Tag Archives: weather

Do You Feel Like Reading a Silly Post?

Posted on August 22, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

So there I was, writing about the DARE 5K. It was the third day I’d been working on it. My brain and my pen slowly came to a stop. Does anybody really want to read a blow by blow, er, step by step account of me running? Do I even feel like writing it?

Yes, yes, I know, don’t wait till you “feel like” writing. On the other hand, sometimes you don’t feel like writing something because it isn’t very good. As the saying goes, if it’s boring to you to write it, it will probably be boring to someone else to read it.

That is what I wrote before beginning work this morning. I did not get back to writing till lunch, at which time I could not think of anything to add to it, so I wrote another page on the DARE run. That post is getting pretty long. I think it will need some big time editing before I can publish it.

Now here’s the funny thing. Earlier this afternoon I came home from work and felt just awful. Mentally, I mean. I could not conceive of typing in ANYTHING for this blog. I could not type in things already written. I could not come up with something new. Whatever would I do?

I did what many of us do at times like these. I stalled. I piddled around on Facebook, I tried to take my dog for a walk (pre-empted by thunder), I took my shower. Finally I thought, I can at least type in the silliness I wrote earlier about not writing. It’ll fly for Non-Sequitur Thursday.

I typed it in. I should perhaps mention that I am on my desktop, which I have not been on in a couple of weeks. I have been making my posts on the little Acer netbook my sister nicely gave me (Full disclosure: she nicely gave me the desktop too). It may be the effect of the larger, more typewriterish keyboard, but I feel pretty darn good. I feel like I can so think of something to say for a post. I could probably even type in previously written stuff, long or not. In short, I can rock this blog!

I can’t really. For one reason, I think I am getting arthritis in my fingers and it is not so easy to type as it used to be. For another reason, my brain is not as spry and agile as I would like to think.

No matter. I see that I am over 400 words. Are they good words? Are they worth reading? I don’t know. Who am I to judge anyways? All I can do is hit Publish and hope for the best, as I always do.

I am so ready for Lame Post Friday.

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Weather or Not, Here I Write

Posted on August 21, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I remember some advice from one of the many books I’ve read about writing: add weather. Alas, I do not remember the book or the author, except that it was one of those collections of essays on writing. I ponder the advice and I find it to be good. As it happens, weather is about the only thing I can write my blog post about tonight.

Oh, yeah, there is the DARE 5K, which I wrote some more about on a break at work today. There is a fairly cheesy sci-fi flick I wrote most of a post on some weeks ago. In the first place, I don’t feel like typing in that many words tonight. In the second place, I’m afraid if I just publish what I have so far, the posts will not be that good. At least, I hope they can be better and I do not feel capable of making them so right now.

As I sit in my living room typing, I hear the occasional rumble of distant thunder. The rain has tapered off to a mere trickle. Earlier it was torrential. Before that the sky was grey and threatening. I was hanging out in a nightgown, because I felt like wearing something loose and comfy. Steven was in sweats for the same reason.

We had originally hoped to go to a cruise-in at the Mohawk Antiques Mall, where we could purchase hot dogs and root beer floats for dinner. I thought it looked too threatening. Also I was tired and once I had the nightgown on, well… Steven cooked some hot dogs and pork-n-beans on our stove.

But I still had to think about lunch tomorrow. Steven had purchased some tossed salad ingredients for me. We have a number of tomatoes yummily ripening in our yard. I was toasting a bun for my second hot dog, thinking after I had eaten it I would get on to the salad-making portion of the evening.

And here is the kind of husband I have. Since I had remarked how threatening the sky looked and since sweats are less embarrassing than a nightgown in case the neighbors can see, Steven put down his unfinished dinner and went out and got my tomatoes.

I ate my second hot dog then got to work on the salad. That was when the heavens opened up and down came the deluge.

And now it is over. Hmmm…. I guess when you add weather it is nice to have something to add weather too. Weather alone, I fear, is not enough. On the other hand, this is Wuss-Out Wednesday and it is the best I can do.

