Now that's something you don't see every day

Today while out for my run I encountered a most unusual scene. As I ran through a typical suburban neighborhood I came upon a groundhog sitting in the road. He wasn't in the middle of the road but rather off to one side. I soon noticed that there was a cat crouched there as well and quickly came to the conclusion that the groundhog had been in the yard and the cat (whose yard this was) probably chased him into the street and now there was a bit of a stand off. I gave them both a wide berth as I had no interest in getting involved in the skirmish. However, as I passed them I noticed that while the cat was crouched in attack position the groundhog didn't seem tense in the least. In fact, he was slowly going around and around in circles in one spot in the street. I continued to watch the animals as I ran along and realized that the cat wasn't so much in defense mode as I originally assumed but rather had more of a "what the hell" kind of look on his face as I'm sure I did, too, at this point as the groundhog's behavior was rather mystifying... just going around and around. Since I didn't want to stop running I had to focus on watching the pavement so as to avoid falling in my face (been there, done that). As I left the animals behind I decided that perhaps the groundhog had been in the street, gotten clipped by a car, and was a bit loopy as a result.

Now you might think all of that is bizarre enough but wait, there's more! I returned to the same intersection 20 minutes or so later in my run to find the groundhog still in the same spot, still going around and around in circles. Only this time he was accompanied by two police officers instead of the house cat. Yes, TWO police officers and one squad car. The officers were just standing there, one on each side of him, watching him spin in circles. The groundhog seemed oblivious to the officers. Once again, I didn't stop to investigate further but I can guess that they probably weren't there to arrest him. I surmised that someone probably thought that the groundhog might be rabid, given his strange behavior. Or perhaps they were simply worried that he was going to eventually go after the cat. After hypnotizing him with the spinning. Regardless, it was reassuring to know that the local police can be counted on to keep the eccentric groundhog population under control.

Fish or cut bait

To say that I've been depressed about my running as of late would be an understatement. Despondent would be a more apt description. Here it is summer, when I have no classes to teach, no pressing obligations, no hectic schedule, and yet I still find it almost impossible to stick to my training schedule and get my mileage in. Classes start up in a few more weeks at which point all free time will disappear. I'll be faced with the same (if not worse) situation as last fall where I barely eked out enough training to cross the finish line for the marathon. I didn't like the way I finished last year. It was hard, I didn't feel well, and there was some serious doubt in the last 6 miles that I was going to make it at all. But that's what happens when you don't train well. Now it's one year later, I'm another year older (which doesn't make it any easier), and at 4 weeks into my training I'm falling apart. How can I possibly expect to succeed??? I believe the time has come to fish or cut bait.

I could never quit running altogether. My already increasing waistline tells me that. But this last weekend, when faced with a long run of 7 miles that I was unsure I could complete, I thought long and hard about continuing on with my training. I could just run 3-5 miles 3-4 times a week to try and stay in shape and forget about the marathons and other races. I had pretty much settled on that idea but there was this little voice in my head that said "Why don't you just go out and try for 7 miles and see how far you get". The little voice won out. This time. But honestly, I just don't know what's going to happen in the coming weeks. If I let things slip any more than I have already it would be foolish to even try to run in the marathon come November. I'm not a rookie - I know what it takes. So I guess I'd better get serious about this fishing or ditch the worms and find something else to do with my time.

It's all about the shoes

I've been slacking pretty bad since the Broad Street Run. That was such a depressing run that I really wasn't in the mood for running for awhile. Then I was busy. And it was hot. And a lot of other lame excuses to either not run or at least not run very much or very hard. Now I'm paying the price by being out of shape, flabby, and, well, just plain sad looking. I'm more or less done with serious work for the summer. I have various little projects that are on my "to do" list but they're small, simple, and for my benefit only (which means no one but me will care if they get done or not). This means I can take more time to focus on my running, and workouts in general. I went and bought new running shoes today which, for some reason, is always inspiring. Running in brand new shoes is fun! They look flashy, they're nice and springy, and somehow my legs seem to have more energy in new shoes. I know, it's all in my head but, hey, I'll take whatever motivation I can get. So I went for an easy 3 mile run this afternoon in my new shoes. Tomorrow I'll go for another run. The shoes won't technically be new but the effect of the "newness" should get me through at least the end of the week. After that I guess I'll have to go and by some new shorts.

In a word... UGH!

Yesterday's Broad Street Run was the most brutal race I've been in yet. It was 80 degrees and extremely humid. The race organizers sent out an e-mail the day before warning runners of the expected weather and asking everyone to take precautions.

