Making Friends

I think distance running is like a secret club. You don’t realize how many people are doing it until you’re immersed in it. Now I find marathoners and half-marathoners EVERYWHERE. This is why I love wearing my race tshirts when I go out to do errands. I always happen to meet another runner.

Last night I went to the grocery store since I was already getting awfully bored of eating my non perishables. I was wearing my Queens half shirt (which on a sidenote ALWAYS smells like fried food, no matter how many times I wash it) and I met this older lady. She asked me if I was a marathoner, and I said, Yes. I am. It’s still weird saying I’m a marathoner. Sometimes I have to think before I answer. She told me she runs them too and that she usually runs all the halfs each year. She was planning her next marathon for her upcoming 60th birthday. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s pretty badass. Running is hard on the body and hard mentally. I can’t imagine I could still physically keep doing this at 60. I guess I have something to aspire to.

When I meet people like her, it makes me feel guilty that I’m sidelined. I feel like I should be out there running. And now that summer’s nearing an end and the weather is WONDERFUL, I really miss it. I want to get up early and run. Crazy, huh? But I guess I’ll do the responsible thing and let it rest. I know it’s better in the long term.

Stupid hamstring.

Post Irene Check In

Ok. I’ve been checked out for a while. This whole hurricane thing kind of freaked me out a little. I’m happy to say that at least in my neighborhood, there was no noticeable damage. A few small tree branches fell, the Dunkin Donuts almost ran out of coffee, and I have serious cabin fever, but other than that, we’re all ok.

One of the upsides to Irene and being stuck inside for three days was it gave my hamstring some time to rest. It’s hard to rest your hamstrings since I kind of use them everyday for walking. Even though it’s feeling a lot better, I’m going to lay off the running for a while. My friend actually gave me a REALLY good idea. Since I seem to keep getting the same aches, pains and injuries over and over, I’m thinking I really need to do some strength training to address some muscle weakness and imbalance. But how the heck do I even do that? I don’t know the first thing about strength training. Enter Andrea, who reminded me that there are wonderful people out there called personal trainers whose job is to teach you how to weight train properly. Now, I don’t have a ton of money, so I’m going to wait until I find some sort of special or coupon (I know they have lots on sites like LifeBooker). If anyone sees anything good for New York City, let me know. I’m looking to get buff!

What a chicken!

As Seen On My Run

Found: This chicken

Found in Riverside Park near 137th St. Answers to the name "Here chicken, chicken!" If you or someone you know is missing a chicken, go get him, before some hungry person does.

Ok so I wasn't running. I'm still out with a hamstring injury. I was actually walking back from the grocery store with all my non-perishables. With all the hurricane prepping and the stress of the grocery store, I needed something to lighten the mood. This chicken helped.

Curse you hamstrings!

I think it’s official. I pulled my hamstring, so I'm going to be out for a while, and I'm definitely not going to run Grete's Gallop. I was really looking forward to those waffles, too. It’s nothing extreme, but again, the goal of this year has always been to get stronger and run better, so I can do the Chicago marathon in 2012. I don’t want to push it now and do something REALLY bad. I’ve had problems with my hamstrings when I was marathon training last year, so I think this has proven that this is a major weakness for me, which I suppose is a good thing to know before marathon training next year. So what’s the plan now for running Lisa? I plan to get stronger and more flexible. This means lots more yoga, some strength training (which means I may ACTUALLY have to go to the gym), and I’ll probably throw in some swimming for good measure. I know that a lot of injuries are caused by muscle imbalance so I’m going to have to work on the leg as a whole, not just my hamstrings. I think this might actually require some sort of workout plan, which I’m not good at. I’m more of a willy nilly kind of exerciser. I'm not sure how to even come up with a plan. What are your favorite leg exercises?

I'm not sure how long I'll take a break from running. I don’t usually run in the winter because of my asthma, but my friend gave me some advice on how to warm up my lungs before running outside which might help, so hopefully I can do a little bit of running before the end of the year. Maybe some small races. Don’t worry, friends. Running Lisa will run again soon!

