September in Review

The other day I was thinking about how September had pretty much kicked my ass, when I saw that a friend had posted this image that has been floating around the internets on Facebook. It couldn't have been more timely.

This past month I've pretty much constantly felt like I'm in the middle of one of those tangles with no sense of how to get myself back on track. Then I remembered that one of my goals this month had been to cultivate my risk-taking abilities and my ability to cope with the unexpected and failure. Well, this month has given me that opportunity in spades. So even though some of these thing were not the result of intentional risks and have made me feel pretty crappy. I'm trying to keep the overall goal of developing my ability to deal with adversity in mind and be a bit more reflective and a bit less sulky.

My writing/professional goals for the month were:
- Finish writing up my plan for how I will meet my institution's criteria for the upcoming year. I finished this
- Continue note-taking and outlining a conference paper and a journal article.  I have been making progress but I still don't have a full outline or a complete first draft of either. I'll be carrying this into October.
- Make inquiries about reviewing another book for an academic journal in my field. I have sent out a couple of emails out to book review editors but have yet to hear anything back. If I haven't received a response by the end of next month, I'll make a further inquiry as I puzzle out all that's come my way in September.

Health/Fitness Goals
- Do something at least once a week to cultivate my risk-taking abilities and my ability to deal with things not going quite as planned and/or failure and rejection.  Risks included exploring chiropractic treatment for my injury, taking panda shots, and a couple of pedagogical and professional experiments that met with mixed results. I won't go into the detail. Failing is not fun and rejection stings more than I would like for it to, but I'm glad I'm pushing myself to take more chances.
- Run 130 miles in the month of September.  Of course, with my IT band issues and my decision to DNS Chicago, my mileage came no where near the mark. I only ran 44 miles in September. Instead of September being my highest mileage month of the year, it was my lowest so far of 2011.
- Continue to cross-train and do yoga 2-3 times a week.  I have been good about doing yoga at least 2 times a week - often more. I have been trying to ride my bike to and from campus whenever the weather is nice so that I feel like I'm getting at least a bit of activity.
- Maintain my food journal. I pretty much failed at maintaining my journal this month. This was not planned as a means of cultivating my ability to deal with failure.

So while I had only mixed success with my goals, I've been working plenty of hours and and will refocus my energies in the month to come.

How was your September? Was it a straight line or a knotted up squiggly?

Mad for Mozart

I mentioned in my recent race report that M. and I went to the Minnesota Opera on Saturday to see Mozart's Cosi Fan Tutti.  Normally, I would avoid a late night the night before a race (and normally I would watch college football on a fall Saturday), but I love the opera and only get to go once or twice a year.

We had dinner at PazzaLuna in St. Paul, and it was delicious. We didn't have a reservation and it was packed with other opera-goers, but we were able to sit at the bar overlooking the chefs' station and eat tasty salads, pizza, and pasta before our night of Mozart. After dinner, we walked the couple of blocks over to the Ordway Theater and indulged in some people watching before the performance. Although I saw opera-goers in jeans and more casual outfits, it was fun to see a number of elegant ball gowns and tuxedos. I wore a fun dress and took the opportunity to wear a pair of Fluevog boots that I purchased during my trip to Seattle last month.

The performance was fantastic. In the past few years, I have seen some very minimalist set designs and costuming - no doubt as a result of the fact that the arts have been slammed during this recession. This was not the case with this performance. It involved stage machinery that created paths and streams and lavish costumes. The soprano, Jacquelyn Wagner, has one of the strongest voices that I've heard. Though I enjoyed the faux tragic elements, M. and I both agreed that the comedic elements were done especially well. If you happen to be in Minneapolis this coming weekend and you like opera or have ever wanted to go, I highly recommend catching the Saturday night performance.

Have you ever been to the opera? Do you get all gussied up to go to the opera or the theater?

Race Report: Women Run the Cities 10 Mile

This weekend M. and I headed to the Twin Cities for dinner, a night at the opera to see Cosi Fan Tutti, and so that I could participate in the Women Run the Cities 10 Miler. I had registered for this race several months ago and had envisioned it as a fun way to do a taper run heading into the countdown for Chicago. Regular readers know that due to the issues with my IT band, though, I won't be running the Chicago Marathon. The past week or so I've been struggling to come to terms with the fact that this 10 mile race was going to be my last of the fall and have been bouncing back and forth between acceptance and frustrated negativity. I have to admit that part of me secretly hoped that I would line up on race day and nail 10 pain-free miles and that I would be able to put Chicago back on the table. However, that was not the case.

