I thought of calling this post "wimping out," but even though that's what I felt like I did, it's unfair to some real badasses out there who I know have to train on treadmills.
So yep....the group run didn't happen today. It was 5 degrees with a windchill of -13 when I woke up, and the sidewalks were icy. I decided breathing that for 90 minutes, and slipping around while I was at it, wasn't worth the tough-girl points. Instead, I drove to the YMCA and did my slow long one on the treadmill. It wasn't so bad. It wasn't so great either, and I still want to avoid that whenever possible....but it was better than being bone-cold for an hour and a half or more.
Plus, when I was done, the gym was right there for the 60 minutes of weights and core work that I also had on the schedule.
My friend Keith says we can try again in two weeks for the group workout. Not sure if Keith and his wife joined the group today, or waited until later....I hope they ran inside too. It's now 10:40 a.m. and it's still only 16 outside. Here's hoping it warms up for my next run on Monday!
Stay warm, everybody.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Monday, January 7, 2013
Introverts and Group Runs
Have you ever taken the Myers-Briggs personality test? It's one of the few "psych" tests I have done, or at least I've done knock-off online versions. Here's a decent one--at least as far as I can tell it's decent. I sometimes wonder if these are just more-elaborate versions of a women's mag quiz.
One thing I'm fairly sure these tests do get right: they always peg me as an introvert. I remember a long time ago being at a crazy post-college New Year's Party and ducking into an empty office because big crowds tire me out. At almost every party I go to I'll do this after a while: find an empty room, a bookshelf or even a bathroom where I can go be alone for a while. In the case of this party, a friend of mine found me in that office and said, "Ah....taking a break from the party! You must be one of those introverts who can pass for extroverts sometimes."
And he was right: I am an introvert who can pretend extroversion. I worked as a reporter for several years, and to be a reporter you have to be able to initiate and carry on conversations with strangers. But I never was comfortable at this. Ultimately I'm much happier as the librarian I am now. I do still have to talk to people I don't know as part of my job, but it's usually one-on-one and cordial (reporters often have to be confrontational).
What does any of this have to do with running?
Well, this weekend I'm going to run with a group. Someone I knew briefly back in college got in touch last fall. Turns out he's a runner, too, lives in Boulder and he'd just run his half-marathon personal record, something he attributes in large measure to group training. He invited me along on one of his group's Saturday runs, and I decided to give it a try.
This scares me. I've run with individual friends, with Cynthia and Kathy and my old friend Angela, and I've always liked how this ups the fun factor. I've run on two 24-hour relay teams. I also enjoy being an anonymous member of the crowd during races.
But in races everyone's focused on his or her own run. Cynthia and Kathy are friends in other contexts--they know me. A training group....that's A LOT of other people, and, well, they chat. I'm bad at chatting. I'm scared I'll be the slowest person out there (Darren's got me doing a 90-minute run, all at a low heart rate). And I'm scared...well, I'm scared of all the other things that scare me in any new social situation: that I won't know what to say, that I won't come across as having a sense of humor, that I'll say something to make me put my foot in my mouth, that they won't see me as a "real" runner or as a very interesting person. (These things have all happened to me, and not just back in middle school. Maybe the other introverts out there can back me up on that.)
But I'm going anyway because it won't be the first time I've done something in running that scares me, and it's always been for the best. I'm going because it was nice of my friend to ask me, and surely he doesn't think I'm a total loser or he wouldn't have issued the invitation. I'm going because I see running with a group, at least sometimes, as a missing piece in my training. I'm going because when this blog goes away, I'll need a support group and because I think it's stupid to live in a place like Boulder County and NOT know more runners in person (and actually run with some of them sometimes!). I'm going because I have a marathon in April, and three-plus hour training runs alone get dull.
I do feel that, given my personality and time constraints, I'll probably still do most of my runs alone (I hope I'll get to do at least a long run or two with Cynthia and Kathy this cycle). But getting a little more social in general can't hurt.Wish me luck! I know this sounds like a lot of drama for something that will hopefully be fun. Even for a consummate introvert.
What about you? Are you an introvert or an extrovert (and what do you think of tests like Myers-Briggs? useful or complete BS)? Do you train with a group?
One thing I'm fairly sure these tests do get right: they always peg me as an introvert. I remember a long time ago being at a crazy post-college New Year's Party and ducking into an empty office because big crowds tire me out. At almost every party I go to I'll do this after a while: find an empty room, a bookshelf or even a bathroom where I can go be alone for a while. In the case of this party, a friend of mine found me in that office and said, "Ah....taking a break from the party! You must be one of those introverts who can pass for extroverts sometimes."
