Tag Archives: running

Pre-Swim Post

Posted on September 21, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have shared various parts of my fitness journey here, my walks and runs, and years ago when I went to the Mohawk YMCA I seem to recall making a couple of elliptical remarks (a play on words when I was on the elliptical machine).  I thought my well-wishers would like to know I had gotten a year’s membership at the Y which allows me use the facilities in Little Falls and Mohawk, NY (I feel I should specify the state for the benefit of anybody just now tuning in).  So far I have only been swimming in Little Falls, but I have enjoyed that quite a bit.

I finally remembered to take a picture of the building.

What, you didn’t think I was going to take a selfie of me in a bathing suit, did you?  Well, it may come to that eventually.  I had been tempted to join for quite some time now.  One of my Elks friends swims almost every morning, and it is not only good exercise, apparently it is also a very sociable thing to do.  Some of them meet for lunch sometimes, and even for dinner at Christmas.  Regular readers know how I live to be sociable.

It turned out to be quite affordable (at least I could afford it) to purchase a year’s membership, and I can also take advantage of weight rooms, exercise machines, and various classes.  So far all I have done is swim.  We are not supposed to swim laps, unfortunately, so I mostly walk back and forth, swish around, and do some of the exercise I learned in Physical Therapy.  And chat with my fellow swimmers.  I was delighted to find that I was already acquainted with a number of them.  And I have made new friends.  Of course I swim without my glasses on, so it is not guaranteed that I will recognize my new friends when I see them outside the pool, but hopefully they will recognize me and help me out.  It is amazing to me how often you do not recognize people when you see them in a different setting anyways, or is that just me?

Anyways, this is my Monday blog post, a shout-out to the local Y.  I encourage everybody to get what exercise they can, according to their abilities and the facilities available.  We’ll call this my Public Service Announcement for the day.

 

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Pretend It’s Still Wednesday

Posted on September 17, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Last night I dreamed I neglected to make a Wednesday blog post early Thursday morning or even Thursday afternoon.  I do not know what day or time it was in the dream, but I searched for my computer, composing in my head, “Now I’ve done it, now I have done it.”  As is the way with dreams, I when I found my computer I could not log on properly or find where I wanted to go or anything.  Then I dreamed about something else.

Now it is prior to 6 a.m. (early by almost anybody’s standards) and I am sipping tea (the ubiquitous old lady tummy troubles) and wishing I had taken enough pictures for a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday post.  I have gone to a couple of Mohawk Valley businesses but neglected to take pictures then either.  I used to post entirely without pictures but feel strangely loathe to do so now.

Something to feel a little sad about.

Looking in my Media Library for something to use for a Wayback Wednesday, I saw this and said, “Oh yeah, rats!”  A year ago I was preparing for this very race.  An invitation to register for it showed up in my email recently, and I sadly ignored it.  I am walking but not yet running.  I see my primary care physician next week and will ask her about the advisability of ever running again.

Unfortunately, I am not a night owl either.

I change the subject to something more cheerful, showing a present my late, dearly missed husband Steve gave me several years ago.  I need to find that mug.  It is in my cupboard somewhere.  The vampire is packed away with Halloween decorations. I will find him eventually.

I see I am approaching 300 words.  I am going to bill this as a Wuss-out Wednesday and drive on.  I will try for some kind of a Thursday post later today, but no promises.

 

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I Didn’t Get To

Posted on July 13, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I neglected to make my Wrist to Forehead Sunday blog post, but that isn’t really what I Didn’t Get To, as referenced in the title.  The title refers to the Utica Boilermaker 15K, which longtime readers know I have run in the past and I meant to run this year but was sidelined by my treacherous body.  Then again, perhaps it was me who betrayed my body by not training properly, not stretching enough, eating the wrong things, blah blah blah.  In other words, once again, Operator Error.  In either case, yesterday I swooned, dramatically posed with the back of one wrist to my forehead, because I could not join the other runners.

