Thursday, February 24, 2011

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Inspirational thoughts

I just got the March issue of Running Times* and there is a great article filled with "collected wisdom, served up in bite-sized form".  I thought I would pick out some gems and post some inspiration...

Token Days 
Something is almost always better the nothing.
There will be days when some aspect of reality intrudes 
on you have to scrap your ideal-world
training plan.  That doesn't make scrapping the 
whole affair the logical conclusion.  A 4-miler is 
much closer to a 10-miler than it is to 0 miles for the day.


Need for Speed
Always stay in touch with your basic speed.  You'll
spend a lot more time just getting back
to where you were if you ignore it for weeks 
at a time than you will tending to it once or twice
a week throughout the year.  You don't need to do hands-
on-knees sets of 200s every week to maintain your speed.  Fast, 
relaxed striders toward the end of an easy run or immediately
following one will go a long way toward preserving
your turnover and the increased range of motion
that comes only with running near
top-end speed.


Insurance Policies
Think of ancillary matters-flexibility work, core strengthening, form drills-
not in either/or terms in relation to your running, but in terms of
"yes, and..."  That is, they're not replacements for running, but
a form of insurance policy that will allow you to better
pursue and enjoy your running at whatever level you 
chose to .  Even if they don't improve your performance
-and they almost certainly will-
when done correctly they're going to make the simple act of running 
feel better, especially the older you get and the longer you
have been running.  Most of these activities are easy to 
sneak in throughout the day in little clumps of activity.


Escaping Ruts
When you feel like you're in a rut, make a deliberate effort
to shake things up.  
Head out the door without the slightest plan 
where to run.  
Run at an unusual time of day.  
Drive to run somewhere different.   
Even wearing crazy clothes can be enough to reboot your mental approach. 


Bad Weather
Look, you know you are going to run.  So don't waste time and 
mental energy staring out the window at the horrible
weather.  


Every Run Counts
There are no junk miles.  If you are not injured so badly that you are 
altering your form, or so sick that you feel much worse after
running, then it's all good.  Even if you think a run doesn't advantage your fitness,
it has other benefits-
promoting blood flow, clearing your mind, 
getting you away from the computer,
burning calories, getting you out in nature, helping you spend time with friends,
maintaining the rhythm of good training, and infinitely so on.


Regrets
It's not uncommon to go to bed thinking 
"Darn, I should have run today."
It's not common to go to bed thinking
"I shouldn't have run today."


Finding Time
We find time for the things that are important to us.
Period.


Keeping Perspective
Relax, it's just running.  Of course it can be the most
intoxicating, captivating, meaningful part of your life.
But it still is just running.  
Nobody's making you do it, and you are not going to save
the world doing it.  
So find what you enjoy about running, and then
follow your bliss.  



 *All quotes are from Running Times March 2011, Scott's Original Miscellany by Scott Douglas.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

How Many Song References Can You Pick Out?

So, rolling out of bed at 7:30, wondering to myself should I stay or should I go.   i try to decide if I want to go outside or not because after all, this is New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of and there's nothing you can't do.  However, it was not my dream to go outside 'cause i couldn't do it today.  So I decide to go and stumble to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of ambition called Gatorade. I begin my 2-floor descent with my loyal husband who is the wind beneath my wings with his spandau ballet biker shorts to the treadmill and bemoan that I'm all by myself. I plug in my laptop to watch a movie while running and remember that if you step up I'll step up too. I get to the part of the movie where everyone is groovin, and I'm dancin with myself but I almost fall off the treadmill. Sister Christian, but still annoying, is craning her neck to steal my (video) sunshine.  Well, I guess I have to remember that I live in Paradise city where the grass is green and the people are ...."not" so pretty, but, it all just fine.  I guess ain't nothing wrong with that. 

My faithful husband now comes to my treadmill and says he is leaving, and I cry but he says why don't you release I'm begging you for mercy....I say ok....and I guess it's alright because he's going to bring home the bacon, fry up in the pan....and later, I'll never ever let him forget he's the man.....'cause I'm a WOMAN.

I finally come to the end of this crazy run and my hips are screaming and they don't lie.  As I walk away, I say I DID IT MY WAY!!!!!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Brain Tumors and Palm Trees

Arriving in Palm Springs to be here for my sister's brain biopsy is like arriving on another planet.  Hard to believe there is so much snow in New York and nothing but sun in Southern California...
Ted and I went for a run this morning before we travel up to L.A. for her appointment at UCLA.  As we got ready, we longed for the times when we were little....When there was no stress.  When swimming at our neighbors house was the highlight of our day...
No we run to relieve the stress....
Brain tumors and palm trees....Brain tumors and Train Bumors...

Swimming at our neighbor's pool as kids...

Running to Cope