A runner. And a rambler.

I read something this morning that fit right in with some thoughts that I've been having lately.

On Friday, MizFit, from MizFitOnline, wrote about the quote, "You are what you repeatedly do."

(I don't want to steal her content so I won't rehash what she wrote. You can read it yourself, if you are interested. And, by the way, if you don't already visit her site you really, really should. It's awesome.)

I've been thinking around that idea for a while -- thinking about habits, thoughts, etc. But, until I read MizFit's post I didn't actually think about how what I do really is who I am. When you stop to think about it, it's pretty heavy! "You are what you repeatedly do."

So, am I a runner? Sure, I repeatedly run. I ran while away on our little beach trip (twice!) and I run regularly in general. I like to run. I consider myself a runner. I run. I'm a runner.

But what else? I'm giving some thought to the whole personal side but since this is a running blog I'll skip that. As a runner, who am I? What do I repeatedly do?

Looking at my logs, I'm a 4-5 mile, mid-paced runner. I say I want to be faster but I'm not repeatedly running fast. I say I'd like some more endurance but I'm not repeatedly running longer distances. I say I love running hills and -- well, whaddya know? I repeatedly run hills!

I go back and forth with the quality of my running. Some months are filled with quality runs, others not so much. Some months are filled with purpose and, again, others not so much. What do I really want as a runner, I wonder? Yes, I'd like to run a sub-23 minute 5k. And, I'd like to run a marathon next year. But those are specific goals, they aren't definitions of me, the runner.

Or, are they? If I look at that and think about what it is I am doing, I see that I am striving. I'm striving to be a better runner. I'm striving to figure out the balance with my running and my life, as well as with hard and easy runs. I repeatedly strive to do better. To run more sensibly. To run better.

I guess that's who I am right now: A striving runner. Beyond that, I'm still figuring it out. I don't want to sell myself short by not pushing toward my goals but I also don't ever want to burn out and not enjoy running. So I'll think some more about this idea, "You are what you repeatedly do." Striving runner. And hill runner, mom runner, mid-pack runner, happy runner. Runner. Those definitions work. I might be more. We'll see.

Right now, it seems like I'm a bit of a rambler! Sheesh! So I'll just wrap up and send you all some (late) happy Monday wishes. I'm trying to get back in the groove after a long weekend away. And the sun has been shining all day. Woo hoo! Could July really be the sunny month I've been hoping for? My fingers are crossed for that to be the case!

~ Felice

Happy Independence Day!

Hello from the beach!

I'm off enjoying the holiday weekend at the beach. Yes, soaking up the sun that I didn't see during the month of June. Woo hoo! It's been beautiful here.

I got in a nice beachtown run yesterday and I'm hoping to get in another today. I hope you all are having as nice of a weekend as I'm having!

Enjoy!

~ Felice

TiaRT: Running Fireworks.

Today's Take it and Run Thursday topic at Runners' Lounge is running fireworks: "In honor of the 4th of July, let's talk conflict, controversy, and commotion. What are some of the topics that you and your running friends discuss and have different opinions on? What are some topics that your family members take up with you?"

Hmm . . . well, I'm not one to write about controversy. I just don't like to get into stuff like that. But, there is one topic that comes up now and then that is somewhat controversial, that causes a little conflict in my life. And it is running-related so I feel like I can tackle it here.

OK. Here it is: It really bugs me when people dismiss my running. Or, running in general.

Whew, what a load off!

What I mean is that it bugs me when people say things like, "You can run because you're tall/short/dedicated/built for running -- I could never run because I'm too short/too tall/get bored when I run/have flat feet/bad knees/weak ankles/large breasts/a delicate constitution, etc., etc.."

Let's get one thing straight: I'm built for running the way Garrett Gomez is built for basketball. As in, I'm not.

I don't have the slim build of a long-distance runner. I have hips that carry a little extra baggage. I have crummy feet with annoying and painful bunions. I have tight hamstrings.

But none of that matters because I work at it.

