.000-05:00

No quantifiable exercise to report here for me, but as I spent both Saturday and Sunday hiking around the woods and lifting things and generally being active for 10 and 5 hours, respectively, I think that's plenty.

My eating is always out of whack when we are away from normal routines, however, which is something I would like to handle better. At least this time I did not subsist entirely on bread and cheese and sugar.

I have an actual schedule for running this week, which I hope to stick to: Tu & Th will be running the trails, and Saturday evening we will be doing speedwork at the track. Saturday morning Bob and I are also kayaking for 3 hours. If I can get in walking on the other days, I will be well satisfied with my activity level.

I've continued to journal my food in Fitday - this weekend was mostly in my higher range (around 2000, with more fat and sugar than I'd like).

Great work Mom and Dave! I'm glad to hear you are both using Fitday too. I find that if I plan out my food in advance for the day it really does help me stick to a healthier diet (and to reduce calories, if that is what one is trying to do). Keep up the good work. My own "eating plan" tends to the expected: veggies, fruit, whole grains, a bit of good fats (olive oil and nuts), lean proteins, low-fat dairy, lots of water. I would like to stick to around 1600-1700 calories most days.

Cross-training

2005-08-19T05:55:00.000-05:00

I felt pretty wiped out yesterday, though part of that may be an inexplicable lack of sleep. I definitely would not have been able to motivate myself to go out biking in the evening, had I not planned to do so with Maureen. Exercise partners are great!

We tried a new route, about 5 miles with slightly fewer hills than the one we've done before. This left us in downtown, so we decided to take a spin out along the rail trail to recover on the nice flat asphalt, without the worry of cars to distract us. I enjoyed the smooth, easy biking though it definitely did not feel like a workout, even though it was 4 more miles.

So, 9 miles total, including some bits we walked because the traffic was just too scary. We both can feel ourselves improving on the hills, even with only one ride a week. I would love to find a long, car-less route we could try out for a longer ride some weekend.

Bob and I plan to run tonight at the woods - hopefully my non-falling-streak will continue!

This weekend we will be running around in the woods like crazy folks at one of our roleplaying events, so I may not post my activity til Sunday. I should be getting plenty of exercise though.

Running without Falling

2005-08-18T04:57:00.000-05:00

I had plans to meet up with my running partners Maureen and Matt and try to do speedwork for the first time last night, using the local HS track. Unfortunately, the track (vacant all summer) is now suddenly in use by the sports teams. So instead, we just ran loops around the woods for 30 minutes. It is definitely getting easier to run up those hills, even doing them twice as we did last night. And as a bonus, I didn't trip and fall like last time!

I think at some point our little running team needs to establish a more definite training plan for ourselves (not for any particular race, just to increase mileage). It will be harder to fit it in to four people's busy schedule but we will give it a try.

Good work keeping up the activity everyone else! Thank you for the encouragement Kiran!

Taking the Trail Home

2005-08-17T04:47:00.000-05:00

Sounds like some sort of self-help book title, but I actually mean it literally. I fell a third of the way through the trail run with Bob last night, and gouged little chunks from both my palms. I was proud of myself for dusting off, getting up, and keeping going despite the shock and pain (not so bad in the grand scheme of things, but it shook me up). The run itself was very good, following my typical pattern for that route: start out okay, struggle a bit on the first hill, recover on the flat, struggle a bit as we go up again, take a detour to the high school and recover on the flat, finish the hill, then coast down into the field and get through the last hill with little struggle at all. I think once I "beat" the main hill, everything else seems easy. The weather was glorious: clear, cool, windy. Bob didn't even have pain (he did stop and walk while I ran around the high school field, which I think is going to be our plan for the future to help avoid his recurring knee issues).

So, we ran 30 min. I came home and tried to wash the embedded grit from my palms. The hydrogen peroxide hurt much more than I expected. But I'm glad I finished the run and didn't turn back.

Between lunch walking and the walk to and from the trail I also had about an hour of that.

Hey Chandra from Running From Your House: nice to see another Augusta area runner! Have fun on the Rail Trail! I think it's a great place to run (except sometimes when you can smell the water treatment plant). Good luck with your training!

4 Miles

2005-08-16T05:04:00.000-05:00

It was a busy weekend, involving quite a bit of running around in the woods and eating bread and cheese. I think I need to work out a means to eat more healthily when I am away, as I always return feeling off because of it (and the lack of sleep).

On the bright side, I did get a lot of exercise hiking, and before we went away I ran four miles Friday morning, in just under 43 minutes! That's the first time since "re-starting" running that I've done 4 miles, and if felt great. I ran down on the rail trail, and it was quite a bit easier than the wooded trail we've been using (no hills!) so that was a nice boost to keep me going. I had no pain issues during or after, and just a bit of a stitch in my side at one point during the run. I had decent energy levels, despite running in the morning which is sometimes difficult for me (nothing but tea and last night's dinner to run on).

We've got another event this weekend, so this week's schedule will be a bit crazy. I am still hoping to get in two runs before the weekend if I can.

Mom and Dave: I'm glad to see you've kept up the activity despite my lack of posts! I'm sorry I can't respond in more detail (still catching up on other stuff too) but keep up the good work!

2005-08-11T17:42:00.000-05:00

Blogger was down last night, so here's two day's worth!

Yesterday's Exercise:
1.5 hours walking (walk to work, walk at lunch, walks to and from the trail for running)
30 min run

The run wasn't as great as Sunday's, but it was still far and away better than the last few before that. I feel as if I crossed some mental barrier, with running in general and with the trail route in particular. It was hot and I was sweaty, and my leg muscles definitely had to work, but I didn't doubt that I could make it, nor did my breathing get out of control. I was glad to be done at 30 min, but I felt like if someone had made me run more, I could have. So that's progress!

Yesterday's Food:
1902 Calories (17 Fat/61 Carb/22 Prot)

Today's Exercise:
30 min walk

Today's Food:
1624 Calories (25 Fat/55 Carb/21 Prot)

2005-08-10T05:32:00.000-05:00

I think all the activity over the weekend burned me out a bit. Or maybe I was just feeling lazy. I haven't done anything very active in the past two days. Tonight is our scheduled run, however, so I have that to look forward to. I've been trying for three runs a week, plus daily walking when possible, and the occasional bike-ride. I think pretty soon I will start trying for four runs a week. Bob may try biking along as we run some of the time, since his legs seem to still need time to adapt to the pounding from running.

Hooray for my mom and brother for keeping up the activity! Good work guys!

2005-08-08T04:47:00.000-05:00

Saturday's Exercise:
60 min hike
30 min biking

The biking was less than planned because my partner-in-crime blew out her front tire partway through the route. But it's fixed now and on the way back to get help I noticed a side road that looks promising as an alternate route, so we're both looking forward to the next ride.

Saturday's Food:
2029 Calories (32/54/15)

Sunday's Exercise:
45 min walk
35 min run

FINALLY a good run! The hills were still tough but I felt good for almost the entire run, with that certainty that I would finish, and that feeling I could just keep sailing along. I'm sure the drier weather had a lot to do with it.

Bob continues to have some pain issues with his legs (knees and shins), as he did last year once we were running more than 20 min at a time. It's hard not knowing what to do to try to make it better. He's thinking what he will try for now is just sticking with the 20 min time, and run every two days and no sooner, and just see if a month of that brings any improvement. He is stretching a lot too, using various suggested stretches from runners world and coolrunning.com. I think our biggest fear is that he's doing something that is injuring him or making it worse, but we don't know how to tell. Maybe he needs to see some sort of sports medicine doctor?

Sunday's Food:
1721 Calories (40 Fat/46 Carb/14 Protein)
Can you tell I had ice cream and chicken salad?

Misty Run

2005-08-06T04:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's Exercise:
60 min walk
30 min run in the woods

And I think that's the soggiest I've ever gotten running when it wasn't actually raining. We went out at 7 (trying for the coolest time of day we could get), after it had just poured a few hours earlier. The woods where we run is thick with pine trees, and yesterday I felt as if we were in the Pacific Northwest somewhere - there were droplets on every leaf, and the air was so thick with moisture and the scent of needles and earth I felt like I was breathing in the forest. It was actually kind of neat, except that my clothing was soon plastered to my body and I was still sweating a lot, especially once we hit my least-favorite long uphill section of the trail. It all felt worth it when we came out into the field that's in the middle of the woods. The sun was just starting to set behind the dark pines to the west, and a bank of mist was rolling across the grass from that direction. My first thought was, of couse, "Ring Wraithes must be coming!" but someone with less Tolkien imprinted on their brain would probably just think "Oooo! Pretty". It was quite dramatic and as we ran over the grass, in the last sunlight, into the veil of the mist, I was glad I didn't give up 15 minutes earlier (and I almost did! I hate those uphills!).

I was beat after the run - I feel like a bit of a wimp since I know last year I was better than this, even this past Jan and Feb I could still run 4 miles without it wiping me out. Thankfully we thought to bring some water with us and hide it at our finish point. I am really looking forward to fall running! Winter, not so much :-)

Yesterday's Food:
1690 Calories (F/C/P: 27/57/26)

Metrics

2005-08-04T18:07:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
Just a 30 min walk. But my legs feel perfectly fine after yesterday's hilly bikeride, which is nice.

Today's Food:
1722 Calories (F/C/P: 20/58/22)

2005-08-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
45 min walking
5 mile bike ride, with lots of hills

This was the same route I took last time with my friend Maureen - not far, but boy are those hills tough. I didn't think I'd make it up the worst one, except that M. cheered me on and reminded me I did it last time. Then I felt too guilty not to try! Overall it felt great, wonderful weather, beautiful countryside, and excellent company. I can really feel the tension in my quads now though.

Today's Food:
1868 Calories (F/C/P: 22/57/21)

2005-08-02T19:04:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
40 min walk
32 min run (2.8 miles, maybe?)
It started raining during our run, and was pouring by the end, possibly the most rainy weather I've run in yet! But I actually really enjoyed the cooldown walk home, letting the water wash the sweat off my face. The blue sky broke back out just as we reached home.

