Working on my running fitness...

February was a quite a month for running. I was averaging close to 15 miles a week in January and then February arrived, and so did my newest grandson and bad weather and a solidly packed over the top work schedule. It included a gazillion things to write up, too much time on the computer, meetings and a gallery opening for Mar 12th. What it added up to was a whole lot of stress and time otherwise spent on the road doing what And so, something had to give but just a little. I went from 15 to about 10 miles a week of running.  March 2nd I went for a really great run of 7 miles. I felt good and surprised myself that fatigue only set in a bit at the last 1/2 mile.  Unfortunately, something had to give with my stressful hectic schedule. I ended up with an awful cold and laryngitis. Awful! A few days in to this I thought, "I feel a bit better...better go out and run."  Big mistake.  I ended up getting worse! For the next week I became a couch potato. My coach send me a text with a only a big NO. As in no running. It was hard to just sit; and of course go to work and see many runners taking advantage of some rare beautiful weather.  After a cold snap we finally got some warmer termps. It took at least 10 days before I put on my running shoes and headed out on the road again. The whole time I sat on the coach I thought about whether I would keep my fitness; would I lose a lot of the momentum I had built or loose a lot while I was sidelined. Finally on 2nd Thursday of March I got out and ran a few miles. Of course, that day the weather took a dive and the temps were at a wind chill of about 26 degrees! Wind in my face the whole time did not deter me. Of course the first 1/2 mile was a bit torturous. My breathing was off and I was feeling chilly. No matter; by 1 mile in I was feeling good. Checked my watch and discovered I was running at a much faster maintenance pace than I usually run.  By the next morning, I was hurting a bit. Oh No!! My fitness was in trouble??? My coach allayed my fears and assured me it was just feeling achy on my first run after being sick. By the end of that next day, I was back on the road once more for another 3+ miles.  I surprised myself, once again, my time was a bit slower than the day before but still a bit faster than usual.  Feeling good that I'm working on my fitness.  Sometimes you have this apprehension; Will I be able to run the distance? Saturday was a rest day. So glad because it snowed! Today was my long run.  It was a pretty good run after I warmed up because the wind was in my face making me chilly.  It was my first long run in 2 weeks and I  felt pretty good considering I have not run much in 2 weeks.  For me, fitness is an interesting thing.....once you've established it if you fall off for a short while you can get right back again.  A little tired, but 5 miles was certainly doable. Well, the week is about to begin again and so you know you'll find me working on my running fitness once again!

Freezing Temperatures: Feels lIke 2 degrees

The mercury in New York has taken a nose dive. The sub freezing temperatures together with the wind equal low single digit temperatures. Cold enough to make the seasoned runner think...um once or twice before heading outside for a run. In the 3+ years that I have been running this recent cold snap is the coldest I have ever run outside. First step is being properly dressed for the extreme cold. I had winter tights, thermal base layer top, dri-fit top, winter pull over with hood, winter mittens with fleece liners, winter running hat, and a fleece pullover 'neck warmer.' I really thought this was a ridiculous amount of layers even for me! But, I was not taking any chances since I hate being cold; but not as much as running in hot, humid weather. Suited up and ready...LOL..had to take the gloves off twice to put my ear-pods in...and then put on my watch! And then, one glance at the outside thermometer and I was off. Day 1: 27 degrees Real feel 6 degrees.... I was really cold. My nose was especially feeling the wind bite and breathing in was not so easy. That was on the way out...on the way back I was thinking, "OK, that's not so bad. I even feel a little over heated!"   Day 2  17 degrees: real feel 2 degrees...I could not get to 4 miles I was really feeling the cold! Day 3  20 degrees: real feel 7 degrees. Since I only had 2.5 on the schedule it wasn't so bad to run except for the fact that it snowed last night and the streets were pretty covered with snow and ice, so I had to take it a bit slower. It's amazing how I used never even want to venture outside for any reason and now I go out in sub freezing single digit temperatures and run miles. It's a good thing being open to change in your life, it opens up new adventures! I still like the fall and spring better! LOL

TWO SECONDS!!!

This is my first post since the end of November. The last race that I ran was the December 15th HoHoHo 5k. Respectable time for sure...27:06, but a 2 second...3rd place loss for me. I have to say I was not happy with myself over that loss! 2 seconds! Did you ever time 2 seconds? Seems short, unless you are running a race and the 'gas tank' is totally empty. I was ahead for a long time. I saw her come up and fall back. I stayed steady but did not increase at all. Then she came up next to me and in the last 2 seconds blazed past. It seems in my AG all the top runners are just seconds apart. It also seems I should have dug deeper for some extra energy.

