Tag Archives: running

Lame Minute Before the Race

Posted on July 11, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

The Boilermaker excitement continues.  And could somebody please explain to me why  I feel so blankety-blank NERVOUS about it?  I will run 15 Ks.  It will be fun. My problems of getting there and getting home afterward will be solved one way or another.  There is no reason for butterflies.

One theory about why I would be nervous is that I am on my employer’s Corporate Cup Team.  My time will count in a competition that could win money for a charity.  I will not run fast.  I never run very fast. But the others on my team already know that.  They let me on the team anyways.  It is no cause for distress.

Today Steven and I went to the Boilermaker Expo at Mohawk Valley Community College to pick up my race packet.  This was another source of stress.  Drive to Utica, find a parking space, make my way through a crowd — regular readers know I have trouble with all these things.  The little trip went off without a hitch.  One would expect me to feel relief.

And here I sit with my wrist to my forehead (figuratively speaking, that is), knowing that I am being completely stupid and self-dramatizing.  These are not insurmountable problems, I tell myself.  Quit being such a big baby!

Perhaps my problem is not the Boilermaker 15K at all.  Perhaps my problem is that this is the last Friday of my two week break.  I will run the Boilermaker Sunday and go back to work on Monday.  I believe this is something that could cause any rational person at least some amount of distress.

On the brighter side, I can look forward to next Friday, when Friday will MEAN something again.  It won’t be the end of my days off, it will be the beginning of my days off.  Yes, it will be two days rather than two weeks, must you bring up the negative aspects of everything?

In the meantime, don’t mind me.  I’m just being foolish.  I really am looking forward to the Boilermaker.  I’m even looking forward to the short, easy run I intend to take tomorrow morning. I like to run.

 

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I’m a Fool for Fuel

Posted on July 9, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Three days till the Boilermaker!  I went to the grocery store this morning to get nutritious food to fuel myself up for the big day.

I got some fruit, which is an excellent source of hydration, and vegetables, because salad is just always a good idea. I also got some bananas.  Oh, I know, that comes under the heading of  “fruit,” but I thought I’d just mention how I thought I’d have one with peanut butter before leaving the house Boilermaker morning.

In the meat section I found a London broil to put in the crock pot on Friday.  A fellow at The Sneaker Store in New Hartford, NY, (where I go for my running shoes and for running advice) told me to have a steak dinner on Friday, pasta on Saturday.  I don’t know how to cook steak, but roast beef in the crock pot is easy enough.

I had had the notion to get some of the frozen, pre-cooked chicken strips, you know, boneless, skinless chicken breast, but I saw some boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the meat section.  To me, this is much better.  I like the taste better, it’s easier to cook without drying out, and it costs less.  And one package is good for five meals for me and Steve.

I had meant to write a post detailing the healthy dinner I’m cooking tonight (pasta salad and chicken with pesto), but after writing the above, I’m getting the Boilermaker butterflies again! Maybe All Boilermaker All The Time isn’t such a good idea. Maybe I should take my mind off it.  I may try that tomorrow, on Non-Sequitur Thursday.  Hope to see you then.

 

 

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And Now to Hydrate

Posted on July 8, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Welcome to another post in All Boilermaker All The  Time.  The race is taking on a looming presence in my psyche.  I approach it with trepidation and anticipation.  Today I lean more toward anticipation.  After all, it’s not just a race:  it’s a party!  And by “party” I don’t mean the after-party at the Saranac Brewery.  I mean the race itself.

It’s going to be FUN!  People will cheer, shake noisemakers, and hold up funny signs.  Bands and DJs will play music.  I’ll make silly jokes with the other runners.  More importantly, at long last it seems that running itself has gotten back to being fun for me.  Just running.  I love it.

I went for a short run this morning.  I confess to a brief feeling of disappointment that it was not pouring rain.  I considered bagging the run and going for a long walk later, like I did on Monday.  Then I thought about how it was supposed to be hot and humid later, that I really don’t like to take more than a day off at a time, and that if I ran right away I would probably drink less coffee, an important factor in my quest for hydration.

I set out thinking to do a mere twenty minutes.  I decided to include the hill by Valley Health, since I had run a fairly flat route on my last run.  It was already quite humid.  It is supposed to be humid on Boilermaker Sunday.  I suppose it is too late to get really acclimated to running in heat and humidity.  Well, maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.