It’s been almost 2 weeks since Josh has been out of town. Here’s a list of fun and exciting things I did while he was gone.

I got up early on the weekends to do things. Exciting things like running, yoga and grocery shopping.

Last Saturday I got up early for a run, rode bikes at Summer Streets, hung out with MiMi and went to the pool. The best part? I didn’t shower or put on makeup all day.

I hosted a super awesome girls’ night which may have involved watching Disney movies and singing all the songs. If I tell you more, I’ll have to kill you.

I didn’t shave my legs for almost 2 weeks.

I ate lots of peanuts. LOTS

While all of these things were super awesome, I’m kind of glad he’ll be back tomorrow. How can you not miss this face?

Things are looking up...sort of

A lot has happened in the last 24 hours. Here’s a quick run down of all the good and the bad:

Good- No more heartburn! How? Chewing gum and eating pickles. Yes. Pickles. It has something to do with the vinegar.

Bad- I went to the ophthalmologist. He said there were some “unsual” changes to my cornea and now I have to see a cornea specialist. He says cornea specialist, I hear “really expensive doctor visit.” I’m also not allowed to wear any contact lenses for at least a month, so that sucks. I don’t know what he thinks is wrong, but I’m thinking it’s not going to be something good.

Good- I gave in and bought glasses. They’re really weird to get used to. I feel like the floor isn’t where I’m expecting it to be. But at least I can see.

Good and Bad- We had a surprise party for my friend Liesse. She’s moving to Belgium soon. We’re going to miss her, but it was a fun party (she was really surprised!) and it’s nice to have friends around the world. It gives me a reason to travel.

Stop trying to seduce me, Liesse.

Good- Even though I was a little disoriented with the new glasses, I got up for a run this morning.

Bad- I didn’t make it very far in my run. My hamstrings have been bothering me. Not painful, just weird in a way that makes me worry. The balls of my feet feel like rocks. I ran about 2 miles and then decided to stop. The point of this year was to take some time away from serious running to focus on getting stronger and running smarter. The goal has always been Chicago 2012. I don't want to go and get hurt now. If it doesn’t start to feel better soon, I may have to cancel Grete’s Gallop. We’ll see.

Good- When I stopped running, I found a farmer’s market. I always run with money in case of emergency. These beautiful cherries were staring at me, begging to be eaten. I considered that an emergency. I bought my cherries and had a nice leisurely stroll home.

Good- Tonight is our first annual Mammary Fest. Basically, it’s a girls’ night. If I tell you any more, I’ll have to kill you.

On Fire

I rescheduled my run last night because I was feeling “blah.” I would like to amend “blah” to “on fire” and not in a good way. Out of nowhere, I have crazy bad heartburn. Like, REALLY bad. For the last two weeks. Almost non stop. It’s left me pretty much not wanting to do anything. Yoga helps (I think it’s all the twisting) but when yoga is over, I’m on fire again. And then I feel guilty for skipping my runs, but who wants to run when your chest feels like it's on fire?

I hate taking over the counter antacid stuff because, in the long run, it makes me feel worse. I’m not sure what brought this on. My diet hasn’t changed. Sure I’ve been a little stressed, but not heartburn day and night stressed. I did look up some natural remedies, and everyone suggested chewing gum. The saliva keeps the acid at bay and, so far, it works. Unfortunately, I hate chewing gum because it makes my jaw hurt. (I’m a TOTAL mess.) Now I need some Tylenol because my jaw hurts. If anyone else has any good cures for heartburn, PLEASE SHARE!!!

I did manage to drag myself out of bed and go for a run, but I felt heavy and slow and I didn’t want to push myself. I even walked. I never walk on my morning runs. Add this to my eye problem that has left me unable to wear my contacts and the sore jaw from gum chewing, and you have a blind, on fire, unhappy Lisa.

