Motivation

I was lying (or is it laying, lying, I was right, whoop) on the couch this morning,  Gizzy at my feet,  catching up on WWF and Scramble.  Scrolled through Facebook.  Connie did her longest run ever 4.5 miles, GO CONNIE!!!  Kudos to you!!  The Endorphin Dude (I'd love to meet him some day) is running his 99th marathon.  The 5th member of the Fab 5, Erwin, is running the San Diego R&R half 6th on his quest for 13 in '13.  The girls and I roped him into doing Marine Corps with us in October (more on that later). Team Tuez kicked off their 90 miles in 60 days + 1,000 conditioning exercises today and the miles are rolling in.  Marie (who gave up updating her blog, woman get back to it, you have stuff to say!!) finished her run looking fresh as a daisy, how does she do it!?!? Nicole's awesome pic from her 5 miles along the Charles yesterday.  Poked over to Strava to see what the guys were up to.  Boy did I feel like a freaking slug.  It isn't the times, it is the miles.  Damn...  here I am sitting at a big fat zero for the month of June.  Still dizzy when I stand up, sit up, roll over, or open my eyes to fast.  Hubb thinks my childhood blonde hair is taking over, ever the supportive smart ass is he.  Big puffy hearts.

I got off my lazy bum before 10 and went out for my "around the house loop" and added in a lap around the Westerly HS Track.  Figure that works nicely with my remembrance loop around Wilcox Park?  Wow the track is nice and squishy too, weird.  I didn't really think of anyone in particular on my Wilcox loop, what was I thinking of? who knows, probably just to not twist my ankle on the uneven slabs around the fountain. When my MCM training starts the loop in the park is dedicated in support of or in memory of someone with lung cancer.

Fountain in Wilcox park, and the granite is uneven, although really doesn't  look it... hmmm

So there you have it, proof I'm really not a total slug run...  3.5 (hilly) miles / 37:03 min / 10:35 pace. Thanks all for the motivation!  OK bringing out my competitive streak...

What motivates you? What keeps you motivated?  Are you competitive with yourself?  With others?

I felt pretty good after my run and a shower, and the humidity sees to be waning, yipiee!!  Hubb decided we needed to rekindle the Sunday lunch tradition (tragically ending when 10 Sandwiches burned in March) he agreed with my suggestion to go to The Malted Barley for Pretzel Sandwiches, and a beer.  Heck if I'm going to feel dizzy anyhow...   After that I packed up the elder dog, Gizmo, for a hike at Bluff Point to explore some trails.  We were out there 104 minutes, I did something or something happened to the Strava App and it cut a nice straight point A to point B line and point D to point C line when I knew we twirled around on trails for the missing 54 minutes (Stravagate anyone?) We go at under a 20 min/mile pace, I'd say we went 5.2 miles.



That old pup is going to sleep like the dead tonight.  He is going strong for a 12 and 1/2 year old boxer boy.

Sincerely,
Beth, thanking you ALL for the motivation to get some miles in, and feeling better (just in time for work on Monday phttt)

All GPS Are Not The Same

Michael (or do you normally go by Mike) these shortened names befuddle me.  My name as it is on my birth certificate is Beth.  My hippie parents tell two stories:

1. My father wanted my initials to spell something and my last name starts with an L.   They also wanted to name me after a very strong woman, Elizabeth, on my mom's side of the family.  This sort of left them with not a lot of options:  EARL, EGAL, ENOL, EORL, EVIL, EXUL.  But B, come on, BELL completely cute for a little girl.
2. They both wanted something easy to spell, and some variation of Elizabeth, again the whole strong woman thing.

Elizabeth, went by Lizzie, was mugged once, the Chicago police had to pull her OFF the mugger as he was yelling for her to stop.  That is the story as I remember it, and I'm sure it is pretty darn close to the truth.

Oh and I get referred to as BLS because I married a man who's last name is Smith and there was no way I was ever going to be Beth Smith, because, yeah, no...  I'll hyphenate, thank you very much.

Anyhoodles, got WAY off course there, but that plays well into my experiment today. Michael mentioned that the iPhone app for Strava was more accurate than the 'space watch'.  Muddy said that the 'space watch' looses you under cover of woods so up the miles, example 9.48 trail miles is more likely 10 trail miles.

