Anyway, I say “we” not because I am wonderfully royal (though I am), but because IP accompanied me downtown. He sometimes joins me for races not only for the moral support, but also so that he can do some work while I run. And when I say work, it’s not work-work (for the most part), but projects he’s working on that are important to him. While getting up early isn’t always a treat, he gets stuff done, which helps set the tone for the rest of the day.

Getting downtown was not a problem—once in D.C., IP and I headed to his office so that I could do some last-minute race preparations before jogging down to Freedom Plaza. (An aside: you know what’s a bonus of having your husband’s office near race starts? Bag checks without the line!) Once at Freedom Plaza, I kind of wandered a bit, trying to find a registration tent because—gasp!—my race swag bag had not contained any jingle bells. I ask you this: How is one supposed to jingle all way without the aid of jingle bells? Is the purpose of jingling all the way not defeated by this oversight? Alas, I wasn’t able to find the reg tent, so I was jingle-less. Sadness.

Thanks to the jog from IP’s office to Freedom Plaza I was pretty warmed up by the time I got to the race start. And with a few minutes to go to the race, the announcer announced … that there was to be a 10- to 15-minute delay for the race start. Blah. Wasn’t I just saying last week that a race delay could be one of the worst things to happen to me? But no matter in this case, I kind of just went with the flow. The race started 25 minutes after 9am, so it wasn’t the longest delay. And the race organizers were super apologetic. However, my toes were frozen.

Which wasn’t the worst thing in the world, believe it or not! Remember these boots I wanted last year?

Eddie Bauer Tall Equestrian Boots

Well, I have them. And I can’t wear them because they apparently tear up the skin on my ankle bones and chafe my heels and toes. So the middle toe on my right foot is in agony, and I was seriously worried about a) my footfall being so painful that I couldn’t run and 2) the sides of my shoes hitting the scabs on my ankles and causing even more pain. But by the time the race started? The benefits of my warm up were gone and I couldn’t feel my feet. That meant that it took about two miles to shake off the cold, but it also meant that I couldn’t feel any of the pain associated with my various foot lesions. And they didn’t bother me the entire race.

Yay for numbness!

The race itself went by very fast (makes sense, since I got a course PR!) and followed the St. Patrick’s Day 8K course. I always enjoy this course—it’s flat, fast and just seems to slip away. The beginnings of the race were a bit tough; I was going fast, but my legs felt really still (not as wonderful a feeling as my cold feet) and the cold air was really catching in my chest. I forced myself to slow down a bit, measure the breaths I took, and it was like I was out for a run in Michigan again. If there’s one thing I do actually enjoy, it’s running in the cold, but you first have to adjust to it in order to have fun with it. The rest of the course was a relative breeze, and while the cheering crowds were thin, the spirit amongst the runners was more than enough to keep anyone going. I love running in race in D.C. (as opposed to training in D.C.—everyone’s just so freakin’ happy to be there!)

(The only thing I don’t like about this course? When you can see the finish line and then … the course jogs onto 10th (I think) in order to round out the mileage. Argh! I don’t know why it drives me crazy, but it’s kind of dispiriting for me. But not enough to get me to stop running.)

I finished relatively strong. I had tried to get some water at one of the final water stops, but runners ahead of me kept on taking the cups that I was anticipating, and I am not one to stop and wait for a refill. Consequently, I felt totally parched during the last tenth of a mile—I thought for a second I might have to stop, but seeing that my RunKeeper app had stopped made me keep going.

Yes, that’s right. Almost done with the race and the app I’m using to keep track of my time and pace crapped out on me. Way to go, RunKeeper, woo!

(This is a lesson to all—try not to forget your Forerunners at home.)

Forerunner 405

But at least I finished relatively strong, even if I was motivated by sheer annoyance to finish out the race.

So, that’s the race in a nutshell. A little late, lots of fun, and validation that I’m a powerful runner even when I don’t run for more than a month. And all this despite not having any jingle bells to jingle me all the way. Woot!

(Great job, Capital Running Company! See you in March for the St. Patrick’s Day 8K!)