And it wasn’t.  I got sweaty, of course, and pretty thirsty.  I ran for 28 minutes, then walked ten as a cool-down.  I stopped home before the cool-down and picked up the bottle of water I had foresightedly left for myself on the deck (my computer is telling me foresightedly is not a word, but I think it is) (OK, I’m pretty sure it’s not, but it is what I mean).  Side note:  the water bottle thing is  what I do every time I run, but I wasn’t sure if I had ever mentioned it.

I felt pretty happy with myself for running, especially when it began pouring rain later in the morning. Then again when the sun came out and it got stinking hot in the afternoon. I hope I’ll feel as happy on Sunday after 15 Ks.  I’ll let you know.

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On Your Mark, Get Set, Get Nervous

Posted on July 7, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

It’s a Mental Meanderings Monday and let me tell you, today I am all over the map.  Not literally.  I did take a long walk that covered a bit of the map of Herkimer, but that’s neither here nor there. Or rather, that was here and there.  Oh dear, I am not making much sense today.

The fact is, the Boilermaker is a mere five days away and I am NERVOUS.  Here’s now nervous I am:  I just hit something and erased what I had just typed in.   As I tried to get it back, I thought, really, no big whoop, it was a dumb paragraph. I can write something better.  Then I got it back and thought, waste not, want not (a favorite saying of mine).

It’s just pre-race jitters, a perfectly normal phenomenon.  All I have to do is get to the race and start running and I’ll be fine.  Well, there’s one problem right there: I have to get to the race.   I keep telling myself:  it’s not a problem:  Steven will drop me off.   So why do I still feel nervous?  OK, try not to dwell on it.  Drink some water.

There’s another problem:  am I hydrated enough?  I keep drinking water, with an occasional break of Gator Ade or seltzer with lemon.   OK, I drank coffee this morning.  Two and a half cups.  I’m sure that’s too much.  And I probably should not have had that wine yesterday.  It is kind of a thing with me to enjoy a glass or two of white wine on a Sunday, but I suppose one ought to forgo these things a week before the Boilermaker.

Well, I can’t help the coffee and wine I already drank, can I?  I can’t help the sprints I didn’t run; it’s too late now.  As a matter of fact, I think I did train enough to run 15 Ks. My last few runs have felt really good.  Maybe not for the whole run, but for a good part of it.  Perhaps I could have run more and would feel even better now, but all things considered (you know, like being  middle-aged and having a life plus the changeable Mohawk Valley weather), I think I did OK.

So I guess this is my post for the day.  I’ve blathered on for almost 400 words about my foolish nerves.  I’d like to feel I’ve gotten it out of my system.  I have rehearsal tonight for Roxy, the play I am in at Ilion Little Theatre.  Perhaps tomorrow I could take a day off from All Boilermaker All The Time and write about that.

 

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Oh, Those Endorphins!

Posted on July 5, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I’ve been trying all day to think of something profound to say about the 4th of July (don’t feel right calling it Independence Day after that dumb movie) (oh, it was entertaining enough,don’t hate on me if it’s your favorite piece of cinema; let’s not get distracted by what was only a  parenthetical comment after all).  And now I realize that because of the weird time setting on my WordPress page, it is now the fifth of July.  I can do up a quick Running Commentary on this morning’s jaunt  and hit Publish in time to get to the cookout at my sister’s house.

I hadn’t even meant to do a running commentary, although it would be appropriate for me to go All Boilermaker All The Time at this point.  After all, the race is one week from tomorrow.  I need to start hydrating and obsessing or I’ll never be ready.  That said, I kind of think I am ready.  I’m just afraid to say it too loudly and jinx myself (perhaps I should have put it in a parenthetical comment).

Be all that as it may, I missed my run yesterday due to a dreadful headache and bad reaction to the drugs that were supposed to help.  I got up at 3:30 this morning, because of my husband’s work. I figured  I could hydrate and perhaps have a little something to eat, then run at twenty after six, when he left for work.  I drank water.  I ate a piece of whole wheat toast with cottage cheese.  This was going to be great.

It was  actually 6:25 when I set out.  I had dithered when deciding which way to go.  I wanted hills, but which ones?  Main Street?  Steuben?  Up to the college?  When I had asked Steven  earlier, he didn’t know what to tell me so finally said, “Run in the suburbs.”  For those just tuning in, the suburbs is what I call a residential area beyond Valley Health Services.  They have some pretty good hills there.

So up the hill by Valley Health I went. Only I didn’t feel like running the same route I ran last time.  I wanted something different, so I took a different turn.  Hmm, that was no hill.  I kept running, looking for a hill I hadn’t run.  Soon I found myself near Lou Ambers Drive.  Oh, to heck with it.  I went to Lou Ambers and on up to Herkimer College.

