More Trials and Travails

I've been running sporadically lately.

I ran two weekends ago over the weekend with Eugene, both on Saturday and Sunday. I was running at a pretty good clip during the Saturday run, but felt it the next day, so was a bit slower. However, I was feeling better toward the end of the run. I think that it takes me one or two miles before I really start to feel good.

This past week, I ran once during work with EK. (Eugene is annoyed that I keep using peoples' initials instead of posting their full names. I think that I'll continue to use initials just to annoy him :)) She's a fast runner. She came in at an 8:45 pace during her last race, but still runs with me. I hate to admit it, but she's 47 and has had three kids, so she's got some years on me, but still manages to run faster. Someone told me that a lot of women peak in their running in their 30s and 40s. Maybe it's true given the 38-year old winner of the Olympic marathon. At any rate, no more than a year ago, she was like me, averaging about a 10:30 pace in a 10-miler. Her secret to getting so speedy? A week of hiking over summer vacation. If only it were that easy for me.... Nonetheless, we ran together at a nice slow pace, since she had taken off a few weeks. Sadly, it was still hard for me. I had taken off awhile due to injury and illness and hadn't run in in a good week. I almost didn't want to run with her because I wasn't sure if I could sustain running at a fast enough pace, but she was cool about it.

I didn't run again until Christmas day because it was ridiculously cold (10 degrees with even worse windchill), and I don't have good cold weather running gear. Apparently, athletic apparel companies don't seem to think that short people need running pants.

That's right. I said Christmas day. I'm hardcore! Not harcore enough, though, because I think that I developed shin splints somewhere along the way, so my legs were hurting after. Any tips for getting rid of them?

On an Unrelated Note

So far, the blog has been limited to running and our home improvement projects. I already have a food blog and could start yet another blog to talk about things that aren't food, running, or house related, but that would be way to much work. What is unrelated to those categories? Music.

I have varied tastes and appreciate all types of music if it's good. I'm not one of the categorical "no rap" or "no country" types of folk. Also, while I appreciate music that's not mainstream radio stuff, I appreciate catchy music as much as the next person.

At any rate, that sneaky Target has a display of CDs near the checkout. Whenever Eugene and I go shopping, I'm mean and make him stand in the line while I look at the tabloids. Yes, I am Leah, and I am a celebrity news junky. Since we were at the store recently, I had already looked at all of the tabloids that I wanted to look at and decided to check out the handy dandy CD display instead. On a whim, I decided to buy the new Beyonce CD. Bad Leah! Bad Leah!!! And so close to Christmas.... What's strange is that I've never been a huge Beyonce fan. I've always appreciated her vocal talent and think that some of her music is fun, but I've never felt compelled to buy any of her music. I'm not sure what it was that made me want to buy the album. Anyways, I'm glad I decided to buy it. The CD was excellent. It's a two-disc set with 5 to 6 songs on each. One disc is comprised of slow ballads and the other disc is more clubby. I like the ballads the most, but the other disc is good too. The best thing about the album is that all of the songs are listenable. I can't tell you how many times I've bought albums where I like 3 or so songs and the rest are crap.

My only beef with the album is the weird title, "I am .... Sasha Fierce." Apparently, Sasha Fierce is Beyonce's alter ego or something like that. What's up with all of these artists having alter egos... like Garth Brooks and Mariah Carey. Weird, I tell you. And if you're going to have an alter ego, Sasha Fierce??? But, the album is so good that the strange choice in name is trivial. And maybe it's an effective title. Maybe, just maybe, the weird alter ego thing is what got me curious enough to buy the album (that, and it was on sale for cheap).

And the Hits Just Keep on Coming

One of my friends told me this weekend that my blog posts aren't all that entertaining. Objectively, she's probably right. My posts are almost like a personal fitness journal, so apologies to people who read this and aren't entertained. I could try to be more entertaining, but I blog because it's a good release for me, and it would cease to be so if I had to make lots of effort to be entertaining.

I would hate to disappoint, so this post continues in the long line of boring. At any rate, ever since I decided to start running again on a regular basis, I've encountered all of these health problems that I never had before. I can't ever think of a time before that I had a running injury, but as of late, I've been plagued by them -- the heel, the thigh etc. Since those problems have abated, I've just been plain unhealthy. Normally, I have a good constitution, but this fall and winter have been the exception. I am sick yet again. I think that it all started at Thanksgiving. My adorable 9-month old niece was sick. One of the cutest things she does is the raspberries. I pretty much spent most of Thanksgiving and the days following encouraging her to do them because it was just so cute. It wasn't smart of me because I, in essence, ended up getting spat on the whole holiday and weekend by a sick baby. The upshot? Because I've been sick, I haven't been up to running since Thanksiving. You know what, though? It was worth being sick because my niece is so cute.

I have grandiose plans to get back on the road tomorrow....