Yesterday morning I woke up after a few hours of sleep, dressed, and downed a cup of coffee and some breakfast. M. and I headed down to Minnehaha Park, where I met up with Lisa of Lisa's Yarns and Kyria of Travel Spot. It was so nice to meet both of these awesome ladies. After a photo op, we lined up to start. A few weeks ago, Lisa and I had discussed running the first couple of miles together, but she has been smoking up the pavement lately and I am obviously not in top form. Kyria is also speedy, so we all wished each other luck and took off to run our separate races.

With Kyria and Lisa before the race

Hundreds of awesome women, ready to run

My hip felt tight from the start and had a dull ache going by mile 2. By mile 5, my hip was cramping. Knowing that I could finish the last 5 miles - having finished several long runs with similar hip pain - and knowing that this was my last race of the fall, I gutted this one out. I was mentally in the zone and, while I did do some walking and stretching to try to shake the hip out and reduce the cramping at various points, my conditioning and overall ability to run by feel are definitely positives to take away from this training season. I don't know what my splits were because my Garmin died earlier this week (RIP, old friend.), but I ran with the 10:30 pacer for a couple of miles and stayed ahead of the 11:00 min/mile pacer the entire time. My official time was 1:45:45, averaging out to a 10:34 min/mile.

With my arms raised in victory, but sadly mostly obscured by another runner

The course was beautiful - starting in Minnehaha Park, winding up to the Franklin Avenue Bridge, and coming back down the East River Parkway, before finishing back in the park. The sun was shining, the leaves were just beginning to change colors; it was cool but not too cold; and it was just an amazing experience to run 10 miles with over a thousand other women. The course had a few challenging inclines, but it felt very fast to me.  There was a beautiful view of the Minneapolis skyline from one of the bridges, and I wished that I had been able to snap a picture of it. Maybe it's because it was my first 10 mile race, maybe it was because I wasn't constantly checking my Garmin, but the miles just ticked by even with the hip pain. Probably, though, it was because the energy on the course was awesome. There weren't many spectators, but the volunteers were fantastic (no fingers in cups here!) and there was a lot of camaraderie among the participants, as a number of teams were running and many friends were running together and chatting away the miles. I would love to do this race again next year!

After the race, I felt good about my time but was hurting pretty badly. I spent a few minutes stretching and drank a bottle of water. Then, M. and I headed out to meet back up with Lisa and Kyria at Victor's 1959 Cafe for a delicious brunch. I refueled on the Cuban scramble and split a mango pancake with my husband. We chatted about running, jobs, travel, and languages. Not surprisingly, I failed to take any photos at brunch, but it was a great time. Afterwards, we headed our separate ways, and I came home to do some class prep for the week and some other work that I needed to get done.

How was your weekend? Any races? Any fantastic meals?

Three Things Thursday: Cheesy Haiku Edition

Due to this week's chaotic schedule, I give you a Three Things Thursday post and for fun it's in the form of haiku.

1. Fire lit under ass
Producing pages is a must.
Coffee, help me please!

2. I ate too much cheese -
Never thought this day would come.
Coffee, help me please!

3. Rains in the Midwest
Wash your American dreams.
Boot weather has come.

Have you ever eaten too much cheese? Will you still read my blog after this horrible punning incident?

Nostalgia: Couch to 5K in Madrid

During the summer of 2007 I was out of shape and a smoker.  Most Americans lose weight when they spend some time in Europe because overall the European lifestyle tends to be healthier - more walking, smaller portion sizes, and so forth. But being the contrarian that I am, I gained 30 pounds during the first 9 months that I lived in Madrid. I was doing lots of walking, but I wasn't going to the gym 5-6 days a week and biking about an hour on a daily basis like I did before my move across the Atlantic. While I absolutely loved Madrid, I was also going through an emotional low point in my personal life and I took solace in patatas bravas, manchego cheese, and cañas (small glasses of beer).

During the previous year I had tried to go for a couple of short runs. Running in Madrid was always sort of surreal to me. If I took to the streets in my neighborhood, I would often draw the side eye from ladies in heels and furs. Plus, unless it was incredibly early in the morning, there was so much pedestrian traffic that it got annoying quickly to have to constantly play frogger. But there weren't that many runners in the parks either, and the ones I saw were all of the fast and furious type.

Even so at the beginning of the summer I decided that I wanted to get to where I could run a 5K again, and I googled the Couch to 5K program. Knowing that it was less than ideal to run on the sidewalks, I took my work outs to Retiro Park. As I ran and walked my intervals, I dreamed of being able to consider myself a runner. Over the course of those next couple of months I built up from running 60 seconds to running for 30 minutes. During the day I would go to the archives and in the evenings before going out with friends for dinner or drinks I would either do yoga in the tiny living room of my flat or go for a run in the park. As the summer progressed, I lost some of the weight that I had gained, but much more importantly I rekindled my love of running.  Although I didn't start really running many miles for another year, I had become active again and wanting to get better at running (among other things) prompted me to try to quit smoking and eventually to succeed at dropping that nasty habit.