Blah

I haven't been much of a runner lately. Or a blogger for that matter. I've been busy and stressed. My stomach has been a mess lately. I'm having a problem with my eye and can't wear my contacts, so I can't see. I'm basically a hot mess. And I just don't feel like running. I planned to go for a run this evening. I was even planning a nice long run because I've been stressed and it would be great to clear my head. But now that I'm here, I just don't feel like it. I'd rather curl up with my book.

I promise, I'll run soon. I'll even get up tomorrow morning and do it. I just frankly don't want to do it now.

Biking Lisa

Well folks, the boyfriend is out of town, and you know what my first thought was? Now I can get up early on the weekend and do stuff instead of sleeping in and cuddling! Sick, I know. So with the BF gone, I got up early on Saturday to partake in more Summer Streets goodness. I met with my DetermiNation team at our usual spot and joined them for a run. They were all running much longer, so the plan was to run about 4 miles, then rent a bike from Summer Streets so I could enjoy the course without having to run the whole thing. A genius idea!

My run was ok. I’ve been really stiff lately so I was looking forward to getting on a bike and using some different muscles for a change. Good news is I did get to use some different muscles: my standing around and waiting muscles. Many of you may not know that there are all sorts of free things at Summer Streets, including free bike rentals, so I expected there to be a line. When I got in the line, the guy told us it would be about a 30 minute wait. I was fine with that, since MiMi was with me and we had PLENTY to talk about ;) But over an hour later, we were still waiting. Now it was the principle of the thing. After an hour and a half of waiting, we finally had our bikes. (Word to the wise, if you want to rent a bike, get there at 7am when they open. Or rent rollerblades. There was no line for that.)

Yea, I look pretty awesome.

We only had the bikes for an hour, so we didn’t get as far as I wanted, but it was still pretty fun. It was a beautiful day, Park Ave is pretty, and MiMi and I sampled lots of free food and goodies along the way. The rest of my day consisted of playing with puppies (!!!), reading the New Yorker by the pool, and eating almost anything with a peanut in it. Why peanuts? Josh is allergic and I'm not allowed to eat them around him, so I’m trying to get my fill while he's away. He’ll be gone for over a week. I think that’s enough time to get all peanutted out.

Poor Kitty

My run this morning was pretty unremarkable. I was still sore from my Wednesday night run, so I set out for a nice, easy, short run. The weather was great and despite being stiff, it felt pretty good. Until I got to the end of my run.

As Seen On My Run: Poor Kitty

At the end of my run, I found a kitty. This one looked like Speedy, except it was older and had a red collar on, so it clearly belonged to someone. I approached the sleeping kitty, but it wasn't sleeping. There were no signs of trauma, but this cat was clearly dead. In the 15 minutes since I passed this spot, this cat walked to this spot and died. I was taken aback and finished with my run and stretches, but it was half-hearted. I kept thinking about the poor kitty. The thing that gets me is that this cat was someone's pet. Some kid or little old lady is probably out there looking for it. So for them, I want to say a few words for the kitty:

Dear Kitty, I hope you had a long and wonderful life, full of balls of string, cat treats, and lots of love. I hope there are lots of head scratches and cans of tuna in kitty heaven.

Here's to hoping the rest of my Friday is better.

Been...So...Busy...

I’ve been so busy this week I’ve barely had time to think let alone run, but I was really thankful for my run last night.

Yesterday I was crazy busy and work and super stressed. (A quick side note: I hate the term ASAP. Not everything can always be done ASAP. What does ASAP even mean? It’s too non-specific, too overused and it needs to DIE. Don’t ever say ASAP to me ever. Anywho…) When I got home last night, I was so happy that the weather was nice and I had been planning on going for a run. Nothing erases the stress of a busy work day like a good run. I put on running shoes, slapped in my head phones and headed out.

After a long hard day, I always start off thinking about all the stresses of the day, but somewhere along the way, it stops. You listen to the music. You concentrate on your breathing or your running form, and everything else goes away. I ran through Morningside Park, said “hello” to all the turtles in the pond, and ran home. I even finished with some cross training exercises and lots of good stretching.

