See Nat Run

Shit!

Lily keeps asking me what my next goal race is. Well, I am running up and down a lot of hills in preparation for the American Odyssey Relay. But, one of my goals was to do a try-a-tri this year. (Ottawa River Keeper.) There is one in late June just up the street from my house.

But I keep reading about all the freaking raw sewage, that is getting pumped into the Ottawa River either by run off or through some power failures or whatever else the City's excuse is for pumping shit into the River. Unfortunately, the City, political machine that it is, does not always see fit to tell us about it. I just remember my last jaunt into the Ottawa River resulted in a stench on me which was definitely more latrine in nature. And well, the level of the contaminant of the week really make me hesitant to take The Boy swimming there ever. (In fact, we usually opt for pools when it's hot out.) All this can't be good for the river and it can't be good for the humans.

You'll pardon the pun, but this shit is tired and it's time we worked to clean it up. It can't be good for the river's ecosystem (I'm sure the fish and frogs have the incorrect number of limbs and eyes -- some too many and some too few.)  I started running in order to figure out the mind body connection, but as with most things, I suppose you pick a renewed appreciation for human/earth connection too. Must admit I've always been a save the planet, walk when you can kind of girl -- still it's a deeper appreciation, I suppose, when you know that those smoggy days mean a treadmill run or when the river is so polluted you can't swim in it. Food for thought...

Time, time, time

I am neglecting you aren't I...

I've written about this before but I think it's catching up to me. Changing jobs is always more stressful than I imagined. I am just exhausted. So I'm going call in a "gonna take today off".

Springs has sprung, and I seem to be nursing either allergies or one of those colds that starts and just doesn't go anywhere. And man, am I tired. My soul could use a good run but my body is saying "can't we just rest"... and the lovely three day headache. I am just whooped. But it's sunny and gorgeous outside.
That kind of back and forth in my head. But look, it's sunny and perfect running weather. But gah... it's all I can do to get another glass of water from the kitchen.

I haven't forgotten you. I'm just taking a bit of break today.

Walking on sunshine

Evidently I have jinxed us all with more winter weather. (Sorry gang.) Last week, I was convinced that everything was heating up nicely and that I could put the lined running tights away, then imitating wall street the mercury plunged. 

Still I don't like to miss a Sunday run, well, a longish weekend run. The Fabulous Ms. G. has gone south for a few weeks. It's the home stretch of winter that gets to me from time to time. This year I am handling it by changing jobs, how does it go, a change is as good as a rest. Sore foot, tequila night, scheduling has meant that I didn't run at all last week. I officially suck.

Today's run was very very good. Faster than last week's 10K by 90 seconds, which is good given how much the last mile hurt. I'm happy to report that it was definitely a shoelace issue last week. I had a sore left foot for a bit, I'm starting to think that my left foot is the bigger of the two. I had the same problem with these shoes last time, I just couldn't face getting new shoes.

Now,I bitch and whine about the weather but today's was ideal. IT was sunny and well, the sun is a lot stronger than it was a few weeks ago and well, cold or no, I have decided that spring is in the air.

Winterman 10K

My hero today is This Lady who showed up late for the marathon and still ended up finishing second. Me, well, I'm just a poser. 

The Fabulous Ms. G was supposed to run this one with me. But she's got some sort of cold/flu and couldn't run. Poor kid. She became Canadian about a week ago (she's originally from Mexico). I should have warned her but it is now her patriotic duty to get and spread viruses during the month of February. (I am terribly proud of her because I know this means a lot to her, and we need more people like her.) 

But I digress. 

Truth be told I really didn't feel like running this morning. My head hurt, I had snot issue, I felt bleck.(At this moment, I can't smell anything.) The Man just told me to get out there and do it. So I took a full dose of Advil sinus and cold and washed down with a big glass of Suck-It-Up-Princess. I brushed off the car, pretended it wasn't snowing and headed off to the start. It's about 4K from my house to the race start and I'm driving there. God I hate snow in the morning. (For races that start at the War Museum I usually cycle. Call it a reverse duathlon.)

