Rachel's Marathon Blog

runner's world

2005-09-24T07:13:00.000-05:00

Okay, so maybe I will post just a little bit, even if I'm not quite back up to form yet. Like I said, lots of cross training, not a whole lot of running. I decided I'm going to try to ease the running back in and if I feel any IT band issues, I'm going to meet up with the university trainer where I work, as per David's suggestion. Maybe now that I'm doing lots of cross training classes-- strength, abs, pilates, etc-- those will help build up those muscles that cause problems with the IT band.

Here was my dilemma yesterday: I had decided I would run 4 miles between my house and the university, then shower and meet some friends at five for drinks and a movie. But we were still getting intermittent rain bands from Rita (that storm is HUGE!), and it was also 90 degrees, so I decided to drive to the university. I had left my gym bag in my husband's car, so after picking that up I only had thirty minutes to do a workout. It was pouring rain and there was an empty treadmill in the gym.

I really wanted to run. The iPod was charged and a playlist was ready with some reggaeton and songs by Shakira and M.I.A., this new Sri Lankan-hip-hop sensation from Britain. In the old days I would have done a hard three miles with a few hills thrown in, followed by a few sit ups, then off to the showers and to meet my friends. But I'm trying to make different choices now because I realize how fragile some of these injuries are-- they just come out of nowhere and sideline you completely. So I did two miles, followed by ten minutes of stretching and strength work. Boring as hell, but I think this is what I have to do. After last January's marathon, gone are the days when I could just tear out for a run without stretching much and have no problems.

So, if you have thirty minutes only to exercise, don't fill it just with running-- it might save you in the long run to do the stretches and strength work as well...

still hibernating...

2005-09-19T14:32:00.000-05:00

I am taking a break from blogging about running... because running without IT band problems has become a problem lately. Since I came back from six weeks overseas, I thought that a nice break would help, and I eased into it again, first running one mile, then two, then up to three, but as soon as I start increasing the mileage (no more than 10% a week, believe me), the illiotibial pain comes back. So I'm doing a lot of cross training right now and keeping the mileage very, very low. Hopefully if I build up my strength again the IT problems will eventually go away.

Running is also hard for me in the summer. I'm a wimp. It's still the hot season down here in Florida, with plus 90 degree temps every day and no relief in sight except that provided by the slightly cooler weather that seems to come with hurricanes. And there, slightly cooler is relative-- we had a week of temps in the mid-80s with Ophelia, which dumped a little rain on us but not much else.

Until I start to feel like a runner again, I'm lurking on other RBF blogs and occasionally commenting... but if you like food, check out my other site at:

www.aninvitationtothebarbecue.blogspot.com

summer hibernation

2005-05-28T14:14:00.000-05:00

I'm leaving tomorrow for Morocco. It's probably a good thing, too, because I've had serious motivation issues lately with running. I had so much energy and adrenaline getting me through my first year at a full-time teaching job, taking me through my first marathon, two half marathons, long runs on the weekend, etc, and with the onset of the Florida summer heat (Note to David: how do you deal?) and the ending of the school year, I am just exhausted, completely wiped out. I still make myself go running every other day, but the runs are seldom of high quality. I've temporarily lost that drive that made me want to bounce out of bed in the morning and hit the pavement. Sometimes I even put on my running clothes early in the day only to keep them on all day because I can't motivate to get out the door until the last possible instant. The only good thing I can say about my runs is that I've managed to make 4-milers a regular part of my "bare minimum" physical activity-- which used to be just a three miler every other day. I haven't been motivated to lift weights or do any ab work (ahh, how i miss power abs), and I can already see the muscle loss.

I just can't be a drill sergeant on myself year-round, and I'm okay with that. I tend to have cycles of motivation with everything in my life-- periods where I'm reading and writing prolifically, periods where I can do nothing but watch TV, periods where I'm cooking like I'm on audition for Food Network, and times where I can barely throw together a taco dinner kit. I have to fight that Protestant work-ethic guilt, but I try... Cycles of motivation--do you other RBF'ers have similar issues?

So, not sure about whether I'll update while I'm gone, but I'll be back, and looking forward to catching up with the rest of you... I'm just going into some Florida summer-induced hibernation...

day at the beach

2005-05-21T11:54:00.000-05:00

day at the beach
Originally uploaded by rachelita2.

One week until I leave for an extended trip... to Morocco. I've been going to Morocco ever since a study abroad program got me hooked in college more than ten years ago. I went to grad school to study Morocco further, and lived there for two years while doing my fieldwork. I met my husband there, on an earlier visit. Now we have his family to visit, and I have some research to do-- so my trip is going to be equal parts work and pleasure.

When I lived there from 2001-02, running was a bit of a challenge. We didn't live in one of the more cosmopolitan cities (Rabat or Casablanca), where the sight of a female jogger would not be out of the ordinary. There was one place in the city of Fes to run, an abandoned race track for horses, and I had to get there very early, say, 6 a.m., when the heart patients who'd been told by their doctors to exercise were walking around. Any later than seven and the unemployed stoners would already be up in the bleachers, and I might have some unwelcome company on my run, some guy trying to pick me up.

Morocco is not a country where most of the women are veiled. On the contrary, a visitor would see just as many women in jeans or short skirts as women wearing headscarved. You can see from this picture a typical day at a very crowded beach-- where women are in bathing suits just like they would be here. Women and men now attend college in equal numbers, and women are a significant presence in the workforce.