Was it easy when I started? No way! Did I start and stop several times? Oh, yeah. But did I stick with it? Yes! And that's the difference. I decided I wanted to run and so I did. And I do.

I get that not everyone wants or likes to run. That's no big deal.

But what I don't get is why people feel compelled to make excuses for why they can't run. It's enough to not want to run. That's honest and I get it. I, for example, have no interest in downhill skiing. I don't like it. It's not that my knees are bad or that I think I'll look like a goof in the gear. No, I just don't want to ski. I don't want to do it and so I don't. If you like to ski, that's cool. I won't think you are weird because of that.

When people tell me that I can run because of X but they can't because they are not X, or that they don't know how I can run because running is so boring, it makes me feel like I'm some kind of whack-o. Which may be true, but not in this case!

You see (and I guess this is the controversial part of this whole thing) I believe -- firmly -- that everyone can run. Everyone. Sure, it is easier for some than for others but running is natural. It is what our bodies were meant to do! Baby, we were born to run!

(Check out that shirt -- do people still wear shirts with the sleeves cut off?)

Everyone can run if they go about it in a sensible way. When I run in a non-sensible way, I usually get hurt and have to take some time off. When I'm sensible, I succeed. For new runners, being sensible means taking it slow, not running too much or too often. But it also means wanting to. If you want to run, you'll run. You can do it. If you don't want to run, you won't. And that's cool.

So, there you have it. Some Happy Runner fireworks.

And and update: Thus far, July has not come through. Rain yesterday. Rain today. Bring on the sun!!!

~ Felice

Happiness is . . .

two kinds of ice cream, sure, but I'd settle for just a day without rain. Yes. For me, happiness would be a day without rain. Not a drought-style rainless period, just a day or two of no rain. I don't know if I can even remember what rainless days are like. We seem to have rain every single day here. Yesterday was beautiful, sunny and warm in the morning but by 3 in the afternoon it was an all-out thunderstorm. Pouring rain.

So, I guess that is my July request: Less rain. July, if you can deliver, I will love you forever.

And now let me look back at June.

June stats:

Running (miles): 70
Cross training (sessions): 13

• 30 Day Shred, level 2: 8
  
• 30 Day Shred, level 3: 2
  
• No More Trouble Zones: 2
• Some other exercise on demand thing: 1

Wow. My June mileage was way down from May but my cross training was way up. I'm not too worried about the balance shift because I had a whole week+ when I thought the world was ending in the form of my self-diagnosed runner's knee. I took several days off from running and that healed me right up so I guess it wasn't runner's knee after all.

I'm looking forward to more running in July and some vacations. Speaking of which, posting will be light over the next few days because we're heading to the beach for the holiday weekend. Yay!

Oh! I almost forgot: Happy Canada Day to all of you Canadians!!!

~ Felice

The best compliment.

There's a woman in my neighborhood who walks a lot. I've seen her around and we usually chat a bit when we pass each other. Unless I'm running a specific workout, I like the break of chatting with her, mostly, I imagine, because there is rarely anyone to chat with in my neighborhood. There are only a handful of people who walk regularly and maybe one or two other runners but that's about it.

So anyway, I see this woman out and about a lot -- sometimes with one or both of her sons, sometimes alone. Two weeks or so ago when I was out for a run, I saw her and her younger (10-ish?) son and noticed something different. They weren't walking. They were running. Running! We crossed paths on one of the hills and gave each other a happy, hearty, "Hi!" Well, the son didn't. He was focused. But the woman and I did.

The other day I saw her again, alone. Again running. Again we crossed paths and again we said, "Hi." I also gave her two thumbs-up because I'm dorky like that. A little later in the run, we crossed paths again and this time we stopped to chat. I said something really deep like, "Hey, you're running today!" And she proceeded to give me the best compliment. She said something about how she kept seeing me out running and enjoying it, even when I was running up all the big hills and she just thought she should give it a shot. So she did!

Really? I inspired you to run? Holy cannoli!