The sunset at the lake at Retiro Park

I don't miss a lot of things about my life in 2006 and 2007, but I do miss Madrid. And I miss running in Retiro Park - even though I rarely saw other runners there and those that I did see tended to be male and super serious.

Boats on the Lake

One of the things that I love about America is the flourishing communities of runners that you can find in just about any town. I like being part of that, but Madrid will always be an important part of my running history.

Apple Picking With the In-Laws

M's parents were in town this week, and we decided to go a nearby orchard for some apple picking. I was happy when M. mentioned to me that it was something that they wanted to do because I had hoped to go apple picking last fall but we never got around to it. So Friday we drove up to a local orchard. Upon our arrival, we sampled a number of the different types of apples that were ready for the picking and decided that we would go for the Cortlands. I'm glad that we did because the ones that we picked are delicious - juicy and crisp.

We hopped a tractor ride out to the appropriate part of the orchard, and then spent some time filling up our bag and eating some of our apple-y plunder.

After we had picked our peck and eaten our apples, we meandered through a corn maize (something I hadn't done since I was a kid) and enjoyed the chilly air and the sunshine. It was a wonderful way to spend part of an afternoon.

My in-laws took a few apples with them when they left on Saturday. But we still have plenty to take in our lunches over the next week, and I sense an apple crisp or a pie will be in my baking future.

Have you ever been apple picking? What are some of your favorite autumnal outdoor activities?

Decisions, Distance, and Perspective

After a couple of shorter runs this week and another trip to the chiro, I have weighed my options and decided not to toe the line at the Chicago Marathon this year. It was a hard decision to make and some tears have been involved, but, when I was feeling that dull ache in my hip at mile 1.5 of a 3 mile run with my dear friend Suzie this morning, I knew that it was the right decision for me right now.

I am still going to run a 10 mile race in the Twin Cities next weekend. I have plans to meet up with Lisa, and I'm really excited to get to meet her in person after reading her blog and exchanging comments and emails for many months. This race will also be my first women's only event, which I think will make it really special. I am going to take it easy and will run/walk it if I need to.  After that, I am going to take some time off from running and let this injury heal. Cycling, thankfully, doesn't hurt and doesn't seem to be aggravating the issue, so I will continue to bike to campus, strength train, do yoga, and try to force myself to get into the pool at my local Y for some aqua jogging and perhaps attempt to swim a lap (I am not a strong swimmer at all). There is a 10K in October that I'm registered for, and if I'm feeling healthy by then I will run it. If I don't, I won't.

In the past twelve months, I have run two 5Ks, a 10K, five half-marathons, and one full marathon. I am grateful that my body let me do all of that. I am optimistic that it will let me run plenty more in the future. That sub 5 hour marathon (and faster) is out there for me, and I will get there. It just won't be in Chicago on October 9th. The important thing is that I get this IT band issue under control so that I'm not sidelined for long.

Thanks so much to everyone who has left comments and sent emails in support as I've struggled with this injury and with coming to terms with what it meant for my fall marathon plans! I really appreciate the runners in my life, both in my local running community and out here on the internets.

Other Loves

Since there's not a whole lot of running going on over here right now, I decided to keep myself in good spirits by biking to campus and participating in colored pants day over at Everybody, Everywear.  The temperature dropped by about 30 degrees overnight last night, which made for deliciously cool and crisp air and the perfect opportunity to wear cords for the first time in months.

These are my first ever attempts at panda shots, and I have to admit that I felt a certain amount of glee (or maybe it was just a rush of adrenaline as I've never had great balance) taking them as I biked through my 'hood.

Do you get joy out of biking to work? Have you tried taking panda shots?

The Uncertainty of Injury

Compared to many other problems in the world, a running-related injury is not so bad. It's a frustration and an inconvenience, but I am aware of my position of privilege when I complain about my IT band's decision to flare up.

