Sunday I started a blog post about running but got bogged down and discouraged. I sensibly saved the draft and share it now, with some editing and additions.
I ran yesterday , hoping to make a Running Commentary post before I went ahead with the rest of my day, but the day crowded in and, well, here I am Sunday morning. However, it is quite appropriate for me to blog about running as today is Boilermaker Sunday in Utica, NY, a big deal around here and elsewhere. In case you didn’t know, it is a premier 15K which a great portion of the community turns out to support. I have run it in the past (perhaps you read some of my blog posts about it). This morning I have been looking at Facebook posts from the Boilermaker and WKTV News and thinking, “Damn, I could be there.” But so it is any year I do not run the Boilermaker.
In point of fact, as I ran this morning I was happy I had not signed up to run the Boilermaker 15K (I always specify 15K, because there is also a 5K in which I have absolutely no desire to participate). It is EXTREMELY humid out! I could hardly breathe! Additionally, my legs were doing their best impression of overcooked elbow macaroni (which some find delicious in baked macaroni and cheese, but is not so good to run on) (maybe a run-on sentence) (but I digress).
Why do they always look less steep in pictures?
This is one of the hills I ran up Saturday. I went on to run up to Herkimer College the back way. It is less steep than the front way but longer. I surprised myself by making it. However, it was fairly painful, so I made up my mind that I would not run the Falling Leaves 14K Road Race in Utica in September, which features a lot of hills. I have always wanted to run it, and it seemed within reach this year. And then suddenly it didn’t. What the hell, me?
Running, a drill sergeant in Army basic training taught me, is largely a matter of distracting yourself from how much it sucks. One of the things I do to distract myself is to figure in my head how long I will be running each week if I increase my time by ten percent (recommended by many running experts). And I figure how long it might take me to run 5K, 14K, or 15K or whatever. Sometimes I go backwards from the date of the run to now. Suddenly my figuring seemed hopelessly optimistic.
As Saturday wore on, I thought perhaps I had been hasty in my decision. After all, the registration price for Falling Leaves did not go up till midnight Sunday. If I had a great run Sunday, I would reconsider. I suppose it will come as a surprise to no one that Sunday’s run was no great. Never mind. There are 5Ks that are within my grasp!
Like this one!
Looking to the future: I ran into a friend who did run the Boilermaker 15K, and we made plans to run it together next year! At least, we will start together and try to meet up again at the end. He runs much faster than I do. Further blog posts as events warrant.
Mohawk Valley Girl 