MeganRunning

Running Buddy’s summer slump must have been contagious. No, that’s not it. The blame falls entirely on me. I lost some of the momentum that I had built preparing for the Sunrise 8k, and then the summer cold knocked me flat. Getting back into the swing of things in the middle of summer is…difficult…and as you can proably tell a running slump equates to a blogging slump as well. Sorry about that.

So, until I can re-find (re-find?) some running and/or writing motivation, I’m going to focus on someone who has NO problem in the motivation/dedication department: Jenny Barringer. On Sunday night, Jenny broke the American Record in the steeplechase at a meet in Belgium. She ran a 9:22.73, coming from behind with an unbelievable kick to edge out second place (Anna Willard, winner of the Olympic trials) by 0.03 seconds. As always, here’s a link to a news article, a video, and a post-race interview from Jenny. The video was shot from the stands, which adds a degree of authenticity to the experience—that’s what it’d *really* look like if you were actually there. (Note to self: Buy the Pirates theme song to play on the iPod while I run!) The commentary from the track fans who shot the footage definitely makes any loss in professional video quality worth it. Not to mention that if the race was actually televised you’d probably only get to see the first and last laps, with an interview from a sprinter about how well-prepared they are for the 100m quarter finals sandwiched in between…but now I’m ranting. Why am I ranting?

Anyway. This story started for me with a phone call. You see, my brother is a friend of Jenny’s, and he called last night to share the news. Several weeks ago, it was the news that she had qualified for the Olympics. And now…an American Record. Wow. Congratulations, Jenny! Best of luck in Beijing!

I was bamboozled. Hoodwinked. Tricked. Misled. My birthday was July 8, so I thought that my parents, brother, and husband were taking me out to dinner. I was also led to believe that I had invited two friends who live in Kansas City to join us, and that I had picked the restaurant.

Boy, was I wrong. Apparently, a surprise party had been in the works for at least a month. Scott had enlisted the help of a college friend of mine to spread the word among fellow cross country alumni and invited several close friends from high school. This college friend (who will remain nameless to protect her identity due to her surprising capability for sneakiness) even knew to play along when I invited her and her husband out to dinner with the family. “Are you sure? On your birthday? Is it supposed to be just a family thing?” Oh, I fell for it. And when I walked unsuspecting into Buca di Beppo (great name, even better food), there were nearly 30 of my closest high school/college friends waiting for me. It was the surprise of my life, and such fun to catch up with some ladies (and gents) I haven’t seen in years.

As I was introducing all the PSU alums to my brother, my friend D got a kick out of how I was going about it. Sure, I could have said, “Physical therapist, physical therapist, teacher, doctor, psychiatrist, stay at home mom, computer programmer,” but I didn’t. Instead, and despite the fact that we’ve all been “retired” runners for at least 3 years, it was—”3000/5000, marathoner/future triathlete, steeplechaser, 800/1500, national champion, that one who had surgery on her knee and was all-conference 2 weeks later…” Even though I keep up with the “real life” happenings of my teammates, I still instinctively think of them as runners. I really don’t think that’s such a bad way to be introduced, either. I wouldn’t be ashamed to be known as my running self. “Yeah, that’s Megan, she’s a state champion, went to Nationals in DII a couple of times. I think she holds the record for most jelly beans eaten before a race. Remember her?” Of course, I’m not ashamed of my normal self, either: “That Megan girl? She’s a writer, for some reason decided she needed TWO English degrees, kind of quirky, seems obsessed with this blogging thing.”

The birthday surprise, needless to say, was the highlight of our visit for me. It was a great (if tiring) trip, but it’s nice to be back home, too. My running was suffering from all the changes to routine. I got in a couple of workouts, but had more days “off” than “on.” That’s ok. I still got in more miles than Running Buddy.  I’m pretty sure that’s how I “motivated” her from a different time zone. She probably didn’t think I’d run at all while I was on “vacation,” and when she heard differently during a phone call it awakened her competitive nature.  We’ll get back to our regularly scheduled program, RB. Have no fear. We’ll be out on the squishy trail complaining about the humidity in no time!

In other news, it just so happens that one of my former teammates in college is going to the Olympics!!

Taylor Milne made the 1500 for Canada’s Olympic team. Very exciting stuff! That makes him the most successful HPU athlete ever!

