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Month: September 2009

on the subject of family

on the subject of family

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Labor Day has passed; grad school commences tomorrow; the Akron race is only a couple weeks away, and the MCM just a month and some farther.  Hello, crunch time.

How fortunate was I to be able to scamper away to my sister’s in NE Ohio for the extended weekend to get in some quality R-and-R with her and her husband and kids, including the newest 7-week-old addition.  My parents were across the country, visiting my bro in Houston for the holiday weekend; C decided to stay behind in Chicago; and in the absence of my husband and my parents, the weekend amounted to great sisterly time.  Nestled amongst this great family time was a fantastic 20-miler of the Akron course with the Vertical Runner training group, a meet-up with a friend from  home (that involved my b-i-l’s car dying), and several cook-outs with my sister’s extended family.

The concept of “family” is laden with all sorts of socio-cultural implications and expectations, with the actual definition likely necessitating a full-blown dissertation, but I’d venture to say that runners know full well that “family” isn’t just restricted to siblings, cousins, aunts, and the like.  We runners will (probably) readily admit to having a “running family” of our own.  It makes sense; I don’t know about you, but I’ve had many a long run with many a running buddy in the past few years, and what better way to pass the miles than share stories, talk about our aspirations and hopes, and the like… much as I would to a “real” family member.  My running family has been comprised of folks from a mélange of ages, careers, etc., and for many of us, the only real thing that connects us is our love of running:  just like the only thing that connects us to people so wildly different from us, our “real” relatives, is our blood!

One of the best benefits I’ve reaped from running is my running family.  Rock on, running family … rock on.

Running’s brutal honesty

Running’s brutal honesty

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“If you’re not cheating, you’re not trying.”

–my youth pastor (!) when I was in middle school

As bizarre or comical as that quote may be, it seems that that’s the mantra for many athletes, professional or amateur, who try to cut corners in their training or performance days and claim that they’re the cat’s pajamas at their sport.  Running, luckily, doesn’t really permit that to happen.  We put one foot in front of the other.  If we lie and say that we took two steps, instead of 1, it’s obvious.  If we say we can run faster than we really can, it shows.  Our sport’s brutal honesty humbles us and, perhaps more importantly, keeps us grounded.

This week is my last pre-Akron Marathon “peak” week, since school starts on 9/9 and the race is on 9/26.  I had a pleasant run home on Tuesday, a speed work-out with an old coach and his new training group last night (800m repeats), and this morning, ran to work along the lakefront amidst a fresh sunset.  Most of my speed this summer has consisted of running fartleks during an otherwise relaxed run or doing end-of-run strides or pick-ups, so I thought I’d vary it this week and aim to do a fast mile in the middle of my relaxed runs.  Tuesday afternoon that meant running a 7:30 mile; this morning, a 7:29 mile.  It was liberating.

Though I haven’t cut corners in this summer’s training, I definitely scaled back substantially from my winter/spring training, when I was training to run my first Boston.  Post-Boston, I did simple maintenance work to prepare myself for Rockford — this meant long, slow runs and relaxed mid-week runs, but not much in the way of formal speedwork — and I quickly bounced back from my 3:47 in Boston to a 3:39 in Rockford (placing me in the top 10 women finishers– 8th, I think–and earning me 3rd place age-group honors, booyah!).  In the days leading up to Rockford, I continually doubted myself, thinking that I hadn’t trained enough for that specific race (even though I had come off the heels of my Boston training), and at times, I seriously considered not running it.  I’m so glad I decided otherwise.

I’m looking forward to running Akron in 23 days, and my primary goal is to improve last year’s 3:55 performance, when I made some stupid mistakes and caused myself to bonk.  I’m not having it this year.  I plan to run with the 3:40s and hang on for as long as I can.  It’d be wonderful to BQ on the home course, but if it doesn’t happen, I’ll just shoot for it a month later, when I run the MCM.

Perhaps what I love, more than anything, about running is that I’m responsible for my performance.  I can’t blame anyone else for how I do on race day but myself.  I choose my clothes, I handle my nutrition, I’m the one putting one foot in front of the other… and in a way, on bad days, knowing that I’m the sole agent responsible for my performance can be irritating.  Most days, though, it’s exhilarating, especially when I’m in the throes of a good run or, even better, long-term-goal planning.  Make your experience that which you want.  Lying about it doesn’t help anyone… especially not you!

I’ll be venturing back to NE OH this Labor Day weekend to shack-up with my sister and her 6-week-old son.  I’m stoked.  🙂  I’ll also be running 20 miles of the Akron course, which also gives me something else to look forward to.  And the weather looks promising, too.  A mink can’t complain.

Run on, and run happy.