©2012 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

Anyway. What’s up? Nothing much over here, ‘cept …

• For 2012, the husband and I are all set for our first vacation of year. And we’re going back to Cancun. Oh hell, yeah. Our resort of choice, awesome as they are, held a sale that consisted of resort credits (which was part of this year’s package—it works out splendidly) and up to 20 percent off the price of some rooms. We ended up buying an extra day, we were so thrilled with the price. And? Direct flights both ways. That is priceless, I tell you.
• I’ve once again thrown in my hat for the 2012 Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run. Here’s hoping I’m able to get in—it’d be great to have Cherry Blossom as a running goal in addition to the Rock ‘n Roll USA Half-Marathon. Both events will not only force me to train, but I might be a few pounds lighter for Cancun thanks to training. Superficial? Yes, but who wants to feel gunky in a bathing suit?

And now, a random running funny

• Speaking of racing, did y’all hear about the Hot Chocolate 15K/5K debacle? Yikes! When I first got the email advertising the race in June/July, something seemed … off. As some bloggers who ran the race said, it seemed to be all about CHOCOLATE! with no details on the logistics of the race. As much as I despise and want to avoid event planning in any way, shape or form in the future, I’ll still always recognize when an event is poorly planned—and this seemed to have all the ingredients from the get go. So even though they kept on sending me emails (CHOCOLATE! FREE JACKET!), I decided I’d be better off avoiding the race. Boy, am I glad I did. Me + 1 Hour Waiting + Occasionally Nervous Stomach + No Bathrooms = BAD SITUATION. Let’s not even talk about the race course itself or the logistics of fitting 20,000 people at National Harbor. Hell, even getting to the National Harbor would’ve been a task and a half for yours truly. Can I mention how grateful I am that the Jingle Bell All the Way event is now at Freedom Plaza?

And with that note, my randomness will cease. (And I now realize that most of this randomness was brought to you by running.)

©2012 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

Well, yeah. I signed up for the Rock ‘n Roll USA Half-Marathon in March.

Completely logical, eh, to train for a long-distance race when I don’t even like training in the area, right?

I, as you may have noticed by now, am not logical.

That aside, part of it was motivation from my new coworkers—a lot of them are runners, and the idea of having someone expecting me to show up on race day was a huge factor. Another part of it was honestly, truly wanting to run again. I do love it for its own sake—once I get started, I don’t find it to be a chore or boring. I’ve been running more lately (with a group on occasion), and am also signed up for December’s Jingle All the Way (now an 8K—I think it follows the course of the St. Patrick’s Day 8K). Now that I’m in a writing job, and would like to write creatively again (yes, still!), I feel like I could use that time to do what I did in college: write in my head. So here’s hoping the time spent training improves my running and contributes positively toward my writing endeavors.

I’m also going to give Cherry Blossom a shot again. Hopefully my luck will hold and I’ll get into the lottery. I have to say, I really love the 10-mile distance. If I had more motivation, I would’ve done the Hot Chocolate 15K, but I admit that the lack of information on their website scared me. Getting down to the National Harbor area would be difficult for me on a weekend, especially if they don’t have a deal with Metro to open early.

But here’s the real kicker. While watching all the New York City Marathon results come in on November 6, I felt a strange voice in my head. The strange voice in my head said, “Hey, I want to do that again!”

To which I said, “What the what?”

“Yeah! Remember how fun it was? Go back and read your race report on your blog.”

So I did, and lo and behold, I’ve promised the strange voice in my head that I will go in for the 2012 ING New York City Marathon. Training for a marathon, in D.C., in the summer? I must be insane. But I want to do it.

So, in order to do all this, I’ll just have to suck it up when it comes to running in D.C. I guess I’ll make it work somehow.

Getting new running shoes would be a good start …

©2012 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

So, despite my vow earlier this year to keep running on a regular basis, integrating it with my weight workouts, I ended up dropping running completely from my schedule. Part of it was still nerves: I mentioned in the Cherry Blossom race report that my stomach was going crazy during that time, and it didn’t really fix itself until, surprise, I left my old job. Considering the timing of my problems starting with this post (on the day I took a mental health day because I was so upset over the newbie) and more or less ending with my quitting my old job, there was something definitely psychological going on there in addition to freaking out over the problem to begin with. Now that I’m out of Dodge, my stomach’s settled down for the most part.

The other part? Well, I confess: I really, really don’t enjoy running in D.C. And the treadmill? Such a boring—albeit necessary at times—option that I couldn’t bring myself to do all the time.

No Running--At Least Not in D.C.

