She Do Run Run

I've been worried about the low mileage I've been running lately, and since Grandma's Marathon is only 16 Saturdays away, I figured I'd better get in condition. So yesterday I ran seven miles, not on a treadmill, outdoors. The weather was decent for February in Minnesota, and the sun was shining. It felt good to be on the road, just like a real runner.

Last night I saw Billie Jean King at Orchestra Hall. She is touring with the Women's Lecture Series and I really enjoyed her talk. I didn't realize how much we women owe her. She worked tirelessly to promote equal status for athletes. I remember watching the 1973 Battle of the Sexes with Bobby Riggs. That was when I was a member of the counter-culture and I didn't even own a television. I didn't even know the match was happening, but I happened to go over to an acquaintance's house and a bunch of people were watching it on the 13-inch black and white. But she was so much more than just a publicity hype, and after hearing her talk I have a new respect for her. I put her right up there with Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem.

Today I decided to cross-train by doing 30 minutes on the elliptical. I had quickly packed my gear bag and cleverly forgot to pack my sports bra and since going sans was not an option, I went with the regular one and kept the, um, pace down to a minimum. So that was good, because I kept my heart rate in the fat burning zone.

OK, that's it. Tomorrow night is a run with my new group. I think I'm ready.

This is at the end of my run along the Paseo Pinones trail. The rest of the trail was much more scenic than this. That's not the truck driver who honked at me; he was going in the other direction.

Old San Juan looks like pictures I've seen of Cuba, except the cars are newer. I expected San Juan to be modern, like Hawaii.

This is also Old San Juan. I love the bright colors.

This is the old firehouse in Ponce. My grandfather grew up down the block from here, but I don't know the address.

Spinning class started at 9 this morning. I think I was the only new person there; every one else seemed to know each other and the instructor and I think they were hard-core bikers. It was kind of intimidating. As the class started, I thought, "I'd rather be running," but then I got into it.

The temperature in the studio matched my maximum heart rate. There were about 15 of us in the cycling studio and no air conditioning. It sounds funny to talk about a.c. when it's 12 degrees outside, but that room got stifling. I wanted to ask the instructor to turn on the fans, but figured if the others could tough it out, so could I. At age 52, I'm a little sensitive to not being able to handle the heat. I don't get hot flashes, but I have a "menopause heater" as my friend Marcia calls it, which tends to run hot.

So I was sweating bullets. And completely ignored the doctor's advice about not sweating for two weeks. I kept wiping my face, though, so the sweat wouldn't get in my eye. I don't think it was a problem.

As I watched the sweat dripping off the man next to me pool onto the floor, I remembered a haiku I wrote years ago in another spinning class. Here it is:

Sweat pours from bodies
While hearts race, then recover
Spin class. Go, Go, Go!

...is paved with practice.

The marathon training kick-off was not as big of a deal as I was making it. There are several clubs in the system and they all converged at the Bloomington club for the inauguration. Dan, the national running club director introduced the coaches. As he was talking about how satisfying coaching is, he talked about a woman named Anne who, back in the late 90s, ran a two-mile race just ahead of the "golf cart." Anne had been in a car accident about 25 years ago and lost a leg, so she ran that 2-miler with a prosthesis. (My eyes got moist.) After that race, she went up to Dan and said, "OK, coach, I'm ready to run a marathon." (I started choking back the tears.) Then he tells us that Anne finished her first marathon in something like 5:10; I don't remember the exact time. By this point I'm bawling. Finally, he introduced Anne as the coach for the Maple Grove club.

We met with our respective club coach, then we sorted by pace. I was in the 11:00+ group. To some people it's all slow, but there's a big difference between a sub-five hour marathoner and an "Oh, God, I just want to get across the finish line before the six hour cut off " marathoner.

I wanted to run 8 miles today, to start building some distance, but the run was scheduled for 3-6 miles. A couple of women said they were going to run six and I could run with them, but I warned them that I was very slow. They said that was OK, and as I started running with them, I fell further and further behind and was being passed by EVERYONE. I ran alone for a little while, then Dan and Jim caught up with me. Jim is the co-coach for the Maple Grove club (and Anne's husband) and has run something like 26 marathons! Jim told Dan he'd run with me, so Dan took off. Jim said that the 11 minute pacers went out too fast and would regret it, and that I was smart to hold back. As if I could do anything else! I can pick up the pace, but I need a warm-up first.