Check out a story here…

Or here…

Or Watch a video of his race here.

Now if only that would help motivate me to train…

~ Running Buddy

Okay, I have a confession. Megan has been out of town for a week and I have failed miserably in my training. I have been slacking on my crunches, I have been slacking on my push ups, and worst of all…I have been slacking on my running! Since she’s been gone, I’ve run a grand total of 3 (yes THREE) miles. Pathetic. And the only reason I have any miles at all is because she graciously motivated me all the way from Kansas with a phone call. So thanks for that Megan, but GET BACK HERE SOON! Your running buddy needs you!!

~Running Buddy

After a mere 15 hour (actually, 14 hour and 45 minute, a new PR for us) trek west, we have arrived in the Sunflower State. Our home state. Where the buffalo roam, and the deer and the antelope (antelope?) play. You know, one of those rectangly ones in the middle of the country. I’ll avoid the obligatory Wizard of Oz reference and just get to the point: KANSAS. We’re in Kansas visiting family.

The title of this post is a little misleading. Even though our little adventure is technically a use of our “vacation” time, a vacation has connotations of rest and relaxation, and that’s not really what this trip is about. We’re embarking on a dizzying whirlwind tour of one corner of the state in order to see as much of the family as possible during the short time that we’re back. Since arriving at 6:15pm on Thursday, we’ve played a round of golf, attended a 4th of July party, helped set up and attend a wedding, and met the new baby of some friends. While all of these activities are fun and enjoyable, it explains why I know that I’ll be more tired after my “vacation” than I was before. But it’s worth it.

The other way the title of the post is misleading is that our “vacation” isn’t all about running. It would more aptly be titled a “family vacation.” (Sidenote: I’m tempted to relabel it “family visitation,” but the word “visitation” has either a funereal or paranormal association that is less than appropriate.) Being runners, however, our “family vacation” will have some running in it. We couldn’t escape it if we wanted to.

The great thing about running in Kansas is…….(building suspense)……..the dirt roads. Happy sigh. My legs are going to be thankful for this. They get so tired of pounding the pavement, but I don’t have anything else to offer them. The entire state of South Carolina is apparently paved over. But in my little piece of Kansas, a dirt road is never more than a mile away. I’ll admit that it’s no running utopia—when Johnny Drivetoofast flies by in his pickup, spraying gravel against my legs and leaving behind a cloud of choking dust, I may recall the sidewalks of Greenville more fondly. When Rover the almost certainly unchained/unfenced/unleashed country watchdog decides that the road is part of his “territory” and gives chase, the appeal of the dirt road may lose a little of its luster. Or then again, maybe not.

I believe it’s time for a run.

I’m really excited about this and I have to share…Christian Smith, a Kansas native and KSU alum, has qualified for the Olympics in the 800m. Holy cow, wow, hooray, yippee, and yay! (That’s me being “really excited.”) To make things a little more exciting, Christian earned his Olympic berth the hard way…with a diving finish to edge out fourth place AND record the much-needed A standard. There’s a story about the race at OregonLive. There’s also a neat photo gallery—the second photo in the loop shows Christian’s dive to the finish. Talk about heart. Wow.

No, not a vacation from running—a running vacation! Scott and I spent a long weekend in Charleston to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. Five years? Wow. I’m not really sure where the time has gone, but there you have it. We had a lot of fun—we went to the beach, did a little shopping, and I finally got to make my long-awaited visit to the aquarium. (I always try to convince visiting family members to go see the fish with me, and I always fail.)

And, of course, we ran. Before we hit the beach on Friday, we ran around Isle of Palms. Good gravy, and I thought it was humid here! Charleston gives a whole new meaning to the word. Then, on Sunday, we headed out to accomplish one of the tasks on Scott’s Charleston “to-do” list: running across the Cooper River Bridge. That was…………..fun………………I guess. You know, because high humidity = fun. Blazing sun = fun. Never-ending hill = fun. Crowds of walkers taking up the entire “pedestrian” side of the trail while bikes whizzing by at insane speeds eliminate the chance for passing in the other lane…you guessed it = fun.

