Sunday Long Run Day

Saturday had 5 on the schedule which I declared as optional.  I have been worried about injuring myself.  As I’ve mentioned the PF is bothersome and pushing it is only going to result in injury.  I really am uncomfortable with calling Saturday an optional run.  To counter the aggressiveness of the schedule and my own need to move I will make Saturdays a WALK.  This will serve a couple purposes. Get me out of the house on a mission and help train for the Susan G Komen 60 mile walk in August.  Yikes that is only 4 weeks away, I think I will be fine,  I was in far worse shape last year!!


The 11 on the schedule somehow turned into 8 in my mind.  Not sure how that happened, my mind was sure it was an 8.  OK so I ran 8.3 and called it good.  Imagine my surprise when I looked over my schedule to record my stats for the week and saw an 11.  Oh shit!  Week 1 of training I logged 27.4 miles.  Week 2 of training I logged 20 miles.   OKAY,  BLS cut yourself some slack, we just started Week 3, and you have been running consistently and ‘long’ since the Half  Marathon in May. I think we can call this a little blip in the plan.  And like any plan the moment it is final it is obsolete!


So my run on Sunday evening.  I slept in on Sunday, by the time I actually woke up, 10 a.m. (IKR? What a bum!) Hubb had already fed the dogs and let them back in the Air Conditioned bedroom to sleep, amazingly they slept even the puppy, well teenager, Jax.  It was already in the 80’s and I was a little nervous about my long run and the heat and I said I would do it in the evening.  


After taking the two old fogey dogs to the park for a nice stroll, in the shade, it was 7:30.  Plenty of time to be home before dark.  Well not quite, took me nearly 90 minutes to run the 8.3 miles, I also stopped to buy some water, so let us take off a few minutes for that.  I need to find a point on the run to hide water.  I have to suck it up and talk to one of the home owners about stashing a bottle or two of water on their property.  Or finding out if I can use their outdoor hose to fill up my water bottle.  Thoughts on this from the experienced runners? Or even home owners, would you be agreeable if someone asked if they could stash some water in your front garden or use your hose?


The old fogies, aren't they cute?  They had a little round of running and needed a break!

 It was a nice run, lovely breeze as I ran up the Pawckatuck River waving at all the drivers.  I wonder if they even care? Well I’m going to wave either way.  Although I thought one woman was flipping me off as I was waving, but she was adjusting her sun visor.  Pshew.  Why would someone flip off a runner?


As a friend said to me once.  "I know why you run.  You run from beautiful view to beautiful view."  I have to say this route has some nice things to look at!  Here is a piece of eye candy:

In my Friday outing with a friend we were discussing running on hilly curvy roads and how she zips over to the other side on a blind curve where she can’t see oncoming traffic.  I never really much paid attention to this, not that I ignored the possibility of someone coming around a blind curve, just that I put it in the back of my mind.  Blind oblivion, perhaps? Anyhow this conversation came to me as I approached a blind curve.  In the spring and winter it wasn’t so blind because of the lack of vegetation, so must be why I never thought about it?  I scurried to the other side of the road, to, gasp, run WITH traffic.  Sure enough a car came whizzing around that curve, taking it really tight.  That little conversation, and the action I took because of it surely saved me from injury!


 So this begs the question do you run with or against traffic?  Why?  And when do you deviate from that course of action?  Why? 


So as I am running the last little bit before getting back into town a rescue truck zooms past, fire engine, police car, fire engine, police, police, fire engine.  Here I am running away from whatever was going on behind me.  I have no idea what it was but certainly was some big goings on.


What did I learn in this long run: 

• While it is cooler to run in the evening, it will be a slower run.  Get your butt out of bed and take a nap later!
•  No matter what I think 8 miles is going to take more than an hour, so don’t start with an hour left until the sun sets, hub gets worried when I am out after dark.
• The local papers are horrible about reporting on things I am curious about, seriously where were 2 fire trucks, 3 police, and a rescue going at 8:30 last night and why can’t I find out about it.
• It is very hard to fall asleep, even if you are dead tired, within a few hours of running.

Saturday is my next long run.  The Jamestown 1/2 Marathon.  Should be interesting, fun, and hopefully not sweltering hot!

Running and Yoga on the Beach

So, yes, this is about yesterday's activities.  The day got away from me visiting with friends...

My day started blissfully with a 2.5 mile run on the beach.  I am now caught up from skipping July 4th!  Yeah...  I am also making Saturday's run optional depending on what I have on tap for Sunday.  I do need to get out and move today, I did have a busy day yesterday, yes, yes, I am getting there.

