February 4, 2015 by Darlene

January Recap

JANUARY GOALS:

Run 3-4 times each week (no matter how cold it gets.) – YES!

after work

on the TM 😦

near home

in the park and it’s staying lighter longer 🙂

uAlbany campus – a new route

Walk once a day while at work.- NOT really. Walking indoors is so boring so I have really slacked off.
Get some strength training or yoga done.- Very Little.
Run with a group when possible. No. Only in races but signed up for a group starting in March.

with Judy on Jan 3

Do long runs on the weekend to train for half marathon on January 17. NA. Ran a Half Marathon and a 10K race instead.
Complete a 10K race. YES!

HMRRC Winter Series #3 10K – 1:00:24

Complete a 15K race. YES!

HMRRC Winter Series #4 15K – 1:34:29

Complete my 10th & 11th half marathons. YES and YES!

#10 (Hangover Half) – a PR at the time – 1:18:33

#11 (West Palm Beach Half) – a Big PR and 1st in my AG – 2:09:40

Run at least 90 miles. Not quite. 82. (slacked off after the half)

jan15

What else?

I finished knitting a hat.

I spent 5 days in Florida as part of my Race-cation – beaches, birds and good friends

florida jan 2015 (100)

February Goals:

Run 3-4 times each week (no matter how cold it gets.)
Walk several times a week while at work.
Get some strength training or yoga done.
Run with someone else when possible.
Do long runs on the weekend to start to train for half marathon on April 18.
Complete a 10 mile race
Complete a 4 mile race.
Volunteer at a race.
Run at least 80 miles.

Happy Running! How was your January? Anything special planned for February?

January 29, 2015 by Darlene

GOTR

This is my new volunteer gig.

I signed up to be a Running Buddy for our local GOTR program.

Here’s what it will involve:

The Running Buddy provides encouragement and support to their buddy throughout the course of the season by sharing weekly notes of encouragement. These notes can be emailed or delivered to their buddy’s Head Coach.

The Running Buddy acts as a personal cheerleader for their buddy by attending the practice 5k and the end of season 5k.

The Running Buddy completes the 5k with their buddy and expresses support and enthusiasm for her accomplishment!

Girls on the Run Capital Region is a 10-week afterschool program for girls in grades 3-8 that uses running and physical activities to teach life skills and help girls develop a lifetime appreciation of health and fitness.

The 6 sites are located in Albany, Rensselaer and Schenectady counties. (I hope to volunteer at a Delmar elementary school near my home.)

This spring’s 10-week season starts the week of March 9th, concludes the week of May 18th. The Final 5K is May 10th in Central Park, Schenectady. (This is the Mother’s Day 5K that I was planning to run.)

Practice 5K’s will be held the last two weeks of April at the respective schools. Orientation and assignments will be made in mid-March once the season is underway.

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Fall 2014 5K

This sounds like a rewarding and fun experience with minimal time commitment.

I can’t wait!

Happy Running! Anyone else ever volunteered with a GOTR program?

December 10, 2014 by Darlene

Making a Difference

Now that my STEM experience is over, I can reflect upon it.

This e-mail from the coordinator probably says it all:

They did it! You did it! We did it!

We started with six ladies in our pilot program with the Schenectady YWCA this fall, and four of them crossed the finish line today. We lost one eager runner to surgery midway through the session, and we lost one other whom I’m convinced we can lure back in the spring.

Our ladies did beautifully out there despite having to run the race in freezing rain. All of them finished in under an hour, including our runner who is in her 70s. Our fastest runner finished somewhere in the 37-minute range. As they crossed the line you could see how proud they were, each sprinted to the finish. And they were singing and laughing after the race.

The impact this will have on them will be more tremendous than we can ever imagine. Two former graduates of our Troy program ran the race with them today as mentors and both of them have logged about 10 races since they began running last fall. One who was previously unemployed now works two jobs, and credits running with the tremendous transformation in her life (it took her 10 years to leave her abuser for good, and she says it was running that made her feel strong enough).

For those of you who were able to be there today, you saw the pride in these ladies eyes when they crossed the finish line. For those who weren’t there today, you’ve seen it other times along the way — when 1-minute jogging intervals became 3, then 8 then 20. And it was thanks to all your kind words and encouragement that these ladies began to have belief in themselves.

I can’t wait to see you all at the celebration on December 10 at the YWCA, where we’ll show some pictures. And we hope to be running with you in future sessions. We meet awesome women through this training program, and it’s not limited to the clients we’re helping move from couch to 5K. What an incredible group of women you are to share your time and your passion for the sport.

Lastly, I wanted to share with you this essay, written by a woman who was in our first Troy program (see below). She wasn’t asked to write this for us, it was for a project where DV survivors expressed themselves through art and writing.

