Racing for a Cause

This May will be the third time that I have run in a 5K race benefitting a local CASA group.  A colleague of mine was the original organizer of this race and she is also a CASA volunteer.  For those who don't know, CASA stands for Court-Appointed Special Advocates, and these volunteers are there to represent the best interests of the child as they navigate through the family court and child welfare system.  I admire my colleague and her tireless efforts at bettering the lives of children.

I do what I can to support the cause.  Last year, I strong-armed a lot of friends into participating in the race.  This year, in conjunction with a wellness initiative at work encouraging people to walk more, I have started a walking group and invited the people in my department to participate, with the goal of training up to walk this 5K race in May.  And on Wednesday, we will hold a pizza party/informational meeting about the race, in an effort to encourage more people to sign up.

I don't think I could do what my friend does, at least not at this point in my life.  It's important work and I hope to contribute in my own way to bettering the lives of children in the foster care system.

Running Me Ragged

So, today my Mean Running Coach* took me on a route that was over 5 miles.  This is farther than I have ever run before.  I hasten to add that I probably ran half of it at most -- but we did complete the whole thing in maybe an hour and a quarter, which is pretty respectable.

But oh, was it painful!  The good thing is, it will be a lot easier to do on Friday.  It is amazing how the body gets stronger so quickly.


* She is actually really nice and one of my dearest friends at work.

New Shoes!

This past weekend, I got some new running shoes.  I realized, when I was stretching before the night race early last month, that the bottoms of my shoes were so worn out that they were slick!  So I went on Saturday and bought a new pair of shoes.

My old ones were okay, but they rubbed a little too much on my little toes, so I got a new pair that was wider in the foot.  The problem is that they are also wider in the heel which makes me feel a little like my foot is going to come out of the shoe, unless I tie them in a special way, the runner's tie.  (By the way, can I just say, that website is cool and there is some awesome math behind shoelaces and tying knots/bows!  Also, there are some really interesting ways to lace up your shoes there.)

Anyhow, I'll let you know how they work out for me.

Night Race!

Last night, I participated in my first-ever night race.  A friend of mine is involved in a community organization that held a 5K race that began at 9:00 pm.  I did the race, and while I didn't win any prizes or anything this time, I felt like it was a huge success for me.

I talked Jeff and Vinny into doing it too.  Vinny was lured into it by the promise of a flashlight.  Jeff graciously agreed to supervise Vinny and participate in the race instead of just cheering me on at the sidelines.

All my other races have been in the morning, so I would just wake up, eat something like a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast at least an hour before the race, and then go race.  I wasn't quite sure what to do for an evening race, because I could have really worn myself out during the day and been too tired to do the race in the evening.  I tried to just take it easy for most of the day, and then I ate an omelet for dinner at about 6:00, and then did not eat anything else for the rest of the evening.  This worked out well, and I was just at the right stomach fullness to be able to race.  Eating any later I would have still been sloshing at 9:00.

We got to the race at about 8:00, because Jeff and Vinny were participating in the 5K walk, which started at 8:30.  They started off on their walk and I stretched and talked to some friends while I waited for the run to start.  The race started at an old Revolutionary War-era fort, and they used a canon as the starting gun for the race.

I knew that I would be the slowest runner in the race, so I started at the very back of the pack.  I ran really slowly and in fact enjoyed a personal police escort right behind me during most of the race.  There were some people who faded and I passed, but I was definitely one of the final people across the finish line.

That being said, I was really proud of myself because I ran for 90% of the race.  I just started running and kept running at my extremely slow pace.  The only times I walked was when I got the water (because I didn't want to choke on it like I did in the last race I was in), and again for about 30 seconds up a hill, but after I got my breath back I started running again.

During this race, I realized that for me, breathing is the trick to running: as long as my breathing was not out of control, I could run.  When I had to coordinate breathing and drinking, I couldn't run.  And when I was going up that hill, I got out of breath and had to slow down until my breathing could get under control.

I counted my breaths as I ran.  This helped me to focus, and I was able to talk myself into running further by saying "Okay, I'm gonna run until I get to 600" and then "Okay, you're at 600, let's make it to 650," etc.  As I was nearing the halfway mark, I saw Vinny and Jeff on their walk, and Vinny waved and shouted "Go, Mama!" which was also an inspiration to keep running.  Also I would tell myself that I wouldn't want my police escort to be disappointed by me slowing down and walking.

