The etiquette of running

I love to have company when running. I met wonderful women as part of my running group and boot camp group. I love the conversations, particularly when the endorphins are going and dilute a bit the censorship or shyness of some (including me). Although I always struggle with not being viewed as a therapist, I am self-conscious about being one (because I oh so want a break from coming up with insights, giving advice or having any kind of expertise or responsibility), I find a way to put that side of me away and just run and be.

So where does the etiquette of running comes into play for me? During races. I am competitive and proud of that. I am competitive with myself and others. I want to run my best race. I want to go out there and test my mind and my body. I strive on that. But I have not figured out what to do when I run with friends, particularly with those who are or say they are not competitive or say they do not care (I know some do!) about their times. I feel guilty to run away. I feel guilty when I finish before them. I work super hard to compliment their running and racing. How silly is this. Chris thinks that something like this would never happen with guys. Maybe this is only my issue. I don't know. I really don't think that I am a fast runner. I just try my best and have a tough mind. I just want to do better. Why race otherwise? I am always happy to hear about other runner's awesome times and I am always encouraging. I am so proud when I hear that someone I know ran an awesome marathon, or had an awesome 1/2 marathon time. I am never jealous. Eve though in a race I am running against other runner, I am really running against myself. What to do? Stop worrying about others, run your race, and be happy with it!

I also think this has something to do with being a woman. Unfortunately it is still unnatural for women to allow themselves to be competitive. Being competitive has somewhat of a negative connotation for women, whereas for men competitiveness is accepted as being male and sexual and attractice. Not for women. Women need to be nice and polite and feminine. But that can get oh so boring....I wonder what other women and men think about this...

training log week 10/20 - 10/27 2008

Monday - 7 miles; .5 warm up, .5 cool down; 6 miles @ 7:30.
Tuesday - 1 mile swim.
Wednesday -7.4 trail miles; Skyline trail, streneous, @ 12:00.
Thursday - 4 EASY miles @ 9:00 (this was tough to do...) with 2 10 sec hill speed.
Friday - 1 mile swim.
Saturday - 1.25 mile swim.
Sunday - 9.3 miles race - Busa. 1:12, 7:44min/miles; 15 min stepper
T = 27.7 miles (ran)
T = 3.25 miles (swam).

What the PT had to say

This week I went to MGH Sports Medicine to get fitted for orthotics. The guy looked at my feet/legs and his jaw dropped. "Well, you have a lot of mechanical problems". He proceeded to tell me that I have high arches, but when I ran my feet become almost flat, particularly the R foot. Yes, I overpronate. He also said my knees lock, and this in combination with my overpronation, puts a lot of stress on my pubic bones. There you go. He said orthotics and mild stability shoes, in addition to strenghtening exercises 2 times a week would keep me healthy. Lets hope so. So I need to quickly wear out my shoes (yikes, just bought them in the summer) and go get fitted for the first time in my life.

I have to say how frustrating it is that I used to run 6 miles every single day, no days off, when I was in my twenties, which would put me to 42 miles/week, and never got injured. And I never streched, iced, strengthened. The PT blamed the pregnancy which supposedly loosens up the ligaments and tendons. OK, more info to take into account when thinking about having nr. 2.

OK, I do feel good about having some validation about my injuries in the last year, as I have been blamed/told/etc that I overdo it, that I push too hard and too fast. And surprisingly I cared (or maybe not surprisingly). I do value my identity as a runner! I admit that I would love to run fast and long every day, and it is hard for me not to do it, but I do slow myself down as best I can...

Fells in the Fall

I managed a couple of runs in the Fells during the past couple of weeks. On Saturday I ran with a few friends and did the Reservoir trail. We ran the 5.2 miles at a slow pace, as one of us has just gotten back to running after a long lay off. I felt strong. I loved doing the run. I find that waking up at 6:30 for a 7am run is so hard when it's dark, rather than sunny. But happiness always takes over when I think about going on the trails with people I like. The slow pace allowed us to take in the views, catch up, and shared lots of laughter. I was a bit nervous doing only 5.2 miles, even though we ran for 1:20 (I don't even want to know the pace), because Saturday I never do less than 8 miles, and usually ran 10-12. But I think in the long run that was good for me. Plus, I wanted to be there for Sue.