It's damp in the way that Ottawa gets in the winter. The kind of damp that requires a big cup of coffee, and a sit in front of the fire with a good book. Not standing there freezing in my running tights... gah.

I find Treena and her gaggle of runners. She's hurt and going to see how far she can get. Asks if she can run with me -- no problem. (She's quite speedy.) 

I debated whether or not to wear the new Brook's Ariel 2009 or the old ones. The problem being that I had a heck of a time breaking in the last pair. But the old pair  has had it, last run the pain was intense so. I decide on the new ones. I put them on and they felt great. But I decided that tighten my right shoe a few minutes before the race starts. I think it's too tight but I decide it's ok. (Note to self: don't fuck with your laces at the start. It's just jitters.)

Then they fire a canon.

A MOTHER-FUCKING CANON. I don't know whether duck 'n cover or to run. Gah. Now they warned us -- 10 minutes before. But I wasn't listening -- listening to announcements pre-race not my strong suit. Eventually I regain my composure and go. 

Schwingsie, little miss 2nd place, catches up to us. I can't quite figure why she's behind me. (She's looks so cute running. Big smile. Just great form on her. I wish I could run like that.) Le sigh. It's good to see her, I'm not sure how she recognized me. Anyway... she takes off. (I'd see her twice more.)

I haven't talked to Treena in a while so it's good to catch up. We yammer. She's hurting but stoic, me I'm doing ok, looking for a reason to quit really. We get to the turn around and it's not plowed. The roads are that grainy snow that looks like sand. My favourite.

We turn the corner -- it's uphill, it's windy, and we're are getting beat up by the snow. Schwingsie waves, I don't even see her because of the snow blowing into my eyes. Fuck me. Treena announces that it's no longer fun. I agree. I ponder a DNF. Decide I'm ok. It's the emotional that I'm having issues with. No more wind please... I just want a race where the weather is reasonable... is that too much to ask?

Then we see, Ryan the first place half-marathon finisher. He passes me. Wow. Know what? I have a thing for men in tights... I got to ogle Ryan a number of times. (He actually finished just before I did.) Inspiration. Damn running does great things to the male anatomy.  

What was I talking about... oh right... 

Around the 7.5 km mark my right foot really starts to hurt. I try loosening my shoe but it doesn't do anything. Weird sharp pain running along the ball of my foot in a line. I walk for a lot of that last 2.5k. (Tonight, my foot is swollen, ice helps.) Too bad, I was having a not bad run really. Time is slightly faster than the Resolution Run (Garmin time of about 79 min.) not stellar by any stretch of the imagination.  Still it's a place to start. 

Freakishly Flexible Sweetheart 5K

 Here in the land of our perpetual winter, it is easy to make excuses not to run. Still we had a bit of a warming on the weather front, and there were kilometers to be covered.

See Non-runner Nancy has one hell of a flexibility issue. Unlike me, she is too freaking flexible and it's causing her some pain. To the point where She may have to give up running. This is sad on many levels. Mostly because I was so looking forward to doing a leisurely half marathon with her at some point. So our little corner of the blogosphere went for a run for her. And because there are better blog buddies out there, they organized this little virtual event. 

It was a beautiful sunny day. The kind that reminds you that eventually I'll be able to put the lined running gears away. I was tempted to talk my self out of this run, but I saw Nancy club in the corner. Time to beat the negative self-talk away. The goal was two-fold (1) not slip and kill myself on the ice. (Lots of it, we had a thaw and a refreeze) and (2) to keep the mileage under 13 min/mil. Running my blah-ness away.

Managed to find my groove pretty quickly. In spite of some ice patches with slowed me down -- it was a wonderful run through the farm. Filled with bright sunshine and great big sky. Perfect. Reclaiming the farm after the hypothermic half, I snapped a quick picture of the crossroads.... big open field.

Time: 38:43 which keeps me well within the 13 min/mil range. Felt good to run some... 

Here's hoping Nancy heals up quickly so she find some other use for the club.

Good run/ Bad Run

Run Distance: 5.5 miles 

Walk Distance: 3.1 miles

Temperature: -3C/22F with a bit old wind.