Yet still, there's something about running that women just don't seem to do in equal numbers as the men, which is too bad, because as you know, some of the best runners in the world are Moroccan. So sometimes I'd get tired of fighting off the men who thought I was out to get picked up (wearing sweatpants even in the summer, and modest t-shirts) and I joined an exercise club, where I could run on the treadmill to my heart's content. There were lots of exercise clubs in Fes, but the newest sensation when I lived there was American Steel Fitness. The owners were Moroccan-American, and they'd imported all their equipment from the US at great cost. (The funny thing was that many of the female members didn't want to use the weight machines because they were convinced they'd get big muscles like a man, no matter what they were told). There were aerobics classes, too, although for the most part, they were never as tough as exercise classes are in the US. I had a lot of fun at that club, though, so I plan to check it out when I go back and see how it's doing.

Unfortunately, I may not feel like braving the harassment to get much running done, unless I can convince my husband (who has knee issues) to go with me. I may take a lot of walks with my mother-in-law. But my running is going to be winding down considerably for the summer now. Maybe that's a good thing-- give everything time to heal, and while all of you Northerners are enjoying your full running schedules, I'll live vicariously through you. I'll try to report back whenever possible, although I may be doing more cooking and eatingthan running for awhile...

casbah

2005-05-21T11:45:00.000-05:00

casbah
Originally uploaded by rachelita2.

end of the year

2005-05-10T13:06:00.000-05:00

The school year is finally over. I gave my last exam yesterday, and although I have a mountain of papers and exams to grade, the end is in sight, the students are headed home, and things are winding down. I saw off my parents and my mother-in-law this morning, then went for a three-mile run in the late morning heat, admiring landscapes and making plans for mine. (I have been in Florida exactly a year today, and I can't get over how flowers bloom here year-round-- bougainvillea, Mexican heather, lantana, plumbago. I have planted one of each but now want a yard full-- a riot of color). I went grocery shopping, bought some hummus spread, chicken legs to marinate in a tandoori yogurt sauce recipe I found in the latest issue of Food & Wine, and a six pack of Sam Adams. Now I'm set to sit back on the porch and start grading.

I did withdraw my name from the New York marathon lottery, and I felt okay about that decision. Thanks for the supportive comments. My running partner called last night and asked if I wanted to run the Marine Corps marathon with her in October, and although the prospect of having a buddy to train with sounded tempting, I think I would still have to decline. I'm not ready to do another marathon just yet, and I'm also not totally convinced that I'm built for them. Injury-wise, I fear that training for another might put me out of commission for running entirely-- there are still some lingering problems that I didn't have before I started training, and I blame the bi-weekly 16, 18 and 20-milers... I'm going to plan a few half marathons sometime in the winter-- Miami? Tampa again? Definitely Orlando... That will give me the thrill of training with out the agony of de-feet. Ha, ha...

Run for the trees

2005-05-04T13:47:00.000-05:00

tree on house
Originally uploaded by rachelita2.

I ran a 5K race this past weekend with a really cool theme-- adding more trees to the environment, which is especially welcome this year since we lost so many with the three hurricanes that hit us last fall (witness the giant laurel oak that fell on top of our house). Every participant in this race gets a tree-- I convinced my friend Amy to run and she gave me hers, so I wound up with a baby cypress tree and a baby live oak, both of which I planted in my yard, where a gaping hole remains from the aforementioned laurel oak.

I hadn't run a 5K since last summer, and my time ended up being 25:42. I never got the chance to do any speedwork due to my nagging IT band issues, but I wasn't upset about it. The race was still fun. I saw one of my Team In Training buddies, an extremely fast man in the 50-54 age group who ran his race in just under 20 minutes and just took up running in the last year. (Don't you hate people like that?!)

The humidity was already pretty intense at 7:30 in the morning. I ran my first mile too fast-- 7:56. I knew I couldn't keep up that pace, especially without really training. The second mile I was having some breathing cramps, which scared me for a few minutes, but I slowed down and they went away. The last mile went through some nature preserve that is only open one day of the year for this race. I was excited for the race to be finished so I could head back to the starting point to collect my trees.

Having run several different types of races now, I have concluded that I really prefer the medium distances. 10K's and half marathons are great because you have to learn to pace yourself, and they go on for long enough that you get to appreciate the scenery. I have a harder time appreciating the scenery with 5K's, when I feel like I'm sprinting and I don't really get into any sort of rhythm. I suppose I could train for one and try to master it-- and maybe some new goal setting is overdue since I've decided I don't want to run another marathon anytime soon-- but in terms of form I really just like the longer races.

I tried to take photos of my baby trees, but they're so small they blend in with all the other greenery. Great mementos, though, and the coolest race souvenirs I have received so far.

afternoon running

2005-04-29T07:10:00.000-05:00

I almost always run in the mornings before work, usually around 7 a.m. At that hour in Central Florida, it's still cool, all the bougainvillea, plumbago and other exotic flowers that seem to bloom year round are covered with dew, and I always feel like I'm starting my day off right. Yesterday I was too tired to get up early, so I decided to run after work.

Around 5 pm these days, temperatures are still in the low 80s, but the humidity has not yet kicked in (it will soon-- then no more afternoon running). I changed in my office and turned on the iPod and the Garmin Forerunner. (A side note-- I've had the Garmin for four months now. The battery only fully charges to 5 hours. What's up with that? It started out with 13 hours.) I did my few minutes of walking and stretching and hit the road, taking a new loop all the way through downtown Winter Park, an upscale shopping and restaurant district, through a neighborhood of multi-million dollar mansions, then back to the campus. 4 miles.