And he was right: I am an introvert who can pretend extroversion. I worked as a reporter for several years, and to be a reporter you have to be able to initiate and carry on conversations with strangers. But I never was comfortable at this. Ultimately I'm much happier as the librarian I am now. I do still have to talk to people I don't know as part of my job, but it's usually one-on-one and cordial (reporters often have to be confrontational).
What does any of this have to do with running?
Well, this weekend I'm going to run with a group. Someone I knew briefly back in college got in touch last fall. Turns out he's a runner, too, lives in Boulder and he'd just run his half-marathon personal record, something he attributes in large measure to group training. He invited me along on one of his group's Saturday runs, and I decided to give it a try.
This scares me. I've run with individual friends, with Cynthia and Kathy and my old friend Angela, and I've always liked how this ups the fun factor. I've run on two 24-hour relay teams. I also enjoy being an anonymous member of the crowd during races.
But in races everyone's focused on his or her own run. Cynthia and Kathy are friends in other contexts--they know me. A training group....that's A LOT of other people, and, well, they chat. I'm bad at chatting. I'm scared I'll be the slowest person out there (Darren's got me doing a 90-minute run, all at a low heart rate). And I'm scared...well, I'm scared of all the other things that scare me in any new social situation: that I won't know what to say, that I won't come across as having a sense of humor, that I'll say something to make me put my foot in my mouth, that they won't see me as a "real" runner or as a very interesting person. (These things have all happened to me, and not just back in middle school. Maybe the other introverts out there can back me up on that.)
But I'm going anyway because it won't be the first time I've done something in running that scares me, and it's always been for the best. I'm going because it was nice of my friend to ask me, and surely he doesn't think I'm a total loser or he wouldn't have issued the invitation. I'm going because I see running with a group, at least sometimes, as a missing piece in my training. I'm going because when this blog goes away, I'll need a support group and because I think it's stupid to live in a place like Boulder County and NOT know more runners in person (and actually run with some of them sometimes!). I'm going because I have a marathon in April, and three-plus hour training runs alone get dull.
I do feel that, given my personality and time constraints, I'll probably still do most of my runs alone (I hope I'll get to do at least a long run or two with Cynthia and Kathy this cycle). But getting a little more social in general can't hurt.Wish me luck! I know this sounds like a lot of drama for something that will hopefully be fun. Even for a consummate introvert.
What about you? Are you an introvert or an extrovert (and what do you think of tests like Myers-Briggs? useful or complete BS)? Do you train with a group?
Friday, January 4, 2013
Avoiding the Treadmill
It's been hard to get outside to run at my preferred time, the very early morning. It's cold,truly cold (as in sub-zero until the sun's above the horizon), and the sidewalks are dicey. Not everyone shovels like they're supposed to.
I also was assigned a hard fartlek workout today for the first time since the California International Marathon. This one was 7 x 3 minutes at a high heart rate with a 90-second recovery after each interval. I've been doing shorter pick-ups embedded in easy runs, but this is the first one where speed has been the entire point.
It was tempting to do it on the treadmill at the YMCA we belong to here. It's warm there--I can wear shorts and a tank. And I don't have to worry as much about pace. If my heart rate drops below where it's supposed to be (this morning between 166 and 172), I just push that little pace up arrow and take care of it. Outside, I actually have to keep myself honest, and that's still hard for me when I'm running fast.
This time, I did not give in to temptation. I DID wait until late morning, when it's much warmer (above freezing), but I'm happy I soldiered outside and took care of it on a nearby bike trail.
Doing these kinds of runs outside whenever possible is, for me anyway, really important. The last few hard workouts I did before CIM were on the treadmill. Even though I always follow the conventional wisdom and set the incline to 1% to mimic outside conditions, something kept whispering to me that I wasn't getting as much out of it because I wasn't being responsible for my own pace. There's only one way to silence that voice, I think--get outside.
Now, I know I'm lucky to live where I do, and to work part-time. Yes, it's cold in the early morning, but at least while my kids are in school, I have a couple of mornings a week where I don't have to go out pre-dawn. This does cut into what I can do with the rest of my day (the laundry doesn't do itself), but I'm thinking I can use the pre-dawn time when I would run in warmer weather to do some of these household chores before the kids wake up. Then I can get them to school, do my run under the friendly Colorado sun...and still have time for things like more chores, paying bills and a nap before it's time to pick them up.
Today's run outside was gorgeous, and with each interval I gained confidence in my own ability to hold the necessary pace. Plus you couldn't beat the view of the snow-mantled mountains to the west.
What do you think? Am I being too paranoid about speedwork on the treadmill? I'm sure I'll still have to resort to it some this winter....I just want to minimize that.
