Does it hurt when I do this?
I took my sad little left knee to the doctor a week ago and he moved my leg this way and that way and tested for runner’s knee (which diagnosis would have made me kinda proud, actually) and sent me down for an X-Ray, which came back “normal.” Of course, that only means whatever hurts can’t be seen on an X-Ray.
While he didn’t say “forget it, you’re too old to run, you need to stop that right now,” he did tell me to back off a bit for a while and see if things improve. You can’t back off too far from where I am without finding yourself at a full stop.
I find myself walking and biking in the meantime, and wondering if I’ve got the guts to show up at a run in Kangoo Jump boots.
Weekend Runs
The run start formerly known as Greenberry’s looks like a reasonable option for me on Saturday.
Ya gotta make a little noise....
It seems this blog has taken a bit of a summer break, which only seems appropriate for something subtitled “A low-keyed alternative.”
Since sometime in May, my DSL connection (yeah, I know it’s old technology and I don’t care) has been unreliable at best. I can’t use that as a reason for the hiatus, but it certainly was a contributing factor in the last month, when things got so bad that I had Verizon Online Tech Support on speed dial.
About three weeks ago I became so frustrated that I drove up to the big Verizon building on Loudoun Country Parkway and marched up to the front desk and said that I wanted to speak to someone in Customer Service.
They directed me to a retail store at Brambleton where I came into contact with Rob. I told Rob my tale of woe and he immediately asked if FIOS was available in my neighborhood.
“Is this how you sell FIOS?” I asked? “You screw up the DSL service and just hope people will upgrade?”
I think I made my point. Shortly thereafter, people started calling me and I started to get some traction.
I eventually came into contact with Ed, who was the first person I had dealt with who didn’t sound like he was reading from a script when he pledged to see the problem through to a resolution.
Ed and I talked almost daily for a couple of weeks. I joked with him one night that we should become Facebook friends.
Except I don’t have a Facebook account yet.
When the problem was resolved (I sincerely hope!!) last Friday, Ed told me he wanted to do something to thank me for being so patient with Verizon and sticking with them through this.
My account has been credited for $90 for the last three months, and he also applied a $20/month credit effective for the next year.
Thanks, Ed. 
Weekend Runs
My left knee has been squeaking a bit lately, so I’m giving it a bit of a rest. I’m looking at an easy walk/run from Market Station on the W & OD on Sunday.
water... water.... water....
When I go out to run in the morning, I make sure (several times) that I have my house key. In the summer I take my water bottle along too. This week I realized I need more than that — especially when I go out alone.
I met two women for a business lunch, and one of them became violently ill and the other woman and I wound up accompanying her by ambulance to the Emergency Room where she was treated for heat exhaustion. Fortunately she was conscious and could answer the medical questions that the paramedics were asking her — and also give me enough information to track her husband down so we could call him to come.
I realized that I really need to be carrying identification with me, and some indication of who to call in case of an emergency.
And keep drinking that water!
Weekend Runs
I think we’ve caught a break with the weather this weekend. But I’ve got water duty on Sunday from Greenberry’s, so I’ll definitely be there for that. Wouldn’t want to be responsible for someone else taking a trip to the ER for heat exhaustion on my watch!
Name that dog!
We interrupt our normally scheduled commentary this week with a brief Public Service Announcement from Click and Clack, the Car Talk guys on how to properly adjust your mirrors in order to eliminate that dangerous blindspot.
When I first made this change several years ago, it took me a couple of days to get used to it, but it’s definitely worth the effort.
It’s pretty cool the first time you watch a car pass you and see it move — one headlight at a time — from your rearview mirror to the side mirror.
EUREKA — NO MORE BLIND SPOT!
Weekend Runs
I’m probably only going to run once this weekend because of the heat, and it’ll probably be Hamilton on Sunday.
Rumble, rumble, rumble....
If it had happened at 3:00 am this morning, I might be able to say that’s what woke me up, but since evidently it happened at 5:00, I’m going to have to say I slept right through the big earthquake this morning.
From what I can tell, it was no great shakes — no pun intended of course.
But whatever.. I slept through it.
I’m going to be sleeping through the Mule Run again this year as well. Good luck to the runners — I’ll think a good thought for you as I climb into my comfortable bed Saturday night.
Weekend Runs
I see Taylorstown on Sunday. I’ll definitely be there walking up and running some if I feel like it for the last two miles out and back. I really do like that part of the run. Nice and shady and really tranquil.
But I don't wanna!!!
My kids have been after me for a long time to get a Facebook account.
