|
My home page on the internet is iGoogle. I can see if I have any new emails, check the weather, get top stories from the Salt Lake Tribune and Tip’s for the day. Today’s tip column had “How to Enjoy Running.” Boy, that peeked my interest—enjoy running. This is something I would like to know.
I clicked on the link. Tell me the secret oh great and noble running expert. Tell me how to enjoy running, because for the most part, I don’t much enjoy it all. Since the Ragnar, I have run exactly . . . zero times. Sad, but true. I don’t want to lose what strength and perseverance I have gained (I have gained some). But at the same time, I have nothing pushing me, no goals to make me pick up my gear and go for a run. My desire is gone. So anyway, I saw this tip and I thought *INSPIRSTION*. I was ready for some insight, something new I didn’t know about, some secret that has eluded me all this time. This is what I got: http://www.wikihow.com/Enjoy-Running 1) LISTEN TO MUSIC . . . Okay. That’s it? What? Nothing new there. I already listen to music, highly upbeat music. And it doesn’t help much. On to step two. 2) SWITCH IT UP. RUN IN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS . . . Okay. I already do that too. Hmm, maybe step three will be better and more insightful. 3) DON’T RUN TOO HARD. . . OKAY!!! There we go. Now we’re talking. It goes on to say “Put away the competitive running when you’re running for fun” and also “Put away the stopwatch”. Competitive? Stop watch? WHAT??? Ha,ha,ha. That’s funny. But I do like the “Don’t run too hard.” That I can do. 4) USE MENTAL TRAINING SKILLS TO OVERCOME YOUR MIND-SPEAK THAT SUGGESTS YOU STOP . . . Okay. I have already said that the mind over matter doesn’t work for me. My matter is really, really strong-willed. I am weak and I give in. I’m not one for pain and suffering. I’m a “take it easy” kinda gal. 5) STRETCH . . . now this article is just becoming BLAH,BLAH,BLAH. Stretching ain’t fun either. Now I need an article to tell me HOW TO ENJOY STRETCHING. 6) RUN PROPERLY . . . What?? “Use good running technique.” Maybe that’s my problem. My technique is “get ‘er done.” Run from here to there. What more “technique” is there than that? 7) RUN WITH FRIENDS . . . Well, that just blows. All my running friends are really fast runners. They can go the distance. (I hate them). If ever there is a bear chasing us, I’m going to jump on their backs and have them carry me—they’re that quick. Run with a friend, my behind :P 8) HAVE REST PERIODS . . . Now I’m listening. What kind of rest periods? Run a little, walk a little, drink a diet Pepsi, go shopping, run a little more, get a massage, walk home? Wait. No? Dag nab it. The article suggests run and then take a “break” and go swimming or some other kind of exercise to “switch it up.” That’s not fun. That’s not enjoyable—especially the swimming part. Swimming means putting on a suit. Okay, number nine better be good. Tell me something I need to know number nine. This is it. This is the last bit of advice to help me enjoy running. 9) LISTEN TO YOURSELF . . . I am! I am! Myself says, “Running ain’t fun. Relaxing and kicking back with a good book or, better yet, my laptop, is much more enjoyable.” Actually, this article indicates that listening to yourself and recognize the “unusual” aches and pains. Thus suggesting there is normal aches and pains to be experienced. Well, I didn’t learn a thing to make running more enjoyable. So my question is, make running more enjoyable than WHAT? I do enjoy running more than root canals. I enjoy running more than kidney stones. I enjoy running more than allergies, being bitten by a dog, doing laundry, pulling weeds, hitting my funny bone, the flu, yearly exams, or brain freezes. So in that essence, okay. I do enjoy running. But boy, I sure can think of a bunch of stuff I like a whole lot more. This article taught me nothing. Two thumbs down from me. I mean, I was expecting it to say something like: 1) Run while eating a double scoop ice cream cone. (That could totally be fun) 2) Run with a juggling clown. (I’m laughing all ready). 3) Run while listening to “The Office” or “Modern Family” or “In the Middle.” (Those shows crack me up). 4) Run while wearing rose colored glasses. (Oooohhh . . . I love pink). 5) Run while dressed from head to toe in pink, while listening to Pink, and drinking strawberry milk and chewing pink bubblegum. (This one is my favorite). 6) Run with a parrot on your shoulder and a patch over your eye. (One of these days, I’m going to do it too. Just you wait.) 7) Run while carrying a fake Olympic torch. (Could you imagine?) 8) Run around the exterior of your favorite store, or better yet, run around the INTERIOR of your favorite store. (Khol’s, here I come). 9) Run while screaming, “The aliens are coming! The aliens are coming!” (See, these suggestions are fun and would TOTALLY make running much more enjoyable and interesting). *If any of you should happen to utilize and actually do any of my above suggestions, and can prove it, I will send you a crisp $1 dollar bill. IF you do numbers #5, #6, or #8, I will send you TEN crisp dollar bills. (Proof is a must). *I am thinking about running a 5K on the 21st of August, but my desire level is nil. I need a goal, but I don’t want a goal. It’s a tug a war. So, we’ll see.
