A Running Mom

A friend sent me a message today saying he was going for the last run of 2008. I hadn’t planned to run today. But he inspired me. Tonight I took the perfect run to end the year, with a dear friend, through a park that lights up the town with decorative lights this time of year.  Between the snow, the lights, the 20 degrees, hills, great stories and sinking sun, it couldn’t have been better.  So here’s to us all. All we’ve done.  And better, all we’ve get to do in 2009. Cheers!  And, thanks, Jeff!  

May your next run be a good one. Rebecca

gotta run

Sometimes on a run I’ll start remembering things from 30 years ago with absolute delight and joy. This time of year always does it to me. When I was a kid, we were allowed to write down as many things as we wanted for Christmas and mail the list to Santa. One year I took the BEST catalog and wrote down every toy inside. I remember the catalog being about 5,000 pages long.  

I didn’t get anything from that list.

I started wondering about what I would have done if I had. Where would I have put the toys? How could I ever have played with them all? What were they, anyway? That was the year I got this action-figure doll that came with a horse, canteen, and binoculars. She looked like Barbie, but didn’t have a great figure or glitzy clothing. She wore a lot of brown and boots. And she went on adventures. I hated her at first. I pined for a Barbie like so many of my friends. But as often these stories do, the tables turned for me. My friends started coming over and fought over my adventure girl. She was cool. She did cool things. She was brave. And she take Barbie down in a second. I loved my adventure girl.

It’s the season of giving. Of celebration. Imbibing. Enjoy it all. Give the unexpected. Embrace the surprises given to you. Cherish your memories. Let them wash over you during your next run.

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

If you are anything like me, you are getting tired of all of the hype around the various workouts out there. From “boot camps” to “high intensity mega tapes” to a multitude of dvds recently offered, men and women can be tempted to spend mega bucks on ways to make working out more effective and interesting. Well, here’s my few thoughts for free. Here’s my top 5 Speed Workouts that will make YOU stronger, focussed and challenged. Try this:

5. INTERVALS During your next run, identify a target about 100 yards away.  This target could be a tree, lampost, bench or if you’re really abmitious, another runner. Run as fast as your legs can carry you to this target and then resume your comfortable pace. Do this once per mile of a “comfortable pace” run. WHY? It builds strength, endurance and challenges how you regard your pace. Plus, it’s fun, especially if you dust another runner.

4. BUILD THAT MUSCLE After three runs each week, do 3 sets of 8 of each of these: push-ups, dips, lunges. Try to incorporate them into the setting of your run, immediately upon finishing your run. WHY? Challenging muscles when their fatigued can quickly build strength. That’s why we do sets until muscle failure. Plus you’ll feel like Rocky.

3. CUT DISTANCE/ADD SPEED For one run each week, lessen your distance by half and run that distance in a :30-:45 less per mile than your comfortable pace. If you usually run four miles at 9:30, run two miles at 8:30-9:00. Don’t fret if you don’t successfully achieve this goal your first time. But keep trying. WHY? Each time you try will make you faster the next time you go out.

2. RUN WITH SOMEONE FASTER THAN YOU Not every run, but once in a while, find someone to run with whose pace is faster than yours. It can be annoying, yes, but as you guessed, it can make you stronger and faster. You may even make a new friend, or an old friendship stronger.

1. FINISH EVERY RUN LIKE AN EIGHT YEAR OLD No matter how far you’re running, select a point at the end of your run when you will just let it fly like you did when you were a kid and run as fast as you can, even if your form begins to break down. WHY? It’ll make you stronger and faster. And you know what? It’s fun.

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Join the group “Sign up for the Pittsburgh Marathon!”  It’s on Facebook now so check it out!  What a great way to avoid the “holiday 10.”

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

So all you peeps out there who, like me, enjoyed the bliss of running today and came up with a fabulous idea because of it, here’s to you! For all you people who procrastinated one more day, get off that couch and hit it… the road, the track, the treadmill… get out there and RUN! You’ll be glad you did. I sure am. 

Treadmill running usually drives me crazy, but not today.  It was all about running faster and breathless, until my legs flew beneath me like an 8 year-old girl running for a fly ball she desperately wants to catch but knows she’s likely to drop it.  Panicked.  Frantic.  And awkward.  

That was me.  Today.  On the old treadmill.

And it was fabulous.

I even conjured up a terrific idea for the holiday season.  My girls are going to love it!  More on that later…

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

My plans for running 3 times last week as an effort to keep at bay the possibility of any extra turkey/pie/yummy food poundage was completely outweighed — lol — by my absolute need to chat with my peeps. My family. My nephews. Nieces. Brothers. Sisters. Children. MOM. There were 60 of us after all! But the combination of late nights, a few beers, and a ton of catching up with family, kept me away from my shoes. They sat in the corner and laughed at me.  

So? Tomorrow is the day. The kids go back to school and I get to run! Whenever I want (sort of)!  I can’t wait for that feeling… you know the one… you’re running after days of inactivity. You feel fabulous because you’re all rested without any muscle soreness from any recent workouts. You’re antsy to get out because you’re full of extra energy from all the imbibing. You feel guilty from all the imbibing. You can’t wait to feel tired and exhausted. You feel like you can run forever. So you run longer than you ought. Your mind starts to slough off all the nonsense from days of lethargy. Your head starts spitting out great ideas. You start thinking clearly. Peacefully. You just breathe deeply and sweat. And sweat.

Yeah. That run. I can’t wait.

Today I feel like yuck. Tomorrow I’ll be back.

So think of me. Tomorrow. It’s gonna be good.

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca