Things I Don't Do, But My 8 Year Old Son Does Whilst Running

Things I Don't Do, But My 8 Year Old Son Does Whilst Running:

1.    Experiment running with his hands behind his back.

2.    Pick up random Halloween candy he finds on the ground.

3.    Eat found Halloween candy.

4.    Earn $1 for each mile run.

5.    Alternate running from the sidewalk to the grass.

6.    Speed up when I say slow down.

7.    Take breaks (Oh who am I kidding?  I take breaks, too).

8.    Skip.

9.    Drag feet in slow motion to demonstrate fatigue.

10.  Have enough energy to play basketball, street hockey, running bases, and tag for hours afterwards.

We did the first 5k together on a sunny 60 degree Election Day.  After dropping him off, I ran another 3.7 miles on my own.  The first half of the run was so much more enjoyable.  Love my running partner.

Look Ma, no hands!

Who needs a fuel belt when you

find what other people dropped?

Running Scared

I woke up startled even though the alarm never went off.  It was still dark outside.  Was it morning or night?  I went to the bathroom and then crawled back into the warm bed.  I checked my phone for the time, 6:45am.  Great, Sanibel won't be late for school.  I got dressed and went downstairs to make the kids their lunches.  I remembered today is mini-waffle day at the elementary school so I only had to make a lunch for Sanibel.  This is considered a small victory in my book.  Sad, I know.  I checked the clock.  It was now 7:20 and I still hadn't heard any footsteps or doors slamming from upstairs.  I called my daughter's name.  No answer.  I went up to her room.  The bed was slept in so she didn't fall asleep watching TV in the basement.  Who am I kidding?  She hasn't made the bed in weeks.  I went to wake up Pete, but he wasn't in bed either.  I guess he took her to school early.  I just hope he made her lunch.

I still had forty minutes before I had to wake the little ones.  Perfect time for a catnap.  I had the king size bed to myself which was a rare luxury in a family of six.  Usually by morning I have one child laying on my head, another one across my neck, and a third entangled in my legs.   By the time I actually dozed off, I really only slept for about ten minutes.  I did, however, have some creepy dreams.  I can't remember the specifics but I know I was being chased by some creature (or creatures) down a dark alley lined with overloaded dumpsters.  Sometimes rats would dart out causing me to almost fall over.  Yuck.

I got out of bed again and went to wake the three little ones.  They were not in their rooms.  Now this was getting strange.    I stood still and only realized then how silent everything was.  Not just the house.  It was silent outside, too.  Was the clock on my phone wrong?  No, it couldn't be because now the sun was up.  It was definitely morning.  Did I confuse the days?  Was it the weekend and Pete took the kids to church or something?  I haven't been going to mass lately.  Maybe he finally gave up asking me (Thank God!  ...uh oh, now I'm really going to hell).

I went back downstairs to check the computer.  I couldn't get online.  Ugh.  So annoying.  The radio was staticky too.  Well, I'll check the date on the newspaper.  Jeez, am I that far gone where I'm forgetting what day it is already?  Early Alzheimer's?   There was no paper on the front walk.  Of course not, Pete always takes the papers.  I decided to go for a run.   I'm due for a longish (over 8 miles) one so by the time I return, Pete and or the kids should be home.  Nothing clears the mind like a good long run.

I put on my sneakers and grabbed my sunglasses and watch from the hutch in the dining room.  There was a note under my watch that read, "Went to DC."  What the fartlek?!  That's so bizarre on so many levels, the least of which was the handwriting barely looked like Pete's.  The letters were more like Sanibel's chicken scrawl or like they had been written in haste.  I should call his cell phone which would be easy if I could find a house phone.  This is not unusual.  We have five cordless house phones, none of which can ever be found when necessary.  And I don't get cell service in the house.  Of course.

