by Monica on June 14, 2010
Ignorance is no longer bliss…my recently purchased Garmin is my new best friend. This week I went from zen runner to the slightly obsessed wrist watcher. It took the urging of a new running friend (“this is a ‘need’ for you Monica, not a ‘want’ “) and a sale at REI to push me over the edge. And although this new tightly wound persona may take some adjustment for me (and my LDFs), it’s making me a more efficient runner. I thought a Garmin would force me to work harder, but it never occurred to me that it would give me a break. As an aging runner, efficient training is becoming key.
In the quaint town where I live, there is a Starbucks less than a mile walk from my house. We pass it everyday on the run as it sits in the center of all running routes. I wore my new Garmin for the first time on Sunday for a gruelingly hot, humid 20 mile long run. I had to do the whole thing in town (we usually hit the beautiful trails for these long ones, but motherhood was calling) and for various reasons, I was out on my own. I pieced together the miles of several routes, monitoring my Garmin as I ran. Then the most amazing thing happened…I hit mile 20 right at the door of Starbucks. It was then that I realized I loved that Garmin. It allowed me to stop guilt free and head in for a double iced soy latte (with the disgustingly sweaty five dollar bill in my pocket) and enjoy the walk home. My usual guesstimating of distances and pace was eliminated by my Garmin. I know I would have continued past Starbucks and run home had I not known the exact mileage.
[click to continue…]
It’s good to be back after a much needed blog-hiatus. Running a business, a family and well, just running…for our lives…is exhausting. Getting off the merry-go-round occasionally brings perspective and vision back into alignment.
I decided to christen myself back into the racing world with two old favorites and ended up with what I call “extreme racing”. Fluke-like conditions on both accounts made for crazy adventures and incredible fun. Harsh weather conditions require us to dig deep, and although we were not rewarded with our best times, it did not diminish the sweetness of overcoming the elements. However absurd it all was, we could not help but laugh at the idea that a group of thirty, forty, or fifty-something women could be so crazy as to even take these on! And I know we are not alone on this. There are so many groups of running women out there that do the same. I saw and met many of them in New York and in Philly these past few weeks. You ladies rock!
running More
Back for MORE (Half Marathon):
A 4:15am wake up call for a 5am meeting time at the nearby grocery store. Three of us decide to make the trek that day from Philly to NYC because we have other commitments that prevent us from a night’s stay. We meet LDF’s Jamie and Jen at the Starbucks near the start in Central Park with our numbers in tow. It’s pouring outside and the temperature is about 40 degrees–so not fun. I have never had to race in the rain before, so I was clueless as to how to adjust. I am shocked that so many of the 10,000 registered actually show (about 6400 will finish). We sit in our corral as rain pellets us, listening to the beautiful Kristin Davis (of Sex and the City) [click to continue…]
by Monica on February 25, 2010
It’s been over a year since I last raced and I decided it was time. Jamie and I and a few other LDFs signed up for the all women MORE/Fitness Magazine Half Marathon in Central Park on April 25th. This girl-power infused race around Central Park is a great energy boost. And although this is not the ideal course (as Liz Robbins noted in her “a bold pace questionnaire”), it is a gratifying loop around a fabulous park. Running with all women always proves to deliver a different experience than the co-ed versions. All are so polite, positive and actually throw their cups in the provided trash receptacles instead of at your feet (nothing like a little Gatorade bath during a race). Weaving through the abundance of walkers can be a challenge for runners, but the cheers and support from fellow participants can counter the annoyance. I don’t think this is PR territory, but a fun girls-day-out in New York and an open door back to race mode.
So with race mode as the goal, it’s time to do some research and planning. I hardly ever buy a book anymore. We have a well-endowed town library that is always on the cutting edge of newly released titles. Every couple of weeks I scan my favorite sources ( Book Beast, NPR Books, EW Book Reviews, NY Times, a list of highly regarded recommendations from Jamie) and fill my online library queue with a fine selection of books. They are, however, not as interested in running as I am so I am sometimes forced to resort to Amazon. I’ve had my eye on three books that I thought would fuel my training and they had all of them at a more than agreeable price. I received them yesterday and spent my night reading.
Running Anatomy by Joe Puleo and Dr. Patrick Milroy was a recommendation from LDF and running guru Dora. She is a PT and I can see how she would love the clear textbook style of this book. The detailed illustrations showing targeted muscles in motion shed light on how our bodies work when running. Insight into how specific strength training exercises can effect running will be very helpful.
Racing Weight–How to get Lean For Peak 
Performance by Matt Fitzgerald is one I read about on a blog. This is a 5-step plan for endurance athletes to improve performance by reaching optimal weight. Not a new topic, but one that plagues me when racing. So far there is nothing ground breaking here. Rules like: eat early and often, stick to whole grains, and no refined sugar can be found but the sections on timing of meals and sport specific diet concerns make it interesting. Of course I had to skip to the chapter that chronicles some of the exact training meals of such endurance athletes as Ryan Hall…no sign of donuts there!
And finally, I decided as a 47 year-old injury prone woman with menopause on the horizon, I need to run less. But I don’t want to stop racing! I thought Runner’s World Run Less, Run Faster was a program I would like to try for my next marathon. Three key running workouts per week plus cross training may be the new balance I need to get me to the starting line of the Chicago Marathon, strong and injury free.
by Monica on February 21, 2010
This morning, on my first 13+ mile run in a very long time, I felt like I could have run forever! I promised myself I would stick to the plan (and I did), but I wanted to keep going…what is it about those days? It got me thinking…”What makes a good run?” Some days can be so hard. A myriad of variables can contribute to the overall design of a run, some weigh heavier than others. A solid 8 hours of sleep helped. A nutritious well-balanced dinner that included my favorite pre-run/race food of rice kicked in a pre-run bathroom visit. OK, too much information? Perhaps, but as Rachel Toor noted in her interview a pre-race poop can be sublime. I wore my new super-soft powder pink running top (what is it about certain gear that makes us happy?). A crisp 34 degrees and sunny day contributed to the euphoria, a warm and welcoming shot of vitamin D. I was happy to be in the company of good- humored and great story- telling LDFs. I have learned over the years of running that there are some combinations of running friends that can make the miles melt. I find that personality, temperament, confidence or a wicked sense of humor can change the dynamic and mood. Some days can be like a fabulous cocktail party and others more like a PTA meeting. And then there is pace (which incidentally is never even mentioned on a day like today). We start slow and gradually work into a faster pace near the end. The negative split mentality is implied and somehow works to create a satisfying finish. We feel strong. And finally, no foot pain. When you have a nagging injury, the mere absence of of its pain can spark energy. We all need runs like these to get us through the more mundane or painful ones. I sometimes equate training runs to a “crap shoot”…a game of chance we are trying to control as much as possible. The outcome can sometimes depend on what is going on in our lives before we hit the road, but when the elements align, it restores my love of running. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we met next to a Starbucks today and the icing on the cake was the double tall soy latte to sip on the ride home:)
p.s. I tried the Tide Sport laundry detergent and thought it was great. For $10.99 at Target , I was able to make my running clothes and my husband and son’s tennis clothes smell- free. It is strong, but not overwhelming (a hint of “Fabreze” mixed with Irish Spring Fresh). I also picked up a bottle of the new Fabreze Sport odor eliminator for the shoe closet…so much better in there now!
![Thumbnail image for No Time [for] the Present…Jamie’s gift ideas for running friends](http://www.remanents.com/blog/wp-content/themes/thesis_151/lib/scripts/thumb.php?src=http://www.remanents.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/img_1250179203438_321.jpg&w=89&h=74&zc=1&q=100)