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Splints Happen

Posted on August 20, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I tried writing about the DARE 5K today, but I did not finish that post. I had originally thought I wouldn’t bother writing it anyways. My original intention had been to run after work and write a regular running commentary.

Well, I had a problem with that. I think I’ve got a shin splint. My friend at work who used to coach high school athletics advised me not to run on it, which is what I was thinking was part of what you do for a shin splint. The other thing I thought to do was to wear these rubbery things they gave me when I was in the army and had shin splints, kind of like really tight leg warmers but not nearly as styling.

So I did not run today and I’m kind of depressed about it. I managed to keep the rubbery things on till after work, which is more than I recall doing in the army (they are NOT comfortable). After dinner I went for a nice, gentle walk with my husband and my dog, so I will attempt a pedestrian post rather than resort to a Tired Tuesday.

It was a bright and sunny day, but we started out around 5:30, so I thought there would be plenty of shade. I wore my crazy old lady hat but did not put on shorts. Tabby wanted to cross the street and walk down the opposite side from where we usually walk, so right away we had a different perspective. Sometimes these little changes can raise the spirits.

We walked down to Church Street then over to our favorite Historic Four Corners at Church and Main. We walked back up Main, crossed German then continued up Main to Weber and over to the nice path over what used to be a hydraulic canal (although I always thought it was a drainage ditch). I have mentioned this path before. It is a favorite place of mine to walk or run.

It was quite warm in the sun, so we were sticking to the shady side of the street. The first two legs of the path were not particularly shady, but we enjoyed the scenery. Back in a residential area, we looked at other people’s houses and rated their porches for sitability (my computer seems to think sitability is not a word, but it is exactly what I mean). One thing I love is sitting on a porch or deck. I feel fortunate that my house has one of each.

By the time we finished our walk I was feeling a little too warm, but I didn’t mind. I could still feel fall in the air, and I love fall. It’ll soon be my favorite temperature to run in after work. I sure hope my shin splint is better by then.

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Early Morning Accomplishment

Posted on August 13, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Steven had an early shift on Monday, so I seized the opportunity for an early run. I was, of course, less enamored of the idea when it was time to actually get out of bed at 3:30 in the morning, but one must put up with these things.

It was a lovely temperature for a run. I later found out Monday promised to be the hottest day of the week with a high of 85. I congratulated myself on getting my run out of the way before the heat of the day.

I bypassed the hill to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC). For anyone just tuning in, that is the killer hill featured on the DARE 5K this Saturday, for which I am registered (I believe I have mentioned it a few times, but you never know who missed it). I intend to run the hill one or two more times before Saturday, but I prefer to do it during daylight hours. Yes, I ran it before dawn last Saturday, but that day the sky was lightening even as I reached the top of the hill. Monday’s run was a full hour earlier, plus I had a whole day of work to get through.

I ran up the hill by Valley Health instead. I like to run by Valley Health on these early early runs. I find it comforting to think of the people on the night shift going about their business. At least there are lights on.

The hill turned out to require a bit of effort from me. In fact, the run started out to be not much fun at all. My legs were complaining. I had not run two days in a row in a few weeks and this was my third day in a row. I told myself that after feeling wonderful on Saturday’s and Sunday’s runs I was due to feel a little miserable. Miserable is an exaggeration anyways. In fact, I felt like I pretty much expect to feel on a Monday.

Things got better as I continued to run. My legs settled into it and stopped complaining. My breathing was fine. In short, I could rock this. If only I could see a few lights on so I would not feel so alone, I thought, my life would be perfect. I know, another exaggeration but since this one’s on the positive side, let’s let it slide.

I saw a few lights on, but I had to debate with myself: was it on because somebody was up or had it been left on all night for bathroom navigation purposes? Sometimes you just can’t tell. At one point I smelled skunk. Yikes! Well, a skunk was unlikely to bother me if I left him alone, right? I kept an eye out to avoid startling the stinker if I did encounter him.