So the holidays came and they are gone and it is now 2013. I have figure out what my new racing goals are for this year.  Teaching has become an all encompassing event more so than ever in the last 20 years. And that compiled with a very happy event on the horizon: the birth of our newest grandson about to happen and my father's possible move, I am not so focused on racing. Life events have nudged out racing a bit. Not altogether, just put it a bit further down on the priority list. Training this week has become quite a challenge. In the midst of the 'in' box at work increasing and juggling life's challenges I must learn to be patient with running.  I promised myself when I started it would never become a job or something I was forced to do. Run with happiness and the joy of it,  is what I strive to maintain. Although running was on the schedule for tonight....it did not happen. I have learned to just take a step back and just be one with the fact that I did not run. I think runners can appreciate that we have conditioned ourselves to run. To run on a regular basis. To not run throws things out of kilter and creates a sort of imbalance in our lives. But one needs to also learn to accept that things happen and sometimes the training just does not happen.   I think that yoga has given me that ability to relax and breathe; to know not everything needs to be accomplished; other things are meant to happen instead. Finding that peace I think will also make me a better runner and will help me focus the next time. What makes me a winner? Every time I tie my running shoes and go out for a run. YAY!

Running with Hurricane Sandy

*Above is a picture of Tobay Beach. The beach I knew since I was a child; it is no more*

On Sunday, October 28 I got up early and went for a run. I was already in the hurricane preparation mode. I knew that I was not going to to be running for a day or so.  It was a nice 4.5 run. It geared me up for a few volunteer hours helping to set up a hurricane shelter for the Red Cross. Monday, October 29th, a day that will now be historical for this tri-state area, arrived we my knowing that school would be closed for the day.  Crazy as it sounds I got up very early and took a very short 2 mile run because the news was getting even more dicey by the hour regarding the impending hurricane. I could tell the storm was approaching; the wind was definitely an issue while running. I had a strong head wind on the way out and the I felt like I was getting pushed all the way home!  Once again, I was off to the Red Cross hurricane shelter to help out.  It was already getting started! Many had already started to arrive and hunker down for the hurricane. I spent about 4 hours registering people and lending a hand along with the Red Cross club I advise. It was awesome to see my students turn out with plans to stay overnight throughout the hurricane and work at the shelter! By the time I left at 3pm the wind was unbelievable and the rain was starting.  I was getting a bit nervous just walking to my car in the open parking area of the college! I was glad to see a security car just in case I started to lift off! 

The next 16 days are kind of a blur. We were without full power, heat or hot water for all but 2 of those days. The last 2 were only partial power consisting of a few outlets, the microwave and 2 lights.  But our inconvenience was nothing compared to the thousands of people whose homes were lost and the devastation of our island. Beaches that I have know from childhood no longer existed. Boardwalks crushed like King Kong was there....and people's lives out on the curb for trash because their homes were flooded. Where I live, not by the ocean, still received its fare of mother nature's wrath. Trees and sidewalks were torn up and toppled; overhead wires pulled down like string.  I have never seen such awful devastation of a place I have always known as home.  But Long Island will be resilient and will work toward its recovery.  Perhaps a even more wary of the sea and mother nature.

But throughout this all my running continued. I planned my running around where and when I could take a procure hot water for washing. I had no plan. At first there was barely any phone and no internet, so theretofore not much contact with my coach. All though life was upended my running stayed in place as best as it could.  I ran when I could and ran what I felt like. One day 2 miles the next two none and then a 3.5 mile run. It was very haphazard. This 'running with out a plan' gave me a better appreciation of how beneficial it is to have a coach!   

So 3 weeks have passed and this week I have began my training anew. Perhaps it will give me a new perspective about my running.  I'm not sure exactly when my next race will be. My last race left me on a very high note. And even though I do not feel prepared to race that same PR or even close, I am looking forward to the next time I put on my bib number and wait for the starting gun...and  race! But, I really hope it doesn't snow!  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Race Reports: 5K and 4 mile

I've been keeping busy running races!

Oct. 13: Town of Oyster Bay Supervisors 5K, Oyster Bay, NY
The morning started off a bit cool so deciding what to wear was challenging. I opted for long pants, short sleeves and arm warmers. Those arm warmers have become a real favorite part of my running apparel. I almost always seem to overdress, so they are handy when I no longer need long sleeves! Got to the race with time to spare so I got a chance to do a warm up mile. I met a colleague of mine and another runner in my age group. She is speedy and even though sh always beats me I appreciate all her encouragement at the races!  The race course was very pretty but quite a bit of a challenge! It was about 1.5 miles uphill, a short downhill, about another 1 mile uphill and then about a flat .5 mile finish. I got to the finish line with a bit of 'heavy breathing, huffing and puffing but not horrendous. I had to laugh once I crossed the finish line. I was trying to compose my breathing and a very elderly lady kept asking me if I was sure that I was okay.  I was great! I like my time: 27:17 @ a 8:47 pace.  Considering it was a hilly course I was more than satisfied with my time. It was a good thing that awards were 5 deep! I came in 4th place out of 13 in my AG.  94th out of 284 women!  I was only 37 seconds behind first place!  I was definitely happy with this race! 