Fartlek it.  I'll just go for my run and worry about this weird shit when I get back.  I headed out.  It was a perfect fall morning.  The sun was out and the sky was blue.  The temperature was about 55F.  As I headed down Village Avenue I realized I hadn't seen one car on the road.  Oh well, better for me.  I don't have to worry about getting hit by an inattentive douche texting.  I checked my watch when I hit my first mile marker, 7:54.  Cool.  For almost seven months, I had been running this first mile between 8:05 and 8:20.  I decided to do some 100 meter strides to get some speed work in.  At the 3.5 mile mark I decided to go ahead on my longer route rather than make a turn to cut it short to an even eight.  I turned right on Grand Avenue.  This is a very busy commercial street filled with shopping centers, restaurants, offices, etc.  And still no cars driving up and down, just the ones parked and empty on the side of the road.  They almost looked abandoned.  There weren't even people walking.  I checked the time on my phone.  It was 11:40am.  What is going on?  As soon as I get home I need to check the radio or CNN.   This is getting ridiculous.  I circled back toward the house.  I made a turn onto North Forest so I could run past the baby's pre-school just to see whether or not there were classes going on.  The baby might even be there on the playground.  Maybe that DC note wasn't even for me.  Maybe...

I saw  some sort of commotion ahead of me.  A group of people.  Some moaning (ew).  Is this where everyone is?  As I got closer, I realized it was more than a commotion.  And I'm not even sure it's a group of people.  It's more like a herd of... something behind a gate being stabbed by what looks like a police officer, a little boy, and another guy.

I introduced myself in between stabs.  The father's name

is Rick and his son is Carl.  

Their friend is Daryl.  He has very stylish hair.

Not so home alone.

Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore...

To make a long story short (Walking Dead writers take note), I decided to join Rick, Carl, and Daryl and head to DC (Coincidentally, they're headed there as well from Atlanta... via New York which is totally out of the way, but... it's The Walking Dead after all) to look for the kids.  Rick is a hot former sheriff and his wife was eaten by some fat, bald zombie shuffler (or whatever it is they call them) so it works out for me since dummy Pete took off with the kids during a zombie saunterer apocalypse and "forgot" to wake me up.  Carl looks like a dweeb with his shaggy hairdo and his dad's sheriff hat, but he's a good shot and that I guess is more important.  And speaking of hair, Daryl's One Direction cut is pretty avant-garde for a hillbilly bad boy.  He seems pretty good with the cross-bow and has some interesting squirrel recipes (who knew squirrel tasted like chicken, except gamier...and nuttier).  And what do I bring to this motley crew?  Well, apparently I can run fast.  I did 8.42 miles in 1:07:11, a 7:59 pace.  I hadn't run that kind of pace in a training run longer than 4 miles since pre-Boston.  Running from zombies (because that's what they are dammit!)  apparently is a good speed workout.  

Two Weeks Notice

Week of October 5
   
     Sunday - 8 miles, 1:05:51, an 8:14 pace on my regular loop
     Wednesday - 8.77 miles, 1:12:07, an 8:13 pace.  I extended my 8 mile loop along Grand Avenue and Sunrise Highway.    A lot of sidewalk running because both roads are pretty busy, but it was a much needed change of scenery.  Also, plenty of bathrooms along the way, if when necessary.
     Thursday - 7.1 miles, not timed with jogger stroller.    This was the day I didn't lose my house key.
     Saturday - 6.87 miles, 55:41, an 8:07 pace.  Must not have been that exciting because I can't remember it.

     Total Miles - 30.7

Week of October 12

     Sunday - 6.6 miles at Bethpage State Park with my buddies, The Emerging Runner, The Petite Pacer, and our new member, D'Artagnan, aka Joe.  Our new friend is a triathlete and a pretty damned good one, at that.  It was a gorgeous morning and I couldn't ask for better company.  It had been a long time since we all ran together.  
     Wednesday - 6.94 miles, 56:57, an 8:13 pace at 5:15pm.  It began to rain at the end.  It felt great and the timing couldn't have been better.
     Thursday - 5.79 miles, 51:20, an 8:52 pace.  I never time myself with my stopwatch when I run with the jogger because I already know I'm much slower and who wants to be reminded of that anyway?  I did glance at the start and finish time (not exact) and my pace was around 8:50ish.

     Total Miles - 19.3  A low mileage week.  I will make it up this coming week.

This Week

     Today (Sunday) - 3.67 miles, 29:23, an 8:00 pace.  My plan was to run 7 or 8 miles with strides.  At the 3 mile mark, I had to go to the bathroom and that was the end of that...
     Stay Tuned...

Here we are with D'Artagnan.

