Listening to my legs

I am dedicating this post to Mikey, my running yogi.  I was going to say running coach, but that would imply that we've actually run in each other's presence.  I really only talk with him about running and read his blog.  He's just too damn fast for me to run with.

A few things to note before I get into the full point of my story.  First of all, I have never considered myself a runner. This is despite the fact that I have run for fun, in races, or for team sports my entire life.  I ran cross country in middle school and early high school, played varsity sports my whole academic career, and have finished several marathons, half-marathons and plenty of 5ks. And yet, I never thought I was a true runner. You know, one of those people who don't think a day is complete without a jog, those wiry types who wins races.

Part of the reason behind this could be that I'm extremely slow when I run.  And this could be because I'm both overweight and have asthma (I don't know what my excuse was when I was thin and didn't have asthma, but let's just overlook that minor detail).  I also have herniated disks in my back and have been told that running is not a good idea, especially long distances, which is what I prefer to do. At one point in my running career, I even switched to race walking to reduce the impact on my back and still be able to go longer distances.  And no self-respecting runner would ever do the waddle walk when a perfectly good run could be had.

So there you have it. I'm not a runner. And yet ... I find myself more and more loving running.  About a year-and-a-half ago, when I was training for a race, I had a series of dreams where I was out for a mid-afternoon jog. The sunlight was coming through the trees, the path was wide and flat in front of me, and I was happy as could be in each dream.  I would wake up and really want to go for a run. And funny thing is, I had a great time doing it.  When I didn't get a run in for whatever reason during that time, I felt a little itchy and would get out as soon as I could.

Fast forward to this year, when I fell and broke a bone in my leg and spent several months not running or half-running/walking with rehab thrown in.  I felt like a lard (and was) and could feel my asthma in every day activities. But the worst part was that I wasn't right in my head.  I wasn't happy that I couldn't go out for a trot without pain.  I wasn't spending quality time with my dog either. It was just bad.  It dawned on me, perhaps, I actually am a runner.

So what does this have to do with listening to my legs?  Now that I've been given clearance to run again, I've signed up for a half marathon.  As I've been running, I've been feeling my asthma in a bad way and every hill I hit is like a slap in the face (well, really the lungs).  On multiple occasions, I've stopped to walk up a hill simply because I couldn't get a complete breath and my lungs burned.  At those moments, I would hear that nagging, negative voice creep in that maybe I'm not a runner after all. I'm too slow, I stop to walk too easily, I don't have the will power to get through the pain.  (Anyone with asthma will understand this is not always an option, but tell that to the voice in my head.)

Gloriously, today, I had a breakthrough. Today, I decided to just run slowly. The whole time.  And I decided that rather listen to my lungs, which often tell me to stop, I would listen to my legs, which are the things that move me forward and very rarely hurt.  So today, I just hit every uphill stretch very slowly, evenly pacing myself on the downhills as well.  My lungs didn't hurt once.  It was pouring rain, the dog was at my side, and I don't think I've had a better run in months.  Best of all, I shaved 3 minutes off my normal time for this particular route (a minute a mile) because I didn't walk and felt the high at the end of my run that I only usually get after longer ones.

So from now on, I will be listening to my legs.  I'll keep telling myself that slow and steady wins the race. Why? Because I am a runner.

A belated post, Mikey

As I was walking this morning, I was struck by the number of American flags flying in front of people's houses. Arlington is a fairly patriotic part of Virginia, but today it seemed even more so. I wondered if it had to do with the impending tenth anniversary of 9/11. Or perhaps, in a more uplifting way, it was in anticipation of the dedication of the long-overdue Martin Luther King memorial on the Mall.

Lost in thoughts like this, I next heard the sound of one of these flags snapping in the wind, and the word freedom immediately came to mind. An instant association.  I wondered if the sound conjured up the word freedom because that's my basic association with our flag. Then I thought about it more and realized that the sound is exactly that of a sail luffing and puffing.

To me, there are few places on earth where I feel more free than in a boat on the water. Put together, though, the sound of the flag and its true beauty and meaning, I think it's fair to say that I only have that deep sense of freedom out on the water because I live in the country I do.

And for that, I'm very grateful.

A re-trend?

For the last several months and maybe for the last year even, I have noticed a growing trend in Arlington.  It involves people walking down the street while reading books. These people do not walk very fast, typically, but they also never look up from their books, even when passing another person on the sidewalk.  They appear to be totally engrossed.

I am used to seeing people read to the exclusion of everything around them on the subway, but not on the sidewalk.  So I have been wondering what has prompted the rise in sidewalk readers. 

From my observations, the readers are typically young and typically male, although I have spotted a handful of female sidewalk readers. This fact - that they are generally young - leads me to believe that this is not a trend that has much to do with books in and of themselves, but rather something more to do with the fact that we have programmed the next generation to always be engaged in something even while doing basic tasks.  Something along the lines of ... if they can't have their device doing something, then they will enjoy something as 1990 as a book (1990 being the last time you could safely say books were "in").

