Middle-of-the-Pack Girl

Do I get the award for the longest blog post title?

Thank you to everyone for the kind thoughts the last few days. Through the beauty of what is the weekend, I’ve calmed down and gotten over things. Phew!

Anyway, yes, people, me, scrawny me, did a plank pose this morning for 4 minutes. It might have helped that it was the first thing I did at the gym, rather than last, but hey, 4 minutes is 4 minutes. I was pretty solid too until around 3ish minutes. After about 3:15, then the legs and arms started shaking, I have to admit, but I stuck to my guns and held it. And yes, I am proud of myself. 🙂

I’ve never been a “recovery run” runner. It annoys the crap out of me to have to tell myself to run something like 2 minutes per mile slower than I normally do. Last summer, I decided I’d ride the bike on those days.  This summer, I have to admit, I am worried about the elevation chart for the Boilermaker road race.  I think  I may take a weekend trip home to my mom soon, so I can drive as much of the course as possible. (Yes, it’d probably be wise to run it but I don’t know that I’d have the time to get it in. Ok, ok, we’ll see.)

So, after lifting and using various weight machines, to bulk up my arms more than they already are by virtue of carrying a backpack daily, I decided I’d use that blasted stairmaster machine that looks like an escalator that goes nowhere. I will now dub it the Stairway to Hell.  That machine makes every single person who uses it sweat like there’s no tomorrow. But it does get your heart rate up, and some articles I’ve read said it can help with running hills. So I climbed something like 109 floors, which is almost 2 miles. I put it on speed intervals, and then on the “speed” intervals, I take the stairs two at a time. It’s a good workout for what I think are my quad muscles.

Then I rode the bike for about 15 minutes or 5 miles, and read my book, which is very good by the way, Third Degree, by Greg Iles. They say that if you want to be a good writer, you have to read a lot of good books. So, there you go. I am finding myself to be a more discerning reader now, and I find myself trying to pick out different literary techniques out of my reading.

Ok, and on to the review, which is one I’ve been meaning to write for a while.

Women’s  Running Magazine:

Why did I subscribe?  I figured I would try out the first 3 months for free, through one of those Active ads that you are forced to see when you sign up online for a race. Y’all know what I’m talking about. (Did I just say/write y’all?  I’m not even from the south!)  I digress…

When I first got it, I thought, “eh, nothing special. I can take it or leave it.”  Some articles on food, hydration, ads on running bras, etc.  More yoga stretching poses, this is nothing special that I can’t find in some of my other magazines. Then I was talking to Jill on Facebook (of Jill Will Run blog fame). She said she’d met the people behind the magazine at one of her race expos and she wanted to support what they were trying to do. I decided I’d give it another month.

I got the next issue. This one had a pretty in-depth article about 2 women and how they faced the juggling act of being moms, having families and still trying to fit in their running. It talked about what experiences they had when trying to run while pregnant, and what it was like coming back from that ordeal. I really liked that article because it didn’t shyaway from saying it like it is. And I think you all know from some of my earlier posts how I am worried that if I did ever get pregnant, that I wouldn’t want my running to be interfered with, but I can’t imagine how that could be possible. In short, that article spoke to me.

They also have a section called “Women Who Move” which provides inspiration from runners like us. And I don’t get the impression the magazine is only aimed at marathoners, unlike Running Times (which I’d outright just cancel if it didn’t have so many interesting articles on elite athletes that I love.) So, I think I’m going to continue getting it when the paid portion kicks in.

New blog on the blogroll:

Oh, and one last thing – a new blogger (or should I say, new to me) found me by virtue of one of my recent posts about a long run) and I’ve taken a look at his blog.  I  like it! We’ve got something in common in addition to running (the law, although he probably still likes it at this point whereas I am not so much in love with it) and it’s too funny – he has the same WordPress theme my blog started with!  I’ve added him to my blogroll, in case any of you are looking to add some new ones to your lists – Just the Distance. So, check out his blog, drop a comment or two, and give him a reason to procrastinate on studying for the Bar! (Speaking as someone who has taken 3 bar exams (and passed), believe me, I know, he’ll be looking for any excuse to do so! LOL!)

Plan?:

In addition to doing  more strength training, I am considering returning to my 3 mile/5K Monday morning runs to remind myself how it feels to run really fast (relative, of course).  I’m worried that as I continue to do these longer Saturday runs again, I’ll continue to slow down again like last summer. It gives me 36 hours before my track workouts because they are only in the evenings.  But as of right now, I’m not so sure how my legs will feel at 4:30 a.m., since I worked out so long at the gym!

Ah well, thanks for reading. I’ll post pics of my garden with all of its glorious mulch later this week – this post is already long enough!

Today’s run was more of a labor, not a labor of love.  A lot of it was due to my mental state.  I was still angry from dealing with that person yesterday and I was pissed at myself for still being angry and letting it get to me.  I even tried channeling my friend, Lis, who used to be able to talk me through times when I’d get bothered by such little things, on our long runs together. That helped for a bit, but not having her physically there was just not the same.

But I did work out what I wanted to do, in my mind.  I decided to tell the faculty member what had happened.  I did, this morning, and it was a like a weight had been lifted off of my chest.  I have just gotten to the point where I’ve decided, I am not a doormat and I don’t deserve to be treated like one.  So many times at my university, I’ve realized from my colleagues that we have now accepted it as a norm to feel unappreciated and really undervalued, by both students and faculty alike.

What I have to remind myself of is that this particular faculty member appreciates me. I have to remind myself that there are students out there like Elisha who are normal, and do appreciate others.  There are good eggs, I just need to look hard and far to find them, and then pray that their experiences at my school don’t change them, that they can keep that genuineness intact.  Some of them have even commented or emailed me about this blog in the past.

And I have to not let the negative thoughts get to me so much.  Allowing that to happen gave this person and his actions so much power. Way too much, in fact. Just a few minutes ago, I read this post on ZenHabits – Things We Think About But Do Not Say, and thought, “well, that’s timely.”

My running this morning was way too slow as a result.  A few times I walked just to try to talk myself into a better mood.  I suppose it would have also helped if it had not been so humid, and sunny.  The time for Endurolytes has definitely returned. I much prefer running in fog/mist/grayness, like Penny. Next week, I’ll try much harder to keep my mileage within a certain time frame and pace.

I’m going to head out to my garden now to plant some perennials and (hopefully) finish up with that last 3 yards of mulch we had delivered last weekend.  We’ve had 3 straight days of rain here, so at least my vegetables don’t have to worry about having parched throats.

Anyway, thanks for listening.