A Sprain in my Train - Vanessa

Guys, I got injured. NOOOO!!!!! The good news is it’s just a sprain. I took the last 10 days off to ice and rest and was able to run four miles pain-free yesterday. The bad news is I’m now about 35 miles behind, wearing an ugly Velcro brace on my foot and have to endure the embarrassment of telling people that I sprained my ankle running to catch the T. Word to the wise: If you are a T-commuter and you see the train is already at the station as you approach, don’t run. There will be more trains. If you do run, at least change into your tennies before you leave the office. Don’t be the girl running for the T schlepping a massive purse and wearing a pair of size-too-small-but-too-cute-not-to-buy ballet flats. Not a great combo.

Unfortunately I don’t have any great running stories to share from the last week but I will admit that I have become hyperaware of the dangers of pedestrianism. Since I’ve been babying my poor ankle the wide avenues of Boston have transformed into narrow, icy obstacle courses with booby traps at every turn. At this point I’m surprised I don’t sprain an ankle on a weekly basis trekking over uneven pavement while hoards of rabid dogs and their oblivious owners try to entangle me in a web of leashes. It’s a dangerous world out there, friends. Walk with caution!

What's Happening Around Us - Laura

This weekend I run the Colchester CT half marathon with 650+ others. It is one of the most beautiful runs I have ever done – past dairy farms and pastures, along dirt roads and past old farmhouses. At one point I stop to see what two men in a pickup truck are doing with a cute furry animal in a cage by the side of the road. The animal looks so adorable and cuddly. Upon closer examination, they are releasing a skunk from a humane trap into the woods! Most runners pass by without noticing this is happening.

I finish in two hours and 12 minutes, #401. I have energy left, but my body could not have gone any further. I will definitely need to add some long distance mileage over the course of the next few weeks!

As soon as I finish I drive right back to the Boston area. My son’s basketball team has just won the playoff game that morning and is in the championship game at 3:00 pm. I get to see the last half of the game. I didn’t get to “see” the entire game, but I feel like I was there the whole time.

The message I receive is: Like the video project “The Invisible Gorilla” http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/videos.html (check it out I never saw the gorilla! Do you?) we only see a small part of what is happening around us whether it is a skunk, a gorilla or a basketball game!

Runner’s High – Kellie

I love to get high when I run. I don't get high every time I run. I have no control over it, it's always random, although I've found scenic trails, beaches and ocean views have a strong potency for helping me reach that state of euphoria. For those who've never gotten high on a run, I can only compare it to driving. Driving is often filled with drudgery. It's what you have to do to get from point A to point B and keep your job. But sometimes going for a drive can be fantastic. If everything aligns just right, with just the right song, maybe the sun setting, something scenic, a good friend to enjoy the ride with or a nice drive alone to think and dream. Sometimes when I'm lucky I get that feeling when running.

I got high twice this past week. One night after work I was planning to hit the dreadmill at the Shipley. It was dark and raining but I just had to get outside. When I started running it was only drizzling. If felt good. Then it started pouring and it felt great. The more drenched I got the happier I felt. The only explanation for enjoying the slush, the rain, and jumping over snow banks while dodging traffic in the dark is I must have been as high as a kite. I have no idea why I felt a runner's high that night.

Then the weekend came. My plan was to go away for the weekend to Ogunquit with some friends and on my way back I would meet some other friends in Hampton, NH for a half marathon. The snow forecast cancelled Sunday's race and our last night stay in Ogunquit. The Half-at-the-Hampton's organizers offered all the race festivities, without the race, on Saturday from 12 to 4. I was away with athletic shoppers (shopping wears me out more than running) so I dropped them off in Kittery and headed to Hampton. A win-win situation for all of us.

I picked up my running friends' goody bags and headed out for a run alone along Ocean Blvd. I didn't have a specific route in mind but just wanted to run about 10 miles. The festivities were inside the Ashworth hotel so I headed out from there toward the Hampton bridge into Seabrook. I stopped at the bridge and headed back past the Ashworth until I ran out of sidewalk then ran into the Ashworth. That was approximately four miles. I grabbed a drink and decided to run the same route and make the Ashworth hotel my aid station every four miles. It worked out great and I decided to run on the sand for my last lap. I have an obsession with Dave Grohl and set my phone to the Foo Fighters station on Pandora. Just as I hit the sand, “Learn to Fly” came on, an ocean breeze hit me, strangers were cheering me on and I was high as a kite again.

