Shorts in this weather?

Yesterday I ran in sub-freezing weather. I was debating if I could handle the temps, but I really wanted to get in one run in this week, and since the sun was shining, I figured that would help.

On my way to school (where I run from), I saw a girl running in shorts. It was about 28 degrees! I just don't get it. She appeared to be thin, so I can't imagine there was too much fat keeping her legs warm. I, on the other hand, ran with a long-sleeved athletic shirt, a workout jacket, and a thick hoodie, along with lined workout pants. On the way up, that was the right amount of clothing, though I was sorely missing gloves. But, as before, I was a little warm running back. Not so warm that I was ready to shed any clothes, however.

I definitely ran slower this time; I had forgotten how cold slows me down. But, once again, I made it. And, just as when I ran last week, I am happy to say, I felt no pain until I was more than halfway into my run. Even then, I had a slight ankle annoyance, but nothing that stopped me.

I have pretty much decided that unless the sun is shining, below 32 degrees is too cold for my body (lungs, specifically) to handle. Here's hoping the Burgh sees some sunshine over the next couple months!

Layers. It's about layers.

When I was hanging out at my favorite local coffee joint a few weeks ago, the owner was talking about his friend who wears layers when he runs in cold weather and then peels them off as he gets warm. I have enough trouble running with my keys, my cell phone, and now my mp3 player. How in world can I remove and somehow carry clothes when I get warm?!

Yesterday, I had my first run as a 38 year old. I am happy to say I ached less than I usually do, but I was so cold to start my run, I might as well have been in pain. It was in the upper 30s, and I ran wearing my lined workout pants and a long-sleeve shirt and thin hoodie. I kept my hands in my sleeves, and my hood up. My upper body, save for my head and hands, was too cold. But by the time I reached my halfway point (at almost a mile), my body warmed up just fine.

I ran in the Great Race or the Race for the Cure one year when the starting temps were probably in the lower 40s. I recall one guy discarding his long-sleeve shirt by the time the race started, and I wondered if he came back for it later, or if it was something he left, never to see again. I can't imagine doing either. But at least he did not have to worry about lugging extra attire.

If I am going to keep running in the cold (and for western PA, that is pretty much the next four months), I need to figure out how to dress better. Eliminating a few keys and/or my cell phone probably would not hurt either.

The last run of 37

I managed to get in two runs this week, better than last week's one and done. Glad I ran today, my last run as a 37-year old. My birthday is tomorrow, and my husband gifted me with an mp3 player, as I continue my occasional foray into the 21st century.

I have not run with music since 2006 (the last time I ran). So far, even though it is a sport mp3 player (some Philips thing), I am having some trouble keeping the ear buds in my ears. But, more importantly, I don't have the right music. And that is key.

In college, when I ran down Curtain (or was it Bigler) Avenue, I started my run with Janet Jackson's "Escapade" and ended with her "Love Will Never Do Without You." In between there was "Rhythm Nation" and "Black Cat" and that was pretty much my run. The times I ran in the IM building, I was more into Nine Inch Nails and Ministry (different year). Honestly, when I ran in the early part of this century, I don't think I had any go-to music.

But I want and need some! The NIN, Depeche Mode, and Arrested Developed songs I managed to get on my mp3 player (not without struggle) are just not cutting it. I think if I can get the right tunes, I might be able to get to an under 10-minute mile consistently. For the record, I did my just over two miles in about 21 minutes today. I am happy with that, considering this is the first time I ran in sub-40 degree weather since late 2001 or early 2002.

If my 38-year old body holds up, I think I am going to try to keep up with the running, at least once a week. Go me!

Oh, the pain

I am beginning to think that 40 is not the new 30, at least not for me. I will be 38 in under two weeks, and this running is starting to take its toll on me. Seriously, how do runners run every day or most every day?!

When I was pretty much four paces into my run yesterday (which, to recap, begins uphill), my left thigh started hurting. Not a good sign, but the pain was not so bad that is stopped me. However, at the end of my two-plus mile run, I was practically trudging up the driveway to the school parking lot. I was not tired; I just hurt.

I have noticed since I started running again, I sometimes get a pain in my mid left side. It typically comes on soon after running and then lasts a day. It is mostly gone now. Unfortunately, the mild pains in my knee, thigh, calf and butt, in alternating legs, are still here.

Cardio-wise I feels as if I am really good shape. In fact, I think if I ran the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, I could probably do it in not much over 30 minutes. But I am not sure my legs would cooperate. :-(

Part of me thinks it might be time to throw in the towel. I ran two days last week, and waited five days between my last run and yesterday's run. How much recovery time do I need? I see people much, much older than I running. How do they do it?

I hate to think of giving up, when I have made such progress. And honestly, I fear if I take a couple of weeks off, I might not start again. I wish I knew more about the human body, well, about my body, and what I am doing to it.