Today's Food:
2150 Calories (F/C/P: 30/54/17)
I was experimenting with eating a bit more on a running day, to see if it helped my energy level. And indeed I did feel considerably better today, but only time will tell how much the calories had to do with it.

Hey Mom, great work with the longer walks! Go you!

2005-07-31T18:04:00.000-05:00

Nice work on keeping up the weightlifting, Dave! And you too Mom, getting in more and more walking!

Thanks for the encouragement Susan and Jank!

Yesterday's Exercise:
Just a bit of walking. We put off our run because Bob's legs were aching.

Yesterday's Food:
1710 Calories (F/C/P:34/50/16)

Today's Exercise:
30 minute run
20 min walk
20 min kayaking

The run was a bit disappointing - my legs felt heavy and my breathing was bad on the (long) hill. I definitely would have given up if Bob hadn't been there with me, so thank goodness for running partners! Hopefully the tide will turn and I'll have one of those fabulous runs where everything seems perfect again someday.

The kayaking was fun! I was planning our vacation yesterday and when I called the local kayak rental place (we were considering doing a half-day tour) they said they were having an open house today. So we got to try it out for free before committing to a whole trip! Just in the 20 min or so we were out we saw a large heron and an osprey (right in the tree over us), so that was quite fun. We signed up for a 3 hour guided tour on the first day of our vacation. If we like that, I'm also interested in trying out ocean kayaking, and maybe even whitewater kayaking if I feel brave.

One of the things we liked about the idea of moving to Maine was the opportunities to get more involved in active hobbies: kayaking, canoeing, hiking, snowshoeing, skiing. So it was great to be able to do this, especially for free!

Today's Food:
1782 Calories (F/C/P:30/55/15)

Boring Daily Metrics

2005-07-30T07:26:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
Nothing specific, just a bunch of walking around at a local town fair.

But today Bob and I run for 30 min for the first time in a long while! I hope my energy level is good...

Today's Food:
1697 Calories (Fat/Carb/Protein : 22/66/15)

And hey Mom, great work with that 70 minute walk yesterday! Wow!

2005-07-28T18:37:00.000-05:00

It seems all I can manage lately are these boring daily metrics posts.

Today's Exercise:
40 min walking
28 min run. We went faster this time, completing 2.6 miles or thereabouts. Next run we'll be up to 30 minutes! We're nearly back to 3 miles!

Today's Food:
1597 calories (Fat/Carb/Protein: 16/63/21)

But good work to my mom and brother Dave for keeping up with their exercise and posting here. It's definitely helping me stay motivated!

2005-07-27T19:36:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
Just a 30 min walk. Disgustingly hot, but hopefully the deluge we're getting now will cool things down for tomorrow's run.

Today's Food:
1627 (Fat/Carb/Protein: 22/55/23)

2005-07-26T19:12:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
40 min walking
28 min run (2.5 miles)

Just one more 28 minute run and then we're up to 30, and the end of the C25K plan. I think we'll be trying to increase to the full 3.1 miles then, and then start working on speeding up a bit in preparation for the 5K we're shooting for in September.

This weekend was active as expected, despite the lack of organized exercise. We spent from 11AM to 12AM Saturday and from 10AM to 3PM Sunday out in the woods at our event, much of it walking or running. There was, however, a great deal of sugar and fat involved in the food. We'll skip that for now and go right to...

Today's Food, back to reality:
1631 Calories (Fat/Carb/Protein: 29/54/17)

Good work Mom and Dave, keeping up the exercise and posting while I was away. Good luck staying active!

2005-07-23T05:27:00.000-05:00

Today's (actually Yesterday's) Exercise:
40 min walking.
Very low energy day, for reasons I cannot fathom. Today and tomorrow will be spent running around outside at one of our live-action roleplaying events (this is a sort of alternate history in 1660 Colonial America) so I should be getting lots of activity, though not in a quantifiable fashion.

Today's (actually Yesterday's) Food:
1838 Calories (Fat/Carb/Protein : 33/51/16)

Hooray for my Mom for keeping up the exercise! Mom, I may not be able to post again until Sunday night, but feel free to post your comment-updates on this entry until then. Keep up the good work!

2005-07-21T20:09:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
30 min walk
28 min run plus warm up and cool down walks

Thank goodness for asprin - two pills and my neck was almost normal. The (trail) run today was tough for me, with my legs feeling quite leaden and the sweat pouring off me. I felt good afterwards though, and proud of all of us.

Today's Food:
1624 Calories (Fat/Carb/Prot: 16/65/19)

2005-07-20T21:14:00.000-05:00

No exercise today, alas. I did something weird to my neck when stretching this morning, and it's currently in that sort of state where I feel I have a neck brace on. I can't turn my head without turning my whole body. Experience has proven this will go away in a day or so, but last time running just made it last longer, so I put it off a day.

Today's Food:
1715 Calories (Fat/Carb/Prot: 35/57/18)

2005-07-19T19:24:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
Just a walk, about 30 min up and down the hills in town admiring old houses. Tomorrow will be our first 28 min run. I just hope it's a bit cooler and less humid than today!

Today's Food:
1671 Calories (Fat/Carb/Prot: 32/51/17)

2005-07-18T20:48:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
30 min walk
I didn't think I was going to have time, but then I remembered that if it's important I can make time. So I walked home from work. We still had plenty of time for our evening plans (even with the added time I also had to spend taking a cold shower to cool off after that walk!).

Today's Food:
1754 Calories (Fat/Carb/Protein %: 29/52/21)

Welcome to my brother Dave who is reading and posting his fitness progress in the comments here occasionally too. And congratulations to my Mom for keeping up her activity even while away from home this week.

2005-07-17T20:42:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
45 min walking
25 min run
It was hot today, the kind of weather where you put on as little clothing as you can get away with and drink a lot of water and stand in front of fans. We had planned to run at noon. Hah. We decided on second thought to put it off until as late as possible, in the hopes that even if it wasn't cooler, it would at least be darker. Thank goodness we did that, because just walking around at noon left me wiped out and feeling slightly ill.

By the time we ran at 7:30 it was much better, windy and cooler, though still with a thick feeling to the air. We ran in the woods, which was nice and shaded, but also has a lot more hills than the rail trail. In fact the entire first half of the run was uphill. For the first time in a long while I felt like my breathing was limiting me, rather than my energy or my legs. But it was a great feeling to make it through and finish the run. We were all drenched in sweat, but cheerful and pleased with our performance.

Next run: 28 minutes!

Today's Food:
1834 Calories (Percentage from Fat/Carb/Protein: 27/58/15)

2005-07-17T06:38:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's Exercise:
It was one of those days where I felt wiped out and exhausted by the end, even though I didn't do any "intentional" exercise. Our new hometown has a huge celebration every July, with a parade, live music, fireworks, etc, and yesterday was the day. Our friends up the street (hill) were having a party too. So, I spent much of the day walking around town, walking up and down the hill, and generally being active.

Yesterday's Food:
Ah, the smell of fried dough and other such treats. It was a fairly indulgent day, but I tried to pick things I would really enjoy, not just whatever I saw first when I was hungry.
2213 Calories (Fat/Carb/Protein: 38/52/10) though that's with a bit more guesswork than my usual.

Today will be hopefully a bit more normal for both exercise and eating. We will be running at noon and our fridge is now stocked with veggies and fruit and some chicken breasts. Congratulations to my Mom for exercising every day for over a week now!

2005-07-15T21:37:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
40 min walk.

Today's Food:
1623 calories (Fat/Carb/Protein: 27/58/15)

Too tired out to write much more right now. Looking forward to the next run on Sunday. Keep up the good work Mom!

2005-07-14T21:11:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
25 minute run (a little over 2 miles)
50 ball crunches
I thought I'd be sore after biking yesterday, but I wasn't. Which is probably a good thing, since I felt on the low energy side when I started our run, even with the cameraderie of our little "running club" (there are four of us now). Fortunately it was one of those things where I started to feel better after the first 5-10 minutes, and settled in to the run. We even did the second mile faster than the first. Only one more 25 min to go, then next week we'll be doing 28.

Today's Food:
1806 calories(Fat/Carb/Protein: 32/54/14). This is what happens when I don't have chicken for lunch: I lose half my protein. :-)

2005-07-13T19:29:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
15 minutes walking (although that was to and from a Chinese Buffet for a coworker's birthday lunch, so I suppose that tarnishes the virtue)
45 minutes biking

I really enjoyed the bike ride, although it was a struggle to get up the huge hills Hallowell has (being in a river valley). My friend and I both got bikes a month or two ago, and hadn't ridden as much as we'd hoped, so when she called me to suggest an impromtu ride I was all for it. I was proud of myself for making it up several of the tough hills, even though I needed to use the lowest gears and was going so slow I might as well have walked. But I just pushed as hard as I could with each gear, only switching down when I absolutely had to. We decided to hit one last hill to go up the the "Powder House", a landmark with an old cannon that looks out over the Kennebec. But I think we must have been too worn out, since both of us did the same exact thing, nearly at the same time: shifted down too quick and sprang our chains off the gears. Thankfully it wasn't too hard to fix, just a big greasy! I really should learn more about bike maintainance if I'm going to go out on longer rides though.

Today's Eating:
1751 calories (Fat/Carb/Protein: 19/60/21)
Not bad, despite the Chinese Buffet. I kept to mongolian chicken stirfry and vegetables, watermelon, and two crab rangoon as my treat. I love how good all the fruit is at this time of year. I almost don't need ice cream when there are Ranier cherries and sweet watermelon and fresh strawberries!

2005-07-12T20:35:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
40 min walking
25 min run (2 miles plus a bit)
50 situps on the ball (I would have done more if I could, but they really are harder on the ball!)
20 arm dips

I felt very good about all this. The run was nice. We're keeping a slow (12 min) pace in the hopes it will help Bob avoid injury this time around, and it was gorgeous weather, and I felt as if I could have kept going for a while more. I can't wait to run the full three miles again!

