January 12, 2013 by Darlene

A Productive Saturday

Sometimes life takes precedence over running.

I really wanted to run with the SRMs in their Virtual 5K for Sandy Hook. I haven’t seen those runners in a long time!!

I was there in spirit – Thanks Felice for organizing!

Today is also my long run (according to my training schedule.)

But with last weekend being spent in bed, today I needed to:

sleep late (working all week & being sick has taken its toll)
go grocery shopping (the fridge is empty)
do laundry (my hubby has no undewear)
clean up the house (clutter, clutter everywhere)
get my nails done (about a month overdue)
return books to the library
return a Christmas present
buy stuff for my foodie penpal
take down the Christmas decorations (finally)
cook dinner (haven’t done that all week)

Believe it or not, I DID IT ALL!

I even went on a purging rampage – got rid of old cookbooks, old computer books, about 20 coffee mugs, old medecines, old expired food and more.

Now I can relax and plan my next run

Tomorrow I am going to do the HMRRC Winter Series Race – the 10k and it’s at 10am, close by and FREE!

I missed my 5 mile run last weekend but I am going to try to run 6.2 miles anyway to stay on schedule.

I know it’s just a training run but if I said I just wanted to finish I’d be lying.

So here are my goals:

A. Run the whole thing.
B. PR (under 1:09)
C. Not finish last.
D. Finish upright.

Happy Running! Do you ever put running second? Do you have goals for every race?

January 11, 2013 by Darlene

Bad Runs Happen

I felt like this but I was on the road…

Sometimes a run just sucks. Sometimes life just sucks. But we all have to move on right? Yesterday after work, I had a no good, very bad, awful run.

I was still very congested from my cold, I hadn’t been sleeping and I had eaten a large late lunch.

I tried to get myself in the mood to go for a run but that was just not happening. I just wanted to go home and crawl into bed with a book.

But I had missed 2 runs while being sick so I just wasn’t going to let it happen again. On my way to the neighborhood where I have been running lately, I decided that I was going to run at least 3 miles (if it killed me) but I really wanted to run 4 or 5.

Once I actually got on the road though, I realized this run was going to be tough, mentally and physically.

My legs felt like lead. My chest hurt. My stomach was too full. I wanted to quit after 2 miles. I dragged myself to 3 miles and then I willed myself to do 4.

Yeah, I walked some but got it done.

Usually I get down on myself and question my running ability. I wonder how I am ever going to 13.1 miles if I can’t run 3. My pace is 12-13 min/mile. How embarrassing is that? I’m not fast but I could run 9-10 min/miles. Maybe I should give it up. Wah wah wah…

Instead, the type A me analyzed the situation:

You’ve had 2 injuries. The 2nd one before you totally recovered from the first.
You’ve been sick. It’s hard to run when you can’t breathe.
Running on a full stomach — stupid!
You always run better in the morning. Gotta do an AM run soon.
Even when you raced well, you had BAD training runs. You need to run a race!
What about music…gotta charge that iPod and listen to some tunes!
4 crappy miles are better than zero miles
Get over it… bad runs happen!

Thanks Ryan. I don’t mind if you do!

So today is a rest day (and it is raining/sleeting)!

I haven’t decided about the weekend. I signed up for a virtual 5K tomorrow with friends and a 10K on Sunday.

I will either do the 5k & add 3 miles afterwards or the race but not both.

I know both will be fine — running with others is always motivating.

Happy Running! How do you deal with bad runs?

January 3, 2013 by Darlene

2013 Running Goals

This may be cheating but I had some great goals for 2012 but with two injuries, I didn’t get a chance to see if I could accomplish them.

So here they are again:

Run 3-4 times a week ALL YEAR (use the treadmill when it is too cold or slippery or raining outside)
Continue fitting in tennis and yoga at least once a week (as cross-training)
Finish my 5K races under 30 minutes and not stress about a PR (though getting one would be super!)
Get an Age Group award (in May I will be entering a new AG!!)
PR in a 10K race (I have only one injured 10K under my belt.)
Run a 10 mile race (the one from Lake George to Bolton Landing is on my bucket List)
Run at least one half marathon (a spring and a fall one)
Run at least 12 races (one per month, if possible)
Run a race in another state
Run a NEW race (hopefully one in NYC)
Listen to my body and slow down when necessary (In other words, do not get injured…)
Continue blogging regularly (to keep track of miles, as a motivator, to meet new runners…)

Hope I have better luck this year.

However, my real 2013 goal is to be HEALTHY and HAPPY!!!

