Well, I Finished

Yep, I finished the half-marathon on Sunday.  Just barely though.  I ran it by myself so I didn't have to worry about keeping up with another runner which was a good thing.  About mile 3, we ran near to where I had parked the car and I thought, "I could just run right over to the parking garage and take off."  Mile 3!

• The good side of running a race by yourself is that you can cop out without anyone knowing.
• The bad side of running a race by yourself is that you can cope out without anyone knowing.

I did end up walking A LOT.  But I managed to finish in 2 1/2 hours.  Not great but not awful.  I did feel awful though at the end of the race.

How awful you ask?  Well, as I walked away from the finish line, a voice over the loudspeaker directed runners to the beer garden for their free beer.  The thought of a beer at that time nearly made me vomit.  And you know how much I like beer.

So, yeah, I felt like shit.

I was scratching my leg and it felt like it had sand all over it.  It was dried salt from my sweat. 

Not only did I feel like shit, I looked like shit.

Here's the funny thing.  I went out for a run today for the first time since the run on Sunday.  And I felt great!  I didn't go too far but my legs felt light, I ran fast, I thought I could go forever.  I haven't felt that way about a run in months! 

Go figure, I finally find my groove....3 days too late.

Keep the Kate Running

I usually don't ask for things on my blog but this time it's different.  This time, I really need some help.  If you wouldn't mind, please send good thoughts my way for Sunday morning.

I've signed up to run the ING Philadelphia Distance Run on Sunday.  Or, as I'm calling it these days:  13.1 miles in the 9th Circle.

Last year, I ran the Philly Half-Marathon in late November and had a great time.  But since then, I've had a running injury and worked on two shows, and lived through the hottest summer on record in Philly (that last one may not be absolutely correct).  And yes, I'm trying to make excuses.  It's true, I did run 10 miles a month and half ago but since then, if I try to run farther than 6 miles my body just shuts down.  I'm not kidding.  It just says, "Nah, we're good.  We're going to stop now."  There's not a damn thing I can do about it either.

When I signed up for the distance run, I figured I work up to 13 miles no problem, I've done it before.  Instead it's been a grueling process with tons of disappointment.  And, I can't not run because I have my t-shirt and I can't wear the t-shirt if I haven't done the run.  Right?

So, it looks as if I have 3 options:

1.  Get really sick before Sunday.  Got any germs you don't want?

2.  Feign a really bad injury in the middle of the run so I have to be carried off the race course.  I like this option because people will feel sooooooo sorry for me and try to make me feel better for not finishing the race.  I could even sob (as they are carrying me off), "No, I can make it, I can really finish."  Good huh?

3.  Trudge it out and walk as much I have to in order to finish the freakin' thing.  Of course, my son's birthday party is as 4 pm that afternoon so here's hoping I finish by 3 pm (the race starts at 8 am).

If anyone has any other ideas, I open for suggestions.  In the meantime, your best wishes would be most appreciated!

Running

I've been avoiding writing a blog post on running because well, I've been avoiding running.

In December, right before our first big snow storm, I ran 20 miles one week; 9 on one day and 11 on another. It felt so good. I had run the half-marathon a few weeks earlier and I was still keeping up with my long runs.

Then the snow came and the holidays and well, I didn't have time, there was too much snow, I might slip and hurt myself, I was too tired, I had too many things to do, etc. etc.

I had been reading some books about running, most notably, The Perfect Mile, about Roger Bannister's and John Landy's attempts at breaking the 4 minute mile. These guys ran in all sorts of weather. So I laced up my shoes and started running again.

But more snow came and as did rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet. Tired and cranky, I drank more coffee hoping I could still run.

Sneaking in a run one day while my kids were playing at home, I got about 1/2 mile from my house when I thought someone had taken my calf muscle and cut it in two with a scissor. I nearly fell on the sidewalk and barely managed to limp home.

