The Next Generation of Nutters

The wind is blowing from the west at 28km/h with gusts of 37km/hour.  It's already down to 4 degrees and dropping fast. 

And I have to run in an hour. 

Actually no, that's not true.  I don't have to run.  I want to run. 

Verrrry different.

There are no training schedules telling me what to do.  No pressure to fit the runs in. I'm just feeling the urge to go for a run.  Wizard of Oz winds be damned: I'm heading out after work for a wee trot down the local streets.

Which begs a few questions... 

What do you call a runner who heads out in nasty weather because they are training and need to get their run in? 

Dedicated?

What do you call a runner who heads out in nasty weather with absolutely no excuse other than they feel like going for a run?

A nutter?

It's pretty easy to look at anyone who has a lifestyle different from our own and make some snap judgements.  But the choices we make make sense to us.  So, I won't make fun of you for going home and staying inside tonight if you don't make fun of me for going for a run in a windstorm.

Deal?

By the way, I'm not the only nutter out there. The new Beginner Running Clinic starts tonight at Runners' Edge.  People all over Niagara are eyeing the trees blowing in the wind and wondering if they really want to go out in the cold, windy night to learn how to run.  When 6:45pm rolls around there will be a huge group of them out there ready to take their first running steps.  They will be cold, windblown and very nervous.  They won't think that they have what it takes to be a runner.

When they look back on tonight, 12 weeks from now, they won't believe what they were able to accomplish.  They will have gone from struggling through five minutes of running to polishing off 5k. And they will laugh at the wind, and the rain and whatever else the Running Gods throw their way.  Because they will be runners!

How cool is that?

A Change of Focus

Happy April everyone!

In the last 24 hours we've had sun, snow, thunderstorms and +17 degrees.  If March goes out like a lamb, April apparently comes in like a schizophrenic dragon who has been off his meds for a while.

March: the month of the longest runs of my life that culminated in the longest race of my life.  I survived and, looking back, it doesn't seem like it was all that hard.  I guess that in itself is something to be proud of.

April is shaping up to be less about me and my running pursuits and more about experiences, friends and food.  April 2011 means 4 things:

1. Dinner guests
2. Boston!
3. A week by the coast
4. Seafood galore

Bring it on.

The month begins with a Monday night dinner with our friend Erin (see, I write about you in my blog!). Erin has agreed to join us for a few glasses of wine and some culinary experimentation.  Two new recipes in one night.

Coriander Scallops with Orange-Ginger dressing to start followed by Rosemary and Mustard Pork Loin with Artichokes, Shallots and Vermouth Juice.

Could be delicious...

...or we could be ordering pizza.

Either way, it will be a fun dinner and perhaps a discovery of two new favourite dishes.

Cooking has evolved from something I did to something I liked to something that I truly enjoy.  With every new experiment, Doug and I are getting braver in the kitchen.  We've made appetizers, marinades and dressing, experimented with new vegetables, grains and meat, baked desserts and hosted a pile of dinner parties.  It's been a great way to discover how much fun cooking can be.  Combine it with friends and it's even better.

I'm glad that my race is over and that, for the next two months, I will be running to run rather than to train.  It means I can focus on other things - photography, cycling, cooking and sharing great meals with great people.

Train hard

Rest well

Eat good food

Share with friends

Repeat

Back in the Saddle Again

My recovery week is at an end.

I relaxed.

I walked.

I put my legs up on the couch and read for hours at a time.

It was nice which it lasted.

Tomorrow, I have to be up, fed and ready to ride with the Runners' Edge cycling club by 8am.  It's our first outdoor bike ride of the year.  The first since last November when it just got way too cold to be on the road.

It's too bad that we can run when it's minus 30 degrees out but we have to stop cycling as soon as it gets anywhere near zero.  But it's just too hard on a bike because speed equals wind which equals really really cold.  Imagine driving your car in the winter with the windows open and you get the idea.

Tomorrow, we're braving the elements.  It's supposed to be above zero but that still means that we will have several layers on and probably won't be able to feel our fingers, toes or face by the end of the ride.

Not having ridden outside for a few months, it's going to be a challenge to get the body moving again.  We've been riding our trainers indoors all winter but it's not the same...at all. It's a lot harder on a bike when there are real hills to climb and incessant wind to contend with.

My feelings about cycling are really mixed.  I love love love being on a bike.  I love the speed and I love how we travel so far so fast.  Compared to running, we cover a huge amount of distance in no time at all and our weekend rides take us up and down the Niagara Escarpment as we explore all that this area has to offer.

My issues with cycling can be blamed entirely on my very active imagination and the very real car accident that my family and I were in when I was 16.  I am terrified of what could happen if I lose control or if a car pulls out in front of me.  I hate blind corners and I doubly hate steep hills that abruptly end at a stop sign.  Shaking, sweating, panicky kinda scared.  I am scared when other cyclists ride too close to my back wheel, when squirrels look like they might dart in front of me, or when I can't see right to the bottom of the hill.  It's just too easy to imagine all the things that could happen...in very vivid detail.