She's doing a walk/run combination now and liking it. At some point, she said, she hopes to be able to run all the way up the hills like I do. She also said how she wished she had gone to the Freihofer's Run for Women last month (the big all-women 5k in Albany) and I went on and on (probably for too long) about how awesome the race is, how amazing it is to run with all women, blah, blah, blah. We chuckled together like old pals. She asked a question or two and I shared some advice. Then we each set off on our own way, in opposite directions.

I ran home with a buoyancy in my step uncharacteristic of the end of a run. I was just so happy that I had maybe had a little something to do with this woman starting to run. I think that's the coolest. Absolutely the coolest.

Happy Monday, everyone!

~ Felice

Gear giveaway winner!

Phew! Lots of entries for the awesome running gear giveaway!

Using random.org, I picked one winner this morning and the winner is . . . Oz Runner! Lucky guy.

Oz (do people call you that?), send me an email with your info: The running shoes you'd like, shoe size, shirt size and your address. I'll get it right over to Strands so you can get your gear.

Now, with that, I'm off to enjoy the day. Have a great weekend, everyone! And good luck to all the racers!!

~ Felice

Rolling two times.

You know what I did? I shook things up completely.

In my last post, I wrote about rolling with it. After I pressed "publish post" though, I started to think a little more. Danger! Danger! And while doing that thinking, I wondered why I couldn't be 15 minutes late or why I couldn't forgo blow-drying and straightening my hair. I mean, sometimes, shouldn't running come first?

Well, yeah, it should. I'm the queen of flexibility when it comes to running -- I run around my life and that more-or-less works. But, yesterday, after thinking for a while, I decided that I was going to roll with it in a different way.

As soon as Owen got home from work, I headed out for a second run. Second run! Twice in one day! I don't know -- I just felt the need to shake off the cruddy run right away. I didn't want to wait until today, so I didn't.

It was a short, quick run and it worked. I felt TERRIFIC! Granted, after the run I was rushed and I didn't get a chance to do anything with my annoyingly frizzy locks other than pull them back in a ponytail and I was 15 minutes late to my 7pm event. But none of that mattered, it was all OK. The best part was that I had made an opportunity to run where I hadn't thought one existed.

And today's run didn't disappoint, either. An hour before I started my run there was a crazy hard downpour for about 15 minutes. When I was running, it was sunny and muggy but not bad at all. The wild thing about my run was that when I looked at the sky just east of my house, I could see a thick patch of gray clouds, surrounded by sparkling blue, sunny skies and from that patch of gray clouds, I could see sheets of rain pouring down. It was really, really wild. Sunny, blue skies all around, except for a clump of rainy gray.

Take what you want from that: Me, running under sunny skies, after the rain had past, watching it pour down someplace else.

~ Felice

Just roll with it.

Sometimes you head out for a run and just feel like you could keep going forever. You get the whole Dean Karnazes thing (as much as one can really get such a thing); it makes sense why he would want to run and run and run some more. Then, other days, you labor through your entire planned route and want to curl up and die by the time you are done, never to run again.

But, you do. You run again and the next run is fine -- maybe even great. Who knows? It doesn't really matter because with running you learn to roll with it. You roll with the weather, roll with last minute schedule changes, roll with injuries. You roll with it, whatever it happens to be.

Like today. Today, I rolled with it.

It's a beautiful day. Sunny. Warm. Just perfect. We've had a bunch of not-so-great days so this one is quite welcome. I would relish an early summer run this evening but I have someplace to be at 7 so I decided to run on the treadmill this afternoon while my son napped.

Good plan, except that, well, . . . my run sucked. Totally cruddy. But, that's what happens. Sometimes you feel great, sometimes you feel cruddy. Tomorrow's another day. Another chance.

And, lucky for me, I have running on my schedule for tomorrow. And the next day. And, I hope, for many days, many months, many years to come!

~ Felice

A contest. And a giveaway!

On Friday, I mentioned that I would be announcing a super cool giveaway today. I didn't lie! I have it for you today. And, I have info about a contest. Just all kinds of good stuff going on around here.