After soliciting opinions from everyone ("too little potassium" "too little water" "shin splint?") I went to a Physical Therapist who knew exactly what it was; a slight tear to my calf muscle caused by dehydration. Happens a lot in older runners. At 41, I had no idea I was an older runner but if the shoe fits (or the calf hurts).

The PT guy iced my leg, gave me exercises and sonogrammed it (supposed to help with healing). At first I was royally depressed because of the show and not being able to run. I did a lot of running during History Boys in training for the half-marathon and I really loved the show so I've forever linked fun shows and running in my head.

I am trying to look at this as an opportunity; I couldn't run but I could do ab work in order to strengthen my core which I hadn't done in years. So I've been doing ab work and slowly trying to get out and run. One day I did 5 miles and felt fantastic but then allergy season hit and running felt like I had weights tied to my feet.

Yesterday I ran about 3 miles and was feeling great when my calf started screeching again. I can't seem to catch a break

It's such slow going. I feel like a completely different person than I was last fall and logging 20-25 mile weeks. Now, if I hit double digits or I should say when I hit double digits it'll feel like such an accomplishment.

I say I want to work up to a marathon but right now, a week of solid running would suit me just fine.

The Return of the Cocktail

So I suspended my blog a couple of months ago because I felt it was stale and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it. As I mulled it over, I realized that I wanted a blog to chronicle some new personal goals I have set for myself -- learn how to sing, run a marathon, and become a phenomenal stage manager. Not only will it be great to have a record of what I'm doing in order to reach my goals, I hope it also motivates me to keep trying, even on bad days.

While all this pondering was going on, I was also stage managing Romeo and Juliet at the Arden. The show closed yesterday and it was quite successful. A solid production with some great acting. Unfortunately, working on the show was incredibly difficult for me. The schedule was brutal, especially the performance schedule. We did several student matinees (which meant arriving at the theater at 8 am) as well as evening performances--sometimes in the same day. In between the shows, I had to go home, see my kids for a hot second, make dinner and then return to the theater.

In addition, I didn't enjoy all the cast members as I had during previous productions. I felt that several of the cast members had no respect for me at all. It seemed they just wanted me to stroke their ego and fetch them things. It was very dispiriting for me. I'm sure it didn't help that I stopped running for a while due to weather and a running injury. I do think exercise helps us keeps things in perspective.

But the show itself was good and hopefully as I reflect on the experience I'll learn something from it. Most importantly, it's over. Now, it's on to more singing lessons, more running (yup back on the streets, more on that later), and another show in a couple of weeks. I'll leave you with a clip of our production of R and J:

Stepping Out Over The Line

It's been almost a year to the day that I started running seriously. For years, I ran 2-3 miles at a time to supplement my other workout regime, either weights or yoga. Last year, I bought a new pair of running sneakers and started tacking on the miles; I'm running (or at least planning to run) 13.1 miles this coming Sunday in the Philly half-marathon.

As I look back over this past year, I realize how much running has influenced my life. I used to worry so much about accomplishing "stuff" during the day. When I stage manage a show, I work A LOT but when I'm not doing a show, my days are my own for the most part. Oh, I have to get the kids to school and dinner on the table but the in-between is up to me.

So I'd worry that I wasn't busy enough. Everyone else talked about their hectic lives and I'd think, "What is wrong with me?"

Running has changed that perspective for me. Slowing plodding along, one step at a time, trying to get closer to the goal: life isn't a sprint to the end (at least for me), it's one step at a time. So now I worry less about how much I've accomplished and I worry much more about what I want to accomplish: I run, I volunteer, I bake and sometimes I clean and I'm doing just fine.

I don't compare myself to others either. I've run a few races in the past year never worrying about how anyone else was doing. I'm running for me; to see how I can do. And, I'll admit it, I'm rather proud of my quiet little life when I'm not doing a show. I have time for my kids, time for fun, time for...running.

Part of this new attitude I owe to the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It's a wonderful book, really well written, and I highly recommend to anyone who likes a good read (even the non-runners). He really expresses the joy and simplicity of running and why people love to run. He also de-bunks a lot of running myths such as: running hurts, people shouldn't run, you need certain gear to be a good runner. Running should be low-stress and so should life. I hope we all find that something that helps us in our everyday life. It doesn't have to be running, that's just what worked for me.