Four weeks ago, I experienced a hip cramp around mile 11.5 of a planned 16 mile run. I tried to walk it out, shake it out, stretch it out. After some brief relief after each time I stopped to stretch, my right hip would cramp again. I decided to cut the run short and ended it at just over 14 miles. I took an ice bath and followed my normal long run recovery routine and ran fine during my shorter runs over the course of the week that followed. The Saturday on my 18 mile long run, my hip started cramping around mile 14 or 15. It was the same hip and I had the same issue.  I pushed through with a couple of walk breaks and completed the 18 miles. At that point I decided that switching to a pair of Brooks shoes (I had only worn them on the two long runs that I had cramps on) might be to blame and I ran only in my Saucony Kinvaras during the following week. I had ordered a new pair of Saucony Ride 4s, but they hadn't arrived yet so I ran my long run in my Kinvaras last Saturday. By mile 12 I could feel my hip tensing.  By mile 14 it was cramping and shooting pain down the outside of my right leg into my knee and ankle. Since I had run an out and back route, I tried to run 2 minutes, walk 1 minute, and walk up the hills to get back to my car. I felt some pain and tightness on Sunday through Thursday.

My running coach encouraged me to check out the services of a local chiropractor, and several members of my running group expressed shock that I had never been to one before. I made an appointment and went in this past Wednesday. The chiropractor that I saw gave me an examination and declared that my right leg was slightly shorter than my left and that my IT band was tight and inflamed in the hip and upper leg area. He gave me an adjustment, did some ART (active release technique - essentially he held me while I stretched so that the stretch was much deeper than I could get on my own), and applied some kinesio tape. He told me that I should see some improvement before long and that I should take it easy and follow my coach's advice about mileage, and I made a follow up appointment with him for this coming Wednesday.

On Friday I went for a short run.  It had been 6 days since my last run, and I kept it slow and short. I only did 2 miles. My hip did not cramp, but it felt constantly on the verge between tightness and pain.  Saturday I had 14-15 miles on my training schedule, but I could tell that was out of the question.  Yesterday I went for a brisk walk and then did some strength training and stretching at the gym. I felt a little tight before and during the walk, but I had a sort of dull ache in my hip all day after it.

This morning it feels just on the other side of that dull edge, so, rather than run, I'm going to go to the gym to spend about an hour on the exercise bike.

Right now getting to the start line in Chicago is up in the air for me. It's frustrating, but I'm trying to remain optimistic.  I figure I need to get one more solid 18-20 mile long run in sometime in the next two weeks in order to feel confident about my ability to finish the marathon.  This may mean having to sit out the 10 mile race I planned to do in just under two weeks.

For those of you who have suffered from IT band issues, how long did you find that you needed to take off from running before you could run without pain? For those of you who have experienced an injury during the last six weeks of a training cycle, were you able to run your marathon? How did you make it happen? Lots of other cardio and foam rolling?

This Week in Shoes III

Since Monday, it's been a crazy, busy week, and I'm grateful to my shoes for carrying me through it.

Saucony Grid Cohesions worn on my Mon, Tues, and Fri work outs

I wore these Kenzie Girls purchased in 2006 on Tuesday for a full day on campus

Fluevog San Fillipos worn Wednesday for office hours and teaching

John Fluevog Mini Elif worn Thursday for a more than full day on campus

Sandals purchased at a boutique in Florence worn Mon for errands, Wed to the chiropractor, and today for meetings on campus

Sorry I've been largely absent from blogging and from reading and commenting on blogs this week. Between being injured and an especially hectic week on campus, my normal routine has been disrupted.  I hope to catch up on blogs over the weekend.

Chicago Marathon Training: Week 9

As I type this up, I'm drinking coffee in my pjs (yay!) and sitting on an ice pack (boo!).  After a third long run in a row with severe hip cramps in the final miles, I have to face the fact that I am injured. The upcoming week is something of a step back week and then I have one more week of intense training before the taper begins. I am optimistic that I can still get to the starting line in Chi-town, but I'm going to have to be smart over the next few weeks.

Week 9 wasn't what I wanted, but it's behind me now.

Monday - scheduled 5 miles easy. Actual 5 miles easy. I met up with my running group for 5 miles at 5:15 am. I kept it nice and easy and enjoyed starting my week with fellow runners.

Tuesday - scheduled  3 miles at 5K pace. Actual 0 miles and no exercise of any sort except walking to and from the parking lot to my office. I was so tired by the end of the day on Monday that I didn't think I could start Tuesday at 4:30 and be functional all day. I was on campus from 7:30 am until almost 7:30 pm so no running happened in the evening either.

Wednesday - scheduled 6 miles easy. Actual 5 miles including 4 x 800 speed intervals. My running buddy was under the weather so I decided to just hop on the treadmill and do some speedwork since I'd missed doing any the day before.

Thursday - scheduled 0 miles - active rest. Actual 0 miles - active rest. I went to the gym and did 30 minutes of strength training and 20 minutes on the elliptical, followed by some stretching.