Today Chris (my husband) and I went back and ran the Skyline trail (7.2 miles). We are both registered for the Skyline race on November 29th, and at least one of us (guess who?) is looking forward to it. Today I wanted to run fast. Chris runs 3-4 miles 2-3 times a day these days, but he still manages to stay strong every time we run together. I guess it is the muscle memory as he used to run daily in his early 30s, and also ran cross country in high school. This is why I think he never loses fitness, while if I take 1 week off, I lose more than 50% running speed. So back to Skyline. I decided to run in shorts, which was good. I decided to leave my gloves in the car, which was bad. Three miles in and my hands were white and frozen. They remained frozen until we got home and I put them close to the stove. The run was beautiful. We ran it at 12:01 pace, and I felt strong throughout. I think I can do 11:00 for the race, and will try. Chris did very well, considering, was amazing on the up hills and a bit slow on the downhills, but he confessed his legs felt like jelly by the end of the run. It was nice to be there together, as the mountains were one of the first things that brought us together.And of course, both runs gave me loads of energy for the day! T miles = 7.4, time = 1:24.

training log week 10/20 - 10/27 2008

Monday 10/20 - 6 miles pavement, 1 warmup/cool off, 6 at 7:27pace; 2 10 secs speed on hills
Tuesday - surgery, no exercise.
Wednesday 10/22 - 5 miles on trails at 7:50 pace.
Thursday 10/23 - 4 miles, 2 down, 2 up, at a 7:55 pace, with 4 10 sec speed on hills.
Friday 10/24 - 6 miles elipitical/step.
Saturday 10/25 - 6 miles tough trails; 1 mile swim.
Sunday 10/26 - 1and 1/2 miles swim.

T miles: 21 (yikes!!!)

Capstone Photography

Capstone Photography

races up in the air

A few of my running friends ran the BAA, Tufts and Bay State 1/2 and marathon races these past 2 weeks. Initially I wanted to run BayState, but then registration closed and I just did not feel comfortable to run as a bandit. So I cheered from them from home and was super excited to see how well they all did. And I got excited and pumped up for more running and improving my speed and endurance. I know it is all about the work, doing the intervals and the hills, eating well, sleeping well. Hopefully I will be healthy!

training log week 10/13 - 10/19 2008

I can't access my training log on runner's world. Bummer! I emailed them but have not heard back. In the meantime, this would have to do.

Monday 10/13 - 6 miles @7:30.
Tuesday 10/14 - swim 1mile.
Wednesday 10/15 - 5 miles trails @ 8:30 with 2 10 secs hill pick-up max speed.
Thursday 10/16 - 4 miles @ 7:45, with 2 10 secs hill pick-up max speed.
Friday 10/17 - swim 1 mile.
Saturday 10/18 - 10.5 miles, 7 @8:10, 1 cool down, 1 warm up, 1.5 hills with 3 10sec hill pick ups max speed; swim 1 mile.
Sunday 10/19 - swim 1 and 1/4 mile.

My R knee has been bugging me, my pubis ramus, R side has been bugging me as well. I made an appt to get evaluated for orthotics, so hopefully I'll learn once and for all the type of foot I have and type of shoes I should buy. And hopefully no more pain with running. I am so motivated to train and get faster, but it seems like every time I push it up I get hurt! I also had my bone scan today - hopefully bones are nice and healthy.

Houghton Pond 10k - race report

A beautiful Fall day in Milton, MA, and a great time of the year for a trail race. No worries about being too hot, too crowded, not finding a parking spot, staying in line for the bathroom or running to slow and missing the best post race treats...

This was my first year running the Houghton Pond 10K. My R knee has been bothering me for a while, and my plan was to let it dictate the tone of the race. I met Carlene and Geoff before the race, and my husband Chris babysat Pepe and Lila - Carlene's daughter (he did get to play tennis and watch the Sox later in the day, though he is the sweetest and most supportive husband ever). Geoff started out very fast and Carlene and I settled at an 8:10 pace. My knee felt great. We ran single file and at some point I lost Carlene. So I plugged along faster, around 8:00 pace. Then at mile 2 my laces came untied. Bummer. I stopped but did not do a good job and they untied again. This time I took my time at it. By the time I started running again my GPS showed 8:22 pace. Yikes! I had to speed up. And I did. Some tough hills and then lots of downhills which allowed me to get my pace down to 7:45 for a strong finish, 5th woman overall. Chris says I could subtract 1 minute from my time, and that I could have easily been 3rd woman overall had I not had the lace issue. Quite possible. Nonetheless, I loved the race. I had to be super careful bc the terrain was rocky, with lots of roots and a few boulders. But this is the beauty of running a trail race, you think about not tripping, not about how tired you are. Oh, and I forgot to mention how I pleaded with the Gods that I would not throw up in the last 100yards...and I did not. At the finish line Pepe ran into me and post race he gave me the biggest hug ever. Beautiful!