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Sunday, February 22, 2009

ULM Hot List

Things about running I'm loving this week:

1. New Jersey. Seriously. Running over the George Washington Bridge to the beautiful trails along the Hudson on the Jersey side reinvigorated me this weekend. Before I knew it I'd run six miles, then another seven, then 17. Crazy!

2. Hills. Again, counterintuitive, but I think I've realized in running, and in life, like that old lady in Parenthood said, I prefer the highs and the lows of the rollercoaster. Running up is hard, but then you get to run down.

3. Painted brown wooden signs with the wording carved out. Just a random observation, but the '70s-style signage takes me back to my childhood of summers at Girl Scout camp.

4. Secret beaches. Who knew there'd be a quiet little spot along the Hudson River where you can lay out and take in the sun. Need to go back there.

5. Running alone. I'd never run a long run without a jogging buddy until yesterday morning. I think I was afraid the boredom would derail me, but it turned out to be just the opposite. I kind of fell out of my head yesterday, and besides coming up with the idea for this post, not much else was going on for three full hours.

6. Brain mush. I love the feeling of not being able to think for up to 24 hours after a long run. I can barely get words out, but the ones that do get spoken seem to be the ones that matter.

7. Sharing. Doesn't matter what type--sharing advice, sharing water, sharing encouragement--I've just noticed runners tend to do more of it.

8. Saturday nights. There's nothing better than destroying all the good work you've done that morning with a few celebratory glasses of whatever.

9. Pretzles and cranberry juice. I may have found my perfect running nutrition mix.

10. Magic Runs. Okay, this is really just an addendum to number five, but I'm so grateful for those days when a three-hour run seems to go by in minutes. You're just enjoying the scenery around you, the air hitting your face, and the feeling of your body moving on its own. It's like you've found a secret running worm hole.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Just doing it

It's so funny how you can hear something over and over, and never really get it for years and years and then one day, a whole new meaning snaps into sharp focus, like a camera lens adjusting from background to foreground.

Of course, like most iconic ads, the Nike slogan had taken up residence in one of my brain files, and like most people, I always associated it with sports and training. But recently, all the running's made me see it in a whole new light.

Instead of looking at like a command to start something, make a vow, take the plunge, jump right in, etc. I'm now seeing it in in the meditative, repetative sense. Like, "you've gone all in already, now finish what you started."

You see, for me, the "just do it" part has always been the hardest. Starting, or coming up with the big idea, is easiest, and trying it out for the next 24 hours, second easiest, but the period between that and the finish point, the mastering part, not so easy.

I usually either get bored, and procrastinate until it gets done in a long, drawn-out painful way, or give up.

So, it's been kind of miraculous that I've managed to not bail out on the day-in, day-out training, and have instead, sucked it up, and continue to "just do it."

Like, last night, we were running the last part of a six-week series on hills. The first week we had started out at the easiest, most modest inclines in Central Park, near the west side of the resevoir, moved on to Cleo's Needle, and the East side hills, then, went to the Hill on the east side near Harlem, and finally last night was the long, drawn-out, steep Harlem Hill.

The plan was to start running up at full effort, then half way up, switch to practicing good form. The goal was to completely tire out by the time you reached the top, then regain your energy levels with a slow jog down. Then, repeat. Well, I thought they'd have us do it three, maybe four times, then jog back to 90th and Madison. But after five times, with my head coach Ramon giggling as I huffed and puffed by, I started to think, hey, he doesn't look like he has any intention of ending this pain anytime soon. (Little did I know we'd continue on for 10 full mile-long jogs up and down!!!)

But instead of panicking like I would have before, spiraling into thoughts of my legs or lungs giving out after one more, they-must-be-effing-kidding-me uphill run, my brain switched into foreign territory. Just as I usually do now when entering a difficult, but familiar challenge, like editing a service article, or stepping foot on foreign soil and needing to navigate the transportation system, my brain registered an obstacle, but bypassed stress mode, and clicked into simple solution mode. "Just do it," was the cue that came up. Not in an angry tone. More like a shrug-your-shoulders, resigned voice. Like, "You've got this. Now, just do it. Whatever."

"Okay, I thought, "I will." No stress. No sweat. Just put one leg in front of the other and keep breathing. Simple solution.

After 10 or so weeks, I've moved out of the freshman, wet-behind-the-ears phase, and am now in execution mode--auto-pilot--where the real work occurs, just doing it until it gets done.

And it's fun.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

a prayer to the running gods

Are you there God? It's me, Meghann.

I know I haven't been in touch for a little while--I'm so sorry about that and I promise to be better about it, but I think you know what I've been up to these days.

And yes, I'm about to hit you up for a few things. I know, I know. Everyone does that. Why don't they thank you once and a while too? Well, first of all, thank you very, very much for sending me that Team in Training brochure, making me check off Rome, sending me amazing friends to help me raise the money, legs that don't seem to be giving out on me yet, and that sale at Running World last week--that was awesome, thank you.

Okay, now for the asks.