The good news is that I've never been one to let fear dictate what I do.  It's there and I can't make it go away.  But I've learned to control it.  I know how to breathe through the fear in a way that keeps me in control and lets me enjoy the ride.  I take my time in areas that frighten me and, when I need to, I will let everyone else go ahead of me so that I can go at my own pace.

The end result is that I get to do something I love, be with people I like being with, and prove to myself yet again that fear can be managed and conquered.

Plus we get to go to Tim Hortons afterwards for our weekly coffee klatsch which makes it all worthwhile!

I Choose Life

I run to keep the diabetes monsters at bay. 

I cycle so that the side effects of this insidious disease can't catch me.

I walk to keep my blood sugars under control.

These reasons are very true and they get me out of bed on dark, cold winter mornings when I have to run for 2 hours.  They are also what push me out the door when it's hot and humid and I have hill training to do. 

Diabetes gets me moving because, truth be told, I'm scared of what might happen if I don't.

But once my shoes are on and I am outside, diabetes no longer plays a role in my motivation.

My love of exercise takes over and I run, cycle or walk because I love it.  Because I love being outside in all weathers.  I love exploring Niagara. I love feeling strong and capable.  I love surprising myself with how much I can do. 

I don't want to be grateful for diabetes. 

I want to kick it in the ass.

Diabetes does not go away so I have two choices:
- accept diabetes and get on with my life
- let diabetes hang like a cloud over everything I do. 

I choose life. 

So I guess I have to be grateful for diabetes for forcing me to decide what is important to me.  Some people are never forced to make that decision and, as a result, life just moves quietly along... 

Diabetes forces me to make that decision every day.  Will I choose life?  Will I take care of my body today so that I can keep it strong enough to fight.  Thanks to diabetes, I have built amazing friendships with people who share a love of fitness and the outdoors.  I have run thousands of kilometers and cycled for countless hours. I have crossed finish lines and have a dresser top covered in medals. I am fit, healthy, strong and happy. 

Before diabetes, I exercised because I felt like I should. 

Since diabetes, I exercise because I can.

And for that I am so very grateful.

“This post is my March entry in the DSMA Blog Carnival.  If you’d like to participate too, you can get all of the information at http://diabetessocmed.com/2011/march-dsma-blog-carnival“

Self-Cleaning Ovens

What makes one day so different from the next?

Why do my reactions to things change from day to day?  My patience level?  My ability to handle change or my ability to focus on the moment?

Tonight I cleaned the oven.  Mixed together a potion of baking soda, vinegar and dish soap.  Donned my pink rubber gloves.  Put on Canada Live on CBC (k'naan was performing).  I scrubbed the oven and all of its parts. It took an hour.

Did I mention it was a self-cleaning oven?

Tonight, I just needed a mindless task to do for a while with an end result that was immediately evident.  Open the oven door and it's really damn clean in there.  Mission accomplished.

Ask me to clean the oven tomorrow and you may get a very different result.  Because normally I do not have patience for such tasks.  I hate the idea of taking on a job that takes a long time to finish.  A job that takes a long time and is finicky is even harder to tolerate. Painting a room had better take less than one day or I'm outta there.  Building a deck had better not drag on for more than one weekend or I'm fed up and don't even get me started on the idea of renovating an entire room.  Three days in and I'll be fit to be tied.  

You will never catch me knitting, sewing, painting, drawing, crocheting a rug or building a model car.

I have patience for people but not for tasks.

...well, most of the time.

Because apparently today was a good day to clean the oven.

So why are days different?  We are who we are yet our abilities to cope, to face challenges or just enjoy a moment change from day to day.

There are the easy answers: fluctuating hormone levels, amount of sleep or exercise, hunger, room temperature or blood sugar level.  There are the more complicated answers: stress level, horrible past experience with cleaning ovens or painting rooms, how our day at work went.

But it's more than that.  I can have a horrible day at work and come home in a great mood.  I can have a great day at work, come home and have no patience for the sound of the radio playing in the kitchen.

I'm pretty in tune with my body because I have to be.  I have learned that there typically is a very reasonable explanation whenever my body feels 'out of sorts'. I can recognize when my blood sugar is out of whack, when my iron is low and when my diet is missing something.  I make a change and things settle down again.

I'm trying to get better at being in tune with my emotions but I can't always figure out why I have patience one day and not the next.  Why I can tolerate background music one day and not the next.  Why it's easy to be in the moment some days and why I can't focus other days.

It would be easy if all I had to do was drink more milk or take an iron pill.  Instead, I need to get better at taking a deep breath, taking stock of the situation and understanding why it is that I feel frustrated, impatient or frazzled.

Or why today was a good day to clean the oven.

The Walking Runner

Wow!