I also was assigned a hard fartlek workout today for the first time since the California International Marathon. This one was 7 x 3 minutes at a high heart rate with a 90-second recovery after each interval. I've been doing shorter pick-ups embedded in easy runs, but this is the first one where speed has been the entire point.
It was tempting to do it on the treadmill at the YMCA we belong to here. It's warm there--I can wear shorts and a tank. And I don't have to worry as much about pace. If my heart rate drops below where it's supposed to be (this morning between 166 and 172), I just push that little pace up arrow and take care of it. Outside, I actually have to keep myself honest, and that's still hard for me when I'm running fast.
This time, I did not give in to temptation. I DID wait until late morning, when it's much warmer (above freezing), but I'm happy I soldiered outside and took care of it on a nearby bike trail.
Doing these kinds of runs outside whenever possible is, for me anyway, really important. The last few hard workouts I did before CIM were on the treadmill. Even though I always follow the conventional wisdom and set the incline to 1% to mimic outside conditions, something kept whispering to me that I wasn't getting as much out of it because I wasn't being responsible for my own pace. There's only one way to silence that voice, I think--get outside.
Now, I know I'm lucky to live where I do, and to work part-time. Yes, it's cold in the early morning, but at least while my kids are in school, I have a couple of mornings a week where I don't have to go out pre-dawn. This does cut into what I can do with the rest of my day (the laundry doesn't do itself), but I'm thinking I can use the pre-dawn time when I would run in warmer weather to do some of these household chores before the kids wake up. Then I can get them to school, do my run under the friendly Colorado sun...and still have time for things like more chores, paying bills and a nap before it's time to pick them up.
Today's run outside was gorgeous, and with each interval I gained confidence in my own ability to hold the necessary pace. Plus you couldn't beat the view of the snow-mantled mountains to the west.
What do you think? Am I being too paranoid about speedwork on the treadmill? I'm sure I'll still have to resort to it some this winter....I just want to minimize that.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Race Report: New Year's Day Predict Run
It was a quite a Christmas in my household. I'll spare you the details, but here's the outline:
1. Thursday, Dec. 20: Cancelled flight to Missouri; we end up driving two days instead
2. Saturday, Dec. 22: Dan diagnosed with bronchitis and put on antibiotics.
3. Wednesday, Dec. 26: Will tested and found positive for Influenza A, then put on Tamiflu. Soon after, his sister got sick too. Oh, and so did I, my second nasty one since the California International Marathon. Cough, snot, low appetite, low energy.....
4. Friday, Dec. 28: This was the day we were supposed to drive back to Colorado. We had to delay because Ruth was still feverish. And I wasn't so great myself.
5. Sunday, Dec. 30: We finally pulled into our own driveway back in Colorado. Everyone's on the mend now...just in time for work and school to resume.
I'd really like a Christmas do-over. It was still nice to see my mom and sister and lots of friends and family, but there wasn't a lot of relaxed holiday cheer. I also missed two runs....and we all know what that does for mood and morale, sick or not.
Sometime amid all this, however, I had asked Darren if I could run a 5K on New Year's Day. I am signed up for the 5 by the 5th Virtual Run Series hosted by Laura at See Mommy Run Fast, as well as the related Resolution Run, and wanted to do the latter as part of a real race.
Instead of a 5K, Darren suggested I do an informal and fun little run in Boulder called the New Year's Day Predict Run. It started at Flatiron Athletic Club, where I had a memorable treadmill run two years ago on the same holiday, and I admit that given the location I felt twinges of that old fear of coming in last. But the run appealed to me. For one thing, Darren and Colleen were both running it. And it's an old-school event co-hosted by the venerable Boulder Road Runners. The idea is 1) you predict the time in which you'll finish the course, 2) you run "naked" (no watch, no GPS) and 3) the winners are those who came closest to their predicted time.
So off to Boulder I went. It's a bright and beautiful day here. The frigid fog of earlier burned off, and by the time we started at 10 a.m. it was chilly but perfect (not like the butt freezer I had early in the morning yesterday from home; that was a frozen hair frozen eyelashes outing). Today's course went right through my old neighborhood, a lucky thing for me since there were no mile markers or volunteers out there to direct us. I shuffled along, avoiding patches of snow and frost and ice-skate-jogging on a few portions where the streets hadn't been plowed after last week's snow dump.
I had no expectations for this run, another reason it was good I didn't do a 5K. This was never going to be a personal record day, and I'd really like to smash my 5K PR the next time I do one. I predicted 37:59 for the 4.5-mile-ish course and came in at 40:06. Despite the inaccuracy of my guess, it wasn't a dreadful time given that I'm still coughing and congested (as well as tired from the road trip), and I was happy that I passed two people and got passed by no one (there were only about 75 people total). The winners of the prediction piece each came within 15 seconds of their actual time, pretty impressive considering the watch-free requirement. The person who crossed the line first? Yep, you guessed it....Colleen!