Goos. I love them, and thank you for making the chemical plants that somehow make slimy liquid taste like espresso, that is wonderful. (You should probably close down all other chemical plants making things that are bad for us--just keep the espresso-goo-making ones open until March 22.) But, can I ask that you make ones that taste like cookies or cupcakes or brownies or what about pizza-flavored Combos? Just keep mixing it up. Thanks.

My legs. I'd LOVE it if you could keep the left one in good working order until March 22. That locking/seizing feeling in my knee is no good. I'll do my part by keeping up the lunges and squats, but Lord--and by Lord, I mean you--Lord knows how much I hate them. So, actually, what I'm asking is for you to create a new form of leg exercise that gives you the results of lunges and squats but feels like your head softly hitting the pillow...

Saved By the Bell. Can you somehow finagle the crew to reverse in age, go back to their high school, and pump out new episodes. I'm really enjoying watching it at the gym while I do my treadmill runs on Thursday mornings. This one might be tough, but really, what are Tiffani Amber and Marc Paul doing anyway--Mario Lopez might be the only hold out. Can you do this with the Golden Girls, too--those ladies are so funny. That cheesecake bit will never get old.

Fundraising ideas. I am doing great with it, but it's coming down to wire and I don't think I can ask my friends to do any more drinking for me. It just feels so wrong to turn them into a bunch of alcoholics (especially my pregnant friends.) Pizza, pasta, come on, let's brainstorm...throw out any ideas, don't worry if they're bad.

Popular Music. Okay, "All the Single Ladies" was inspired, and Britney's comeback--beautiful, but please, please can you get our favorite popstars to raise the bass up a notch? It's like, what happened to '90s-style Ace of Bass, TLC, House of Pain, anything hip-hoppy that can serve as my new anthem. I don't care if it turns my brains to soup it's so manufactured--I just need something that will get me past mile 15. Is that so much to ask?

I know the universe appreciates grattitude, so thank you for taking care of all this in advance.

xoxo, Meg

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

back to basics

It's fun to feel sorry for yourself sometimes, but after a day or two of wallowing, it's time to take stock of what happened, figure out what went wrong, then come up with a plan so it won't happen again.

This past Sunday's run wasn't my best ever, but after a good e-mail exchange from my coach, and a few encouraging words of advice from friends, I've managed to put it into perspective.

First of all, bad runs happen to everyone. "It's totally normal to have off days and off runs," says my Rome head coach. "A lot of it has to do with sleep. Not the night before before, but the two or three nights before."

This past week I wasn't feeling so great, and kind of just pretended it wasn't happening (I never like to admit that I'm having a cold.) I thought loading up on Thera-Flu every night would do the trick, but I can see how my sleeping wasn't the highest quality or quantity.

"It also has to do with nutrition, like how much salt you took in before the race, since salt helps hold onto water in your body."

Thanks to daily toast and eggs, and a mac and cheese with ham dinner the night before (thanks, Weath and Noah), I'm not so sure this was the culprit, but I did feel like try as I could, I couldn't satisfy my thirst that morning.

"And when the course is different or the weather's different and you're not expecting it, it can throw you for a loop."

That was definitely the case--I thought I'd be excited to run on new terrain (and see the Bronx!), but the course was full of street hills, and I hate to say it, but made up of two long, straight sloping roads that were kind of soul killing.

And today at practice I learned that 8, even 10 miles, isn't so hard on your legs, but mileage after that run on legs whose muscles aren't built up enough can be damaging, since after the quads give out, it's like running on sneakers that have been worn too long and that have gone flat--you're really just pounding on the joints around your knees and ankles. Regular cross training to build them up is the only thing that keeps that from happening...

Okay, I get it, I get it, it's time to bust out the squats and lunges at least once a week from now on.

But the best advice came from my friend Greg, who reminded me (sweetly) that I still finished, and that if the "me" who was just beginning were to ever come face-to-face with the "me" now complaining about the fact that my time was four minutes off my last 1/2 race time, she would laugh in my face. Thanks, Greg.

Plus, some apt words of wisdom he borrowed to prove his point made me realize I am taking myself waaaaaay too seriously right now...

"Ladies is pimps, too, go and brush your shoulders off."

Sunday, February 8, 2009

bronx bombing

Eh.

Okay, it's more than just eh.

After a few great weeks of runs feeling fun, easy and progressing upward in mileage, this morning's half marathon in the Bronx was not good. The kind of bad run that starts iffy, gets a little better, but then at the half-way point, you're realizing you're not going to make your fastest time, and you might even half to walk you're in so much pain. And you're so far behind the main group, it's just you, the frat guys who way overshot their fitness levels, the grandmas, and the guys in funny costumes. And then something new happened (I hesitate to even admit this for fear of jinxing myself), but my knee started to hurt in that funky way you definitely do not want it to. I was supposed to complete 15 miles today, my longest so far, but even making it to the finish was pretty rough, so I just kept it at the 13.1.

And after feeling so much love from my friends and family this week, words of support, people telling them that I inspire them, this morning's run wasn't just physically painful, but it made me feel like a phony.

I should probably not do these post-mortems while I a) haven't even eaten yet after the race and b) my brain is still a little mushy and not thinking logically, but I have to get it out there.

I'll be back in a few to go through all the reasons why this could have happened this week.
 
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