Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Spastic group run (with bonus post-run pic!).


First, let me send you all a HUGE thanks for your kind comments and emails about the whole hospital/croup episode. I appreciate it all. Conal is MUCH better and he should be back to normal by the end of the week.

Now, about last night's spastic group run.

It was a big night because the plan was for the runners to run their first continuous mile. Their longest run!

Anyway, we planned to meet at 6 and run on a path that follows the river. I sent directions to a parking lot next to the boat launch, not realizing that there was another parking lot just south of that one. So, of course, at 6 there were three of us at the boat launch lot, waiting for two others. I checked my cell phone -- no messages. We waited. We walked on to the path and looked around but the others weren't there.

At 6:10, I put a note on my windshield and we headed off. I was running with Bridget and Janis and we had a bit of a time crunch because Bridget had to get home by 7. So, we couldn't wait any longer.

We walked for a quarter mile and then took off for the mile. Janis and Bridget did great! I know it was hard, but they stuck with it and finished the mile in about 10:45. Really good, right? We followed the run with a quarter mile walk and then the plan was to run a half mile, walk a quarter, run a half and cool down. Bridget, feeling peppy, suggested we just run another full mile, instead of two halves. Janis was game so that's what we did.

At .95, we ran into Jen and Lisa (the other two runners who were supposed to meet us) walking toward us. They had gone to the other parking lot! Well, since Janis and Bridget were almost done with their second mile, I sent them on their way to cool down and told Lisa and Jen I would run with them.

They had already walked more than a quarter mile so we took off for the mile. Lisa ran a little over a half mile and I continued on with Jen, who pulled out the whole mile! Then we walked, met up with Lisa and finished the plan (.5 run, .25 walk, .5 run, cool down). Since Jen is my speedster, I encouraged her to run ahead at her pace for the two half miles. I stayed with Lisa for most of each interval, and then sped up to catch Jen and tell her when to slow to a walk. It was nice knowing this pregnant runner could still pull out some speed :-)

Here we are post-run:

That's me looking like I have the biggest head in the world, with Jen and Lisa. Way to go, happy runners!

All in all, my gals did AWESOME!!! I only wish they had a less spastic "coach" who would have been more clear about the directions. We'll know better for next time. The path is a nice one, running along the river, which, last night, was full of rowers:

I'm sure we'll check it out again sometime.

Have a great day, everyone. It is chilly and windy here in upstate New York -- hope it is nicer by you :-)

~ Felice

18 comments:

misszippy said...

Sounds like fun and looks beautiful there! I saw that some parts of NY are getting snow today--I hope you're in the clear!

Molly said...

we had snow all yesterday morning...and it's supposed to be 77 on Saturday! Just in time for my 10 mile race!

Felice Devine said...

No snow here, fortunately! Just damp and a high of 46* Yuck!

Jen Feeny said...

Love it! :)

Katie's Dailies said...

It's beautiful here in the South, but still a little nippy. Glad you finally found the rest of your crew--I bet you all had a goof laugh about it!

Janice {Run Far} said...

looks like a good time.

Lindsay said...

Awesome! looks like a great run :)

Suzy said...

So glad the run went well! I didn't even know there were multiple parking lots.

Marlene said...

Oops! Could've happened to anyone. At least you all got your runs done! Looks like a nice place to run.

Denise said...

i have the biggest head and it drives me nuts in pictures. esp in pics w/ my husband. mine stands out cause it's so big!

Jill said...

You're an awesome coach! Love your pictures, it looks sooo pretty!

Wendy @RunningonMTT said...

LOL at your failure to realize there were two parking lots...story of my life too!

Sounds like a great run!!! I haven't been out yet this week - kids were sick and then other obligations today - but hoping to run tomorrow on our trail.

It's always great to run with buddies for encouragement - my neighbor is training for the 1/2 marathon, I'm not there yet but I am her warmup and then she keeps going but each time I run a bit more and finally getting close to the 5 miles mark!

Ps - that spot looks beautiful to run around!

J said...

It has been windy here and cold! Ugg no fun at all! I am ready for warm temps tomorrow and Friday! Great job on the group run! Glad you were able to find each other eventually!!

I Run for Fun said...

I just read about Conal. What a terrible experience. I am so glad he is recovering well.

Quix said...

Sounds like an awesome place to run! And I am sooooo glad that your little one is ok. That's scary! But ya know, you do the best with the information you have, and you don't want to be running to the doctor for every little thing (I know - that was my mom, I was the only kid that would fake healthy to go to school, hehe).

Heather said...

What a nice run - looks like a beautiful spot!

Amy said...

Who cares about a meet up mix up when you completed your first continuous mile?! Very exciting for those ladies! Well done!

Felice Devine said...

They really did do a great job!!

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