I recently had a friend who posted on her blog here. She celebrates her own sense of self within her own skin. Me, not so much. I'm fighting the "Forties" for all I'm worth. In fact, Blackbird Adventures (her blog) posted a thought-provoking poem by Lucille Clifton. I copy from her blog......(oh, no - librarian admitting copying! Egad!):
Homage to My Hips
these hips are big hips.
they need space to
move around in.
they don't fit into little
petty places. these hips
are free hips.
they don't like to be held back.
these hips have never been enslaved,
they go where they want to go
they do what they want to do.
these hips are mighty hips.
these hips are magic hips.
i have known them
to put a spell on a man and
spin him like a top
I'm not there yet. Not even close. I feel NO magic for my hips (or, in my case, the Butt-Thigh Brigade). The Brigade WILL be enslaved as long as I can move. I fight, push, and prod those beasties into Lycra and running shorts so I can take off and pretend I enjoy exercise. Which I don't. I sweat like a farm animal and turn bright red as soon as I begin running. Anyone who's seen my post-race self knows I'm not a pretty picture finishing a 5k, never mind something longer.
Why fight the inevitable? Why push myself? Aside from obvious health and wellness benefits, I wanna look good and turn my husband's head. I crave wearing skinny skirts and giggle about my now too big wedding dress. I seem to have missed my Southern Mother's hair-makeup gene, but I can keep trying to rock the tiny tops and cute capris.
Accomplishments for the week: 3 arc trainer days, a 8.5 mile run, 9.5 mile run, and a yoga class for my "day of rest". Bring it "Forties"! I'll keep on running.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
The Season Begins!
Aaaaaand - Back in the saddle~Two weekends & two races dun.
4/10/11 - Red's Road Race (5 miler) through Dover to support the community. Beautiful weather, but I wish SwimGirl had had more fun. Starting the season on a 5 miler turned out to be a tough one. My Runnermom41 (egad.....who woulda thunk it!) self did well, running all winter at a decent trot paid off well.
4/23/11 - Whale of a 5k in the rain/sleet/snow. Yowza - "spring" in New England. The Whale of a 5k takes place at Ordiorne State Park as a fund-raiser for the Seacoast Science Center. The staff did a fabulous job dealing with all of the wet, hungry, smelly runner folk. SwimGirl had much more fun on the trail run, even in the nasty, slippery, mucky conditions; she finished in just over 26 minutes. I had a great run, finishing in 28:34 - HAPPY (!), especially since I gave my old bod permission to speed walk down the crazy slopes. I'm NOT going to wipe out and get a nutty injury this early in the season. Nopenopenope.
On a bright note, FirstGradeTeacher ran her first trail run in the "spring" weather. She did awesomely! Go FGT! You ROCK!
4/10/11 - Red's Road Race (5 miler) through Dover to support the community. Beautiful weather, but I wish SwimGirl had had more fun. Starting the season on a 5 miler turned out to be a tough one. My Runnermom41 (egad.....who woulda thunk it!) self did well, running all winter at a decent trot paid off well.
4/23/11 - Whale of a 5k in the rain/sleet/snow. Yowza - "spring" in New England. The Whale of a 5k takes place at Ordiorne State Park as a fund-raiser for the Seacoast Science Center. The staff did a fabulous job dealing with all of the wet, hungry, smelly runner folk. SwimGirl had much more fun on the trail run, even in the nasty, slippery, mucky conditions; she finished in just over 26 minutes. I had a great run, finishing in 28:34 - HAPPY (!), especially since I gave my old bod permission to speed walk down the crazy slopes. I'm NOT going to wipe out and get a nutty injury this early in the season. Nopenopenope.
On a bright note, FirstGradeTeacher ran her first trail run in the "spring" weather. She did awesomely! Go FGT! You ROCK!
Monday, June 14, 2010
The first 10k
Market Square Days in Portsmouth holds the first of the longer events in the Seacoast Series. Both SwimGirl and I are going for the Seacoast Series incentive - the "free" jacket. The jacket has a certain cachet on the seacoast of NH, as it proves a runner gave up many a lovely summer morning to run and their $$ to fun for charity. In order to secure one of the coveted jackets, a runner must complete 6 of the 8 runs, including 2 runs of greater than 5k. Well, folks, the two of us have gotten 3 runs under our belts and completed our first 10k at Market Square Days this past Saturday.
