Category Archives: running

Wednesday I was determined to go running. We had no rehearsal, so I was not worried about getting too tired. In fact, it would be a good think if I tired myself out. I could definitely sleep when I went to bed early, as I intended to do.

My Sunday run was 44 minutes. I know I have previously avoided saying how long I run for fear of invoking scorn and laughter. Then again, how many people do I think read this blog? Specifically, how many marathon runners? Well, as I said earlier, point and laugh if you must. I’m sure people who see me actually running do.

Where was I? Ah yes, Wednesday. The temperature was not bad, but the wind was brisk. I could see it had rained earlier but hoped that was over. I got into my running gear and set out. I had a vague idea of running up to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC) the back way. Challenging but not too daunting. I didn’t know that I would go for 44 minutes. I thought even 20 or 30 minutes would suit my purposes. I would see how it went.

I managed to cross German Street without mishap, no mean feat in 4 p.m. Herkimer traffic. My body was not happy with me. For one thing, the brisk wind got colder. I put my headband over my ears, but there was nothing I could do for my hands. I was pretty sure already that I would not make it for forty minutes. I doubted my ability to make it up to the college. Perhaps the hill by Valley Health?

Then I remembered the Unknown Park. Some months ago I recall doing a post titled Run Through an Unknown Park. I still don’t know the name of the park, which is silly of me, because I read an article in the paper about it when HCCC students had a clean up day there (that’s not a run-on sentence; diagram it) (have you ever noticed that I us a lot of semi-colons? I love semi-colons. I think I’ll do a Friday Lame Post about semi-colons)(but I digress).

I knew the Unknown Park had some uphill stretches. It was someplace different to run. There might even be some sports games being played. It’s always nice to look at something active as you run by. I think other people’s energy travels through the air and helps me. A fanciful image, perhaps, but I’ll take anything that keeps me going. The entrance to the park is also on the same side of German Street that I was on. So I had my plan.

As I started across the entrance to be on the left side facing traffic, a car was approaching the gate to exit. I had not seen her due to the hill and curve and the fact that I don’t always pay enough attention when I’m running. I waved an “I’m sorry,” although I think I got across without obstructing her. She gave me the “That’s OK” wave, so that was OK.

I started up the hill. Not too steep but steep enough to bug me. Oh, I have not been getting enough sleep. It was fun to run on a gravelly dirt road for a change. No sports games were going on. There wasn’t even anyone letting their dog run in the big fields, as there sometimes is. I wondered if my dog would like to go there and run.

I saw a steep grassy bank on the other side of one field. Nothing I’d care to run up, even if I had gotten enough sleep. I saw some tire tracks dug into it. The tracks went partway up then stopped. I wondered what mishap had occurred and hoped that someone had been taping it for future inclusion in World’s Dumbest. World’s Dumbest Daredevils or Thrillseekers or even Motorheads. I watch them all.

As I continued running the wind picked up and got more bitter. The park is a lovely, woodsy setting, but it’s always cooler near the trees. I contemplated how welcome the coolness would be this summer but was not enjoying it on Wednesday. Was that a raindrop? Oh dear. As I headed toward home it did start raining but did not amount to much. It had stopped by the time Tabby and I took our cool down walk.

My run did have the desired effect of helping me sleep. I didn’t even make it through the evening’s episode of World’s Dumbest. It was World’s Dumbest Criminals 5, an episode I had already seen. I think it was a pretty good run or do I flatter myself? At least I don’t think I qualify for World’s Dumbest Runner. Maybe World’s Dumbest Blogger, but let’s not go there.

I know I threatened a post about cleaning my house, but I thought a post about a run would be more fun.

I confess, the run did not start out very fun. I didn’t even get to it till a few hours later than I would have liked. Steven and I had first to go to the grocery store. That was enjoyable enough (we always get silly in the grocery store), and we beat the Sunday morning rush. Then we went out to breakfast, always a joy. When we got home from that, we took our dog Tabby for a walk. For one thing, she was even more frantic than usual on our return, and I thought it would help her work off some of that energy. Then some laundry and other chores while I waited till my breakfast was good and digested.