Today's Eating:
1594 calories (Fat/Carb/Protein: 29/54/22 according to Fitday, which is more than 100%, so I clearly their math is off somewhere)
Fitday's oddness aside, I was pleased with my food today, it was pretty much the way I'd like to be able to eat most of the time: oatmeal, nuts, fruit, chicken, salad, yogurt, black bean and sweet potato burrito, all whole grains. And best of all, I don't feel hungry or as if I didn't get enough.

Congratulations to my Mom, for keeping up the good work and exercising every day since we started this up. Go Mom! I'm very proud of you for keeping this up. And my exercising-every-day brother Dave too, if he reads this!

2005-07-11T22:08:00.000-05:00

Short report here, just checking in to say keep up the good work Mom! (And everyone else out there!).

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's run, which I haven't really done in a long time, so that's exciting. It's also starting to be exciting to think about running in miles again, and running longer lengths of time. Thank goodness I'm regaining some of my enthusiasm!

Today's Exercise:
35 min walk

Today's Eating:
2146 Calories (Fat/Carb/Protein: 28/54/18)

2005-07-10T21:09:00.000-05:00

Today's Exercise:
Just a few (50) situps, but I did inflate my exercise ball and use that for them. My muscles still hurt from the ones I did a few days ago, but I guess that just shows I'm doing something right.

Today's Eating:
Calories: 1587 (Fat/Carb/Protein:23/54/23)
I'm pretty pleased with that, although right now I'm hungry. Fortunately for me, I've always valued sleep more than food, so when I am tired (like now) hunger doesn't keep me awake.

2005-07-09T19:59:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling pretty good at the moment: today's fun felt great. For the first time in a while I really felt like I could have just kept running. I'm looking forward to getting back to three mile runs, and even longer distances.

I've realized that when my running/fitness enthusiasm is high, I tend to read a lot more about those topics (on blogs, in magazines, online), and that just stokes my energy levels higher. My little "running gang" were discussing ways to motivate yourself and I remembered how much psyching myself up for the runs helped me last summer when Bob and I started. I'm very grateful there's so many cool and inspirational folks out there in the RBF, because reading your blogs is part of what keeps me going.

And a quick congrats to my Mom for walking a full hour today! Great work Mom!

Today's Exercise:
25 minute run (a little more than 2 miles) and some walking.

Today's Food:
1892 calories (Fat/Carb/Protein: 35/43/22)
Better with the protein, though the fats are higher now than I'd like. I definitely think I will look into protein sources like shakes and bars. I don't really like to rely on "convenience" foods, but in this case I think it might be the best solution.

Brent, Mom, or anyone else, if you happen to have suggestions for good brands, feel free to pass the wisdom on. I'd be glad to hear what other folks like.

2005-07-08T20:31:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the comments, folks; I'm glad everyone is still staying active and keeping up their running and posting!

Today's Exercise:
45 minutes walking (lunchtime and errands).

Can I say how much I LOVE living in a small, cute town where we can walk to the bakery, and the library, and the market? And where I can walk to a park at lunchtime and see trees and grass and flowers? It makes living a healthy lifestyle so much easier (well, maybe not the walking to the bakery part, but I don't want to give that up either :-)).

Todays Eating:
2056 calories (Fat/Carb/Protein: 33/53/14)
Yes, I know, not enough protein. Sorry Mom! That does include about 4 ounces of chicken, though. Dinner and breakfast were planned indulgences, and they were worth it: a fresh baked good from the local bakery (part of our "Scone Friday" tradition) and dinner at our friends' house (mango gazpacho, vegetable eggrolls, corn-chedder scones, mushroom-corn stew, and fresh-picked strawberries with cream. All of it wonderfully delicious!)

I've been trying to really concentrate on only eating tasty, nutritious, good food, and avoiding wasting calories on empty stuff I will regret later. Today was a good day for the former, though I do think I need a bit more protein. Eggs for breakfast tomorrow, maybe?

2005-07-07T17:37:00.000-05:00

It's good to be posting again. It's amazing how much more productive and inspired I feel when I have somewhere to record my progress.

Thank you Susan for the comments! It's good to know folks are still out there. I hope your running is going well.

And lastly, go Mom! Congratulations on walking and sticking to your goal for today!

Today's Exercise:
30 min walk at lunch
C25K: 5 min warmup walk, 1 mile run, 4 min walk, 1 mile run, 5 min cooldown walk
100 situps

The run felt good, though I was a bit tired at the beginning. I've had no pain at all in the past weeks, and my cardiovascular system still seems to be in okay shape. But I definitely don't have the same energy I had last year. Nevertheless, I am feeling inspired to win it back, and am looking forward to the next run: 25 min straight.

Today's Calories:
1699 (Fat/Carb/Protein: 28/57/17)

New Beginning

2005-07-06T17:58:00.000-05:00

Isn't it nice that you can always start things fresh and full of big plans? The last month I've inspired/reassured myself quite often with one of my favorite quotes from Anne of Green Gables: "Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it."

So, here I am posting again, with a new plan and new energy. I actually have been keeping active over the past month. Bob and Maureen and I are on week 6 of the Couch-to-5K plan, and I've been getting in as much walking as I can, and even a little biking.

My current fitness and health goals are:

To see all of us complete the CT5K plan and be able to run 3 miles.
To get back into a running routine doing 10-15 miles per week.
To run in the 5K foot race at the Commonground Fair in September.
To post my activities and fitness-related thoughts here every day I can.

Part of my inspiration for doing this is that my Mom is also on a quest to become more fit. We made a deal that if I posted my daily reports here, she would comment with her own exercise for that day. On of our goals is to be in the best possible shape next spring, when we're planning a family vacation to Paris. So here you go, Mom! Post away!

Date: Wednesday July 6
Exercise: 30 min walk at lunchtime
Calories: 1583 (Fat/Carbs/Protein:22/60/18)

Hiatus

2005-05-31T04:39:00.000-05:00

I'm still working out the kinks in my schedule and at the moment have considerably less time online than previous, thus the absence of posts here. I think the fact that most of my running is now going make through the Couch-to-5K plan again is making me less eager to talk about running. My hope is that once I've gone through it again and my friend and husband are running longer distances, things may have settled down such that I am willing and able to post here.

Until then (August sometime, I think), there likely will not be much to read. If you've found your way here through links or the RBF page, thank you for stopping by and good luck with your running!

Back in the sneakers again

2005-05-14T05:54:00.000-05:00

Apologies to the various new folks who stopped by and commented only to have me disappear for a month. Thanks for visiting! Hopefully I will have some more regular posts from now on. And hello to the rest of the RBF who may not have given up and left my blog for dead. I hope you have all been having good health and good running!

Well then, hopefully I won’t be doing that too often! Not only did I lose time to packing, moving, unpacking, and the job search and new job, but I got a cold that lasted over a week (I can’t remember the last time I was sick for more than a day!) I guess those people who say stress affects your immune system must be right!

I actually haven’t been off running as long as the gap in my blog entries might indicate, I just haven’t had the internet access to post reports. As you might guess, my planned half-marathon training has fallen by the wayside, under a pile of boxes, dust, and various kerfuffle. At the moment I don’t know when I will resume. I think I will try to find an actual half-marathon race in Maine and train for that, maybe in the fall.

We moved our last load of stuff from CT to ME on April 30, and over the next five days we spent nearly all our time unpacking. It wasn’t until Friday May 6 that I ran for the first time, just 2 miles along the rail trail. I didn’t check my time till I was done, and was worried because I felt as if I must be going at about a 12 minute mile pace and I still felt like I was pushing it a bit (when normally 12 would feel comfortable). I was therefore pleased to discover I had done it in less than 22 min (11 minute miles) which usually feels a bit “fast” to me. And I had no apparent soreness or strains the next day. Hooray!

Saturday I did the first Couch to 5K plan run with Bob and my good friend Maureen, who now lives just up the street. I still can’t get over that - I have a distinct memory from college of her pointing to some hobbitish-looking cottage picture and saying wouldn’t it be great if she could live in such a house, with me just down the street - of course her house is not a hobbit-hole but it is very nice, and it is indeed right up the street! And I mean up literally - our new town is well supplied with steep hills. When and if I get into hill repeats I will be all set!

We did two more C25K run-walks over the course of the week, and will be starting week 2 on Monday. It’s been good for me, I think, to help get back into running after my absence. And the best reward is that once Bob and Maureen are running longer distances continuously, we can all train together! It makes SUCH a difference to have them as running buddies, even for these run-walks.

Our most recent run-walk was Thursday, and we tried the trails at Vaughn Wood (a local open-to-the-public private reserve). I felt like we were running though a set from the LotR movie! It’s full of huge old pines, deep gorges spanned by ancient-looking stone bridges, waterfalls, twisting trails, and a sudden outbreak into a grassy rolling field where I expect the camera would zoom in for a “hero” shot. Heh. Anyways, the trails themselves are quite nicely maintained, recently wood-chipped, and wide. It’s not a long route, probably two miles or less for the loop, but it’s beautiful. It also abuts on the far side against the local high school fields, with the track, so if one were to be doing training sprints or something like that, it would be a convenient route to take.

I ran on my own again Wednesday, and did 3 full miles on the rail-trail. It was okay, but I felt a bit low energy and had weird aches in my lower legs for the first mile. Thankfully they disappeared as mysteriously as they had come. It wasn’t like anything I’d experienced before - not quite a pain, more like a dull ache.

Between the run-walking, the running, and the just plain walking I think I must be covering at least 15 miles a week. My new office is on the third floor of our building too, so I’m getting in plenty of stair-climbing. I still can’t get over this new lifestyle, where we drive so much less and walk so much more. I am sure the bloom will fade with the coming of winter somewhat, but for now it’s still a thrill to walk to the Library, or home from work.