1 Comment
Oh, I forgot too . . . my other lovely injury—the bra-strap-dug-a-groove-into-the shoulders-injury.
I’m wearing Band-aids on my shoulders even as I write this. Oh, that bra was a killer—rubbing me raw!! I feel like I have a sunburn on my shoulders. But in defense of the bra, it had a tough job to do—supporting a rather large load while running down hill. There is no bra in the world that could have helped me there. I should have whipped it off and ran freely—that would have been a sight (a scary sight). So yes, I have many blisters and two matching grooves on my shoulders. My thighs are killing me and I walk down stairs like an 80 year old person. BUT, I did wear high heels to church today. I almost wore my medal to church too—I earned it baby. It’s my new bling. J  It all started at 3:30am. The night before, Scott’s 3 cousin’s spent the night at our place (the 4th cousin met us at 4:00am) and then we packed it up and drove to Logan. My stomach was full of butterflies. Was I really going to do this? Really? Even as we drove, I kept trying to think of a way out of this predicament.
I committed myself to the Ragnar race. It was too late. I mean, I could “run away,” but I am so gosh dang slow, anyone from my team could have out run me and dragged me back. I had to do it. Nuts! I kept my goals for myself quite simple. Goal #1: Survive. Goal #2: Complete all three of my legs (13.1 miles). Goal #3: Run more than I have ever run. Goal #4: No swearing or flipping the bird (this was going to be the hardest one to accomplish. I like to cuss some, only some, and that darn middle finger tends to have a mind of its own). But, I am proud to say (yes, in this circumstance I am prideful) I completed all 4 of my goals. My first run as around 9:00/9:30am time and was 5.1 miles. The funny thing, for some weird reason, I don’t remember much of this run. I guess it was okay. I remember the kindness of other runners as the ran past me, “You’re doing so good” or “Just a little more, you can do it.” I kept my finger down. I only swore in my mind. Just kidding. Other runners were very kind and very supportive. So many different types of runners out there too—speedy ones, slow ones, walkers. It was all good, all for fun. Even the different communities were awesome—passing out waters or squirting us down with hoses or misters. I did not meet one mean runner. That is all I can remember of that run—I did see a water fall and I do remember the road sloped to the left and my left foot took a beating. My second run was 4.2 miles and I ran that around 9:00pm. I was looking forward to this one—cool weather, flat terrain—I should be fine. I actually stood there at the transition going, “COME ON!! Hand me the baton. Let me get this done!” I was revving to go. (Can you believe that?) Well, I wasn’t fine. My feet took a beating in the first leg—blisters a blooming. I used mole skin, I thought all was well. OH, NO!!! About 2 miles into the run and my left foot was on fire. It hurt so bad. New blisters formed and I could barely put my foot down (I had tears in my eyes, but I was determined to finish). There was actually one point I thought, “I’m going to take my shoe off. I’m taking it off. I am. I can’t wear this shoe. I'm going to chuck it as far as I can.” But that would have been counterproductive. I felt like I was wearing a heating pad on my foot--our team name was the "Burning Sensations" and I was having a burning sensation of my own. This leg I walked most of it. It hurt. It hurt bad. I got to the end, flopped myself in the cool grass, and whipped off that shoe so fast. The damage: blister on the heal; blister on the pad of my foot that snaked its way in between my big toe and the middle one; blister on my pinkie toe; and my fourth toe was no longer a toe at all—just a gigantic blister. I placed that foot in the cold grass and wondered how in the world I was going to complete my 3rd leg in the morning. Once done with this