Running Wogging & the Glass Half Full

It's amazing how fun a run can be when you have something new- New route, new mileage, new ---anything! Today I had two! 1. New hair- I've been with Val for an eternity- at Hair Worx in Farmington,nm -- (call 8 weeks in advance to even TRY getting in- she's THAT good) I trust her with my split ends-(and my roots) she's simply amazing. We share coffee, we share life. I always just sit, and let her do her thing- Yesterday we went SHORT! My first thought was--- how am I going to run with this hair? I knew I'd figure it out, because the new do was CUTE! 2. "Funky Runner" headband from razzyroo.com As a 'newbie' runner, gizmos intrigue-- high tech, low tech, doesn't matter- anything to fuel the habit. I have a laundry list of things I'd like to try/buy-- but at only 5 bucks-- the "Funky Runner" headband was an easy first! (plus the name cracks me up) So here I was, all geared up- a baby...

Finding time to get in a "long" run takes creativity (the term "long" is relative--- your long run may be near or far-- "long" is whatever goal seems just out of reach) Finding the courage to even try- takes naïveté. na·ive·téNoun/ˌnīˌēv(ə)ˈtā/ 1. Lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment. 2. Innocence or unsophistication. Merriam-Webster The Free Dictionary I think today: 1. -"lacking experience, wisdom or judgement", pretty much sums me up- ************* The run had a nice start. Good feel to cadence, easy breathing... Worked a little on pace by way of keeping foot tempo the same, but lengthening stride- found that my shoulders tensed up every time- so backed off and just ran- Air was cool- I've been running early lately- VERY early for me- It's interesting to notice your senses peaked by the slightest things when running alone in the quiet- I've discovered 4am is cooler than 5- 6 is also cooler than 5- Weird-- but it's been tha...

Today was interesting- Today, the "run" (in reality it was a walk) had some lessons to teach- Still feeling the thrill of my 8 mile run- the plan was to do the route again, only shortening it by 3 to get in my 5 miles. Alarm set for 5 (I Shouldn't have, but I double checked, and it's exactly 23 minutes fast) Out the door and up the warmup hill- then across the street and down. 1.46 miles later, this nagging thought creeps in- "what about that steep ascent just up the way? Will you run it? Can you run it?" Where was my victorious " Tell-ur-ide*jog*jog*jog* Tell-ur-ide*jog*jog*jog* " chanting from Thursday? Then I did it- turned around and ran the other way- They say running can be spiritual--- most of the time I think they mean humanistic spirituality were you glorify the power of "you" rather than the power of God. Today my heart was pricked- why did I turn from the hardship of ONE hill- that was the race I was to run, and shirked it. I ...

Yesterday, Wednesday, was hard, not just for me, but for most people I ran into- just a weird- messed up kind of day. I skipped my morning exercise class, took forever to get ready, then realized I'd promised my son, Riley, I'd get him to school early to finish homework he'd accidentally left at school. Rush, rush, rush- Plod, plod, plod- The "treadmill" of life surely had us in its grasp- I was determined Thursday would be different- I'm realizing that a good day begins the night before- Looking at my Running Schedule- I saw I had a 5 mile and an 8 left for the week- The girls' Saturday run would be a 5 if I joined them- so that left me with 8- Holy Cow- 8- I figured up my pace and mileage- it would take me about 2 hours to complete. "Hang you slow pace!!!!" I set my alarm for 4:15--- only my clock in my room is set 20 minutes fast- (those of you who know me know why) so actual time was------- you do the math- I don't want to ruin it for m...

This week has been a nightmare for getting up in time for my regular workouts. I've been faithfully getting up before 5 for over 2 months now, to get to a Zumba, Body Pump, or Body Combat class each morning~~~ But not this week. Even getting in a run has been rediculous. Today I was late by 4 minutes to Body Pump.... the sign in sheet said 27 had arrived before me~ no way was I walking in late to that. So it would be a treadmill run. I thought it would be easy~ I could work on my pace... pumping up the speed, when there's no choice but to "one foot in front of the other"~it... When will I realize that nothing is "easy" in running?  Boredom was my key enemy~  No headphones meant lip reading bad music videos that quietly "blasted" from screens in the middle of the facility. Only 1 was interesting... a Christina Agulara take on Alice in Wonderland caught my eye for all of  the 3-7 minutes it lasted... the only reason being my abil...

Today I started to register for my first half-marathon-then stopped. All the other girls had registered long before me- why was I hesitating? One word - LOGISTICS My honey (AKA: my "better half") is in the midst of the most challenging point of his life to date. Not only is he finishing a MSMA degree from Purdue--- it's his hardest, and last semester. Top that salad off with the kickoff of his startup engineering firm- spur of the moment business trips and long hours abound- Add to that, a little, make that BIG, back issue- (I have to call the chiropractor for him tomorrow) Season it with three crazy, button pushing children- And you have a recipe for disaster. Sure- I've got a ride for the 2-3 hour trek there and back- and yes- there's strength in numbers- to know just which hotel to book- and surely my in-laws would watch the kids. But, it just seems like I'm forcing it--- A "Half" is a Half? Right? I mean- do you have to...

Where did the summer go?  Here it is the first week of school, and we realized we didn't even go camping. So we decided to do the next best thing--- cheat, and forgo the " roughing it" part- we booked a room at The Peaks Resort in Telluride ( psssssst- don't forget to ask for the "locals" special) and made it a weekend road trip. The whole way up, all I could think about was how gorgeous a run would be, and how I could make time to sneak one in. As we got in bed that night, I sheepishly said "I'd like to go for a run tomorrow." "Just don't wake me up" came the reply And it was on. All night I plotted my run, worried I'd oversleep, wondered if the hills would kill me- -- thought about mileage ( I had 7 scheduled- would I be able to run it?) and speed- (oxymoron that is- my pace is still a slow 14) Dawn came- or should I say- alarm went off- I looked outside and stalled--- it was so dark~ Finally ready, I left ou...