The afternoon run felt harder than usual. The temperatures were getting to me a little bit, and I had a stitch in my side and stomach cramps-- my first thought is always, what if I have an attack of appendicitis in the middle of nowhere? The stitch went away after awhile, but the smell from all the cars at rush hour didn't make the best air for breathing. I was pleased, however, to see that running at 5 o'clock in Central Florida does wonders for one's tan. I can't believe how strong the sun is here.

When Runner's World printed articles during the winter about running in the cold, I was grateful I didn't have to think about that. I probably will have to get used to running in the heat, though, without getting heatstroke (which has happened to me before). As your northern race calendars start to fill up with spring and summer races, our season here is starting to wind down. Last year I ran a brutal 5K on the 4th of July, when the temps hovered at 90 by 8 a.m.

I suddenly don't want to run the New York Marathon anymore. I registered for the lottery, but the numbers aren't drawn until June so I'm wondering if I can withdraw. Marathons require so much training, and the thought of dealing with all these little injuries that spring up from nowhere and doing 14-milers in August just doesn't appeal to me right now. I may not be cut out for marathons-- I do enjoy half marathons; I know that for sure-- but the daunting prospect of training for another full one is, at the moment, making me think it might take the love of running out of me entirely. Does this make me a wimp?

chaos

2005-04-25T13:33:00.000-05:00

It is that time of the year when students who have made nothing but C's all semester come to my office asking what they need to do to make an A for the class (uh, score 137% on your final?). It is a time for begging, wheedling, threatening ("I'm going to lose my scholarship if you don't give me an A!"), for tearful entreaties ("I've been unable to afford the books-- that's why I've read nothing this whole semester"), for various other unpleasantries. Outside of work, we had to take my mother-in-law to the emergency room for heart attack symptoms/blood pressure of 195/116. I spent almost 24 hours straight in the hospital and came out of it feeling shaken but incredibly grateful to have my own health.

The week was consumed with thinking about death-- at school where we did a blood/bone marrow drive in memory of Sandy, and at the hospital where I saw everything that is wrong with the American medical system through several hours spent in the Emergency Room. The only light moment came from the ER receptionist who, when calling out patient names, occasionally threw in a fake patient to see if anyone would laugh. ("Manuel Noriega? Manuel?") When we finally got a room, we were in the cardio-pulmonary ward, where some patients appeared to be doing quite poorly. At one point the woman sharing our room got a call from the hospital administration reminding her that she owed $26,000 in hospital bills (from a four night stay) and asking how she planned to pay for it. Apparently this was a mistake, and administrators came to her room to apologize for the phone call, but still. My mother-in-law is now fine but needs to be on blood pressure medication and may be in the early stages of diabetes. The hospital was probably a thousand times more frightening for her, as she's visiting from overseas and speaks no English. Now I think she wants to go home.

Still running, but not feeling much like blogging about it these days. Did a long run of 8 miles this weekend and last-- last weekend with no IT pain, this weekend with some. Hopefully blogging (and reading your blogs!) will improve after school calms down (last week of classes!) and after I run a little 5K this upcoming weekend where the prize is a baby tree. (Everyone entering gets a prize.) I'm going to try not to run too fast. My competitive instinct always kicks in, but this time, maybe I mean it. Too many issues with this nagging IT band-- and if I'm smart, I'll slow down or it'll never get better. Sigh.

the culprit

2005-04-11T11:25:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the replies to my last post... I am thinking that probably kickboxing with Carlos was the culprit behind the resurgence of IT Band syndrome. (I am paying the price for my transgressions...) Although fun, kickboxing seems to involve slightly jarring hip movements, in addition to the impact. Oh well-- I have to admit that two classes in a row does seem a little excessive. I'll go back to my one-hour fix of Power Abs tomorrow.

A houseguest who is staying with us right now wanted to go for a run this morning, so we went out for a thirty minute jog. She runs much slower than I do, but that's probably what I need at the moment, as I wore my IT-band support and didn't have any problems. I'll try to lay off running again until Wednesday, and also follow the advice of this month's Runner's World-- varying your terrain.

illiotibial band syndrome

2005-04-09T17:18:00.000-05:00

Blogger keeps eating my posts... and refusing to let me comment on other people's posts. Anyone else have this problem?

I went out this morning intending to go for an 8 or 9 mile run. The weather was beautiful-- sunny, but not too hot. Lots of stress lately has kept me really looking forward to my runs. At mile 5, the side of my knee started to ache-- a telltale sign that the IT band was acting up. By mile 6.3 I had to stop running completely. Where did this come from? I thought it was all healed up. I'd dropped back drastically on the mileage, cross-trained a lot, and even had a 7 mile run last Saturday that didn't hurt at all. The IT band hasn't really bothered me in weeks. The only differences this week were a kickboxing class and a tiny bit of speedwork. Could that have aggravated it?