section, my 5 teammates in Van 1 went to Kamas, Utah to a high school to sleep while van 2 ran their legs of the race. We slept on the gym floor. There were so many other runners there, you would have thought the place would be crazy with talking and laughter and chit-chatting the night away. Nope. None of that was happening. Everyone was dead to the world. I didn’t think I would be able to sleep, but amazingly enough I did. I was exhausted. Third leg of the race, my run was 3.8 miles mostly downhill and started around 9:00am in the morning. So how did I do it with blisters, you ask? (This part is gross. You may want to skip down a little. Just as a warning.) Well, I popped every blister, squeezed them flat, and wrapped the heck out of them with tape and moleskin. (Picture above). My socks were loose. I had purchased new socks right before the race (a big no-no, because they didn’t fit right—too big) and so one of my teammates gave me one of her tighter socks to wear (yes, dirty, but at this point it didn’t matter). I was excited for this leg and determined to run most of it. What I remember most about this leg of the race was the fact that my support van (my team) was nowhere to be found. Usually, they hand you water every mile or so and check to see how you’re doing. I got to mile 2 and no van, no water. I had to bum water off another van for another team. I ran a lot of that downhill leg and my stupid team members never saw any of it. Nope. It wasn’t until I had made it down to the main highway when they finally came to check on me. At that point, I didn't need them. (In their defense, we had one team member who was very sick and they had to take her to find a honey bucket—that’s a crapper unless you didn’t know—and a honey bucket it is NOT). THEN, as a lovely, lovely surprise, the Ragnar people went and stuck a small dirt hill at the end of my run—I was NOT expecting that. I usually try to run the last mile or so, but not on that one. That little hill kicked my behind. Oh, and one thing I noticed too, it seemed like whenever I got the last mile marker of a leg, that mile seemed to take FOREVER. What’s with that? When I climbed up that hill and saw the Ragnar volunteer who called out the numbers so the next runners could get ready, I asked him, “Who the heck put this hill here?” (Notice I used the “Utah” cuss word here . . . wink, wink—keeping to my goals up above). Yes, I did it. I ran/walked my behind off—I told my team members that I was a walker, and should they happen to see me running, well, that was just a bonus). I felt stronger my 3rd leg. I really did—blisters and all. Once my foot went numb, it was great J Actually, the whole thing wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. We were super stinky, but we laughed a ton and had a good time. Would I do it again . . . you know, I never thought I would say this, but maybe I would be willing to give it another go around—and maybe next time I would be even better at it J ** Van 1 of the "Mom’s in Motion"—there were actually times I did run. I did. You just never saw it. You caught me at the wrong times (the I-am-too-pooped-to-run-this-stupid-race-anymore-just-get–me-to-the-end-wrongtimes, except for leg 2 in which I walked most of it because my foot was on fire). And Holly, you rocked it my sister-friend. Thanks for the sweaty hug, you crazy runner you and you can drink my water anytime! You guys are awesome—just like I knew you would be. It was so cool to see you and cheer you on—Sam, Erica, Melissa, Holly, Melodie, Lisa. That was fun for me—even when Holly whizzed past me. (Notice I didn’t even once flip her the bird or curse her in my mind.) You just better not have marked me as a kill, because that would be wrong and pathetic—I’m easy prey. Yep, the big day is tomorrow (with a follow-up day on Saturday). The “R” word . . . RAGNAR. Okay, how do I keep my stomach from doing flip-flops everything I say “Ragnar.” Oops, there it goes again.