When I saw I was near the finish line, I tried to run a little faster, and as I neared the finish I looked for Jeff and Vinny, hoping they were there to cheer me on.  As it turned out, they were not yet there; we all finished our races at about the same time.

Like I said, I did not win any awards or prizes, my mile pace was just over 13 minutes, and in fact my total time was longer than it was in the previous race I was in, but I am just so proud that I ran almost the entire race.

I was also really proud of Vinny for completing the 5K walk (with some help from Daddy).  We have a stash of gold metals and when we got home, we gave him one.  I think this really encouraged him to do more races.  And in fact, I saw that there is another race on the same route in November -- the flyer was in the packet they gave us -- and it says they are giving prizes to walkers.  So I think maybe he and I will walk that one and if we are lucky they will give him a prize (and if not, I will take along another gold medal and ask them to present it to him).

Post-Race Analysis

The race went really well! But first, some pictures before a more detailed analysis. Here I am stretching before the race:


And here is the group of runners taking off:

My #1 fans were waiting for me at one of the bends, so I waved to the sound of an encouraging "Go Mama!" as my other favorite fan took my picture:

I was snoozing my way through the awards ceremony when I heard my name being called. Turns out I won third place in my age division!

Here's what I won, up close and personal -- a medal and a plaque!

That was actually the first of three times I went to the podium -- I was the captain of a team (composed of colleagues of mine) and we won awards for the largest team and the best team name (Nerds in Motion). Several of my teammates, including my mean running coach's daughter, got metals as well. The girl got first place in her age division -- a fine encouragement for a first-time racer. And although we didn't win anything for this, we were runners-up to a local fitness center's team for fastest team (the lowest total time for your team's top four participants). Still, I consider us to have swept the awards.

Now for the analysis.

This year I did a personal best time of just under 40 minutes for the 5K. I think I reported that last year I ran it in 41 minutes but either I misremembered or just typed it wrong, because official time records say it was more like 47 minutes. So, I shaved seven minutes off my time. I attribute this to several factors:

• It was a lot cooler yesterday. It may have gotten up to 60 degrees by the end of the race but I'm not sure. This was because there was a big storm rolling in, which finally came in the early afternoon.
• I was familiar with the course. I remembered what it was like from last year.
• I'm a more mature racer. I didn't get overexcited and run too fast at the beginning and wear myself out.
• I was well hydrated. I spent much of Friday drinking as much water as I could stand. I did not refuse the water at the halfway point like last time. I was sweating less because it was cooler. I did not worry about the fact that my bladder was leaking and just accepted the existence of a full pantyliner as collateral damage. And I did not get a post-race migraine as a result.
• I am in better shape. Thanks to just running regularly for a year and four months (vs. four months last year), plus my mean running coach sending me up that enormous hill, I am in much better shape.
  

I ran nearly the entire race. I ran the first mile without any problems; I could have carried on a conversation the whole time. At the halfway mark I was getting tired because of a small hill. At the water station, I slowed to a walk to try to drink some water. And then I had to stop because my shoe was untied. But after I got done tying my shoe, I was refreshed enough to run the rest of the second mile and part of the third. I decided to walk up the hill that I encountered at that point, start running again where the route turned around at the top of the hill, and run it in. As I turned the corner toward the finish line, I saw the race clock read 38 minutes and something. I put everything I had into making it to the finish line and beat 40 minutes by about thirty seconds.

My goal was to complete the 5K in under 40 minutes, and I did that. My first-ever award for athletics was just icing on the cake! In my post-race high, my mean running coach convinced me I should train for a 10K now, and then, a half-marathon. It sounded like a good idea at the time...

The only problem yesterday was that earlier in the week when I had been hyping up the weekend's activities to the youngest racer, we had talked about the existence of triathlons, in which you run, bike, and swim. Somehow he got it in his head that you got to swim in this race, so he was pretty disappointed when I said we weren't going swimming. There were tears involved. A post-race meal at IHOP with my mean running coach and her family seemed to cheer him up. But maybe at some point I need to sign up for a triathlon.

Adventures in 5Ks

I am pleased to report that tomorrow I will be running in the same 5K I did last year. I am really looking forward to it. I think I am in better shape than I was last year and should be able to run more of the race. The only thing is that my mean running coach is going to be running with her daughter, not me.