I haven’t even looked at my Bloglines in a month, so it is going to take a while to catch up on what everyone else is doing. But may you all have good runs!

Interruption

2005-04-08T13:07:00.000-05:00

I'm putting my Half Marathon Training on hold, but I have a good reason...

I just accepted a new job in Augusta, Maine, and we're moving up there (we're currently in CT) this month!

It's all very exciting, though also scary. It also probably means I won't be posting here for a while. I do plan to try to maintain where I am in the training, getting in between 10 and 15 miles per week, with long runs of 5 miles or so.

Some good fitness and running-related things:

I'll most likely be able to walk or bike to work (or ski, heh)
We'll most likely be within walking distance of some rails-to-trails areas, and a beautiful wooded trail system.
We'll be able to walk or bike to run many errands, to get to restaurants, and to visit friends
Canoeing and Kayaking on the Kennebec river!

All this has led me to spend a lot of time thinking about change, and how we live our lives. It’s made me aware just how easy it would have been to put this off, to dream about moving, wonder if we might be happier, complain about the things we miss in our life as it is, and yet just continue with the status quo. Unless something shakes your life up for you, it can be very hard to do it yourself. It’s easy for me to see how human beings fall into comfortable patterns (and I enjoy a nice comfortable pattern myself much of the time). Because what we’re doing is scaring me almost as much as it is exciting me. I am definitely looking forward to it, but it hasn’t been easy (the nervousness, the uncertainty, the driving to interviews, the time investment), and there’s still plenty of work ahead. Life is going to change. At least I have the comfort that this is something I chose, rather than something that was thrust upon me.

I hope everyone out there is embracing the good changes in their lives, and that the bad ones are passing you by.

Half Marathon Training Week 3

2005-04-05T05:36:00.000-05:00

Back on track this week, although the order is still a tad different than Hal Higdon’s!

Mon: Rest
Tues: 3.5 miles on the TM plus 1 mile walk
Wed: 4 miles outside (hooray!)
Thurs: 1.5 miles on the TM plus 1.5 mile walk
Fri: 1 mile walk
Sat: 30 min Yoga
Sun: 5 mile outside (hooray again!)
Total: 14 miles run

I haven’t been so good keeping up with strength training, although the yoga definitely demands stronger arms than I have at the moment. This coming week’s schedule is supposed to be about the same, so we’ll see if I can include some stops at the weights and situps.

I really enjoyed the outside run on Wednesday night, and went the fastest (between 10 and 11 min miles) on that run. The rest of the runs ranged between 10:30 and 12 min miles. Which is fine with me. At some point I’d like to work on my speed, but for now distance is my goal.

Now that the time has changed, I’m looking forward to even more outside runs in the evening. It almost makes up for how dark it is now when I wake up in the morning!

Half Marathon Training Week 2

2005-03-31T05:46:00.000-05:00

Ack. I’m behind in posting, and didn’t quite make my training schedule for week 2. I have excuses (we were travelling this past weekend) but I know I could have done it if I really wanted to. But I’m back on track this week though.

Mon: Nothing
Tues: 3 miles on the TM
Wed: Nothing
Thursday: 30 min XT (Snow Shovelling) and 3 miles on the TM
Friday: Nothing
Saturday: 2 miles (including a huge hill) outside and ~30 min walking.
Sunday: Nothing

Thank you to everyone who has posted with encouraging words. My non-running life is feeling a bit crazy right now so it’s been hard to do more than just get the running itself in. My apologies for not commenting on other RBFer’s blogs. I am still reading and being inspired by you all!

Half Marathon Training Week 1

2005-03-20T11:16:00.000-05:00

I managed to complete the schedule for this week, though not exactly in the order specified.

Monday: Stretch and Strength (did a full circuit of the upper and lower body machines, plus abs)
Tuesday: 3 miles on the TM. I did this in one minute segments (5, 5.1, 5.2 etc up to 6.4, then back down again, plus some extra at 5.5 or so to finish off the mileage). I found this to be much more tiring than just running at a straight 5.5 pace, although my time ended up about the same. Also 2 miles walking.
Wednesday: 2 miles on the TM in about 22 min. 1 mile walking.
Thursday: Rest.
Friday: Rest.
Saturday: Ran 3.5 miles outside (39 min). 30 min Yoga (Rodney Yee’s Power Yoga video). 2.5 hours lugging lumber and stinky old furniture helping friends clean out a house the tenants vacated without notice.
Sunday: Ran 3.5 miles outside (38 min).

So, it probably would have been better to do the Saturday run on Thursday, but other than that I’m pleased. The running itself is going fine for the most part. I experienced a bit of pain along my left shin during the two outside runs, but it went away 5-10 min into the run. And I ran out of steam near the end of today’s run, which I blame on not eating enough before hand, and on overdoing it Saturday.

I really enjoyed the Yoga video, although I did find parts of it pretty challenging (and my hamstrings feel it today). If my finances and time allow it, I would love to try a live class sometime. I think it will make a good supplement to the running.

It was kind of nice to get my second “strength” workout of the week in the form of the moving and lifting yesterday. It’s refreshing to do something that actually produces a useful result in the real world and yet also gives me the training I am looking for. But my shoulders are a lot more sore today than they were Tues after the gym workout!

Half Marathon

2005-03-13T17:45:00.000-05:00

I’ve been in a quandry. I wanted to start training for a longer distance, specifically the half marathon, as a goal this year. But our situation is currently such that we might possibly move sometime in the next few months, so I don’t want to actually sign up (and pay money) for a race I might not be able to make.

But I can tell that the lack of a goal or training plan has been hurting me. I love lists, I love schedules. I like having a series of milestones to take me where I want to go.

So I figured, well, why not train anyway? I can run my own personal half marathon distance run, the official race is not a necessity. That way, if I need to alter the schedule and repeat a week or back down because of other interferences, I can do so. I told myself this on Wednesday: “I’m going to train for a half-marathon”. And it’s weird, because as soon as I said that to myself, I really did have this burst of running energy and excitement. I was actually looking forward to going to the gym that night.

My new found determination in hand, I looked over the various schedules on line, and decided to follow the Hal Higdon Novice plan. There will be weeks I’ll have to alter it, due to travel on the weekends, and there are about two extra weeks I’m adding in (also due to busy weekends). But the current plan has me running 13 miles on June 19.

To commemorate my new plan, I did a variation of the first week already (12 miles), though I will be officially starting the training schedule tomorrow with Strength and Stretch. And I feel pretty good - no soreness, no pain. I was a bit worn on Friday after 8 miles in two days, but by Saturday I was fine.

So, here I go!

Run Report

2005-03-13T17:12:00.000-05:00

03-09-05: 4 miles (48:00) on TM, plus 1 mile total walking to warm up/cool down.
03-10-05: 4 miles (47:00) on TM, plus 1 mile total walking to warm up/cool down.
03-11-05: Strength training.
03-12-05: Crosstrain (shoveling snow in this case!) 60 min.
03-13-05: 4 miles (43:45) outside, plus 1.5 mile total walking to warm up/cool down.

So, 12 miles total, and I feel very pleased with the week’s work. I really felt a lot more energy and enthusiasm this week, and it was such a relief! I was also very surprised I managed to run more than 3 miles on the TM. Up til now it’s felt like such torture I could not imagine doing more. The first night I had help from my hero Jerry Orbach, as Law and Order was on the tv to distract me. But I discovered that after the first three miles, it actually felt easier. It seems like my second mile is always the toughest on the TM. I’ve gotten over the first flush of energy, and haven’t settled in. So the minutes creep by slooower and sloower. But this week, once I’d already done three my brain seemed to click into a “oh well, what’s another 12 minutes” mindset and I was off.

All of this is excellent news, considering my brand spanking new goal (see next post).

Run Report

2005-03-07T07:17:00.000-05:00

Things are going much better this week, thank goodness.

02-28-05
3 miles (33 min) on the TM.

03-03-05
3 miles (32 min) on the TM.

03-04-05
3 miles (32 min) on the TM.

03-06-05
1.5 miles outside, untimed. I think I waited too long after breakfast and ran out of steam.

I also got in weights and walking at various times, so I feel pretty good about the week. I'd like to try to increase the weekly mile count, but 10 was my minimum goal and at the moment I'm just pleased to hit it. Hopefully I will either get over my distaste of the treadmill sufficiently to run more than 3 miles on it at a time, or it will get warm/light enough to run outside some evenings now.

Onward!

Run Report

2005-02-27T17:48:00.000-05:00

The power of the blog was with me, and I managed to get out and do 3.5 miles outside yesterday, in about 39 minutes. I did wimp out of running in the morning as I had planned, when I saw that the temperature was only 12 degrees. Fortunately it warmed up to the thirties by the afternoon, not to mention being bright and sunny. I was very pleased with the run, and felt "strong" throughout. I also had the added motivation of Smallville Season 2 waiting for me when I finished (and if you are a fan and saw the cliffhanger ending to Season 1, you know that was some strong motivation!). It felt so good to be running outside again. No run today, and tomorrow it's back on the TM, but it was wonderful to have that bright spot in this grey, cold, snowy winter.

Sluggish

2005-02-26T06:56:00.000-05:00

Between the five days travelling, various life-related stresses, and my husband's bout of food poisoning I feel as if I have turned into something of a slug. Since my last report, my physical activity has been the following:

02-16-05
3 miles on the Elliptical and TM.

02-17-05
3 miles walking at 4.5 mph on the TM

02-23-05
3 miles (30:20) on the TM.

02-25-05
One hour shovelling snow.

Better than I would have been a year ago, but not in keeping with my desired running goals. I dipped down to only 9 miles last week, and this week will be worse (unless I run 7 miles between today and tomorrow). One would think that my appetite would diminish accordingly, but no, I seem to be hungrier than ever.

But enough self-pity and loathing. Today is sunny, and I've run in colder temps. So there's nothing to stop me from getting in a good outside run today. I considered waiting to post here until I had actually accomplished said run. But having posted my intention, I'm hoping it will encourage (or shame) me into actually going through with it. Ah, the power of the blog.