I had spent the earlier part of the morning quite delighted with the day. I love being up in the morning; the day feels so unused. It rained last night, so the world felt clean. In short, it felt like late spring, early summer. Warm enough to enjoy but not too hot. And cloudiness prevailed, which I always find relaxing.

Unfortunately, by the time I got my running gear on and got out the door, an unaccountable feeling of irritation had overtaken me. What was that all about? Could have been a factor that I had been doing housework. You would expect a feeling of some accomplishment from that, but I tend to only get a sense of how much other crap needs to be done. (Oh yeah, I said I wasn’t going to do a cleaning post. My bad. On to the run.)

As I ran down German Street toward Herkimer County Community College (HCCC), I found the clean, unused feeling of the day had dissipated, to be replaced by mugginess. All those clouds I like so much do bring the moisture. Well, I told myself, just be happy your hands aren’t cold. My legs were not happy with me. What was that all about? It hadn’t been two days since I ran; I just ran yesterday. This should be fun! Oh, just keep going.

I saw some daffodils and hyacinths in a front yard. I caught a lovely whiff of hyacinth, but that may have been my suggestible sinuses at work. No matter, I enjoyed it. I saw a little white dog. Was it my friend Nicky? I quickly saw that it wasn’t and decided against crossing the street in hopes of petting it.

Passing the spring, I considered stopping for a quick drink. Usually a drink from the spring is my reward after I run up the hill to HCCC, but sometimes I take a drink as an encouragement beforehand. I decided against it today and continued on up. Oh, it sucked. But as I ran, I reflected that there was really no question that I would make it to the top. Once I start on a run like that, nothing really stops me. I suppose if I tried to run up too fast and started to hyperventilate that would do it, but I am unlikely to do any such thing.

I smelled a skunk. I had been keeping my head down, staring at my feet, but now I looked up and ahead. If there was road kill skunk up ahead, I wanted fair warning. Clear shoulders. Phew! I hate running by road kill. At last I was at the top. Nice view of Herkimer. I thought I saw the old factory that houses Fat Cat’s Fish Fry. Must go there some time; it would make a great post for Mohawk Valley Girl. I saw a church spire but was not sure from which church.

As I ran by the dormitories (I almost typed barracks; just a prior army moment), a masculine voice shouted, “Good job, YEAH!” I waved in the general direction it came from. I don’t know if the young man meant it as honest encouragement or was just making fun. Either way, it gave me a smile. I thought of the college students, many of them probably still asleep at almost 11 in the morning, making up for all-nighters during the week. Or maybe still drunk from last night. Wild times when you’re young.

I ran further onto campus than I have been, up by the gym, where I could cross over to Reservoir Road. Not a lot of water fowl by the reservoir, as there sometimes is. I saw one duck, or maybe it was a goose. I don’t know from birds. At last I was headed downhill. Ah! Now the run started to be fun! My muscles were warm and stopped complaining. I could have used a little less heaviness in the air, but I could breathe OK. Not like it’s going to be later in the summer, when I will strive to do most of my running in the early morning.

I upped my time by the recommended ten percent, as I like to do on a Sunday. My irritated feeling was gone. I felt pleased with my run and ready to take on the rest of the day. I have an authentic Mohawk Valley adventure planned. Stay tuned!

I was unable to write today’s post while at work today, so I thought I would run after work and write my post about that. I had intended to run anyways, because I missed the last two days. And it being Wednesday, I thought the headline was a natural.

It rained this afternoon while I was at work. I spoke to Steven on the phone at my 2 p.m. break and he said it was pouring in Herkimer (I work in nearby Ilion). Oh dear. I hate to run in the rain, but, two days off, I made up my mind to it. Then the rain stopped by the time I left work shortly after 3:30, so that was OK.

As soon as I started, I felt I was in trouble. I kept saying to myself, “But it’s only been two days!” And I had long, good runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday. What does my body want from me? Well, today it seems it wanted me to sit down, but we kept running anyways.

I saw a guy with an adorable little chihuahua across the street. Unfortunately it was German Street and way too busy to just run across so I could pet it. I think I’ve met that chihuahua before. I called a greeting at least.

