August 24, 2012 by Darlene

The Tennis – Running Dilemma

I have played tennis for years and have many friends that I have met through tennis. We do lots of things together.

heading out to see a play

Then I discovered running. My love for running surpassed my love of tennis.

Usually I can fit them both in.

First:

a run in Chestertown

and then:

MANY sets of doubles

So this weekend is Tennis Ladies at Schroon River.

our group last summer

It will be a lot of fun. I plan to run AND play tennis!!

Now here’s the BIG DILEMMA:

Every year, I go to the US Open.

Me & Catalina

This year, I have tickets for Wed, Aug 29. It is always a good time. You get to see all the GREATS playing tennis (in person.) I hope to even watch my favorite guy play:

Roger. ❤

Several weeks ago, I submitted my story for this:

And I got an email that I was one of the 25 selected to RUN WITH JOANIE!!!

In Albany on Wed, Aug 29!! (Yeah, right?! What are the odds??)

Sooooooooooooooooo what do I do?

I tried to find someone to buy my US Open ticket. No success! I don’t want to waste $98!!!

But I want to RUN WITH JOANIE!!!

See we wore the same color bib.. and we’re around the same age…she’s a little faster!! LOL

Happy Running! What would you do if you were me?

August 23, 2012 by Darlene

Garbage Miles?

At last week’s seminar, the speaker mentioned that it is quality not quantity that matters when running. You can run 3 times a week if make all your runs count…which means, he said, “No Garbage Miles!” He defined quality runs as: hill repeats, tempo runs and long runs.

I hate to admit but most, if not all my miles, are “garbage miles.” I don’t do hill repeats or tempo runs. Every now and then, I run up a hill. Every so often, I run as fast as I can. I do long runs when I am training for a half marathon but they are the same as my weekday runs, only shorter.

Nevertheless I have improved my 5K time 10 minutes in 3 years and have completed 5 half marathons.

I am not fast but have won many AG awards.

I am not a professional athlete and have to squeeze all my running around my full-time job, my family, my friends, tennis, yoga, etc. (and it ain’t easy to find the time.)

So I run in the morning before work, (even at lunch), I run after work, I run while on vacation, I run when I can and wherever I am.

Yes, I run “Garbage Miles” and I am proud to be running them. I enjoy running. It makes me happy. It makes me feel good.

I’m not saying, don’t train and don’t take your running seriously.

Just do whatever works for you.

Just running

Happy Running! Do you run Garbage Miles?

August 22, 2012 by Darlene

Wordless Wednesday

Matthew turns ONE, McDonalds & rainbow…what could be better?

and of course, I ran.

Happy Running!

August 21, 2012 by Darlene

Can’t Resist a Bargain

Last week, Olympia Sports was having a sale – buy one and get 1/2 off the second pair. (Like I really needed running shoes!!)

pair #1

pair #2

As a result, I received $15 in rewards. No, I didn’t buy another pair of shoes.

I bought instead 5 vanilla Gu & 5 chocolate Gu – my favorites

Then I got an e-mail saying that CompressionPro socks were on sale – $30 instead of $50 (w/ free shipping) in purple. I have them in pink & argyle blue and love them! They match my new shoes so I had to buy them!

Last but not least, was a Groupon for $10 (instead of $30) for a local 5K race. Who could not resist? $10 to run and support a charity!! Of course, I signed up!

on Sept 1, 2012 in Saratoga

Happy Running! Are you a bargain shopper?

August 20, 2012 by Darlene

It Never Gets Old

I mean being on Lake George and running in Bolton Landing.

our favorite lake dog

After my race on Sunday, I spent the rest of the day on our boat, hanging out with friends. We also went out to dinner in Lake George village (& ate WAY too much.)

our friends hanging out in Basin bay

Sunday morning, I decided to go out for a run. The summer is winding down and who knows what the weather will be in coming weeks. So I decided to run 4.5 miles around Bolton Landing… first through town:

the only chair left (I missed them this year)

Then, up 9N to the park:

at the Municipal Park

and finally around the Sagamore Hotel grounds.

at the Sagamore

Then the rest of the day was spent reading (I’m on a YA kick…Delirium is my latest read.)

view from my chair

and back again at Basin Bay. The day ended with a late dinner out in Bolton Landing.

I will be sad to see the summer end…I will miss my runs and my boating friends 😦

Happy Running? What will you miss about summer?

August 19, 2012 by Darlene

Jailhouse Rock 5K Race Report

As I said in my previous post, I had run this race before & was familiar with the course.

Though I am still recovering, I prepared for this race like it counted…rested and carb loaded on Friday. I even skipped a marina party & mah jongg to go to bed early (sans alcohol.)

The race was about 40 minutes away but unfortunately I left later than I wanted to. I still got there 15 minutes early and got my race (tech) shirt & bib.

Brookside Museum & runners before the race

The weather was absolutely perfect…sunny, in the 60s and low humidity. There were only 300 or so runners. I recognized many faces but didn’t know anyone personally.

