Rant o'the Month

WARNING: There is a ranting session ahead. If you do not feel like reading the diary of an angry runner, please proceed no further. The blog will be updated with happier thoughts again shortly. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Ladies and gentlemen, just because there is a ditch beside the road does not mean I want to be in it. Nor any other runner, for that matter. To the woman who literally ran me off the road with her red Toyota RAV4 the other night: when there is a runner on the shoulder of the road, it is best practice NOT to veer toward the runner, therefore forcing them to jump from the road into the overgrown ditch along side it.

That being said, I would also like to say THANK YOU to all of the alert and considerate drivers on the road, who (when it’s safe and possible) give a wide berth to runners and cyclists. For this runner, words cannot express the appreciation I feel when a car veers out enough so the wind from their vehicle doesn't blow me over (this may not happen to all runners). I try to always wave and say "thank you" out loud to all cars and trucks who give me some room. There is nothing scarier than seeing a car speeding toward you (in the case of the young boy who almost ran off the road into me, I believe he was adjusting his radio or something that required him to look down) or feeling a car go by and realize just how close they were to you.

End rant. Thank you for listening!

Good Runs = Always Needed

Sometimes, when running morale and overall motivation is low, you just need a good run.

Take tonight for instance. It's Monday and I haven't run since the (now infamous) 10-miler last Tuesday. That run, although exciting to have finished strong, was not what you would consider a "good" run. At no point during that run did I find a comfortable pace nor feel like I wasn't fighting for each step. At mile 4 my knee started to tweak (not sure what else to call it) and I ended up with a popping and stiff hip for the rest of the week because of compensating for it. All-in-all, not my best run.

Which leads us to today.

I could have gotten in a run on Saturday or Sunday, but I used Mother's Day weekend as an excuse not to. I was home at my parents' house, doing things with them, and it was very easy to put off running with so much else going on. So tonight I knew I had to get back on schedule and as the time drew nearer to go, started to dread it. I even told a friend earlier today that I needed to "re-motivate."

Then I ran and it was amazing!

Unlike the rest of this month, so far, today was unseasonably cool (around the high-60s) and a little overcast (albeit not raining). I started out in my usual uphill direction, waiting for the feeling of straining for each step or shortness of breath and it never came! I breezed through 5 miles, running down my favorite dirt path and past the elementary school, waved at other runners and considerate drivers (that blog will be saved for another time). The dirt path is lined with green trees and bushes, honeysuckles and white flowers intertwined along the branches. One long breath in and your lungs fill with that sweet smell of spring and summer. I inhaled again and again, savoring it and the cool air.

I trotted back into my neighborhood faster than I left, smiling, breathing steadily and with no pain.

This was, hands down, the perfect run to provide that "re-motivation" I needed.

Today's run:
5.01 miles at an 8:57 pace (44:59 total)

Last week:
10.01 miles at a 9:28 pace (1:34:49 total)

10 Miles

Ran my longest work out to date in 2010 last night, finished 10 miles in 1:34. Not the fastest run of my life (9:28 pace) but still an accomplishment to mark in my book.

At mile 5.25, "My Girl" by the Temptations played. As always, I thought of my Dad and ran harder. Mile 5 was the fastest mile over the 10.

I run for myself and I run for him. I love you, Dad. Thank you for being my inspiration and my motivation to keep that expectation of ascension alive.

Time for a little yoga, maybe a massage, and some new running shoes!