Will I be able to keep myself disciplined enough to run even when I'm tired? Stay tuned!

I Am So Exhausted

My mean running coach* and I have been doing the same 5K route at work for nearly a year. Well, due to construction, they closed our route, so we have to figure out a new one. Today we went on one potential route, and I am exhausted.

Our former route was relatively flat (insomuch as the terrain can be flat in this part of the country). This route is far from flat. There is a long but not particularly steep hill to start off the route. I ran most of the way up that hill before having to walk, then ran down it for the second running interval. I ran some more before we got to the most grueling part.

It was a steep gravel road that went straight up the side of a ridge. But it was evil and insidious -- it looked like you had finally crested the ridge, only to discover that there was more to go. Coming down was hard too, because it was steep and I was afraid I'd slip on the gravel. Luckily we were walking this part, not running, but it was harder than the running I would say.

But up at the top of the ridge, the view was stunning. The redbuds and dogwoods are in bloom right now, and the leaves are just coming out on most of the other deciduous trees. It was worth all the hard work to get up there.

After this excursion, though, I was pretty exhausted. My legs are very sore. But I felt really good about how far I ran and just how good I'm getting at running (with a little help from my running coach, of course).


* She's not actually mean; she just pushes me to run farther than I would ever go if it were up to me. So really, she's my awesome running coach.

Running Like Mad

So, I learned from blogfriend PhizzleDizzle that until 1960, there were no women's summer Olympics events in which women ran 800 meters or more. And the women's marathon was not an event until 1984! (Here's her post -- warning for those sensitive to words of the four-letter variety: it is full of very descriptive and highly justified cursing!)

Anyhow, this outraged me too after I learned about it. It's pretty sad that women couldn't participate in these sporting events because of erroneous beliefs about women.

Sometimes I think my struggles against gender inequity in science are bad, and then when I see the struggles in other fields... well, on the one hand I feel better, because it's not just my field; on the other hand, I feel dejection, because it's not just my field.

But, it made me realize that athletic talents in women is just as subversive as mathematical and scientific talents are. I'm no athlete, but I can at least participate in athletic endeavors and appreciate all the strides that have been made.

So, today I ran for an extra long stretch, out of solidarity with my Olympian systers. Because if some overweight, out-of-shape computational scientist can run non-stop for a mile or more, that just tells you how ridiculous these proscriptive rules of femininity are. I'm never going to win a race, but I can help run over these ridiculous stereotypes.

This Week's Headlines

If there were a newspaper boring enough to find me newsworthy, here might be some of the articles you could read:

Local Woman Still Recovering from Business Travel
Could use about 24 additional hours of sleep


Roomba Great Source of Entertainment for 3-Year-Old
Floors cleaner than ever


Computational Scientist Breaks Yet Another Compiler
'Not another bug report to file,' complain exasperated system administrators


World's Best Second-Rate Mathematician Gets Some Work Done this Week
Rare opportunity for work arises during two days without meetings


Mother and Son Have Dinner out at Area Restaurant
Father attending meeting


Area Woman Still Running Three Times a Week
'Thank goodness for my mean running coach,' she says

Running Update

I'm still running three times a week at noon. It's summer, and not really possible to run outside at noon (unless you like that kind of misery, but I sure don't!), so we've been going to the fitness center at my workplace and using the treadmills and elliptical machines.

A treadmill is way easier than actual running, and I suspect that I will be miserable when we transition back to road running in the fall. The road isn't padded like the treadmill is; plus, this is East Tennessee, so the roads aren't level!

My fearless coach was gone for three weeks in the summer, so I recruited another friend to go along with me, and now she's hooked too, making it three of us. I was really impressed with myself that I didn't just let it go while my colleague was away. We'll see how I fare when I'm gone on vacation the second half of September. Maybe running in flat Nebraska will be just like running on a treadmill!

Running Update

I'm still running.  Unfortunately, it's gotten really hot and humid so we've had to turn to doing it indoors.  My workplace has a gym that you can get permission to use after watching some boring videos and signing a form.  There are various pieces of exercise equipment there, including treadmills, weights, and elliptical machines.  We run on the treadmill for a mile and then we finish up with the elliptical machines for ten minutes.

The treadmill is kind of interesting from a mathematical perspective, so that has kept me going back to exercise in the gym despite the fact that my coach is gone for three weeks beginning this week.  I like seeing how much time/distance I have left and I like adjusting the treadmill speed up and down.

