Good to be home

I've been in Massachusetts for the weekend for a baby shower, and I was pleased to actually get a run in. I should say a jog, since if I were moving at that speed while a jaguar were chasing me, as the jaguar would certainly actually be running, I'd most absolutely NOT be here typing this out in the airport at the moment. But I went maybe 3, 3 and a half miles around my parents' town of Hingham, which is a beautiful place to go for a jog. Lots of trees, plenty of sidewalks that aren't filled with people, an interesting geography with the right size hills and bumps, turns, and old architecture (some as old as late 1600s, as it's one of the first colonial towns, right on Boston Harbor). I didn't have much time to go out, just 20 minutes or so, so I did a loop that I knew would be long enough to feel good about it but short enough to not run late. I came home in time to help out a bit more with shower preparations and take a shower before guests showed up.

It's real easy to not get out and moving, especially if we have just a short time available to us - I was only in Massachusetts for one day (two nights) and also wanted to check out some things going on with my mother, had the baby shower to help out with and attend, and also had some good friends to check up on and catch up with - and it's real easy to convince ourselves we don't have time, that we either don't deserve the personal time allowed to us by exercising or that we do deserve a break and a vacation from it all, but what we really all deserve is to listen to our bodies and if we have energy to spend, spend it. Not to over-due it (sometimes we all certainly do need a break from EVERYTHING), but to allow ourselves that slot of time, however small, to be in our own heads, our own bodies, appreciative of what we can do, how each muscle moves, and allow that clean fresh air to clear our minds, our lungs, and our busy hearts.

Recovery drink is the same as stretching, right?

Didn't run yesterday because I was sore from the day before. I didn't drink any recovery gloop and my stretching was decidedly inadequate. The run today was fun, cold, and hard. I didn't get a chance to go out until after work, so it was already dark in the woods and hey, I can't see in the dark despite all the carrot juice I drink. Turns out reading in the dark really does ruin your eyesight when you're older. Also, the dog, my running buddy, is a great companion but a real pain in the ass who wants to go out but doesn't want to run, wants to run but not with me, wants to run with me as long as we can stop every few seconds to pee on something and spread his scent around. I was also running with my headphones in, which helps motivate me but is a bit scary in the dark when I can't see anything. According to this map I found, I ran probably four and a half miles all in all, 2/3 miles from my house to the trail and back, about a half mile each way on the bike trail, and about 1.3 miles each way on the trail, give or take. I did walk some of it, so I tried to really push it so it worked more like intervals (my walks were like brief 5-second walk-pauses, active rest, usually when Major Tom was really insistent on peeing on something). When I came home, I drank some recovery aid, and then remembered to stretch, and the combo gave me a pretty fantastic stomach ache (well, I blame drinking too much water post-run, which I tend to do since I never drink as much water as I need to, however much I think I'm trying to).

I'm supposed to be at a reading for the fantastic Renée Alberts, but I'm starting to freak out about leaving for the weekend to deal with both positive and negative family situations in MA, and then hosting Thanksgiving dinner like the idiot I am. The worst part is, IT WAS MY IDEA. Good grief.

I do love running in Hingham, though, and along the Charles in Cambridge and Boston. I'm bringing my sneakers and special running bra, so I'll update from the road if I can make it outside.

I ran...I ran so far away

So I've been pretty busy over the past few months. I got married (say whaaaa??), I picked up a new freelance gig writing funny little twitter-length feeds for apartment complexes, got another day at the office, started teaching for the semester....And some other stuff.

I took up yoga at Amazing Yoga for a little bit until I got too busy for it. I commuted to work and thank goodness they finally finished the bike path construction that took over a year. When E. and I were in Costa Rica for our honeymoon, we rented beach cruisers and rode them 38 miles in sandals to visit the Sloth Sanctuary.

Today, however, was a real milestone for me. Last night, I decided I would go for a run this morning. This morning, I woke up and even though it took me a bit to get out of bed, the first thing I did was put on my running clothes. I went downstairs, and saw it was raining. It hadn't rained in weeks. I left the house later than expected, the rain certainly not the greatest motivator, but still - I did it. I went for my first run that actually left the neighborhood! I'm not sure how many miles I ran but I was moving at a decent clip and would have run faster if it weren't for the lazy dog I was dragging behind me. I did run for about 45-50 minutes or so, though, and I feel pretty good about that considering it's my first run in about 6 months. I feel officially back in the game. I told myself I wouldn't start P90X until the weather got really crappy and I couldn't go mountain biking or running outside with any real enjoyment, so I need to take these rainy, cool days as they come. And, really, once you're outside and in the woods, the rain is really quite pleasant. The only poor choice I made was running up the steep singletrack that I knew was overgrown, which made my legs cold and wet the entire run.

I was hoping to leave early enough that I'd get back around the time that Evan was leaving for his 3-hour bike ride, so I could tire the dog out and have an empty house to get a lot of work done before heading to the law office. But I left late and got back about in time to get ready for work. But it did tire the dog out at least a little, and he was still tired when I got home from work, so it is a good model if I can make it work.

If all goes well, I may be running every morning (or so) until the weather turns really sour, so I can get more work done. I AM A MACHINE!