Ay, yi, yi . . . Am I really going to do this? 13.1 miles stretched out into 3 legs of the race over a two day period . . . Really? Back in October when they asked me, I really should have thought about it a little more before I said “Sure.” Really, I should have. The other day, Scott asked if I wanted to do the 2011 race (teams that signup to do so, this weekend, are guaranteed to run the race next year). Umm . . . I haven’t run this year’s yet, why would I commit to doing next years when just the idea of this year’s scares me? I need to run one first to see if I have it within me to cheat death. No, I don’t think I will say yes to next year’s race. I’m good. I think I am still at the 5K level. My hopes and dreams do not include running marathons, or even half marathons ,or even a half of a half a marathon. There are people who truly enjoy that kind of thing—pushing their bodies to the limit. Me? Well, my body really hates the idea of being pushed. My body is like, “Hey, what’s the hurry? Why must we do this? Let’s finger paint.” I don’t need to climb a mountain. I don’t need to run from one ocean to another (sounds delightful though) or throw myself off a cliff to find enjoyment within my life. I’m good. My sense of success comes from other things. I am not a thrill seeker or a finder of bodily pain. No, I’m not (I’m a finder of comfort and relaxation—a finder of massages and pedicures). Tomorrow is it. The big “R” word. I take a deep breath. I will walk/run my buns off. Everyone says it’s going to be fun, but I’m not sure how that is possible. At this point, I will have to take their word for it. Please pray for me. Actually, I am open to all religious dominations and beliefs at this point. If you have an in by chanting or performing a running dance or such, I’m all for it. No black magic. I must draw the line at the dark Lord . . . though, I was slightly temped to include him as well. (Just kidding. I was going for the joke. Satan sucks.) Remember me. Just know that I could use all the help I can get.   Okay, running gives me blisters—sister blisters, one for each foot. They have been my constant companion for three weeks now. I wear thicker socks. I wear moleskin. Nothing—they keep appearing.
I have a gift certificate for a pedicure that I can’t use—my feet are yucky. I bought insoles for my shoes to see if that will help. Otherwise, 13.1 miles will leave me a blistered, bloody mess. Ugg, this race is in two weeks—two weeks. My heart and stomach do flip-flops when I think of it. It’s gonna hurt. It’s gonna suck. But I hang in there because everyone says it’s gonna be fun. Hmm . . . do I trust them? So, what do I do for blisters? How do I make them go away and keep them from coming back? I don’t know. I’ve got to figure it out though or I’m in a heap of trouble. Yes, scared should equal spurred into action to do better, right? Wrong. Now that the Ragnar is two weeks away, I should be training nearly every day and I should have been training faithfully for the past while, right? Wrong, #2.
I think I’ve gotten to the point that I am so nervous about this whole thing, that I have shut down. Why? I don’t know. I was training so hard before and now, well, not so much. I guess I figure the Ragnar is REALLY going to suck, and that is the way it is. I already know I will be walking most of it since I am a big fan of breathing. For me it isn’t the bad knee, or jarred joints . . . it’s all about the breathing or lack of being able to do so, even with my extra-strength inhaler. Yes, I am a fan of breathing—I like breathing. Honestly, I don’t hate running as much as I used to, now that I embrace my limits. I run and know that when my chest tightens, I can stop. It’s okay. My Ragnar teammates are okay—they just want me there. The pressure has been lifted. The tears from feeling like a failure are slowing and I am realizing that, gosh darn it, walkers are people too (Scott’s aunt who is in van #2 and participating in the Ragnar is a walker. This is her motto. Love you LouRee). I AM A WALKER WHO HAPPENS TO RUN A LITTLE. This is who I am . . . and it’s okay. The Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back Organization sent out an email this morning to notify all the runners of the new safety rule changes. I read through it. I agreed with most of the changes and I understand the need for safety. Just this past fall at the Nevada, Las Vegas Ragnar Relay (my husband and his family participated) there was a gentleman who was hit by a car and killed while he was in the process of giving water to one of his team members. So I get it. When I go out running/walking I am very cautious. There are so many stupid drivers out there. Runners need to be careful—very careful.
