What do you think about when you run?

Today, I thought about how right my husband was when I got home from work. I wanted to go for a run, then I didn't want to go for a run.... I didn't want to, I really didn't.  Here is what he said (with a real motivational smile and tone) -

"if you don't get out there and run, the 15 pounds that you want to lose are going to turn into 20 pounds.... and while you may be okay with that NOW, when it does become 20 pounds, you aren't going to be okay with it. I will pick up the kids, I'll even get them diner....get out there and GET IT!"

I hate it when he is right - and he knows it!!!! So that's what I thought about while I was out there stomping through my 3.25 miles. That, and ... it always helps to think about how good you will look when you DO lose those 15 pounds.

Some other things that I thought about .....

• band practice (what new songs would we learn tonight?)
• work (can't help it, I have a lot to think about)
• my son's antibiotics (gotta remember to give him his medicine when I get back)
• what am I going to decide to do on Saturday (too many choices, someone is not going to be happy)
• what Turkey Trot will I end up running?
• how fast am I going? (why didn't I bring my Garmin?)

What do you think about? I'd like to hear.

Channeling my inner Ultra Marathon Diva

I'm not quite done with Born to Run yet, but, like I said earlier, it's helping me overcome some psychological limits. More than that, it's making me feel like a downright ultramarathoner (I'm not... unless you count 3-mile runs as ultra training). So, feeling all long-distancy, today I went back to   reading my favorite ultra girl 's blog to see what she's up to (running for long periods of time and very far). One of her inspirational quotes caught my eye (she puts one in there every day)-- something about how life is a novel and every day you get the chance to write a new page. Well. I'm not an inspirational quotes kind of girl. But this one made me get my running shoes on, grab a plastic poop bag, the leash, and the hound. I didn't expect to run today since I ran twice yesterday, but I was feeling good and thought that maybe Luna would appreciate a little run. And, after all, today IS another day.

That's part of my new approach to running. Get out there if you feel like it. BTW it's paying off. I'm only 2 kilos away from Paris Marathon weight. ROCK ON!

Getting over those limits

Yesterday I finally saw Marco and Giorgia after their trip to the States. You may remember that they were with us in Paris when we ran the marathon. The neat thing is that they made friends with Christine, who came over from New Jersey to cheer us on. They stayed at her house for a few days during their trip. (SHOUT OUT TO CHRISTINE. THANK YOU FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER AND THE VANILLA!!!) They also stayed with my brother and sister-in-law (SHOUT OUT TO ED AND HEATHER, THANKS FOR PUTTING THEM UP!!).  I love it when my friends make friends with each other.

Marco and Giorgia brought me the book BORN TO RUN which Michael B. has been recommending for a long time now. I haven't finished it yet, but what I can say is that since I started it (last night, and I'm about half done), I have been itching to take off and run as far as I can for as long as possible.

Why? Because the book makes you think about how many things you can do if you don't have anyone telling you that you can't.

For example, when did there get to be so many RULES for running? You have to have such and such equipment, such and such pants and shirts, run too much and you'll blow out your knees, You have to have 400 dollar orthotics if you want to run past 40, "The human body just isn't made for going the marathon distance," follow the running table, run as few days as possible, avoid asphalt, blah blah blah..

WHY? WHY? WHY? I mean, if I want to run 5 miles in a pair of long johns, who's stopping me (in the past, at least, no one, especially when I had one pair of running tights and they were dirty). In the end the only person stopping me from doing anything, is me. I can think of a million excuses NOT to run at any given second. But then I remember that I like running, especially long distances, when you get just past where normal people start to think that you're not.

So I just have to do that. Run run run because it's fun and because I feel like it. I have also decided that I'm going to do my training for May's marathon the same way: I am not going to follow any tables. I am going to just run as much as I can, and increase my longs every week. I think the ultimate would be to arrive on race day and have it almost feel easy because you just decide that it doesn't have to be a grueling ass kicker. Is it possible? I don't know.

I like Kara Goucher's running advice, it went something like this: training? Run as hard as you can for as long as you can. Period.

UPDATE: YOU MUST READ THIS. YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF PEOPLE (NYTIMES)MAKING RIDICULOUS RULES FOR OUR SPORT. BAH! THANK YOU, MISS FOOL! THANKS, MICHAEL B. FOR THE HEADS UP!