While I had completed the Seacoast 1/2 Marathon last year, I had not yet done a 10k and SwimGirl, being only 10, definitely had not. We did some psych prep for the run: SwimGirl got to get her new New Balance sneaks from Runner's Alley (did I mention Runner's Alley/New Balance gave away FREE sneakers to the age group winners at Red Hook - saved me $55!), we picked up our numbers early, and drove the course. I'd been running the mileage in under 60 minutes and she'd been swimming and doing lots of drylands for swim team. We were ready.
Race Day had fabulous weather for runners: overcast, low 60's, occasional gentle misting. The course had some hills, but only 1 killer at the end. I felt GREAT, unlike Red Hook, where I nearly stopped due to heat. SwimGirl tweaked her ankle during the race and was a bit of a hurtin' unit towards the end. However, she finished in 55:02 and I finished in 55:37. Pretty proud of us chickies, especially since SwimGirl finished 8th in her age group, which was 19 (!) and under. Yowza!
3 down, 3 to go!
While I had completed the Seacoast 1/2 Marathon last year, I had not yet done a 10k and SwimGirl, being only 10, definitely had not. We did some psych prep for the run: SwimGirl got to get her new New Balance sneaks from Runner's Alley (did I mention Runner's Alley/New Balance gave away FREE sneakers to the age group winners at Red Hook - saved me $55!), we picked up our numbers early, and drove the course. I'd been running the mileage in under 60 minutes and she'd been swimming and doing lots of drylands for swim team. We were ready.
Race Day had fabulous weather for runners: overcast, low 60's, occasional gentle misting. The course had some hills, but only 1 killer at the end. I felt GREAT, unlike Red Hook, where I nearly stopped due to heat. SwimGirl tweaked her ankle during the race and was a bit of a hurtin' unit towards the end. However, she finished in 55:02 and I finished in 55:37. Pretty proud of us chickies, especially since SwimGirl finished 8th in her age group, which was 19 (!) and under. Yowza!
3 down, 3 to go!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Her first 10k
SwimGirl's gettin' ready to run her first 10k tom'w. Considering she won her age group for the 2010 Red Hook 5k, I'm not too worried about her finishing.
Me, on the other hand...........I'm a little concerned....
Me, on the other hand...........I'm a little concerned....
Sunday, April 25, 2010
What a beautiful weekend
How does one spell happiness? SUN.
Life doesn't get any better than today. The wind is a little brisk, but the day is a truly beautiful 62 sunny degrees. I was able to get a guilt-free 6-miler in today, as SwimGirl has a playdate at a DanceFriend's house and DaddyMan needs to mow the lawn.
I do have an item to ponder, however. How do many runners manage to keep their sunglasses from falling down their faces while running? Maybe I sweat too much, but I just don't understand. My shades have an annoying habit of totally falling down my face while running anytime the temp is above 65 degrees. I'm totally gonna end up with serious crow's feet from squinting on sunny days.
Sigh.............
Life doesn't get any better than today. The wind is a little brisk, but the day is a truly beautiful 62 sunny degrees. I was able to get a guilt-free 6-miler in today, as SwimGirl has a playdate at a DanceFriend's house and DaddyMan needs to mow the lawn.
I do have an item to ponder, however. How do many runners manage to keep their sunglasses from falling down their faces while running? Maybe I sweat too much, but I just don't understand. My shades have an annoying habit of totally falling down my face while running anytime the temp is above 65 degrees. I'm totally gonna end up with serious crow's feet from squinting on sunny days.
Sigh.............
Saturday, April 24, 2010
First race of the season - Completed!
Seacoast Science Center (located in Rye, NH's Odiorne Point) hosted its 2nd annual Whale of a 5k today. This particular 5k happens to be primarily trail running - up and over the old Fort Dearborn bunkers, in the BEACH SAND, by the shore and on through wooded areas.