I have not been commenting on other blogs, but it's been tremendously helpful to read everyone else's daily acchievments and inspirational thoughts. Thank you RBF!

The Most Boring Gym Report Thus Far

2005-02-15T05:49:00.000-05:00

Still just trying to get through this to the nicer weather and outside running. Still very glad to have an iPod.

02-09-05
3 miles (32:30) on the TM.

02-11-05
3 miles (29:50) on the TM. I finally stuck with it for a consistant 10 minute pace. Hooray! It didn’t feel horribly difficult, except when I upped the speed right in the last minute (to make up for two shoelace-tying incidents that had slowed me earlier). Even that wasn’t so bad during the sprinting, just afterward when I suddenly felt sick for a short while. Overall it was fine though. Hopefully I can keep it up, and maybe this will even improve my outside speed later in the spring.

02-14-05
3 miles (33:00) on the TM.

Running Report Week of 1-31

2005-02-08T06:17:00.000-05:00

Running at the gym is so boring I’m finding I have little to say here. So I’m probably just going to post weekly reports unless something exceptional happens or I have an epiphany. :-)

1-31-05
3 miles run on the treadmill (10; 10; 12). I did one more walking too. I got the worst stich in my side I’ve ever had during mile three. It wasn’t just my side but my whole midsection, and stopping to stretch and kneading my muscles and breathing deep didn’t help one bit. But the iPod worked great! Except when I caught my hand on the cord (getting too enthusiastic with my running!) and sent it flying back behind me. But it’s apparently a tough little thing because it just kept on playing.

02-02-05
4 miles (44:00). And I am a dork, because I sent my iPod flying AGAIN.

02-04-05
3 miles (32:30). The iPod remains safe, clutched in my sweaty paw the entire time. I think I need something to carry it.

02-06-05
5 miles (52:00). Outside! This was the same route we did for the Turkey Trot, so I know it is pretty accurate. And look, I can still run about as “fast” as ever. I think that I must take longer strides outside.

Gym Reports

2005-01-29T07:03:00.000-05:00

1-26-05
I felt verrrry wiped out last night, and probably would have skipped the gym altogether except that we can’t go tomorrow night. So I did the three miles I had planned, but I walked them (4mph) rather than running them. And then I did abs. I finally managed to do 2 sets of 15 crunches on the ball without falling off as I usually do, which was enough of an accomplishment for me for the day!

1-28-05
4 miles on the treadmill (Splits: 10;10;12;11). The first run with the iPod was not the transcendant experience I hoped it might be, since like a dork I forgot to bring the manual with me and couldn’t remember how to change the volume. You’d think a software engineer would be better at this stuff. Anyways. I used it for the first two miles, and the fast music I loaded it up with worked great, though I would have turned up the volume if I could have. Then, in my fumblings to figure out how to change the volume I accidentally lowered it without realizing - and thought it must be running low on batteries. So I switched to TV. Of course in the locker room after the run I did finally figure out volume. Still, next time I am bringing the manual!

I also did a circuit of leg and arm machines. Still working on the goldilocks issue, trying to find weights that are “just right”. I’m still too light on some (I can do my 2 x 12 repetitions without feeling the effort on the last).

Gym Report

2005-01-26T07:54:00.000-05:00

1-25-05
3 miles on the TM, in 32:30. Less than 11 min miles at last, hooray! I listened to music this time, using my CD player, and it really did make a difference. I’m looking forward to using the iPod though - and it just arrived yesterday! I should have opened it up last night, but we’d just returned from the gym and it was 8:30 and I was wiped out (I also did most of my upper & lower body weight workout and abs). I opened it up this morning only to realize (duh) it needs 2-4 hours to charge before I can hook it up and check it out, so I’ll have to stick to the CD player again for tonight (that is, if I am not snowed in!)

So last night I covered up the time display and just went by the miles, switching speeds based on the beat of the music at the time, and repeating a bunch of the fastest songs. I’m going to have to dig through my music collection for songs with just the right beat for a 5.5 to 6 MPH pace, to push myself. The mix I used last night wasn’t quite fast enough. Most of the songs seemed to work best for a 5MPH pace, although one of them bumped me up to 6MPH. And the Buffy the Vampire theme by Nerf Herder is 7MPH plus! :-) I used that a couple times for sprints last night. Thank goodness it’s just about a minute long.

The thing is, I realize that even though 6MPH feels “too fast” for me, I can probably stick to it longer than I am. I think after the initial push to get into running last summer, I’ve been enjoying the “ah this is so much easier now” feeling, and am resisting pushing again. Not that I think I should be killing myself on every run, but I need to remember that sometimes it is going to feel difficult, and that I will be wanting to stop.

Gym Report

2005-01-25T06:20:00.000-05:00

1-24-05
4 miles on the TM, still around 11 min average pace. With headphones and the television it was easier than last time, but still tough. And I just realized (heh) that I didn’t put it on a 1% incline this time, which probably had something to do with it!

I do like that I can always tell exactly how fast I am going on the TM, though I had to cover up the time on the monitor because I was getting obsessed watching the seconds click by. I think from now on I will just leave the distance showing and go by that. And I think music would work a lot better than tv as a motivator. My wonderful parents are getting me an iPod for my birthday, so when that arrives I am looking forward to giving it a whirl on the TM.

In the I-think-it's-good category, I seem to sweat a lot more than any of the other people I see on the machines at the gym. From what I’ve read, sweating is a good sign, indicating good fitness, so I will take it as such. Still, I feel a bit freakish to be mopping my brow every few minutes with my increasingly sodden towel (not to mention having to wear tanks and shorts when other folks seem to favor loose T-shirts and sweats).

Gym Report

2005-01-21T05:55:00.000-05:00

1-20-05
3 miles on the TM, averaging 11 min mile pace. And it felt very tough. Much tougher than last Sunday’s 4.4 mile run outside (on a measured trail) in freezing weather, although my speed was the same if not faster then. I was expecting, after everything I read, to find the TM easier. So far it’s been the reverse. Maybe I’m just not settled in to the rhythm of the thing. Maybe it’s the lack of fresh air and the heat. Maybe it’s the complete and utter boredom. I need to remember to bring headphones to plug into their tv system. Anyways, it felt like a workout. If the weather cooporates I’ll try a run outside this weekend, and will see how that goes in comparison.

Snowshoeing!

2005-01-20T06:54:00.000-05:00

I forgot! I've been wanting for ages to try snowshowing and hopefully now in February I will have my chance. We're going to this place and doing the nighttime "torchlit" thing. It sounds very cool, and I'm really excited. A bunch of our friends are also going so it should be fun, and pretty low key. I'm not sure how warmly to dress, but will do some googling on that. If we like it, we may spring for snowshoes of our own (especially if we move to Maine).

Taking it inside

2005-01-20T06:25:00.000-05:00

I’m not tough enough. 20 degrees is one thing, but 8 degrees not even counting the windchill factor? Those who can run outside in such weather must be gods. I, a mere mortal, have accepted the fact that I need a gym.

So Bob and I have been visiting a couple in the area. Apparently (in CT at least) they can’t hold us to a yearly contract if we move more than some number of miles away, so if we do move to ME it should not be a financial burden we are committed to. We visited one huge complex with pool, sauna, raquetball, basketball, spinning, the works, which was certainly nice. It was $80 for two per month, plus $80 signup. We called around to some others, got pricing, etc. Then, last night, we stopped by CardioExpress, a new place that opened in Dec. It’s $20 each per month, plus $20 signup. It has plenty of treadmills etc (each with a private cable tv setup, you bring headphones) and a full complement of weight machines, and free weights (not as many as the other, but certainly enough for our needs). The main drawback is that, while clean and welcoming and all, CardioFitness has no showers. This doesn’t necessarily bother me, since I would prefer to shower at home anyway, and our schedule will most likely have us working out there after work, then going home.

So, we have a one-week trial at CardioFitness. Last night we jumped right in. I did 20 min on the treadmill, varrying between 5 to 6 mph, then 20 min on an elliptical. All the machines are manufactured by Precor. Then I did some weight machine work on arms, joining in a sort of “weight machines for dummies” class they were running. Lastly I tried out the ab stuff. At long last, I was able to give the much lauded Swiss Ball a go, and managed not to fall off (though there were some close calls and I was glad to have positioned myself near a convenient wall to steady myself as needed. I don’t know if I was doing the crunches on the ball correctly, but they felt difficult. And that was our first night at the gym. We’re going to go back tonight!

I consider myself a morning person so I’ve been confused about why I can’t seem to get into exercising in the morning. But for whatever reason, going after work feels better. Plus I benefit by that magical exercise-induced appetite suppression and eat a smaller dinner, normally. Which is good, since my weight has been slowly creeping up over the last month, between holiday eating and not as much exercise as in warmer months when I would both run more and walk/hike more.

I’m not sure how I will keep track of my running while using the gym. Mileage may just fly out the window until I am back outside again. We’ll see. Now I need to go off and look up info on treadmill training and weight workouts and all that jazz. Oh, and Heart Rate training, though I don’t know how accurate the devices on the machines are.

After a stretch of low enthusiasm, I’m feeling excited again, thank goodness!

Weekly Running Report

2005-01-17T04:50:00.000-05:00

Monday Jan 10 - Sunday Jan 16
Ran on Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday, about 4 miles each. I'm finding I have less to say about running right now so I'm just combining them into one report here.

I'm still feeling like I am just trying to hang in there and get through the winter without loosing too much ground. I’m very happy to have totalled 12 miles this week, especially since I only had 10 for the past several (after increasing up to 14 before Christmas). My goal is still to remain at 10-15 per week until it’s feasible to run after work again, and it’s nice to feel that I’m not just scraping by every week. The runs were not bad, but there’s nothing much to say about them. I would like to get faster but that’s another thing I am going to push off until warmer/lighter weather. One good thing about running in the cold: there are few things finer than a hot shower after a cold winter run!

