Category Archives: running commentary

I Run Again

Posted on February 11, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yes, running posts two days in a row. I had a couple of Mohawk Valley adventures I could talk about, watched a cheesy horror movie and even cooked something of interest. But I just went running, I’m proud of myself and I’m going to write about it.

Did that sound a trifle defensive? Maybe it was. I didn’t run that far and I didn’t run that fast. Yesterday I didn’t run at all, as I believe I mentioned. This morning was exceedingly cold and I had my doubts. Then Steven and I watched a non-cheesy movie and I got restless. Our thermostat said the temperature had risen to 28 degrees. I decided to chance it.

I put on my leopard spotted long johns, which I had worn under my skirt yesterday. They are lightweight spandex and I think they look cool. I found my other long-sleeved army t-shirt and my other pair of winter running socks. Sweatshirt, toque, mittens, I was on my way.

When we had been out and about earlier I had noticed the path over what used to be a hydraulic canal had been plowed. Really, the sidewalk plow has been very efficient in Herkimer this season. I determined to run toward Main Street and perhaps rock the canal path (not sure if it has an official name).

Just because the sidewalk plow had been by did not mean the sidewalks were bare. Lots of snow remained to crunch under my feet and slow me down. Well, so what, I told myself. I run for a certain amount of time not a certain distance. If it takes me longer to get to point A, so be it. And I’m sure it burns more calories.

Traffic was not too bad. I managed to cross German Street without too much problem. I ran in the road on one side street to get to the canal path but other than that I pretty much stuck to the sidewalk. Still, bare pavement is nice. You forget to appreciate these things till you are reminded. I met a couple of pedestrians but managed not to run into anybody.

I followed the path as far as I could then ran down a couple more residential streets to Main Street. I figured I could easily cross Main Street on a Sunday. As it turned out, not at the precise moment I wanted to. Then I noticed a stretch of bare sidewalk and decided to make my cross further up.

Eventually I crossed near a bank and thought to run through the bank parking lot to get to Church Street. Ah, that was bare pavement. Till I got to the other part of the parking lot, behind the 1834 Jail. Not so bare. I found some tire tracks to run in.

It burns more calories, I kept telling myself. Burns more calories. When I wasn’t thinking that, the song played in my head that goes, “All I wanna do/ Is have some fun/ I gotta feeling/ I’m not the only one.” Then I’d change things up and think, “All I wanna do/ Is run, run, run/ I look around and/ I am the only one.” I did see a family walking, parents and a small boy. I was glad I had stayed on the sidewalk, to set an example for the younger generation.

It was a much better run than Thursday’s, so I felt I had been rewarded for my effort. Once the roads are bare again, I am SO going to rock the hill up to Herkimer County Community College. Stay tuned.

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I Ran Anyways

Posted on February 10, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Can it count as Saturday Running Commentary if I actually ran on Thursday and am just getting around to writing about it now?

I say yes.

I felt I was being clever by laying out my running clothes Wednesday night so that when I got home Thursday I would have fewer excuses. As it turned out I had a very good excuse in the shape of a migraine headache (at least, it could have been a sinus headache; I don’t really know from headaches). I figured my head was probably going to keep hurting anyways. This way, at least I’d feel proud of myself.

I was happy that I knew where my mittens were. I don’t know why I only have one pair of mittens, but so it is. OK, full disclosure: they aren’t my mittens. They belong to my sister Diane and they somehow ended up in my possession. I hope this isn’t one of the posts she decides to read or I may have to give them back.

So leggings, winter running socks, long-sleeved army t-shirt, sweatshirt, knitted toque, mittens — I was going to rock this run!

I’m not so sure I did. I ran at an even more shuffley pace than usual, due to snow on the sidewalks. The occasional patch of bare sidewalk didn’t help much, because snow collected on the bottoms of my sneakers. However, one thing I have learned is to persevere.

And persevere I did, for a full 20 minutes plus cool down walk. It was colder than I had expected. The wind on my face did not help my headache. At least I had remembered to put a couple of tissues in the sweatshirt pockets so I had recourse when my nose got too runny. Taking the mittens off and maneuvering with the tissues added some interest. You’d be surprised how welcome these little distractions are.

The irony of the cool down walk was not lost on me, but I felt sure my dog Tabby had been looking forward to it ever since she saw me lacing up the running shoes. I think the temperature had dropped a few degrees during the 20 minutes I had been running. Or maybe the wind had picked up. I did not analyze; I merely discouraged Tabby from sniffing as many things as she wanted to.

This ought to be a lesson to me, I suppose, not to stop running, because continuing is usually easier than beginning anew. Then again, a recurring theme of my life is Things Happen (some people put it more vulgarly, but I’ll say “things”). We can only do the best we can.