Though I couldn’t be there on Saturday, below are some photos from race day:

The clients & volunteers before the race

stem5

stem6

stem4

stem7

stem2

stem3

after the race

You can see that despite the awful weather, they are smiling in every photo.

Yes, running is more than medals and PRs.

I hope to be part of this program again in the spring.

Happy Running! Have you ever volunteered in a Couch to 5K program?

November 10, 2014 by Darlene

Monday Running Update

Last Week: (Week 2 of HM training)

Monday – walk at work, 4 mile Turkey Trot training group run (@RPI)

AM walk

week 7

Tuesday – walk at work, rest, tennis, dinner out after

AM walk – still leaves on the trees

Wednesday – walk at work, STEM group run + (4 6 miles)

AM walk

2 miles run/walk + 4 more after

Thursday – walk at work, rest, gym, mall walk with BFF

Friday-walk at work, ~~4 mile run~~, gym, mah jongg

Saturday – rest, ~~gym,~~ packet picket up

Sunday – 15K race, mah jongg dinner

PR!!

6th anniversary dinner

This Week: (Week 3 of HM training)

Monday – walk at work, 4 mile Turkey Trot training group run (@RPI)
Tuesday – walk at work, rest, tennis
Wednesday – walk at work, STEM group run + (4 miles)
Thursday – walk at work, 4 mile run
Friday-walk at work, gym, mah jongg
Saturday – 5 mile Turkey Trot training group run (@Knickerbocker Arena) – my 1st Sat group run + 3 miles
Sunday – rest, gym, movie?

Happy Running! How is your running going? Any races ?

April 15, 2012 by Darlene

The Weekend of Almosts

I almost lost my wallet…I almost bought a new bike…I almost couldn’t file my taxes…I almost volunteered at a race…I almost got to see my mentee and her sons.

Saturday was a gorgeous day. My hubby & I decided to go for a bike ride on the Nisky Bike Path.

getting to ready ride

Almost immediately I spotted some running friends who had just finished running 20 miles – their last training run for their May 6 Marathon. We hugged and wished each other well – me to recover & them to complete their FIRST marathon.

Here they are before the Albany Last Run 5k

Then my hubby bumped into someone he plays tennis with and we rode the first half of our ride with someone who boats on Lake George like us — small world!

my hubby riding & chatting with our "new" boating friend

When we were done, we stopped off to get some lunch.

yum!

In my haste or absentmindedness, I left my wallet on the table. I realized it halfway home. We went back & someone had turned it in and everything was still in it – PHEW!!!

One problem I have with biking is that my butt hurts!! So I decided that I wanted to buy a new bike seat. We stopped off at a bike shop and I bought a cruiser seat (I saw some cool cruisers there which were tempting.) Then we heard that another shop was having a tent sale on bikes. I fell in love with a purple cruiser.

kinda looks like this but prettier

It was $349 – on sale for $319 & they said I could have it for $300…pretty tempting but I decided that biking is temporary until I can run.

My hubby was drooling over this in the parking lot:

an Italian-made motorcycle - Ducati...good thing it wasn't for sale

Finally on this April 14, it was time to file our income taxes. I’m not a procrastinator but since we have to pay a lot why give the IRS my money early.

I was done and hit e-file, and an error popped up about a missing payer id – Great, the banks arer closed Sunday & I have to work Monday & Tuesday.

It turns out that my stepson has an account in the same bank & had the payer ID so I was able to file today!! Yay!

Two years ago I volunteered at a 15K race & really enjoyed it. Last year, I got selfish. I ran all the races that I was able t and didn’t volunteer at all.

I also ran THIS race for the first time last year. I loved it…it was nearby and flat and my first and only 5 mile race.

April 10, 2011

Truthfully, if I weren’t injured, I wouldn’t be volunteering. I would be racing.

I had planned on helping with packet pickup at 7am. But that greasy cheese burger & fries that went down so good, kept me up all night so volunteering this morning didn’t happen.

By 11 am, I felt better and I had planned on going to the park with Amanda & her sons. My cell phone rang and Amanda said that she & her sons were sick 😦

park play re-scheduled for next weekend

My hubby was out playing tennis so plan B – test out my new bike seat and go for a ride. I decided to go to the Corning Bike trail.

headed south this time - toward the city & the port

tulips close up

It was a cloudy warm day but there were plenty of bikers and boats on the Hudson – mostly fishing.

this view is looking north

This time, I took the path as far north as you could go. It ends and then you have go into town and eventually can pick up the other bike trail. (I think)

my bike is resting - like my new seat?

I finished my ride before the rain and headed to Target!

Happy Running! Anyone have a cruiser? Should I get one?