Run Report

2005-01-09T07:05:00.000-05:00

Date & Time: Saturday January 8 12:30PM
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 54:30 min
Weather: Rainy, 37 degrees
Place: Neighborhood Loop
Comments: I didn’t expect a lot out of this run. It was miserable out: cold, slushy, rainy, gray. It was the same boring loop I always run. I had to work pretty hard to motivate myself just to get geared up and stretched and ready to go. But then, once I was out there, I felt surprisingly good. By the time I finished the first mile, I knew it was going to be a good run - I wasn’t having to work to convince myself to keep going. Bob ran with me for the first mile, which was nice since we could talk. But even when I was on my own the time went quickly. When I don’t have to fight the “stop now” demons in my brain, I can usually occupy myself with other thoughts and this was no exception. In fact I was so inspired (I was brainstorming some fiction ideas) I wished I had a little recorder. :-)

So, I am very glad I went out and ran, because this was just what I needed to restore my still-somewhat-fragile confidence that I can do this running thing.

First Run of 2005

2005-01-06T06:29:00.000-05:00

Date: Wednesday January 5
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 60 min
Weather: Flecks of snow, 33 and falling
Time of Day: 7:30AM
Place: Neighborhood Loop
Comments: My heart hasn’t been in it lately. Some combination of the weather, the monotony of the same loop over and over again, and other elements of my life dominating my brain. But I went out and ran anyway. There was nothing wrong with my physically, but I struggled the whole time with that “okay-why-don’t-we-stop-now” feeling. I hate that feeling, because the mental fight drains more energy than the physical one. Bob and I have been trying to identify where that feeling comes from - is it some basic human impulse? Normally I am a fairly active person (I use active here to encompass all sorts of activities including cooking, writing, reading, running, chores, conversation, basically anything other than staring at the tv or sleeping) and I dislike inactivity. But even so I can feel that tug that tells me “oh, wouldn’t it be better to just sit here doing nothing” sometimes, and it can be hard to overcome. Bob suggested perhaps it’s some sort of survival instinct, to conserve energy. I feel good for having overcome it and run the whole 5 miles, but my mind feels worn out now. I know from experience that this too shall pass, and hopefully my next run will be one of those really great, effortless ones.

Chris asked in a comment about when I might want to try for a half marathon. My plan currently is to hold steady at around 10-15 miles per week until the spring time change and I can start running in the evenings again. Also, I’m hoping Bob has gotten back up to my level by then (he ran a full 2.5 miles yesterday, so he’s recovering slowly but surely). Then I will look for a likely candidate and start working on increasing my speed and miles. I think that it’s going to take all my efforts just to stay at the current level with this sort of weather and the lack of daylight. But I should take some time over the winter to look at different plans and maybe choose my victim. Any suggestions on half-marathon training schedules would be welcome!

And, I’ve finally gotten my act together and set up a bloglines thingie for a bunch of running blogs. Hopefully this will encourage/enable me to keep more up to date with the RBF. As my energy levels for running have been down, I’ve been neglecting reading about it too, which probably just feeds the cycle. I know that when I first started, it was reading running blogs that always got me going for the day’s run. :-)

Looking back and looking forward

2005-01-02T08:15:00.000-05:00

I did a tally and found I’ve run about 209 miles total since the middle of August, when I first started tracking miles not minutes. It’s a nice feeling to see that number, so impressively large (to me at least!) when all added up like that. And hopefully 2005 will just get better.

2004 was the year I started running. I didn’t expect that I could do it. A year ago I would have laughed hysterically at the thought. But here I am, and I feel extremely blessed to have gotten this far.

I’m most proud just to have stuck with it. But I am in particular proud to have run in the two races I did, and to have just recently run 7 miles.

Looking ahead to 2005, my biggest goal is just to keep it up. I would like to run at least 12 miles most weeks (ideally more).

In particular, I would like to run a half-marathon by the end of the year. Whether in a race, or just on my own.

And I would like to try to get a bit faster. :-)

I think that’s enough to start out the new year. Good luck and best wishes to all you other runners out there. May 2005 bring you many miles and little pain!

Running Report for Monday December 27

2004-12-28T05:21:00.000-05:00

Distance: 2.5 miles
Time: ~30 min
Weather: Snowing, and supposedly “felt like” 11 degrees
Time of Day: 8:00AM
Place: Neighborhood Loop
Comments: Sloooow and short compared to what I would like. But considering the weather I am perfectly happy with both time and distance. It wasn’t slippery exactly, but the snow made it sort of unstable underfoot. I could definitely feel my legs working harder to compensate. I actually didn’t feel cold really at all. I had been uncertain whether I really wanted to run in this sort of weather, but I decided I had to give it a try. And other than going slow and careful it really wasn’t that big a deal. When the sun came out and I saw it through the snowy interlacings of the trees it was all worth it.

Running Report for Friday December 24

2004-12-25T06:05:00.000-05:00

Distance: 7 miles
Time: 1:20:38
Weather: Fair, cold (33 degrees)
Time of Day: 2:00PM
Place: Hammonasett Beach
Comments: I don’t know if it was reading Mia's supportive message or Richard's yoda-like comments, or perhaps watching The Empire Strikes Back for the umpteenth time, but I went out there and did it! Seven miles! Seven slow miles, but seven regardless. I’m still excited the next day, though my body is protesting.

I was not the smartest of runners yesterday, having arranged to go to the movies for a 4PM show. I finished the run, jumped in the back of the van, toweled off and changed clothes (yes, in the back of the van, hiding behind judiciously placed towels) even as Bob was driving us to the theater. Heh. I did a tiny bit of stretching but no where near what my body wanted. When I left the theater two hours later I was limping more than the main character (we saw A Very Long Engagement in which Audrey Tatou’s character is lame). Then I stretched.

But I’m still thrilled! You know that thing runners say about how the “first mile sucks” and then you get into it and your body settles down and feels good. I remember when I just didn’t believe that - the first mile was the easy one, it was two and three that were tough and I was struggling to finish. But today, I went out, and the first mile sucked. My ankles felt weak, and my body felt like someone had assembled all my joints slightly off kilter. But by mile two it was fine, I felt good, my legs were strong and I had energy. That carried me along up through into mile 6. I had a brief bit of sidestich at mile four but massaged it away. Around the sixth mile the area around the outer side of my Achilles tendon on my right foot started aching. I tried striking the ground differently, only to produce a brand new pain on the inner side of the heel. I actually had to stop to stretch it and massage it, and was afraid I might need to give up on the run. But I decided to try a little further and see if the stretching had done the trick. And it had! I didn’t have any pain at all from then on. I even managed to speed up on the last two miles.

So, another milestone. I’m very pleased even though the other half of my brain is yelling at me for not running AT ALL since last Saturday. I have excuses of course but they don’t really matter to my brain, or here either I suppose. I may run today again, just a short one. If not, then tomorrow definitely.

Happy Holidays to all the RBF! May you have joy and peace and lots of good running weather!

Catchup Report

2004-12-20T07:23:00.000-05:00

Busy and travelling for the holidays, but I still got in some more running. Sadly not 7 miles (yet). I will do it before the New Year though!

Running Report for Friday December 17
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 56:45 minutes
Weather: Fair, cold, quite windy
Time of Day: 2:30PM
Place: Neighborhood Loop
Comments: No dogs, thank goodness. I felt pretty good but decided not to push for any longer than 5 as my hip started to twinge a bit. I’ll do 2-4 more tomorrow, hopefully. Discovering that my “mile” wasn’t quite long enough has been affecting my state of mind a bit, I think. I’m slower than I thought I was, and even though I know I can run 10 minute miles (I did on the Turkey Trot) I am depressed that I am not doing it regularly. But, where would we be without goals to shoot for? Hopefully if I continue (especially given that my normal loop is somewhat hilly) I think my speed will improve gradually. I also think I am going a little slower lately due to the cold and the wind. I need to just keep telling myself that at least I am out there, and five miles isn’t anything to sneeze at whatever the speed.

Running Report for Saturday December 18
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 30 minutes
Weather: Fair, cold
Time of Day: 10:00AM
Place: Neighborhood Loop
Comments: Just trying to get in the miles to make 14 for the week.

The Dog Ate My Running Report

2004-12-17T10:09:00.000-05:00

Or more accurately, the dog ate my run, and tried to eat me. Or maybe not. But when a strange dog comes bounding out and stands five feet away and growls and its tale isn’t wagging and there is no sign of the owner, then you don’t take chances. So I walked slowly away, forgetting (not surprisingly) to stop my watch. Once he gave up following me, I ran some more, but both my timing and miles were screwed up (especially as I couldn’t risk running the full 1.1 mile loop in case he was still there. I am calling it 4 miles, based on my estimations and the time on my watch.

Maybe I should get some pepper spray? Or some other dog-deterrent? There were literally 4 loose dogs just yesterday, although three of them are ones I’ve seen before and are good tempered.

Loose dogs are quickly rising in my list of top pet peeves (no pun intended). Dogs are one of my favorite animals, and we hope to have one or two someday, when we are living somewhere that allows them. So I am disgusted to see so many folks who let there dogs out without a care for the safety of either the dogs or the people around them. Especially when they haven’t bothered to train the dogs either. I don’t want to get bitten, nor do I like having my run interrupted, but I also would hate to think of the dog getting hit by a car, or put down because it attacked someone.

Gah. I have been developing the belief that all evils in the world proceed from either fear or laziness. In this case, I blame the latter. People get dogs and then can’t be bothered to take them out for walks and give them exercise, so instead they just let them go and don’t consider the consequences.

Anyways, enough bitterness over that. Today I have the day off and hope to get in a long (for me run). If I feel good and suffer no canine interruptions, I might try for 7!

Catchup

2004-12-15T06:05:00.000-05:00

Was travelling and didn't have a chance to post on the day of the run...

