Saturday, November 17, 2012

Smells like...

Strapping on my brand new Newtons this afternoon I found myself ready to roll. (I missed my purple Terra Momentums but felt I needed to give my Aqua ones a chance too!)
Aqua Terra Momentum


I had no plans to go out too fast or too far for that matter. My goal was to run about 5 miles and soak up some of the sun that has seemed to be hiding lately. The cool air was refreshing and my normal route inviting.

Haverhill-Bath Covered Bridge

I love where I live. The seasons are beautiful, (even winter when I am FREEZING), and the landscape is gorgeous. Where I run is especially nice.


Ammonoosuc River in Woodsville/Bath, NH...My view as I run.




Normally the route that I run is relatively quiet with little to no traffic. Today was a different experience.
My husband, Robert, came with me today and rode his bike as I ran. I enjoy that time away from the kids to be able to get some talk time that we do not always get. Unfortunately, much of this run was spent dodging dump trucks. 
Yes, DUMP TRUCKS. A lot of them. It seemed as if the areas dump truck brigade had decided to convene in one of the many corn fields that line the back road where I run. Not only were my husband and I dodging the dump trucks driven by men who couldn't keep their eyes on the road and seemed to like the view of my attire, but we also were having to endure some smells. There was the wonderful wafting smell of diesel exhaust but also the smells of what the trucks were carrying. Poo. Smells like Poo.
The dump trucks were bringing truck load after truck load of manure to line the desolate corn fields with. Now I am all for natural fertilization of the local farms in the area. However, I do not enjoy it being done while I am on my run. Maybe I should let them know my training schedule so that I may run in peace and not have my nasal passages infiltrated with such a putrid smell. 

With that being said, I had a pretty successful run. I ran down River Rd for about 2.5 miles and then back home. I had a headwind for most of the way there, which made the smell that much better, and zoned in on a steady pace on my way home. Maybe part of that was my goal to get as far away from the smell as possible. Or maybe I am just getting stronger. Either way, I was steady.

Returning home I noticed I took 10 seconds of my time per mile and felt strong. 

I found it funny that on this app that "running" is spelled incorrectly!

So that was my running adventure of dump trucks and poo. My husband was a trooper through all of it and was able to keep me laughing and not gagging through the smells. 

My next adventure...the 20th Annual Hanover Turkey Trot 10K on Sunday! Maybe I will see the running turkey heads again this year. My goal is to run it in under an hour. We will see how I am feeling at the start! 

Love, peace, and running shoes!







Thursday, November 15, 2012

Always telling...

I am always telling people to "Live in the moment". Well what does that mean exactly? I am not so good at being able to do that myself so who am I to tell someone to do that?
The answer is this: I have no idea.

I try my very best to stay in that moment, and yet it always seems that my past is dragging me down. Or what is worse; my future of the unknown, of what could be, is always clouding my mind. My wishlists, my what ifs, and my why can't my life be better or different. Rather than focusing on what is right in front of me, my brain takes that detour goes elsewhere.

So my life is full of all kinds of wondrous things. I have an amazing husband and wonderful children that I adore. My job is fulfilling for the most part but there are challenges with that as well. I know for me personally, working with criminal offenders that have addictions is incredibly difficult at times. I need to stay on my A game and really be able to focus on self care. I know that for me, when my self care has gone to the wayside I get cranky, mean, snappy, and for the most part people just piss me off.  That is when I know I need a break. I have burn out. THAT is what got me back into running.

Running has become my therapy. When I run it is just me. I can focus on how my body is feeling and reacting. I can focus on some of the crap that has clogged my brain and then flush it out. I can be with JUST ME. Running gets me back in the moment.

So why write about it? Well, for starters writing is another self care tool that I use to get some of the sludge out of my head. Also, I believe that writing about my goals will make them more real and tangible. I need that, otherwise it is too easy for me to just brush those goals aside.

So lets talk about goals. Running races is something I have always done but never on a larger scale. Participating in local 5K's and 10K's have been fun and I will continue to do so. I had the opportunity to run in my first half marathon on October 7th. The Diva Half Marathon in Long Island was a blast! That was when I discovered that I am more comfortable and efficient running longer distances.
On October 21st I ran in the CHaD Hero Half Marathon. My head was not in the game that day, but considering the hills on that course I still did alright.
On October 28th I ran in my first mini ultra (so to speak), at the Ghost Train Rail Trail Race. It was a 15 mile trail race in Milford, NH. NOW, with that being said, there were others there running the 100 mile race that had started the day before. The atmosphere was amazing and I quickly found myself craving to run even further. That was when my new goals came to mind. (Oh and I felt amazing running those 15 miles and had a really great race, especially for starting 5 minutes AFTER they blew the whistle to start.)

My new goal thus far for 2013 is this.  I WILL run the VT50 in September. As a  midway point goal I am registered for the Shires of Vermont Marathon in May. I am sure I will have some other races in between.

So, those are my goals. I am hoping that keeping a written blog about my training and how this new process is going will keep me in check and held accountable. At the very least I will have a place that I can spout off, complain, whine, moan, laugh, and most likely cry.

With that said...Enjoy my ramblings.

Love, peace, and running shoes!