My Mom is Awesome

I'm highly biased, but if there was to be anybody biased in the other way, it would be me. However... I think my mom is awesome. Whereas too many empty-nesters I know of just kind of settle down, stay content with the lives they'd built while dealing with unruly teenagers, my mom did the COMPLETE OPPOSITE! She's kind of like me where she has some awesome friends who have challenged her to go outside her comfort box. Even without them, she's pretty fearless and independent. After joining the military at 18, she's lived in Germany, visited Egypt, and took me around London. On the less-exotic front, she bakes, cooks, sews, and sings nice and loud at church every Sunday. 

During the bike ride across Iowa in Pocahontas :)

One of her empty-nest endeavors was .... RUNNING! She's done a 4-mile race in my hometown for a few years. She interrupted her training to ride her bike across Iowa to do it this year to keep up her 4-mile run :) My mom's even done a half marathon. Quite a legacy to live up to! With that in mind, she sent me the following advice, which I have also passed on to KR. 

Here's to the next TV Timeout and take it away, Mom...

Syd

1. don't wear any new clothes - including sock. only wear stuff you have run in before and are comfortable in. you never know what might itch or bind. wear comfortable clothes - this is not a beauty contest!

 

1.5 be sure your shoelaces are tied - and tucked into the laces some way so they don't get loose. nothing worse than having to stop to tie your shoes.

 

2. go to the bathroom before the race - go at home, and at least once when you get there - even if you don't think you need to. be prepared for long lines.

 

3. only eat food that you have eaten before - this is not the time to try something new! be sure to stay hydrated, but water is much better than caffinated drinks. drink on the race if offered, and don't be afraid to pour the water over your head if you are getting warm. advice i got for drinking on the run was to smoosh the cup so it's just a narrow sliver and drink from that.

 

3.5 chapstick or something on your lips

 

4. dress for at least 10 degrees warmer than the temp - you KNOW you'll warm up.

 

4.3 stretch a little before the race, then stretch more afterwards - you will feel much better the day after.

 

4.5 check out the finish line - or the whole race course if possible. it helps to know if there are hills or turns, so you can be mentally prepared.

 

5. don't go out too fast - it will be very tempting, the adrenalin is going, everyone is passing you - but go at your own pace. You'll pass a lot of those people as they run out of steam.

 

5.5 sometimes, especially if you are running by yourself, it helps to pick out someone ahead of you and try to keep pace with them, or pass them if they are too slow then pick someone else in front.

 

6. RUN YOUR OWN RACE! You are not racing anyone else, you are just running for you.

 

7. Have fun, go at a comfortable pace, but don't be afraid to sprint at the end! You'll be amazed how much energy you really have left!

 

I'll be rooting for you!!

 

Love, Mom

 

p.s. - our buddy Toni would say to set a goal - do you want to run 12 minute miles? 12.5 minute miles? 40 minute race? Only walk for a total of 5 minutes? Choose something, and see how you do.

Sunday Runday

Muwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

I win :) 

My mind has officially taken control over my body and the mental block between knowing I can run a mile and actually RUNNING the mile has officially been broken :D My official feeling? Just look to the left ! And for the record- I know the guy in the background and the hand gesture is the NCSU Wolfpack sign, just with the mouth pointing at me, but yeah, this was a couple beers in (hooray for Big Boss ).

Anyway, my success came with the insight of both KR and KB. KB reminded me that it was just a matter of lung strength and mental toughness to really go the distance. KR agreed and said I should just go to a place where I had no landmarks, no way to tell time or distance, and just go. They both said I should just run until it hurt and I needed to stop, and see where I was.

While running lots of errands yesterday, I took a shortcut through an unfinished housing development and realized the plentiful sidewalks and even more plentiful asphalt with 0 houses would be perfect to just go and go. Hooray for housing boom and busts? There weren't lots of people or traffic, but man, the houses were beautifully landscaped! I will definitely be going back there, taking my camera, and hopefully just running freeeee! 

But yes, I just went listened to some good tunes with my iPod secure, keys secure, and a GPS tracker on my phone in my pocket. I wore black shorts and a black jacket, so I was uncomfortable fast, but blamed it on the black in the 1pm sun. I wandered around, running away from random bums (just one), towards things that looked interesting and gave me the chance to be on asphalt, not concrete sidewalks, and didn't look at my distance until .94 miles. I took my first walking break after a long hill at 1.21 miles, walked for only 2 houses worth of land, then wandered back. I could've gone longer, but once I saw my car, it was hard to turn away, what can I say? I sprinted (on Summer Music Ln, hee hee) to my car, but it didn't click the way my sprinting usually does. 

OH! The other things I tried were improving my form. From KB, I concentrated on keeping my hands lower, around my hips, not above my belly button. She'd talked about working on my breathing, too, but KR really suggested I try breathing through my nose. It definitely slowed me down, but I felt a million times less exhausted. 

Phew. That's a lot :) Off to get clean and keep being productive this Sunday! Lucy has been quiet... TOO quiet! Teaching the roomie to make yummy bread this afternoon :D

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd

PS- GO BEARS! Stupid Panthers, making me miss out on da bears!

Rain Delay

24 hours ago, I thought I'd be working right now, having just done the 2nd workout on the Couch to 5k plan. When I got to the gym, I finally understood what my running friends mean when they complain about "tightness in the hip" and ew. Just getting started was the hugest step, I realized, so I started walking, started zoning out to SportsCenter and the first 10 minutes breezed by. To push myself, I kept amping up the speed on the treadmill and what had been a standard run speed Sunday was close to my fastest walking but it all felt good. The creaky joints wore down around the time ESPN dedicated itself to baseball and bleeeggghhh! It was all in my head, so I had to keep chugging along. The end push was at 11:00 pace.

While watching Monday Night Football (GO BEARS!)I'd told my friends KB and Mr. Clean that I was trying to run, you know, get myself some encouragement, advice, and potential running partners, so KB called yesterday afternoon and asked if I wanted to go running with her for this morning. First of all- what am I supposed to do on the 4 days not on the plan each week? Yoga? Bike? Or is it allowed to keep doing runs of some random pace/length/time those days? Anyway, KB and I were supposed to go running this morning at a county park but its raining soooo raincheck. Literally. Back to my original plan from 24 hours ago, and still feeling good :)

Here's to the next TV timeout!

-Syd