My location doesn’t lend itself to the best of running options. Sure, there’s Rock Creek Park, but I’m somewhat of a klutz and running trail has never been a good option for me. (I should learn, though, if we move out West one day and there are spectacular trails nearby.) There are also Maryland park trails, but a lot of them are paved. My favorite option is the Capital Crescent Trail, but when I get to Bethesda the trail becomes paved, crowded, boring. The trail prior to Bethesda—wide, unpaved, not so crowded, with minimal foot dangers like roots and jutting rocks, is ideal. Never mind running around the neighborhood, too—I’ve noticed that the D.C. metro area has this obsession with randomly ending sidewalks. While I did plenty of street running when living in Michigan, and suffered many, many idiotic drivers (and dogs), finding myself sans sidewalk in D.C. freaks me out because drivers around here are, to put it bluntly, fucking nuts. So yes, I’m very picky when it comes to running.

Oh, and can we throw in the ridiculous summer heat and humidity? Sure, Michigan’s freaking humid and hot in the summer, but running in Michigan summers at 6am is worlds better than running in D.C. summers at 6am. I have never adjusted (and make it a point of pride that, all things being equal [i.e., no three-day power loss thanks to PEPCO], winters in D.C. can’t get me down and I could still manage a Michigan winter with the best of them—and hell, Michigan winter running is heaven compared to D.C. winter running where they can’t salt or plow to save their lives).

Ahem.

But I’ve been trying to get back into it because I do miss it quite a bit. A lot of my new coworkers are runners and I’d like to build up my mileage enough to join them on long runs that they do every week. Given my work location, I’m also flirting with the idea of taking some lunch runs downtown. First, though, the heat needs to go away and that’s not going to be for a while. That means I’m stuck on the treadmill with the occasional three-mile loop around Rock Creek Park/Candy Cane City thrown in when the region isn’t be stifled by a wet, warm blanket. And the idea of that is very, very boring.

And yeah, all of the above? Excuses, excuses, right? Ugh.

Bottom line: I do miss running, but I’m having a lot of time keeping my motivation going. It’s easy when Cherry Blossom’s on the horizon—there’s a goal, something to train for. And I know that the logical thing to do is to sign up for more races, but here I’ll confess: I have deliberately missed so many races in the D.C. area it’s ridiculous. Getting from Point A to Point B on the weekends seems ridiculously complicated for me because a) Metro opens too late given race start times and 2) I’m not a fan of driving around here. Of course, I just need to get over that, but how to do it?  Hmm.

What’s the point of this post? I have no idea. But I have to find a way to make it work despite my aversion to D.C. running.

©2012 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

I once wrote that I was slower than I once was, and faster than I’ll be (that’s not unusual). In general, this assessment holds true: I’m not the somewhat speedy (for a late-blooming runner) girl who could tear up a 5K in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and managed to place in a few of the smaller races. However, that maxim proved completely false for the 2011 Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run.

I shaved seven minutes off my 2009 time.

Did you read that right? Indeed you did. Seven.fucking.minutes.

Pardon my language, but FUCK YEAH.

As of this writing, I’m still waiting for the official times to be posted, but check out this evidence from my trusty green Garmin (click to enlarge and open in a new window):

So yeah, I’m six seconds short of the actual seven minutes, but people: for all intents and purposes, I kicked major ass.

I felt good throughout the run. I won’t lie: I went into it very worried. Teeth-chattering, almost crying worried. TMI, but I’ve been having, uh, digestive problems that have been bothering me for about a month. I worried that I wouldn’t be able to finish the race. I took precautionary measures, had a very good come-to-Jesus talk with IP (which was so helpful; just venting about my worry made three-quarters of it disappear), and just reminded myself that if it came down to it, I’d do what I’d have to do. Happily it didn’t come to anything drastic because I felt pretty much fantastic throughout. It also helps to know that you’ve got a fantastic husband waiting for you at the end of the race, ready to congratulate you, braving an early Sunday morning to cheer you on (seriously, he really is the best—no, once again, you can’t have him!).