What I might have looked like after the race.

That is a picture from April of 2020, after I had just run a Virtual 5K to benefit, I think, a food pantry in Little Falls, NY.  These were my pre-Garmin, pre-Map My Run days, so I ran what I thought I remembered was the DARE 5K route, up the hill to Herkimer College (a formidable hill, in case you didn’t know).  Some people were impressed.

So I got on Facebook yesterday and saw all the good wishes for Boilermaker runners and video from WKTV, and I was, I admit it, a little down. So I said to myself, “You don’t get to.”  And isn’t that the truth?  Sometimes you just don’t get to.  I didn’t get to see my husband turn 70.  I didn’t get to win the Lottery.  I didn’t get to plant a vegetable garden this year.

I do not know why that little phrase should make me feel better, but somehow it does.  I did not get to run the Boilermaker.  Maybe next year I will.  Or maybe not.  A little uncertainty adds interest to 2027, does it not?

 

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The Boilermaker Blues

Posted on July 10, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Hello and welcome to another Lame Post Friday post!  I am waiting for my new smarter-than-me phone to charge a little more before I head out to the Health and Wellness Expo for the Utica Boilermaker 2026.  Normally this blog would be All Boilermaker All The Time at this point, as I dealt with last minute training and carbing up, Boilermaker Butterflies, decisions about what to wear, where to park, and anything else I could come up with to dither about.  Regular readers know, that will not happen this year.

My feet failed me now.

Those are my sneakers in 2020, a virtual Boilermaker year.  Running was a great solace to me during COVID shut-down.  I have long relied on walking and running to supplement my anti-depressant drugs, counseling, etc.  These days I keep giving myself a good talking-to when I start to feel sorry for myself over the way my body has betrayed me this year, because for heavens’ sake, it could be much worse.

I waited till way too late in the game to transfer my bib or get a medical deferral. Partly because I was spending time immobile and incommunicado, partly because I kept hoping there would be some miracle.  That was silly of me, but then, you know me.  Silly.  I emailed the race director on Wednesday and told him my tentative plan to pick up my bib and glass, then go to the race after-party on my crutches and drink beer with the finishers.  He emailed back that he thought it was a great idea.  How sweet was that, that he took time to email me back!

Not the best picture.

The Boilermaker gives you a glass instead of a t-shirt.  This is from the first time I ran the Boilermaker in 2010.  I have not run it  every year, but I have run it several times (please don’t ask me to do the math!).  Sorry the picture is so dark.  I first had to wander around my messy house looking for a place to take the picture at all; I couldn’t be bothered to worry about the lighting as well.

I see I am over 350 words with neither a random observation nor a bit of half-baked philosophy to show for it.  What is Lame Post Friday coming to?  On the brighter side, it is just about time to take off for the Expo.  Another glass to drink my chocolate milk recovery beverage out of, if I am ever able to run again!

 

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Another Post from the Couch

Posted on June 14, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

On the brighter side, I am ten-finger typing on my Chromebook.  Yes, there are a lot of brighter sides and I try to concentrate on them.  However, I have not been out on a Mohawk Valley Adventure for a while now.  In the meantime, I see a lot of things I am missing on Facebook.  Have I got the dreaded FOMO, Fear Of Missing Out?  There is no point in being afraid I might miss out; I AM missing out.  But that is OK, because, after all, one can’t do everything.

 

I did have a nice outfit.

This is from June 2021, just before I went to Little Falls, NY to run the Pride Stride 5K.  Midway through May I figured I would have to give it a miss this year, but I hoped to partake of some of the Pride festivities going on in Little Falls this weekend.  Alas, I did not, but I give them a shout-out.  Local readers, you should have been there; if not, watch for it next year!

Local music? Yes, please!

I think I mentioned recently how I miss going to Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort to hear talented musicians, such as Phil Arcuri, pictured above.

