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Tag: another mother runner

What’s Wrong With Me?

April 1, 2015

So lately my runs have not been very impressive.  My speed is horrible; but I am also battling an injury.  I think I sprained my ankle while playing in the snow with my kids in February.  I have a half marathon in two weeks that I really want to get under my belt.  But my energy level just hasn’t been what it usually is.  What’s wrong with me??

I know when I am injured it slows me down but I always push through it regardless of the pain.  I find ways to get around it.  I am using KT tape now to keep it together while it heals and I even took time off of running and just walked on the treadmill most days of the week and I know that when I do run it’ll hurt that night and maybe the next day.  But there is improvement.

But my oomph is missing.  When it’s a running day for me and my alarm goes off at 6 I usually get right up and go.  Not these past few weeks.  I’m hitting snooze and dragging.  I crave sleep more than I desire to go out for a run.  Is it the fact that winter JUST won’t let go for us?  The days are still cold?  I can’t quite put my finger on it.  In the summer I would go out on the weekends early so I could do my runs and long runs before it is too hot and also before the family was up so that it was done and we had the day ahead of us.  I don’t have that desire to just get up and go lately.  But I love running and my time alone.  I just love my cozy bed more.  Do I just have to suck it up and get my ass up and go or is there something more going on?  I am happy that the sun is out now earlier again so I can get up at 6 and go out rather than just go downstairs to the treadmill.  But it’s still easier for me to hit snooze and wait.  Maybe I just need to put the effort in and FORCE myself to get up and out and make it a pattern/habit again and then my energy level will increase and I will get that focus back.

But I am also seeing it in my worklife.  My brain has been so foggy lately!  Heidi told me to click somewhere the other day and I swear she saw the hamsters in my brain trying to spin the wheel to tell my fingers to click the mouse and click on the menu item.  It was so strange!  It was like my engine was not firing all cylinders!  Is it cabin fever?  Do I just need a break?  I don’t feel like I need a break.  I feel like I need a boost!

This blog post is regarding women’s issues and may have some TMI so if you aren’t into that, you can stop reading now.  I just turned 43 this week.  I think my body is changing – I know my body is changing.  I think I am approaching the perimenopausal age.  Things are different than they used to be and I think my energy level may be related to the time of the month and also what happens during that time might be causing my iron to drop.  Let’s just say that what used to last just a few days is lasting more than a few days and the volume has increased.  Hopefully this cryptic message made sense.

I also did a leg workout on Sunday that made my legs so sore I could barely walk up stairs for two days.  So I am wondering if that is why my legs felt like they were 100 pounds each today on my run.  I enjoyed the workout and didn’t mind doing it at all.  It felt good to do something different and my goal is to cross train more and do more strength training so that my leg muscles will be stronger and I will avoid injury over the marathon training weeks in the late summer and fall.

I know I need to get to my doctor and I will.  I am keeping notes of these changes that are occurring in my body, but wonder if it is normal for someone my age.  My mom had fibroid tumors and had a hysterectomy at a young age.  The fact that she had fibroids is where my concern is and I will express that concern to my doctor.

So what is going on with me?  Do I just have Spring Fever and need the good warm sunshine to perk me up?  Am I in a running funk?  The reason why I didn’t register for the Providence marathon this spring was because I didn’t want to commit myself to spring training for a marathon since I just got off of fall training for two within two months of each other and I wanted to give my body a break.  I also wanted to focus on doing some half marathons this spring to help get some better finish times; but now they are going to be more about surviving and getting them done rather than getting a PR because my leg won’t heal.

Have you ever gone through this?  Is it happening to us New Englanders because we had so much snow and cold this winter and we are DYING for Spring to come?  Please share!

The Another Mother Runner Meet Up and Book Signing

March 24, 2015

Thursday, March 12 was an event on my calendar I was looking forward to.  Dimity and Sarah were going to be at Fleet Feet in West Hartford and I was going to meet up with Kimberly Markey and her best friend Nicole, Kimberlee Dziezynski, and Anne Martin for dinner beforehand.

I had a blast!  It was great to see the girls outside of a race or on a plane!  We ate at Bricco in West Hartford.  The food was delicious and it was good to catch up with everyone!  Then, we walked to Fleet Feet.

There were a lot of women there and lots of activities to fill some time prior to the book readings.  I enjoyed the activity to get the names of two women there and the latest race distance they ran.  While doing this I got to meet two great women from CT One of them did the women’s triathlon last September that I was aiming to do last year but chose to sit out.  We talked and she told me all about the race and that it is not intimidating.  She opened my eyes to consider the idea of doing the tri again this year, but right now it’s not in my heart to do so.  But it was great to network with other and to talk about things that scare us.