Once more with feeling: The Pretender, Foo Fighters

Sometimes I forget what's on my shuffle: Hey Yeah, Outcast

In university, I used to work as a clerk in Labour and Delivery. (If ever there was a way to ensure that a 20 year old took her birth control pills this was it.) One day, a 16 year old girl showed up in Emergency. She was having stomach cramps. She was tall and thin, with what was obviously a big old pregnancy belly. Both she and her father swore up and down that there was no way she was pregnant. Thirty minutes later, she had a baby.  All to say denial is a powerful thing*.

I've been having a lot of headaches of late and been feeling off my game. It's winter, I'm tired. I feel like I can't cope. Truth is, I'm a bit stressed out. Rather than being all "let me at 'em" about it,I've been cowering hoping to whole thing passes over me with out too much damage. Part of letting it wash over me has been not running nearly as much as I should and as much as I need. I'm not eating right. 

I feel meh. Fact is the body machine will rebel if you don't treat it right. A late-into-the-night marathon of Rock Band and Supernatural fueled by to many refined carbs and too much caffeine is not a recipe for a good run the next day. I know that. But for the past few weeks I have been in denial. What's wrong? Crappy food, lack of sleep, winter and stress... that's what's wrong. 'Bout time I admitted it to myself. 

So today, I headed off for a run. Now real plan except that I was going to make up for a particularly crappy run yesterday. It was more of a leisurely stroll with some running jaunts. 

Still sometimes, you catch a lucky break. Fueled with a cookie (Valentine cookie with extra icing!) and a bit too much coffee -- I decided to make up for a less than stellar 5K yesterday (let's be generous and call it a leisurely walk), dust myself off, and try again. Bit more sleep and heck of a really bad fattening meal the night before. Honestly, I didn't expect much. But The Man came back from his run and inspired me. (Something men in tights eh?) 

I'm glad I did. It's warmer that it's been. The sidewalks are a bit icy in spots and well, that headwind kicked my ass down that loop at the farm. (what is it with that corner -- it's like a mini wind tunnel.) Still I managed to come in at about a 12:30 min/mil. It's not a fast summer run. Still it served it's purpose. To remind me to suck it up, pick it up and keep going. Now, I think I can face the deluge. It all makes way more sense...

_______

*There were some cultural issues here. It's not entirely clear to me if she knew and was playing dumb out of fear of her dad. He blamed us. (Figures.) I can't remember what the outcome was.

Four score and Seven Blisters....

Almost.

Well given the economic downturn and a variety of factor beyond my control, we've had four team members drop out of our American Odyssey Relay team. So we're looking for some replacements... you could be just like that drummer guy from the Beatles. (Seriously, that was one missed opportunity eh?) 

The race is a 12-person, 200-mile relay from Gettysburg to DC race starts on April 24 and 25. The Man and I are doing it. Each person runs three legs of about 5-7 miles. More information can be found here. 

If you're interested, let me know and I'll hook you up. 

Wash my love... (Eddie please forgive me)

Tom send me an email asking if I would be kind enough to review Penguin Sports Wash for him. I reckon what the heck, I stink, and I need to do laundry. I got the envelope over the Christmas Holidays. it sat there unopened. Taunting me. 

I.

Hate.

Laundry.

Step 1: Open envelope and determine how to use said detergent because you know, having a boy, I have absolutely no idea how to do laundry. Yes, I read the directions any way.

Step 2: Stop and wonder what the heck DWR is.  Turn on my laptop. Connect to internet. Spend 2 hours online reading blogs. Totally forget about DWR. 

Step 3: work out enough to get at least a load full of stinky running clothes. This takes a month, involves a frost-bitten ass, and  a lot of salt on my running tights. (For those of you who live in warmer climes, salt is used on sidewalks and roads to melt the ice. But it's messy and it leaves lovely white marks on your clothing and shoes.) It's been cold. 

Step 4: Scientific leave running to clothes to ferment for three weeks, including the stinkiest piece I own, one Richmond Road race Technical shirt from 2005. 