At the half-way point, we stopped to do flip-flops: 3 sets each of sit-ups, then push ups. On the ground. In 12 degree weather. Actually, I had on so many layers I couldn't feel the cold. Anne and Mary caught up to us and the four of us did the exercises together. When we started running again, Jim and Mary went ahead and I stayed back with Anne. She wasn't having a good day, so we took it easy. I gave her a gel, which seemed to help her. She said she never eats before a run whereas I always eat before a run, although I try to leave at least an hour to digest. If I don't eat first, my performance suffers. I am all about not hurting myself during marathon training, and I watch my electrolytes and carbohydrate intake so that I take care of my muscles. But it's not for everyone.

So I ended up with about 3 miles, EDI. Less than I planned, but I'll cross train tomorrow. I think there's a two-hour spinning class in the morning, or else I can just do the elliptical.

Afterwards, I went to get gas at a place which is near where my old running club meets. I went to the coffee shop, hoping to see some of my old running buddies, but they weren't there. The fast runners were there, but I didn't talk to them. I feel like a traitor, so not wanting to bring any attention to myself, I skulked away.

Marathon training with my new group starts tomorrow. It's an all-clubs run, so there should be quite a few people there. I really hope there will be some women who run as slow as me, otherwise I'll be pushing too hard to keep up with them and everything I've read says that's the wrong thing to do on a training run. I get very anxious about being able to keep up with the group and don't want to hold anyone back. It took a few tries with my old group to find people that I could keep up with, and there were times when I ran alone.

I ran 6.2 miles on the treadmill yesterday, with the incline set at 2.0. It wasn't a great run, but it felt good to get it in. I went to the club on Wednesday, the one that I plan to run with, and changed into my workout gear when I realized I didn't pack my shoes. I looked around, but there weren't any size 8 1/2 running shoes I could steal, er, borrow, like Jeanne did with the running shirt. So I dressed back in my street clothes and left.

It wasn't a total waste, tho. I managed to find a flyer on the marathon training, which was full of information I couldn't seem to find anywhere else. Then I went to a running store in St. Paul and signed up for my next race--the Human Race 8K. Other's would call it the St. Patrick's Day race. They offer two different t-shirt options: one that says "Be Human" and the other that says "Be Irish." In the past I've chosen the former, but this year I decided to go with the latter since I'm half Irish. This will be the third year I ran it and I'm hoping I can break 60 minutes this year. Last year I was just coasting until the very end and I came in around 65 minutes. So I think it's do-able.

Yesterday I had Lasik surgery on my left eye. I've worn glasses since I was 12 years old, and now I no longer need them! It's a strange realization.

Before the surgery, the vision in my left eye was 20/201. Now it is 20/15! I only had the surgery in one eye because I don't want to have to wear reading glasses. So I'm going with monovision: my left eye is my distance eye and my right eye is for close up. I tried it first with contacts and it worked out OK; I can always get my right eye done if the monovision doesn't work out, but I don't foresee a problem.

I'm supposed to put a drop of artificial tears in my eye at least once an hour. I have the perfect solution for remembering--my Timex Ironman watch! I set the timer to go off every hour and it repeats automatically. I still can't read the 2 point font on the watch face, though. I asked my doctor if he could and he said, "Yeah, but I have to get close up." The young whippersnapper. (For you other young whippersnappers, those of us over the age of 40 have to get farther away, not closer, to read the fine print.)

I require a two week recovery, where I'm supposed to take it easy, physically. The assistant said I could return to my normal activities, but to not do anything like "run a marathon." She obviously didn't know who she was talking to! I asked the doctor today to clarify what I can do, work out wise. He said I can exercise, but not to do anything so strenuous that I work up a sweat. What's the point in that? These people clearly don't work out!

So I interpret these kryptic instructions to mean to stay in the 60 percentile of my maximum heart rate. I can run slow, no speed work, and no spinning class. Marathon training starts Saturday. OMG!

This trip to Puerto Rico was way too short. We really only had 3 days, since I traveled all day Tuesday, and will be traveling all day today (Saturday).

We spent Tuesday and Wednesday night in Old San Juan. I enjoyed wandering around and absorbing the history. Christopher Columbus was here in 1493, over 500 years ago. Much of the old wall that the Spaniards built to protect the island from the English and Dutch still stands. And the old town is a study in color combinations: pink and blue, green and pink, blue and orange.

I shopped a little, but most of the souvenir shops sold tacky trinkets imported from Ecuador. There are quite a few outlet stores there, however, and I bought a new purse (hot pink!) from the Coach factory store.