Running Report for Saturday December 11
Distance: 5 miles
Time: ~54 minutes
Weather: Pea soup fog.
Time of Day: 7:00AM
Place: Neighborhood Loop
Comments: I discovered sadly that the distance I believed to be a mile was closer to 9 tenths. It’s strange, since we had measured it twice before and it came out to 1. No huge difference since the whole loop is still 1.1 miles, so when I was running full loops the times were still correct. It does perhaps explain why some of my mile times seemed so fast compared to others though. Anyways, this was a neat run, very mystical-feeling with the thick fog and no one else on the roads. I felt good and didn’t have any trouble with my hip. Later on during the weekend when we were hiking I did have some pain though. I’ve started doing the leg lift exercises that are supposed to help develop your hip abductor muscles in the hopes that will help.

So the weekly total was 13, which I am pleased with given I only ran three times. It’s been something like 12-13-12-14-13 the past few weeks so I feel as if I am making overall progress. We’ll see if the weather and my willpower allow me to do 14 next week.

Running Report for Tuesday December 14
Distance: 2 miles
Time: 22:45 minutes
Weather: Fair, Cold (30 degrees)
Time of Day: 8:00AM
Place: Neighborhood Loop
Comments: It was just TOO cold for me. Bob and I did the first mile together, very slowly, and that seemed to work well as regards his leg pain. I find that when wearing all my layers I am overheating in the center of my back and right over my solar plexus, cold on my face (of course), and arms/hands, and that my legs and feet are fine (though it sure is weird to feel a breeze through the mesh panels in my sneakers). I need something like a reverse vest - warmer on the arms and lighter on the torso. Also, I would like to find some suitable gloves for running in, ideally something lightwight and closefitting so I don’t feel like my big poofy-mittened hands are going to tip me over onto my face. Then again, we may just decide to move our exercise efforts to a gym for the winter. If there were one that offered some sort of monthly or even three-month deal, without a huge one-time fee, we might very well go for it. With the possibility of moving out of state (sometime in the next few months, we hope) I wouldn’t want to get tied down to something for longer than that.

Running Report for Thursday December 9

2004-12-10T06:01:00.000-05:00

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 20 minutes
Weather: Cloudy, chilly.
Time of Day: 4:00PM
Place: Neighborhood Loop
Comments: Squeezing in the miles where I can... This is likely still going to be a lower-mile week than last, but since my hip was bothering me perhaps that is a good thing. Today’s run came courtesy of my leaving work early for a dentist appointment, but that meant I was running with half my mouth still numb. At least it wasn’t longer, or hot out, since I think if I had tried to drink any water I just would have slobbered all over myself. On the good side, my hip only hurt on the last uphill, and not at all afterward.

In my quest for more water I managed to glug down a more respectable 40 oz or so at work. I raided our stash of various teas (normally I drink black tea, but with milk and sugar) and tried Honey-Lemon-Chamomile (ick), White Tea (ick - I really don’t see why this is supposedly the best), Red Bush (not bad), and plain Green (not bad, I like it in Japanese restaurants). I have some Red Bush Chai that I have tried before and like best of the lot, but we were out of that. Next I shall have to find that Blueberry Green Tea Chris recommended. Mmm, blueberries!

Running Report for Wednesday December 8

2004-12-09T05:57:00.000-05:00

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 53 minutes
Weather: Sunny, 45 degrees.
Time of Day: 8:30AM
Place: Neighborhood Loop
Comments: So it wasn’t just a fluke, I really can run 6 miles. Wednesdays seem to be my magic day, or perhaps it was just the break I took. I’ve discovered I am a weather wimp. I planned to run Monday, but it was so grey and chill and depressing out I couldn’t muster the energy. Then Tuesday was even more rainy and I put it off again. But then yesterday it was sunny and lovely out and I had so much more energy. It was a great run, I felt good throughout. I think that I’ve pinpointed the one element of a run that really makes it feel “good” to me - it’s when I have no sense of doubt as to whether I can finish it. On many runs at some point or another I start thinking that I would really like to stop at some point, and even if I know intellectually that I have a strong enough will to get me through it, I realize that my heart is not fully in it. This run was one of the ones where I just knew I could keep going, and wanted to keep going.

I started to have the pain in my hip joint area (having poked around online I think it is my hip flexor) on mile 5, but it didn’t seem that bad so I pushed through. But then when I was walking to cool down it started to ache quite a bit more. It came and went throughout the day and still aches a bit now if I do a leg lift sort of motion. I was actually hoping to run again this afternoon so I hope this will not interfere. We are travelling this weekend and so if I wanted to get in three runs it needs to be W-Th-Fr.

I think I need to turn some attention back to my diet (I use the word in the sense of what I eat from day to day, not as in South Beach). It just hasn’t been so hot lately. Low on the vegetables, high on refined carbs. Yesteday I didn’t even eat any fruit. My water consumption has also gone down along with the temperature. Normally I would go through 64 oz during the day at work but I think right now I’m doing only about 20. The trouble is that our office is very chilly and so I don’t want to drink nice cold filtered water as I did during the summer. Perhaps I can supplement with some non-caffinated tea. I had been trying harder to eat healthy this summer (helped along by all the nice fresh produce and hot weather) but have been letting it slide of late. Of course I am still going to make ginger cookies tonight... :-) It wouldn’t be the holidays for me without at least some baking.

Running Report for Saturday December 4

2004-12-04T11:55:00.000-05:00

Distance: 3.4 miles
Time: ~37 minutes (forgot to check my watch).
Weather: Sunny, 33 degrees.
Time of Day: 10:30AM
Place: Neighborhood Loop
Comments: No pain, and my breathing was fine, but I did feel pretty wiped out. I didn’t sleep well last night so that might have been part of it. Nevertheless, I knew I wanted to do 3.4 miles to round out my week’s mileage to 14 miles, a new high for me. I’m very glad tomorrow is a day off though!

The best news of the day was that Bob ran for 27 minutes (not including three walking breaks) which is the most he's done in a month or so, since he got the shin splints. And he didn't have any pain at all, just a bit of lead-leg feeling like me.

Running Report for Thursday December 2

2004-12-03T05:36:00.000-05:00

Distance: ~2 miles
Time: 23 (run 10/walk 3/run 10/walk 3/run 3)
Weather: Sun/Clouds, chilly.
Time of Day: 8AM
Place: Neighborhood Loop
Comments: Thanks to everyone for the comments on my last post! You guys are great, I really appreciate the support.

The first day of the new program to help Bob recover back to 30 straight minutes of running. So far so good. He’ll increase the running time and decrease the walking time from here. I was glad for the walking breaks myself since my legs felt pretty tired from yesterday’s run. It was nice to be running with Bob the whole time again, and to have a Plan. I think we both feel more excited than we did a week ago.

My legs continued to be sore throughout the day - it was definitely muscular, the same feeling I have when I do a lot of squats or lunges or use a leg machine at a gym after not going for a while. I was also ravenously hungry. I don’t know if my body really needed more fuel, or it was just my mind thinking 6 miles = pigout. Whatever it was, I did try to stick to eating just what I had brought with me for lunch, but by 2PM I was obsessing over the need for a baked potato or a bowl of rice or toast. Unfortunately all I had at the office were: coconut merangue cookies (I had some of those but I knew I needed more than just sugar), frozen leftover lentils, frozen leftover curry, and peanut butter. I eventually found some ritz crackers in the common food area, and ate a few with peanut butter. There was a whole other bunch of crackers, and a nearly-full jar of PB, but I could just see that not turning out well. Plus I kept thinking “trans-fat-trans-fat-trans-fat”. Finally I discovered my salvation: a box of 1-minute plain oatmeal someone had obviously abandoned in the common food area (Tangent: it was back behind the weirdly flavored teas that someone probably bought thinking “ooh, that could taste really great or really horrible”. Such as the “chocolate caramel delight” tea. I like caramel and chocolate, but in tea? Ew). Two minutes later I was eating a hot bowl of oatmeal with a bit of sugar added, and the carb-craving beast in my belly (or head) was sated.

Running Report for Wednesday December 1

2004-12-02T05:16:00.000-05:00

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 1:06:50
Weather: Sun/Clouds, 53 degrees, very windy
Time of Day: 3:30 PM
Place: Neighborhood Loop
Comments: Wheeee! That’s two firsts for me: the first time I’ve run 6 full miles, and the first time I’ve run for over an hour. Relieved is my word of the day. Actually, now it’s just turned into “thrilled”. Because not only do I feel pleased and excited to have attained something new, but it was one of those runs. The ones where you feel like its sort of effortless and the road is whizzing beneath your feet (even when you are going as slow as I was) and you never really struggle with doubts and just feel like you could keep going and going. I haven’t had one of those in a while, and I was starting to think that maybe the couple I had earlier were all just a product of my being new to it. Lately I’d started feeling like it was all become a routine, something I did because I felt obligated and not because the act of running itself was fun. This run made up for all those doubts. I’m still full of running floon (*), bouncing off the walls and thinking about the next run.

I went out there today uncertain how far I would go or how I would feel, but I could tell within the first mile that it was a good day. I think it was in the second mile I decided to go for 6. I’d been wanting to try for that distance on the weekend, but decided to take advantage of the opportunity that presented itself. I didn’t keep track of my splits unfortunately - I would have liked to see how they were - but I did try to consciously speed up on the last two. The wind was blowing pretty furiously at times- I felt a bit like it was giving me energy. Even when it was blowing in my face it just seemed to be a nice refreshing cool-down. Plus it was swirling all the fallen leaves into dancing cyclones.

Honesty compells me to admit that I was so excited at the prospect of running over an hour that I spend about 30 seconds jeapordizing my safety by running with my eyes latched onto my watch, so I could see the moment that it flipped over to read “1:00:00” :-) After that my legs just sort of carried me home the last bit on their own.