The IT band cast a cloud over the rest of my day. I had to spend a few hours at work-- attending a ceremony for the "installation" our college's new president. (National presidents get inaugurated; college presidents get installed like new washing machines.) Standing up in sandals with a slight heel for thirty minutes, I started to feel it again. Maybe I should have kept up with the strengthening exercises, but they're just so time consuming. Injury is disheartening, especially since I never used to have problems until marathon training. What to do, what to do?

water running

2005-04-02T16:53:00.000-05:00

I had a great run this morning. Although I was presenting a paper at 10 a.m. at a conference that just happened to be local, I met my running partner for a seven miler at seven a.m. The weather was breezy and humid, with intermittent rain, but once we started running, the rain felt great. A big group of serious-looking early bird runners were just coming in at seven as we were starting. No IT band pain the whole way, and Susan and I just talked and caught up with what has been going on in both our lives over the past few weeks.

Yesterday the weather was so beautiful here I decided to go to the swimming pool at the college where I teach. The pool is outside and on a lake, one of the features that makes the college look like a country club. There are almost always students lying out there, but apparently faculty and staff only show up for serious lap swims early in the morning and late afternoon. Because for my whole life I've always looked younger than I am (which is only just now, at age thirty, starting to become a good thing, although it hasn't been in the past, when I've wanted people to take me seriously), I put on shades and a bikini, grabbed a lawn chair, and went incognito at the pool. I saw none of my students there, so I think I pulled it off.

I tried water running (I think)... would that be like treading water? I can't touch the ground anywhere in the pool. Drama occurred when someone spotted an alligator outside the fenced-in pool, down by the lake. I also eavesdropped on some interesting student conversations ("All my father cares about is making money. Forget the family; he'd rather have the nice house and the Jaguar. That's all men care about is money."). Most interesting was a group of students who were playing April Fools' jokes on their parents by calling them on speakerphone and announcing that the student had been arrested for possession of marijuana. Not a joke I would want to hear if I were a parent. I overheard several complete meltdowns by parents (and one eighty year old grandmother, who threatened to have a heart attack), which the girls playing the joke seemed to find endlessly amusing.

I am looking forward to summer, when the pool will be mine, all mine!

Easter run

2005-03-27T17:14:00.000-05:00

The statistics: 7 miles. Daytime high: 86 degrees. Post run: One hour of catching rays in my back yard, sunlight filtering through the trees. Reading a good book.

I was up early this morning anyway, so I drove to the West Orange trail, 24 miles away, where I used to train for the marathon with Team In Training. I hadn't been there since January. Each week I still get emails that my old teammates are out there running, but I've either been on long runs with my running partner or else otherwise occupied/injured.

The trail is pretty long-- I'm not sure how far it extends, but Central Florida is doing a good job trying to build lots of bike paths and running paths for people. Although the trail is paved, the scenery is incredibly beautiful -- live oaks draped with moss, orange groves, horse pastures, old shacks, lumber mills, etc. It's nice to go out of the way for a long run there.

I showed up at 7 a.m. thinking my Team In Training friends would be at the usual meeting spot. The parking lot was deserted, save for two cyclists-- I knew it was Easter, but I was thinking my comrades would be inspired by "Let Nature be your church" or similar Emersonian running sentiments. But I'd made a mistake-- they were there yesterday.

On the bathroom doors (locked), I saw a sign from the Parks department saying there had been a lot of cars broken into lately. I got creeped out again and decided to leave. I wavered, got mad at myself, and then decided to park at a church up the street. Soon it would be filled with people, and as for the trails, I decided to take my chances.

The run was beautiful. I saw a lot of cyclists and a few stumbling runners who may have been on a twenty miler-- they looked like they had been to the wars and back. Running at West Orange brought back a lot of memories from my training, especially since the conversation always drifted around to leukemia, and I can remember how I'd think of my friend Sandy while I was running, how I was convinced she was going to be fine.

I learned so much through the whole training experience; it was a pretty powerful and intense experience. I passed the parking lot where Susan and I high-fived each other after completing a twenty-miler. Today I paced myself-- slightly under ten minute miles and no hurt IT band the whole run. I was always so stubborn during the long runs, refusing to believe that over such long distances the body inevitably slows down, or that speed would make me more susceptible to injury. I learned a lot about myself-- about endurance, and the body's limitations. Several months of training for one rite of passage, gaining weight that was definitely not muscle, and I wondered what had taken over my body that I was in better shape than ever but weighed more than I ever had in my life.

In retrospect, the process of training was such a significant part of the actual marathon-- the process actually meant more to me, including raising the money for leukemia research, which wasn't as hard to do as I thought. The actual marathon, when it came, was a crazy, disjointed experience. The heat, the pain, the sun, the exhaustion, the weird herd of runners (20,000 strong) surrounding me who looked as bad as I felt, smiling Disney characters popping out at unexpected times, almost like a bizarre hallucination brought on by the ridiculous test I was subjecting myself to.

But what an amazing experience marathon training was overall. Difficult and rewarding and overwhelming like life itself is. And I still have nights where I wake up at odd times thinking about Sandy. I don't ever want to forget her.

falling behind

2005-03-26T16:24:00.000-05:00

I've fallen behind in my blog reading...

After having a great spring break, I seem to have fallen behind in everything. I've been overwhelmed with the amount of work I've had to do since I got back. In some ways, being a professor is great because my schedule is so flexible-- if I want to come home at 2:00 on an afternoon when I'm not teaching, I can, and if I want to go for a run at 9 in the morning, I can. But what people don't see is the many, many hours of labor that fall outside the 9-5 hours, and it is never a job you can just leave at the office. So it's been one of those weeks where I was up until eleven at night writing tests for students to take the next morning, catching up on the reading for the class I was to teach the next day, writing an evaluation of myself for my first year of teaching, preparing a conference paper, blah blah blah. This is to say nothing of how cranky this all makes me.