In all honesty, it was pretty fun. There’s nothing like a forced day or two (or three) off from running to make you appreciate the sport. After being deprived of running, I’m enjoying an admittedly temporary spirit of optimism and motivation. Running is my friend again…for awhile. I’m sure this change of heart also has something to do with the Olympic Trials. It’s hard to be unmotivated as you watch the unbelievable things these athletes can do. Particularly this year, because there are people I actually know—have trained with or raced against—at the trials. So exciting! The official website (in case anyone’s curious) is www.eugene08.com, and the last round of events will be July 3-6. I’m especially excited to watch the women’s 3000m steeplechase finals. This is the first year the race is an Olympic event, and I’m looking forward to seeing which ladies get to make history.

Don’t worry! I’m still here! Megan’s feeling under the weather this week so I thought I should pick up the slack and write about running! I’m still puttering around at 10-20 miles a week (okay, much closer to 10 than 20—but I’m hoping to pick up my mileage a bit next month). I thought today I would write an ode to my other running buddy!

On those days when Megan and I don’t run together I have a backup partner who is really good at keeping me motivated—my dog! His name is Jack and he’s a year and a half old Shepherd/Retriever mix. Jack is a great running buddy because he’s always willing to run and he’s always so enthusistic about it. As soon as the running shoes come out he starts barking and howling with excitement, I tell him to sit so I can put on his leash and he can’t even keep still for more than half a second—his tail is wagging like crazy and he keeps jumping up and sitting down anxious to go. By the time I finally manage to get his leash over his head he pulls me to the door and off we go!

I think the best thing about having a dog as a running buddy (besides the obvious guilt factor I feel if I DON’T take him for a run) is the fact that he doesn’t care what I look like or how fast we go. He never tells me to speed up or fix my form, he doesn’t judge me if we only run 1 mile instead of 2. (Sidenote: Megan would like me to add that she doesn’t judge me or critique my form, which is true, but she DOES have a tendency to adjust the pace.) In fact, he’s perfectly content with any distance that we run and any speed that we go. He knows the route and he jogs along next to me, pausing occasionally to sniff something interesting or wait for me to catch up. It did take awhile to train him to run my pace, but now he knows my speed and he adjusts to stay within a leash length of me.

My favorite part is when it’s hot outside and I’m exhausted and sweaty, I look over at him and his tongue is hanging out and he looks up at me and we have a mutual understanding—let’s run home now! I like to encourage him and tell him…good job! Keep it up! We’re almost there! Encouraging him has a way of encouraging me too! Together we’ll always make it home.

~Running Buddy

A little…and only out of one side of my nose. THAT is progress. And now, back to my apple juice. (I’m a little tired of OJ, and apparently AJ still has 190% of my daily Vitamin C.)

Just a few words about the summer cold: blech, blurgh, and ewwwwwwwww. And now, back to my orange juice.

It is highly probable that I’m entirely too fascinated by the “Search Engine Terms” feature on WordPress. I’m not really sure whether this means I have a closet stalker personality or that I’m just a geek. Either way, my obsession continues…which warrants another blog post. This time…Q&A style. (Note: I didn’t make any of these up, or search for them myself. I’m as certain as I can be that they’re authentic searches.)

• “my underwear gets sweaty when I run”
  Yes. This happens. Running is exercise—exercise makes you sweat.  The only way to really stop this is to quit running, but that wouldn’t be any fun now, would it?
• “billy mills chariots of fire streaming video”
  Um. Billy Mills is not in Chariots of Fire. Chariots is set in England (mostly) and chronicles sprinters Eric Lidle and Harold Abrams’ trip to the Olympics in 1924. There actually is a movie about Billy Mills’ life and Olympic glory (in 1964? I think?)…it’s called Running Brave. Much less well-known than Chariots, and it doesn’t have a catchy and famously motivational theme song.
• “calories burned aqua jogging hard”
  I’m not going to answer this one. It would make you sad.
• “picking wedgies and tight spandex”
  I’m assuming this search string concerns the etiquette and not the mechanics of picking a “spandex wedgie.” Let’s see here…I would say “pick” in nearly any situation. Because even if, say, you’re running a track race and there are a million people around so you don’t want to draw attention to yourself, odds are they’ve already noticed the unfortunate wedge. And are wishing you would do something about it. On the other hand, NOT picking sends a clear message that you’re “in the zone” and have more important things to worry about than personal comfort. Ok, that’s enough about that.
• “snake pointy nose”
  How pointy? Like a rhino? A rhino snake? That’d be something to see. Send pictures!
• “running skirts for guys”
  I am indescribably pleased (seriously, this made my week!) to be able to note that the ridiculousness extends to the male gender as well. Guys, meet the UTILIKILT. (Note to Scott: If you actually got me a running skirt for my birthday, this is what you’ll be getting for yours. Keep that in mind, mister!) 

