I hope that all the readers (hi Mom) out there are enjoying the amazing temperatures here in the Mid-Atlantic region. Today, March 14th (Happy Birthday Cait!), the high here in Maryland is 82 degrees. What? Oh are we in for a fun summer. Can I just go away in the month of August? But I digress. What I am really here to say is, I am pretending there are six more weeks of winter.

I visited the wonderful Dr. Feldman yesterday to get the “all clear” on my broken sesamoid bone in my lucky-fin right foot. Alas, I am all clear out of the boot but have been told no running, elliptical, squats, lunges, high heels, or super flats,  or generally anything that puts pressure on the ball of my foot, until May 1st. That is six more weeks exactly. This takes me out of training and racing at the IG Half Marathon which was to be my A race. And it means that I have to continue to be creative with finding ways to get the endorphins moving in my body.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE swimming. Love it love it love it! However, nothing surpasses the power of pavement when trying to lose weight and get in shape. (Both of which I need pretty badly right now.) To add insult to injury, these beautiful days with people out sweating away in their tank tops make it almost unbearable in the runners guilt department. Oh, and then there is poor Parker, who really wants Mommy to take him running so he can pass out on the floor. Sigh.

All right, pity party over. I will find something positive to blog about over the next six weeks, I promise! In the meantime, meet me at the pool!!

Since I am still in the boot from he**, I have jumped backed into the pool to keep up some sense of athletic prowess whilst the roads go on without me. A generous benefactor has allowed me the opportunity to workout at the MoCo pools (thanks!!) so that I don’t lose anymore strength or cardio than I already have…

Every time I get in the pool, I emerge happy. Whether I swim 1000 yards or 3000, aqua jog or do intervals; it does matter. I love swimming. I’m not really into zodiac or astrology, but I think I fit my “water sign” cancer to a tee. Yesterday, I swam alternates of 100 kick and 100 free until I was happy to leave. I don’t know what my elapsed time was or how many total laps, I just knew I felt awesome.

This is where I have to concentrate, on the feel. I am not in a place in life where I particularly enjoy the way I look. I don’t have the muscle tone of the past and I have added quite a bit of padding in the last three years. If I let it, it can really bring me down. I have to move past the fact that I no longer look like a teenager in a speedo and I look a little bit more roly-poly. My focus needs to be on the fact that I still feel like that 14 year old who can swim laps forever and sings when she backstrokes…the feel is more important than the look.

I made this last week in a moment of mental debate. While I would love to look like Dara Torres, I’ll take just feeling like her underwater for the time being.

Do you ever think you look one way or feel one way yet know you look completely different?

Do you struggle with body image even as an adult who knows better?

 

 

This is what I have to show from the fantastic relay leg of the Mid-Maryland 50k this weekend. The day started with a beautiful coating of fluffy white snow across the trees and paths of Rockburn Branch Park. However, after 200 runners took to the course for one lap of what would be a 5 lap race, the course quickly deteriorated into large, thick puddles of gooey mud and melted snow. By the time my turn came around at lap 4, it wasn’t a few steps before the slipping and sliding began. At times it felt like mud-skating rather than running. And it was so much fun. I laughed harder than I ever have before when running and allowed myself to truly embrace the puddle stomping mess. I achieved my number one goal of avoiding a crash and my second goal of having a great time. (The first being much harder to accomplish than the second.)

My relay team and I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere provided by the race director and crew. It was so nice to be in a place where for most of the “racers” it was about having fun and completing an endurance challenge and not about trying to be the best time. As each runner came through to go off on their next loop or send their next relay team member out we laughed at the crusts of mud, commiserated on getting lost, and enjoyed pumpkin bread. Who could ask for a better Saturday morning? Not me…

I would be remiss if I didn’t add one bit about running for Sherry. I joined the larger running community to honor the memory of Sherry Arnold by pinning her bib to my gear. I never met my sister of the roads, but thought about her a lot as I pushed my semi-broken body through the mud. I truly did. As I became weary, I thought of her. As I laughed out loud by myself in the woods, I thought of her. I felt a strong responsibility to run where she no longer can. It gave me encouragement and hope,  as we women take to our roads and trails, we honor her memory. We must run on.

We love our dog Parker. He is a crazy handful but when he is sweet, he is sooooo sweet. He loves to cuddle and give kisses. He likes to run in the park and frolic with other doggie pals.

Last night we watched “Marley and Me“. We laughed and commiserated with John and Jenny as Marley  ate their furniture. (Parker ate a phone book and 1.5 pounds of dark chocolate off the counter at Christmas) We felt their pain as they practically got shoulders dislocated when trying to “walk the dog”. (Parker has created a nice snapping sound in my shoulder.) And we cried out eyes out as their family changed over time and Marley with them. When the final time came, we could not even move as we were overwhelmed with the thoughts of the future. 

How easy it has become to love this four-legged furry creature. He is far from perfect. He has tried to eat several family members, barks at the doorbell on tv, jumps up whenever we try to hug, and hogs the bed. He has scared us with his digestive pursuits and cost us a small fortune but the last 3 months with him have changed our lives “fur”ever. I can’t imagine not having him in the house. He is the reason I get up and outside every day at 5:30am and I would rather spend the afternoon cuddling on the couch with him than just about anything. He makes my heart stir when I slowly let him off the leash to run through the woods, praying that he will remember to come back. He tests my patience when he doesn’t understand the snooze button. Oh but how he gives such love and makes it easy to remember why we brought him into our home. He is “our marley” and we are better because of him.