The weather was pretty good for running (cold once you stopped), the sun was out and shining, and the crowd was pretty good. I feel like the group of runners surrounding me was less vocal than two years ago, but that’s okay—I was pretty much in my own head but I actually did notice the cherry blossoms this year (they were pretty gorgeous). The Hains Point section was, as always, super-quiet and super-crowded; I accidentally bumped into someone, but neither of us fell. I felt bad as I wasn’t trying to barrel through, but I suddenly found myself surrounded by runners and had nowhere to move given my pace at the moment. The guy was not happy (as I would not have been), but trust me: the last thing I want to do is knock someone down during a race. I think the same goes for all runners. Hains Point is a tight squeeze. Given how tight, it actually wouldn’t hurt to further limit registration (even though that affects everyone’s chances of getting in, it’s probably safer that way). So this is all just to say: I’m sorry, dude! If there’s anyone who believes in the three-foot personal bubble of space, it’s me. I’m sorry that I intruded on yours during a nice run.

Going back to the title of the entry: am I slower than I’ll be? Maybe. I actually feel that if I keep up my long runs and do some interval work during the week, I could be faster next year if I’m lucky enough to get into the 2012 run. I always leave these races feeling great, but also feeling like I could’ve put in a little more oomph. I definitely upped the oomph factor from 2009. What’s in store for the next Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run?

Hmm . . . we’ll see. Happy running!

©2012 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

With my parents visiting for the weekend, I was able to have Friday off (which was fantastic after the latest installment of the Great Crony Debacle of 2011 at work). I picked up my parents from Reagan on Thursday and proceeded to have a fun time with them. Among other things, I took them to the Mega Spanish Supermarket in Rockville where we got sal de uvas (an antacid popular in Mexico—here’s a good write-up on the product), some good pan Mexicano (which seems hard to find in the D.C. area, Tapatío hot sauce for IP (who was missing it since the Giants we frequent appear to have stopped stocking them) and some chiles ancho and árbol for our midday project: mole and sopa de arroz!

After a brief pit stop at Montrose Crossing for some more ingredients and for some Jameson for IP as a gift from my dad, we headed back to our place and my mom proceeded to show me how to make mole. It’s surprisingly easy and I can’t wait to try to do this on my own—it always seemed hella complicated and I would shudder to think of the mess I’d make if I did this on my own. However, I’m fairly confident that I can pull this off now. I would invite y’all over for mole and arroz but . . . well, y’know.

I had good conversations with my parents, with and without IP present. It was fun to laugh with them, talk about stupid stuff, talk politics with my dad, hear updates about the family from my mom. It was different from talking with them at this place or on the phone—I feel like they were just able to relax here and not get antsy. My mom especially has a history of getting clingy (and on my nerves—I love her, but I famously don’t have oodles of patience), but this time she was very chillaxed. IP seemed to have a good time, as he always delights in hearing silly stories about me as a kid. On Saturday, we headed downtown for some views of the White House, a walk around the Mall and a huge lunch at Gordon Biersch (my dad particularly favors their Märzen beer). Saturday night was spent a) taking naps as we all needed them and 2) just talking during a very small dinner.

They left early Sunday morning, at around 5:15am. IP and I went back to sleep for two hours. My alarm went off again, though, and that was my cue to head outside for an eight-mile run.

The run went well, I can happily say! The only thing that slowed me down was coming up a steep incline in Rock Creek Park that I’ve never tried to run before; I still finished in 1:20:25, which made for a 10:02 minute/mile pace. I’m hoping that this bodes well for the Cherry Blossom; I would ideally like to finish at a 10:00 minute/mile pace, but wouldn’t mine it if I made it to 9:45 or 9:30. That might be a pipe dream, but I did run my 8K at a 9:17 pace and felt like I had more than enough to spare. Fingers crossed that everything goes well on April 3!

After I finished my long run, IP and I got ready and trudged down to D.C. again to meet a friend for brunch. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her, it was a special day for her and she got hitched not too long ago. I wanted to congratulate her in person, and even though I was tired as hell and half-tempted to skip my eight-miler, send a text message that we couldn’t make it and go back to sleep, I’m glad we made it to the brunch. It was nice to catch up with her and hear how things were going. We were invited to visit her; we’ll see, because she does indeed live in a beautiful place.

And now, as I write this (written on Sunday afternoon), IP and I are finishing up some laundry. I am tired and wouldn’t mind a nap; IP will probably end up hitting the gym before we both gather ourselves and head over to the supermarket for some needed grocery shopping.

A very busy weekend, a very nice weekend. However, we are looking forward to next weekend, when we have absolutely nothing special to do!

©2012 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

Not feeling it, but giving it the old college try!