In the zone

I mentioned in another post how when I run, I would think about random things. But I realized that when I run now, I pretty much think of nothing.

My run begins up a rather steep hill. I am not sure if that is the best way to start a run, but I can say during the couple of minutes it takes me to get up what feels like a mountain, I am pretty much sucking wind and could not possible think of anything else. The next few minutes I am mostly trying to recover (i.e., stop gasping for air) while attempting to look like this is easy for me. The reason for the facade? I don't want the numerous parents who drive by me on their way to the school to think I am out of shape. Crazy, I know. I don't care if someone thinks my hair is too flat (it is) or that I dress like a poor college student (many dress better than I). But for the love of Pete, the thought of someone thinking I am struggling while running is almost unbearable.

But I digress. When I ran on Wednesday, I actually looked at the cars that passed me (something I pretty much never do), and at least five people waved to me. I am pretty sure they were all parents on their way to school; I recognized most of the cars. I wonder if these people normally wave to me, and I am just too much in the zone to notice (or too busy gasping for air while trying to look unfazed).

I am going to try to be more observant when I run next week and concentrate on more than not getting run over or tripping. But I am not going to lie: I will still continue to pretend like running up that hill is barely a strain.

Sometimes I feel as if I am 29

Since I starting running again, I really feel younger. Granted, I have some aches and pains, but just knowing that I can run almost three miles without stopping as well as sprint some dashes make me feel, well, not old. Not that almost 38 is old, mind you. In fact, I once read that you hit your running peak in your mid 30s, so I am just a little beyond that.

When I subbed for gym class last month, I ran laps with the kids. Quite frankly (and sadly), I am faster and have more endurance than some of them (who range in age from 6 to 13). A few weeks later when I next subbed, I did some stretching and strength exercises with the kids. I did "six inches" (lying on your back with straight legs raised about six inches off the ground and holding it as long as you can). I am guessing I have done sit ups about two times this year, but I was determined to do that with the kids. I was able to withstand all of them. I did everything they did and more than some of them. I felt youthful. One girl even asked me how I did one of the stretches that involved lying on the ground with your knees bent behind you. Had not done that one in years, yet fortunately could still do it.

But unfortunately, I am not 29, so I was pretty sore for almost four days after. No pain, no gain, I guess. (I still have no plans to do sit ups anytime soon.)

Regardless, (and in a nod to Sara) because I am not 29 and I would like my joints to make it until 89, I will try to take it easy and listen to my body more.

How Faith got her run back

I last ran with any sense of regularity in 2006, and even then, it was only for about six weeks, to train for a 5k. Then I pretty much stopped. I always knew I would go back to running someday; I just did not know when and for how long.

At the beginning of September, pretty much on a whim, I decided to get back in the game. I had about 20 to 30 minutes to kill while waiting to pick up my kid from school, so I figured I might as well start walking around the neighborhood. I bought nice purple running shoes about two and half years ago, so I thought it might be nice to actually take them out of the box and put them to use. After about a week of that boredom and the feeling of accomplishing so little, I thought I would see if I still had it in me to run.

The first time out, I ran about eight minutes without stopping (and by run, I really mean jog). I felt great. I did not die. I did not even collapse. The next time out, I did it again, though it was a little more difficult, for some reason. A day or two later, I added a few more minutes to the run (though I did walk a few minutes in between). Within a couple of weeks of running two to three times per week, I managed to run two miles, at about 10-minute miles. And within a month, I could run an under 10-minute mile, still keeping with two miles at a time.

Yesterday, after about 9.5 weeks of running, I decided that it was time to get beyond 2 miles, if I ever wanted to run in a 5k race again. I ended up just shy of three miles, but I did it in around 30 minutes, so I was pretty happy. After that, since I had some time to kill, I decided to do some sprints for a few minutes. I am guessing I was racing about 50km at a time, and I did that about a half dozen times. That was exhilarating.

Unfortunately, my thighs have been hurting since last evening. On top of the almost three miles and the sprints, I also walked 10 minutes in the morning and another 20 in the afternoon. I sometimes forget I am not in my 20s anymore.

I am definitely taking the day off. But hopefully tomorrow or the next day I can get back out there and hit close to three miles again.

Legs/knees, don't fail me!

Indoors versus outdoors

I would have to do some research on this, but my guess is most runners prefer to run outdoors. For me, running outside offers more to look at and makes the time pass more quickly.

For about four years, most of my runs were at the gym. For two of those years (in the early part of this century), I was at the gym most days anyway lifting weights, so it made sense to do my running there as well. The downside was it took about 16 laps for one mile. I would try to run about three miles, so at times it seemed never-ended. And sometimes, I lost count. The gym also frowned upon sprinting, but I did that (well, fartleks) during most runs.