I got stuck farther back in the starting line up than I should have (they organize you by expected finishing time). This wasn't a huge deal but it meant that, once I crossed the starting line, I had to work hard to weave through the crowd to get ahead of the people that should have been behind me. At mile 1 I was averaging the 8:30 pace I had hoped for. I got to mile 2 keeping that pace. However, somewhere between 2 and 3 I realized that I had to slow down. I also had to stop for water. In the last 2 years of doing this race I've never stopped for water. With proper hydration ahead of time I can make it the 10 miles to the finish line without having to stop. Not this year. I stopped at all but 2 of the water stations.

They opened up the fire hydrants along the course to help cool people off. I think I must have run through 10 of them. The water was so cold it would take my breath away but I think it was the only thing that kept me going to the end. The sound of ambulance sirens was almost constant in the background and at one point I was nearly run over by a stretcher as they took someone off the course. At the nine mile mark, just one mile from the finish line, there were about 10-15 runners laying on the pavement, in the shade of an overpass, being attended to by medical personnel. Instead of being disappointed in my time (now close to a 10-minute mile) I decided I was happy to not be among the fallen.

When I finally got back to my car I was still drenched from the fire hydrants. I had to get creative in order to drive home without completely soaking the upholstery in the van. As a side benefit from not pushing myself hard I am not sore at all today and I didn't lose any more toenails (although when you start out with only 7.5 the odds of losing one go down).

I'm supposed to be running the Race for the Cure this Sunday. I have to admit my enthusiasm for the event has waned as a result of this experience. Of course, the Race for the Cure is only a 5K and the current forecast calls for a high of 64 and mostly sunny. I guess we'll just see how this week shapes up. As much as I liked the fire hydrants I don't really want to repeat a race like yesterday any time soon.

Forecast

The forecast for Sunday now says 84 degrees and isolated thunder storms. I think I liked the near-90 but sunny prediction better.

5224

It's always exciting to get your bib number for a race. Somehow that makes it seem real. Of course, getting up at the crack of dawn, fighting with a few thousand other people for parking, and standing around before the sun comes up freezing your butt off also makes it seem real. But this is good, too. I still have to go into Philly before race day and pick up the actual bib, along with whatever running swag I can get for free. The goal will be to get in and out of the expo without succumbing to temptation to spend money on cool running gear. After all, I do need a new pair of running shoes.

My bib number for the 31st Broad Street Run is #5224. For those stalkers out there you can check out my time on the website. Sunday's forecast calls for a high of 89 degrees. Yikes! It says "AM clouds/PM sun" so perhaps it won't be as blistering as it might seem. Regardless, I'm looking forward to it.

You'd think I'd be more excited

The Broad Street Run is now only 12 days away and you'd think I would be a little more excited about it. But I'm not. My training continues. Without much ado. I've been able to stick to my schedule for the most part and my last few long runs were good. Nothing exceptional but then nothing worrisome either. I'm probably set up to run my usual pace come race day. I suppose that's why I'm not all that excited about it. I started the season hoping to knock some minutes off my finishing time this year and I don't get the feeling that it's going to happen. I'm not crushed by this revelation but then I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. Now, I know some of you are probably thinking "But you haven't even run the race yet!" This is true. I could surprise myself. It's happened before. But I suppose I'm not willing to make any outrageous bets at this point. It's OK. I'll do my best on race day and be happy with whatever results I get.

As long as it's not worse than last year.

HOT

Well, after complaining about the cold for so long you'd think that I'd be glad for warmer weather. And I am. Don't get me wrong... I'm loving these temps in the 80's and up to 90. However, it's difficult to go from running in 60 degree weather straight to upper 80's without some kind of backlash. On Tuesday I got out for my run early. It was about 1pm and the temperature was probably around 85. I was thrilled to be out in shorts and a T-shirt and to be warm! That lasted about 20 minutes and then I was hot. After another 10 minutes I was TOO hot. I felt ill and had to actually walk for a few minutes. I quickly realized that not only was my body just plain not used to running in the heat but that I hadn't adequately prepared and I was dehydrated. I managed to run another 10 minutes and then I had to call it quits. I simply wasn't up to the task physically. I should have drank more water ahead of time. I should have waited until later in the day to head out when it would be cooler. Lesson learned. Luckily for me the temps are heading back down to more "normal" numbers for the rest of the week. Tomorrow's run should be easier at 4pm when it will be 5-7 degrees cooler. And I'll drink my water ahead of time. And then on Friday the high should be 61. Gotta love this spring weather!