Great little shop!

And then there is shopping.  To Niche Their Own in Herkimer is a delightful place.  I love to stop in there and look at all the stuff by local artisans.  I usually leave with a pair of earrings, a stuffed bat or bear, or a beautiful artificial flower.

So I have many plans for when I am mobile once again.  In the meantime, I hope my blog posts entertain.

 

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A Nice Walk, A Short Post

Posted on May 30, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I took a walk today, bringing my phone along in hopes of doing a Pedestrian Post with Pictures in lieu of my usual Lame Post Friday post.  Technically, I suppose yesterday’s post was a Pedestrian Post with Pictures, because I took pictures as I walked home from the Elks Lodge and used them in a post, but this time I was doing it with specific intent.  Also, I have not been taking many walks lately.  This one was twenty minutes long and did not feel too bad.  I may be back to my bad ass walking and running self soon (I use “bad ass” in the most generous and self-flattering sense of the term).

I should do something like this in my front lawn.

I always like the little spaces with the low stone fences.  I’m afraid my phone doesn’t really show up the colors very well.  What do I want from a crappy TracFone (or whatever it’s called).  I shouldn’t be so cheap, I suppose.

I’d like a little burro, too!

This little guy is often dressed for the season.  Today I admired his patriotic necktie.  I also like the flowers.  I need some lawn decorations.  I think I have some frogs somewhere.

Pretty!

I was bold enough to walk a few places up somebody’s driveway for the irises.  I used to have irises, but there is no sign of them this year.  I may be able to get more bulbs when my mother thins hers out again.

My walk was not very long, but I enjoyed it.  I hope to take another one tomorrow, perhaps before the sun is up when the birds are singing.  We’ll see how early I can bestir myself.

 

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What Sort of Saturday?

Posted on May 24, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is past noon on a Saturday and I have done not much.  My front lawn is looking better, after some help from a kind neighbor with a power mower.  I moved around the mess in my house a little.  I keep moving the mess around hoping it is like sand in a bucket at the beach.  Did you ever do that as a kid?  You dump the sand from one bucket into another and back, losing a little each time until there is no sand left.  I wrote four postcards to some of my regular postcard peeps.  Four is about how many I can write before it starts to feel like a chore.

Where was I going with this?  Quick, throw in a picture.

It looks like they are having fun.

Here are some people partying it up on a holiday weekend!  At least, I do not know if it is a holiday weekend, but let’s pretend it is.  I am hanging around my house this Memorial Day weekend, which is not unusual for me.  Sometimes I get together with family. Sometimes I go for a run past veteran memorials in town.  My current malaise makes that ineligible, but let me not whine about my aches and pains.

Let us always remember our veterans.

Here is one of the places I run by, when I am making long runs in honor of our vets (and because I like going on long runs).  What a scattered post this is turning out to be.  I blame it on my current lack of brain and ask my readers to forgive me.

Did somebody mention brain?

This is The Brain from the Planet Arous, if I have the name of the movie correctly (too lazy to look it up).  I saw the picture when I was looking for veteran memorials and could not resist including it.  I am going to bill this as a Scattered Saturday post and drive on.  I hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

 

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I Lame Myself

Posted on May 8, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

I think I have whined a couple of times about my mysterious leg pains.  I keep putting off calling the VA to make another appointment in hopes that it mysteriously resolves itself as pains sometimes do.  In the meantime, it has been causing some problems, because I rely on my nearly daily walks and runs to supplement my anti-depressant medications.  I gradually become more open in talking about my depression in hopes of doing my little part to remove the stigma still attached to mental health.  Was that virtue signalling?  Oh dear. All I really set out to do was make a Running Commentary blog post.  Quick, throw in a picture to distract from my word salad.

Decidedly not where I ran today.