Our activities to complete while we mingled

Our activities to complete while we mingled

Also while we mingled and waited for the readings we had to visit the merchandise table and the sponsor’s table and identify an item that we would like to own.  At the Saucony table I saw a few items that caught my eye.  The hipster pouch was something I was interested in, as well as the capri pants they had.

After mingling we sat down to listen to the readings from Dimity, Nicole Blades and Alison Overholt.  I heard their essays before on previous episodes of Another Mother Runner podcasts; but it was nice to hear them reading their essays in person. In between readings, Sarah and Dimity did raffle prizes for the items on the Sponsor table.  Unfortunately I was not a winner. But I had a great time!  After the event was over, I had both Sarah and Dimity sign my book and I hung around to chat with them and the other essayists, Nicole and Alison.  They are awesome and I hope to see them again at future events.

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Alison reading her essay

 

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Sarah (a two-time BQ qualifier) and me

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me and Dimity (an Iron Woman)

If you haven’t checked out their books or podcast already, visit their website and listen now! They also gave us a swag bag at the end of the night filled with all of these great products! Thank you to Nuun, RedFox Wireless, SofSole, Gu, Hylands, Runner’s High, Action Wipes, Heart Strides, and Trigger Point for contributing the Sarah and Dimity’s swag bag.

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Our swag bag goodies

After the event was over we mingled some more, took pictures and had Sarah and Dimity sign our books and I did some shopping at the Another Mother Runner merchandise table.  One of my favorite sweatshrts is my Philly Mother Runner sweatshirt so I HAD to pick up their badass mother runner sweatshirt!  They are so soft and comfy.  I also picked up an Another Mother Runner soft baseball shirt.IMG_5293

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It was such a great night and I know that it was a chance to see them for a book reading that may not happen again for a long time.  The next chance I may get to see them is at Wine & Dine in Disney in November.  They mentioned that they may attend that race, but if they are at a local race again like Philly then I will be sure to stop by their booth.  I keep tabs on where they are from their web site and their pod casts.  It was great to see them again and I had a great time hanging with the girls for the night!  Thank you Sarah and Dimity!

Kathryn Switzer – The First Woman To Run The Boston Marathon

April 15, 2014

On my 20 mile training run I listened to the Another Mother Runner podcast #101 with Kathryn Switzer.  What an amazing story she told!  She is the first woman to run the Boston Marathon.  She is a professional journalist, speaker and commentator, and has several books Marathon Woman, 26.2 Marathon Stories and Running and Walking for Women Over 40.  I have not read any of her books yet but they are next on my list.

She is most famous for running the Boston Marathon 45 years ago, when she officially entered what was considered to be a men’s only race.  This is my first time seeing this image, but this was a very famous image of her running the Boston marathon and being attached by the race director for officially wearing a bib during the race.  Her boyfriend protected her and she continued to run and finish the race.

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In 1974 she won the New York City Marathon and in 1975 Kathryn finished second in the Boston Marathon with a finish time of 2:51:33.

Her most recent work is the 261 Fearless Women’s Marathon which took place on March 30, 2014 in Madrid, Spain.  Bib number 261 was her 1967 Boston Marathon bib number.  Women from around the world have been wearing this bib number because it makes them feel fearless in the face of adversity.

Learn more about Kathryn on her website and listen to the podcast, it’s an amazing story!

One Word Resolution…

January 26, 2014

I love to listen to pod casts when I run.  This weekend  I needed to be out on my walk/run because I needed my peaceful time to myself. It was a grey, cold, windy morning.  Normally, people would prefer to be cuddled up on the couch with their coffee in a warm home.  Normal people do.  I wanted to get outside.  The temp was 25 degrees, a heat wave compared to the 10-15 degree temps we have been dealing with this week.

I started my walk with a mile or just walking to warm up my body and my legs.  They are still recovering from marathon weekend.  I was listening to the Two Gomers Run For their lives podcast season 6 episode 8 (link to podcast). They have been a favorite of mine and they are now working on a goal to do a full triathlon.  They are just 2 dads, normal guys, who are working towards goals of living a healthier life and becoming more active.  They have gone from running their first half, to their first full, to a sub 5 hour marathon, and now they are venturing into the triathlon world.  They are funny.  I was enjoying my time alone, laughing with (and at) the Gomers and learning as I go.

Every year for New Years, they talk about a one word resolution.  I typically don’t play along with this, but a word came to me that I thought was appropriate for what I have been going through lately.  So I am going to apply it to my year this year.  The word is GROW.  I am going to work on growing my running skills, my blog, my friendships, my work, my web design, and my creativity.

It was a rewarding, healing walk/run and I am looking forward to more growing time with myself to spark more creativity and new ideas!

Some of my other favorite pod casts are:

Another Mother Runner
Mickey Miles Podcast
Laugh or Go Crazy
The DIS Unplugged
Mouse Chat
WDW Today

What are your favorite pod casts?  Do you have a one word resolution for 2014?

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