There is one rule, that I get, I really do, but I am dreading. The NO HEADPHONES while running rule. When I read that, my heart plummeted to the bottom of my stomach. No music. No distraction (which is why the no headphone rule. Runners should not be distracted). But, I need this distraction. I need to be zoning out to something so I can get out of the mind frame of how very much running sucks. Now, I will be able to run/walk my 13.1 miles and be painfully aware of it the whole time. I find this cruel and unusual. What am I going to do? Oh, this is going to suck. It is going to suck real bad. Just me and my thoughts of how much this sucks for 13.1 long miles. I shudder. Did I mention how much this is going to suck? Oh, boy. Can’t I just paint myself a bright orange or yellow and wear the safety vest at all times while twirling flares in both hands AND listen to my music too? Come on. I’m willing to dress in neon. I’m willing to wear a red clown wig. Just please oh please oh please don’t make me have to think thoughts while I’m running/walking. For the love of that’s good in the world, PLEASE! I beg the Ragnar Gods to reconsider. Last year a woman was running in Farmington listening to an iPOD and she was hit by a car (there were other circumstances involved as well). The man who was killed at the Vegas Ragnar, he was not wearing headphones and the person who hit him was drunk. Crap happens. I appreciate the extra effort t keep us safe. I am thankful. And if it comes down to it, I will do it (but I don’t want to). Okay runners, I know you’re out there. You read this blog. Tell me what you think? Let me know how you plan to run without music, what your plan is. Leave a comment. It’s easy to do. I promise. I want to hear from you. I have decided I am going to have to change my website name to Whimsy, Writing and WALKING. I’m a walker. I embrace this fact. I accept my limitations. Give me a sticker name tag that reads: HELLO I’m a Walker.
Running sucks. I do not believe it is going to get much better than it is—not in one month’s worth of time (maybe in a year or two from now, but not one month). There is something wrong with me; something about my body, my person that does not agree with running. I figured I needed to let my Ragnar Team know this fact. I was willing to step aside and allow another runner to take my place. I was fine with that. I just wanted them to be aware of what to expect from me. This is what I got back from one team member (I love her): Well, the longer it takes your van to do their runs, the more time I get to relax and even sleep, so I am all for a walker or two in the mix. But my guess is Scott wants you around because its fun and its even more fun with your spouse to snuggle w/ at night and cheer on in the day. I want you along for the memories, the general bonding that takes place, the friendship, and so much more than the speed of your feet. Your have a spirited wit, cleverness and willingness to be silly, I love that! That is what makes this soooo fun. Don't even think twice about speed. However, its your choice and if you just don't want to come, then we won't pressure you. I may ask you to babysit my kids though (our babysitter got invited to DC and how can you blame her for cancelling??) So think about it. IF its not fun, then we aren't doing it right. Love you jen Don’t you just love that line “I want you along for the memories . . . as so much more than the speed of your feet.” Wow, the amount of pressure that lifted from my shoulders. I love Jen. I love her cute family . . . but when she asked if I would watch her three LOVELY boys (they are lovely) plus my three kids, then I started thinking that 13.1 miles doesn’t sound all as bad . So my Ragnar Team, I make you a couple of promises: Promise #1) I will complete my legs of the race. Promise #2) I will keep my cursing to a minimum. Promise #3) I will not to flip any one off. Promise #4) I will provide comedic relief, which will hopefully make up for my lack of athleticism. I promise to make you laugh While I walk my legs of the race (I might mix it up a little and run a tiny bit), my other 11 Ragnar team members better be resting up and preparing to make up my time. I figure, if the rest of you can do a 6 minute mile or less to make up for my 15 minute mile, then all will work out. We won’t come in last place. So run your little hearts out. Train, train, train . . . cause I’m a walking.  I have not blogged for awhile for a couple of reasons. Reason #1: I’ve been writing a lot on my novel and I enjoy it tremendously. Reason #2 I hate running. My last couple of running trips ended poorly and so now it’s hard to convince myself that I want to keep doing it at all. Reason #3 The Ragnar is just a little over a month away and I am struggling to figure out how in the world I am going to accomplish this impossible task and Reason #4 I just got back from a trip with my family to New York City.