No pain at any time, a hint of a side stich on mile 2 but it went away almost at once. My legs did feel sort of weird afterward, like I could almost feel the backs of my thighs tightening up. I tried to be good and do as much stretching as I could, and they feel fine this morning. We’ll see how they are running today!

(*) This is a slang term for “creative energy” in the LARP community, but it’s worked its way into general usage in our household as a good catch-all for that otherwise indefinable vim and vigor and excitement and energy that you have for a certain project/activity. Plus there’s a sort of Douglas-Adamsish feel to the word that makes it fun to say.

Running Report for Tuesday November 30

2004-12-01T06:06:00.000-05:00

Distance: ~2.6 miles
Time: 30 min
Weather: Fair, 38 degrees.
Time of Day: 6PM
Place: Wallingford Choate Loop
Comments: Felt okay physically throughout, but not really mentally into it. Might have been the dark, I’m not sure. I ran most of this with Bob, but he walked at the last bit. We spent some time discussing what the best way might be for him to get back up to running three miles at a stretch, which was where he was before he started having ITBS and shin splints and stuff.

So we have been working on a plan. The initial thought (we will begin next week and see how it goes) is to run Monday and Wednesday after work, at the loop near our house. We’ll run for minutes, not miles, and gradually work up to 30 minutes straight. Not sure yet if we will go back to the C25K or our own variation. Whatever the case, I will estimate that as being about 4 miles. Then I will run by myself Tu-Thu in the mornings before work, and do 3-4 miles each. That’s 10-12 miles for the week so far. Then we will run Saturday, with Bob doing his running for minutes, and me doing a straight run, on the same loop. I can do anywhere from 3 and up on that run, and over time I can increase the morning runs up to 5 if I get out early enough, if I want to increase my mileage. When Bob is back to running for miles we can alter the schedule again. We’ll see how it works next week.

Running Report for Saturday November 27

2004-11-28T06:18:00.000-05:00

Distance: 3 miles
Time: 29:44 (walked between first and third mile, stopped watch)
Weather: Cold, fair.
Time of Day: 12:30PM
Place: Neighborhood Loop
Comments: I had hoped to do more today, but I was feeling strangely wiped out, and sick of running on the same old loop (it’s a mile loop). Still better than a treadmill I suppose! I was worried my foot would have the shooting pain in the instep again, but it felt perfectly fine. My leg joint that was bothering me on the walk yesterday hurt again, but only after I stopped running, and (thankfully) only for a short time. When I got home I was tremendously hungry, so maybe I just hadn’t eaten enough, or the right things, before the run. I dunno - it’s so hard to find the cause for some of these running funks. It might be stress from the holiday prep, or sleep, or food. At least experience has indicated that it’s temporary. So, 12 miles total for this week. I will try for 13 this week, maybe even try for 6 next weekend (I’ve never gone that far - a full hour of running).

Turkey Trot Race Report

2004-11-27T08:11:00.000-05:00

Date: Thursday November 23
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 50:31 min
Weather: Cloudy, both sun and rain bursting through at times. 58 degrees, 93% humidity.
Time of Day: 10:00AM
Place: Hammonasett Beach
Comments: My first 5 mile race! I have run 5 miles before this, but only a few times. My parents and brother and Molly the dog came over at around 8:45 and we all drove over to the beach together, laden with coats, umbrellas, water, towels, granola bars, everything we thought we might need given the rainy-looking sky and expected cooler beach temperatures. I hadn’t really researched this race to see how many people were expected to turn out, but I knew it was probably larger than our last 5K since it had been going on for over twenty years. We could tell by all the cars pulling into the park entry that it was indeed a bigger race. A giant turkey mascot directed us to the proper parking lot (also freaking out Molly, not sure if she wanted to eat him or run away). We joined the throngs of other runners, families, and dogs milling around the open grassy campground area just inland from the beach itself. Even as we were getting out of the car several people thrust flyers for a New Year’s Day 5K run in Guilford (our hometown). If we don’t have any other plans, Bob and I might try for that. I think that by then, barring further injury, he should be back to running at least 3 miles.

We made our way to the big tents set up for registration. I took it as a good omen that my eyes almost instantly found my own name on the list - I had walked right up to the appropriate table (there were three I think) and looked at the correct sheet (there were 8 on each table). Armed with my number we went to register. I got my number and chip for timing, as well as a shirt - long sleeved, white, with (duh) a turkey on the front. Strangely the turkey is a sort of grey-blue color, with just a bit of golden-orange on its tail.

This was my first time wearing a chip for timing, and I worried that having it in the laces might make my shoe feel weird, but after I put it on I didn’t even notice it. We then proceeded to mill around people-watching, walking, stretching, using the portopotties, and listening to the enthusiastic announcer on the loudspeaker talk about the sponsors. I took a walk to warm up, and watched all the very serious-looking runners with no body-fat and cords of muscle jogging lightly around the large fields. We dithered about with umbrellas and coats, until eventually Bob and I went to dump everything back in the car. I planned to run in my long-sleeved coolmax shirt at first and take it off when I got hot, so I pinned my number to my tank underneath. I could have worn shorts (pants were actually a minority) but I think I had been figuring on it being cold for so long I didn’t even consider it. It was definitely breezier at the beach, but nowhere near as cold as I had expected.

The start/finish area had two gated “chutes” with pads to detect your chips, and a clock overhead that was currently counting down to the start. Unfortunately, there were still cars pulling in with runners, so they had to keep reseting the countdown until the road was clear (since that was where we were running). The race course had two loops, a two-mile loop inland toward the park entrance, and a three mile loop out closer to the sea. Finally it seemed like the real countdown had begin, so Dad and I positioned ourselves near the back of the runners, though it was hard to tell if we were in a good spot for our pace (10 min miles) since there were 2100 runners and even more walkers doing the 2 mile walk course. Plus, dogs and baby strollers were allowed, is everything was kinda chaotic. But everyone was smiling and laughing and seemed to be taking things with good humor. I just wanted to finish the five miles running most of it with Dad (though if I could make it in 50 min I would have been very happy) so I wasn’t really concerned about where we were.

And so the race began! We were betting on how long it would take for us to actually cross the sensor pads - it ended up being a minute after the official start. The first mile was pretty crowded, but we kept to a 10 minute pace. It was a bit more work because of the dodging around other runners. We cheered for the head of the pack as they started passing us in the opposite direction. I started feeling a bit off in the second mile, getting a stich in my side. We got to a water station near the end of mile two and walked through it, guzzling water. Then we spotted the family waiting ahead and figured we’d better be running when they saw us. :-) So we took off again. We passed our cheering section and reached the end of mile 2, finding that we’d still maintained our 10 minute pace. But my side continued to bother me and Dad was coughing (lingering cold) so we slowed down a bit. Mile three was the worst both in time and physically, but near the end I think the water or adrenaline kicked in, or maybe it was that we were in a more scenic area and I could hear the surf. We came up on the time display for the third mile and saw we’d slipped to an 11 minute mile on that one. But now we were both doing better, so we sped up for the last two. From then on it was much much better for me, my stich was gone and I felt good. I got some more water in the middle of mile four as we turned back on the last part of the loop that would take us to the finish.

We did mile 4 in about 10 min I think, maybe slightly less. We pushed the speed a bit as we entered the last mile, and I still felt pretty good. Then about a half-mile from the finish Dad needed to walk because his nose was clogged, but he said to keep going so I did. I decided to try to speed up more, although I was worried I would go overboard and conk out since I couldn’t quite remember how far I was. I kept picking people ahead of me and slowly overtaking them, to keep myself going. I reached the last straight stretch to the finish and saw Bob and my mom and brother and Molly waiting. They didn’t see me until I was almost upon them (they said they were watching for my Dad who had dressed all in bright red - shorts, shirt, hat so they didn’t see my more sedate black and blue ensemble). But then they cheered me, which definitely helped me maintain my pace, and even speed up to more of a sprint (for me at least, possibly not a sprint in the strict definition of the term). I knew I wasn’t going to make it in 50 min but I figured I would get as close as I could! I think I must have done the last mile in something like 9:30 minutes so I felt good about that.

I crossed over the mat and into the finish area, suddenly consumed with an overpowering desire for water. Everywhere I looked there were runners guzzling bottles of water but no sign of anyone handing them out. I struggled with my timing chip, not sure for a moment if I could actually bend over to take it off without falling. I think I might have sat down. They actually announced sometime later that if you couldn’t get it off they would do it for you, so other runners must have had similar experiences! I stumbled out of the finish area still filled with the all-consuming thirst, stopping long enough to get congratulated by Bob and my family, and to see my Dad coming in. Over at the tents I found chowder and cider and cocoa, but no water. Finally a nice volunteer pointed me toward the oasis of a table back behind the tent, and I gleefully snagged three bottles. In the meantime Dad and Mom had also found the table and gotten me water, so when we met up again we must have had six bottles. I drank three though so that was fine. Perhaps I should have drunk more before the race?

I took my abundance of water and walked with Bob around the field to cool down. My brother had meanwhile found the local brewery beer (he said it was good - I don’t drink beer though) and Mom found the chowder (I don’t like clams). I did share Bob’s onion bagel and it was very good. We didn’t linger that long - there was a turkey stewing in brine back home and it needed to get in the oven by noon!

I’m actually suffering a few aches and pains in the aftermath of the race - my left hamstring is sore as if I had over-stretched it, and I have a strange pain in the joint where my left leg joins my torso that seemed to get worse yesterday when we were hiking (the day after the race). Then yesterday, also during the hike, I got a strange shooting pain along my right instep when I set my foot down on a bit of an angle. It proceeded to ache for a bit, and to twinge if I set my foot down wrong, so I had to walk gingerly for a while. It hurt this morning too, so I am a bit worried about running today but will give it a go and see how things are. I’m hoping that with my sneakers on it will be better.

So there it is, my first 5 mile race. The official results are here. No pictures, but my brother got at least one that I will try to get and post somewhere.

I hope everyone else out there in the RBF had a great Thanksgiving and good races (if you were running)!