Happy Running! Do you set new running goals each year?

January 2, 2013 by Darlene

2012 Recap (in Photos)

And it wasn’t all bad…

Here it is month by month in photos. ENJOY!

JANUARY

Jimmy Buffet-themed birthday party for one of my Lake George friends

FEBRUARY

I knit my first sock

MARCH

I started biking

APRIL

I started walking at lunch

MAY

I celebrated my birthday in Florida

JUNE

I started running again

JULY

I started playing tennis again

AUGUST

I cooled off every weekend in the lake

SEPTEMBER

I had a 2nd visit from Anna from Russia

OCTOBER

I spent time with my 2 fav little guys

NOVEMBER

I had a surprise visit from a friend who moved to Florida

DECEMBER

I got to go to Orlando with friends

Happy Running! Hope you had a good year! What was the highlight?

January 1, 2013 by Darlene

2012 – Thank God It’s Over

322 miles in 2012

Broken tibia & fibula & surgery to repair in my left ankle and then a stress fracture in my right foot= NOT A GOOD RUNNING YEAR

Jan 2012

Oct 2012

I had running goals for the year and then I re-wrote them after my first injury. Then I was doing better than expected so I re-wrote them again. When I had my second injury of the year, I gave up on running goals and left them as they were at the time:

~~Run 3-4 times a week ALL YEAR (use the treadmill when it is too cold or slippery or raining outside)~~ Follow doctor’s orders and stay off ankle until allowed, go to PT and do the recommended exercises, and start to run when & as often as recommended. 5 MONTHS of PT and then STARTED RUNNING in JUNE.
~~Continue fitting in tennis and yoga at least once a week (as cross-training)~~ Same as above, start tennis & yoga when allowed, join a gym to do crosstraining/machines to stay fit. STARTED TENNIS IN AUGUST BUT DID NOT JOIN A GYM OR CROSS-TRAIN. GOT RE-INJURED BEFORE STARTING UP YOGA.
~~Finish my 5K races under 30 minutes and not stress about a PR (though getting one would be super!)~~ Run a 5k race before the end of the year, if I am able to run several, get faster with each one. RAN 9 5K RACES AFTER MY ANKLE INJURY (GOT FASTER) AND THEN RAN 1 AFTER MY FOOT INJURY.
~~Get an Age Group award~~ – NO
~~Run a 10K race~~ – YES.
~~Run a 10 mile race.~~ NO
~~Run at least one half marathon~~NO4. Start to train for a half marathon in 2013. DELAYED START BUT STARTED LAST WEEK.
~~Run at least 12 races (one per month, if possible)~~ (DID NOT RUN ANY IN JAN-MAY and NOVEMBER)
~~Run a race in another state~~YES in PA.
5. Run a NEW race. YES – RAN 8 NEW RACES!!
6. Listen to my body and slow down when necessary (In other words, do not get re-injured…) UH OH…TOTAL FAIL.
7. Continue blogging regularly (to keep track of miles, as a motivator, to meet new runners…) YES, YES.
8. Volunteer at a race. NO 😦
9. Bring a cell phone whenever I go running alone. YES!

10. Run a 10 K race. YES! in August.

11. Finish a 5K race under 30 minutes. YES! 1 in Sept.

12. Run 12 races. YES!

So it wasn’t the year that I had planned but I guess it could have been worse. Here are the highlights:

ran a 5K in June – earlier than expected!

met Joan Benoit Samuelson!

ran my 1st 10k

crossed under 30 minutes in a 5K (1st time since 2011)

ran a new race in a new state (& with a stress fracture)

race #12

Stay tuned for my 2013 Goals!

Happy Running! Did you have goals for 2012? If so, how did you do?

December 9, 2012 by Darlene

2013 Bucket List of Races

January

maybe a free HMRRC race (Albany)

February

Polar Cap 4 mi (Lake George)

March

First Watch Half Marathon (Sarasota, Fla.)

April

Delmar Dash 5 mi Race

May

Sean’s 5k Run (Chatham)
Mother’s Day Race (Schenectady)

June

Freihofer Run for Women (Albany)
Kinderhook Bank OK 5K
Adirondack Distance Challenge (Lake George-Bolton Landing)

July

Jingle Bell 5k (Lake George)
Silks & Satins 5K (Saratoga)

August

Camp Chingachgook 10k (Lake George)
Jailhouse Rock 5k (Ballston Spa)

September

5 for fiVe (Saratoga)
MBPK 5k (Malta)
Helper’s Fund 5K (Chestertown)

October

Susan Komen Race for the Cure (Albany)
Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon (Ponce Inlet, Fla.)