Walking is really different than running - as I am discovering during my 'recovery week' after the Bay.

Thirty minute walk last night.  An hour walk tonight.  Maybe an hour and a half tomorrow?

First of all, how nice is it to come home from work and then head out for a walk?  No changing into running clothes, putting on glide, filling my pockets with carbs, kleenex and lip balm, putting on my Garmin and untangling the cords of my shuffle.  Just grab my gloves and go!

Know what else is cool about walking?  It's easier on the blood sugars.  No need to adjust my basal rates.  No need to be rigid on what time I'm going for a walk.  Or for how long. Just check my sugar, pop a few emergency packs in my pocket just in case, and head out.  Sweet!

No need to stretch before or after.

No need to shower and dry my hair.

No need to throw on a load of laundry when I get back.

Just....walk.

It's almost too easy.

An hour walk takes about an hour and five minutes to complete - if you factor in grabbing gloves, zipping up a coat and checking blood sugar.  An hour run takes over 2 hours if you factor in changing, stuffing pockets, filling water bottles, eating pre run snack, stretching, running, stretching again and showering.

I seem to have a lot of free time on my hands this week.

But I can already tell that my body will not be happy with this routine for long.  Because deep down, I'm a runnergirl.

I'm a fast walker but a fairly slow runner.  Yet I prefer to run.

Tonight, I kept having to stop myself from breaking into an easy trot.  I was so full of energy that I could hardly rein it in.  But rein it in I did.  Because my body needs time to recover before the next running cycle begins.

And so I walk.

Want to know how to recognize a runner when they're walking?

They walk on the street - not the sidewalk.

More Than I Can Chew?

You never know unless you try right?

My running career started October of 2007.  I had stumbled upon a 5k race while vacationing in Ottawa and immediately fell in love with the idea of running.  I headed home all gung ho and immediately went to buy a new pair of running shoes at Runners' Edge. There were no running clinics starting until the spring because, as the extremely helpful staff said: "nobody is crazy enough to want to learn how to run in the winter!".

So I asked him for a few pointers.  I was told to keep my head up, keep my arms down and start slow. 

No problem!

I began setting my alarm extra early on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  I started by walking for five minutes, running for two, walking for five and going home. I added two minutes per week.

Here is what I learned in the early days. 

1. I could power walk faster than I could run.

2. Two minutes is a really REALLY long time. 

3. Monday runs were awfully hard, Wednesday runs were tolerable and, by Friday, I felt kinda like a runner.

I did this for three months and, in a fit of ambition (or insanity), I signed up for the Robby Burns 8k run at the end of January.  Four months after I started running - I did an 8k run. 

Silly girl. 

I learned that pacing is something I should really start thinking about.  Just because some people can run fast doesn't mean that I can too. I learned that 8k is really far.  And I learned that I can indeed finish something that seems impossible. 

I also decided to sign up for the spring running clinic which was the best thing I could have done and it has, without a shadow of a doubt, changed my life.

I started in April of 2008 and worked my way up to 10k by June.  In another moment of insanity, I figured I might as well sign up for the half marathon clinic that was starting.  I trained all summer and learned several important lessons:

1.Injuries happen - DON'T ignore them (thank you Janice!)
2.Chaffing is the WORST (Glide is my friend).
3.Investing in a good sports bra is absolutely critical (thanks Al for helping me find a good one and sorry for any embarrassment that may have caused)
4.Water belts are REALLY heavy so get the smallest one possible (two years later runners are still talking about my humongous water belt from that summer!)

I ran my first half marathon 11 months after I started running.

Then I plateaued for two years.  Plateau in the sense that 1/2 marathons became my distance of choice and I just kept training for and running them.  Take a few weeks off and start training for the next one.  I did a total of 6 in two years.

Running the 2011 Around the Bay 30k was a big step for me but one that I finally felt ready for.  Obviously I was because I did it and am walking around two days later hardly feeling the effects of running for almost four hours. 

While I certainly survived the distance, I am not comfortable with it the way I am with 21.1k.  The sensible me should stick with 30k for a while.  Train for a few more of those until they go from overwhelming to just plain hard.

But I'm feeling another bout of insanity coming on...

...and I might just try for a fall marathon.

A group of Runners' Edgers are going to train for Chicago in October.  I don't want to do that race but there is one in Niagara Falls two weekends after Chicago.  It's pretty tempting actually.  Do the training all summer with my friends and see if I have what it takes to do 42.2. 

Niagara Falls would a great race to try because it's local and it's an easy course to access on a bike.  Which means I could perhaps convince some of my support team to be there on the route.  Running that distance is a huge challenge for any runner but running that distance with diabetes is downright scary.  Having people out there on bikes with juice and other supplies would make all the difference for my mental health.

So Niagara Falls?  Want to be my first marathon?   Want to be a permanent fixture in my heart, soul and dreams for the next 7 months? 

I will if you will...