Why not Wednesday...

Checking in from Brooklyn NYC!  Don't ask me how I ended up in Brooklyn, between booking a room for a set of meetings requiring the overnight stay in Manhattan getting canclled and not a day later another meeting getting scheduled with the same requirement, of course I couldn't get the original room and ended up out in Brooklyn versus Midtown for the night. 

This mornings conversation with one of the admins:
Liz:  "Beth, how is it you come in to the city once a week from RI and are here at 8:30?"
Me:  "Ah, it is much easier commute earlier?"
Liz:  "Your nuts. Hey, we have the department holiday thing tomorrow. Are you coming in tomorrow?"
Me:  "Yep"
Liz:   "Please tell me you are staying overnight."
Me:  "Brooklyn"
Liz *looking very concerned*:  "Where, exactly?"
Me:  "The Sheraton on Duffield Street" 
Liz:  "That isn't a great neighborhood. You couldn't find something in Midtown?"
Me:  "Ah, no... Well, it will be an adventure!"
Liz:  "You are simply not right in the head are you?"
Me:  "Your just figuring this out?"

I met up with a gal pal I haven't seen in far too long for some dinner and drinks and catching up.  But that isn't why you tune in...

Monday was batshit crazy at work so no squeezing in a run for me... blargh...  Although I do need to give my knee a break, so all in all for the best.  TRX was on the agenda and good as always.  I'm nearly able to complete rolling planks for the full 30 seconds.  Whoop!

Tuesday I got to run, and nearly 6 miles.  Yeah, why didn't I just keep going the extra 0.03?  I thought I did...  oh well.  But hey, my minute per mile pace is improving!!



Green shirt to remember a friend!

It was a yucky cloudy rainy day.  The rain started getting a little more serious as I was finishing up.  Hmm  I should have gone another, mile I like running in the rain.  Stretching in the gym after I met up with someone asking if it was raining outside.  "Ah, yeah, and getting a little bit more serious about it."  She said, "You LIKE running in the rain?"  As if there is something wrong with it?  I replied that I liked it and she replied that she didn't like to get her shoes wet.  Huh, never really considered that...  oh well.  I can't stand the dreadmill. To each his own.  Although I do sort of feel sorry for the hampsters on the dreadmill when I venture outside for my run.  Maybe they think I'm nuts?  Feh, whatever...  I'm happy, and that is what matters, right?

What are your thoughts on the dreadmill?  Running in the rain?  Wet shoes?

So now we are at Wednesday.  I remember my few years at Star Prairie Elementary School in Star Prairie Wisconsin and spelling.  Not sure which grade, Mrs. Kanutson or Mrs. Fish and the name of the 4th grade teacher escapes me.  Huh...  well February and Wednesday were two words I could NEVER get correct.  Ok milk was also one, but that was because of phonics and I say it "melk" and well it isn't spelled like it sounds.  Anyhoodles, whichever teacher sat me down and sounded out  wednesday and februaryand how to spell them, thank you!  Each time I spell one or the other I think Feb RU ary and Wed Nes Day.  Educators are an important part of our lives and society and they just don't get the recognition they deserve.

I'll get to run again on Friday, hopefully on the trail, but work is batshit crazy, so perhaps not...

Sincerely,
Beth, in Brooklyn

Self Doubt

All high on an endorphin buzz from Marine Corps and three new Marathon girlfriends I signed up willingly for the Rock n' Roll marathon in Phoenix AZ, January 20, 2013.  I am off my training plan, not FAR off my training plan, but off enough to freak me out that this marathon is a month and a half away and I haven't been on longer than a 16 mile run.   What I NEED To do is take sometime and review my MCM training plan and what actually happened against where I am right now in the AZ Rn'R training plan.  I bet if I look at the data I am not so far off.  Have I done this? No, not yet.  Will I? Of course.

Yesterdays 5.8 was good.  I figured I could run 14 today and be good for 20 for the weekend.  I managed 11.5 and walked the remaining 0.5 home.  My right knee, and the IT band.  Wonder if it was running back to back or my shoes?  I ran in the Asics Kayano 19 yesterday and the 18 today.  They both have nearly the same amount of mileage on them and the Green Feet inserts, so hmm..  I'll pack the 19s for tomorrows at work short run and see?  Or maybe it is the short run?  Have to see if I've worn the 19s on a longer run.

