Tuesday, March 30, 2010

And still, the rain pours down

I'm reminded of a Hilary Duff song - "Let the rain fall down....."

I refuse to run outside in the rain for training. If the Weather Gawds decide to rain on my head on a race day, so be it. However, I see no need to train in the wet. I currently have 1 pair of getting-to-be decrepit running shoes which need to last me until we have a little spare cash (HAH!). I'm not going to finish killing what little bounce is left in my shoes with nasty, dirty, salty spring rain. Ick.

So, I'm relegated to the gym. I know some runners can't wait to get outside. Me, I can wait until the temperature climbs reliably into the 50's, the bulk of the winter "yech" has been washed from the sides of the local roadways, and perhaps, just perhaps, local road crews have patched some of the bigger potholes. I honestly don't have any real issues with a nice clean treadmill. Fans blow cool air into my face and nice music plays in the background. No nasty drivers yell at me or honk their horns. Having bathrooms in close proximity to my running area is also a plus for a woman who had children AFTER 30.

Monday - 6 1/4 in 60 minutes. Today - ArcTrainer day, gotta give those tired ol' IT bands and knees a break.

Tomorrow will be another running day.....6.3 here I come!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

New Attempts and Back in the Saddle

Zumba. Who thought of dance as workout? The concept is nice; I enjoy dancing and the thought of working out to samba, meringue (sp?), and salsa music really does appeal. The actuality, however, was not even close to a real workout.

I admit to being a touch late to class. I got to the gym late as SwimGirl had an afternoon dr's appointment (her normal checkup) and DaddyMan got home early enough for me to attempt the gym. I threw my bag and jacket into one of the aerobic room's cubbies and jumped into an empty space. The class finally started after a small debacle involving sound systems, CDs and the Manager-on-Duty (MOD) rescuing the instructor in distress (yup, she was a damsel). I felt much relieved, as class had not yet started.

But, boy, was I disappointed in the quality of the workout. As someone who runs +/- 6 miles per day, I got barely warm and loose when the instructor would stop the ENTIRE RHYTHM of the class to change songs. Very disconcerting. I also found the "booty shaking", "pumping", and "hits" a little odd for a group of over forty, fairly out of shape women (yours truly excluded, thank you very much). Lots of flab on the fly, lemme tell ya. I know I sound uncharitable, but yeesh. If ya've got too much bounce to the ounce, diet BEFORE taking Zumba.

On a brighter note, my fellow RunnerMom started (I helped chaperone) an off-season running group for the swim kids. SwimGirl and several of her fishie friends ran a 5k today. BIG fun. We had several levels of runner today, including one little fishie who was not going to let inexperience stop her. She hauled her little self the entire 3.12 miles and managed to keep the more experienced kiddos in her view. VERY proud of her first run out. SwimGirl had a fantastic time chatting while she ran - a good time had by all. One of our guy fishies had a great run and can't wait to "play" again - YAY!

Being back outside for the spring feels GREAT!

Monday, March 22, 2010

I'm proud of me!

SwimGirl had a meet in upstate NY this weekend. Ugh. From Southeastern NH, where the RunnerMom team currently resides, we had a +/- 7 hour drive to get there.

Wow. Loooooooooong ride. However, knowing how much sitting would take place, I hit the hotel "spa" pretty hard. Got 2 runs and 1 elliptical run completed for those 3 days. Go me!

SwimGirl got 3 best times and DaddyMan officiated. A good weekend all around.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Still raining,,,and ranting

The weather can seriously impact running. As I am the proud owner of 1 pair of no-yet-dead running shoes, I have NO plans to run outside in the mess currently known as Southeastern NH.

The news has had extensive coverage of the flooding. People in the area, however, have done nothing more than kavetch about the problem and marvel at Mother' Nature's wrath. Channel 9 has covered the flood watches, as has Foster's Daily Democrat, but human interest stories seem to be at low ebb. The news sources have made little mention of neighbors helping neighbors or anything else of that ilk. Can the news agencies really not find anything worthy of reporting? Are the masses really just watching the flood swollen rivers stream by their residences?

As I struggle with the question posed above, I also struggle with our lawmakers answers to most questions. How did elected officials manage to find themselves in office? Are said officials really elected to take the interest of townspeople or in office to fund their own need for greed? I, of course, am on the side of the kids, as I am a school librarian.

What's happening? Due to the tax cap and/or other financial difficulties found in other regional towns, many school and rec departments are facing HUGE cutbacks. Apparently, the all-mighty dollar once again rules, rather than common sense. Our children's well-beings risk a serious blow as town athletic, music, and academic programs are slashed past the core and to the point of ridiculousness. Perhaps the time has come for townspeople to push uncaring folk out of the limelight and elect representatives who truly care about people, as well as the bottom line.

To make yourself heard in Dover - click here
For Portsmouth - click here
Be sure to let local city councils know exactly how YOU feel about 35 member classrooms, teachers working without contracts, music-art-phys ed programs cut out of budgets, and the closing of local athletic venues, such as the local Parks and Recreation departments (camps, pools, parks, etc.). We live in a democracy - Make your voice heard!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Start of a new season

Yes, I know I have a blog. Yes, I am also aware I have been neglecting blogging "responsibilities". Why? KNEES. One. Word. KNEES.

I have 2 of the blessed items. Yup, just like everyone else, I have 2. Unfortunately, I have been battling with my joints since the holidaze. I think, thanks to the wonders of cortisone shots, the problem of swelling and softball-sized knees has been solved.

Some good runs have occurred over the past 3-4 weeks of approximately 9/5 miles on weekends and averaging 6 on regular work days. My poor SwimGirl put a crimp into my schedule this week, as she came down with a nasty case of stomach flu, which did not allow me time to get to the gym. Today, I was planning on a good long run, as the DaddyMan was in da house.

Alas, a good long run escaped me. My gym (The Works) had a power outage. AGH! Quiet time fot RunnerMom.....Gone! Whine....I know, go get some cheese to go with that whine. I understand why the outage happened - the wind is blowing so hard the second floor of my house is swaying. But, geez, all I wanted was a 90 minute trot! Pout.

Upcoming runs (SwimGirl will be doing all of these with the exception of the 5 miler!):
4/24 - Seacoast Science Center's Whale of a 5k
4/25 - Red's Shoe Barn 5 miler
5/1 - Children's Museum of NH 5k
5/9 - Mother's Day 5k - As this benefits WomenAid, I highly rec this one.
5/23 - Walk/Run for Angie - Put this on all your calendars! This benefits a teacher-friend who had a major stroke. Excellent reason to get your training started!