Tag Archives: running

I’m 61 and I Still Run

Posted on November 13, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought of that rhyme as I walked my cool-down walk after today’s run.  I’ve been 61 for over 11 months, and this is the first time I thought of it.  What the hell, me?  However, waste not, want not: I’m still 61 and I can use it for a headline for a Running Commentary post.

I did not run for the last two days, so I really felt obligated.  In my defense, yesterday it was snowing and I just couldn’t trust the roads.  I walked later in the afternoon and couldn’t trust all the sidewalks, but it is less of a problem for walking.  I did not trust the sidewalks today but stuck to the roads for the most part.  In general I prefer to stay on the sidewalks.  I like to give myself every advantage of not getting run over by a car.

I often run by the Court House.

Full disclosure:  This picture is from February 2021, but it shows a landmark I ran by and it shows snow.  Regular readers may recognize this as part of Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners, a favorite place for me to walk or run by.  I was on the second half of my run by this time.  I was using the Map My Run app on my phone, making a lot of turns in hopes of mapping out an interesting shape, and saw that I was just over a mile.  Go, me!

I was holding the phone in my hand, because I could not find the strap I hold it on my arm with and was too impatient to look for it.  It made it not so easy to blow my nose as I ran, but you can’t have everything.

Also not taken today.

I could not find the picture I wanted to share but came across this one.  I was wearing that headband today.  I purchased it in Niagara Falls while on my honeymoon with my beloved dearly missed husband Steve in 1990.  My hair is not that long, but it’s growing.

My run was not too bad.  I went almost two and a half miles in 33 minutes, which while slow is faster than my recent runs.  I did not pet any dogs, although I saw a couple nice ones.  I did get to pet one of my favorite doggy friends, Pugsley the morkie on my cool-down walk (it was right after I thought of today’s headline).  I may be ready for the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls this December.  I hope they have one.

 

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Back on Track?

Posted on November 6, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have not only not been blogging, I have not been running as much as I like to, for various reasons.  The problem with not doing something, especially when you suffer from depression, is that the longer you don’t do it, the harder it is to start doing it again, be it running, writing, or going out with friends.  I have been saying for days I want to start running today and finally decided today would be the day.  As I went to bed last night, I thought, I can run first thing, before coffee or anything!  Could that be the reason I slept in later than I have in over a week?

Yes, I got up with absolutely no inclination to run or do anything.  However, after a cup of tea, something to eat, and waiting for what I ate to digest, I decided to take Nike’s advice and Just Do It.  As soon as I started to find some running clothes to put on, I felt better about everything.  I misplaced my Garmin, but my phone was charged and has the Map My Run app.  I did not misplace the strap I use to hold it on my arm.  Soon I was on my way.

How I felt before my run.

I ran by this skeleton as I left my house.  There were a lot more leaves around him today.  I had no plans as to where or how far to run.  I figured I would listen to my body and just keep moving for a while.  As it turned out, my body was not at all averse to running.  I felt fine!  I could keep going for miles!  In fact, I kept going for two miles.  I felt especially happy about this, because I might do the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls in December.  I have run it before and enjoyed it quite a bit.

They even provide little bags!

As I walked my cool-down walk, I took this picture.  I had noticed it during my run and felt impressed.  This, I thought, is being part of the solution!  I personally try to always remember to carry a bag or two when I walk my dog (when I have a dog).  However, it cannot be denied that shit happens.

I guess that was a little digression from Running Commentary, but it got me close to 400 words.  Score!  Am I back to blogging?  I hope at least I am back to running!

 

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I Stumble in my Blogging Journey

Posted on November 3, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I started my November of posting every day by, you guessed it, not posting on November 2 (today is Nov. 3 by my calendar, although my WordPress Timestamp may say Nov. 4; I don’t properly understand these things).  However, it is only a little after 5 a.m. (ah, the miracle of Fall Back).  I had quite a stretch of making my posts late, in the morning, before I left for work.  We’ll pretend this is one of those days.

As it happens, I no longer work.  Except for almost every night when I am asleep, I dream I am at work at various places.  I must find a book on dream interpretation and see what it means, although I might scare myself.  Who wants to be inside my head?

A little fall color, at least.

I throw in a picture to pep things up.  I have fallen off the running wagon for one reason and another (explanations are tiresome), but I have tried to at least walk.  This shot was from a walk I took while staying at my sister Diane’s house last weekend.  I liked the look of the dark green against the bright yellow.

The road less traveled?

This is a picture I took in Ilion last week to possibly go with my story for Sentinel Media about the Ilion Town Board meeting.  It is one of the entrances to Russell Park, a good place to take a walk.  I may go there for a walk one day before it gets too cold.