Not interesting. But I apologize for missing out on RBF updates, and I hope I can catch up soon...

I'm back to my lifelong running pattern of running 3 miles every other day, which my body seems to like, but which I'm not satisfied with, especially since marathon training had me feeling like a badass on my regular 12-mile jaunts. But there's been the nagging IT-band injury, which has gotten better since I decreased my mileage. I'm going to go for a long run tomorrow, and hopefully build up my endurance again. And one thing I did not neglect this week was Power Abs with Carlos. The class was on a Tuesday, but the abs were still aching on Friday, thus appealing to my more masochistic tendencies...

For those of you interested in food and cooking, I've restarted a food blog I kept for about two years. You can check it out here.

Hope to catch up with all of you soon...

the end of Spring Break

2005-03-21T21:45:00.000-05:00

Back from the nation's capital... and visiting family in the Carolinas. When I travel I constantly have to remind myself that a vacation isn't reality. It's hard, because I always covet where other people live and imagine how much better my life would be if I lived there too. But once you're living there (wherever there is) on an everyday basis, all the hassles of everyday life take away the novelty. Such is life.

While in DC, I ate and ate and ate and ate some more. Highlights included pomegranate margaritas and guacamole liberally spiced with cilantro at Rosa Mexicano, the best french toast I've ever had (challah bread with an intense, pecan-maple syrup), a French bistro in Dupont Circle with amazing ravioli baked in gruyere and cream sauce, Italian pizza with all organic ingredients, prosciuttio, and lots of woodsy mushrooms, and a crust that was the perfect combination of soft and crispy. One night my friend Beth also cooked amazing spare ribs in a lemon and olive sauce, and another night, my host Mara made a pretty tasty tofu stir fry.

I managed to get in one visit to Mara's excellent YMCA-- seven floors full of state-of-the-art machines of all kinds-- and I also had a good run with some big hills thrown in for good measure. Did a five miler and three miler while in South Carolina, so I'm pretty happy I managed to get in four good exercise days while still getting substantial amounts of rest for my IT band over a ten day period.

Back to the grind-- but one thing I really did miss, among all the friends and food and culture in DC, was the weather in Florida, ironically enough. It was great to be driving home and watch the car thermometer register higher and higher, with sunny skies and tall palms welcoming me back to Florida. (We'll all be paying for it this summer, and into fall with the hurricanes, but right now, it's ideal).

I drove to my usual running trail this morning to find a creepy-looking guy sitting on a picnic table, no signs of a vehicle nearby. I was a little creeped out but saw a woman walking her dog, so I ventured onto the trail for a warm-up walk. The guy looked confused about his purpose at first but then he ran by me on the trail-- he was wearing long black socks, and his white-blonde hair was long and not in any kind of ponytail, both of which made me think might not really be a runner (Also I'd never seen him before). I ran for a little bit but got freaked out as the trail started to get more deserted and woodsy, thinking maybe he was pretending to be a runner but was actually waiting ahead in the bushes. So I turned around, got back in my car, drove to work, and ran around the busy neighborhood there.

Have any of you ever felt unsafe/wary/freaked out on a run? I hate that feeling.

cross training and spring break

2005-03-10T09:22:00.000-05:00

I've been cross training a fair amount, trying to give my aching IT band a rest. I consulted a couple of running books (Bob Glover and Hal Higdon), both of which were fairly alarmist about cross training, even though they recommend it (they imply that you WILL lose your running fitness, even if you're doing other cardio stuff)-- but if you're trying to avoid/get rid of injury, what else can you do? In an ideal world I'd like to run three times during the week and then have a nice long ten miler on Saturday, but obviously right now that's not going to happen, so I'm just going to have to deal with it.

Last Saturday I did a little five miler with my running partner and the IT band was hurting after a few miles. This is disappointing, but I did run two half marathons, a full marathon, and a 12K since December, so it's probably time to give it a rest. I kind of like the elliptical trainer, and I discovered something odd-- the newer machines in our gym are easier to use than the old ones. On the old ones I huff and puff for twenty minutes and it barely says I've gone a mile, whereas with the newer ones I can do three miles in 25 minutes, no problem. Not quite sure why that's the case. It's still a challenging workout.

So, only one run since Saturday-- I did a little three-mile run on a treadmill yesterday and wasn't feeling any IT pain, although my hip was sort of sore afterward. While on the machine I got bored and wanted to play with the resistance and speed but I held back, kept it at 9:30 with one 8:57 minute mile in the middle thrown in, then tried to do a lot of stretching afterward, some weights, some ab work, etc. I unfortunately had to miss Power Abs with Carlos this week, which I'm hoping will become a regular part of my exercise schedule. Spring Break is coming up, starting tomorrow, and I'm off to visit friends in D.C. and family in South Carolina, hoping to get in a few gym visits and runs while I'm there. (Although the weather in the Northeast seems so dreary, I almost wish my DC friends could come down to Florida and we could go to Miami)...

running modesty

2005-03-05T16:25:00.000-05:00

Something that grosses me out just a bit is men racing without shirts. This may be due to a few unfortunate racetime encounters with big, sweaty, hairy, shirtless dudes, jostling me in a manner far too intimate for a race with strangers. Or a particularly potent memory of a man doing a pre-race stretch right in my face, his arms up to the sky, allowing me a close-up of underarm hair long enough to weave into braids. (For this I dread starting line-ups in the dark). I have noticed that at races, men of all shapes and sizes seem to have no compunction about sharing themselves with their neighbors, and in some pretty close quarters. When a friend of mine sent me this,
I had to laugh.