My loop around the park I spied a father and son.  The son was having a blast playing in the leaves, so sweet. He kicked them up into a big pile for the little guy and the little guy was having a blast running up to and jumping in the leaves.  Ah childhood, the innocence, the freedom.  Youth is really wasted on the young, isn't it?

Father and Son playing in the leaves. 

I continued on with my route, I was a little later in the a.m. than usual so I didn't see the usual suspects, sort of sucked, but hey that it what you get when you have other things to do first thing in the a.m.  It was time to get rid of the gray and tame the wild mane, sometimes, vanity takes a front seat.  

I was sort of feeling like a long run and sort of not.  Still a bit in my funk from Friday that carried over from Saturday?  Or maybe it is like Frank Sinatra says "I feel sorry for people who don't drink.  When they wake up in the morning that's the best they are going to feel all day."  Or it is just the crummy Michigan gray weather we are having here in Southern Rhode Island were the sun USUALLY shines!

Along the way I took in the sights, ran my out and backs with traffic instead of against traffic (there is no traffic, so not really with or against traffic, but you get my meaning.  I was just trying to give my left leg a break from the camber of the road) this enabled me to see different sights.  Which was really cool, a whole different perspective and new things around every corner!

Couple things that caught my eye, other than the blue jays who wouldn't hold still for a picture!

This fence post just struck me as interesting.

The stairs to no where.  Wonder what they once went to?

By about 11.5 miles my right knee was really bugging me so I slowed to a walk (as you can see in my splits in the stats below).  Maybe it was the camber on the road.  Maybe it was that I didn't start running until nearly 11 a.m. Maybe it just was.

Yeah, really apathetic aren't I?  I should be happy I CAN run while there are a couple people out there facing challenges and pain when they run.  So why am I having self doubt?  Or am I?  Is this normal? Buller? Anyone?  

Stats:

Consistency once again!!!  

Sincerely,

Beth who better freaking snap out of it!

Music

Between work and life in general I was wiped out emotionally and physically on Friday.  Couple that with getting out of work later than planned, not being able to find my check book, realizing I hadn't let my water bottle dry and it was moldy, and just feeling rather toxic meant that it was really important I honor my commitment to myself to go to Yoga Detox on Friday nights. I really just wanted to dive into the bottle of Jameson Gold Reserve I received from an Irish colleague.  I reminded myself of my commitment to Yoga and I would feel much better and appreciate my special bottle of Irish whiskey all that much more AFTER yoga and a few errands.

The pose of the night was bhujapidasana.  This requires quite a bit of hip, core, and lower back warm up and opening.  Of course arm strength and balance once in the pose.  Heidi got us all warmed up and then demonstrated the pose, all I could think was, wow, we were really going to be pretzels tonight!

Bjujapidasana - Shoulder Pressing Balance
PhotoCredits:  http://mikon.1g.fi/kuvat/2010/jooga/

Pretty cool, eh?

After a quick trip to the grocery store and a protracted process of trying to figure out how to get AT the bottle of Jameson in its fancy schmancy box I did get to settle in and enjoy this fine whiskey.  Ahhhh...  Nice end to the work week and a welcome to the weekend.

For whatever reason, perhaps a dog's foot in my face? or another dog insisting on sharing my pillow AND snoring (I can deal with the pillow sharing, the snoring, not so much)? or the cloudy, gray, raw day?  Getting out of bed was not a priority and not pleasant.  Eventually it had to happen.

My facebook post this a.m. was "Smith woke up grouchy, now she is going for a run maybe that will help? Blargh"

I did run and I did feel better.  Maybe it was just getting up.  Maybe it was just getting out.  Maybe it was just doing something. Maybe it was the random play list.  I flipped the shuffle on shuffle and was given this play list:

Captured after the fact!  So cool!!  Yes the weirdest things make me smile.

Somehow each song helped me reflect on the last week and lightened my mood.  Starting with The Cars telling me "Let's Go" to the Paper Birds "Lost Boys" helping me up that first hill ending with Kid Rock reminding me summer will be here before I know it.  I really focused on just running and moving forward.

"Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent."  -- Victor Hugo

"Without music, life would be an error."  -- Friedrich Nietszche

How does, or does music influence you?  What are some of the songs that get you out of a funk? What are some of the songs on your play list?

Stats:

Spikes were where I had to wait for traffic lights.  Not to shabby for a grouch!

Sincerely,
Beth, a bit less grouchy!