Hibernation

I feel like I'm getting ready for hibernation. I can't stop eating crap food. It doesn't help that it is ever so available at work and every time my stomach growls, or I'm bored, or I'm stuck creatively I go grab some candy, or potato chips or whatever. It doesn't even deter me that I'm upstairs and the food is downstairs. In fact, I think it makes me do it even more because I'm like 'a little walk will be good to take a creative break.' And I can't stop drinking soda! What the heck? I NEVER drank soda before I moved back. Argh! And that's just the food part.

I'm also not working out. After the half marathon 2 weeks ago (2 weeks ago?!) I told myself it was time to get serious about working out again. And then I got sick. And for two weeks now I've been so tired by the end of the day that working out is not an option.

I also feel like I could sleep for about two more hours than I have in the morning.

All of this has made me gain 7 pounds since I've been here. That's sick. It's all in my gut too. This is a blessing and a curse. A blessing because no one can ever tell that I've gained weight. A curse because really, the last place I want to gain is my gut. How unsightly.

I also keep hearing about how it's the one year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy and THAT makes me mad because it just opens up that whole 'You didn't get to run the New York City marathon and found out at the LAST MINUTE, thank you very much, Mary Wittenberg' wound. Which probably wouldn't be half as bad if I was actually running a marathon this year.

I just want to get over this stupid cold thingy so I can start running and lifting weights again.

On another note, I am obsessed with Born to Run. It makes me want to run barefoot (or at least in my FiveFingers). I also kind of want to be a crazy running vegan. (This may also have to do with me binge watching The Walking Dead.) But then I look at my diet and am like 'Yeah, okay, maybe a crazy barefoot runner, but not a crazy vegan barefoot runner).

I also really want to do a trail marathon, but I'm not having much luck finding a lot that are not out west. I am finding a lot of 50ks. Which makes me wonder...could I run those extra 4.8 miles? I mean, by that point at mile 26.2 your body is already trashed...

Is this how it starts? Is this how ultrarunners get into it?

What am I talking about? I couldn't even get a 2 mile run in in the past 2 weeks.

Cincy Half Marathon

So, this weekend I ran the Cincinnati Half Marathon, which was sponsored by Fleet Feet.

The whole thing was billed as a "no-frills" half marathon. According to the website this meant that you only pay for the shirt if you want it and there would be no entertainment on the course so that they could keep the costs down for registration. Now I also expected this to mean no medals, no Gatorade, no GU and minimal mileage markings on the course, but they had all of those! Pretty good for a "no-frills" half marathon.

I've been pretty lax on training for this. In fact, the goal when I found out our moving timing was to train for the Columbus Marathon (which was this Sunday). I was totally on track with my training and everything all summer, despite the fact that I had a million other things going on in my life. But of course, I underestimated the toll that moving would take on my free time. And then I lost a weekend of training to traveling, to be on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. After that, I figured that it was NOT a good idea to do the marathon and signed up for this half instead.

Good thing, because in between then (which was in August) and this weekend I've gotten a total of three runs in... a five miler with the stroller in Mt. Adams (ugh), a really boring 6 miler in Miami Meadows park around a 1.3 mile loop and a 10-miler at Lunken Park last weekend.

So, I was not going into this half with any high-expectations for a PR. But I was happy that the temperatures were going to be in the 40s and the course was going to be flat. I was also happy that I would have my cheering squad with me (Bill and Liam, of course).

I also have been reading Born to Run, so I was concentrating on just having fun and enjoying the run while staying light on my feet. I wasn't going to worry too much about time.

I started the race conservatively, but it seemed like it was taking FOREVER to get to the mile markers. I think this is because I have been slacking on my training, because I noticed this on my 10 miler last week too. I guess this also happens to me on flat courses. I think it's just something about the course having no elevation variation. Uh, it could also be that my pace was around an 11:00 mile. I also seemed to have a couple of songs in my head on a neverending loop, which was actually good because it started making the time go by more quickly. (Simon and Garfunkel's "The Only Living Boy in New York" and Billy Joel's "Root Beer Rag"...don't ask).

I saw Bill and Liam at around mile 4 one last time before heading into No Man's Land on Riverside, which was pretty much an out and back for the last 9 miles.

This is when it started to rain. Lightly. No big deal. I actually started to feel pretty good and picked up the pace.

Then it started to POUR. Like, I was SOAKED to the bone. I still felt pretty good, so I continued to pick it up...especially since I was starting to get COLD. I kind of wanted to just finish it quickly. When we got into International Friendship Park I knew there was less than a mile to go and I really picked it up. I was tired, of course and because my training was not exactly up to snuff I was sore, but I decided I was going to be pretty mad at myself if I didn't push it in.

I ended up with a 2:11, which is by far, not a good time for me, BUT I was still happy with it, considering that over the course of 13 miles I shaved my pace down significantly.

I also promised myself to kick up my training. No excuses now :)

Crickets

I hear them when I run...literally and figuratively.

I don't remember running being this different between Cincinnati and New York when I moved last time, but I think maybe I just got completely caught up in the New York running scene (which is CRAZY huge...and there are multiple races every weekend...which are NOT just 5ks).

One thing that is nice is the huge connection to nature here. I mean, we had lots of nature in Central Park, of course, but in a way, Central Park is kind of like running in a biodome or a terrarium or something. I mean, I definitely did not have bunnies within inches of me on my running path. And I am so not used to it that when I started my run and I heard scurrying in the bushes my first reaction was "Ugh! Rats!"

But here's another thing I don't understand...why is running along the Lunken running path in Cincinnati so much more BORING than it is running along the running path in Central Park? They are both approximately the same size (Central Park is a 6 mile loop, Lunken is a 5 mile loop).