Knowing I had afternoon plans with family and friends I was in a bit of a quandary about what to do about Yoga.  Then I remembered the Westerly Community Yoga Center moved their Friday a.m. practice to the beach.  Oh cool!  I could catch up on my lagging miles by running the beach and also get in a yoga practice, all before 8:30 a.m.  what could be better?

The run was on the lovely Misquamacut Beach.  Which I was surprised to find was a much harder surface than the softer sands of East Beach in Charlestown or Quonnie in Weekapaug.  This required me to run more up on the balls of my feet.  So 2.5 miles was perfect amount of miles and time.  My calves are feeling it today, from that and my afternoon of walking around doing touristy stuff with visiting friends.

Yoga on the beach is fun, the tide was coming in and while we all wanted to be on the nice firmer sand we would have been practicing in the water by the end of the class.  Although those next to the sinky girl (me) may have been OK with that.  No, no one called me 'stinky girl' but me.  We did end class in a circle, in the water with a nice Ohmmmmm  really beautiful combine with the sound of the waves.  Namaste.

CANCER

So let's get real here.

Why am I doing this?

Cancer, specifically Lung Cancer is my motivator, my driver, my nemesis.

I started running to get back the body I had as a 24 year old girl, really, let's face facts why does anyone truly start an exercise program if they haven't been mandated to by their doctor.  They start because they don't like what they see, they continue because they realize they are in control, they persevere to feel better about themselves and give back.

My running is giving back, motivating other people, bringing awareness about Lung Cancer, being a positive light in someone's otherwise dreary day.  It is also a selfish addiction, but we won't focus on that for the moment.

My first big running challenge was a 1/2 marathon in May of 2011.  I bonked, I failed, I really felt like I made a fool of myself and a mockery of the Team Lung Love jersey as I dragged myself across the finish line.  The picture may show a very victorious looking face (and yes, a skitch pudgy) but what was going on in my mind was a horror show.

It as a horror show because I felt like I had failed, I was so unprepared for what lay ahead of me.  I had NO idea what I was getting into.  Krikies I could barely run a full 5K.

In retrospect, isn't this what the Lung Cancer patient deals with?  80% of all new Lung Cancer diagnosis are in people who have either never smoked or quit decades prior.  Those who never smoked are mad, mad because the first question they get asked is '"Did you smoke?"  Those who quit decades ago are embarrassed, embarrassed to say yes to the first question  they get asked "Did you smoke?"  Those who smoke now are mortified, mortified that they should say yes, and I still do to the first question they get asked "Did you smoke?"

Let's address this smoking stigma.  No one DESERVES to get Lung Cancer, and No One DESERVES to DIE.  Let's let the smoking stigma go, you only have to have lungs to get Lung Cancer, you don't have to smoke, period.

Yep, smoking is a risk factor in Lung Cancer, it is also a risk factor in 13 other cancers.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-people-cancers.html

Are we clear on this smoking business.  If you smoke, please quit, if you quit years ago or today HOORAY, if you never smoked KUDOS, but it doesn't eliminate this disease from the possible diseases you can get.

So why do I run with the Lung Cancer Alliance's Team Lung Love?

Honestly, I feel like I found my people.  Even after my first race, where I was mortified I had embarrassed the WHOLE team, I still felt like part of a community.  A community of survivors, a community of care givers, a community of grievers, a community where no matter what you would be treated with respect and compassion.  That is what the Lung Cancer Alliance means to me:  Compassion and Respect.

The pride I felt, this past May, for my SECOND run with Team Lung Love, when I crossed the finish line hand in hand with Carrie, at a respectable 2:17, was amazing (I beat my 2011 time by more than 1 hour)

But really this picture at Mile 8 tells the story.  I love to run, I love to run with Team Lung Love. I run with my Mom close to my heart.

I am blogging about my training and running adventures and misadventures to bring you with me through this process of training for a full marathon, that is 26.2 miles or 42K.  To increase your awareness of what it is like to train for a marathon, what it is like to be the daughter of a mother with Lung Cancer, what is Lung Cancer and what it takes to live every day of this life we have, to really live it, to not waste it or wish it away.

I would be ever so grateful if you would consider supporting my fundraising efforts.  Yeah, there I said it, I asked.  It is easier to put my trials and tribulations out on display...

http://teamlunglovedc.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1011473&supId=324120446

Thank you!!