I forgot to mention that I was running with a bottle of water in my hand.  I had debated whether or not to do this (so many decisions for one run!).  After all, I wasn’t sure how long I would run for.  I don’t need water for anything under 40 minutes.  Additionally, I was running in the general vicinity of the spring.  I could stop and catch a sip there.  Then again, after yesterday’s headache, I really wanted to stay hydrated.  A final factor was that it was cooler out than it had been.  Who wants to stick their hands in the cold spring water when it’s only 45 degrees out?

I don’t know that it was actually 45 degrees out, but it was cool enough that the hand holding the bottle was damn uncomfortable.  Well, one must put up with these things.  It was nice to take the occasional sip.  As I ran up and around the campus, I paid attention to the water level, planning to run to the spring for a re-fill.  Or should I skip the re-fill and just run home?  Did I really need more water?  If dithering burned calories, I would have no weight problems whatsoever.

This whole time I was debating how long to run for.  I had run an hour and twenty minutes at my last long run a week ago.  I was considering doing an hour an a half as my last long run before the Boilermaker.  Could I make that?  Of course I could, but did I want to?  How tired would I be as the day wore on?  Would my muscles be sore?  My knees?   I repeat my observation about dithering and calories.

I refilled the water and tried to talk myself into an hour and a half.  I could do it.  I would do it.  As I continued to run, I realized just one little problem with staying completely hydrated on a long run.  I had to pee.  Oh dear.  Maybe if I stopped drinking more water and kept running I could sweat it out.

Astute readers will may noticed that I have yet to mention my legs complaining or  my breathing being a problem.  Well, that was the truly delightful thing about the run.  I started out feeling a little grumpy, wondering what had possessed me to register for a 15K and promising myself I would never have to do it again.  I was soon pumping along with almost no problem.   Of course going uphill was still an effort.  I did not mind it being an effort.  At one point I met two women running in the opposite direction.

“Isn’t this GREAT?” I called to them.

One laughed and the other said, “Yes, it is!”

I don’t suppose I need to tell you that I did make it for an hour and a half.  My bladder even cooperated, although after a ten-minute cool-down walk I was JUST in time to the bathroom (sorry if that gave you an unfortunate mental image).

And now I see I have written quite a long blog post about it.  Sorry if I rambled on.  Now I must hurry and get ready for the cook-out.  After all, it’s still the 4th here.   Hope you’re enjoying yours.

 

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Running with a Full Deck?

Posted on July 2, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Today I am going to do a real Running Commentary.  The Boilermaker is only a week and three days away (counting today which, since I already ran is kind of already past) (let’s say nine more chances to run before the Boilermaker.  Only nine?  Yikes!).

I took yesterday off from running.  There were thunderstorms, so running outside was not a good idea.  I thought maybe a bout on the mini-tramp, but, oh well, never got around to it.  This morning I was happy to see that it was not raining.  Steven had to be up at five.  I got up, into running clothes and set out.

I had it in my head to not run any hills.  A good fairly flat run at an early hour for me is to run to the Erie Canal Trail, follow the trail to the South Washington Bridge, then go home from there, directly or not as the spirit moves me.  Being July 2  (I started to type “June” silly me), the sun was up, although it was cloudy.  Very pleasant running conditions, I thought.

I  soon found it was also humid, but the occasional breeze relieved that.  I could rock this.  The other day on Facebook, I posted that my runs go like this: This sucks, what am I thinking?  This sucks marginally less.  This doesn’t suck.  This is all right.  I can rock this. Yes, I needed this.  This is AWESOME!  I LOVE to run!  I can run for DAYS!  The cycle repeats itself on longer runs.

Thinking about it now, I see that I sometimes skip steps.  For example, this morning I started out with “this is all right” and quickly moved to “I can rock this.”  I pretty much went back and forth between those stages. Note to self:  apparently one day off is OK, don’t make it more.  In fact, I may not take any more days off between now and the Boilermaker.  We’ll see.

As I ran down Mohawk Street towards the Canal Trail, I saw some artificial flowers in the road.   I supposed somebody had dropped them.  They looked pristine but would no doubt soon be run over and wrecked.   What a waste!  I could use those flowers!  A big old truck was  approaching on the opposite side of the street.  Oh, he wouldn’t hit me.  I sprinted out and grabbed the flowers.

It was a red, white and blue bunch from one of the dollar stores.  The price tag was still on it.  I wondered if I looked silly running along carrying a patriotic bouquet.  Perhaps I merely looked, you know, patriotic.  At least it didn’t weigh very much.