So far, I’ve passed on it. I think I keep in touch with the people I want to keep in touch with and I don’t need another TSA (Time Suck Activity) in my life. I don’t really understand the concept of writing on somebody’s wall, or updating your status, or the newsfeed. My daughter has given me a little tour of her page a couple of times and my eyes just sort of glaze over.
But all around me, I see the tide rising.
Wednesday night at the LRR Board Meeting, for example, the discussion was about how to organize social events “on the fly” and get the word out to LRR members. The problem with posting on the website is that it would require people to check the website. Sending out an email to let people know the website had been updated seemed like defeating the purpose. What about an RSS feed? Maybe.
Someone mentioned Facebook and that seemed like a really good option. There were a few questions about how it would be kept for the benefit of LRR members only, but overall, the Board was confident it could be worked out.
Sounds like if I want to find out about LRR happy hours, I’m going to have to suck it up.
Weekend Runs
The weather forecast would seem to indicate it will be cooler on Saturday for the Waterford Elementary run, but I’m also seeing a good chance of thunderstorms. Tough call.
There’s always Bluemont on Sunday.
And if the humidity is still ugly, there’s always the rec center. Such a wimp I am. :::::sigh:::::
excuses, excuses...
I don’t do cold, wind, snow, sleet, driving rain, and I don’t do oppressive heat and humidity. Last Sunday instead of torturing myself on Old Waterford Road, I got out the old air compressor and pumped up the tires on my bike for the first time this season. Ahhhh.. such a relief to have a little moving air crossing my face.
It’s nice to have an outdoor option that is a bit more tolerable when I just can’t bring myself to run.
Let’s hope the last couple of weeks isn’t a harbinger of what the rest of the summer will be.
Weekend Runs
I’m probably game for the short route from Faith Chapel on Saturday. Shade on the W & OD on Sunday from Greenberry’s will be nice, too.
Adrenaline Rush!!
OK, so not much is happening.
Did you notice I missed last week? Yeah. I didn’t think so.
I was heavy into grandma mode last week; babysitting four straight days. I’m not complainin’… I’m just explainin’. Mother Nature sure knew what she was doing when she decided that having babies was something you should do when you are young.
When last we spoke, I was getting ready to slap on the old Gel Kayano’s and head downtown for the Komen 5K on June 5. I thought I’d wrap that up with a little race report for this week’s topic.
I had a heads up that the metro wouldn’t be running between East Falls Church and West Falls Church that morning, due to construction on Rail to Dulles, so I drove in to the East Falls Church metro to start my trek. Everything went very well, and I arrived downtown about 6:30.
I met up with some friends and wandered around for about an hour then headed over to the Runners’ Start line. There was a lot of anticipation in the air and people were moving around and stretching. The countdown clock showed 5… 4… 3… 2…. 1… and then BOOM…
Nothing. Well, some cheers. I looked up at the jumbo-tron TV monitor and I could see that people HAD started running, but I was far enough back in the pack that nothing was happening where I was. By the time I crossed the start line, the run clock was approaching 5 minutes. At least it wasn’t a crushing stampede.
Undeterred, I pushed the button on my own little stop watch as I crossed because I was anxious to see how my personal time compared to the official time from the chip on my shoe (my first time ever!!).
Shortly after I started off, I happened to look down and see a lone car key on the ground. Ouch. Someone might be running much further than they anticipated! I thought briefly about stopping to pick it up with the intention of turning it in somewhere so it might perhaps find its way back to its rightful owner, but almost as quickly, I thought about the crowd pressing forward behind me, and I abandoned the idea. Sorry, pal.. some one else is going to have to get it later, or you’re going to have to call AAA.
The most difficult thing about the race for me was weaving in and out of the crowd, trying to find a place where I could run at my own pace without having to constantly slow down and veer off to the side.
Never happened.
Note to folks running as a group: When you stop to walk, could you think about single file so you don’t block 10 feet out of the middle of the road? Just a thought.
I was doing pretty well at the One Mile mark. Around 11 minutes. Not bad for me.
The second mile seemed a lot longer — probably because it was getting a lot hotter and more humid.
I was chugging along and my stopwatch said 32 or 33 minutes, and you may remember I was trying to beat 37 minutes. I kept thinking that surely I was almost to the Finish line, and I kept looking for the Three Mile marker and never did see it.
I saw something in the distance that I thought was the Finish line, but then the crowd turned a corner and I realized it wasn’t (I had taken my glasses off, so I have no idea what it actually was).