Runners could not have asked for a better day. The nearness to the shoreline allowed the 400+ runners to enjoy a gentle on-shore breeze, just enough to blow away all the nasty black flies which have been making outdoor activities tedious lately. The route, since the bulk of the running was done in the woods, had beautiful shade. The air temp boasted a 62 degree mark, perfect for those of us who normally seem colder than the general population.
SwimGirl ROCKED the race, not only beating her time for the race last year, but also making a personal best time of 24:36. Unfortunately, as this was not a "chip"'d race, the timer was unable to handle 4 runners entering at the same time (UGH) and clocked her for 24:40 tying her old P.B. We know she beat her old time. The fact she gained a P.B. on a trail race I find seriously impressive.
I did OK, beating last year's time by over a minute. The knee is holding up pretty well, no swelling yet. I had a brainstorm yesterday and called for a massage, which I hope helped to make the circ system kick into gear to keep fluid outta the old joint. I do need to work on my IT bands - tired, tired.
I think SwimGirl really only participates in races for the "playdate" atmosphere, as one of her older swim buds runs most local races, too. Other enticements? Prizes and raffles - she LOVES raffles. She really wanted to win the massage and was truly bummed when an adult won "her" prize. Very cute.
DaddyMan was able to meet us at Odiorne at the conclusion of the race, since he finished his 58 mile bike this morning. He decided to make a trial ride on next week's route, so he could ensure finishing the fundraiser. Make sure to take a look on the American Lung Association's Cycle the Seacoast site for donation information - support healthy lungs AND a rider!
Runners could not have asked for a better day. The nearness to the shoreline allowed the 400+ runners to enjoy a gentle on-shore breeze, just enough to blow away all the nasty black flies which have been making outdoor activities tedious lately. The route, since the bulk of the running was done in the woods, had beautiful shade. The air temp boasted a 62 degree mark, perfect for those of us who normally seem colder than the general population.
SwimGirl ROCKED the race, not only beating her time for the race last year, but also making a personal best time of 24:36. Unfortunately, as this was not a "chip"'d race, the timer was unable to handle 4 runners entering at the same time (UGH) and clocked her for 24:40 tying her old P.B. We know she beat her old time. The fact she gained a P.B. on a trail race I find seriously impressive.
I did OK, beating last year's time by over a minute. The knee is holding up pretty well, no swelling yet. I had a brainstorm yesterday and called for a massage, which I hope helped to make the circ system kick into gear to keep fluid outta the old joint. I do need to work on my IT bands - tired, tired.
I think SwimGirl really only participates in races for the "playdate" atmosphere, as one of her older swim buds runs most local races, too. Other enticements? Prizes and raffles - she LOVES raffles. She really wanted to win the massage and was truly bummed when an adult won "her" prize. Very cute.
DaddyMan was able to meet us at Odiorne at the conclusion of the race, since he finished his 58 mile bike this morning. He decided to make a trial ride on next week's route, so he could ensure finishing the fundraiser. Make sure to take a look on the American Lung Association's Cycle the Seacoast site for donation information - support healthy lungs AND a rider!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Running with SwimGirl
What a beautiful day to run outside~
As the temperature rose to 60-something degrees on a sunny NH Day, I took SwimGirl out for her first biggish run of the season, a 4-miler. I understand a 4-miler is not a terribly long run.....except SwimGirl has only turned 10 within the last month.
She did a fantastic job. She chugged up Whittier Hill without a whiny word, which won her kudos with the ol' Runnermom. Therefore, we ended our lovely run with an ice coffee at Adelle's. (Team Runnermom supports LOCAL businesses - NO Starbucks for us!)
As the temperature rose to 60-something degrees on a sunny NH Day, I took SwimGirl out for her first biggish run of the season, a 4-miler. I understand a 4-miler is not a terribly long run.....except SwimGirl has only turned 10 within the last month.
She did a fantastic job. She chugged up Whittier Hill without a whiny word, which won her kudos with the ol' Runnermom. Therefore, we ended our lovely run with an ice coffee at Adelle's. (Team Runnermom supports LOCAL businesses - NO Starbucks for us!)
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