Oct. 21:  4 miles Blazing Trails for Autism, Bellmore, NY 
It turned out to be a bit warmer than the last race a week ago. So this time I wore shorts, short sleeves and my trusty arm warmers. Yes, I really do like wearing them!  My planning time in arriving at races has also been working out well. I think the regularity of having time to pick up my number and t-shirt, warm up etc. helps take out any stress before the race.  I have been doing the same routine and that is a definite benefit.  I noticed when I got to the race I did not see my usual AG competition.  That took out some of the race day jitters although it seemed to be quite well attended since I did do a bit of driving around looking for parking.  Chatted with a young woman about our similar teaching issues and such and before I knew it......2 minutes until race time.  I said my goodbye and headed to the first few lines back of the start.  I have also gotten better at placing my self at the start.  And then...the gun...and we were off.  I decided to listen to my nanno at this race. And ironically, for whatever reason (perhaps karma coach?) it was playing only 2 songs!! At first I tried fiddling around to change it but could not see! LOL! So, I gave up and just listened to the 2 songs for 4 miles!  I saw one of the women in the AG below me who is fast and usually places so I once again decided to pace off her.  After about 1 mile I noticed another women in my AG right in front of me! I passed the 1 mile mark at 8:15!! Whoa!!! I stayed behind her for about .5 miles and then I felt like I could no longer stay behind her and passed her. Then I passed the other woman and just kept running my pace. It was obviously faster! I passed the 2 mile mark at 16:55.  I hit 3 miles at 25:55!! I could not believe I was flying that fast!  No one was with me and I ran alone until about the last .75 miles. Then the younger woman came up beside me and took off. I could not catch up to her. Once again, no one around. Then I finally saw the finish line and heard the crowd (they were quite loud!).  Just as I reached the line two really young woman crossed it with me. I kept it up and kept running over both timing mats and turned to receive two high fives from them! Nice race! Got my drink, my food and got my official time:  34:37!! 8:40 pace!!  1st place out of 8 in my AG!! 64th woman out of 377!! And...193rd out of 695 runners!! Awesome!! It really is nice to collect all this hardware!! LOL!!

Out of My Comfort Zone

I admit it. I was nervous over nothing. I was asked to run a leg for a team for the very well known, to most runners, except me, the Ocean to Sound Relay.  The race is 50 miles from the Atlantic Ocean at Jones Beach to the Long Island Sound at Oyster Bay, NY. 8 legs run a variety of distances from about 5.4 miles to 7 miles.  My leg,  #5, was located in a picturesque spot of Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York . Since I'm a new runner in the "senior 60+" category I was a bit anxious wondering if I could hold my own and run a respectable time as the leg of a team of much faster and more seasoned runners. All 8 runners were 60+ years old.I had never really traveled through the roads and decided I would make a dry run in my car the day before.  I was under the impression that it was just "a little hilly."  I found out that the route was filled with beautiful homes, 2 lane very hilly roads with no sidewalks and no shoulders.  My leg consisted of 15 turns.  I was definitely stepping out of my comfort zone and giving myself a new running challenge. As soon as I got home from the dry run the the nerves started to unravel into "what have I gotten myself into this time!"  No one at home wanted to listen to me and gave me a solid suggestion: call your coach! Awesome idea! Thanks to my coach I started to relax about this race and put it into perspective. Sometimes that is just who you need when you are blowing everything about competing out of proportion. So, finally, with my nerves under control I got ready for this race just like all the others I have run.  I had a restless sleep that night, but for me, it is not uncommon before a race. I woke up early so I could have a light breakfast. I decided on the advice of another runner to write the directions of my leg on my hand just in case there were no signs or guides on the route. And then I left off for my race.  I got to the start of my leg fairly early so I had time to take a run in the somewhat hilly parking lot of Cold Spring Harbor. There were very few people around waiting. After my warm up I chatted with a few people and ironically 3 or 4 people had not even thought about the leg, the conditions or the directions for the route. They just showed up. Was I over prepared? I didn't care I felt comfortable and ready.
I should have brought my fold up chair as there was a lot of waiting for my team mate or the driver to show up.  I got to see a cool peloton of cyclists racing down the road just before the first runners came through!  Finally! The hand off to me of the "chip on a velcro strap" from my teammate! The hand-off was seamless and I was off! The first about .75 of the leg was uphill. Very much uphill! I could not seem to get into a rhythm it took a lot of effort to "get up that hill."  As soon as a downhill came up and that flattened out I got into a rhythm and a good pace. I felt confident and comfortable. Breath was ok. Legs were ok. I was just running!  After about a half mile I heard my name being shouted by a former student, "Mrs. Zimmerman!! You go girl!! You're awesome!" Along the route a few challenges did arise. There were no shoulders and the impatient and impolite drivers that passed forced me to hop up on the grass incline so as not to get hit by the cars! There were quite a few up and down hops!  The next challenge that slowed me down was a car that screeched to a stop behind me causing me to slow down and glance back. It had almost rear ended another car! Scared me good!! About 1/2 mile to the finish line I had to cross a very busy road. No crossing guide was there and tons of cars.  I had to literally stop, and run in place until a car in either direction stopped and allowed me an opportunity to cross! .2 to go! The condition of the sidewalk that now appeared was awful.  It was more like a dirt trail.  But there was a course guide encouraging me to keep it up because I had only 300 yards to go! My breathing suddenly became much more labored and I was desperately trying to pick up the pace! But there ahead I saw the finish and heard a few people on the team shouting my name. I started taking off my velcro chip and pushing toward that finish line. The hand off went so smoothly! Best part of the finish? I heard someone shouting, "Mrs. Zimmerman!! What are you doing here? Wow! You're in the race!" That was cool to have another former student give me a hug at the end! It really was a fun type of race and I'm glad I said yes and ran a leg of a 50 mile race! And the results for my leg? A 10K (6.2mile) PR....1:01:56.  And my team? First place for the super senior masters category! 8 hours and 11 minutes!! Not too bad at all! A great finish for September!