As usual my legs were pretty happy with me on my cool-down walk. Tabby was happy with me too, because I let her stop and sniff plenty. I needed the pauses to drink water. I felt pretty happy with the run too. There’s nothing like accomplishing something first thing on a Monday.

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I Don’t DARE Back Out Now

Posted on August 12, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Sunday was the last day to register for the DARE 5K and pay $20. After Monday, Aug. 11, the fee goes up to $25. At least, perhaps I could have registered on the 11th for $20, but who likes to take a chance on these things? (Oh, you probably do.)

Of course the best way for me to register is to fill out the form the Herkimer Police Department nicely mailed me, write a check, put Tabby on the leash and walk over to the police station. That way Tabby gets a walk, I get some exercise, I can write a blog post about it, and it is altogether a pleasant experience.

I was afraid it would be a little too sunny and hot for our walk but it wasn’t too bad around 9 o’clock, which is when we went. I wore my crazy old lady hat and prescription sunglasses. I noticed once again how nice everything looks in the sunshine. It’s like nature’s cosmetic. Then again, a lot of houses in Herkimer look nice all on their own. I noted with approval well-kept lawns, flowers still in bloom and nicely decorated porches. I am particularly envious of comfy-lookng porch furniture. I have not done enough porch- and deck-sitting myself this year. I’d better start taking advantage of the opportunities left to me.

We walked down Church Street to our favorite Historic Four Corners. We did not pause to admire the buildings but crossed Main Street and continued down to Green and the municipal building. I told the officer at the window I wanted to register for the DARE 5K, and he called to Steve Elwood, the officer in charge of the event. When Officer Elwood opened the door to talk to me, Tabby started to walk right in. She’s so sociable. He petted Tabby and asked if she was running.

“She doesn’t like to run with me,” I told him. “But after I run I walk around the block for a cool-down, and she joins me on that.”

I also asked him a question pertaining to the police for my novel. He gave me some good information. We chatted a little more about the race, then Tabby and I took our leave. We walked back home a different way, which Tabby seemed to enjoy. We stuck to the shadier side of the street, because it was starting to heat up.

So now I’m registered for the DARE 5K, and it is less than a week away. Will I be able to write a blog post about anything else between now and then? Ah, a little suspense will add interest to my week.

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Couldn’t Call a Cab

Posted on August 8, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I purposely did not write a blog post while at work today, because I KNEW I would go running and could write a running commentary. I would NOT try to talk myself out of it, I would NOT wimp out, I would accept NO excuses.

When it started pouring rain at lunchtime, I was not worried. It would be sure to stop, and it did. The sun came out. There. When I talked to Steven shortly before I left work, he told me it was POURING in Herkimer.

“It might stop before I get home,” I said, not thinking it would. “Or I can run on the mini-tramp.” Not really wanting to. “It isn’t even raining here.” I work in Ilion, which is five minutes away. It was raining by the time I left, pouring by the time I got to my vehicle. I was laughing. Bad weather has that effect on me.

I drove home into blue skies. It was a miracle! Or another example of if-you-don’t-like-the-weather-wait-five-minutes Mohawk Valley. I changed into running clothes and got going.

The rain had cooled things off. This would be great. I thought I heard a rumble of thunder as I left the house. Maybe I should break out the mini-tramp? No, no, I wanted to run up the hill to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC). The DARE 5K is next weekend. I would be prepared IF I ran today. And a few more days between now and August 16.

I looked at the sky and started running. Those were not thunder clouds and there weren’t very many of them anyways. Maybe it hadn’t been thunder anyways.

I turned toward HCCC and found a place to cross German Street. Then I saw my friend Pudge the pug with his person on the other side of the street. If only I had waited to cross, I could have petted Pudge! His person waved to me and I waved back.

I could see dark clouds off in the distance. I was headed vaguely in their direction but doubted I would be running that far. When I headed up to HCCC I would be going right away from them. So there.