Step 5: Re-read instruction. Product claims to "restore performance." Damn... I didn't even know my performance was being last. Decide that DWR stands for dominant white republicans -- not sure what their maximum dryer setting is. Since I don't have any DWRs, I decide the point is moot. 

Step 6: Wash the clothing. I must admit I am a bit dubious that this itty bitty little bit of detergent is going to do the trick. Still... 

Step 7: Let clothing sit in washer for two days. Why? Because I have no life and am incredibly absent minded. Find that none of the clothing smell like moulds. Cool.

Step 8: Hang to dry and a smell test. The clothes are definitely clean and not smelly. But The 2005 tech shirt still has a bit of residual smell (it's better than it was), as do the socks. 

So it works. But my shirt and socks still smell just less. Thing is, I'm not sure why I would shell out more for it. I find washing my stuff with my usual stuff is fine. And this stuff is way way way more expensive.  It did get the stink out, but you know when I'm going to wear it again? When I work out. Then it will be stinky. Shrug. 

Tattooed everything

Distance: 2.75 miles

Time: 33 minutes

Song I don't usually like to run to: Black, Pearl Jam 

Song that made me want to tell Bono to fuck off: Beautiful Day, U2

For those that follow the main blog over at From Nat's Brain, you'll know that I've been battling with insomnia of late -- and maybe just a touch of stress. (I'm starting a new work gig.) I've also with our bus strike* not running nearly as much as I should. I haven't been doing nearly enough of anything as much as I should. 

Still tonight, I decided that if I was going to get my groove back, I need to practice the steps a little bit. I put on my running stuff. Snuck out for a quick 30 minutes before dinner. (After dinner I turn into a toad and running makes me into a hyper, sleepless toad.) Good run, left a lot of it out there. Battled the demons in my head, and the dreaded time stealer.  

Nice little stretch of the running muscles. The Yak Trax make a difference (must admit skepticism.) I've found a bit of a groove the last two runs. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow night...

____

*The Man gets home about 45 minutes later -- which just throws the schedule off.

Burn, burn, yes you're gonna burn...

After last week's trying half marathon, I took the week off. 

Totally off. I did nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Rien. I got some destinkifier* product stuff. I didn't even do my laundry. (Boring post coming up the laundry.)

Today, I was convinced to put on my running stuff and head out the door. (But, it's cold, it's snowy, it's winter.) It's all that... feels like it's taken all week to get the frozen out of my bones. Maybe more importantly out of my head. It was a hard one last week, and it got the better of me. I don't like to admit that. But it did. So now, I've licked my wounds.

There was/is a bus strike here in town. And The Man has been running to work and walking back (or vice versa.) He's tired but I can see how good he's feeling. This morning, he decided to head out for 10K. He came home and talked me into going for "an easy jog."  Leave the watch at home, he told me. Just run. Don't worry about it. 

Once in a while, I do what I'm told. I think that Newton's third law applies to me a little too well. My body at rest, tends to want to stay at rest. And in spite. of a bit to much Pinot Grigio last night. I dug out my favourite running pants, the first tech shirt and the rest of my -12C/10F gear. Out the door I go. No watch, just my shuffle. 

 

I'm feeling disconnected -- a weird sort of heart and soul ache. In the book that Bill sent me -- there was a bit about how running is a natural form of exercise. Your body just knows how to do it. Unlike some other forms of exercise, the naturalness. It becomes a moving meditation. It's something that has been lacking from my training of late. The peace, the quiet, the reflection. Today. I would just run to run. It's those moments, you can't predict and you can't force. 

I'd like to say this was one of those glorious runs. Somewhere between the RATM, the Pearl Jam and the Tragically Hip, there was in fact, quite a bit of work happening. Easy. That was the goal. Easy.It wasn't all easy. The pace was my own. Without a watching or Garmin to tell me what to think. Somewhere during the last mile, I found myself there. I found the perfect pace. Just the movement and nothing... but the running.

Nothing. Exactly what I was looking for. :) 

___ 

destinkify: de-stink-ify -- to remove the stink