Friday I worked out at Curves instead of running again. Today (Saturday) I got a terrific headache from being out in the cold this morning. It’s gone right now, and I’m not messing with it. I may run again on Sunday. I’ll let you know.

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Running with a Headache

Posted on December 2, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’m writing this later than I usually make my Saturday posts, but I had a dreadful sinus headache earlier. It is inexplicably gone, but I’m trying not to notice that too much or it might come back. You know, like it hasn’t gone far, and if it sees me noticing it’s gone, it’ll say, “Ooh, she misses me! I’d better go back!”

Now some of you are dialing the men in the white coats (two dated references), because my headaches talk to me. Hey, I write fiction. I can anthropomorphize anything.

Be that as it may, I did get myself out running, because I wanted to use it as a blog post. I didn’t care to do an “I-can’t-post-because-I’ve-got-a-headache” post because I’m saving something for Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

It was dreadfully cold yesterday, and I had expected it to be less so today. So much for great expectations. I had a pair of stretchy pants I thought I might as well run in. I put on a long-sleeved t-shirt and winter running socks. Found my toque but didn’t bother looking for my mittens. Regretted that almost as soon as I was out the door. No matter, it would be a short run.

I did not run during the week at all. One more thing to regret, but I did not repine. The only thing to do in these situations is tough it out and try to run sooner next time.

Oh, that air did not feel good. I debated whether to run any hills but ultimately decided moving my legs at this rate was effort enough. I had walked Tabby to the post office earlier so I knew my could move. I was only asking them to move a little faster, and not much faster at that.

At least, maybe it was faster than I thought. I saw a couple walking two blocks or so ahead of me. Soon it was only a block and a half. Then a block. I usually take a lot longer to catch up with pedestrians. Perhaps they were extra slow. I turned down a side street when they were less than a block away. I was feeling unsociable.

I looked around for Christmas decorations. I saw a couple of the hard plastic light up snowmen such as Steven and I coveted last year (I wrote a couple blog posts about it). Steven says they are called “blow mold,” but I don’t like to call them that, because I’m afraid people will think I mean those big blow up things. Those are fun to see when they are billowing in the breeze all full of air. When they are limp and deflated, they look a little sad. I don’t want one in my lawn.

I did see a smaller blow up snowman in a lawn and heard the sounds of the Nutcracker Suite playing. I couldn’t tell if the snowman was swaying in the breeze or if he was moving in time to the music. In any case, it looked good, and that part of the Suite played in my head for the rest of the run. It was good running music. You know how I love music to run by.

As I approached my house, still a good three blocks away, my legs told me they would like to walk. I told them to keep running. That led to three blocks of half-baked philosophy I’d like to share. You almost never HAVE to stop running. You CHOOSE to stop running. Now I’m not a terrible hard-ass drill sergeant about this. Sometimes stopping running is absolutely the right choice to make. And I’m always an advocate of feeling glad about however far you did run. But I have learned, and I stand by it: most of us can run further than we think we can. I proved it to myself again today.

When I was walking my cool down with Tabby the wind picked up and it became uncomfortably cold. The Nutcracker was still playing in my head. It was the section that goes doo-dootle-oo-doo-DOO-DOO-DOO. I know, that probably doesn’t tell you much, but I thought it would look funny to type it that way.

As always I was glad I ran. Right now, though, I am even more glad that my headache is gone (I whisper that last sentence). Soon I’ll be off on more Mohawk Valley adventures. Maybe tomorrow won’t be Wrist to Forehead Sunday after all.

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Running Through the Snow

Posted on November 25, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

It seems this sinus headache isn’t going anywhere, despite drugs and hot tea, so I may as well write today’s blog post. It’s only Saturday Running Commentary, after all. How hard could it be?

The headache had not really kicked in before the run. I did not get up early enough to run in the dark, as I did on Thursday. We slept in till the luxurious hour of 6:30. Woohoo! After two cups of coffee, I decided it was time to either run or eat with the intention of running later. Snow was predicted for later, so I thought I would run while the running was good.

I put on leggings and long sleeves, since the temperature was below 40 degrees. I found my toque but decided not to search for mittens and to wear my sweatshirt only for the cool down. I sensibly put a Tabby poop bag in the sweatshirt pocket so I wouldn’t have to remember it later.

Imagine my surprise when I went out the back door into snow! Lots and lots of swirling white flakes, not yet sticking to the ground but looking rather picturesque in the air. Never mind, I was ready to run and I intended to do so.

It wasn’t even that cold. I pulled my sleeves down over my hands and puffed along feeling not too uncomfortable. I took the hill by Valley Health again. I know, I must start running the longer, steeper hills. Possibly as early as tomorrow.