The run up the hill was not too bad. I won’t be good at it by next Saturday, but I’ll make it up. I even continued uphill on the walkway to the buildings before turning towards the way back down. The sky was blue with a few pure white clouds. The sun was warm but not too hot. My legs were pumping along with no complaints. My breathing was fine. This was great.

After I went back down the hill I ran to another hill I had run up on another run. Not a huge hill, but it was an effort. It’s good to make an effort. At the bottom of that hill, my legs started complaining. They were tired of running. They were ready for the sitting with my feet up portion of the evening. I ignored them. What else was I going to do? I had to get home. Maybe I’ll start running with my cell phone so I can call for a cab.

After my cool-down walk, on which Tabby graciously joined me, I felt pretty good about myself. I didn’t hear any more thunder till much later. Now I’m on to the sitting with my feet up portion of my evening.

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I Didn’t HAVE To

Posted on August 5, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

With the DARE 5K bearing down on me, I thought it would be a good idea to run today. I had proven to myself on Saturday that I could so run with a bad cold, so that fact that I was feeling only marginally better would not be a sufficient excuse. It was warm, but that was good, I told myself. The DARE 5K begins at 9 a.m. The sun will be high in the sky. What finally convinced me was that I told myself I didn’t HAVE to run up the hill to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC) and I didn’t HAVE to run 45 minutes. If I ran AT ALL, that would be enough. I set out.

It was warm. The sun was hot. I didn’t like it. But I persevered, trying to take comfort in the fact that it seemed less humid than it had earlier. There was a bit of a breeze, and I could look for shade.

I crossed German Street in the middle of a block, because I found a good opportunity. This is what you have to do with 4 p.m. Herkimer traffic. This put me on the right side of the street to run up to HCCC. But I didn’t HAVE to run there. Maybe I could run up the back way to HCCC. Not as steep, a little longer. A good run. I went by that street.

Oh, but it was not fun to run in the heat. Never mind, just keep going. Here was the street up to HCCC. I didn’t have to run up that hill. I could turn off before the steep part. I didn’t have to run 45 minutes, or even 40 minutes. I could run up the hill till I had run 10 minutes then run back down. But I ought to run more than 20 minutes. 30 minutes would be an OK run. I could run up the hill for 15 minutes then turn around, I bargained with myself. I didn’t fall for it. I knew that by the 15 minute mark I would be too far along to turn back.

The sun was bothering me more than the upslope. There was the steep part. In the sun. Wait a minute, no it wasn’t. There were two distinct patches of shade. There you go, I told myself. Run till you’re out of shade, then turn around. What a deal!

As I reached the second patch of shade I realized the shade continued, with varying degrees of patchiness, at least till the road curves. Once you get to the curve, you are just too close to the top to turn around. As I continued to shuffle up the hill I wondered if I had really had any thought of turning around. Of course not, I thought. For one thing, I knew I was going to write a blog post about it. Write a blog post about NOT making it up the hill to HCCC? That’s crazy talk!

I am sorry to report that the run did not for one minute become fun. I never once felt that I could rock this. I told myself that I was rocking it, pointing out to myself that no complaints were coming from my legs, but I just wasn’t feeling it.

That hardly mattered. What mattered was I did it. I can look forward to the DARE 5K with less trepidation. And it got me a blog post for Monday. I say OK.

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Crap Can’t Stop Me

Posted on August 3, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Today’s run fell under the heading of Do It Anyways. I’ve felt dreadfully ill with either a cold or allergies for the past three days with the result that I did not run Thursday or Friday. I like a Saturday run better anyways: I can go at 6 or 6:30 when the temperature is cool and the traffic is thin. If I could have gone with a clear, un-aching head, that would have been nice. As I often say, you can’t have everything.

