The Anti-Running Runner

Verse speaking to me: 1 Corinthians 9:26 Song speaking to me: Starálfur by Sigur Rós Today, the goal was twelve miles after work. My last twelve before St. Pete Rock N Roll Half. Thursday is not my early day, so hubby asked me to be careful running downtown. Inevitably, it would be dark when I finished. I estimated 7pm so he'd have an idea when to expect the call with a panting, "dun." He's got good reason for concern, as you will see later in the post. I don't even know if I can describe what happened. The entire experience was surreal. I started out kinda fast for me. Then I thought, just go with it. Maybe you can finish quicker, less running in the dark. If not, whatever. I'd slow down when I needed to. The weird thing is, I didn't need to. It was almost out-of-body, but not quite. I felt the visceral experience that is a runner's high, and I LIKED IT. Even when I got home, it didn't go away. So naturally, I made a video of my runner...

About once a week, I try to run stairs. Some weeks I miss, meaning the next time will likely be harder. Stairs are not forgiving when missed. Florida, for the most part, is flat. I have relatives near the Clermont area where there are some rolling hills. Not in St. Pete. I don't think overpasses count. Often, I run stairs at the five-story parking garage at work. My routine is to jog up and down seven times. The quick workout makes me feel like I've accomplished a lot in a short amount of time. Why? Because it hurts! Stairs never fail to push me. I'd like to be able to do more, but I'm usually dragging and out of breath by the last rep. Especially if I've missed a week or more.  At the top of the world! Er, the fifth floor  The way down is not always better than the way up, either. At the beginning, sure, it's nice. But soon jelly legs kick in. I think I could grab the rails if I needed to prevent a tumble.  ...

I had planned on doing a twelve miler tomorrow. I get off work early on Fridays, so it gives me time to finish before dark. While arranging my schedule, I decided to get the twelve done before the long weekend (my dedicated writing weekend, see writing blog ). So last night, I split up my twelve into a ten and a two. I changed after work (my usual routine), and ran the downtown St. Pete waterfront route that I love. Beforehand, I planned to do eight miles. Because it would be getting dark by the time I finished, I would leave and run four more around the park near my house. Something happened, an extremely rare occurrence for me. I felt so good that I decided to keep going and do ten miles. Thank you, Jesus, for those moments! It makes me feel like a real runner. As my last blog showed, more often I have to do LESS mileage than I plan, and walk when I don't plan on it. There were probably a hundred people running along the waterfront, which makes me h...

Hot, humid, and had to walk. There's the pain I've been waiting for! Yes, it was a tough one. And I expected it to be hard, so that probably helped me in the long run. This vlog was taken last Friday during a nine miler with a little walking. Even though I intended to run ten, I'm still happy with my progress. The St. Pete Rock N Roll Half is several weeks away. I've got time to keep building. In Orlando over the weekend, I got to cheer for my cousin, Alyssa, and her roommie, Jenni. They did The Color Run 5K with some 10,000 other people. That would be A/J (my heroes) that I've blogged about many times. Love these girls. They described the race as extremely casual and fun. Many walkers, some joggers, and four color stations where they spray/cover you. Even more coloring at the after party (pic). I definitely want to do it next year. There's one in St. Pete that my friend Rachel did but the race was already full. I better sign up early. Next F...

To the person who honked at me today: you may be someone I know, but I have no idea. As a general rule, if you honk because we know each other, I will probably never figure it out in that moment. It's too hard to make out a person's face in the car, especially tinted windows. I am a spaced-out kind of runner. I'm aware of my surroundings, but not so much auditory awareness. Meaning loud noises are shocking and usually obnoxious. I'm almost always listening to podcasts. Not so loud that I'm unable to hear things around me. But it means there is someone talking in my ear and I'm trying to listen, whether it be Two Gomers Run For Their Lives or one of the many fiction podcasts I subscribe to ( Dunesteef , TGMG , Journey Into , Podcastle , Escape Pod , Pseudopod , Beneath Ceaseless Skies , The Roundtable Podcast ) which are all really good and entertaining. Helpful distractions while running. The thing about getting honked at while running, it never has the in...