My stopwatch said 35 minutes, and I began to get discouraged. It looked like it wasn’t in the cards to break 37 this year.
Then the crowd turned the last corner and there it was in all it’s glory — FINISH.
Holy Cow… believe it or not, I had a brief flash to a Saber Toothed Tiger chasing me, and I kicked it into gear!
Official Time: 36:43 (which compares favorably to my stopwatch time of 36:45). I finished 2701 out of 5067 women runners, and 69 out of 196 in my age group.
I’ll take it!
I made my way to the nearest Metro station, sat down on the floor and created a little sweat puddle while I waited for the next train — conscious not to be seen drinking any water, lest I be detained and arrested for doing so.
Next year? Maybe 35 minutes.
Or maybe not…. But I’ll be there… Doing what I can to help.
Weekend Runs
Tuscarora Creek Park looks good for Saturday — and remember that the runs start at 7:00 now (WOOOHOOO!).
Early "food processors"
A week or so ago, I went over to visit my friend Lori, who has volunteered as a historian at Gunstan Hall for several years.
Not only does Lori know how to cook a swan the way Martha Washington might have, but she’s actually DONE it. I stand in awe at the very idea.
On the day that I visited, she was making some 18th century biscuits to hand out as samples to a class of third graders who were to be coming through for a tour the next day. She had the dough out on her kitchen counter and she was beating it with a rolling pin, and rolling it up and turning it sideways and beating it some more.
I asked her why she wasn’t kneeding it and she said that would stretch the little gluten threads and she needed to break them down. I asked her how long she needed to beat the dough and she said for about ten minutes.
I asked her why she didn’t go buy some of the neat little tubes from Pillsbury that you crack on the countertop to open up and she told me I wouldn’t make a very good historian.
I know this about myself, and that’s why I don’t volunteer at Gunstan Hall (or anywhere else, for that matter) as a historian.
When Nancy Brinker’s sister Susan was dying of breast cancer in 1980, Nancy made a promise to her that she would do everything she could to end breast cancer. In 1982 she founded the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which has raised over $1.5 billion dollars for breast cancer research so far.
My own sister was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993, and I am sure at least some of the reason she is now a 17-year survivor can be traced to Nancy’s efforts.
My friend Lori, by the way, is a five year breast cancer survivor.
I can’t cook a swan, and I couldn’t have done what Nancy Brinker has done, but I can set my alarm and get out of bed a little early this Saturday morning and go downtown on the Metro and run in the Susan G. Komen 5K Race for the Cure. I can help.
I had walked in this 5K for about five years. Two years ago I ran for the first time and finished with a time of just over 37 minutes. I’ll be hoping for a better time this year — and some comfortable weather.
If you would like to support my efforts, you can make a donation here.
Weekend Runs
Trail clean-up after the Thomas Mill run on Saturday sounds like another very worthwhile endeavor. Sorry I can’t be in two places.
It must have been "the style" at some point
When I was growing up, we had an old upright piano in our basement that had been painted purple. (No, this isn’t a picture of it, but I guess there were at least two of them in the world.) For several years, I had to take piano lessons and practice on it on a regular basis. I guess it was good for me to learn to read music, but I didn’t ever get to be very good at playing the piano.
I never could sight-read well at all. It seemed there were just too many notes up there and not enough time to process them and decide which finger was supposed to do what.. when.
I am in awe of people who can sit down at a piano and .. just play. It seems so graceful and effortless. Even though I know they have spent many, many hours practicing scales and cadences, they somehow seem to have a gift that I do not. I don’t think I would ever have been able to play like that, no matter how many hours I spent pounding out the notes on that purple piano. I think I wanted to be able to play well. I just could never get beyond… “struggle.”
A few nights ago I had a dream that I could run.
I wasn’t having any trouble breathing, and I wasn’t getting tired. I was just feeling good stretching my legs out and moving gracefully and effortlessly along a trail in the woods. I had finished a run of maybe 5 or 6 miles and then had the opportunity to run again, and.. I just did.
And then I woke up and realized it hadn’t actually happened, and I was a little sad.
Is it supposed to be effortless like that? If I keep plugging along and trying to run further… will I ever get there?
I dunno, but it was a very nice dream.
Weekend Runs
I’m looking forward to the Memorial Day run at Point of Rocks on Monday. Nice flat trail through the woods. When I get tired, I’ll turn around and come back for the informal pot-luck brunch in the parking lot. I’ve got a hot date with a three-year-old tonight to bake some cookies, so I’ll have something to contribute.