As soon as I started my run, I felt slower than usual, but huzzahed myself into continuing because a) it was a longer run and 2) it’s not the worst thing in the world to adjust your pace to how your body’s feeling. I was slow, yeah, but I was enjoying a muddy and wet run through Rock Creek Park and Candy Cane City. By the time I hit mile three, though, the bottom dropped out (TMI)—my stomach started bothering me and, this being Candy Cane City, all the bathrooms are locked. Huzzah?

Not being far from home, I didn’t panic because 1) the feeling wasn’t that bad and b) I thought I remembered a port-a-potty in Ray’s Meadow Park. I was planning on heading that way, anyway, so I just continued at a jog that didn’t jostle my stomach. But—whaddya know!—the port-a-potty is gone, baby, gone.

Seriously, Montgomery Parks—what’s up with no functional bathrooms in your parks?

So I headed home. I was able to get in 3.5 miles by the time I got home, clocking in at an 11:26 minutes/mile pace. Not my hottest, but whatever. It happens.

My immediate plan was to go back out, but I first sat down to calculate a quick running map. I wanted to stick close to home juuuuust in case, so I decided to do what I’m terming my Metro run: run up to the Metro, run back, add some sprints around the complex to round out another 3.5 miles. After some hemming and hawing (and a sock change since Candy Cane City soaked my first pair), I steeled myself and headed out again. Baby, I told myself, you were born to run.

The second run sucked much more than the first one. The advantage of running on trails and parks is that while you get some inconsiderate bikers and walkers, you don’t encounter much traffic and people mostly keep to themselves. Polite smiles, nods of thanks when the path is yielded, but no more. A city run? Much different.

You come across guys in trucks whistling at you, prompting you to shout “In your dreams!” and shoot them the finger. You come across a right turning car at 16th Street and East-West Highway who seems to have trouble understanding that the walk sign gives me right-of-way (earning them a crosswalk “stop” motion from me, earning me a honk from them, earning them a finger behind my back). You have to wait for a lot more walk lights, which slows down your pace considerably (especially since, as I’ve mentioned before, RunKeeper Pro does not automatically pause if you’re not moving). Oh, you could dash across the street, but then you’d be a big, fat hypocrite putting yourself in danger for the sake of a run. I like running, y’all, but not that much.

You’ve got some hills that you don’t usually run, just walk. So that does slow you down because you have to measure your pace (sometimes down to a walk), but you tell yourself that hills are your friends. Still, the second 3.5 miles clocked in at an 11:19 minutes/mile pace; slightly faster than the first run, but that’s partly because I was trying to outrun the truck full of guys that kept on whistling at me while they were doing some kind of roadwork. Running is usually relaxing, but running around downtown Silver Spring can be infuriating, and this was a run fueled by plenty of anger. Not exactly the stress reliever it usually is. In theory, I should be capable of ignoring all these distractions and focusing on my run. In theory, I shouldn’t work myself into a tizzy of righteous indignation.

In theory, Homer Simpson once said, communism works. In theory.

So this wasn’t a banner run by any stretch of the imagination, but it did allow me to prove my mettle and perseverance; it also reminded me why I like trail running as opposed to city running; and it reminded me that bad days are par for the course.

Hey, at least my right foot didn’t act up—it had been worrying me for a bit, but it seems fine. Huzzah to that!

©2012 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

The run was a good one. I did what is typically a walk for IP and me, but  managed to not slow down to a walk when the hill at the end of the run presented itself. I ran through Candy Cane City and Rock Creek Park, getting my shoes wet and muddy like they should properly be. When I emerged onto my road, it was 3.75 (.25 more than I originally planned, what the hell; should have gone for four at that point, though) miles later. I felt exhilarated and was in a good mood the rest of the evening.

So the next morning, rather than head out immediately, I puttered around, making egg whites and sweet potato for breakfast, firing up the coffee maker and indulging in some decaf coffee (with a tiny bit of hazelnut coffee thrown in for flavor). At 12:30 I headed out, taking our dry cleaning for drop off before commencing my run. Doing that, I crossed the street, fiddled with my iPhone, and was off!

Until I hit Grubb and East West Highway and had to wait for at least half a minute to cross the street. So much for a roaring start.