The elliptical machine exercises leg muscles that don't get exercised by running.  It was really hard the first time but it is getting easier so I will probably have to raise the resistance next time.

Actual 5K Results

Yesterday was the 5K race. I successfully completed the race, although again I did not run the entire distance. Here I am pre-race with my number one fan, who had to be awakened before his usual time to make it to this race:
And here we are taking off right at the beginning of the race:
Jeff and Vinny were participating in the one mile fun run/walk, which started once the 5K participants were out of the way, so Jeff was able to take a few pictures of me running:
And here's the youngest race participant, making his way along the track:
Afterwards, there were some fun activities, like a little petting zoo with chickens, goats, sheep, and rabbits:
And an inflatable bouncy castle:

As for the race results, I finished the race in about 41 minutes. This is not as good as my time at work, which makes me suspect that the run at work was not actually 5K. But I did make a few beginner's mistakes that cost me some time.

I was pretty excited to be there and started off running too fast, which wore me out faster than I should have. Next time I will try to ignore all the people around me and know my slow and plodding pace.

Also, I got dehydrated. I didn't drink enough before the race because I was trying to have an empty bladder for the race (all that jostling makes me have to go and I don't have the best control anymore). Then, they were offering water and I probably should have taken some, but I thought I was almost done with the race so I declined. In reality, I was maybe about halfway through.

After we went home, I had a migraine, so I think I really was dehydrated. I still have not figured out how to balance the conflicting objectives of staying hydrated and not peeing in my pants. Any advice from you experts out there is greatly appreciated.

Pre-5K 5K

Yesterday morning, as part of my workplace's "health month" festivities, they held a 5K event. I decided to participate as a preview for what it would be like to run in the 5K race next weekend.

I knew immediately upon arrival that I would be smart to start just in front of the walkers, but at the very back of the runners group. Soon after the run began, the packs formed: actual runners at the very front, followed by a long, empty distance; me (and my colleague/coach, who graciously ran at my pace), followed by a shorter empty distance; and the walkers bringing up the rear.

My fearless coach told me to run as far as I could, then she'd let me walk for a certain amount of time before running again, then walk a short time, run, etc. I managed to run the entire first mile of it. For the rest of the course, I would run until I was really tired, then tell her something like, "I'm going to stop running at that shadow," and she would try and talk me into running a little bit farther ("If you run to that crosswalk, that will make three minutes of running."). This usually worked. At one point there was a photographer, and as we approached him she told me to run so that he would have a good picture to take!

The thing I enjoyed the most about our run was that we had the run of the road because the police had blocked off the course. It was cool to be so important that the road was cleared and you didn't have to watch for cars.

I finished the 5K run in 33 minutes and 36 seconds, the fastest I've ever covered three miles under my own power and without the aid of simple machines. (I was going to say engineering, but the flat, paved surface of the road is engineered, and furthermore, I suspect that my shoes and sports bra would be considered engineered devices.) That means I did roughly an 11-minute mile, which is pretty darn amazing in my book!

Running Update

I am still running. I am going to be in a 5K race on Saturday, May 30. My colleague/running coach is working me up to 5K. We've been running longer distances and for longer stretches of time. With any luck, by race day I'll be able to run the whole thing.

The race is to benefit the local CASA chapter, which one of my other colleagues is a volunteer for. She approached me to run in the race after she saw my running gear in my office. I am a total sucker for children and I think CASA is a very important program, so of course I said yes. I'd probably crawl the 5K to support CASA.

We have a whole team of people who have joined the race, some running, some walking the course. I'll let you know how it goes!

Running Update

So, I am still running. I had to take a break after my ankle-spraining stupidity, but I started running again on Monday after a nearly two-week hiatus. Can I just say that it was really hard to do when I went back to it? It wasn't as hard as the first day I ran, when I thought that I was never ever going to breathe normally again, but it was challenging for sure, even though I was going a shorter distance than I had gone with less effort before I stopped.

I wore my figure-eight brace when I ran this week, because the ankle still twinges a bit. I think it was a good idea to wear it because it kept me from doing anything stupid.

Thanks to my clumsiness-induced break I don't think I'll be able to get up to the 5K distance in time for a race at the end of this month (which was my original goal), but that's okay. There are other races.