Scott deserves a round of applause. I was so amused by my Monster’s Inc. moment yesterday that I forgot to mention the very nice pictures that Scott took of Running Buddy and I. Very nice pictures that were only possible because he sacrificed sleep on a Saturday and ran at least 2.5 miles of the course with us. Thank you, husband!

The beginning—Running Buddy and I somewhere around the first mile. I have energy to wave and smile.

The middle—heading into a neighborhood after mile 2. No smilin’ at the camera now.

The end—RB racing away with the last age group award.

Ran the Sunrise 8k Saturday…um…morning. That seems a little redundant. When else would you have a Sunrise Run? When the sun rises! Anyway. This one was a pleasant surprise the whole way around.

Surprise #1: I went to packet pick-up on Friday, and there were no t-shirts. Instead, they were giving away insulated lunch bags with the race name and date screenprinted on them. Scott’s a little bit unhappy about this one (”What, the one race I sit out on, they do something cool?”), but I’m delighted. Not only do I have a definite upgrade from the Wal-Mart bag I was previously bringing my lunch in, but I can imagine that my post about excessive t-shirts…or maybe Flemming’s ever-so-slightly more blunt (the phrase ”a waste of 400 pounds of cotton” comes to mind, tehe) t-shirt commentary…had something to do with it. I know, of course, that I’m not actually responsible for the change…but it’s a fun fantasy.

Surprise #2: The race started at 6:30, not at 6:00. I’m not sure how the earlier time got implanted in my brain, but a little extra sleep is always appreciated. Even when it is a very little extra.

Surprise #3: There were actually a few spectators. I read an article in the Go magazine about how great the Sunrise Run was, with people coming out of their houses to cheer…and I thought: suuuuuuuuure. There are going to be people who wake up at 6:30 to watch a bunch of crazy people they don’t even know run by. I’ll believe that when I see it. For the first couple of miles my cynicism seemed justified. But then we turned into the Powderhorn neighborhood, and I was pleasantly surprised. There weren’t scores of people lining the course, or anything like that, but I saw a dozen or so scattered throughout the next 2.5 miles. One guy had even hooked up his garden hose and was spraying people with water if they requested it.

Surprise #4: I didn’t die. I mean in the “maintaining a constant pace” sense, not the literal one. I was fairly certain that I would survive a 5-miler, so that wasn’t much of a surprise. Running consistently, however, was. I’ve gotten so used to my races being characterized by an overly-optimistic first half and an incredibly painful, much slower second half that it was a bit of a shock to run even splits. Running Buddy and I managed to be right around 7:30 pace for the first three miles. The fourth mile was 7:38, which isn’t much of a slow down considering the heat and the (few) hills, but the last was 7:18 (for me, more like 7:10 for RB) which was heartily encouraging.

Surprise #5: My hip didn’t hurt. At all. Not even the tiniest little twinge. I think some of the strength and flexibility exercises I’ve been doing are starting to pay off. That is the biggest relief of them all.

Surprise #6: The race directors continued to look for “useful” prizes to give away during the awards ceremony. They awarded water bottles instead of medals/trophies. Kudos to you, race directors! Not that I GOT a water bottle (and not that I’m the least bit upset that RB stole—I mean earned—the last one…tehe, just kidding, RB! You did great!), but I am impressed. And if you care about such things, the green or pink water bottle matches the green or pink lunch bag received at packet pick-up. Coordination = nice.