Soon I was on the canal trail.  Nice.  I liked looking at the canal.  It was still.  In California I sometimes ran on a path near the ocean.  I could see water crashing against the rocks.  I had the fanciful thought that the water was releasing energy that would magically travel through the air and energize me.  Do I hear unkind laughter?  Perhaps I should not share my fanciful thoughts, although this one did help me run in California.  Now I looked at the calm canal and realized no energy would be forthcoming.  I thought perhaps the peacefulness could sooth my mind.  A calm mind can help you run.

My run lasted for 52 minutes.  I like that number, because it means I am  playing with a full deck (cue jokes about other indications that I am not).  My legs felt pretty good, my lungs were fine, my feet weren’t too bad.  My knees were twinging a little and had been for a good portion of the run.  I must, I positively must lose weight. Perhaps I should write a blog post about that.  If only typing burned more calories.

 

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In My Defense, It Was a LONG Run!

Posted on June 28, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had thought to do a Saturday Running Commentary.  Actually, I had been going to do a Friday Running Commentary, but after my run and before I got to the blog, my dearest husband, Steven, came home and suggested we go to PK’s Pub for dinner.   We’ll blame yesterday’s silliness on that.

This morning I decided not to run, because I had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it.  I actually did not plan on starting any of it before nine, when I would drop Steven off at work, but I thought I could have coffee with him and plan my course of action.  Full disclosure:  I did not exactly do that, but I did drink some Gator Ade and cure my headache (YES, I had another Saturday headache!  It’s almost enough to make a girl prefer Mondays!) (but not quite).

One thing I had been going to do was Coffee and Conversation with a Cop, which I thought was the last Saturday of the month.  However, when I drove by the church that hosts the program, the sign was not out front.  Rats.  Well, I thought, this will give me time to run.  It wouldn’t have to be a long run.  Maybe even a run with no hills.  But definitely a shorter run, I reasoned, mentally calculating how much I had to get done.

As you may have guessed, it was not a short run.  It was an hour and a half.  Then a ten-minute cool-down walk.  Then stretching, then a shower… and I definitely had to eat something.  I probably should have drunk some more Gator Ade, but one doesn’t have time for everything.  I did drink a big glass of milk.  Lots of protein in milk.

Obviously I had no time to get to the computer and type.  It is really too bad, because both runs were significant.  I felt pretty bad ass both days, and I would like to write a post detailing my triumphs.  By now, however, I have meandered all over the keyboard writing nonsense.  Not even very amusing nonsense at that.

Sorry, kids, but I guess we’ll have to call it Wrist to Forehead Saturday or Wuss-out Saturday or Lame Again Saturday… can’t think of anything alliterative, can I?  I’ve got it:  a Sad Saturday Post.  To clarify, I don’t particularly FEEL sad, but I feel that this is a sad post.  I’ll see what I can come up with for tomorrow.

 

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Better Luck Next Tired

Posted on June 24, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Full disclosure:  I did not intend to do a running commentary today.  I wrote a blog post while on breaks at work.  Unfortunately, it is too long for me to type in tonight.  Give me a break, it’s Tired Tuesday!  Could it be I am tired because I ran?  No!  I was tired to begin with.  I invite you to read on…

I spent the last couple of  hours at work telling myself that it was a VERY GOOD IDEA that I go running.  Actually, I was thinking things like, “I must, I positively must run”  and “I have to run tonight, I HAVE to.”  I re-phrased it to “very good idea” in order to short circuit my naturally rebellious nature.  Still, when it poured rain for a short time, I had a moment of hope that I would be off the hook. Only a moment, though.  In the first place, I figured it would stop raining.  In the second place, I have a mini-tramp on which I can run in place during inclement weather.

The rain stopped after a very short time.  It was sunny and breezy by the time I headed home.  Steven was already there.

“A  twenty minute  run will be sufficient for my purposes today,” I said.  I had hopes that I would run for longer once I got going, but it is difficult to predict these things.

To begin with the run was not much fun.  The sun was hot, I knew that going in.  The cooling breeze blew up into a strong wind that was dead against me.  What was that all about? Never mind, I told myself.  It will just take me longer to get from point A to point B. I wondered if it was going to rain again.  It seemed there was not a cloud in the sky, except for a few fluffy, harmless-looking white puffs. No sudden storm was going to let me off the hook ten minutes in.  That was all right too.  Just keep going.