With a little research, I've found that there is help for the novice sidewalk reader.  Wikihow has instructions on how to read while walking. People have chimed in on Yelp about it, and there is even a Reading While Walking page on Facebook.

Clearly, I'm fascinated with this trend and have questions.  Are the readers really absorbing what they read or is it more of a post-modernist statement?  Do they mean to shut the world out while they walk and if so, why not just wear ear buds and an iPod?  Speaking of iPods, why not just get the book on "tape" via an MP3 player?  And more curious, given the ages of the readers, do they not have iPads? I thought everyone younger than me has an iPad.

One thing I can be certain of, I will not be joining this trend.  For no other reason than I would likely be a statistic and the first person killed reading while walking.  Now reading on the subway, that's a whole other story.

Press Release: 2011 Turtle Trot 5k and Free Family-Friendly Turtle-Themed Events, Saturday, May 21

Arlington County's Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources is hosting the first-ever Turtle Trot 5k race on Saturday, May 21, at South Bluemont Park (601 North Manchester Street, North 4th Street Entrance, Arlington, VA 22203). This is a chip-timed, certified 5k race to support Arlington’s turtle and wildlife rehabilitation and education programs.

Advanced registration for the 2011 Turtle Trot takes place via www.Active.com. Registration fees are $30 for adults and $15 for kids 12 and under. (Registration fee reductions are available to qualified individuals; call 703-525-0168.) Check-in and day-of registration for the race starts at 9 a.m. at the Lower Bluemont picnic shelter accessible from the North 4th Street entrance near the soccer fields off of Manchester Street. The race starts at 10 a.m. For more information, visit:
http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/ParksRecreation/scripts/nature/TurtleTrot5K.aspx.

The Turtle Trot also includes a number of free events at the picnic shelter from 10:30 a.m. through 1 p.m. Watch an actual turtle race, take part in making turtle crafts, play turtle-themed games, jump on the moon bounce or have your face painted. Naturalists will also be on hand to answer your questions about Arlington’s turtles.

The 2011 Turtle Trot is sponsored by the Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources (PRCR). The 2011 Turtle Trot 5k also enjoys generous support and prize give-aways from local merchants, including Chick-fil-A, Arlington Community Federal Credit Union, Shirlington Self Storage, Mr. Wash Car Wash, and Kinder Haus Toys.

Everybody Has a Story

I recently had dinner with my cousin, who moved to the area in the last year.  She has taken on several volunteer projects in her building, including writing the community newsletter.  During cocktails, she mentioned that she had interviewed a 94-year-old woman for one of her articles. 

When I asked what the article would be about, my cousin said there ended up being no article after the interview.  Instead, she told me about the conversation with the older woman, which had started because my cousin had gone to take photos of the fountain outside the building and this woman had been there with her helper.  My cousin took the photo for the newsletter with the two women in it and later took copies of the photos to them as a gift.  Both women were thrilled to receive the photos, and the older woman mentioned how happy she was to have a visitor that afternoon because she had been terribly lonely.  My cousin was struck by this and so she stayed and interviewed (had a conversation with) the older woman.  My cousin learned a bit about this woman's background and helped her overcome her loneliness.  She said, "It was nice to hear this woman's story."  And that's just it, everyone has a story.

I was reminded of this again last night as I had dinner with someone I've become friends with over the last six months. He and I went out to watch a hockey game, and over dinner and drinks I learned about his very nontraditional childhood and its effect on his views about religion, politics, work, and relationships.  He shared stories about having grown up relatively poor, his lack of formal education as a child, his father's death, and life growing up in an exotic location.  We barely watched the game because I was so fascinated by this person's totally unique experiences and world view - and the fact that I'd known him for six months and was just now learning all of this - that I couldn't stop asking questions.

And that is why I write.  Because everybody has a story.  I like knowing them, and I love sharing them.

Frog Lullaby

There is nothing like the sound of a frog and toad chorus on a spring night from a vernal pool.  I grew up with this music, which I listened to from our second-floor screened in porch.  Often, I'd sit in the dark, sometimes just with a candle, listening to the echoing, vibrating sounds.  To this day, I can't hear frogs and toads without getting a little drowsy. 

I recorded about a minute of the music tonight, but apparently it's harder to post an audio file online than it is to get into Fort Knox.  (I love how old a reference that is - I feel like Bugs Bunny might jump off the page at any minute.) 

I'm sorry I can't share.  But just know that I'll be falling asleep to the lullaby of frogs and toads shortly.  Zzz....

Head Full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise

If you’re loved by someone, you’re never rejected Decide what to be and go be it

Oh Avett Brothers, thanks for writing this song, especially today as I'm pondering big thoughts like what my true nature is and who I want to be as a person.  You're right.  I should just decide what to be and go be it.

Thanks.