January 1, 2011 by Darlene

Welcome 2011!

First, let’s look at my 2010 Running Goals:

lower my 5K PR———YES! from 29:30 to 28:42 to 27:12
run a 5k under 29 minutes——-YES! 4 times
win my age group at least once——YES! on 11/11/10
run new races——-YES! 11 out of 21 were new races
run on the treadmill all winter (3x week)——YES! (unless I could run outside)
run a longer distance on the treadmill (more than 2.75 mi)——– YES! up to 6 mi.
motivate some of my friends to run————YES! 2 that started with me, stopped & are now running again
increase the distance of my training runs (more than 3mi) at least once a week————– YES! 6-12 mi
run at least 15 races———–YES! I ran 21 races
run a 5k in another state (preferably Fla next fall)————–NO!!! but I signed up for a half in Florida in 2 weeks
take more running pics—————— YES! I took a photo at almost every race.
keep track of how many miles I run this year————-YES! I counted every run on this blog, dailymile.com & tickerfactory meter

SO 11 out of 12 ain’t bad!!!

And now my 2011 Running Goals:

lower my 5K PR
run 5ks under 28 minutes
win my age group
run new races
run at least one race each month
run 3-4 times a week ALL YEAR (use the treadmill when it is too cold or slippery or raining outside)
run a longer race than 5k (4 mi, 5 mi or 10K)
run a half marathon race
run at least 15 races
run a race in another state
volunteer at a race
take running pics & post on FB & this blog
keep track of how many miles I run this year

I don’t think they are too ambitious… many are similar to last year’s…some are brand new.

Happy Running! Good Luck setting your goals!

November 7, 2010 by Darlene

Volunteering on World Run Day

Well, this was my first volunteer experience. The Stockade-athon is a big event – the oldest 15k in the country!

It was a chilly morning and since I wouldn’t be running, I dressed warmly. I arrived about 15 min. before the start of the race, and Schenectady’s Central Park was packed. I had to park quite a distance away.

I immediately ran into my friend Mary and gave her a good luck hug. I then walked around looking for information on what to do as a volunteer. I bumped into another finish volunteer and we chatted and waited together.

After the race started, we finally were given a free tee shirt (long sleeve coolmax 🙂 ), our clipper, collection bin and instructions.

And we just waited… We were able to see the runners at mile 1 and I spotted Mary:

Mary & others at mile 1

Finally the elite runners came into view! The winner ran it at a 5 minute mile pace WOW! It was fun to see him cross as well as all the others.

The Winner

I even got to cut the chip off of the winning female!

I never realized how important a volunteer is until now. These runners were drained at the end of the race and I can’t count how many said “Thank you for volunteering!”

One guy said to me: “This is my 1st long race & my 70th birthday.”

Finally I saw Mary and she ran to me to cut off her chip & then I took her photo:

Mary & Kelly after the race

I met Mary in June when she was struggling to finish a 5k. We have run 5 5ks together since then. She used to call me her “inspiration” because I was faster & could finish in under 30 min. She finally did that too in Oct. Since then, she has run several 10ks, a half marathon and a 15k!!!! Now she’s my inspiration.

After all the runners had crossed the finish line, we left and were invited to the Fireside Pizzeria for free pizza, wings & drinks!

I highly recommend volunteering! It is so rewarding! It does make you wish you were a runner in the race. For me, the decision was easy: I haven’t run this distance before and the times were fast. However, next year, I may run it but I will definitely volunteer again at some race!

Since today was World Run Day and I signed up for it & got a tee shirt. My REST day turned into a 1 mile neighborhood loop:

before my 1 mile "World" run

The day ended with a dinner to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of my Mah Jongg group:

dinner celebration at PF Chang's

Happy Running! Congratulations to all those NYC Marathoners!

October 26, 2010 by Darlene

Volunteering

This is a week of firsts:

1st DNF – actually did not start
1st EKG
1st Cat Scan
1st 7 mile run
1st Volunteer Assignment

Yep, I will be volunteering at the 15k Stockadeathon in Schenectady on Nov. 7. If you are racing, I will be at the finish line pulling off those chips!

As much as I would like to be running in this race, I still have not raced in a 10K so I don’t think it would be wise to try a 15K – at least not yet!!

My blood pressure has been normal, my headache is gone but I still have a stiff neck. I played tennis last evening and felt fine. I plan to run after work today!! The weather has been crazy. Today it’s supposed to be 70 degrees!

I’m still contemplating my racing future….there’s are a few 5ks coming up on Saturdays (Oct 30, Nov 6, Dec 4). I could sign up for them. But then again, I’m trying to run short distances during the week and a longer run on Saturday just in case…you know what?!

For now, I’m a volunteer!!

Happy Running!