Afterwards I hung out and chatted with a couple of people (including a nice guy from the Road Runners who invited me to their Saturday group run, which it turns out happens not too far from where I live; I may take him up on it!). I also found out from Darren that he himself had been down eight days with the flu over Christmas and hadn't been able to exercise the whole time--which somehow made me feel like less of a wimp. After collecting a new stocking cap and a gift card to a local restaurant, I took a hot shower in the club's amazing locker room and spent some time in the hot tub.
Not a bad way to ring in the New Year! I hope all the rest of you are having a good day, too, racing well if you're racing--and may none of us be sick again for a while.
Now I'm off to tackle another marathon....the one in which we deal with the disaster areas our kids' rooms became over the break from school.....
1. Thursday, Dec. 20: Cancelled flight to Missouri; we end up driving two days instead
2. Saturday, Dec. 22: Dan diagnosed with bronchitis and put on antibiotics.
3. Wednesday, Dec. 26: Will tested and found positive for Influenza A, then put on Tamiflu. Soon after, his sister got sick too. Oh, and so did I, my second nasty one since the California International Marathon. Cough, snot, low appetite, low energy.....
4. Friday, Dec. 28: This was the day we were supposed to drive back to Colorado. We had to delay because Ruth was still feverish. And I wasn't so great myself.
5. Sunday, Dec. 30: We finally pulled into our own driveway back in Colorado. Everyone's on the mend now...just in time for work and school to resume.
I'd really like a Christmas do-over. It was still nice to see my mom and sister and lots of friends and family, but there wasn't a lot of relaxed holiday cheer. I also missed two runs....and we all know what that does for mood and morale, sick or not.
Sometime amid all this, however, I had asked Darren if I could run a 5K on New Year's Day. I am signed up for the 5 by the 5th Virtual Run Series hosted by Laura at See Mommy Run Fast, as well as the related Resolution Run, and wanted to do the latter as part of a real race.
 |
| My resolution is to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Boring, aren't I? |
Instead of a 5K, Darren suggested I do an informal and fun little run in Boulder called the New Year's Day Predict Run. It started at Flatiron Athletic Club, where I had a memorable treadmill run two years ago on the same holiday, and I admit that given the location I felt twinges of that old fear of coming in last. But the run appealed to me. For one thing, Darren and Colleen were both running it. And it's an old-school event co-hosted by the venerable Boulder Road Runners. The idea is 1) you predict the time in which you'll finish the course, 2) you run "naked" (no watch, no GPS) and 3) the winners are those who came closest to their predicted time.
So off to Boulder I went. It's a bright and beautiful day here. The frigid fog of earlier burned off, and by the time we started at 10 a.m. it was chilly but perfect (not like the butt freezer I had early in the morning yesterday from home; that was a frozen hair frozen eyelashes outing). Today's course went right through my old neighborhood, a lucky thing for me since there were no mile markers or volunteers out there to direct us. I shuffled along, avoiding patches of snow and frost and ice-skate-jogging on a few portions where the streets hadn't been plowed after last week's snow dump.
I had no expectations for this run, another reason it was good I didn't do a 5K. This was never going to be a personal record day, and I'd really like to smash my 5K PR the next time I do one. I predicted 37:59 for the 4.5-mile-ish course and came in at 40:06. Despite the inaccuracy of my guess, it wasn't a dreadful time given that I'm still coughing and congested (as well as tired from the road trip), and I was happy that I passed two people and got passed by no one (there were only about 75 people total). The winners of the prediction piece each came within 15 seconds of their actual time, pretty impressive considering the watch-free requirement. The person who crossed the line first? Yep, you guessed it....Colleen!
Afterwards I hung out and chatted with a couple of people (including a nice guy from the Road Runners who invited me to their Saturday group run, which it turns out happens not too far from where I live; I may take him up on it!). I also found out from Darren that he himself had been down eight days with the flu over Christmas and hadn't been able to exercise the whole time--which somehow made me feel like less of a wimp. After collecting a new stocking cap and a gift card to a local restaurant, I took a hot shower in the club's amazing locker room and spent some time in the hot tub.
Not a bad way to ring in the New Year! I hope all the rest of you are having a good day, too, racing well if you're racing--and may none of us be sick again for a while.
Now I'm off to tackle another marathon....the one in which we deal with the disaster areas our kids' rooms became over the break from school.....
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