February’s Race: The Cherry Creek 7 miler

 

Holly by the creek

As part of my training, I do one race per month, which helps my motivation as much as it builds endurance.  So February’s race was the Cherry Creek 7 miler.  It was a beautiful crisp day and the wind thankfully stayed away.  When I run in the cold when its windy, my eyes tear up and freeze into a crusty case that seals the corners of my eyes shut.

 

The course was a quiet 3.5 mile out-and-back loop around the wooded paved road around Cherry Creek Reservoir.  There were only about 150 of us, most of them looked like elite runners.  They staggered start times based on expected finish times so I was in the first heat.  I run very slow and expected to watch all the long-legged runners with their marathon t-shirts skip by me soon enough.  I do a walk-run ratio so I kind of like having no people around because they think I’m stopping because I’m tired and I get the “don’t give up!” shouts and “you can do it!” cheers.  I want to scream back that I do it on purpose, but that just seems childish. 

Slow but Steady

I found my rhythm, paced my strides to the mellow songs on my Shuffle, and settled in for the race.  Its my get-away from work, from kids, and from the general insanity of a house full of teenagers, pets, and a job full of technology addicts. It all ends too soon.  I come in thru the shoot and notice there is only one runner behind me.  I came in next to last.  But it was one of my happiest races and I won a free pair of running shoes at the Boulder Running Store from the raffle!

Our beautiful obsession with “firsts”

 

Grand Poobah of Firsts

Even though I’m new to running, I’ve quickly learned that most runners (including me) seem to love counting things. We will find and count every conceivable metric related to running. We count our miles per week, hours we’ve run, how fast we run, and calories we’ve eaten or burned off.  How many times we ran when it rained, snowed, or got above 80 degrees with 10 percent humidity. We count how many songs it takes to get to the coffee shop, how many stops signs till the restroom at Conoco, and how many carbs are in an Egg McMuffin (um, 30). We count what place we came in overall, among our gender, among our age group, in the state.  Me, I count how many pairs of shoes I go thru and then I name them after famous couples. While I’d love to believe its all in the name of improvement, I think its more than that.  I think its because for every metric you count, you get to have a “first”. 

I remember the first time I ran. Real running with sneakers and all, not the I’m-late-for-the-school-bus-because-I-went-back-for-my-trumpet run. Then it was the first time I ran a mile (that’s 2 metrics).  The first time I ran a mile on the road in the winter on a Tuesday with my new ipod Shuffle (did you catch all 6?). Who doesn’t remember the first time they threw up after a run? I remember my first run after eating tuna fish. Those last two might be related. Depending on how you combine the things you track, there are literally an infinite possible number of “firsts”.  How cool is that?!

So here’s to counting things and all the firsts still to come. I look forward to running my first marathon, my first race in another country, and my first 3-hour run.  I even fantasize about the first time someone actually pays me to run. What do you count and which firsts are you looking forward to?

BTW, this is the first time I’ve blogged about running while in my pajamas eating an EggMcMuffin when it was snowing.

I’m naming my running shoes after famous couples

 

Rhett and Scarlet

I have decided to name my running shoes after famous couples.  I swear each pair of shoes I buy has its own personality, style, and idiosyncrasies, just like couples do.  I don’t yet know if there are genetic predispositions that an entire brand line shares or not.  For instance, maybe all New Balance shoes are graceful and exquisitely perfect (Fred and Ginger). Maybe all Brooks are fatally flawed even though they appear perfect together (Rhett and Scarlet).  I simply haven’t been running long enough to tell.  But my shoes relate, adjust, and react to me and I’m convinced they even try to please or annoy. And they definitely conspire with each other. Sometime for and sometimes against. So stay tuned as I discover which brands and styles are friend or foe, soul-mate or nemesis.

January’s race: Quicker Quaker 5K

World's largest bowl of oatmeal

I’ve decided to run one race every month in 2009.  It can be a 5K, 10K or a half-marathon, if I’m ready.  I’m doing this to keep me motivated while I train for my first marathon in the summer (shooting for the Rock n Roll Marathon in San Diego on Labor Day).  So January’s race was the Quicker Quaker 5K, an event sponsored by Quaker Oatmeal and part of Layfayette’s annual Oatmeal Festival.  Yes, there really is such a thing as an oatmeal festival.  

I run a 15-minute mile right now, which is pretty slow, but its a safe fun pace for me while I learn.  Oddly, these races are really practices for me to see if I can keep my  pace and not push to go faster. My success at distance running will be all about pacing, conserving, and being efficient.  So I jogged my 15-minute mile the whole race, let little kids and people with dogs pass me by, and tried to keep my ego in check so I wouldn’t take off on a wild sprint. I manage to keep my pace the whole race and then there, 20 yards before the finish line, is a mom pushing a stroller starting to ease in front of me.  I was having none of that.  I shot forward, lengthened my stride and pushed as hard as I could the rest of the way.  I beat the stroller lady but was sore for a week, just from that last-minute push.  OK, lesson learned.  The race was well-organized, had lots of volunteer support, and had a fun energy around it, even with the chill factor.  

The food provided afterwards included….you guessed it…..oatmeal.  I stood in a very long line waiting for my hard-earned bowl, shivering because I was sweaty from the race and it was a frigid Colorado morning.  They had every kind of oatmeal topping you could imagine.  Fresh fruit, nuts and berrys, M&Ms, gummy bears, oreo cookies and dozens of other toppings that were clearly chosen by 5th graders.  I was craving bacon and eggs but I chose to stay  in the spirit of the event.

My favorite part of these events is pinning the number up on my wall.  I have two at the moment and looking forward to adding more this year and picking fun races to try.  I go to Colorado Racing or Running in the USA for local race schedules. If you’re ever in Colorado and want an easy-paced running buddy, look me up!

I used to hate running

I do my best thinking when I’m in the bathtub or running.  Since writing about taking baths would only be interesting to the ultra-clean or the ultra-dirty, I decided to blog about running.  I have concluded that everything in life can be related to running.

I used to hate running.  I ran in my twenties to burn off the stress of a self-important corporate job in DC selling data networks to uptight defense contractors.  I hated the process, but loved the results. I felt that way about running and work. Then I realized that applying pressure in most circumstances only results in more pressure (unless blood is involved).  So I backed off, set the no-pain-no-gain philosophy adrift in the Potomac, and decided to see if maybe “easy” just had a bad wrap with overachievers. 20 years, ten jobs, and three kids later, I have learned to adore running by finding my pace (which is quite slow) and letting it be the simple, intuitive movement it was meant to be. What a difference that makes!  So thanks for reading and I look forward to sharing more about this woman’s adventure in approaching running (and life) one step at a time.