So what to write about? I guess I will hit on all four reasons above. Reason #1: This little story of mine is taking off. My passion is writing, and this particular novel has pushed me to the brinks of every possible emotion a writer can feel—unsure, thrilled, excited, fanatical, depressed. It’s endless actually. These fictional characters, a boy of 15 and a girl of 12, tug at my mothering heartstrings, so that when I have to write an unpleasant scene, it literally hurts my heart and pains me. I have poured my all into this story. Writing is what I want to do. I think I am good at it. That is my hope. Reason #2: Running is not what I want to do. It is not something I am good at doing. Maybe someday I will be “okay” at it, but I fear that goal is far reaching—years down the road perhaps. Running is not easy. I have tried. I have tried a lot, and I have come to the point that running is not my thing. Some people enjoy it; get a runners high and a feeling of a sense of accomplishment by doing it. Not me. Am I not allowed to admit this? Am I not allowed to say, I tried it and it just didn’t work for me? So, yeah, in the past two weeks I have only went running twice. Running depresses me. Why in the world would I want to keep doing it. Reason #3: The Ragnar. This is the reason I must keeping trying to run. This is why I do it. It is coming. It is coming up quickly. Just thinking about it makes me want to pee my pants. It scares me to death. 13.1 miles of running. Why, oh why in the world did I commit myself to something as insane as this? I wish I could go back in time (anyone have a time machine out there I could borrow?) It’s too late now. I can only do what I can do and pray that somehow I live through it. (In case something should happen to me, I have a green journal with my final requests written down. Thumb through it, it’s somewhere in the middle, and do EXACTLY as I have requested. I will be watching and swear I will haunt you if you don’t). Reason #4: New York. New York how I love thee! A whirlwind trip for sure. I love New York. It is a remarkable place—more people crammed into the tiny space of Manhattan than I think could ever possibly fit (that’s why there are so many tall buildings there—no room for people to walk around on the ground, they had to put some of them up in the sky). I hope my kids enjoyed it and will look back and say, remember that time we flew to New York for the day? It was totally wicked! That’s what I want, great experiences for my children. Did a day trip to New York wipe me out? Oh, yeah. Completely. Was it worth it? Definitely. So, those are my reasons for not blogging. I will do better. I will try harder. I will write today. I will run today. This way I will have something to blog about tomorrow. You know that commercial in which people yell, “Red one!” or “Blue one!” and punch the person next to them in the shoulder? Well, me and my kids have our own version. Called: “Fast runner!” “Slow runner!” or “Runner with dog!”
It’s my own fault really. I live in Farmington. People in Farmington, Centerville, and even as far as Bountiful, like to run. They’re everywhere. There are many days in which we can easily count a half dozen or more. One day we counted up to ten. Rarely, if ever, is there a day we don’t see at least one runner. This game happened to start with me. It didn’t originally start off as a game, but more as an observation. I’d point and say, “Look! There’s a runner. They look happy.” I always look. I want to see beads of sweat and faces puffed out in an attempt to catch their breath. I have yet to see this. Every one of them, even the slow ones, look as though running is no big deal, like their pleased as punch to be doing it. My kids love this game, “Look mom, there’s one!” Then they slug me in the shoulder. I look as these runners with wide eyes, like a child at the zoo watching an exotic animal. I’m intrigued. I don’t get it. It is a strange wonder, a different species. The Ragnar is quickly approaching. I am terrified (13.1 miles . . . are you kidding me?). I am learning some things: my calf muscles are getting stronger, while my lungs are not (my new asthma inhaler does not appear to be making much difference). I have learned that if I do not use my inhaler at least 15 minutes prior to running, and then walk a little bit to warm up my lungs to get them prepared , I will only get a mile into it and throw up. If I don’t carry my inhaler on my person, then the measly one mile back to my car is horrendous. This happened yesterday. My worst running experience to date. But now I know exactly what I did wrong. I will not repeat it. Have I mentioned that I am a slow learner as well as a slow runner? I will run tomorrow. I will put into practice what I know works for me. I need to stop comparing myself to other runners, which is a hard thing to do (even as I write this I have tears in my eyes). I want to be better. I want to do well at this, or at least be average. Maybe even a little below average would be nice—I would be quite content with that. You know how your kids are graded from 0-3? I would love to be a 1. Being a 0 sucks. I don’t like the idea of “losing” at anything. If I put my mind to something, then shouldn’t I be able to accomplish it? Why then does this have to be so gosh darn difficult? Am I a runner? Heck no. Should I quit? Probably. Will I? We’ll see. For now, I will keep trying. |
My Face...Enjoy!
Ahh, the fruits of my labors...
Blogs & Websites You Should Visit
Click for more info about Mallory Rock, Cover Designer
Click for more info about Megan Harris, Editor
Blog AwardsCategories
All
FUN STUFF  
 
 |