Let's hear it for 1000 miles this year!

Well, you'll notice that there has been a long silence since my last euphoric entry of LOVING running. That's because I didn't love it so much after that. Today I couldn't stand it, to tell you the truth. But, at the same time, running is part of me now, like it or lump it. 


I'm just psyched that I broke 1000 miles (sounds better in Km, though: 1600!). I have never counted miles in this way before, so thanks Dailymile! 


I'm reading a book by Stefano Baldini, the Italian guy who won the marathon in Greece in 2004 and trying to get my running groove back on to start training for Trieste in May. I'm thinking I'll get into training for reals around mid December. I think Laura needs to find a good May marathon, too. Anybody know of anything in the New York State area scheduled for May?


For now, I just plug away at small distances and every once in a while try to do something a little bit longer.


By the way, a shout out to my cousin Kate, who just qualified for Boston AGAIN! Way to go, Kate!! What an inspiration...


Laura, give us a sign! 
xoxo my fellow runners!

I Finally Love Running Again

It's about dang time, too! I decided to bite the bullet and go for a long run tonight since I knew this week was going to be a hectic one and Sweetie was out playing tennis with our friend Valentina (did I ever tell you about her? She looks exactly like me, I'm not kidding. She's Sweetie's tennis BFF and she has a killer serve. Sometimes people in the neighborhood come up to me and compliment me for it!! I just say thank you, on her behalf, of course).

I decided to run my hardest route just because I got all inspired by our super marathoning friends like Ms. Fool and Michael B and started thinking about Trieste, and then about how it would be fun to do Venice next year, and that was it--the shoes were on and I was out the door. I didn't even have time to talk myself out of it, although I did have time to talk myself into running in the easy direction, which means the first 25 minutes are uphill rather than the first 45. That worked. Once I got through the tough part I was flying flying flying downhill. And I realized that sometime over the last year I figured out how to RUN downhill without being scared of tripping or falling on my face. Maybe my newfound confidence came from the fact that I brought my cell phone with me on this route for the first time ever.

Then, climbing up the last little hill before making the turn down to my house, I realized that I didn't remember running most of that street, I was just moving, LIKE A GD GAZELLE, I TELL YOU! That is bliss. I hit RUNNING NIRVANA, man, for the first time in a long time, and BOY DID THAT FEEL GOOD.

New Running Shoes

I woke up this morning with a motivator message from Kari - GET OUT THERE AND DO 10 MINUTES!!!! Doh (I think someone noticed that I haven't been running.) 

Truth of the matter is this - I HAVE BEEN RUNNING!!!!! I've been running around like a chicken with her head cut off in a life that is way too busy for my taste. The crazy thing???? I'm not really that busy. I mean, it's not like I'm training for a marathon, or anything. I am teaching three new courses this year and the prep time for those three classes is encroaching on my once-valueable and coveted work-out time.

BUT, not to worry. I have been enjoying my new pair of running shoes.  They aren't some fancy-pants VFF's (although I secretly crave a pair just to be like MichaelB and Kari) but I think you will agree that they have me running through my hectic life in style - check em out!!!


So, I put on my Saucony's and ran today (sans electronic timing devices) and thought only of Ms. Fool today. A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO HER AS SHE RUNS THE NYC MARATHON TODAY - WOOT WOOT!!!!! (what a great day for a run!)

Now I know how Laura was feeling that day!

I've gotten hardly any running in these last two weeks. And the result is: grumpiness, depression-like symptoms (especially earlier this week... awful!), and mid-section fluffiness... This morning, while still all warm in bed, I was like "As soon as I get up I am going to run like 20 miles to make up for all of this laziness, get my blood flowing again..." etc. It didn't happen (I don't think my legs could do it at this point), of course, but I did get out there.

I may not have gone at all, but I decided to use my dog, Luna, as the perfect excuse to both run, and go less far.  We went on her favorite 3-miler. I wore my Vibram 5 fingers and almost had the experience of feeling other peoples' dog poop squish between my toes about 5 times! Ewwww. The shoes themselves feel great, especially going up hills because they're so light.

I guess that until I feel like running for running's sake, I'm going to have to do it this way: make it about something else. Commuting on foot is another way to fool myself into running (a lot of my running over the last few weeks has been to go to appointments and meetings).