I wanted to take the hill up to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC) once again, because the DARE 5K is two weeks away. I know I can do it, I just don’t want it to suck too bad when I do. I was afraid today’s run would suck, but I was prepared for that. At least I was partially hydrated and fueled up. I got up at 3:30 with Steven, because he had to work at 6:30. I had consumed coffee, water and a slice of toast with peanut butter, raisins and honey. I could rock this.

The temperature was nice, and it didn’t seem too humid. I was able to cross German Street with no problem. The slight upslope didn’t bother me too much. Running at all did.

I saw a car parked on the sidewalk. Mind you, not over the sidewalk, for example in a driveway that isn’t long enough. Parallel to the road, lengthwise across the sidewalk. On a street where you are allowed to park on that side of the road! Appropriately enough, the car had a sticker on the back bumper that said WTF.

It seemed to take a long time to get to the hill. And the hill itself seemed pretty long. I was over halfway up it when I realized it sucked less than the last time I had run it. Boo-yah! I thought about how I would post a Facebook status of Boo-yah! although in real life I have never actually said that word. I’m not even sure of how to spell it.

As I continued to run, I noticed I was sweating quite a bit. It must have been more humid than I thought. I told myself I was sweating out the toxins and I would feel much better after the run than I had felt before. I had it in my head to run for 44 minutes, the length of my last longest run. Twenty minutes into the run, that seemed like a long time.

I realized, however, that I wasn’t feeling as sinus-related crappy as I had been. It was more I-don’t-feel-like-running-anymore crappy. That being the case, I kept running. I ended up running 45 minutes, even running a little faster at the end so it at least wouldn’t be longer than 45 minutes. It would have taken a longer full-out sprint than I felt capable of to run exactly 44 minutes.

As I walked my cool-down with Tabby, I started getting that heaviness in my head again. By the time I was stretched, showered and fed, I was back to feeling like crap. But I had run, so I felt pleased with myself. And I proved to myself how bad I could feel and still run pretty good. That’s information I can use the next time I feel this crappy. I hope it’s not tomorrow.

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I Prepare for the DARE

Posted on July 30, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

WELL, today I have a good reason to be Tired on Tuesday: I ran up the hill to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC).

It was practically fall weather today. I had made up my mind to run regardless, but this was an added inducement. One might think I did not necessarily have to run a big bear of a hill on a weekday run, but the DARE 5K is fast approaching, and the hill to HCCC is on that run. By the way, be prepared for this blog to become All DARE 5K All The Time sometime within the next three weeks.

Be that as it may, I got home, got into my running gear and got going. I even made Steven come upstairs and talk to me while I changed, because he was telling me a story about his day. I was going to run up that hill, come home and write about it, then ENJOY MY TUESDAY!

I had no plan about exactly how long to run. I had run 44 minutes on Sunday but did not feel I had to run so far today. Earlier in the day I had thought perhaps 40 would be good. It wasn’t going to feel good right away, I told myself. Just keep going.

Maybe I wouldn’t be able to cross German Street. Four o’clock traffic in Herkimer can be pretty dicey, I thought. If I couldn’t cross the street, well, how could I run that big hill. Look at all that traffic. I knew it was a lame excuse. I could cross at the three-way stop at Caroline Street, which is what I did.

The temperature was not as cool as I like to run in, but considering how hot it could be in July, I told myself to count my blessings. At least a pretty good breeze was blowing. It sure was taking a while to get to that hill. Running did not start to feel good. What was that all about? Never mind, just keep going.

Oh dear, the hill was not going to be fun. I tried the trick I learned in the army: just look at your feet and shuffle up the hill. I looked up to see where I was at. I had to admit, it was just as effortful either way. I thought about the DARE 5K. Would it feel like this? Surely not. How many times would I have to run up this hill before it became easy?

There was more traffic than there had been on Sunday. Some of the people nicely slowed down or at least moved over a little. A few did not. Oh well, at least nobody hit me. I wouldn’t care for that. By the time I got to the top of the hill, I was having a little trouble breathing. I did a trick I was taught by a speech therapist for my vocal chord dysfunction (VCD): sip/blow. It isn’t really like a sip. You make kind a shape with your mouth like you’re making a “EEE” sound, then you exhale with an “OOOOO.” I was glad nobody was close enough to hear me but even more glad I did not have a VCD attack.