Small victories

It gives me such pleasure when I actually pass students who are out running. I know, I'm old and vain. I'm OK with it.

It's all coming back now

Today I did my long run outside for the first time, well, since I stated training. It was also the first time I had run in my neighborhood since November, I think. It was good to get back out there. The run wasn't all that long - 6 miles - but the idea of doing that on the treadmill was not pleasant. The day promised to be quite nice with a high of 50 degrees but since I had to get my run over and done with before 9am it was only in the 20's when I headed out. Still, the Sun was shining and my route was finally clear of snow. My usual path through the neighborhood includes several hills and good ones at that. They were tough as I don't really have any hills at all on my route around campus and then the treadmill is, of course, flat. Despite all of this I managed a decent time and, most importantly, I felt good. Oh, and I didn't trip.

State of grace

I went running outside today. I had to climb back on the horse, get back on the bike, get back in the groove, insert your favorite metaphor here. And the results? ...drum roll, please... I managed to stay vertical! Yes, yes, I know you all had your doubts, as did I, but I believe I have proven once again that if you work hard enough and long enough you can eventually overcome even the biggest challenges, like putting one foot in front of the other without diving face first into the sidewalk. Soon I might even be ready to try walking and chewing gum at the same time. Small moves, Ellie, small moves.

Strike two

I fell on my face again today. Yes, another dive into the sidewalk which is, unfortunately, getting to be my signature move. The good news is that it wasn't as bad as last time. I lost some skin on the palms of my hands and on one knee (the same knee as last time) but I managed to avoid ripping a hole in my $60 running tights. The bad news is that I have no excuse this time. I wasn't playing with my iPod or avoiding rabid squirrels or anything. I was just running and tripped. Granted the sidewalks around here are pretty uneven - it's not like I tripped over my own shoelace. Still, it's just plain embarrassing. At least with all of the snow around there was plenty of ice handy for nursing my wounds on the spot. I walked for a few minutes, cleaned myself up as best I could, and then ran the rest of my route. If I get to strike three I'm going to seriously consider giving up running. Or at least start wearing knee pads.

Note to self...

Don't leave your bag of gym clothes in the car when it's below freezing. Putting on an ice cold sports bra is not a pleasant experience.

Training without heart

I now have 3 weeks of training behind me but, as the lack of blog entries implies, it's been rather uneventful. One might even say unrewarding. Honestly, my heart hasn't really been in it. I think there are several factors contributing. First of all, since I'm still in the early weeks the times and distances that I'm running are small which is, well, kind of boring. Of course, I could run more than the minimum required by my training program but I don't really have the time for that. And that's probably the second factor at work here. I don't have much time to really devote to my running, either physically or mentally. However, I think the third factor - the weather - is the biggest culprit in this whole ennui that I'm experiencing lately. It pretty much sucks. I've been running on the treadmill for almost the entire 3 weeks. While there have been reasonable temps from time to time the mountains of snow, sometimes as tall as I am, that cover the sidewalks and streets make the idea of running outside practically dangerous if not unappealing. The treadmill is OK from time to time but I think it's really sapping any kind of motivation I might have towards training. The snow is falling again as I type this. There is more predicted for early next week. I guess I'd better either invest in some snow shoes or find another way to get excited about running on the treadmill. Sigh.

An ominous start

Today was Day 1 of training for the Broad Street Run in May. It was the nastiest weather imaginable today... rain, wind, at times the two together in such force that umbrellas were useless (and often turned inside out). I had pretty much figured on running on the treadmill but then the rain stopped and the sun even tried to peek out. It was warm, too, if humid. A quick check of the weather showed another line of clouds and rain moving in but I only had a 30 minute run on my schedule. For the first 15 minutes of the run it was glorious and I was considering myself so incredibly lucky to be out on the pavement in shorts and a T-shirt at the end of January. Then the skies grew dark. Then the first few drops of rain hit. And then the skies opened up. In less than 30 seconds I was soaked to the bone. The rain was coming down so hard I couldn't see the pavement in front of me. The water was so cold I was breathing in gasps. When I got around the block to my building a few minutes later I thought about cutting the run short but I realized I couldn't get any wetter so why stop now??? After a few more minutes the rain eased up so that I could at least see the huge puddles before I stepped in them. By the time I finished I had to wring out my clothes and it will probably be a week before my shoes are thoroughly dry. Hopefully this isn't a sign for how the rest of the training will go.