Key

I ran 7 miles with the baby in the jogger stroller yesterday at 12:30pm.  The stroller is a black Baby Trend Expedition LX which is kind of funny because the car I drive is a black Expedition.  I got it (the stroller) in 2001 when my oldest was born.  It is awkward to push (I think most strollers are) and it veers to the right so I constantly have to adjust.  However, I should point out that we have acquired other jogger stroller brands, both double and single, since then, and the Expedition still outperforms all the others.

One of these is my car

and the other is

the jogger...

Each of my children has been pushed and bounced around in this stroller, whether they liked it or not.  Usually, they like it.  First, they will see me getting ready to leave for my run and beg to come along.  They like it for the first two miles, at some point they get bored and want to go home, then they eventually fall asleep.  It ends up being a win/win situation for everyone.

Yesterday was sunny and windy at 60 degrees.  I wore shorts and a long sleeve tech shirt and I wrapped the baby in a blanket (The baby is 3 years old, by the way.  I will always refer to her as the baby, even in 30 years.  That's just how it is).  I brought along the purple coiled key chain.  The coil was too stretched out to fit on my wrist so I placed it in the tray at the top of the stroller.  I chose a route where I could run safely in the streets for most of the run.  There was about a mile of sidewalk running.  The baby complained of the bumps at the beginning, but by mile 4 she was well on her way to Dreamland.

I got home and opened the front storm door only to discover that my key was no longer in the tray.  FUUUCK!  I checked to see if it slipped  behind the baby, but it was nowhere to be found.  Two of my neighbors have copies of the house keys for emergencies (This would be an emergency in my book).  One neighbor was at work so we walked down to the other's house.  Her car was in the driveway!  Yay!  No answer at the door.  Boo.  I started retracing my steps while trying to remember the last time I glanced and saw the key in the tray.  As I was heading down Hempstead Avenue, I rationalized that retracing 7 miles again was not only unrealistic but also the last thing I wanted to do at that moment.  I'll just run the same route tomorrow and hopefully find the key along the way.  No one's going to take a random key they find in the middle of the street, right?  I wondered if I could now break into the house?  Of course, I locked the first floor windows the night before because Pete's away (And of course, Pete's away so he won't be any help).  Did I skip a window?  Could I climb up to a window easily?  Will someone call the police when they see me breaking into my house?  Are there going to be spiderwebs in the bushes?  Ugh!  As I walked back onto my block, I saw a new car in my neighbor's driveway that wasn't there before I left!  Hooray!  She was home and gave me the key.  I made it back into the house!  I dragged the stroller inside and let the baby continued to sleep for another half hour.

The baby woke up and we went about our business for the rest of the day.  In the evening, as I was picking up toys in the living room, what did I happen to find?  Yep, you guessed it.  The key was on the floor.  It must have been in the stroller and fallen out when I took the baby out.  Welcome to my world.

At least I didn't break any windows, right?

Help Wanted

Dear Technology Geek Wizard,

I am writing you for some advice for my "friend" friend who is too embarrassed to write herself himself.  I have (oops) He has been running for decades, starting as a child on the CYO track team to multiple marathons and shorter distance races as an adult.  As experienced as he is in running, he is completely inexperienced with most of the gadgets and accessories out there.  He is what you would call cheap a purist.  He does not have any kind of GPS device to track his routes, mileage, and paces.  This is kind of odd for someone who is always tracking his routes, mileage, and paces.  Instead of a Garmin, he times his runs with his Casio wristwatch, then maps them out on the computer when he gets home.  Although this method may have a couple of advantages (ex., ability to estimate miles just from the clock; pause timing easily for bathroom breaks -- this advantage should never be underestimated; not being mentally influenced by the constant reminder of the GPS), it also has its disadvantages (the extra time on the computer after each run; some routes are not possible to track online; my his psychic odometer is not foolproof; and maybe he just wants a cool, new gadget dammit!).

So...this person is now ready to catch up with the rest of the 21st century runners and invest in a Garmin or a Garmin-like device.  What do you suggest for a technologically inept, deficient, simple unadulterated newbie?  Nothing too complicated.  Just the basics to help with mileage, pace, and heart rate.

Thank you for any kind of input.

Yours truly,

"A Concerned Friend"
Mata Hari

The

"purist runner".