I'm still a slow runner (and I think I've gotten slower as I've upped the miles) but I run and I bake and I love it. So in honor of the book and the hobby that has given me a new lease on life, here's a video of someone who has clearly found something he loves to do; lucky for the rest of us, he's pretty good at it.

Friday Idiots

On Fridays, Baino posts the latest Friday Fuckwit. This week's is especially hilarious. I'm borrowing the idea from her for this post. While my story doesn't quite make it all the way up to Fuckwit, I do need vent to vent about the stupidity of some people.

On Wednesday, I went out for a run. I'm training for Philly's half-marathon so I decided to try 12 miles again. I had done it once before but needed to know I could still run that long. People will say that you don't have to run the entire length of the race before running the race, but I don't believe them. In the middle of the Broad Street Run--which was 10 miles--I was trying to figure out how to quit. I only finished because I had nowhere else to go.

So I'm out on Wednesday, and 1 1/2 hours into my run (oh yeah, I run slow, 10 minute miles, veeerrrrry slooooooow), and a woman pulls her car over to me with the window rolled down leaning out to ask me a question.

While I'm running.

I have running shorts on, sneakers, a baseball cap, a water bottle strapped to my ass, and HEADPHONES! And, by the way, I'm running. Do I look like I want to stop and chat?

We were in Glenside, in the middle of the day. There are TONS of places to stop to ask for directions, why do you have to stop someone in the middle of her run? I kept running because I never would have finished the 12 miles if I had stopped.

Turns out, she's not the only idiot. My husband, Brian, was out running in Philadelphia when a tourist asked him where he could find the Rocky steps (never mind they are the Art Museum steps). Brian, being soooo much nicer than I, told him. This tourist proceeded to regale Brian with how far he had walked that day and that 3 more blocks probably wouldn't kill him.

Does this guy really believe that Brian (who's running) gives a rat's ass about his physical activity for the day?

I know we should be compassionate human beings but do I really have to be nice to someone who doesn't pick up his context clues?

Running Gear+Headphones+Running=Not interested in chatting at the moment

Learning Curve

It was last November when I started running, really running. By that I mean running more than 2 1/2 to 3 miles at a time. I chalk it up to the great Fall weather and the yoga I was doing at the time (which has since fallen by the wayside for the moment).

I ran 4 1/2 miles one day, then 6 miles another day; I thought I'd just keep going. And I did for a while...then summer hit and the heat and my kids were home and I had trouble finding the time or the energy.

Very discouraging.
I am one of those people who believes things have to turn out perfectly or its a complete and utter failure and why did I think I could do it in the first place? I know, what am I? 12?

But I read a running book--well, part of a running book because it was really poorly written and I had trouble getting through it. An expert on running does not an expert on writing make--that said that every run should be a learning run, even bad runs.

There's my Oprah AHA moment!

Now, I'm getting it, and I'm learning that:

• I need sleep. More so than I need to run. I'm not one of those people whose eyes pop open at 6 am eager to run. My eyes never pop open for any reason and 6 am, well, that's too bloody early.
• I need to drink more water, lots more water. I ran 5 miles one morning. Did not drink much water that day then went out that night. Couldn't run for two days. Water, who knew it was that important?
• I can't start out running too fast. On some days, I feel so good I run faster at the start and then poop out at mile 2. Slow and steady wins with miles.
• Heat sucks. Can't really sugar-coat that one.

I've also decided not to do the marathon this fall but to do the half-marathon. The History Boys is a long play, almost 3 hours (those boys have a lot to say about history) which means long nights at the theater and less sleep. I figure that I'll stick with 13 miles for now, learn a lot about my running habits, styles, etc. and then kick ass next year.

See, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Potpourri

I don't know if this happens to fellow bloggers or not but sometimes, I won't blog one day and that turns into two, then three, then a week and half goes by and I've almost forgotten that I've started a blog. I also find it difficult to blog when events crop up such as the fact that we had company for the past 4 days and before that I had to do extra shopping and cleaning. I've been thinking about this a lot since I've heard that the movie Julie and Julia is coming out. This is the movie about the woman who cooked her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and blogged about it. I don't know much about the movie or the blog but the feat itself overwhelms me. Where does one find the time? She mustn't have kids.

So, fellow bloggers, do tell me if you don't mind: Do you blog regularly? If so, do you feel you need to or is it just for fun? How do you find the time when life gets a bit crazy? I'm just curious and looking for inspiration.

In the meantime, here's what's been happening with me:

Theme Thursday: After the Summer Theme Thursday, I surfed around and attempted to read everyone's post about Summer. I didn't quite make it through but I loved it! The photos of the food and sights and sounds that emanated from the posts were hypnotic! As for my post, yes, The Silver Fox got all the right answers on the quiz. I do think I dated myself by the songs I chose.

Margarita Race: I ran a 5K a couple of weeks ago with Brian. He beat the pants off me but only after I posted my fastest first mile ever (at an 8:40 pace). Then my stomach seized up and I had to slow down...wwwaaaayyyyy down. I still got a margarita though - 2 in fact!

Lazy Summer Days: I'm lucky enough to be able to work my theater schedule out so that I can have most of the summer off with my kids. It's been so nice because we've taken to doing nothing most of the time. Of course that reminds me of the time my daughter said to me: You know mom, you should pay me for doing nothing. It's the hardest thing to do because you can't stop to rest. And that's definitely not conducive to blogging.

Running Update

I've had a hard time with my runs lately. It's been since the Broad Street run--did I mention that I did it? All 10 miles? Don't worry, I'm sure I'll mention it again.

Anyway, since Broad Street, I haven't seemed to be able to run very far or very well. I swear my body is rebelling: I ran 10 miles what do you want? Isn't that enough? Where's my beer?

Of course, I was doing my show and had a lot of late nights. Not that that's an excuse but boy do I love my sleep. Also, summer came (finally) and the heat and with the kids home, it's difficult to find a good time to run. I mean, my kids actually want me to spend time with them--what is up with that?

I've also, pretty much, given up my yoga practice. While training for the Broad Street Run (did I mention it was 10 miles and that I ran all of it?), I was also rehearsing so I did not have time for yoga and it kind of fell by the wayside. It probably would have helped. I did take a yoga class last week and then spent the rest of the day edging my lawn. I don't have an electric edger so I use that tool that looks like a flattened out hoe (you can tell how much I garden). It was a lot of work because I had to stand on it and then pull up the grass. After that, I couldn't move--let alone run--for three days.

So my new goal is to run a little bit everyday to get used to the weather and so it won't be so hard--you know, what's 25 to 30 minutes? I can do that. I really wouldn't be running at all except that I signed up to do a race tomorrow with Brian. Not a long one, a 5k, but we get a margarita at the end. Hell, I'll crawl 3 miles for a margarita.

I've been doing this run a bit every day thing and tonight I finally had a great run. A run like old times when I felt I could go forever. It's so nice to feel like my old self again. But then I came home and told Brian and he said, "Oh, you burnt yourself out before the race, you won't run well tomorrow."

Yeah, it sounds mean, but he's just talking trash because the last race we did together, I beat him. Yeah, Brian, I went there. And, tomorrow, he's welcome to beat me because not only am I back in running form but even if I come in dead last, I still get a margarita.

Road Race

I ran my second race over the weekend. The first race I ran was in February, a 5-miler through picturesque Ambler, PA. This past one was a 10k (or 6.2 miles) in a town right near Ambler. Brian ran it with me. I beat him by 6 seconds. It will never happen again; my beating him, not racing.