November

Fall Frun 10K (Clifton Park)
Stockade-athon 15K (Schenectady)
Bethlehem Towne Turkey Trot 5k (Delmar)

December

Albany Last Run 5K

Most of these races I’ve run before but there are a few news ones (in BOLD).

Of course, I hope to have a healthy year.

It’s good to have goals. It keeps you motivated. For me this year, it’s to cross the finish line and have fun!!!

Happy Running! What races are on your bucket list for 2013?

December 4, 2012 by Darlene

13 in 2013

I can do this, right?

Here is my racing history:

2008—–2009—–2010—2011—-2012

Jan – 0——0——-0——1——-0
Feb – 0——0—— 0——1——-0
Mar – 0 ——0——1——2——0
Apr – 1——-0—––1——2——0
May – 2——4——4——4——-0
Jun – 1——–1——-3——2——-2
July – 2——-0—–1——0——-1
Aug – 1——–3——2—–0——-2
Sept – 3——-3——3—–1——-4
Oct – 3——–4——2——2——2
Nov – 0——-1——2——5——-0
Dec – 0——-1——-2—–2——-1

2008 – 13 races (did not run in the winter)
2009 – 17 races (did not run in the winter)
2010 – 21 races
2011 – 22 races (strained achilles)
2012 – 12 races (broken ankle, foot stress fracture)

So I am hoping that without any major injuries, I can race at least 13!!!

Happy Running! What about you…how many races do you plan to run in 2013?

November 4, 2012 by Darlene

The Race That Wasn’t

The City of New York and New York Road Runners announced late Friday that the 2012 ING NYC Marathon had been canceled.

According to the mayor:

While holding the race would not require diverting resources from the recovery effort, it is clear that it has become the source of controversy and division. We cannot allow a controversy over an athletic event — even one as meaningful as this — to distract attention away from all the critically important work that is being done to help New York City recover from the storm.

This was definitely a no win situation. Yes, this race brings a lot of money into NYC. But it is hard to justify spending money for generators and water for runners in a race when so many residents are still without water and power.

Now if I had been training for 6 mos or more for my first or maybe only NYC marathon, I would have been so disappointed. It is hard training for 13.1 miles never mind 26.2. However, it would not have been a good experience with all the negative publicity surrounding the mayor’s call to hold the race.

So it was cancelled. Unfortunately, many runners had already arrived to run the race. They had already spent money on trains, gas, flights, hotels, etc. Too bad, the mayor has not cancelled the race immediately!!

Now on to my own personal misery.

Today’s race was going to be my 2nd 10K but my first real one. The lst 10k race that I ran was in August when I had not been running more than 3 miles. For this one, I would have been training and running at least 6 or more miles on the weekend. A 10K PR for sure!

So I showed up to the race in my boot and collected my race packet. At least I got a long sleeve tech shirt.

Happy Running! How did you feel about the NYC Marathon decision?

October 26, 2012 by Darlene

DNSing

I have never DNFed a race. (Knock on wood!)

I have DNSed several times. The first time in Oct 2008, I was too sick to go. The 2nd time in Oct 2009 because it was raining and the 3rd time in 2010, I arrived at the race and was too sick to run. All were for the Great Pumpkin Challenge in Saratoga. (This race was last weekend so I may have had a 4th DNS.)

I have since then become tougher. Or maybe more stubborn. Or maybe I have a higher pain threshold. Or just plain stupid!

When I broke my left ankle last December, I had only registered for one future race – the Freihofer’s and I DID IT (against the advice of all drs, pts & friends).

Freihofer’s – 1st run 5 mos after broken ankle

When my right foot started hurting, I had already registered for FIVE races. I have run two of them (Susan Komen and the Runners World 5ks). Both took place before the actual diagnosis.

5k finisher with a stress fracture

So I have three left that I have already registered for:

Fall FRUN 10K on November 4

Albany Last Run 5K on December 15

First Watch Half Marathon in Sarasota, Fla on March 17

Obviously, my boot will make me DNS for the Fall FRUN 10k (but I will show up to grab my $25 shirt.)

I was planning on the Stockade-athon 15K but since I didn’t sign up, I think I will volunteer.

I am really hoping that I can run/walk the Last Run (that’s 10 wks post injury) and I am really really really hoping that I can run/walk the First Watch Half.

I HATE TO DNS!!

Happy Running! How did you feel about DNSing? Have you done it much?