In a stunning coincidence, a few minutes later I was browsing the net for local races, and I came across the Hidden River Trail Streak. All sorts of questions came to mind, including whether it would be difficult to run without, um, support. I couldn't help but imagine the karmic justice if I could send some of those shirtless dudes over to this race, where they could fully express themselves.

Elliptical Trainer

2005-03-03T18:11:00.000-05:00

I decided not to run at all until this weekend, following David's example of taking a break. So just one little 2.8 mile run this week to give my muscles some rest. Instead, I did the elliptical trainer at the gym for the first time. I have never gotten on that machine before. I think I was scared of it-- like it might take off without me and I would go flying through the air. That did not happen, but I was surprised at how difficult it was. Not difficult coordination-wise, but just arduous. From among choices like "Forest Trail" and "Mountain Pass," I chose "Fat Burner-- 20 minutes." My heart rate went up immediately and I actually had a hard time completing 20 minutes. What's up with that? How is it that I can run for two hours straight and my heart rate stays pretty steady, but yet I do twenty minutes on this machine and feel like I'm slogging through two feet of mud? I did feel like I got a great workout, though. I was drenched with sweat. I lifted some weights and did my IT-band exercises, so that was that. I felt no pain anywhere-- is the elliptical trainer a good machine for cross-training purposes? Is it going to do any damage somehow?

Tomorrow, pilates. Diversify, diversify!

We're having the last gasps of a Florida winter here-- rainy and in the 40s, the coldest it ever gets, when most of the time it's in the 70s. I love the weather in the winter here, but I actually find myself craving cold and rainy days now, so I'm pretty happy. It will be a good night to go home and immediately don pajamas.

Outback Distance Classic

2005-02-27T16:20:00.000-05:00

The weather gods smiled upon us... although it rained almost all of Sunday, for Saturday's 12K race we had no rain at all. It was probably in the low 70s but not too warm, and cloudy, which made me think the run would feel good. I did wear my Team In Training singlet and was happy to finally meet fellow Central Florida running blogger David. This was a really cool race, for a number of reasons-- most of all, I now feel a sense of running community that's not only virtual, as in addition to meeting David, I ran into a bunch of other local runners I knew, which was cool. A friend's four year old daughter was singing the national anthem, and she was adorable. It's nice to finally have some familiar faces to see.

The run itself was kind of difficult-- I finished in 1:05:13-- and I ran a little faster than I'd meant to, but in a race it's sometimes hard not to. At least I wasn't staring at my Forerunner the whole time, which was one goal I accomplished. I meant to take in the scenery more, but I also just wanted the race to be over, as the humidity seemed oppressive to me once I began running. I could feel the IT band bothering me toward the end, which further makes me think I need a break. 12K is a weird distance-- after 10K I would have been happy to quit, and those last 2K seemed to be stretching out in slow motion. I wanted to kill the guy who claimed the finish line "was just around the corner" when actually it was almost a mile away. Usually I enjoy the actual racing part of these events but this time it was a bit tough... although "tough" is good sometimes, too, because then you really feel like you accomplished something.

After cooling off a little bit, steak it was, and it was a fantastic dinner-- steak, chicken, rice, caesar salad, rolls, and a big ol' Fosters beer to help replenish those carbs.

I had convinced a friend to run her first race ever, the 3K fun run, and was squiring her around as various runners I knew through Team In Training, or through the local runner's club, came up to greet me. I was being a little protective, though, and refused an invitation to share dinner with some other runners because I was afraid we would talk about running the whole time, and I didn't want to turn off my friend, who is very tentatively exploring the joys of racing. Perhaps I was being over-protective, but I was afraid too many marathon tales of black toenails and chafing incidents might scare her away for good. I think she had a good time. I know I did. I convinced my husband to head over to the race after he got off work, and there was still lots of food to be had. All in all, this was a great race, even if the food (and not the running) became the central event for me. Even though the actual running was tough, the event was a lot of fun.

I'm also thinking no more races until the end of April, when there's a cool 5K race where your souvenir is a baby tree. Something related to the native ecosystems of Florida, and involving a special forest that is only opened once a year for this event. I would like to get into speedwork, but that's not compatible with the break I want to take, so maybe after a week or two of slow, careful running I'll think more about that.

I'm going to see about getting a bike, learning about kickboxing, and trying some of the other RBF cross training suggestions... still waiting for someone to tell me how to do "water running," or is it just what it sounds like?

(take it easy) race tomorrow

2005-02-25T22:11:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone for the supportive comments about my last post. I really appreciate it, and the comments helped me through a tough week. If anything I've been using this time just to be thoughtful and reflective about life, to be grateful for what I have, and to think about what my priorities and goals in life really are, because we never know how much time we have to accomplish them.

Last weekend I was on a bit of a bender in terms of eating, but I was surprised to discover I'd dropped another pound and a half after the weekend. I'd been eating cheesecake, buffalo wings, steak-- comfort foods-- so it was somewhat of a miracle. I'm finally back to pre-marathon weight, and I can really notice a difference. I still can't believe I gained 10 pounds through training.