Running on a treadmill is even more boring, but at least you can keep track of your mileage and have the machine change speeds for you. When I was training for a 5k in 2006 (my one and only that year), I did so on the treadmill. My goal for that 5k, since it had been four years since my last one, and almost as long since I had run regularly, was to complete it in under 30 minutes. To do so, I ran on the treadmill one or two days a week for six weeks, for a couple of miles at a time. I included some sprints on the treadmill as well. I probably ran three miles on the treadmill only once during those weeks. Since I stayed pretty active, I was hopeful that would be enough training. Plus, I figured at 34, I was at my peak running age. More on that race later.

Currently, I am running through some hilly streets in a Pittsburgh community (I realize hilly describes just about every neighborhood in the Burgh). I try to run about two miles, up to three days a week, but unfortunately I have managed only one or two days per week the last few weeks. Running up and down streets is definitely more enjoyable than running around the track or on a treadmill. But running on asphalt is tough on your body. Already my knees and legs have hurt on some days. But I am also almost 38...

Rudy Marecic 5K

For two years (2000 and 2001), some friends and I ran in the Rudy Marecic 5k, in West Mifflin, which is near Kennywood Park. I have no idea if that race still exists; I cannot seem to find any recent information about it. But at that time, it was one of my favorites to run.

What I recall most vividly about my first Rudy race is my brother, who lived in NC and was visiting for the weekend, running with us. My friends and I were struggling during the first or second mile. And there was Joe, running backwards, grabbing us water, not even breaking a sweat. I asked him to stop running backwards, and he said not to worry, that he was fine. I told him I was not worried about his falling; I and my two girlfriends pretty much just wanted to wipe that smile off his face. And maybe trip him. Joe was someone who ran regularly; keeping pace with a couple of gals in their late 20s was child's play for him. I was surprised he did not run back to the beginning of the race and then catch back up with us. But, yes, I was glad he did get us water. And it was kind of cool to run a race with my faraway brother.

There were two other things I remember about the Rudy Marecic race, the prizes and the placement. My brother and friends all won something (I think Joe ended up with some raft). I, alas, was prizeless. But I got something even better--my first running trophy! I placed second in my age group (25 to 29). My time was 27:28 (thanks again, Google).

When we ran it again next year, then knowing there was a killer hill and having more experience under our belts (well, running shoes), I was able to knock more than a minute off my time. Still ended up in second place. And with another trophy (ah, the things that make me smile).

That is the beauty of small 5ks: you don't have a lot of competition. I highly recommend running in a few of those if you are interested in ending up in the top spots of your age group.

Race for the Cure

The first 5k I ran in the Burgh was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, in 2000. I ran with a few coworkers from my last job, and my personal goal was to finish the race without once walking. I did not care if I had to jog in slow motion; I refused to walk.

What I was not prepared for was the start that pretty much was not. When the gun went off, we did not move; there were just too many people. After a minute or so, we made our way to the actual starting line, but we spent the first half of the race dodging walkers (note, that I pretty much was jogging in slow motion for the first few minutes). I remember being irritated, wondering why the walkers would be at the front of the line, in the way of the runners. I ended up at just under 34 minutes (thanks, Google!), knowing I would have done better had there not been so many walkers.

Later I realized that one does not participate in the Race for the Cure to win any accolades or run like the wind. You just do it because it is for good cause. Still, I was not disappointed when the next year the runners and walkers were separated (I cannot remember if one group started after the other or if they ran slightly different courses). I shaved about three and a half minutes off my time (again, thanks, Google).

It is great to run that race, with tens of thousands of people. Running up the snaking hill I could probably do without (I think it has some colorful nickname). Since I just got back into running recently, hopefully I can stick with it enough to make a return to this 5k. I think my last Race for the Cure was 2002.

Some background

Throughout my childhood, I was pretty active. Over the years I took dance lessons, ran around our yard, and did aerobics. During high school I discovered running, and though I was not particularly fast, I ran on the track team my freshmen and senior years. Sometime during college, a competitive streak kicked in. I can't quite explain how or why it happened; I just remember running around the track in the IM building and feeling compelled to lap a few people each time. If there was a guy I could pass, all the better.

Running was a great way to let my mind wander and/or figure things out. Running was also free (save for the shoes), which was important for a poor college student.

Towards the end of college, I ran in my first 5K. I remember getting beat by my then-preteen cousin. I just could not get through the entire 3.1 miles of that race or the next few without walking a few times, which really bothered me. For whatever reason, I started running less and less. Then, in 2000, four years after I moved to the Burgh, I decided it was time to get serious about running again and start to run in some 5ks. (Note that when I first wrote this post, I thought I had run in my first Burgh 5k in 2001. Thanks to Google listing my time for the Race for the Cure, I discovered 2000 was the year.)

The subsequent posts chronicles some of those races as well as my general experiences with running over the years. It is worthwhile to note that I last ran in 2002. I got pregnant at the end of that year and pretty much stopped running, save for a brief stint in 2006. Until this fall, 2009. More on that in a future post.