February Running Totals

Not all of these miles have been pretty, or particularly fast. But here is the total number of miles I've managed to crank out this month.

83.36 miles

I was very excited heading into this weekend because if I pushed myself I could get to 100 miles in just one month. But there was a problem-- at running group I went too fast with a dog that pulled too much and now have a very angry right side. As in right ankle, right knee, and right hip. Apparently 7 miles in an hour and ten minutes is still out of my league.

So I've taken the weekend off. Because it's not that I run so much because I love pain, it's that I run so much to AVOID PAIN. In May I am going to run a half (13.3 miles). In October I am going to run a marathon (26.6 miles). I want to work hard enough between now and then so that (while not necessarily fast) these miles will come without too much strain.

The number one rule, of all the training guides I've read is to listen to your body. So while this weekend was the nicest Minneapolis has had since October, I'm going to just sit back and not hit the pavement. Hopefully March will hold more miles, better form, and less pain. Onward and upward!

Today's Onion - Just Too Good To Pass Up!

Sometimes the Onion really does make my day.

Click here to view the original!

The entertainment industry has taught me many valuable lessons over the years: All car crashes end with huge fireball explosions. Zombies don't run. And Zooey Deschanel always gets the guy no matter how flawed and hopelessly childish she acts.

The movie machine has also taught me that there can't be victory without a moment right in the middle of the story when the hero falters and can't possibly go on. No matter what the context, that moment suddenly puts everything into doubt-- all the hopes and dreams and good intentions that had been built up over the last hour and 12 minutes.

Right now, I'm in that moment and not feeling very optimistic about the outcome.

I've read all the books. Done the training exercises. Watched the ridiculously over-priced DVD's. And even scoured Youtube for the Pose/ Born to Run/ Barefoot running technique in action. And yet, I'm still not running pain-free.

The author of Born to Run had a similar hiccup. He spent months in Mexico following the elusive Tarahumara, learning their ways and watching their incredible skill first hand. He came home all jazzed to start running hundreds of miles and couldn't go farther than 3. His knee still hurt, his ankle skill hurt, his shins still hurt, blah blah blah.

The fact of the matter was, he thought he was practicing the new running methods he'd learned, but was really still plodding along like a 300 lbs bear. So he did what any successful writer who free-lances for Runner's World Magazine does. He hired the best trainer in the world, got all expenses covered, and was happy as a clam and running ultra-marathons in no time.

You may already see where this is headed.

I DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE BEST TRAINER IN THE WORLD.

In fact, I don't even have access to the internet. I had to pay off the teenage manager at the Caribou Coffee next to my work and that's the only reason I'm online right now.

So I feel like I've hit a brick wall. I found something I love to do. Something that keeps me active in the winter. Something that lets me spend time with my dog. Something that makes me feel great... and yet is hurting me and I don't know how to fix it.

If only Zooey Deschanel were here to tell me what to do...

Winter Update

I haven't disappeared. I am still here. Just not writing as much. I guess it goes in phases.

The good news is that things are still good.

Last year I was flabbergasted when I signed up for one silly duathlon at the end of September and somehow within 2 months I had already signed up for a triathlon and a century. It's not that I'm a super athlete or missing any (or all) rational thinking skills, it's just that these events present themselves and naturally, simply fall into place. This year, when the same snowballing effect happened it was comforting--almost as if I didn't find the races, but the races found me.

The first one on the schedule is the Lincoln Half Marathon, held in my home town of Lincoln, Nebraska. The irony here is that I didn't run a single mile outdoors the entirety of the time I lived there. In fact, that's sort of the point. I've been very active for 2 years now, but I still have pangs that it isn't real and it won't last. This Half Marathon is a perfect way to go back to the place I was the weakest and close the chapter on that portion of my life. Run through those streets I know so well and finally know for a fact: This is the new me and she is here to stay.

Part of the earlier training schedule has meant regularly running outside. I used to think winter running would be an absolute agony and frankly only something masochists found interesting. It has turned out to be nothing of the sort. It's quiet and serene, often shockingly beautiful and far from cold. Yak Tracks (sometimes called YakTrax) have helped immensely and I cannot speak highly enough of having them. Not only do I not slip on ice, but I don't really notice it at all. It's freed up every single running route I had thought was inaccessible.

I still have a long way to go and a lot of learning to do but I feel like I'm making head way.

Onward and upward!

"Let your boat of life be light, packed only with what you need; a homely home and simple pleasures. One or two friends worth the name. Someone to love and someone to love you. A cat, a dog, and a pipe or two. Enough to eat and enough to wear and a little more than enough to drink, for thirst is a dangerous thing... you will find the boat easier to pull then. And it will not be so liable to upset. And it will not matter so much if it does upset."

-Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat (Not to Mention the Dog)