Man, I need to get the endorphins rolling again. Advice?

While we're on the subject

Thanks for reminding us about yesterday, Laura. Your mentioning it reminded me that applications for next year's Rotary Exchange are probably due sometime in October or November, also. Remember when we were just applying? Sigh...

I just got back from doing some hill work with my new Vibram 5-fingers, which are really growing on me. I've only used them a couple of times because of a cold spell which hit a couple of weeks ago, but now the weather has warmed up again and so I got them out. I think they're great for people suffering from shin splints. It's refreshing to feel like you're using muscles (like your shins) that you don't use much with regular shoes. While I was out there, I was thinking about how my life has changed over the last few months (except for my uncertain work situation, it has all been positive).

Here are some of the small changes I've made that are making a big impact on my life.

1. Sweety and I have stopped eating out (unless we absolutely have to). Impact: we're spending a lot less money, we're eating better and healthier food at home, we're less interested in eating out (This is interesting. It's addictive. The more you eat out, the more you WANT to eat out. The less you eat out, the more you realize that the food you make at home is usually BETTER than what you eat out), and our social interactions with friends are healthier. We meet people out for walks, runs, tennis, etc. We made this decision in order to cut out unnecessary spending (we don't know what is going to happen with either of our work situations) and because I wanted to lose the weight that I had gained this summer after the marathon. We are much more creative about cooking and grocery shopping now, and have found ways of making eating at home just as special as eating out (It's Friday! Homemade PIZZA NIGHT, for example...)

2. I'm using the car as little as possible. If I don't have to be clean and fresh when I arrive, I run, otherwise I take the bus. Impact: Alot of my running miles are simply transportation. I feel so green! I don't have to make time for running-- it's built into my day.

3. I stopped drinking about 3 weeks or so ago. Before, I would have a glass (bottle) of wine with dinner with Sweety and (often) drink too much when we went out with friends. I decided that it was counter-productive to all the healthy lifestyle choices I was making, and, let's face it, at my age, you get killer hangovers. I did have a couple of drinks when my friend Daniel was here from Brazil one night, but the nice thing was that it felt like an exception, not a rule. Impact: I don't miss it. I feel clear-headed, I can concentrate better, I wake up earlier, and am still really fun. I drink tea instead, or hot water and lemon, and this keeps me happy and hydrated (even if it makes me sound boring). Interestingly, my friends have not really noticed.

4. I run more often but less miles. Even when I log 7 or 8 miles, chances are it was broken up into 1.5-3 mile chunks. This really agrees with me. I feel strong and a bunch of my pre-marathon pants fit again.

5. I'm watching as little TV as possible and reading. This is positive in every way possible.

Kilo count: I'm down 5 kilos from my high in July. Trying to keep it steady and get down to my goal of losing another 9 or so kilos (or about 20 pounds). Since we started our challenge I have lost 2 kilos.

Today is World Polio Day

for more information about this concert, click here

About a year ago, Kari and I had already decided to run the Paris Marathon and we had established that we wanted to do just a bit more than run the marathon. We were committed to raising awareness for Rotary International's efforts to eradicate Polio around the world. Kari and I were Rotary Exchange students to Belgium (nearly 20 years ago) and decided that it was time for us to give back to the organization that gave us so much during our year overseas. As we trained for the marathon, we looked for ways, creative ways, to raise money for this very worthwhile cause.

In the end, we figure that we raised somewhere around $20,000 toward Rotary International's PolioPlus Foundation. In truth, there is no way to place a figure on the amount of money we raised, but we can track the majority of it through my local district, who matched our amount. Beyond that, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation agreed to match Rotary International's global efforts as well.  SO - for every dollar that we raised, PolioPlus recieved $4.00 - that's a great return on an investment!

So, when I discovered that today is world Polio Day, I wanted to share the effort that Kari and I are most proud of - THANK YOU for your support, monetary and otherwise.

Please watch this short video to find out more about Rotary International's efforts to eradicate Polio.

I Have Made a Lasting Impression on My Sister-in-Law

So, I posted this photo on facebook earlier (prompted by some of my friends who had responded to my post : Laura is pulling off toenails.)

So, my sister in law sends me this link and said "read this and thought of you"

THANKS! (I think.....)

Have a read and enjoy - I know I did. By the way, I have pulled off three toenails in the last week and my feet feel better for it.