Skies in the distance were blue, so I headed in that direction. The snow tapered off then came back. Soon I was headed back toward grey skies. I do admire a grey November sky.

When I went to cross back over German Street, the light was about to turn against me, but there were no cars there. One car waited at the red light, perpendicular to me. Was he about to make a left turn into me? He did not have his signal on, so I thought, if he wants to make a left turn and I’m in his way, it’s his own damn fault! His light did not turn green till I was mostly across anyways. Then he went straight, per his lack of turn signals. Good man! I think it was actually a youth. What was a kid that age doing up so early? Or was it still up so late? I’ll never know, but it gave me something to ponder as I ran.

Walking my cool down with Tabby later, she did her business and guess what was NOT in my sweatshirt pocket? I was certain I had put one there! Serves me right for not double checking. Luckily I had a couple of tissues and we were almost home, so I did not litter a neighbor’s lawn in a manner which I deplore in others.

It was not a bad run at all. Other than the snow, however, it was fairly uneventful. I shall try to observe more bloggable phenomena during subsequent runs. Stay tuned.

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First November Run

Posted on November 4, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I worked till 11 this morning, and while I was at work, I had a vision of a certain residential area I sometimes run in. I could see that it was a grey day outside. I thought about running under the grey sky, possibly on wet roads and sidewalks, looking around at houses. However, I told a co-worker, “I’m just as likely to make myself an egg sandwich and take a nap.”

When I left work, it was cold. Cold! Who said it could be cold? It’s still autumn, isn’t it? Since when does November have to be so cold? And that shows you what a difference a day makes, because Friday when I stepped outside and it was cold, I said, “Ah! That cold air is reviving me!” I had been literally falling asleep over my book during the 2 o’clock break, and it’s not a dull book.

So I got home feeling I had every reason to talk myself out of it. Then I thought, I want to take a shower anyways. Why not take a short run first? I’d either be sweaty and really need a shower or I’d be cold and a hot shower would feel twice as good.

My temperature doo-dah (that’s the technical term) said it was 42. Normally over 40 degrees I wear shorts and a t-shirt, but I thought since this would be the first cold run of the season, long legs and sleeves was the way to go. I had a pair of silky long johns I had worn under a skirt last night (so much more comfortable than pantyhose). I dug out a long sleeved ARMY t-shirt. I found a knitted toque (rhymes with spook). I was off.

Were you hoping that this was a fun run? That I reached the “I can rock this” stage and stayed there? That I got a huge endorphin rush? Yeah, well, that would have been nice. Right away I wished I had worn a sweatshirt as well as my long sleeved t-shirt. I told myself to keep running, I’d warm up.

Traffic was not at all bad. I crossed German Street very easily and headed toward the hill at Valley Health, which I have had it in mind to run for a few days now. As it felt surprisingly difficult to run, I considered running into the unknown park instead. A couple of small hills, that was more my speed. But that was not where I had pictured myself running while at work. I ran by the unknown park entrance, reminding myself that I do know the name of the park now but thinking, “Really, if they want me to call it Brookfield Park, they ought to put a sign at the gates.”

It seemed to take a long time to get to the hill by Valley Health. I did not feel that I was warming up. I was very aware of my hips. They felt huge. Here was the hill. Oh dear. I reminded myself of the trick an army friend of mine learned from our drill sergeant, who would know, “Just look at your feet and shuffle up that hill.” I made it. That didn’t seem to take too long, so I felt encouraged.

I saw a group of healthcare workers (they were wearing scrubs; I can’t tell nurses from aides from attendants etc.). They were talking loudly and laughing, so that was nice. I don’t think they were laughing at me, but of course you never know.

I continued my run, looking around at Halloween decorations that were still up. Some I had noticed before were gone already, but many people had at least left their mums and pumpkins out. Fall decor, I thought, can legitimately be left up from September 1 to December 1. Halloween stuff is really best in October. That said, Steve’s and my decorations are still up, and I enjoyed looking at other people’s as well. I do love Halloween.

I thought about the egg sandwich I had mentioned at work and it started to sound pretty good. I knew I had whole wheat English muffins as well as some cheese. Mmmmm… I remembered I had pepperoni as well. Even better. Then I remembered my enormous hips and rethought my menu choices.

As I got closer to home I thought I would prefer to run an extra minute over sprinting at the end. You see, I like to stop at the top of the minute and be exact when I put the time in my running journal. Sometimes I go a few seconds over, if for example I have stopped to pet a dog. That was not the case today. Two houses from my house I picked up the pace anyways. An extra minute is a long time at the shape I’m in right now (round and puffy).

It was really not a bad run at all. As always I felt good that I had run, and I made plans to run more often during the coming week. I enjoyed my egg sandwich, and I left off the pepperoni. Those hips are going bye-bye! Eventually.

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