Before my friends and I left Ogunquit that day, we sat in the hotel's outdoor Jacuzzi in the snow. We enjoyed a post runner's/shopper's high before heading back home.

The weekend didn't go according to plan but that's life. Sometimes unexpected detours can be blessings in disguise. It could be drudgery but you'll never get high if you don't get out there and keep trying.

Random Acts of Kindness – Laura

I run 15 miles on the falling snow. It is peaceful and beautiful in the snow. I run with the running shirt my co-worker and friend, Michelle Cullen, has given to me for training. It is perfect for this weather!

The next day I go with my two daughters for a pedicure. I tell the manicurist that I am so happy she is open because I am training for the marathon and my feet will feel so good after a massaging pedicure. Another woman in the salon overhears me. She tells me she has run the Boston Marathon as a charity runner before too. She has lots of wisdom to share, and it turns out, her daughter goes to the same school as my youngest, and she lives close by. Her name is Deidre. When she leaves, she gives me her email address, and a check for a donation.

The message I receive is: The universe is full of gifts called random acts of kindness; I will try to do my part in replenishing the universe’s supply.

Snowy Conditions – Ivan

What a week of running. Two storms to make Sunday’s long run almost impossible. I was able to get miles in, but it’s hard to do when two feet of snow are on the ground. It gets dangerous out there. With that being said, I had to run 13 miles on the treadmill this week. No not in a week, this was my long run! I really don’t recommend this! If you know of a trick to make it joyful, I am all ears. I look forward to this week; it looks like it won’t be as cold.

That Nervous Feeling - Kellie

This past week wasn't much to blog about. I was lucky to have a long weekend off from work, Friday through Monday. Other than shoveling on Saturday, I was pathetically lazy. I had no energy. I blame my woman hormones and mother nature. I was back to work Tuesday and back to the Shipley after work. I find it much easier to workout after work than to workout on my days off. I'm starting to follow the Spartan Race workouts of the day. Since I have been initiated into the Spartan word, I receive Spartan WODs on a daily basis and I've just started to read them instead of delete them. The workouts are similar to cross fit style workouts and seem to keep me from wandering around aimlessly in the gym attempting to figure out how to torture myself. Wednesday night the Spartan WOD was suicide sprints, burpees, suicide sprints, burpees...etc until I nearly puked. That was punishment for my lack of weekend motivation. Thursday's WOD was to get a sledgehammer or ax and either bang on a tire with the sledgehammer or chop wood with the ax. I couldn't find those objects at the Shipley so instead I warmed up on the elliptical, tossed up a medicine ball, swung around a kettle bell, worked my abs then ran one mile as fast as I could on the dreadmill. I decided on a whim to add that last mile. I may try that after all my "non-run" workouts. It felt good to go the extra mile. Luckily the snow seems to be melting so I should be back to the roads soon. Hopefully I can fit in a 10+mile road run this weekend. The weekend after I have a half-marathon and the weekend after that a 20 mile race. I can't believe how fast the time is going by. I'm starting to get that nervous feeling in my gut.

Tired of the Snow - Laura

My kids and I are tired of the cold and snow, so we head to an indoor water park for the weekend!The trouble is…I still need to train for the marathon. Friday night I run six miles on the treadmill until my kids get kicked out of the pool for being ‘unattended.’ Yes – they all know how to swim and the water is four feet at the highest point. They are not allowed in the fitness room either.

 

The next day, I plan to run 14 miles! This means another six miles on the treadmill, more time in the pool, then the drive home. The remaining eight miles consist of my son running three miles with me, my daughters (ages 11 and 8) running the next mile, and finishing the last four miles on my own before collapsing on the couch.

 

On my last mile, I am passed my friend Martina, in her car. Martina is a locally renowned clairvoyant who offers sessions on how to understand one’s past lives and remove the negative from the current one. It was not a coincidence that she passes me now and says “hello!”

 

The message I receive is: Everything happens for a reason….often reasons we do not understand.