However, even though RunKeeper Pro doesn’t have an autopause feature, I still managed to tackle the five miles in 49:57. That was a surprise because a) I was trying to keep my pace down (I wanted to be sub-11:00 minutes/mile, but 10:00 minutes/mile hasn’t happened in a while)  and 2) I didn’t feel very tired. When I finished my run, I had a big grin on my face; I couldn’t help it. As I walked a little to cool off, I had to thank weight lifting for helping the running resurgence; I honestly think that by strengthening my legs, core and upper body, I’ve given an advantage to my running. My lungs and heart, like I’ve said before, had some catching up to do, but I think they’re pretty much there. Unlike runs prior to my weight lifting days, I didn’t feel heavy or cumbersome. I just ran.

I just felt liking running!

Given how gusty Saturday was, the wind presented a challenge; I’ve run on windy days before, and one thing that never changes is that a good gust can take my breath away. However, it can also give me a good sprint if the wind’s at my back. I felt resistance as I ran against the wind, and again I have to credit my weight lifting with being able to keep going.

Towards the end of the run, I got the cheer that I always get when I run with my University of Michigan hat (which IP found! yay!): a “Go Blue!” that caught me by surprise (this always does) and which I initially thought was a biker saying “To your left” to me (to which I thought “No, duh, you’re on the other side of the trail, dude!”). However, even though I didn’t respond then, I will now: Go Blue, indeed!

I mentioned that I have purchased an Armpocket SPORT i-20. Since I knew I was going to be training for the 10 miler and wanted to use RunKeeper Pro to track this, I figured I needed an iPhone armband. While doing some research, I came across enthusiastic endorsements of the Armpocket products. I headed to their website and liked what I saw, but wanted to see it in person—checking out their retail locations I was 1) surprised to see that they sold it at a local running store and b) that there was a branch of said local running store just down the street for work. So I headed over and liked what I saw. It was slightly pricier, buying it locally than online, but I see it like this: a) I got to support a local business and 2) I got to try the armband right away. And I would give it a thumbs way up for a couple of reasons:

1) I can fit the iPhone, still in its SwitchEasy Capsule Rebel case, into the Armpocket, along with money, keys and ID. I can now go for a run without having my keys jangling on my foot, my ID poking me in the side or leaving my iPhone behind. It’s nice to have music along for the ride, but it’s also nice to have a phone at hand. And like I mentioned, I can take some money (I had planned on going to our deli after the run, but ended up pretty messy at the end of it, so I figured I’d spare the cashier at the deli such a beautiful sight and clean up at home first).

b) The Armpocket does not chafe or jostle. Once strapped on, it’s been pretty secure. I feel the weight of the iPhone on my arm, of course, but it’s not slipping down my arm thanks to my sweat or the weight of the iPhone. Once you’re used to the weight of the iPhone on your bicep, you’re pretty much set. It allowed me to manipulate the iPhone screen through the Armpocket plastic cover, but my own screen cover.

Armpocket SPORT i-20

My only quibble is the place of the headphone port. The iPhone’s port is at the top of the device; the Armpocket has it at the bottom. I can’t fully close the Armpocket because of this, but the zipper does stay put, hugging the headphone line where it pokes out of the armband. It’s not a huge deal, but the design does have that flaw.

As for RunKeeper, up until Friday I was using it as a way to track my indoor runs. I wanted to take it out for a test drive, though, outdoors. It tracked well and it’s nice to have the voice telling you how far along you are without having to check your phone (given how I wear the Armpocket, there was no way I couldn’t looked without twisting by the Armpocket and my head unnaturally while trying to run, which would probably mean a spill given my lack of grace and style). I didn’t find that it drained my battery all that much after 50 minutes of running, so that gives me hope that it’d endure twice as much time and/or mileage.

Overall a very good weekend for running. I’m looking forward to my six-miler next Saturday.

©2012 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

(I must note that I missed the first year because of a wedding. Fair, right? No? Okay.)

But I have been running more. And my  running’s been getting better and better as time goes by. I’ve now accomplished what I hadn’t been able to accomplish in probably two years: a sub-00:30:00 three-miler. I’ve been able to do it consistently. And I’ve yet to want to give up when it comes to running. I’m enjoying it, enjoying it like I did when I was a dedicated 30-miles-per-week runner.

Not that I haven’t enjoyed weightlifting, nor do I plan to phase it out completely (I’ll be starting a new routine very soon). But running’s been missing from my repertoire of exercise, and for a while I didn’t really miss it. It was too hard. My legs didn’t seem to want to move, my arms were heavy and leaden, my body was cumbersome and unable to handle the impact, and my lungs were woefully out of practice. Like this:

Part of the problem, though? Was trying to run like I did five years ago. And that doesn’t work when you haven’t been running like that consistently for five years. Except it’s really hard to accept that you weren’t the runner you once were. And when you finally do accept it, it’s hard to challenge yourself because you think “There’s no way I could ever do it like that again. Nuh-uh.”