Funny Runny

So, this post is a little late in coming. It dates back to the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Ahhh. It seems like a lifetime ago. I was doing so well then! I had run 4 miles the day before at a fast pace (for me), and then PL called me the next day around lunch to see if I wanted to go on the agency wellness run. I decided to take him up on it. So, I headed down to the locker room. Who did I run into? None other than my old (not age-wise) running group. They were suiting up to go running. It was a funny moment, because they hadn't invited me. I think that they caught wind of my running longer, faster, and by myself, which, let's be honest, isn't saying much. They asked if I was running, and I told them that I was running with PL. They said, "Oh, running with the big boys now." Luckily, I didn't have to have the "breakup" talk with them.

So, PL and I took off to meet up with the other runners. As it turns out, my running group for that afternoon was comprised of men old enough to be my father. One of them actually has a daughter my age. We talked about politics and then strangely, the conversation turned to things like Star Wars and Star Trek. There was an animated discussion about the feud between William Shatner and George Takei, and then a comment that Star Wars was nothing more than a big marketing ploy. The Ewoks in particular were singled out, as one of the runners thought that they had no real function except to be cute so that Star Wars could market cute cuddly things to kids. It may not sound amusing now, but it actually was then. We ended up running between 5 and 6 miles at an 11ish minute pace. Not too bad given that my legs were feeling a bit tight.

Sadly, I haven't run since then. I was overcome by the gluttony of Thanksgiving, and then I got sick again. Maybe this weekend.....

Hey, watch out!

A few weeks ago the NYT ran an interesting article on runner's road rage - about how some runners react when they almost get hit, or actually hit, by drivers. Now, while I can honestly say I have never had a reason to get fired up at a driver, I can certainly relate to this article. When I was in college in Upstate New York, I actually got hit by a car when I was running. I remember the day vividly because it was my 19th birthday. Fortunately, I saw the guy coming - he was pulling out of a gas station parking lot and distracted - I think he was putting his wallet away - and I jumped out of the way, and because of the way I turned and leapt I ended up only getting clipped on my left wrist. The driver got and apologized, I kept my cool, and since I didn’t seem seriously injured we left it at that. However - I definitely have seen the rage Mr. Collier is talking about. I remember one time I was down in Norfolk and saw an O-5 almost get run over - and then proceeded to watch said O-5 get very red faced and literally almost climbed through the passenger window going after the driver (who naturally was on his cell phone).

In addition to your atypical city streets and rural parks, I routinely run (or have run) at and around military bases, industrial shipyards, foreign cities, and even the flight deck of a Navy warship - all places where cars are generally the least of my worries. It's one thing trying to avoid getting hit by a car, it's another trying to make sure you don't get hit by a forklift. Also, at all the places I mentioned there are things you typically don't see on normal running routes, such as shore steam connection hoses, fuel lines, aircraft tie down chocks, and weapons emplacements which can be serious trip hazards. Of course, growing up in Upstate New York, in the winter months we always had the added danger of running on ice and snow.

So today I want to go over some basic running safety tips I had beaten into my head when I was in high school, through college, and in the military.

1. Always run on the left side of the road facing traffic.
2. "Look ahead" - Be aware of the 15 foot area you are about to step into. Look out for potholes, rocks, or drop offs that may cause injury.
3. Always know where the nearest car (aka the "threat) is.
4. When running with others - point out cars, potholes, trip hazards as you see them.
5. During the winter months, always be on the lookout for ice patches, both for yourself and for any cars on the road.
6. Carry an ID with you (I recommend the RoadID). For longer runs, carry a cell phone in a plastic bag. When running in DC I like to carry my SmarTrip card in case I need to hop onto the Metro.
7. This one is open to debate. When I come to an intersection and there is a car waiting to make a turn, especially when the car is turning right, and I am approaching from the right - I like to run behind them (what we call in the Navy "shooting their stern"). Other people will tell you to run in front, where the driver has the best chance of seeing you. My opinion is that the chances are higher the driver will make the turn without fully looking around before they blindly back down in reverse (remember my 19th birthday?).
8. If you run at night, wear a flashing light, reflective vest, and don't wear headphones.
9. On the subject of headphones, if you wear them, keep the volume at a reasonable level.
10. Finally, while this sounds really basic - always look both ways.

Keep in mind these are only tips, not necessarily rules or guidelines, and as with anything else common sense applies - other circumstances may apply to other situations. Remember (and I will sound like a SWO here), always maintain situational awareness. Stay safe!

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth...

For the two people who read this blog (other than Leah and myself) you have probably noticed I haven't written anything in a while. Well, first, I haven't been running lately. Post MCM, like last year, I am having some knee pain, and attributing it to some residual tendonitis that hopefully will go away soon. Second - the last few weeks have been insane. I was on the road on my last monthly trip to Mobile, had reserve duty, grad school, and of course all the usual craziness associated with the holidays. There is also one big change (career related) that I will allude more to in the coming days.

However, I did take a few days over the Thanksgiving break and knock out a few projects that have been stacking up on MY to-do list (as opposed to Leah's Eugene's to-do list...). More to follow...