I could feel myself running slowly. Putt, putt, putting along in fact. A young man ran down the opposite side of the street (in the road, left side, facing traffic). He was loping along quite easily at a pace that mocked my middle aged shuffle. Ah, youth. I did not call to him. There were cars zooming by, so he probably would not have heard me. I comforted myself for my slow pace with the reflection that at least I would not run out of sidewalks in the village. As my runs get longer, I sometimes find myself looping around a lot in order to avoid crossing the busier streets. I lengthened my stride to a semi-sprint for a very few feet, as a lady waited for me before pulling out of the parking lot of the H.A.R.C. building at the end of the street.

I ran around the perimeter of the parking lot. I saw a very old sign I had noticed before and been unable to read. Today I was close enough to make out part of letters that might have at one time read “TOWED AT OWNER’S EXPENSE.” I wondered if anybody would come along and tow me if I just collapsed, which my body was urging me to do. I told myself they would need a flatbed for my fat ass and kept running.

Down this street, up that street. I saw a crumpled piece of cloth. It was too wet and smushed to tell what it was, but I wondered if it was somebody’s underwear. I kept seeing a pair of underwear out the other end of German Street earlier in the spring. It added a little interest to my run.

As I went, it did get easier. My leg muscles warmed up and stopped complaining so much. So when I saw an ambulance parked outside of the medical building I felt I did not need it. I looked for an ambulance attendant so I could yell, “I’m good!” or some other such remark, but nobody was there. Just as well, I suppose. Ambulance attendants don’t have time for my silliness.

By the time I reached the end of my run, though, my legs felt like macaroni. And not al dente, either; the overcooked kind. That happened in the middle of a previous run. That was when I thought of the al dente line, and I’m finally getting to use it. Waste not, want not. Anyways, on that run, I started thinking about how very cooked pasta can have its charms as well, most notably in some real mushy baked macaroni and cheese.

MMMmmmmm…. Now I’m thinking about pasta again. It’s good for runners to eat pasta. Of course, the good runners eat it the night before a big run, not after running and blogging about it. Oh well, I’ll just have to run tomorrow.

Did I mention the most interesting thing I do these days is run?

I mentioned on Facebook that I thought I’d run up the hill to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC). That gave me a little motivation. Of course, that is one of my favorite Sunday runs. The road to the college is less traveled on a Sunday. Also, I haven’t been to work (usually) and don’t have much I have to do after the run, so an extra strenuous run is in order.

I had previously gone to breakfast and gone shopping. I was just picking up a few things but it annoyingly necessitated three stops. Still, that meant it was about an hour since I’d eaten by the time I got home. The clouds looked threatening, so I thought I’d get while the gettin’ was good, as the saying goes.

As I ran down German Street toward the college, I thought I saw a dog I know named Nicky. I should have known it wasn’t him, because he’s usually out walking much earlier. In my defense, my running glasses are a good three prescriptions ago (how well do you need to see while running? Stuff I might run into is usually pretty big). I ran across the street in hopes of petting a friend, quickly saw it was not the same dog or owner, thought I might pet a cute strange dog, but only succeeded in upsetting the pooch. He jumped, barked and growled; the owner pulled on the leash and told him to behave. I apologized and kept running. I felt really stupid as I re-crossed the street, because it must have looked as if I had crossed the street specifically to upset a dog. Oh dear.

Now I was running faster than I’m used to, as a result of crossing the street twice in rapid succession. I thought I ought to slow down to an easier pace, but I am really not that good at pace. My body tends to run at the speed it wants to run. Usually, I admit, not very fast. As soon as I started up the hill, the slow pace came naturally. I did the trick of looking at my feet, so I wouldn’t notice how big the hill was. That worked great; I barely noticed the gradient. Then, of course, being human, I had to look up to see where I was. Yikes! But I have run that hill many times now and made it to the top every time. I had confidence.

The problem with putting a major hill right in the middle of your run is, you get to the top of the hill and you’re tired, but you have to keep running. I looked at the view of Herkimer to distract myself. Gorgeous. Was it just Herkimer I was seeing, or could I see Ilion and/or Mohawk? I looked for landmarks I might recognize even at the distance, realized I was drifting out into the road and stopped looking. Once the gradient evened out, I didn’t even feel too tired. This running is all right.