First, let me give you the background. Some nice folks from Strands contacted me to let me know about their site and give me some info to share with you about a contest they are running. Running! Heh, heh. Strands is a free online training log, along the lines of Daily Mile, Running Ahead, Map My Run, etc., with a dash of social networking. Users set up accounts and can track their workouts, add running routes, join groups, share information with other runners and do all the typical things you would expect to do on a running site. I signed up for an account last week and have just started setting it up so I'm not well-versed in all the features but it seems like a good site.

OK, so that's the deal with that. Now on to the contest!

The Strands Contest

Strands is giving away 12 all-expense paid trips (airfare, hotel, meals) to Oregon to run in the Nike Hood to Coast Relay at the end of August. According to the promotional material, it's the largest relay in the world!

There are two ways that you can enter to win. First, you can participate in the store contest, which is for running stores that have profiles on Strands. Visit your favorite running store to see if they are on Strands (or check them out on the site -- the list should be posted today) and request a promo kit by sending an email to: HTC@strands.com. Check out the detailed info on the store contest here.

You can also enter the individual contest for a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to run with Team Strands! All you have to do is create a video, essay, poem, blog entry or other creative work on the subject of “Why I Run” and publish the work on Strands. The top "Why I Run" entry wins! You can read all about the individual contest here. The contests end on July 20th.

Pretty cool, huh? Check it out!

The Happy Runner Giveaway

So . . . I said this was going to be the coolest giveaway ever and I really think it is! Thanks to the generous folks at Strands, here's what one lucky reader will win:

• One pair of running shoes -- winner's choice! The shoes just need to be available to the public in stores or online.
• One Puma tech shirt
• One Puma t-shirt

Yes! I love that the winner will get to pick the shoes!

Here's how to enter:

• One entry (required -- you need to work for this one!): Set up an account on Strands and then leave me a comment with your username (do NOT leave your password or anything else related to your account!).
• For one additional entry: Link to this giveaway from your blog.
• For another additional entry: Tweet about the giveaway on Twitter.

The contest will run through midnight (EST) on Thursday, June 25. The winner will be picked at random and announced on Friday.

Good luck! And happy Monday. How about no rain today, huh? That would be nice . . .

~ Felice

In Defense of Food mini-review.

Recently, I read the book In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Today, I'd like to highly recommend it to anyone that hasn't read it. Go pick up a copy! Library, book store, book swap, whatever!

The book is quite interesting and Pollan has a terrific writing style. He can actually write about legislation, food science and the agriculture industry and make it all sorta funny. That's talent. In the book, Pollan makes the case (in many different ways) for people to get back to basics with food. His essential advice is to, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." (As opposed to eating food-like stuff -- high fructose corn syrup, anyone? --, way too much of it, and way too much beef, corn and soy.)

This simple advice has resonated with thousands (millions?) and certainly with me. Even before reading the book, I was attempting to clean up my diet and base it more on whole foods. Since finishing the book, I've been more charged up to do that than ever. So far, so good. We're eating more whole foods, less processed junk and more vegetables here at Chez Happy Runner. Fortunately, now is the perfect time for veggies.

Which brings me to the next thing I wanted to tell you about. This year, I bought a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm share. Actually, I split a share with a friend because it was the first year for both of us. Our first pickup was last night and ooooooh, was I excited! The bounty did not disappointment. Our bag this week contained beets, a turnip, strawberries, mint, basil, mustard greens, arugula, lettuce, bok choy, scallions and garlic scapes. I made a stir fry with the bok choy, scallions and scapes and it was tasty. I think I'm going to enjoy getting all of these fresh veggies, and I know that it will help in my pursuit to eat more local, whole foods.

I still eat plenty of crap -- I'm not going to lie. But, I eat less crap than I used to. And that feels good! Less crap = more energy. More energy = happier me. It works!

* * *

The sun is finally shining after a rainy yesterday and rain this morning. Yahoo!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Be sure to stop by on Monday when I will have THE coolest giveaway contest starting. Seriously awesome. No lie!

~ Felice