365: Week 4

1/21/13: Ace Hotel lobby coffee date and find a Run DMC flyer on the wall= Awesomesauce

1/22/13: It's all a blur

1/23/13: I'm a numbers geek, so how cool did I think it was that my checks added up to 1234 (on 1/23 at that)

1/24/13: National Peanut Day...I don't like PB at all

1/25/13: BU Terrier Invite Day 1

1/26/13: Love that dirty water even when it's frozen. Long run around the Charles while in Beantown

1/27/13: Snickerdoodles baked up for a special delivery

1/22

1/23

1/24

1/27

1/21

1/26

1/25

Third time's a charm?

On Friday morning I took my usual January pilgrimage to the motherland (for those not in my know the motherland is Boston) for a track meet, BU Terrier Invitational. I love this meet and pretty much every time I've raced it I have PR'd. Why wouldn't I love it. It's also is a great excuse to see and catch up with old teammates/friends since I've ran away to NY and don't get to see these lovely faces as often as I'd like. Again why wouldn't I love it. There is only one major caveat that I do not love about it though. I've become a super bad traveler in the past years, somewhere somehow I've developed a serious bout of motion sickness when I'm a passenger in cars and buses. For obvious reason this doesn't bode so well when trying to race. To add boot I also am unable to sleep in all moving vehicles, and of course sleep is said to help aide in the ease of symptoms.

Let's quickly back up to the week(s) leading up to this race day. I believe in order for me to be a complete athlete I have to be honest with myself and come out with the truth and the whole truth. That also means sharing that truth with my blog and to others. Here's that truth: I haven't really been on my game with my training since after Christmas. It's been quite spotty and inconsistent. I have no real viable excuse (except the actual week of). Yes the 2 prior races that haven't panned out quite to my liking have had some direct effect on my lack of passion. I mean blaming a couple lack luster performances isn't exactly nothing but it's not a good excuse. I need to (wo)man up take responsibility, especially if I want to excel in my sport. You get out what you put in and I know this. On a real excuse note I did however the day after I registered on Monday actually got legit sick, go figure. Already many strikes against me going in to the race.

Now back to race day. In order to accommodate other plans Thursday night, I decided to take a risk and bus up to Boston the morning of my race (I wasn't scheduled to race until 5p so I had hoped that catching an early bus I could maybe off set the inevitable). This bus ride managed to only procure a very mild case of nausea, Woosah! there might be a small bit of hope for my race later. I get into Boston at noon, grab lunch at South Station and kill a little bit of time before I make my way over to the track. I try not to get myself worked up and keep settled down before I have to warm up. I manage to do an alright job of this. It's incredibly hard not to sit still and even harder when you see so many people you haven't seen in forever and want to get all chatty with. When it came time to warm up I had managed to take a young runner under my wing. Oddly calming her same worked up nerves and assuring her that she'd be fine helped me to settle my own. Weird how that works.
The earlier strikes against me had me not knowing exactly where I would be time wise so my plan for this race was to be aggressive and present. Lining up on the line for a 2 turn stagger sharing my lane with another racer, I hear the 1 command then the gun and off I go. I knew I was fast off the start but I wasn't going to back off since I've done that in the past and it hasn't turned out well. The 1st 400 was on the quick side, then I fell off in the next 200 (that 600 split always finds a way to get me), I managed to not so prettily hold on for my last lap kicking down 1 girl, finishing in 2:20.74. Gah, I know that I'm in way better shape than that. I also know that the preceding weeks dictated exactly what I ran, so I am only to blame. Not super thrilled but I'll take it, I executed my race just as I had planned (can't be mad about that).
After cooling down I found myself scouring the meet calendar figuring out how to finagle the upcoming race schedule and where I'd race. I also found myself again in the mentoring role to my young wing runner as we chatted about her long future as a runner. This and my fired up race ignited a spark that had been out for the past couple weeks. Finally I'm back to my spunky runner ways (so much so that I even went on a 5 miler the day after).
Also since I decided to hang around for the next day I was able to watch Day 2 of the meet with the men's events, getting to catch a couple Olympians boss a few races. Yeah no big deal. Also another spark to fuel the fire.

A horrible blurry camera phone (b/c I forgot my real camera) photo of Galen Rupp trying to break AR in the mile.

365: Week 3

1/16

1/14

1/19

1/17

1/20

1/18

1/14/13: Kitty knows just how Monday's should be spent
1/15/13: OH NO whoops I fell off my wagon, no photo of the day
1/16/13: Non runner friend who might have been sick as he called me up to run with him
1/17/13: Every super hero has their weaknesses
1/18/13: I don't agree,I've had many stay in from the cold great stories
1/19/13: I may or may not have a puzzle addiction
1/20/13: January shorts outside runs...always welcome

365: Week 2

1/8

1/7

1/10

1/13

1/9

1/12

1/11

1/7/13: My Christmas card display that I can't bring myself to take down yet

1/8/13: Skating on thin ice with a cute date

1/9/13: Weekly Wednesday love(s)

1/10/13: My goals reflecting back at me 

1/11/13: Meet Day lesson in trust

1/12/13: My odd body measurements means sometimes having to be my own seamstress

1/13/13: The NYC New England cheer section

*PS blogger doesn't want me to organize my photos properly the way I want so yes that is why there is no rhyme or reason as to why the photos are in the order that they are