Friday - scheduled 4 miles easy. Actual 0 miles. I debated going for a run, but I decided to take a rest day instead and take care of some tasks I had been putting off for a while.

Saturday - scheduled 19 miles LSD. Actual 18 miles LSD. I met up with a couple of people from my running group at 5:15. They were doing 18 miles so I decided I would just do that with them, since it was an out and back route and I had run really well having company for my long run the previous week.  This run was tough. It was humid, and we got caught in a thunderstorm, but it was still going pretty well until around mile 12 for me. Then I started having the same issue with my hip. At mile 14 I told my friends to go on ahead and switched to a 3:1 and then later a 2:1 run/walk ratio just to finish the 18 miles.  I followed it up with a banana and an ice bath.  

Sunday - scheduled 0 miles - rest. M. and I took Bailey for a walk and then I did some yoga before icing my hip.

Up next for Week 10

Monday - scheduled 0 miles - active rest. (My actual schedule calls for 5 miles, but I think an extra rest day is in order after 3 long runs in a row of hip problems.)

Tuesday - scheduled 0 miles - active rest.

Wednesday - scheduled 5 miles easy. (My actual schedule calls for 7, but I'm going to play it safe and do 5 if my hip is pain free.)

Thursday - scheduled 0 miles - rest.

Friday - scheduled 5 miles easy.

Saturday - scheduled 14 miles LSD.

Sunday - scheduled 0 miles - rest.

I'm planning to try to see a chiropractor for the very first time as soon as possible about this hip issue.  Several runners in my group have suggested that I might need an adjustment or kinesic taping. Have any of you ever been to a back cracker? What has been your experience?

A New Name and Adventures in Minimalism

After some thought and some hemming and hawing, I decided to change the name of my blog to "The Running Historian". The URL will remain the same, as will the focus. I'll still post about running, writing, goals, the occasional kitchen experiment, travels, and miscellaneous musings about yoga, teaching, puppies, and shoes.

This is part of a more wide-sweeping series of gradual changes that I'm attempting to make. I am far from a minimalist, and I tend to be turning increasingly into a pack-rat as I get older. I have stacks of academic clutter everywhere (books, papers to grade, journal articles, notes to myself), a closet jam-packed full of clothes and shoes, and a fridge that constantly requires master Tetris skills to get something into or out of it. But I yearn to become better organized and less like an episode of Hoarders in the making. So I'm taking baby steps. About a month ago I decided that I needed to strictly enforce a rule that for every item that comes into my closet another item must go out. This was after my partner (gently) mocked me for continuing to wear holey underwear after purchasing new ones.

After throwing out a number of my old knickers, I decided that the volume in my closet is just too great. And over the past couple of weeks I've spent a few minutes here and there taking inventory of my closet and my dresser and bagging up some nice but unloved clothing to take to Goodwill. I just went through my shoe collection today and purged a number of pairs that I haven't worn in a long time and can't foresee wearing any time in the next year. And I changed the name of my blog. Like I said, baby steps -- but steps nonetheless.

Now I just have to get those bags off to Goodwill....

What about you? Are you a minimalist maven or a borderline hoarder? What organizational tips do you have if you are in the former category for someone who tends toward the latter category?

September Goals

August was a really busy but good month for me and I have high hopes that September will be, as well.  I have some impending October deadlines and there's nothing like a date circled in red to stoke the fires of productivity.

For those of you who don't go gaga for goals here's a ridiculously cute Bailey picture.

Writing/Professional Goals
- Finish writing up my plan for how I will meet my institution's criteria for the upcoming year. I have to admit that last year I viewed this plan as bureaucratic busy work.  This year I'm trying to have a better attitude and use it to my own advantage to help set up mile markers for the year to come.
- Continue note-taking and outlining a conference paper and a journal article.  I want to have a rough draft of the former by the end of the month. That means continuing to carve out, guard, and make use of time for research and writing a few days a week.
- Make inquiries about reviewing another book for an academic journal in my field.

Health/Fitness Goals
- Do something at least once a week to cultivate my risk-taking abilities and my ability to deal with things not going quite as planned and/or failure and rejection.  I was definitely inspired by A-M's personal growth goal this week and decided to shamelessly copy and adapt the idea.
- Run 130 miles in the month of September.  My marathon training is peaking over the next couple of weeks before the taper begins toward the end of this month.  I want to log all the miles on my schedule and enjoy the process.
- Continue to cross-train and do yoga 2-3 times a week.
- Maintain my food journal every day for the entire month of September. Sticker calendar, ahoy!

What are your goals for the month of September? Any PRs or new distances that you are gunning for? Writing projects you hope to finish?  Risks you want to take?