Surprise #7: I got a picture on Greenville Online. I usually complain about the utter lack of pictures of me after a local race. Pretty impressive, considering that there were over 600 pictures of the Reedy River Run alone…four of which were of my husband. He must be more photogenic than me. Or it could have something to do with the fact that  he was 12th and I was…I dunno…267th. Or something. Well, the streak is broken. There is a picture of me from Saturday’s race! RB found it for me. If you follow this link, you’ll see a photo of a fella triumphantly finishing…and if you look on the left…in the background…you’ll see a blur wearing green. That’s me. Sort of my own little Monster’s Inc. moment. “I can’t believe it…I’m on TV/on the Greenville News website!!!” Lol. Go me. RB is kicking herself for finishing ahead of me and missing her moment in the spotlight. Sorry about that, RB. Maybe next time you’ll be a little less of a speedster.

So that was the Sunrise Run. Not a bad way to spend the wee hours of a Saturday morning.

I have been running…but I haven’t been particularly enjoying it. This said to explain the comparatively slow blogging week. Every time I sit down to type, the only things that come to mind are (1) grumbling about the sudden switch to August-like weather in the beginning of June and (2) whining about the less-than-pleasant anticipation of waking up at 5:15 (or…gasp…EARLIER!) on Saturday. Both of these topics have been addressed before. Repeatedly.

I started to wonder if I cursed myself with that “Deep Thoughts” post, because ever since there has been a sudden dip in mental activity during workouts. No blog-composing or incredibly detailed, random, and entertaining (to me) observations on life, the universe, and everything here. No-sirree-bob. My muse has apparently gone on vacation…to Alaska. Her substitute is an unimaginative troll satisfied with turning desperate pleas into running mantras. On a good day, the mantra is borrowed from Finding Nemo—”just keep running, just keep running, running, running”…tehe. Animated movies are the best! On a bad day (cough-Saturday 5-miler, 87 degrees at 7:30am-cough), I find myself repeating “don’t stop” or “1-2-3-4″ with every other or every fourth stride. Ugh.

Fortunately for me, I’ve uncovered the root of the problem. In the winter, the toughest part of the workout is getting out the door. The first few minutes of “BRRRRRCOLD!” are recalled with dread. Once out the door, I remember what always gets forgotten in the warm coziness of the house—I warm up in the middle of the fourth or fifth repetition of ”BRRRRRCOLD!” This gets reversed in the summer. Getting out the door into the sunshine? No sweat. Continuing to run the planned distance? LOTS of sweat. Egad. The job of the mantra troll is to scream “don’tstopdon’tstop” to drown out the insidious whispers. “Let’s just go for a walk today.” “How about if we cut this short? Five miles, one mile, it’s really the same distance.” JUSTKEEPRUNNING JUSTKEEPRUNNING!!!

Ridiculous? Yes. Immature? Sure thing. But it works. After running Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday in the heat, I told Scott on Sunday that it seemed cooler. He informed me that I’m just getting used to it, because cooler it decidedly was NOT. I hope that’s true. It would be a positive thing for everyone, and just in time for the race.

So last Wednesday was my third track workout with the Greenville Track Club. You may remember that at the first workout, I felt great! I was energized, excited, and enthusiastic about running. The second track workout went well too, not as great as the first, but still bearable. The third workout was brutal. It was 97 degrees outside and we did a 400, 1200, 1000, 800, 600. This run made me question why I even tried to start running again. I just wanted to give up. Between the 1200 and 1000 my mind and legs weren’t communicating properly, somehow I’d lost all my gears and was just running on empty. I wanted to go faster and I pushed myself, yet somehow my times got slower…just a frustrating part of running math. Sometimes more effort does not equal faster times. I told myself to just finish the workout—everyone was hot, tired, sweaty, smelly, and gross, just like me! I wasn’t alone.

We get to the 800 and I think..just two more things…two more things…only an 800 and 600…the worst is behind you. After the 800…just one more rep…just a lap and a half and you’re done! Think how wonderful that hose of cold water will feel on your head! (Side note: the back of the neck and the wrists are the most amazing places for cold water after a run…feels like heaven)

Something amazing happened with the last rep….I found another gear. I actually ran my last one faster than any of the previous…it didn’t feel great, but I did it. My body responded when I thought I was long past the point of running fast or even running at all. That’s what keeps me running, even when my mind thinks I can’t do it anymore and my legs feel like they’re going to give out—they don’t! They respond to my desperate plea to finish the workout and they keep me running and keep me going back for more!

~ Running Buddy