Main Street Mile Race

     
  Last Thursday I went out to do my tempo run workout in preparation for my very first one mile race.  Mile 1 warm up I worked out the kinks, a stiff knee, a funky quad. I have finally begun to realize how important a warm-up is for getting the body ready to run. Mile 2 I picked up the pace to somewhere above my 5k PR pace and at the end of the mile my piriformis grabbed my sciatica. Ack!! I slowed down to a very slow pace and ran the next two miles home disappointed that this was a lost opportunity to workout before my race on Saturday. I should have walked the rest of the way but hindsight is usually 20/20. That afternoon found me in the chiropractor's getting an adjustment and a treatment.  Rest, ice, rest not what a runner wants to do most of the time!

       Race day arrived finally and I was feeling better but tentative about my sciatica. My husband was volunteering to work the shirt table so we arrived much earlier than I usually get to a race: 2 hours before race time. I spent a half hour sitting in the car listening to some tunes waking up. Then I went out for a relaxed mile run to get those "kinks" out. Felt good no issues at all. The race start was about a 3/4 mile away, all uphill!  Then more waiting it was time to take that run uphill to the start.  Got there with plenty of time to dump some water over my head and cool down for the start. 

         I don't know why but I was really nervous about this race. I did not even see any of my usual competition around. Maybe it was because I never ran a 1 mile race before.  Gun start...and we were off! Then almost immediately I had a "race lesson." I had forgotten that I had my nanno still and it came loose and was now dangling while I was racing! I grabbed it and attached it to my shorts as I was running. Lesson learned don't run with a nanno during a race.  The most amazing part of this race was that it seemed so short. The first 1/4 mile was a short uphill and then in what seemed only a blink I was at the half mile time mark: 3:43.  I was furtively trying to do the math as I was also breathing hard and racing! Math is not my forte. But that seemed fast!! And the hard breathing was starting and I could now see the final stretch on Main Street. And then the finish line was clearly in sight!! I saw an amazing sight: the finish line timer!! I saw 7:15 minutes from the distance. I really was trying to increase the pace but I was breathing really hard. Really cool...I finished at 7:46!! I can still hardly believe I could run that fast for a mile!! I came in 2nd place in my AG.  I lost 1st place by 6 seconds and beat 3rd place by 10 seconds. Funny, I never even saw my competition; I was so in the zone!  That was a lot of fun! I think I'll try a mile race again in the future! 

        I have found that like competing and collecting more "hardware!" YAY! I have 99% accomplished what I set out to do this summer: Win, place or show in every race.  I ran 7 races and placed in 6 of them. 1 in 1st place, 4 in 2nd place, and 1 in 3rd place. Not too shabby if I must say so! I know I did all the work but I could not have accomplished it without my coach! Thanks Adam!!!