So I guess this is another nothing post, but one does what one can.  I shall try to continue with a better blog post later today.

 

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Am I Ready for the 5K?

Posted on October 10, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

I thought I would make a quick post about the East Herkimer Fire Department 5K tomorrow, Oct. 11.  Regular readers may recall I am running in it and have been training for it.

From when I shared the logo in 2017.

I last ran the race in 2017, then it kind of fell off my radar.  I am not always in good running shape in the fall.  Many years this is about the time I am starting again and aiming for the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls in December.  Quite frankly, the only consistent thing about my running is its inconsistency.  Oh, and the fact that it is never particularly fast.

Me and Mookie Wilson.

I wanted to share a silly picture of myself.  This is from October 2020 when I was exercising for 34 minutes every day for 34 days to raise awareness for 34 million Americans with diabetes.  People were only doing virtual races at the time, due to COVID.  However, this is digressing from the East Herkimer Fire Department 5K, which I had meant to blog about.

The race is tomorrow!  Am I ready?  Regular readers are right to wonder!  I took a short run today but did longer runs on Wednesday and Thursday.

My only worry is getting lost along the way.  I tend to run much slower than the other runners and so lose sight of them.  I found the map from the 2017 run (it’s true: I never throw anything away) and tried to drive the route.  I got hopelessly lost after the turnaround, since it did not follow the same route back. I can only hope for signs along the way on the day for the race.

The race starts at 9 a.m. at the fire station, 193 Main Rd., East Herkimer, NY.  The station will be open at 7:30 a.m. Day-of-Event Registration and Sign-in will begin at 8 a.m. Pre-and post-race water and refreshments will be available. For more information, check out their Facebook page.

 

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I Wouldn’t Waste an Axe Murderess, Would I?

Posted on October 9, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Regular readers may have noticed that daily blogging continues to elude me.  Ooh, there’s a slimy passive-voice way to put it, as if I am pursuing the goal, but the goal is too clever for me, when the fact is that it is my own efforts that fall short.  You can call me out on that if you like, but you see I have already admitted the fault.  In any case, having missed posting Sunday and Monday but refraining from calling attention to the fact (till just now), I sit on my couch on Thursday morning preparing to make a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday post.

Full disclosure: I did not look like this when I played Roxy.

You can’t read her name tag, but it says “Roxy.”  It is Roxalana Druse, who famously killed her husband and was hanged behind the 1843 Herkimer Jail in 1887.  I had the honor of playing Roxy in the play of that name presented by the Herkimer County Historical Society and Ilion Little Theatre in 2015 (long-time readers may have read some of my blog posts about it).  This Roxy is in Renewed and Rescued at Mohawk Valley Community Market.  I stopped in briefly yesterday but must return for a longer visit (preview of coming attractions).

Just hanging out!

Here is a friendly-looking fellow I encountered one of the mornings I was out looking for pictures to go with one of my Village Board stories for Sentinel Media.  I adore Halloween decorations!  I should take some more pictures and do a blog post of them (another preview of coming attractions?)

This woman did not kill her husband.

I guess I am veering into Non-Sequitur Thursday territory after an ax murderess and a skeleton.  This is Michelle, one of the bartenders at the Herkimer Elks Lodge wearing my tiara.  I wore it for a play I was in last summer (Four Old Broads on the High Seas, perhaps you read some of my blog posts about it).  I happened to wear it to the Lodge one day, I forget why, and Michelle wanted to pose with it.

Ooh, look at me, over 350 words.  I’m almost through my second cup of coffee too.  Time to go for my run.  The East Herkimer Fire Department 5K is Saturday.  I fear I have not been posting nearly enough about that!  Well, as I said in the first paragraph, I have not been posting enough period, at least by my standards for me.  But I thank you for tuning in when I do.

 

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More Old Forge Photos

Posted on October 8, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’ll just share a few more pictures from my day at Old Forge with my sister Cheryl.  We had a great time at the top of McCauley mountain, even hiking a short trail, which my old body found challenging.  Mostly I enjoyed the views.

Too bad about the colors this year.

There were a few good vantage points.  I would like to go back one year when the colors are brighter, but I certainly enjoyed what I saw.

Cheryl is the one in yellow.

Cheryl doesn’t usually like to pose for pictures, but she agreed to this one, because she is partially hiding behind the rock.  It is one of the rocks we encountered on the trail we walked.  A sign said it was about a 20 minute loop, but I neglected to look at my watch when we started so do not know how long it took.  There were some pretty good ups and downs, and my legs were feeling they had had a work-out when we finished, which was nice, since I had not gone running that morning.