As I ran down the hill I kept making all these deals with myself: 30 minutes would be OK. 34? 36? There was NO WAY I could get to 40!

As it turned out, I could. I felt pretty proud of myself. I wanted to walk around with my fists in the air while somebody sang the chorus of “We Are the Champions.” Steven probably would have sung it for me if I had asked. Instead I walked around the block with Tabby and drank some water. I’m sure I’ll be ready for the DARE 5K. It’s just a question of how tired I’ll feel afterwards.

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Sometimes Coffee is Not the Right Thing

Posted on July 27, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

A good way to get yourself to run on Sunday is to don’t run Saturday, so you will be obligated to run or to take two or more likely three days in a row off (because it is VERY difficult for me to run on a Monday). My alarm woke me up at 6, which is unusual for me (I didn’t have to work, but Steven did). At first I said, “I can’t run right away, I’d better have coffee first.” I immediately thought better of that plan and ran pre-coffee.

I congratulated myself on my perspicacity as I started running down the sidewalk (yes, I use words like “perspicacity” before having coffee). After all, coffee would make me more clever about thinking of excuses not to run. I wished I had run Saturday. Not because it would have been a good idea to take Sunday off, but because it felt like I had taken a lot longer than one day off. I carefully reviewed my week in my head as I ran. Yes, ran Friday, took Saturday off. Damn.

I had it in my head to run up the hill to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC). I have run it in recent memory (I probably did a blog post about it), but I have not run it as many times as I would like to before the DARE 5K in August.

When I had run on Friday, I had looked up the hill, but it was still quite dark out. The streetlights beckoned, but my nerves failed me. In my defense, it is disconcerting to run prior to four in the morning. Also, the path up to HCCC has woods on either side. I know there are deer that come out and cross the road. Who knows what nocturnal critters I might encounter?

These considerations were not valid on a July Sunday after 6 a.m., so up I went. My body was not happy with me, but I persevered. This hill wasn’t so bad, I told myself. After a while, I believed myself (why would I lie?). Still, I want to run that hill a bunch more times before the DARE 5K.

As I ran, I heard a rumble. Was that thunder? Thunder, we are told, is grounds for immediately returning home. Once I get out on a run, I do NOT look for excuses for immediately returning home. I wanted to run at least 40 minutes, maybe even 44, so I could increase my time by the recommended ten percent. That probably wasn’t thunder, I thought. It was probably some big old truck doing some big old truck thing. I kept running.

I ran towards the road that goes the back way down the hill. I saw a “Do Not Enter” sign, so I entered. It was just a little turn-off kind of street, didn’t even take me that long out of my way. I briefly considered continuing the other way and running by the reservoir but thought that would be better when I was up to running 50 or more minutes.

I passed two No Left Turn signs as I ran down the hill but had made up my mind to go straight for a while. I even turned and ran up another hill. Not a big, bad hill, but big enough so I could say to myself, “Yeah, I’m bad.” Was that another rumble? Probably another truck, I told myself. Anyways, there was Valley Health. I could turn towards it and be on my way home. Didn’t I once say something like safety first for Mohawk Valley Girl?

Surely it would be OK to run by the school instead of straight home (and I’ll call you Shirley if I feel like it). I really really wanted to run at least 40 minutes. I heard a train. Was that a rumble as well? No, no, just the train making that noise. I could keep running.

After running by the school I went kind of sort of straight home. The rumbles increased to where I could no longer pretend they were not thunder. I made my 44 minutes by running around the two vehicles in my driveway several times.

Tabby declined to go on my cool-down walk, with me. That was quite all right with me. I walked around my backyard for a shortened cool-down. The storm began in earnest while I was stretching out. Oh was I right not to have coffee first!

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