Take Plans, Round 2

After a dismal season opener, I had my next chance to open the way I wanted with an over distance race. Yep 1000 meters and personal best you are mine. Well, the 1000 didn't think so highly of that overly confident statement. I thought that I had a PR in me, I honestly thought I had a sub 3 min in me. The race or maybe it might have been mind had other plans. I started off trying to hold back my usual gun it and lead, Lap 1 I was with the mix but off my goal, no problem. Lap 2 I'm in the middle of the pack then make a move to get out but then fall back, split is off, not sure what's going on. I start thinking about being off and rather than DO something I just kinda held on. By 600 meters I'm well off my goal lap intervals and really just going through the motions of just running, not racing. Finally at about 150m left I decided it was time to maybe do something, of course that was WAY too late. I crossed the line and looked up at the results screen to see the result I really didn't want to see, but I knew was warranted as I didn't get in the game. Seriously *Go* button is broken. Blah! Again like the first race recovered too quickly, meaning I didn't give it my all. I know that the 1000 is an odd race and I haven't raced it in 4 years and really it doesn't matter, I hang on it because I'm simply frustrated. I just want to race well. Silver lining of my gray cloud (because I'm not a pessimistic person and there is always something good to take away from the bad) is again the strength/endurance is there from my recovery turnaround time.
Lesson learned run my own race, race not run, get out of my head and simply just GO!
Round 3, Next...

365: Week 1

1/1

1/2

1/3

1/4

1/5

1/6

1/1/13: New Year, new cool Believe I Am journal to tend to my running garden

1/2/13: Sad sad shelved cameras

1/3/13: Every Picky Bar's lovers dream, a bar chock full o'chips

1/4/13: Death of the Christmas tree

1/5/13: The best part of my mornings

1/6/13: Because one cannot be too bright for a night run

A Lovers Quadrangle...Resolution #2

Fine it's not really a quadrangle than it's really a triangle but it just sounded cooler to say quadrangle. At first it was just a simple straight line. 20 years ago I fell hard in love with running, it was my 1st love. For a good 6 years it was just us. We had some amazing times and we had some spats but it was just the 2 of us, we were a dynamic duo, head over heels for each other. Then along came a boy and typical teenage ways, then all of the sudden there was a triangle. What's a girl to do? I tried to hold on to both loves, but then said boy wanted more time and I wanted to give boy more time. Again what's a girl to do. Work wasn't an option, school clearly wasn't an option, ok well maybe I could just let up a little with running, but just a little bit. Slowly that little bit turned into a little bit more, then a lot bit more and then there was only a straight line between me and boy. No more triangle. I broke running's heart, then not too far down the line boy broke my heart. Then it was just me. I eventually ran back into the arms of running.

This cycle cycled through another time when I started college, not quite the same way but quite similarly. This time after though I left running for 6 years. We had a couple rendezvous in that time but they weren't ever for long stretches of time, someone or something always came along and got in the way of our trysts. Then after having my heart broken by another yet another boy, I flew hard back in to the arms of my 1st love. I knew it could console me like no other. A few months later after a trial run and a bit of research, I made a commitment to love, honor and cherish until death do us part. I knew that no other could give me what running gives me or makes me feel the way it makes me feel, so I took the plunge. I vowed that I would never let it go for someone or something else. We'd always be a line together just us or yep a triangle with another. 

I've upheld my vows pretty well the past 6 or so years, so much so that I've not let any boys come around or I've let many boys go or they've left because they just don't get it or understand our love and really don't want to be a part of this crazy triangle. I did once cheat on running with a boy I really thought I liked but then it made sure that I felt it's wrath for that, then I threw some spikes at it, then that boy turned out to be dud. 

But now since I'm not getting any younger I need to find a way to make this perfect isosceles triangle or at least something close work. This is New Year's resolution #2. Date, run and find balance between the three of us.

365 Project

I don't usually do New Year's resolutions, I rather not hold myself to something for the entire year then feel all sorts of guilty when I can't hold up my end of the bargain  Let's be real how many of us really can and actually do, seriously I can't think of anyone I know that has done such. In my running world at the beginning of every season I do do "resolutions" and set goals for myself, because then why would I put myself through the nitty gritty of training uber hard. These typically are only for 3-4 months and much more easily obtained. Do I fall off every now and again, sure but I can revert the next season and make an attempt again.
Well I decided that this year I would make some New Year's resolutions (actually only 2) that sort of had nothing to do with running (because I'm sure I'd like to think there is more to my life than running and track). One of my cheesy cliche resolutions is a 365 project that I've swiped from some of my photog friends. A photo a day with whatever camera I have on hand. I found myself on this train mostly because it occurred to me that I only brought my big girl SLR out from it's dwelling once last year and I honestly didn't take nearly as many pictures as I had in the past with even my little guy camera. Now you ask why in the world am I making a blog post about this?? You 2 or maybe 5 readers don't care and isn't this blog supposed to be about running. Weeeellllll the answers are simply I need to stop slacking on my blog so I figure why not incorporate this in (maybe it'll keep me on point, though I'm sure it probably won't) and like my title description says it's sometimes about that thing I call life mixed in. Also I'm sure 80% of my photos will have something to do with, yep shocker, running. My attempt on here will be a weekly compilation of the daily photos. Let's do this thang. Also please feel free to call me out if and when I do slack.