I've been running, but decided to take two days off before tomorrow's 12K Outback race. I really like the t-shirts-- a cool painting of a kangaroo with a little baby kangaroo in her pouch. For once I don't mind the corporate sponsorship and am excited about steak. Still planning not to run as fast as I can, not to wear the Forerunner, just to have fun, maybe wear my Team In Training singlet in Sandy's honor... or not, depending on how rainy it is. I went for a four mile tempo run on Wednesday and had tons of energy but later on started to feel creaky. The next day I still felt creaky. I had energy, but just felt like my body was kind of sore and worn down. This makes me even more certain that I don't want to run fast tomorrow, since I've discovered that sometimes running fast=feels good in the moment=injury later.

Which makes me wonder: how often should we take breaks from running, and how long should those breaks be? I'd be curious to hear how other RBF'ers weigh in on this debate. I wish I liked some other form of aerobic exercise that doesn't pound on my legs. I'm a terrible swimmer, and I don't own a bike. I've heard about water running, but am not quite sure how to do it. Any ideas?

2005-02-19T13:32:00.000-05:00

I found out Thursday that my friend Sandy had gone into a coma. It had been a long day at work followed by a terrific reading I attended by Pulitzer prize-winner Edward P. Jones, reading from his novel The Known World, which is an amazing book about slaveowning blacks in the antebelleum South. The room was packed and I was drawn back into this novel I loved when I read it last summer, an unusual book about an unusual topic but so vividly imagined. The whole time I had my friend on my mind, and that night I slept horribly. I woke up with a start in the middle of the night, having a feeling I couldn't even describe-- feeling like I had seen something so vivid in my sleep that I wanted to remind myself to remember the shock of it the next morning, but I couldn't tell you what it was I saw or experienced, except that it was something strange.

On Friday I woke up earlier than I wanted to, feeling like I had not slept at all. I parked my car at the college where I work and trotted off for a three mile jog, running much slower than I normally do. When I came back to my car to get my clothes for the shower, I saw there was a message on my cell phone, so I immediately hit redial. It was Sandy's boss in the IT department of our college, telling me she'd passed away during the night.

I hadn't known her that long in the scheme of things. When I moved to Florida last May, she was my first new friend. We were the same age and we both wanted to buy a house, so that was the quest that united us last summer, and we spent considerable time talking about it-- neighborhoods, school districts, mortgage brokers, proximity to good restaurants, and that sense of finally owning something tangible, another rite of passage into adulthood. A house-- stability, age thirty just around the corner for both of us, both of us married but with no children yet.

She and her husband had just made an offer and were going through with the inspection when she found out she had leukemia. Our friendship had been developing as friendships often do-- you like the person, but there's no reason to rush things, because you've got all the time in the world to get to know them. When I heard she was sick and going into chemotherapy immediately, I felt a sense of urgency. I kept up with her and visited her after her treatments, and we exchanged long emails every week. At the beginning of October I asked her how she'd feel if I ran the Disney marathon in her honor, and I was thrilled when she told me that she would be honored. I threw myself into fundraising, canvassing, bake sales, you name it-- I'd never done this kind of thing in my life. I kept her updated about my training. She told me all the details of her treatment, and how she'd found that a few of her longtime friends shied away from her now that she was sick, but that she was happy I hadn't been like that.

I last saw her at her apartment the week before I ran Disney. She was enthusiastic about the stem cell transplant she was to receive in Gainesville the night before I ran. She was afraid her husband wasn't facing the fact that the transplant might fail, and she had been trying to prepare him for it. But she seemed pretty optimistic, and I felt optimistic for her-- after all, the donor was a "ten out of ten" match, whatever that means. The next week, after I'd written her to tell her all about the marathon, I got a long letter from her. She had sent plenty of emails, and in the mail she'd sent me cards, a Lance Armstrong bracelet, Christmas letters, etc, but this was a long letter. She described the transplant process, said she was so proud of me for running the marathon, and then she wrote:

"The bone marrow transplant unit has 20 patient rooms. All of them are occupied. I have met a few people while I have been up here. The stories of people here are really amazing. No one should have to go through this disease. Cancer is such a hard disease. When I get better, I want to volunteer with the leukemia society. I want to help others who have this. It doesn't seem so scary when you know someone understands what you are going through. I know you had mentioned something about starting a bone marrow drive when I get better. I think we should definitely do that when I am back. There is always a need for donors, especially minorities. I know people here who have been waiting for a donor for quite a while. It just makes you feel so helpless. I was lucky that a donor was found so quickly, and I thank God every night for that. I also thank God that I have a friend like you. We have a special bond that can't be broken."

I was so touched when I got the letter, and it broke my heart yesterday, reading it. For awhile it was looking like smooth sailing with the transplant, until she came down with this graft-versus-host disease, and her heart and liver finally gave out. I spoke to her husband and he told me about her final hours. He seemed to want to report the details to somebody, even though I don't know him well. I've been crying a lot, off and on, thinking about her family, many of whom sent me letters when they sent me donations for the marathon. The funeral is in Louisiana, but we'll do a memorial service here in Florida soon.

I've been trying to notice everything: burying my nose in the bag of coffee beans, looking up at the intense blueness of the sky, trying to separate out the flavors in the raspberry chocolate cheesecake I had for lunch. I want to tell the people around me over and over again how much I love them; how lucky I am to have them. I can't quite believe this outcome-- I really did think we would be there at Disney next year, cheering on the Team In Training participants, starting that bone marrow drive together at the college. And her presence in the letters and emails she wrote is still so very strong-- it's really hard to believe she's gone.