I had a vague thought to run up the hill to Herkimer College.  I wondered if I would make it.  I have previously stated that once I start up a hill it is almost a foregone conclusion that I will make it to the top.  The question was, would I start?  I  turned at Lou Ambers Drive.  I considered stopping at the spring for a quick sip, but it wasn’t that long  into the run.  Besides, I had been drinking water all day.  Surely I was hydrated (I’ll call you Shirley if I feel like it).

The road has a bit of an upslope, then goes level, then goes steeply up, around a curve and up some more.  I was still on the gentle upslope when the wind against me got even stronger.  It cost a great effort to move even at my middle-aged shuffle.  I decided I would NOT go all the way up the hill.  After all, I did not intend to write a blog post about the run.  I would not have to embarrassedly confess to my readers that I started up a hill and turned off.  I would turn off into the residential area (which I like to call the suburbs) and perhaps run a hill or two there.

The  wind got stronger yet.  I was not all the way up the upslope when I said, “To Hell with this!” and turned around.  The wind almost immediately died down rather than give me a nice push. I have to wonder about that.  Was it all psychological? Or maybe a ghost?  I ask these questions now as I write this. At the time I merely felt a grim  satisfaction at having said, “To hell with it.”

I went through the parking lot of Salvatore’s, because there was some nice shade. I spent a good part of the rest of the run looking at my watch to make sure I at least ran twenty minutes.   It looked as if I would just make it. My body was not feeling any happier with me. I knew I could keep going, but it was not going to get fun.  I thought, “If I’m not into it by now, I am not going to be into it today.”

When I got back to my street, my run unexpectedly lengthened. I had crossed the street, which put me on the same side as a little dog.  I  did not want to disturb the dog, so I continued down the  block and ran up the street parallel to mine.  I felt vaguely pleased with myself over this.  The run still wasn’t fun, but I knew I could keep going.  Many of us, I reflected, can keep going for longer than we think  we can.

I ended up running for 28 minutes.  It would have been nice to make it at least a half hour, but I felt happy that I had gone over my self-mandated twenty.  As I walked my cool-down, I complimented some neighbors on a beautiful new porch they are putting up.  They said thank you. Perhaps now I can go  sit on my own perfectly attractive old porch.   Like I said, I’m tired.

 

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Two Long Runs, One Short Post

Posted on June 22, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I went for an awesome run yesterday (Saturday).   I ran for an hour and twenty minutes including several hills, some of them quite steep.  I was very impressed with myself.  Then I  went to Liverpool and partied heartily with my sister.  That is an ’80s expression, and I find that appropriate, because we used to party about that heartily in the ’80s.  The result was I woke up this morning feeling as if I was in my 80s.

I went running anyways.  I thought the sweat would do me good.  Then, too, I knew I would be in no mood to run on Monday.  This way I could feel less guilty about it.  I could go for a  short run, twenty or thirty minutes.

It was a good plan, but I  reckoned without my uncanny ability to get lost.  In my defense,  these residential developments are often laid out in a far from straightforward fashion.  I often think they use a plate of spaghetti as their model (and I may have said so in this space; sorry to repeat myself).  I ended up running for 52 minutes.  It would have been 51:27, but I ran by my sister’s house  to make it an even number.  Additionally, I like the number 52, because it means I am playing with a full deck (get it?).

I know, this is not my usual Running Commentary.  In my defense, I’m tired. But I may go running tomorrow.  As the late, great Fats Waller often said, One never knows, do one?

 

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Also, I Have a Headache

Posted on June 21, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, this sucks.  And by “this,” I’m afraid I mean me.  Or perhaps, less globally, this post.  Let me explain…

Friday (yesterday) I thought I was going to have to work Saturday morning, meaning I had very little time to accomplish  all I had to do before heading to Syracuse on Saturday, which, incidentally,  I plan on doing (um, I mean, I’m not leaving my house,  I’m here with  my gun, my guard dogs and my best friend the Chief of Police) (and there’s nothing here to steal,  anyways) (but if you disregard the preceding two parenthetical comments and come over to rob me anyways, please clean the bathroom while you’re here).

Where was I?  Ah yes, planning in my head all I had to get done and in fact coming up with an awesome plan whereby I got it all taken care of.  The plan was not implemented, however, when my Saturday overtime got  cancelled.  Guess how many things on my list got accomplished?  NOT MANY!!!

I bet you thought I was going to say “none.”  However, I did paint  my toenails (hey, it was important to ME), go running (an hour and twenty minutes with lots of hills!),  got my shopping done, packed most of our stuff, and visited  the Herkimer County Historical
Society and 1834 Jail with my sister and some friends.

One thing I did not do was make my blog post.  Waaaaaait a minute.

 

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