Tuesday night I took Gus on a hike and tracked the miles using the Strava iPhone app, to see how the app worked.  Easier to fiddle with something hiking than running, right? Worked very nice. I even used it on my run with Nicole last night because I misplaced my Garmin.  Called home to see if I left it on the kitchen counter.  Hubb assured me I left Herman, wait Herman, it has a name now? on the kitchen counter and that my sunglasses were still very much lost.  My Midwest enunciation, or lack there of, gives him plenty of fodder for teasing.

This afternoon I took Gizmo on a hike and used both the Strava iPhone app and Herman.  I started both at the same time and off at the same time.

Herman tracked 2.1 miles
Strava iPhone tracked 2.8 miles

0.7 miles is a HUGE difference.  However on a very short number of miles.  There is probably something statistically significant about this, what that is, not really sure.  However, there is a high probability of a discrepancy.  I'll try both on my next longer run in the woods and see what happens.  This also explains why most, probably all, of my races in the woods come up short on miles?  Wonder if this would qualify for Mythbusters?

Oh and my miles, to the tenth, 5.3, matched Nicoles Garmin, we were running in town not totally relevant to the experiment, no woods. However, thought it was a good thing to mention.

Tomorrow is the Delaney Dash 4 Miler in Old Saybrook, CT part of the Shoreline Road Race series.  Bib pick up was today and the swag was a tote bag (never have enough of these), bottle opener for the key chain, and a beverage cozy.  Very cool!

7 is generally a good number for me,  714 would have been pretty cool, though...

Looking forward to running, or with the weather forecast, sloshing, with Don, OK reality -->  meeting up with him and his Bride at the finish line.  I'll also be on the look out for Jim aka Pete Zaria...  nice to finally put a name or rather names with a familiar face from so many local 5Ks.

Sincerely,
Beth, curious about this GPS and looking forward to a run in the rain!

Wordless Wednesday

Mostly wordless....

Took Gus on a hike to try out the Strava iPhone app, very cool.  Even better, he may make a good trail running partner.  He wasn't so good on the roads with that ever oppressive leash.  He stuck by me, even before he knew I had bribes in my pocket, never straying more than 20 feet.

Happy Boxer Boy!

We've only gone to the beach together, he isn't so good with other dogs, rather unpredictable....  he is a rescue, after spending 18 months of his 3 living years in puppy prison (AKA kennel) he is neurotic and insecure.  He has been with us nearly 2.5 years, July he will be 6.  I always took him to the beach or Ninigret park because it is open and easy to spot people with dogs, the woods, not so much. So rarely do I run into another person with a dog, I may try him for a short trail run.  He is a pleaser, and seems to have gotten even MORE attached to me since Sage's death in January.

Sincerely,
Beth (and the hubb) rescuer of hard luck Boxers....

Musings on a Monday

Hubb was asking me about Strava last night.  Something about QOMs / CRs or something and what did I use to track my runs other than the Garmin?  He isn't quite ready for tracking his rides, competitive, he is very very much, but to own up to it?  I'm a little dubious…   I know a few people who use Stravat and Rhody Seth mentioned you can track shoes.  So, yeah, I signed up last night.  Thanks for the follow Michael.  I can sync with my Garmin, so very cool, quite pleased with that.  I spent the evening downloading and adding in the shoe data for my post MCM race data.  That is when I switched to new shoes.  This is a pretty cool program, I still need to really spend sometime and poke around.  Definitely a data junkies paradise!

I have the Map My Fitness app on the iPhone and I've used that when I forget my Garmin or I haven’t charged it…  that is OK, but nothing I’m really attached to.  I did find I could load my Garmin data but then there was really nothing to do with it, so, yeah, kinda pointless...  I use it more to see what my few MMF friends are up to, and give them some encouragement.  Then there is Daily Mile, Map My Run, and a boat load of other apps I think Nike has one.  I was a little dubious starting yet another tracking devices...

I've seen this nifty graphic in blogs and wowza, so easy to pull into my blog.  None of the cropping and pasting and rigmarole with the Garmin graphics.



So cool they give you the code to down load into a blog.  Nifty!!

Not even a whole day with this and I'm digging it.  I've only spent an hour looking at this so, all y’all experts happy to hear your advice, comments, and/or suggestions smart or smart assy.