I wanted to run ten miles today and think about her the whole way. I wanted to notice every detail, the songs I was hearing on my iPod, the humanity in the faces of the people I pass... the old guy I see running with his dog every day, the father and his daughter on their tandem bike, the way my muscles and my body felt so strong as they carried me over the trail. The sun beating down and the cool wind counteracting it. I did not want that run to end. But I couldn't quite accomplish ten miles-- I still had energy, but I started to feel the IT band hurting after 8, so I stopped, conscious of my limitations. For today, that's all I had in me, and I guess it was enough.

leukemia

2005-02-16T09:35:00.000-05:00

My friend in whose honor I ran the Disney Marathon for Team in Training is in the 4th stage of graft-versus-host disease, which is a result of the stem cell transplant she received in January. She found out last July that she was sick, and she's managed to fight so many small battles along the way with chemotherapy, its side effects, finding a donor, going through the transplant, etc-- not to mention the fact that she was in the hospital through all three hurricanes that slammed into Orlando. Each time she got through a particularly difficult bout of treatment, she would always send out an email letting everyone know she was okay. She had to go to a different city for the transplant, so she's not as close by.

I hadn't heard from her in a few weeks, which worried me, but the last I'd heard she was doing better and might even be moving out of the hospital. That was three weeks ago. Now I've learned she's having major complications with this graft-versus-host disease, where from what I can gather the skin and then the liver are attacked because resistance is down. It doesn't sound good.

I'm not even going to try to express my feelings about this because it's just very sad-- there's not much I can say.

valentine's day run

2005-02-14T15:25:00.000-05:00

Although I usually run in the morning when it's cool, today I ran at lunchtime, and it was already 78 degrees. There were no trees on the route I chose today; I was recalling the agony of the Disney Marathon's 80 degree temps, and by the end of my four-mile run, the heat had gotten to me. I still somehow averaged a 9:22 min. per mile pace, but I didn't feel very good.

The Outback 12K in two weeks, which David recommended, is on my list of things to look forward to. There's a 3K and a 12K, and the best thing about it is that the race ends with steak and other assorted goodies from the sponsoring Outback chain. The race will start at 3:00 pm, (which is good, because who wants to eat steak at 8 am?) but running in the heat today, I started to chicken out. I signed up some friends for the 3K. Should I run the 3K instead to hang with them? Their race starts an hour earlier...

I think I'm still going to run the 12K-- after all, might as well work up an appetite. But I've also decided I won't think about my time at all. It will be just a fun, long run; I won't wear my Garmin, and above all, I will not push myself to be fast. That way, if the weather's hot I'll make it to the finish line without being overly challenged by the heat. My race goals are therefore to have fun, sail along, and look forward to the steak bites at the end.

73-year-old marathoner clocks in sub-3 hours...

2005-02-13T11:43:00.000-05:00

This is amazing. I can only hope that my knees aren't destroyed by the time I'm his age, but running a sub-3 hour marathon? Inspiring.

post-race blues

2005-02-11T10:28:00.000-05:00

The Gasparilla race was so much fun that it was somewhat difficult for me to get back to my normal life this week. Work was accompanied with various bureaucratic and interpersonal stresses, and I kept wanting to go for a long, hard run to forget about them for a little bit, but my body was still hurting from Sunday's half marathon (stiffness in my lower back and my hamstring). I've done two easy runs since Sunday, some weights and a yoga class. I like yoga but don't feel like it makes me as strong as Pilates, and I also have a difficult time tuning out the concerns of the world to achieve the ideal state of detachment that yoga demands. I wish I were better at that, but at least I can zone out in my own way while running. Pilates, with its slightly weird, early 20th-century calisthenic and strength poses, suits me much better than yoga.

I moved to Florida last May, and for months I was driven by the excitement of being in a new place, starting a new job, making new friends, etc. Now the novelty is starting to wear off, and I'm not seeing everything through rose-colored glasses. Since college, I've never lived in one place for longer than two years, and the permanence I was craving by snaring a stable job after grad school is now starting to freak me out. I love the stability of marriage but not the idea of remaining in one place forever, shackled to a mortgage, a job, and a city that still doesn't quite feel right to me. Three hurricanes showed me how stressful home ownership could be, and after getting all the hurricane damage repaired, I'm still left with a brown lawn that looks like a disaster compared to the perfectly watered Florida golf course-lawns of my neighbors. A four mile commute between home and work sometimes takes 40 minutes in rush hour traffic. (I could run that distance faster, but the route would be all car exhaust and strip malls).

And these complaints are minor, really-- I'm healthy, I made it through a couple big races (two halfs and my first full marathon) without serious injury, I have a great marriage, a good job, a house, friends. Great weather most of the time, except for the hot summers. So what's my problem?

I guess it is dissatisfaction that drives us to strive for more in our lives-- to set new goals, to not be content with things as they are. I'm going to do this both for running and for my career, and I think that will help-- sort of a belated set of new year's resolutions. I am grateful to have running because it does help me put everything into perspective, and I always try to channel more destructive urges (like drinking) into running instead.

So... coming down off the high of the Gasparilla race has got me thinking... and aware that some new goals are due, as well as some more positive thinking...