Wednesday, February 8, 2012

January Recap and Other Miscellanea

Between my back/hamstring issue and some really busy days at work and at home, I haven't posted a January recap yet. So here it is, along with some other bits and pieces:

1. January was a great month! My trip to Houston was like Woodstock for runners, complete with a great fellow traveler in Kathy (but no mud or rain like the real Woodstock had). I watched the Olympic Marathon Trials live. The following day I ran the Houston Marathon and got a personal record of 3:53:28 (it was not the long-sought Boston qualifying time, so more patience and work are required). After returning home, I got my plan for running some shorter, hopefully faster races this spring. During the month I ran 103 miles--most of it tapering to and then recovering from Houston. And I turned 39!

2. Today I had my first massage with a great therapist named Kate. She will be doing my therapeutic massage work going forward. The part where she worked on my sacroiliac joint was painful, but the result is my overall pain is less. She told me not to expect any overnight transformation. My first dry needling appointment with a physical therapist isn't until March 6. Kate has had that done, as has Laura, a friend of mine at work. They both said it hurts, but that it really helps. I plan to take some Advil ahead of my first session.

3. A couple of months ago, I discovered a beautifully written and inspirational running blog called The Logic of Long Distance. Jeff's last few posts have been so stunning that I wanted to share the blog with you so you can enjoy it too. My favorite post was the one on January 23 entitled "Running as Aesthetic Rebellion." The last few paragraphs pretty much sum up why I run. Here they are:

 .....it's hard to explain the practical value of running in a world that seems deadset on winners and losers, discord, chaos, and strife. Its practical value is play--the impractical grace of beauty.

Stride by stride, effort by effort, we stitch the two sides of experience together, matter and spirit. We ride, we flow -- that's play; that's grace; that's beauty. Despite the politicians, the economy, the wild and alienated swirl of contemporary life, despite the fact that everyone tells us we ought to be doing something more productive with our lives, we end up making time to play.

We can't help it. It's called being a human.


4. On Saturday I'm joining Beth of Shut Up and Run on the local Virtual Run for Sherry. The evil act that robbed her family of Sherry hits close to home for many of us, especially those of us who run alone and early in the morning or have loved ones who do. If you're in the area and want to come, I would love to meet you. I will probably be doing two laps or so of the Reservoir, as I have to do a one-hour and 45 minute run. I will be leaving the iPod and the Garmin at home and running this one grateful to be a living part of the sky, the water, the dirt and my fellow travelers.

Here are the details from Beth:


Local Virtual Run in Longmont/Boulder:
  • Meet at Coot Lake (west side of the Boulder Reservoir, behind IBM on 63rd St) at 9:00 a.m.
  • Bring friends, family members, your pet pig, whoever!
  • We’ll start with a moment of silence for Sherry and her family, then start the run/walk together.
  • Feel free to  go as far as you’d like and to fart if you want.
  • We’ll start by making our way around the Reservoir heading south. My guess is most people will go around the reservoir, which is about a five mile loop.

26 comments:

  1. That was a great month for you! I saw my name and then I realized, oh, I'm not a massage therapist. :)  Definitely going to check out that blog. What a great passage!

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  2. You've had a great month! I'm going to have to check out that blog, I love inspirational ones!

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  3. Nice work on a fabulous month! Congratulations again on that marathon PR. Hope all the scary-sounding treatments go okay! I've had some deep massage after a car accident & it was good but definitely painful at times.

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  4. Really, dry needling never hurt me...only one time when he missed the muscle did I ever scream :).  Maybe a back is different....but the needles are really tiny and it's just like a poke.  I'm sure I'll get an email in the even of March 6th telling me otherwise :).

    What a great January you had...any month with a PR is a great month!  :)
    I hope there's a big turn-out for the run on Saturday, sure wish I could go.  One of these days we will meet for a real conversation!

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  5. btw, I am doing the Snowman Stampede 5-miler too....just as a hopeful MP though so wait for me an hour after you're done and we'll have some hot chocolate! :)

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  6. I love that quote, and the idea that running is our way of finding time to play... gonna check his blog out, thanks!  You had a great January, a marathon PR in the first month of the new year... congrats again! :)

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  7. A wonderful month!!!
    I'll be running for Sherry with the Divas (I'm in charge of bibs) - wish I could be up there with you!
    I'm running the 5 and 10 at the Snowman Stampede!! :)

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  8. Doing both? You crazy, girl! I'll stay and cheer you on!

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  9. Awesome!!! I'm so glad you will be there. Hot chocolate sounds great.

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  10. Thanks, Laura! It was great to meet you in January, too--PR month for you too.

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  11. I know lots of great people named Kate! You, this massage therapist, my sister-in-law....

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  12. His description of running in a track meet is great too. I hope you enjoy it.

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  13.  I wish I could go to Boulder, but it just won't happen this time. We will meet eventually!

    And by the way I was feeling pretty guilty about giving you a hard time about waiting so long to get looked at. It's not like I don't have my own issues that keep rearing their ugly heads. You think it's better and then there it is again. Or it moves to another spot...ugg...just seems to be one thing after another these days...wow worry about the rant here. :)

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  14. raina_smalltownrunnerFebruary 8, 2012 at 8:32 PM

    I think Kate is going to be your new best friend! :) I love my massage gal.

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  15. Congrats again oh your PR marathon in January :)

    Oh that massage sounds painful, but good....

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  16. I already like her. And she's plays really nice music too. It makes it relaxing even though not all of it is exactly relaxing, if you know what I mean.

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  17. I will definitely be checking that blog out!

    I'll be running with you on Saturday - just in Ohio.  :)

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  18. hey..happy late bday and i'm a fellow january getter-older...haha! :)

    i'm JEALOUS u got to go out there and watch the trials live and awesome job on that PR! :) i'm sorry u too are rocking the bit of an injury boat, but i hope that work u got helped get things back on track and headed in the right direction!

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  19. Massage therapy can be the best thing ever!!  I hope things are starting to feel better.  I think the virtual run is so cool. I hope a ton of people do it!

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  20. That virtual run for Sherry is awesome. What a great way to pay tribute. 
    Congrats on a good month - I have a love/hate relationship w/ massage therapy. HURTS in the moment, but always seems to help long-term. Be smart, listen to your body, and get ready to keep PR'ing! 

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  21. I love massage therapy.  I hope it works well for you.

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  22. Nah, it's a training run. Need at get 17 in that day and I figured that would be the best way to do it! 

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  23. 3:58:28 is a great finishing time. I hope that the massage therapy will work.
    Sorry I cannot run the virtual race because of my injury but I am with you thinking of Sherry.

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  24. Massage is the greatest thing ever.  I bought a discount package for prenatal massage and it makes such a difference, especially on the chronic SI joint pain.  I hope the virtual run meet-up is great!

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  25. sounds like you had a great month!  I had my first session of dry needling today - ack - it wasn't fun.  It wasn't that bad but not something I would want to do other than to get over an injury.  I was hoping to meet you in person next week - but if i'm still healing I'm going to bag the Snowman Stampede....

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  26. I wish I could come up to Boulder  for the run.  I think it will be even more moving to be there.  My husband is working so I can't :(.

     I hope that the massage and dry needling works!!

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