I turned toward the back road to go back down into town and added a few steps by going down a little stretch past a Do Not Enter sign. I know, they are talking about cars, not middle aged ladies running slowly, but I like to pretend I’m a rebel. Soon I was going downhill and life was sweet.

The back road to HCCC is longer, twistier and a little less steep than the front way. I must run up that way next time. The back way is the way down on the DARE 5K. I saw the little path the DARE run takes, with the gate closed and locked as it usually is. That was a big motivation for me to run the DARE 5K, to see where that little path went. I saw where a runner could easily get around the gate and go down the path, but I refrained. It’s one thing to be a rebel, but running down a closed path is just dumb. Suppose something stupid happened like a sprained ankle or a heart attack (I am 48 years old)? Would I be likely to encounter a kind stranger to help me? I had another rebel opportunity a block later anyways, when I defied a No Left Turn sign.

So my run was pretty OK. I encountered a couple of other runners and told them, “Looking good!” I said “Good morning,” to a some pedestrians. My dog was very happy to see me when I got home and graciously walked my cool down with me. I hope to find other Mohawk Valley adventures sometime, but for now I highly recommend running in Herkimer, NY.

There are going to be a lot of running blogs between now and the Boilermaker. This is pretty much what I am doing right now: work, Harvey rehearsals, and run. Running makes the best posts.

I ran later than normal on a day off today, because I went to help work on the set for Harvey. Harvey, in case you had forgotten or never knew, is the play I’m in with Ilion Little Theatre. For the last play I was in, I barely made it to rehearsals and almost never to set construction, due to the retail hours I was then working. Now I work days with many weekends off, so I was happy to go try to help this morning. I don’t know that I helped much. I held a couple of things for others. It helped me, though, because I had some good laughs with some nice people. I love Ilion Little Theatre.

So I put on shorts and short-sleeves to run, because the thermostat in my house said the outdoor temperature was 44 degrees. Having been outside, I suspected it was colder, but I didn’t have time to worry about it. Right away my hands were cold. Oh dear, was this going to be an uncomfortable run? Never mind, keep running. At least the rest of me would probably warm up.

I ran a hill I know of out Main Street. I had to cross German Street, but that wasn’t too bad with Saturday afternoon traffic. Up I went. It’s a pretty good hill. When I went to turn right to get to the down slope, I ran across the middle of the road, to travel the shortest distance. That was the one time a car happened to be coming. Oops. Luckily, the car turned into a driveway before I was actually in its way.

Now I was going downhill. Aaahh! A great, effortful hill out of the way and I was not even a third of the way into my intended time. What a great feeling! I suppose somebody else may have sought out another hill, just to be that way. I merely kept running.

I ran by a couple of No Parking signs outside of a house. No worries there; I wasn’t about to park it just then. I saw a van parked near one of the signs, but perhaps the sign was not talking to him. I turned onto the little path over what used to be the hydraulic canal. That’s a nice place to run.

I crossed back over German Street at the four way stop at Main Street. I waited for one car, then ran across, waving “thank you” to the cars that waited for me. As I continued down German, a lady on Washington waved me across in front of her. I thought that was very nice of her, because it’s not always easy to get onto German where there’s not a four way stop. By waiting for me, she may have missed her chance. I think she got out OK, but by then I was down another section of the erstwhile hydraulic canal.

After that I went through the parking lot of the county office building, just for something different. No traffic there on a weekend. I turned down Green Street and sprinted to make the green light at Washington. Then I changed direction to go by a sign I saw on the church there for a Rummage Sale. May 3 and 4. Phew, not today! Will I remember it by May? I hope it will be in the paper in case I don’t.

Next I turned and went through the parking lot between the church and Fire Station, then through the parking lot of the Police Station and Village Offices. I saw a bench that said “Shop Local.” Well I do, then I blog about it, I thought. I continued through another parking lot by what used to be a bank and headed towards a “Do Not Enter” sign. I love to Enter where it tells me not to.

It turned out to be a good time to cross Main Street, then it was through Myers Park and home. By this time I was feeling terrific. Even my hands were not too cold. I realized I had spend most of the run feeling pretty damn good, and that made me feel really good. Maybe I’m going to make a success of this running thing after all!