(courtesy of dreamstime.com)

Weekly Recap 9/29/14 - 10/5/14

Monday:  6 miles at 5:30pm just before the rain storm.

Wednesday:  8 glorious miles on my regular loop in 1:07:10, an 8:24 pace.

Friday: 6.6 miles, two loops around the reservoir at Hempstead Lake Park in 55:10, an 8:22 pace

Sunday: 8 mile loop in 1:05:51, an 8:14 pace

TOTAL:  28.6 miles

It's marathon season and I love reading everybody's race reports.  Great motivation and inspiration!  I can't wait to start planning my next one!

2015: A Race Odyssey

Wow, I had a great run today!  It feels like forever since I felt this good throughout an entire run.  The weather was a cool, overcast 65 degrees a little after noon.  I ran my local 8 mile loop which I hadn't done since...April (Wow!  Cray cray!)?!  There were no dead animals on the road (Yes, this is what I worry about during some of my runs, especially in spring and autumn when the squirrels seem to be fatter and slower), there was no pressure for me to return home immediately, and I even ran into a racing buddy (Hi Liz!).  It also helped that I had some of Pete's famous linguini alle vongole for dinner last night.  Perfect pre-run meal.  I wasn't particularly fast, but I enjoyed every step.  This was exactly the type of workout I needed to get my arse back in gear.

Speaking of getting back in gear...  I'm thinking ahead to my marathon for 2015.  When I checked the calendar, I discovered that the New York City Marathon falls on my birthday, November 1st, All Saints Day (A shout out to all my fellow saints out there!  What's up, holy people?) .  What a perfect day to finally run this race!  Of course, I would enter through the lottery again and my chances are still pretty slim, but you got to be in it to win it, right?

So I thought my mind was made up about this until I just happened to come across Short, Round, & Fast's recent blog post about running the St. George Marathon  this weekend in Utah on almost no training.  I think he'll do great because he has already run it a few times in the past and he's fast.  The fact that he didn't really train?  Well, it might hurt towards the end.  Maybe a lot.  I remember hearing about this race on the Runner's World message boards a while back.  It made an impression because one, the poster said this was one of the faster races in the country.  It is basically down hill.  Like a lot.  Like 2,500 feet.  And two, it is in Utah.  Right after college, a girlfriend and I drove across country via Route 80 (A shout out to all the corn fields out there!  What's up, kernel Sanders?!  I know you can hear me 'cause you're all ears...  okay, I'll stop).  Every state we drove through was beautiful and unique (yes, even Iowa), but Colorado and Utah were my favorites.  Fresh air, clean cities, friendly people, and some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world.  Having an opportunity to run a marathon in one of these places would be a dream.  I checked out the web site and there also is a lottery which doesn't open until the spring.   The best part about possibly doing St. George is my friend, The Petite Pacer, would like to do it with me as her first ever marathon!   I know, awesome!

What about New York City, Aimée?  Is the A.D.D. that bad?  Yes, I was getting to that.  So if finances and logistics work out, I will apply to St. George as my A goal.  If finances are better than expected, I will also apply to NYC (This race ain't cheap, you know).  I hope I get into at least one of them.  The marathon gods can't hate me that much.  And if I get into both?  October is going to be an interesting month.  Bring it!

From the St. George Marathon home page.

Voted:  Most organized race.

I guess that's important.

NYC Marathon,

probably less organized.

8 miles in 1:07:10, an 8:24 pace.

What Not To Wear

Knowing how to dress for a run in certain kinds of weather can be daunting.  I was going to go out this rainy 63 degree afternoon wearing this because I just LOVE the sleeves and thought they doubled as arm warmers:

They are neither warm nor warmers.  I wore this instead:

Even better.  You can't go wrong with an official long sleeve Boston Marathon race shirt.

4 miles in 31:35, a 7:54 pace

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

My Cow Harbor Race review was my first post since June 23, about three months.  I had the best intentions of keeping up  with the blog this summer, however as the legendary songwriter Vanilla J. Ice once said, "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." Yep, I'm pretty sure it was the Artist Formerly Known As Robert Van Winkle who said it, not that other guy from that British boy band...One Direction.