I expected San Juan to be more cosmopolitan that it is, or maybe I just didn't go to the right spots. And I definitely expected it to be more like the U.S. After all, it's been a province of the U.S. for over 100 years and its citizens are American citizens. Instead, it is more like Mexico.

Nevertheless, we found a fabulous restaurant just a few doors down from our hotel. It was called Marmalade and the chef really knew how to combine flavors. Our waiter was a young man from Manhattan and he was great. And the ambience was wonderful; very contemporary.

On Thursday, we got out of Dodge and headed to Ponce on the south side of the island. We expected the drive to be 2-3 hours, but it was barely over an hour. We checked into our hotel, the Hilton Caribe, and then went into town. My grandparents and great-grandmother came from Ponce and I wanted to see the home of my ancestors. My husband and I walked along the town square and I was awed to think my grandparents walked in that same spot when they were young.

We ate a late lunch at the Hotel Meliá (plantain crusted Dorado, with rice and black beans) and then had a tour of the Ponce History Museum. There I learned that Puerto Rico had declared Spanish to be the official language. In 1993, the king of Spain gave a medal to commemorate that decision.

Friday we hung around the hotel pool and I got sunburned. I foolishly tried to look like a local in one day. It was too hot and too windy to go running, so we went into town. I bought a souvenir and M.H. asked where we could get some good Puerto Rican seafood. We were sent to a little seaside town west of Ponce and it was perfect. The restaurant had a deck that jutted over the water and I had a soup loaded with fresh seafood: shrimp, lobster, octopus, and conch. A Puerto Rican bouillabaise :-) The waitress did not speak English, which was a challenge because even though I'm half P.R., I do not speak Spanish. But we managed to get through to each other.

My run this morning was nothing extra. I just stuck around the hotel grounds, which were beautiful but not like running for miles along the ocean. Still, I got five miles in, which was good.

I would like to have more time here in Ponce, and discover more about my ancestors. And maybe meet some distant relations--there were many people who looked like me. And I definitely would like to spend more time sunning; I didn't even go in the ocean because it looked too rough. I hope I can come back soon.


*I am from Ponce

Hola! I escaped to the island of Puerto Rico for the weekend. This is my first time here, and as soon as I got off the plane I felt it: summer!

I have pictures, but won't be able to post them until I get home, but I wanted to talk about my trip so far.

I arrived in San Juan around 7:30 on Tuesday night. I had been traveling all day, so didn't have much energy. My husband and I stayed in Old San Juan and went out to dinner at a restaurant about two doors down from our hotel. Although it was Valentine's Day, the restaurant wasn't very crowded. The food was good, nothing extra, but the service was very warm.

The next morning, we drove to Carolina, about 20 minutes from San Juan, and I went running along a bike path called Paseo Piñones. Although the trail followed the coast, most of the route was through a mangrove forest. It was so nice to be running in shorts and singlet, and the trail was beautiful. There was a mix of asphalt, and wood, like a boardwalk. I love running on wood; it's soft, especially when there are pine needles to cushion your footfall.

I ran six miles out and back. Along the way I spotted creatures dashing off the road in front of me. Mostly they were shadows, but eventually I spied one darting away from me, its tail extended straight up. It was either a small lizard or a scorpion. They never bothered me and neither did the few people I encountered along the way. No runners, but there was a man and woman strolling and another man on a bicycle.

I was a little jumpy being alone in a tropical forest. At one time some big flying thing buzzed my left ear and I nearly had a heart attack. I chastised myself for that, reminding myself that Naomi was in Africa and dealing with worse things than dragonfly's. I thought, "What would Naomi Do?" You may quote me. :)

Near the end, the trail left the jungle and hugged the beach. It was nice to look out on the Atlantic Ocean, but there was no shade and the sun was hot! Up ahead I noticed a dog that appeared to be running loose. I like dogs, but not when I'm running and they're not confined. I thought about Stefano's encounter with the evil dogs and didn't want to be in that predictament. I considered turning around, but I wanted to get to the end, to the tres piños, so I looked around and picked up a big stick. That raised my confidence and I ran ahead. But the dog was nowhere in sight. Whew!

I held on to that stick for the rest of the run. Even though I didn't need it, you never know. As I ran on the trail along the highway towards my waiting husband, a truck driver honked at me. I waved as we passed, and thought, how in the old days I would have flipped him off. But I figured at age 52, nobody was honking because I was a babe, so he must be a runner too!