I mean, at first I was thinking it was because I am running by myself and had no one to talk to. But then I remembered that most of my close running friends don't run anymore and I have been pretty much running by myself for an entire year anyways.

Then I was like "Wait! Where ARE all the people? – It's Sunday afternoon! Doesn't anyone need to get a long run in?" But then I also remembered that the first time I went to Central Park to run, I thought 'Hey! Is there a race going on? Why is it so crowded?' And then it was like that the following weekend. And during the week! And then I got so used to it that when some tourist asked me this summer why the park was so crowded with runners I told her "It's actually not all that crowded. Summer Streets is this week so most people are actually out on Park Avenue." And she said "You mean it's ALWAYS this crowded?" I mean, I've told Bill before that every time I run in Central Park it's like some sort of running reunion. I was always running into people I knew from Team in Training, or work, or sometimes I'd even see celebrities (this was obviously not part of my "reunion" since I don't actually know them.) Anyway, I am definitely an extrovert. I get my energy from people, so maybe running two 5 mile loops and seeing only 10 people along the way is a big reason why it is SO BORING.

So, I think I need to turn my runs into quiet reflection time.

No, that sounds like torture.

I think I just need to start running groups again. Trail Warriors cannot start soon enough (November 16th).

That being said, I am super excited for the Cincy Half Marathon this weekend.

But I am also sad that I am not running Staten Island's Half this weekend :( My last half marathon series was three out of five. Wah-wah.

Ok. I know Cincinnati running will be fun again, but right now I am just throwing myself a running pity party.

Something New

I'm always looking for something new to keep running from getting boring. I mean, the next logical step for me would be ultramarathons, right? Well, I'm still not that crazy (or that motivated I guess). I do have friends who have gone that route, but it just really doesn't seem that interesting to me. Plus I cannot even imagine the time commitment needed for that kind of training.

I am also looking forward to running with my old training group at Bob Roncker's. They are such a great group of people and I have a soft spot in my heart for them, since that is how I started the whole marathoning thing.

Unfortunately, since I didn't do a fall marathon this year, I have to wait until January to start spring training. And I am itching to start running with a group NOW.

So, I decided to see if Fleet Feet had anything for this in-between season, and what do you know? They have something called Trail Warriors! 

I have always wanted to try trail running, especially since (according to some quiz I took...I think from Runner's World?) I am apparently built like a trail runner...whatever that means. I don't really know much about trail running, except that a lot of people say it is harder, and that I may need different shoes.

As part of Trail Warriors, you run 6 trail races throughout the tri-state area. Each race has either a 5 or 6 mile option and a 10 or 12 mile option. I'm already mentally signing up for the two loop options, but I guess I should really figure out how much more difficult trail running is before I mentally commit.

Also, my book club is reading Born to Run. I know that every runner known to man has read this book, but for some reason I couldn't get past the first few chapters. So I'm excited that it's a book club pick because it will force me to finish it and see if it makes me crazy obsessed about barefoot running like everyone else (even though that craze seems to be over)...my Vibrams look a little gross on the inside anyway...they are all brown stained on the inside. Gross. Who knows what that is?

At any rate, I am excited for the group to start, I am excited to be reading Born to Run, and I'm probably not going back to "barefoot" running anytime soon. :)

Re-entry Syndrome

Yes, that is possibly an overly melodramatic title, but as I was talking to my co-worker Andy last week I realized that it might somewhat be true (he was the one who suggested that this is what I was experiencing).

It's been awhile since I've blogged, but let's face it, my New York self had little time to run and much less time to write. I did get one last, wonderful 16 miler in, over the Brooklyn Bridge for Summer Streets before saying au revoir to NYC. But even that beautiful run was symptomatic of my need to leave the city. Perhaps it was the various trash smells baking in the sun along Park Avenue, or maybe the tiny mouse in my path in front of the bagel shop (that on my way back was smashed into the sidewalk) or the cops that yelled at me for following the people directing traffic (who apparently weren't paying attention...not my fault, so stop yelling at ME).

I digress.

At any rate I am back in Cincinnati (or at least the Cincinnati area) and I guess after living in NYC for so long I am having a hard time with the simplest of simple things.

For instance, I have become a bad driver. I can no longer parallel park (this was once a point of pride...I could park any vehicle in any spot, easily). I forgot that if you nose your car over into another lane that people don't stop for you, they might just run you over (in NYC this is not true). I feel like my car is going to tip over unless I am driving something that has a low center of gravity (therefore, I am overly cautious when driving my mom's CRV).

I also can't shop. Stores like Kroger and Meijer overwhelm me and I find myself staring at a shelf for minutes at a time trying to decide exactly which peanut butter to buy, or where to find the quinoa (withOUT seasoning, sauce or anything else...JUST quinoa!).

I also don't understand parenting here, because apparently parenting is very different in New York...or at least some things are different. For example, I was at the Mt. Adams playground with Liam, letting him climb all over things, chasing him up the jungle gym, etc and I guess some parent thought I was being irresponsible, letting him climb on the rocks on his own. So, he grabbed his hand to help him up. I had to stop myself from being like "HE CAN DO IT HIMSELF! HE DOESN'T NEED YOUR HELP! I WANT HIM TO LEARN TO BE AUTONOMOUS!" I know he was just trying to help.

I also feel way too edgy to be here (see above). I don't mean fashiony edgy, I mean, I want to jump all over things. I need to calm down.

Which is where running enters the picture I guess.

Running has been my constant between these two cities, and while it is very very different in Cincinnati than in New York (and vice versa) I think it's going to help me keep centered. And I'm going to try and get the blog going again. Although, I think it's going to be more about the rest of my life AND running, and how running fits in to the rest of my life. Because let's face it; my life is no longer all about running as it was when I was sans Liam (which is a good thing).