I did not borrow a stick.

After coming down from the mountain, we walked around Old Forge, checking out a few of the shops. I did not take many pictures but could not resist a shot of a Stick Library.  I can’t help thinking one of those would be useful at the bottom of the trail, only bigger ones you can use while hiking.  Then again, maybe any Stick Library is not such a good idea.  I can get pretty annoying sometimes; somebody might use one to hit me with.

 

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More Parking Lot Commentary

Posted on October 5, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here are the last of the senior parking spaces from Herkimer Junior Senior High School.  I have not walked or run by them recently but may tomorrow.  I know, I could only wait till then and use these as part of a Running Commentary post.  However, I cannot count on myself to either run or comment.  OK, I can usually be counted upon to comment.  As you see.

Class president with a dog and a Bob Marley quote. Nice!

“Love the life you have; live the life you love.”  -Bob Marley.  I’ll have to put that on my to-do list.

Now this one is minimalist.

Just the essentials from Logan, I guess.

Who knew, when she was just a kindergartner?

My 12 years in school did not seem to fly by, but the years certainly are careening along now.

I do like the white on black.

Is that Sponge Bob?  I don’t recognize him when he is not in color.  Anyways, he is past my time.  I am Bugs Bunny generation.

I suppose those count as “comments from the Peanut Gallery.”  That used to be a big saying, “And no comments from the Peanut Gallery!”  meaning you didn’t want anybody to say anything.  I think the Peanut Gallery was on the Howdy Doody Show, but that was before my time.  That’s me, somewhere between Howdy Doody and Sponge Bob.  It’s better than a rock and a hard place!

 

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More Parking Lot Pictures

Posted on September 26, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Wednesday I ran early in the morning to beat the rain, and I ran through the Herkimer Junior Senior High School parking lot so I could use more pictures of the seniors’ parking spaces as illustration for a Running Commentary post.  Then I went a different way with my Wednesday post (as you may have read).  Today I ran in the afternoon, when I thought it had stopped raining.  I ran towards the high school, for the same reason, but cars were still parked in the lot as well as driving along the streets, and it just seemed a better idea not to go there.  However, that is no reason not to make a blog post using more of my parking lot pictures.

This one is cool!

I see two names on this one.  I don’t know if that means it is a shared space or merely collaborative artwork. Perhaps I ought to research these things.

Rewind or fast forward?

I had forgotten Kanye West’s full name.  I think he goes by “Ye” now, but I really do not follow rap.

This seems like an athletic guy.

I like the different lettering on this one.

A more minimalist approach.

This one seems quieter compared to some of the others, but that is what makes the parking lot as a whole such a work of art.  It takes all different kinds to make a world.  Let’s embrace it!

 

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Late Post, More Art

Posted on September 23, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

After falling down on my daily blogging ambitions once again, I try to pick things up with a few more examples of parking lot artwork by Herkimer High School Seniors.  I ran by the art on once of my morning runs recently, a great addition of something fun to look at while I thunk along.

Who doesn’t love Spiderman?

This is a good one for me to run by, because for the next mile or so the Spiderman theme song plays in my head.  Yes, I know all the words.

Kitty is nice, too.

This is another one I wish I had gotten a better shot of.  Well, local readers are encouraged to take a walk down and check these out for themselves.  They are even better in person.

Is he surrendering? Or part of a wave?

I’m not sure who this fellow is, because I am not up on current popular characters.  Perhaps it is an invention of the senior who painted it.  That would be cool.

I like the lettering.

I do four instead of my usual three pictures, and I still have some left for future posts.  Which I hope to make in a timely fashion and stop missing days.  As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

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Yay, Herkimer Seniors!

Posted on September 15, 2025 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday when I was running,  I noticed some painting on Herkimer Junior/Senior High School parking lot.  Naturally I ran by to check it out (full disclosure: I had planned to run through the parking lot anyways to go over the little bridge etc.).  I was charmed.  The seniors have painted their parking spaces.  What a great way to express your personality and celebrate your senior year!

You can’t really see the spider webs in the corners.

I walked back later with my phone to take pictures. Alas, I was not tall enough to get the full picture, but I did my best.  There were 25 of them.  I will not share all 25 at once, just to spread the joy.  Also because I rarely make very long blog posts.

The light pole made a shadow.

There was a variety of styles and themes, reflecting the diversity of personalities.  You could even call it an art exhibit.

I guess a lot of people would.

I will probably run or walk by these spaces every Sunday, the only day they are not likely to be parked on.  I applaud whoever thought of the idea, and I congratulate the seniors on their execution.  I hope they are having a wonderful senior year.

 

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