I have felt so good the last two weeks. I’d go as far as to say awesome. I had run my first two track workouts with my new team and run a good, first long run. Then I skipped the second long run to run a half marathon for fun. In the words of Miss Vivian in Pretty Woman, “Big mistake, big…Huge!” I have been ignoring pain in the ball of my foot since a walking in heels incident in NYC in October. Hmm, one marathon run on the discomfort and one half marathon later…OUCH. The pain hurt so bad on Sunday that there were a few tears.

Fast forward to Wednesday morning, I visit a great new ortho. He takes an xray, orders and MRI and says, “we are putting you in a boot until we rule out a sesamoid fracture. Really? Fracture? Ok, maybe not but either way a sesamoid fracture or sesamoiditis both completely stink. They take forever to heal, often require cortisone, and surgery can only make it worse. So here’s the deal, I’m supposed to rest.

(Well, hello my bootie friend, we meet again. I hate your guts.)

I know that if I get any comments to this at all, everyone is going to say to rest. But…I am part of a 5 person 50k relay next weekend and I really want to hold up my end of the deal. I have a half planned in April and I really want to kick a** in it. I can’t skip Clyde’s!! I have to drink beer at 9am with my crew.

But more than that, I was finally starting to feel like a runner again. And it has all come to a halt. Screechy as a screech owl.

Anyone have a pool pass they don’t use????? More soon, my friends. More soon.

Today was the first long run of the winter half marathon program. My group (the rockin’ 8:40 pace gang) along with others ran 7.0 miles on Beach Drive. Yesterday we had about 2 inches of snow with a nice layer of ice on top so I was worried about the conditions, but they were just fine. As I mentioned in my last post, I was worried about being a member of such a speedy group, but I wanted to try a lr to see if I could hang. And hang I did. There were times I was breathing really hard and my muscles felt like fire/freezing but I used all my will to stick with our leader. I even managed a few conversations with others in my group.

Last night was the first night of the Half Marathon Training program with my local running club. I am so excited to be in a new group where I will be accountable to meet my goals. I’m in training for the inaugural Iron Girl Half Marathon in Columbia in April. I am so excited to get my butt kicked with a group and a coach.

Based on my fall 13.1 time and recentish 5k times I was placed in the 8:40 group. Say What?? Huh? Me, run 8:40 pace in a half…not since 2007 my friends…But um, ok. I am going to trust that I’m in this group for a reason even if it hurts. I want to do 9 min pace for the half, so if I can train faster, awesome.

Just got an email this morning from my coach. He is really funny and I think I’m going to like running with him. And I’m going to try not to be a total suck-up but you all know I will end up that way. These are his rules:

1.  We start on time, every time.  If the workout says “6:30pm” that is the moment we start the warm up.  Same with Sunday long runs.  Sooner or later, I will screw up and be late to a workout.  Don’t wait for me, get going.  You will know what to do.  I will catch up.

2.  It’s winter time.  It’s cold.  Dress appropriately.  If you need some guidance on this, please contact me and I will try to help you as best I can.  BUT, if you need to bitch and moan about how cold it is, you have the first mile of any workout to do that as much as you like.  After that, you may only whine about the weather if you have purchased that privilege in advance.  The price: you must arrange to purchase one adult beverage for any teammate in the group.  A cappuccino or a vodka martini?  That is between you and the teammate.  If you have dressed appropriately for the run, then after one mile you should be warmed up and the cold should not bother you.

3.  You are not allowed to be hit by a car.  This ruins everyone’s day.  Don’t do it.  We run as a group, and we pay attention to our surroundings while we do it.  Every car is being driven by a sociopath who wants to kill you.  Adjust accordingly.  We are good running citizens who keep to the right; we allow faster runners to pass us easily; we give a warning before we pass slower runners or civilians; and we are unfailingly polite even when we encounter rudeness on the trail.

4.  No teammate runs alone.  If for some reason you have to drop back on a long run or turn around early, someone will go with you.  Sometimes that’s me, sometimes another teammate.  Stuff happens sometimes on a run, and it is always easier to deal with in pairs.

5.  Nobody is required to do anything (see exception above, #3).  We are all adults here, and everyone made a choice to do this.  The program will provide two key workouts per week and all the guidance we can offer, and after that it is up to you.  I do ask that you keep to the program as best you can while we are here.  If this group is too challenging pace-wise, move down.  If it is not challenging enough, move up.  Unsure about the decision? Come see me, and we will work it out.  Lots of people will change pace groups, it happens all the time and it is not a big deal.  Our target race pace is a 1:53 half marathon or a 3:47 marathon.  For the half-marathon group, I would expect that you have run a <26 min 5k or a <54 min 10k race in the last year.  For our marathoners, it would be a <24 and/or a <50, respectively.  If those numbers look crazy-fast to you, then you may have bitten off a bit more than you planned to chew.  If that is the case, come see me.

I like his rules. I’m going to pretend I didn’t read the second to last sentence in #5 because I want to give it a shot. I totally want to make this work for me this time round. The cold sucks. Trying to go fast sucks. But in the end, I think I can do it. I really do. Game on, friends….

(Can you see my anticipation and my love for cold weather as demonstrated @ Baltimore in 2010?)