Running Equipment

For running, they say that first and foremost, you need good running shoes.  "They" must be male, or maybe a woman with a small endowment, because for me I think that the first and foremost need is a good sports bra.

When I went to buy one, I went to a running store, where a similarly well-endowed woman working there recommended a particular model -- the Moving Comfort Fiona.  She said it was the kind that she wore while running.  Her testimonial was a golden recommendation, so I tried that one on for size, and bought it.

And she was right.  I no longer reach the resonant frequency of my chest with my stride or even jiggle.  It's like being twelve -- only without having to go through the misery of puberty or junior high again.  I loved this bra so much that I bought two more off the internet on sale (2 for less than I paid for the first one).  If I had my way, I'd wear them all the time!  Unfortunately, they're not exactly suitable for all occasions.

Running Update

I'm still running with my friend at work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  I'm getting a lot better at it.  The first time I ran, it was a mile distance (alternating running and walking) and it took me quite some time for my heart rate and breathing to get back to normal.  Then, running the same distance the next time, I didn't get quite as exhausted.  Now, I'm going nearly two miles (not yet running all the way) and feeling less exhausted than I did the first time I ran.

So I'm feeling pretty good about running and at this rate, I should be able to run a 5K by the end of next month as planned.

My Multiple Left Feet

I have never considered myself athletic by any stretch of the imagination.

I don't know for sure, but I would guess that Vinny inherited his late onset of walking from both parents, not just Jeff (whose mother has confirmed that he didn't walk until 17 months). I was always tall, which didn't help in the coordination department either.

Growing up, I was always self-conscious about my body and its lack of coordination. Anything academic or musical came effortlessly, so I wasn't accustomed to the idea of having to actually try or work hard at something. Instead, I was embarrassed and felt like any complex physical activity would be impossible.

Another thing working against me was my mom's outlook on her own body. She apologized multiple times for being so unathletic and children inherit their athleticism from their mothers, so.... It just confirmed what I believed about myself: I could never do anything athletic in nature.

I was able to rationalize around it quite beautifully. I didn't want to do it anyhow. I had better things to spend my time on. I had a brain to cultivate and my body was little more than a vessel in which my brain was stored.

This type of rationalization is a trap that many otherwise intelligent people fall into. When things get hard, we stop trying, because it's somehow safer to fail outright than to chance failing while trying. "If I'd tried," we rationalize, "I could have succeeded." As I always said to myself, I could be an athlete if I tried. I just don't want to put in that much effort.

It wasn't until I had to develop some actual study habits (i.e., in graduate school) that I began to put that rationalization to rest. I progressed through graduate school because I took a chance on learning to study, and risked failing while trying.  My success in that endeavor helped put the first cracks in the wall of rationalization.

And as I matured as a person and got more in touch with my own desires (something that was accelerated by my parents' divorce and the countless hours of therapy that followed), I realized that I had always wanted to learn karate. Finally I got up the courage to take that risk, and went on to be remarkably successful in karate, earning a brown belt and even teaching children's karate.

Another athletic dream I have long held is the desire to run a marathon. I remember watching the 2004 Olympic marathons, transfixed. I thought to myself, if I could learn karate, what could stop me from learning to run a marathon?

Oh, Rebecca, I said to myself, you don't even know where to begin. Plus, you have weak knees and you are still too overweight.

I didn't learn how to run a marathon at that time, but I did begin running a little bit. I ran to my bus stop every day (a distance of only a couple of blocks), and I checked out a couple of books on running and read them. I listened to some of my peers talk about running and asked them questions. But I never took the leap. I soon graduated, moved to Tennessee, started my new job, had a baby, and then took another job. But the desire never left me.

Then, last month I was talking to one of my colleagues about her training for the upcoming half-marathon at the end of March. She asked me if I was interested in training for it. I took a deep breath and confessed to her my secret desire, but explained that I had never run more than a mile. Realistically, I would not be able to train up to a half-marathon between now and then.

She then asked me whether I'd be interested in training up to a 5K for starters, and then work on getting to a longer distance after that. I said yes, but that I needed to get a good sports bra before I could even think about running. So we agreed on a date by which I would have all the necessary gear.

I've been training for a week now, and I can already feel myself improving.  The first day, I thought I would never resume breathing normally.  Today, covering the same distance but doing more running than last week, I was only somewhat winded.  Gradually we will work up to longer and longer runs, culminating in a 5K at the end of March.