Running Update

This morning on Twitter, I posted, “Just ran 1.5 miles in 19 mins. Beat that. 😉 #mamavation I am in the#slowlane” And I received several re-tweets and “That’s great!” and “I’m slow too!” comments.

So there! When you admit you’re slow, you’re suddenly popular. Ha! And you always thought the fast girls were the beloved ones!

I haven’t been running much since a few weeks ago I developed some kind of heel spur or heel plantar fasiitis problem. (I’d like to go on and on about it right now, but I know that griping about minor injuries is really annoying so just suffice it to say, I’ve become lazy or  I’m babying myself.)

I have been going to Pilates/Yoga at lunchtime at work and playing an occasional tennis game.

Haven’t been riding my bike to work lately either. I did write in here about how the pedal fell off, didn’t I? See, my bike fell in love with this other bike in the basement (the Gary Fisher bizatch). And she didn’t love him back and somehow my bike just doesn’t feel like going out for a ride any more. He’s buried behind a bunch of other more popular bikes in the bike room collecting dust. I guess my bike has to just go slow, admit it on Twitter, and then he’ll become popular again.

This morning, I felt great after running (except for my heel!). I didn’t run far or fast, but I definitely got to the endorphin-kicking-in phase. I think the endorphins release at exactly the same moment the back of my neck gets sweaty. That is when I tell myself, “Okay, you’ve gone far enough. You can stop now.”

My advice? Go only so far as to break a sweat and then stop at Europan cafe. Carry the spoils home from the battle — the bacon/egg/cheese sandwiches and bagels for the kids. Add your coffee. Sunday morning. Life is good.

4.5 K in 39 mins.

around my corner

Today I ran for about 39 minutes and I made it about 4.5 K. Last weekend in Miami, I did 4.5 K in like 36 minutes.

Today I was hampered by running with my Number One Son. We were running him to baseball practice at 10:30 am.

Hayden complained that his joints ached every morning for the first half an hour after he woke up.

I wondered, “Maybe it’s growing pains, but honey, keep running.”

“I can’t. I’m tired.” He’s 13! How tired can a 13 year old be! I’m tired and I’m a million years old. I must say I feel proud of myself.

My friend tells me, if you give to your body, your body gives back. If you run, your endorphins kick in. You feel good.

When I’m running I don’t always feel good. But I can’t believe how energized I feel the rest of the day.

I’m trying to give to my body, so that I get back.

Interval Training

Wow! I think I know everything. I don’t. I.e., interval training.

Today at lunch time, I met up with a friend. She introduced me to running in intervals. We ran for 5 minutes and walked for 1 minute. Then we ran for 5 minutes and walked for one. And so on. We did about 7 of these bursts of running for 5 and walking for 1. You get the idea.

It was way fun. It was way better than just trying to push myself to cross my 13-minute barrier of running. That’s my usual routine — run for 13 minutes, then walk home, dejected that I couldn’t run longer or farther.

This interval training extends the work out. My friend figured I ran about three and a half miles for 45 minutes. We ran from 120th to Riverbank State Park at 144th Street. This park is genius — an awesome track and other facilities over a sewage treatment facility. It is, actually, lovely. Lilacs blooming around the track’s perimeter. (Flowering trees make me weak in the knees.)

Only problem with interval training is that after 1 minute of walking, it would just feel so good to keep walking. I think this kind of running for me will work best when running with a friend.

You totally get the endorphin rush of running. And that, of course, is why I run.

My Running Update

A week ago I ran to the end of the pier — the one around 70th in Riverside Park. I started at  75th on Riverside Drive.  

I was breathing very hard. Hayden, who ran lightly beside me, told me not to breathe so heavily. He said that, “It just makes you more tired.”

“It’s all in your mind.” That’s what people tell you about running. They say, “Trick yourself when you run. Say ‘I’ll just run to the lamp post’ and then you find you’ve run to the FAR  lamp post, not the NEAR lamp post.” 

So a day later, I ran again. This time by myself. And I ran to the end of the pier and back. I was trying not to breathe hard. I was trying not to let the exhaustion get to me. I felt I’d doubled my distance.

This last weekend, on Saturday, I ran to the end of the pier and then back. And then to my surprise, I kept running.

I followed a guy a dozen paces ahead of me. He was at least 10 years older than me and at least 50 pounds heavier. He was sweating. I let him set the slow pace. I felt good.

I made it all the way to the women’s restroom near the boat basin. I looked at my phone. I had run for 13 minutes without stopping. I felt proud. I felt maybe I could’ve kept going.

The only problem with this new pursuit of running is that the endorphins have not kicked in yet.

I think they did kick in when running in the Adirodacks. But then the air is fresher there. The view of the mountains beautiful.

I started this blog when I started running with Deirdre and the girls. We ran upthe private road and all the way on Camp Dudley Road to the school house.

I really just took up running in search of endorphins. I’m still searching.