Yes, I did post this to make all you non-locals jealous! If I come across anything good (re: cheap) there may be a giveaway in the future. I’ll be sure to tell you all about it next week!
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I ♥ Where I Live
Twofer Tuesday
Not only did I get in a relatively long run today (15.7km/9.75mi), but I also met up with another mum who might turn into a consistent running partner! YAY!
To be honest, I wouldn’t have gone out and run that far on my own. However, I had to run to our meeting place (2.5km) so it just turned out that way… I think that it’ll be nice to have someone who I can run with at least once a week. Yes, I am probably counting my chickens before they’re hatched, but I have a good feeling about it.
This Made My Day…
I might not be the fastest runner out there, but at least I beat Jared from Subway (and a few other celebrities)!
Congrats to everyone who ran the NYC marathon! Another to add to my bucket list (when I start writing it).
This Is Going To Be Fun!
So I didn’t have the money to register for the “First Half” Half Marathon and now it’s sold out – in only a couple of days. That’s fine and dandy because I knew that I was going to miss it. It’s, obviously, the first half marathon of the season locally and it was cancelled last year due to the Olympics. It was destined to be popular as people missed it!
My solution to not running in it is to volunteer. I only signed up tonight to be contacted and it’s not until 13 February 2011 so I don’t know yet what I’ll get to do. But I’m really excited! I’ve never volunteered at a race. However, I know how much I appreciate the volunteers at all of the events I’ve run in! So many races just wouldn’t get put on if people didn’t want to help out.
Here’s my question to you: Have you volunteered for a race before? How was it?
I figure that volunteering will be just as rewarding as racing. Besides, I have so many friends running in the race it’ll be nice to cheer them on at the same time!
Three Things Thursday
1. I’m sick. Yaaay! Spud has had a cold for the last almost 2 weeks and yesterday I started with the sneezes and drippy nose. Hopefully I won’t get the puking and coughing…
2. I have a run planned with a friend tomorrow afternoon. Spud is starting a gym class and it’s not parent participation! He loves the teacher – so much so that the rec centre is referred to as “Miss Leslie’s” – and I don’t think that there will be an emotional breakdown as I leave… (knock on wood). It will be nice to get out for almost an hour and the rain is supposed to clear up late morning.
3. I have to clean my kitchen. Not exciting, but that was the best thing I could come up with. How sad is that?
Hello, My Name Is Alanna and I Have PMD
That would be Post Marathon Depression. This post-race period has got me down. I ran my marathon on 10 October. Since then it’s been a downhill slide. Honestly. I’ve had one week since then that I’m remotely okay with, meaning I ran 3 times. Now I know that you can get post-race blues, but I had no idea that it’d be this bad.
There are a few contributing factors:
* No immediate goal. I am planning on signing up for the next marathon clinic however it doesn’t start until 30 December. So I’m in maintenance until then. If I had lots of money I’d sign up for the half marathon clinic that started last week (and overlaps for about 6 weeks) just so I would have something to be committed to.
* I have been “in training” for the last year and a half. I started running in May 2009 with a learn-to-run clinic, moved on to the 10km in September, the half marathon that October and ran my first half in February 2010. Then I trained for my second half myself – which sucked (the training, not the race – that was a PR) as I obviously need the structure of an in-store program – and started working toward the full in June. I really don’t think that it’s running overload or burnout – I don’t run nearly enough for it to be burnout. Apparently I just don’t know what to do with myself now that there’s no accountability.
* I have to take Spud with me. It’s not a selfish thing – I don’t mind that he’s with me (and talks non-stop for the run until he falls asleep). It’s that I mind having to push him. That stroller is heavy. With Spud in it it’s over 60lbs. And I don’t live in a flat neighbourhood. So, yes, it’s complaining a little – I know lots of you run with doubles! – I’m just not used to it and it bugs me because it makes me even slower than I already am. I get good workouts, but I don’t necessarily feel good about them (make sense?). Even if Colin comes with us I still have to push since it starts to aggravate his knee/IT band if he does.
* It’s dark out now in the evenings (and darker earlier once daylight savings ends on Sunday). This means that I can’t go out by myself at all. Both Colin and I aren’t comfortable with me going out by myself in the mornings – and, let’s face it, I love my sleep more than most – and the same goes for nighttime. We live in a suburban area, but there’s enough crime around that it’s really not safe. It’s pretty much a “better safe than sorry” attitude.
So that’s what’s wrong with my running life right now. I’m really not sure how to remedy it. I’ll go out for runs regardless, but there’s a part of me that thinks “what’s the point?” if I’m not really getting anything out of it. It’s more than the slight funk I thought I was in. I can’t give up on it. I won’t give up on it. If I want to do well at all in May then I need to up my game, so to speak. I can’t really cruise through training like I did this summer. I need to take it more seriously.
Any advice to help me get out of my head?
I See Lots Of Runs In My Future
Yeah, my 3 year old certainly doesn’t need to eat all of this candy. Neither do I, but I’ll eat my fair share (no use saying I won’t…). Guess who’s going to go for many runs soon to work it off?
This Is Me
I stole this picture from Heather at Run Faster, Mommy! I’m pretty sure that when I have some extra money laying around I’ll get it made into a t-shirt. My family and friends love me, but this is usually how our conversations go!
How Far Will I Have To Drive?
It’s only playing for 1 day in the States (1 January 2011). If any one is in Washington and lives north of Seattle – the closer to the border the better – please request that they bring it to your city! I want to come! This relay is definitely going on my “someday when I don’t have kids at home” list!
Three Things Thursday
#1. I have run 3 times this week! Yay me! It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but two of these runs have been just me and Spud. This is the first time (ever) that I’ve gone out with him in the stroller and not had Colin with us. I kind of thought that it would be really hard to push the stroller just by myself, but it’s not that bad. Colin can’t do it anymore anyways since it hurts his knee so I might as well get used to doing it!
#2. I went for an 11km run yesterday. I asked Spud if he was okay to not go out on a run. And in his honest 3 year old way he said, “No.” So out we went. I’m glad that we did – it was sunny (today is not) and he had a bit of a nap.
#3. The downside to #2 is that when we got home from our run Spud was really tired and complaining of a headache. He also said that he wasn’t hungry/full even though he’d barely eaten. I kind of shrugged it off (stupid!) and paid for it later. I thought maybe he just needed to sleep a little longer, but he was actually sick. He got sick all over our couch/floor/Colin right before we were supposed to sit down for dinner. So dinner got pushed back (chicken was still on turned off barbecue – worst dinner ever 1/2 hour later) while we cleaned up. We had to rinse our cushions in the tub so I had to bathe Spud in the kitchen sink. It made for a very interesting evening and a long night (he wanted to sleep on the couch at 1am – fine, whatever’s easiest – and eat at 2am). There will be no run today!
Love My Runners 