I did run up this hill recently.  Incidentally, it is more intimidating when you are on it than it looks in this picture.  Getting back to today.  My legs and back usually feel pretty good when I first get up, so I thought I would try at least a short run.  I am registered for the Boilermaker 15K, and I would really hate to miss it.  Additionally, I am putting on weight.  And I LIKE to run!  With everything in my favor, I got my gear on and set out.

And it felt pretty good.  I did not attempt any hills and I set a rather slow pace.  I considered trying for two miles, figuring in my head how many weeks I have till the big race and how fast I ought to try to improve.  Doing math in my head is a good way to pass the time while I run.  A drill sergeant told me many years ago that running was just a matter of distracting yourself from how much it sucks to run.

I had looped around and was heading towards my house when my left calf started to ache just a little.  I was about 20 minutes into the run.  I had been going to make a turn and run another block or two, but then I thought, don’t be stupid. Twenty minutes is fine after more than a week off.  I went home.  I think it was a good thing I did, because when I stopped running and stood still, my leg started hurting like a sonofabitch!  I couldn’t do my cool-down walk!  I couldn’t do my stretches!  I made it into the house, sat down on the couch, and put my feet up.  And made this blog post.

That brings us up to date.  I see I have babbled on for over 400 words, and I just remembered something:  This is Lame Post Friday.  I find that strangely appropriate.

 

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Running Into May Flowers?

Posted on May 2, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well here I am with another early-ish morning post for a day late Lame Post Friday.  I am lame these days.  I don’t know if I have whined about the trouble I’ve been having with my legs lately, but, well, I’ve been having some aches and pains.  Whatever will happen to my Boilermaker hopes and dreams?  More importantly, I count on my walks and runs to supplement my anti-depressant medications, which my doctor heartily approves.  I suppose these things will work out one way or another, and I think I had better throw in a picture to lighten up the post.

Is that an azalea?

I saw this in my Media Library from May 2022 and thought it was my own rhododendron but I see now it is a plant from a neighbor’s yard.  I can’t see pictures in my Media Library as clearly, because now they show an IMG code or whatever it is (regular readers know I am far from tech savvy).  Anyways, this is a good picture for the beginning of May.  We had a few April showers and I for one am looking forward to May flowers.  I must plant a few.

Alas, an increasingly distant memory.

One thing I have let slide is my container garden, which used to grace my back deck.  Since 2020 I have been determined to reinstate it, and I have met with very little success.  Will this be the year of the pots?  Or will I once again, go to pot?  A little uncertainty adds interest to my May.

In the meantime, I am over 250 words.  Sufficient for a late Lame Post Friday post I say.  I hope you all have a marvelous weekend.

 

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Monstrous Memories on a Late Wuss-Out Wednesday Post

Posted on April 30, 2026 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well I wussed out on Wednesday and failed to make a blog post.  In my defense… my defense is too long and boring to share. Instead I will make a late  Mid-Week Monsters post and try for a Non-Sequitur or other Thursday post later in the day.  It is not super early for me, but it is prior to 7 a.m. which is considered early by many.

Extra points for crazy eyes.

How about me and a monster, qualifying this as a Wayback Wednesday post as well.  This was from October 2020, when we were all trying to recover from the COVID lock-down.  I was pursuing a challenge of exercising for 34 minutes 34 days in a row to call attention to 34 million Americans who suffer from diabetes.  Part of the challenge was to post a selfie every day and talk about the challenge.  Naturally I included friends.

It’s Mookie Wilson!

I was so taken by that selfie, I make bold to share another one.  I talked about Mookie Wilson the bat in a recent blog post.  If I can find it I will make a ping back to it.

I don’t want Bonaparte to feel left out!

And one more, just to make it three pictures.  I have been having a little trouble running and walking this past week, but I will not share my woes with you yet (key word being yet; I cannot always refrain from whining).  In the meantime, I have achieved over 200 words, my first, and perhaps only accomplishment of the day.  Once again, I thank you for tuning in.

 

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