By the time I got back to my apartment, I was relaxed and happy. Funny how a good run will do that to you. Now, back to the grind…

The Miracle

Yesterday was a truly miraculous day. Ok so there was no running involved but things like this help me keep running.

Yesterday I went shopping for jeans, a usually treacherous ordeal for any woman. But here's where the miracle happened. Every pair of jeans I tried on looked AH-MAZING. Expensive, cheap, skinny, cropped, it didn't matter. They all fit like a booty-lifting glove. It was a huge self-esteem booster. I attribute my awesome legs and booty to all that running and yoga. Now that I've realized my full fabulous potential, I have to keep looking and feeling fabulous.

Tonight, yoga. Tomorrow, a run!

Summer Streets!

This weekend’s run sucked and was awesome at the same time. I took the week off after the Queens Half (I figured I had the right to!) and Saturday was my first day back. I met up with my DetermiNation teammates for an injury prevention clinic, a fundraising clinic, and a run. But this wasn’t just any run. This was the first Summer Streets of the year. So what’s Summer Streets? It’s one of those things that only New Yorkers would think is an excellent idea. For 3 Saturdays in August, the city shuts down Park Ave from 72nd Street to the Brooklyn Bridge for runners, bikers, roller bladers, or anyone that wants to get out there and enjoy the traffic-free streets. It’s surprisingly pretty exciting to run down the middle of the street, so I started my run feeling pretty great. I got about 20 minutes into the run when my stomach started doing all sorts of flips. I would normally run through it, but this was almost unbearable, so I started to head back early. And I walked. Walking on my runs makes me feel like a failure. But walking gave me a chance to better check out what Summer Streets has to offer.

I knew most of my teammates would be running for another 40 minutes or so, so I took my time getting back to Hope Lodge and I’m glad I did. Summer Streets has more to offer than I thought. Free bike or skate repair, water and aid stations for anyone that needs it, free bike and skate rentals, and a ton of free food and coupons. I could have had a whole meal if I wanted. They had juices, smoothies, sorbet, fiber bars, cheeses, even a farmer that showed everyone how to milk a cow and make butter, something us New Yorkers rarely see. So I took my time and took in all there was to see and it was pretty fun. I did manage to squeeze in a little more running, but it still wasn’t pleasant. I’ve decided that next week I’m going to go back and rent a bike. My DetermiNation teammates are scheduled to run the Brooklyn Bridge next week, which is a much longer run than I want to do. So I think I might rent a bike and ride along with them. Who’s with me?

Will run for waffles

The best thing about every run are the PICTURES! Here is my "Best of the Queens Half Montage"

My favorite thing about these pictures is you can tell that I'm actually running. Usually, they catch me with both my feet on the ground and I look very stationary. Not this time. I outsmarted them by ACTUALLY running. Who woulda thought?

In other news, I haven't run since the race on Saturday. I always find myself in a post-race funk. Like, now what? Why keep running now? So I've decided I'm going to sign up for another one. I know ROBYN, I said I was going to take it easy this year. I still will. I just like having a goal and a reason to go run with my friends. I'm going to sign up for Grete's Gallop on Oct 1. It's in Central Park, it starts at 9am (a gloriously late start for a race) and I hear they have waffles at the end. Sure, I could BUY waffles. They'll just taste so much better after running 13 miles.

A little song about running

I forgot to share with you my song I made up post-race. Here it is (set to the tune of "I Feel Pretty" from Westside Story):

I feel happy
Oh so happy
I feel happy and snappy and bright
And it's crappy for anyone who isn't me tonight

This song can be attributed to spending too much time with Josh (who has a song for EVERYTHING) and for the post-run delirium.

I revised the song yesterday to better reflect my current feelings:

I feel stiff
Oh so stiff
It's as if I've been running all day
And I wish, all this pain would just go away

That's what I get for my PR. I guess no pain, no glory. *Sigh*