I enjoyed both races much more than I expected. The first one in Ambler, I did by myself while Brian raced around dropping me off and getting the kids to their sporting events and then picking me up. I thought I'd feel very self-conscious but I didn't. I struck up conversations with a few people as we waited for the race to start, very friendly. My brother, who runs a lot of races, once told me (long before I met Brian) that if I wanted to meet guys I should do races.

I think I'm nervous because I am an erratic runner--I'll run fast then slow down and then speed up again. I hate running with people for this very reason. I tried running in a running group once and had to stop (and they were probably very happy about it).

But it didn't matter during the race because I passed some people and some people passed me. And then more people passed me. On Saturday, I found myself running behind this woman with a t-shirt on that said something on the back like, "Is it rude to count the number of people you pass out loud?" I kept seeing that shirt and I didn't like the saying so I sped up at the end and passed her. I know, rather childish but she'll never know the real reason; I hope.

Throughout the day on Saturday while running errands, I'd stop every once in a while and think, 'Oh yeah, I ran a race today, boy I feel good.' It was great knowing I had started off the day with an invigorating race. Now, I know why people get up at the crack of dawn to go to the gym. I'm not saying I'm going to join them anytime soon, but I understand.

And yet, I still don't know if I can call myself a runner. I know it sounds weird but when I talk to people about what they do for exercise, a lot of people will say, "I run, I'm a runner." But when does one become a runner? After one race? Two races? My brother (the one who runs, I have 3 brothers) told me about a race he is running in Germany. My niece (his daughter) is graduating there with a degree in culinary arts. Anyway, the half-marathon they are both running, takes place the day after she graduates. I asked, "Doesn't she want to hang out and have some beers after she graduates?" He replied, "Well, then she'll just run slower." See that's a real runner; even tying one on doesn't stop you.

But my problem may just be a personality quirk. A few years ago I would answer the question, "Do you work?" with a long involved response about how I stayed home but sometimes I stage managed, on a professional level. I never just said, "I am a stage manager."

I think I may call myself a runner if I can keep running and still stage manage a show. My prep week for The Seafarer starts next week and then it's rehearsals. I've signed up to do the 10 mile Broad Street run in the middle of all of it. If I can keep running (getting up early if need be), and even run Broad Street without falling flat on my face, then maybe...just maybe, I'll call myself a runner.

Then again, maybe I'll just be a part-time stage manager and mom who runs occasionally.

Running on Empty

While volunteering at the Philly Marathon expo, I picked up a pair of new running sneakers. My old ones were at least three years old and although I don't run that much, I knew I needed another pair. I went running immediately and felt fantastic. The first day I ran four miles and two days later I ran four and a half. Then I ran six glorious miles after spending all day painting for Habitat for Humanity.

As I upped the mileage I thought about all the races I could run--Broad Street in May, the distance run next fall, and maybe, just maybe the marathon next November. But reality struck--during my run on Saturday I struggled with every mile. Today, I tried, I really tried but couldn't even get around the block.

What happened? I have no idea. It's frustrating because I thought I was finally hitting a stride(no pun intended). I have been taking Ashtanga Yoga classes which I felt really complemented my running. Oh, I know it was only one day but I was really looking forward to the endorphin rush. I haven't had a lot of motivation to do anything for the past couple of days.

Does that ever happen to you? I have a huge to-do list and yet all I want to do is stare out the window and listen to NPR. I'm rather addicted to NPR (I listen to WHYY); it has gotten me through all the yard work and it keeps me company when I clean the house. But I do start to feel guilty if I'm listening and not actually accomplishing anything and I start justifying:

• Maybe I should just blow the day off and get it out of my system so I can hit the ground running tomorrow (oh, there's another pun, sorry).
• This is my life and if I want to sit around one day who's going to stop me? My kids are fed and the house is clean (ish).
• I work for a few months out of the year and when I work, I work a lot so I deserve down time.

But the guilt comes back and my brain starts going down another path:

• Think of how much I could do if I wasn't so lazy.
• Other people motivate themselves to run, clean, bake--what's wrong with me?
• If I just push myself, I'll get something done today and I'll feel better.

It would have been so much easier if I had just gone for a run.