Had a nice little 4.1 mile run at work today.  For some reason I had convinced myself it was rainy and chilly outside.  It was when I left for work, and even on my walk to the fitness center it didn't register it wasn't raining.  I even checked the temp, partly sunny 59F with 95% humidity and WNW wind at 8 MPH.  Still I just HAD to wear my long sleeve shirt from the Ice Age 50.  As I ran up the first hill I was greeted by a very wimpy car horn.  One of my co-workers driving back to site.  Oh goodie, I can tease him about his girly car horn.  It went something like this “ahem, excuse me” “beep” and his big burly hand waved out the car window.  Tee hee…  Because yeah, he commented,  Beth are you ALWAYS cold? It was a little warm for long sleeves.  And you really don't wear pants do you...  Oh stuff it Gar, stuff it and turn up the heat, please!!

Nice run, three days in a row, I’ll probably take tomorrow off and go on a hike with Gizmo, he hasn't been out of the house in a while.  Although Gus has been sticking like glue to me since I got home last Wednesday… poor guy, he must have missed me, maybe he needs a hike?  Feh, tomorrow is another day, depends on who is the most pitiful when I get home from work.

Gus, watching me leave for work last Friday, he does pitiful well, doesn't he?

Catching up on current events I found a story in National Geographic on Mount Everest http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/125-everest-maxed-out/jenkins-text?src=longreads  got me thinking about nature and trail running and endurance.   Somehow I expected that people trained for this feat of endurance and was surprised to learn that 90% of the climbers aren't experienced and expect they will summit.  I guess if you are forking over $30K - $120K you are coming at this from a different expectation level?  4,000 people have reached the summit and the author went on to say it makes it mean a little less than it did 50 years ago.

4,000 people really isn't that many people, far less than complete marathons and ultras.  Got me to thinking about my two marathons in 90 days, my 5:09 and my 5:01, I am incredibly proud to have these times.  I did it, and it felt great don’t get me wrong, but really isn't this kind of like the more people who summit Everest make the prize that much less.  I recall back to a blog post from The EJN Show, about finishers medals and tourists in races.  I’m incredibly torn up inside over this…  I’m not fast by any means, I need to put in the effort and I will be.  It is enough to just have done it? Or not?  I think about the Gansett Marathon, the only means of entry are qualification.  I like that.  Those are some impressive runners, and with only 3 marathons in the state of Rhode Island, adds just a touch more prestige to qualifying and running in it for those folks striving to run a marathon in all 50 states.

Yeah yeah, I get the ‘you are lapping everyone on the couch’ thing.  I love my friends who think I am amazing, special, inspirational.  I love even more the ones I've been able to inspire or support to do things they've only dreamed about doing. (ahem LN)  Either physical or life changes.  But deep down inside of me I wonder, should I even call myself an athlete?  Am I a problem with the runners of today?  Am I tourist in races? To someone who finishes in the top 10 or 20 is my presence an annoyance? I don't need a medal for a 5K but that was a cool medal for the St Pat 5K in Providence... Then I think back to my second lap on the Ice Age 50 ½ marathon.  There were 50K and 50 Milers passing me cheering me on.  Oh you better believe I cheered them on!  

5K Medal...  nifty? no?

Oh good lord, do I need to go to Sports Therapy?  Maybe I need to suck it up buttercup and just do it and not worry about anything? Any of you feel like this?  I can’t possibly be alone, can I?  It’s ok if I am.  

Ok enough of that whiny girly horse crap...  The other part of this article was about the litter, both garbage and human, as in bodies and excrement along the trails.  Oh my…  I've often wondered about the process of climbing a mountain and what gets left behind, I was thinking more of gear, things shoved in the cracks in a rock to harness ropes too, that sort of stuff, not bodies, feces, or even trash.  My hubb rides the trails I run and if he ever found a discarded GU package that could be by a remote chance mine, there would be words, and vice versa.

And I kind of stop musing at this point... and pause in wonder...  I can't imagine having the privilege of climbing to the top of the world and leaving behind those sorts of traces of my presence...  I get that we all have to eat and shit and we die.  But wow.  Fortunately it isn't out of control and can be cleaned up.

Over my vacation things got all out of sorts, I misplaced my nip bottle and found it when digging for running clothes at the gym... that and just a 'few' Hammer Gels my cousin horked for me...  thanks Tobi!!

Someone used my desk at work and readjusted everything and nosed around in the box where I keep my illegal space heater.  Fortunately I don't have to deal with going to Manhattan this week, because wowza it would be car, train, bus, train after the disaster on Friday afternoon.  When exactly would I sleep?  Feh, it is what it is and can all be righted!!

Sincerely,
Beth, kinda whiny, apologies, and really geeked over Strava!