Me before the race

I was prepared to give it my best shot (but not risk getting injured).

We walked up the hill to the start and I stood near the front but not too close.

The first mile was rolling hills (I hesitate to even call them hills after the last race.) I glanced at my Garmin and it said 9:06…whoa…too fast…so I slowed down. The course was an out and back and there was a water stop a little beyond the turn around.

I walked through the water stop but that was it… I ran the rest. I actually felt strong the whole time.

Throughout the race, it seemed that everyone was passing me by. I was relieved after the turn about to see that there was runners behind me…whew! I started at that point to play leap frog with a gray haired runner. I thought that she must be in my age group and I wanted to beat her. She looked familiar but I wasn’t sure if she was fast or not. When she walked, I ran past her and then she ran past me. (In the end, I did beat her but I was disappointed to see that she was not as fast as I thought.)

When it came to the end and the big downhill…I was very afraid to run all out…I took it slow and then sprinted across the finish line.

My official finish time was 30:58 (30:55 Garmin time)

the finish

I was pleased to break 31 minutes…not fast or a PR but a post-surgery PR!

I realized that I didn’t even break a sweat and that I probably could have run faster but:

miles 1 & 3 were under 10 minutes
I only walked once
I felt good

Unfortunately no AG award for me. (Next year, I hope.)

So I had some refreshments and visited the quilt exhibit at the museum before heading up to Lake George to spend the rest of the weekend.

quilt poster

How did I do on my race goals?

Have fun. YES!
Finish. YES!
Run faster than my previous 5Ks this year (beat 33:30 or 32:50). YES!!
Run faster than my JHR 5k times (beat 31:04 or 29:49) – this is a real reach! Beat my 2009 5K time!!

Happy Running! How was your weekend? Did you run?

August 17, 2012 by Darlene

Next Up?

I have another race on Saturday! This time, it’s a 5K.

I’ve done this one twice before (in 2009 & 2010) so I know that you walk up a hill to start and you finish running down this hill.

I won 1st in my AG the first time and 3rd in my AG the second time – SOCKS!

No lofty goals this time.

Have fun.

Finish.

Run faster than my previous 5Ks this year (33:30 or 32:50).

Run faster than my JHR 5k times (31:04 or 29:49) – this is a real reach!

Happy Running! Any racing plans this weekend?

August 16, 2012 by Darlene

Running Injury-Free for Life

Of course, this would be a topic that would interest me.

This workshop was offered last night at the Crossings and sponsored by FleetFeet.

I signed up a while ago and had planned to run beforehand because I love to run at the Crossings.

However, since I had run 2 days in a row, I opted for checking out the new Trader Joe’s nearby instead. (I think that I was not that impressed because I don’t cook healthy –however, I did find a few interesting foods to buy.)

The workshop was given by a Sports Physician who is also an accomplished (Marathon) Runner and Triathlete. The room was pretty full…with what seemed to be older new runners and older experienced runners.

That would make sense, we older runners probably experience or worry about injuries more.

The presentation consisted of a bunch of boring powerpoint slides (once a teacher, always a teacher…others may not share my opinion of his talk) but I did manage to glean a few things (however, most things I already knew or were common sense):

Running injuries are more common:

to women
when you have already had an injury
when you run too many miles

What is important when running races:

have fun
finish
meet a goal

How to avoid running injuries:

quality miles (possible in 3 days a week – tempo, hill repeats, long run) not garbage miles – make your runs count
realistic goals
balanced diet (yes, you can cheat, if you need to and coffee is good for energy)
do hip stretches if you are prone to IT Band issues
listen to your body (heart rate too high = back off)
mix up your surfaces – trails, multi-directional runs, hills
shorten your stride

So although I didn’t learn a lot of new things from this workshop, it was motivating.

I set my alarm for 5:45 am and ran before work. It was a beautiful morning to be out there. I only ran 3 miles on a route with some hills and I tried to run with a short stride (I think.)

Happy Running! Any other advice on avoiding running injuries?

August 15, 2012 by Darlene

Wordless Wednesday

at the finish line of the Camp Chingachgook Challenge

Yup, the photographer, Greg Wolcott, captured my feet! How cool (in light of my ankle injury.)

Happy Running! Have you ever had a race photo of your feet?

August 14, 2012 by Darlene

Dancing as Cross-Training?

I keep saying that I will do some cross-training…maybe even join a gym. Well, it hasn’t happened.

I tried to run after work yesterday, and my legs felt like lead. I actually had to stop and rest. I quit after 2 3/4 miles.

Sunday, one of my tennis friend’s daughter got married outside Boston and a bunch of us were invited to the wedding.

me & some of my tennis friends before the wedding

Some went on Saturday (but I had a 10K race) and some stayed over til Monday (but I had to work.) It was a long day for me. Definitely worth it…I had so much fun!