Another part of my problem was that I knew I wouldn’t be able to dial it back if I did challenge myself—and I was totally afraid of failure. What failure meant I’m not sure: going back down a couple of tenths of a mile in speed? spazzing out on the treadmill in spectacular fashion? throwing up all over the console? I didn’t know what it was, but I didn’t want it to happen to me. So I wouldn’t challenge myself and I didn’t progress.

Until I finally gave myself permission: if it’s too hard, it’s okay to slow down or it’s okay to stop. There’s no shame in it; after all, you didn’t start out running 30 miles a week, right? You started out doing two milers that left you sore and miserable, but you still pulled yourself together and went for it until you slowly but surely, over the course of four freaking years, WordNerdia-IPia, got to your pinnacle. And then your priorities and life changed, so your running changed. And that’s okay. You don’t have to get to where you were before, but don’t torture yourself with the thought of what was; think of what you can do now. Even if it’s a little less than what you did before, it’ll probably be more than what you’re doing now. And you’ll be proud of it either way.

So I took the plunge. I slowed myself down, allowed myself to admit fatigue when it was necessary, and allowed myself to accept challenges that seemed out of reach (they were now within reach since I did the first two items without hesitation). Like the song says: I started from zero in an attempt to touch my (running) heaven. And then it started coming back to me: the enjoyment of a run.

And that’s all I wanted—to enjoy it, to not think of it as a chore.

So now I’ve been building a base for the Cherry Blossom and will be doing longer runs outside soon (hopefully the weather will cooperate a bit more?). I want to race well on April 3, 2011. But I want even more to have fun while running. Because if it’s not fun, it’s not worth it. I used to love to race because it was fun; the crowds, the energy, the other runners who spurred me on with pure love of the event. Some of my most recent races have been meh; I don’t have fun, I just focus on how much my time is going to suck and how out of running shape I feel. Hopefully not for Cherry Blossom, though.

And then I’ll know that starting over isn’t the worse thing in the world; re-learning something you thought you knew is nothing shameful; and that each step I take while training and running the race helps me build to bigger things (like another half-mary or full).

So here’s to beginning anew for this Cherry Blossom special.

*Shakira, “Waka, Waka (Esto es Africa),” the Spanish-language version of the World Cup song you probably know so well; I vastly prefer the Spanish-language version!

©2012 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

There is this, though: I’m enjoying the running a lot more than I have in the past year, and with each run my times get better. It seems easier than it was a year ago; my body feels lighter and responds to changes in gait and speed with ease. Is it the weight lifting? I know I’m more compact than I was a year ago even though I haven’t lost any weight according to the scale. My lungs have some catching up to do, but my legs and core are staying strong throughout runs, with my arms swinging along happily for the ride. It makes me want to flirt with the idea of a half marathon in 2011. The idea of doing 13.1 miles again seems like a fun one.

I would probably train as a beginner even though I do have the half and full marathons under my belt; I haven’t been running that much, so I would need to build to those extra nine miles. The question is not whether I can do it, but whether I have the motivation to stick with the training; I think I do, but I also worry about letting my weight lifting suffer. Hah, I remember when I would worry about weight lifting taking away from my running. The thing is, though, it’s a give and take with these two disparate but complimentary goals—they both keep me healthy in different ways, but they each require certain attention in order to maximize training. I would have to dumb down the weights if I decided the half mary was a good idea and pursue it at full speed.

I think my current plan will be to do a few more races at the 5K and 10K levels because they’re just fun and then see. Sticking to the shorter distances and doing the occasional running may or may not encourage me to do the half. I will say that the full marathon is something that I would like to do again, but I’m not altogether sure when. Not 2011, I think—I will save the year for a possible half mary. I kind of figure that I need to do the half marathon and be really, really inspired and motivated in order to proceed with the full, kind of like I did with the Nike San Francisco half and New York.

Ah, New York. Yeah, there’s one I want to do again.

We’ll see. For now, I’ll just enjoy the miles run during these wonderful fall days.

©2012 Sonnet 87. All Rights Reserved. Originally published by WordNerd for Sonnet87.com. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.