There were some weeks this summer when I ran just one day and some when I ran five, but my weekly mileage never exceeded 28 and usually averaged about 15.  This was a huge drop from my 40+mpw minimum base I had maintained for two years.  There really wasn't much to write about as far as my running was concerned.  As far as my life was concerned, I did go to some pretty cool places.  For starters, I brought my two oldest children to Europe, while their father stayed home with the two youngest (Yeah, I know).  

We flew SAS (which I totally would fly again) to Rome with a 24 layover in Copenhagen on the way there and an overnight in Stockholm on the way home.  We stayed at the CabInn in Denmark which was walking distance from both the main train station and Tivoli Gardens.  Our triple room was tiny despite the name, but clean with a private bathroom.   There was no time to go for a run and I was in no mood due to jet lag.

Our view from the CabInn in Copenhagen

Our beautiful hotel in Rome, the Visconti Palace, had a gym which is key if you want to run when traveling solo with children.  We were only a couple of blocks from the Tiber River where I saw many runners along its banks, but as much as I would have liked to, I did not join them.  My oldest daughter was not too keen on running along the river and my son would not be able to run more than a couple of miles.  I was not comfortable leaving them alone in the hotel in a foreign country.  We ended up using the hotel gym every night.  We usually were the only ones in there.  My daughter loved the one elliptical machine which was fine because I despise it, and my son and I took turns on the treadmill.  It is a well known fact that treadmills are not fun.  They are even less fun in a country with the metric system.  I have run five miles on a treadmill more times than I can count.  I have even run twelve miles on the treadmill during my marathon training.  But running 8.04 kilometers on a treadmill is absolutely the worst!  Whenever you run on a treadmill, it's a mindfuck.    You play these games in your head while you are constantly looking at the dashboard counting down or up on the clock or the distance or the pace.  To do this in kilometers is downright torture.  My saving grace was spending that time with the kids.  Every day they looked forward to going to the gym after sightseeing.  It was our time to unwind and have fun.  I loved it and hated it simultaneously.

Our "hotel" in Stockholm was called Jumbo Stay.  It is actually a jumbo jet converted into a hostel.  We arrived in Stockholm at 10pm and had to fly out the next morning.  Jumbo Stay made the most sense for a layover since you literally did not have to leave the airport!  The kids and I loved this hotel.   Technically, it is a hostel.  There is a communal bathroom, but it was so clean I did not mind walking in there barefoot (That's right!  BAREfoot!  You have to take off your shoes before entering the plane and leave them at the door!).  The only downside was the lack of a fitness center, but really, there was no time to work out.

Our room at Jumbo Stay 

in Stockholm

You can walk out on the wing for a late night cocktail 

or morning coffee.

My next vacation was less than a week after arriving home from Europe.  We spent three nights camping in Vineyard Haven on Martha's Vineyard and a week in a rental house (a remote converted barn on a compound) on Chappaquiddick.  The Vineyard is a runner's paradise.  There are bicycle paths throughout the island making running safe and convenient.  There is a large, dedicated running community on the island.  Our friend, Dana is one of the veterans.  I ran exactly a 10k from the campsite to Dana's house one day.  The next day I met up with his friends and ran 6 easy miles along the water in Oak Beach.

During the time on Chappy, I explored the island either on foot or bicycle with the kids.  There are only two paved roads on Chappaquiddick, the rest are dirt.  This was great for my legs when running, however it totally sucked on the bike, particularly when there was an occupant in the baby seat.  Chappy is nice for those who don't mind isolation.  If you like restaurants, shopping, and occasional conversation with people who you're not related to, stick to the Vineyard.

The dirt road from our barn, 

aka The Middle of Nowhere,

 to the rest of Chappy

I came back to reality (oh, there goes gravity!)  the week before Labor Day weekend just in time for back-to-school shopping.  Then it was back to school.  And now back to our regularly scheduled program - She Is Out Running...Again

Great Cow Harbor Race Review

Great Cow Harbor Race Recap

I woke up at 6am, put on my awesome Boston Strong t-shirt (Courtesy of The Emerging Runner.), popped an ibuprofen (Mistake numero uno...) for my calcified shoulder that doesn't seem to be getting better, and two generic Imodiums (Uh-huh!), chugged a glass of orange juice, and packed three sleeping children into the car (Child #1 stayed home because...she's twelve).  We left the house by 7 and arrived at the Laurel Avenue School in Northport by 7:40.  I found The Petite Pacer (TPP) easily and she handed me my bib that she graciously picked up the night before.  We had over 45 minutes to kill before the start so we went inside the school to look for some pre-race water.  I found the most awesome water fountain in the history of water fountains (Cold as though it had a direct line to the peak of Mount Everest.  Okay, slight exaggeration, but man, did it hit the spot!).  We ran into Mr. & Mrs, Freighbor which is always a treat.  Mrs. Freighbor is training for the New York City Marathon and Mr. Freighbor is a trooper!  We also met up with our friend Leah whose bib TPP also picked up.  (I'm not sure what happened to the indentation in this paragraph, but I can't fix it.  I tried.)

We headed to the start and waited on line for the porta potties.  I was confident (Generic Imodiums!) I didn't have to go, but I wanted to chit chat with my buds for a bit.  While talking shop, I realized I didn't have my Casio watch (Mistake numero due...).  I would have to rely on Map My Run on my phone to keep track of my progress.  By 8:25, we headed to our corrals.  Because of the large amount of participants (4,300), there is a staggered start.  My bib number began with the number 4 so that meant I would be starting 4 minutes after the gun went off.  

Today was the third time I ran Cow Harbor.  It is a prestigious 10k ranked among the top races in the country.  The course leads you along the scenic, hilly north shore coast of Long Island.   It is well organized with plenty of crowd support.  The first time I ran Cow Harbor was in 2004 during Hurricane Ivan.  That race was almost a biathlon because you could practically swim to the finish line.  The water was knee deep, no joke.  My second Cow Harbor was in 2012 just a couple of weeks before the Baltimore Marathon.  After months of preparation, I was pretty happy with my time of 49:11, over four minutes faster than the previous attempt.  This time around, I wasn't expecting much.  Since the Boston Marathon, I have been running anywhere from a measly six to twenty miles per week.  This is half as much as the base I had been maintaining since the beginning of 2012.  I just wanted to finish Cow Harbor, preferably without walking and ideally under fifty minutes.  

The first mile (7:48 pace) of the race is great mainly because it is mostly downhill.  As I was taking it easy down the steep Scudder Avenue, Mr. Bozo-I'm-Acting-Like-I've-Never-Run-A-Race-Before flies through the crowd at full speed, arms flailing and all.  I shook my head and quietly wondered to myself at what point I would be seeing his dumb ass doing the walk-of-shame.  Turns out it would be James Street, mile two (7:55 pace).  James Street is the infamous hill in this race with an almost 200 foot ascent.  Steep.  I find the best way to tackle this hill is to just keep moving, if you can.  I make it a point to never walk this early.    The next couple of miles are surprisingly easy peasy.  Then comes the never ending Waterside Road mile.  It is a slight incline, but it feels like it will never end (see previous sentence).  A few people were shouting, "Boston Strong!" which helped me along tremendously.  It finally does end when we make a right at Pumpernickel's Restaurant onto Main Street.  There is a small uphill which basically does me in temporarily.  When I reached the top, I ran out of steam and decided to walk for a little bit ("This is a fun run", "This is a fun run," I rationalized to myself.  I knew a PR was not happening from the get-go).   I saw a sign that read, "It's all downhill from here!" and then I was off again.  The sign did not lie.  Map My Run told me I hit mile 6 in 47:xx which was totally a pleasant surprise since I would have sworn I was in the 50s.  By this time, my stomach and throat were feeling the acid effects of the ibuprofen.  I kept it together until the end.  Once I crossed the finish line, I threw up a little (It happens!).  My official time is 49:37, top 10% in my age group, and top 18% overall.  I hit two out of my three goals which was just dandy for me.

Coming down Main Street

Pete and the kids were waiting at the finish.  We grabbed our freebies (Delicious flavored water, bagels, peanut butter crackers, bananas, watermelon, and juice bags) at the post-race party and met up with TPP and Leah again.  I missed the Freighbors, but saw them once I got home.  

To sum up, I had a great time and will definitely run this again.  The course, the crowds, and the organization make it worthwhile.  Moo!

Leah, TPP, and She Is Back 

Postscript:  I know I have been MIA in both my running and posting.  I have no excuses, but I hope you'll excuse me anyway.