Afterwards I had a fresh pinapple-coconut smoothie at a roadside shack. And something they called a taco, filled with something they called chicken, but it wasn't like any chicken taco I ever had. I was hoping it wouldn't come back to haunt me, and fortunately, it didn't.

So, I ran the Valentine's 5K around Lake Harriet today. I haven't been running much and it shows, but I had a great time. I was pretty nervous about the weather, because earlier this week meteorologists predicted a high of 15 degrees for today. It wasn't nearly that cold; probably around mid-20s with some wind. I overdressed of course. Before the race I was shivering and wishing I had some wind mittens to wear over my gloves, but mid-way through the race I had my jacket, vest, and half-zip top unzipped. The neck gaiter was stifling, but I didn't want to stop to take it off. And my hands were too warm.

The race started at 10 a.m., which allowed for a leisurely morning. I got up, took a bath, dressed and ate a bowl of granola. Then I drove to the race about 8:30. On my way there I saw people running around Isles and I recognized them from my old running club. It wasn't hard to miss Rick--he's so tall and wears a bright orange hat. I waved to the group and Mary waved back, but I don't know if she recognized me. Just behind them was AmyBee , Angel and some others. I stopped and rolled my window down to wish them a good run. It was the first day of their summer marathon training, and it tugged at my heartstrings to see them.

I stopped at AmyBee's house and picked up an entry form to the Wells Fargo half-marathon, which she kindly copied for me. When I got to the race, I got my number and then picked up my sweatshirt. It's bright red! It's not as nice as the sweatshirt I got at the Marsh Turkey Trot, though.


I wandered through the "expo" and picked up a bottle of Propel. I've never had it before and it's pretty sweet. It was fine for this race, but I don't think I could run a marathon on that stuff. I also got a free water bottle. I figure you can't have too many of them. Then I went back to my car to drop off my loot and sat in it to warm up.

Heading back to the race start, I took some pictures with the CrapCam(TM) and used the Biffy. I so do not want to drop my drawers in freezing weather, but there was no other option. I ran a little to warm up, then headed for the start. I thought I was at the end, but then more people lined up and I wound up in the middle. That is definitely not where I belong, so I got out of line and moved back.

I was wearing my Garmin and started it as I crossed the starting line. I looked to see if there was anybody I knew, but there wasn't. Oh well, I just talked to people along the way. Some people were running along the bike path, but the real course was in the street, and there were hills. Well, hilly for the prairie. I attacked them with gusto, at least the first two. I wasn't expecting the third, but ran up it anyway.

By the halfway point, all the hills were behind me. I ran the whole time, didn't take any walking breaks. I wanted to see what I could do. There was a woman who had passed me twice, after having to stop two different times to tie her shoelaces, and she was just ahead of me. I tried to match her pace, but couldn't. Then I reminded myself to run my own race.

As I was almost to mile 3, there was another effing hill, albeit small. I was tired, but pressed on. Then as I could see the finish line, I kicked it up a notch. As I passed this one woman, she called out my name. It was Katy, from my running club! We trained together for the Twin Cities Marathon and I haven't seen her since. I slowed down to run in with her, but she told me to finish strong and she'd see me at the end. I sprinted to the finish line, just behind the woman with the untied shoelaces.

As Katy and I were talking near the finish line, we saw Coach Sarah. She was our summer marathon training coach last year. Even though we weren't running a summer marathon, we trained with them, since there wasn't a half-M training option. Sarah is again coaching the summer marathon group, which began today, but she said she didn't run with them since she was racing. Coach Sarah complimented my running style. She had noticed my Club Run jacket when I was running in and wondered if that was me, but didn't recognize me without my gimpy gait (I have scoliosis, so list to the side and look like I'm limping when I run). I still have the gimpy gait, but maybe it's not as pronounced when I'm running fast.

We said goodbye and then as I headed to my car I realized that I should have taken pictures of Katy and Sarah. I totally forgot that I had the CrapCam(TM) with me. I saw some people taking pictures and asked someone if he would take my picture. I told him I need proof for my blog that I ran this race. :-)

According to Le Garmin-- Time: 37:15, Distance: 3.18.

I ran this same race last year -- Time: 42:16, Distance 3.17

The problem with training for a marathon is that I continue to eat as if I were training for a marathon even when I'm not. Soon, but not yet.

I just had lunch with some girlfriends. We ate at a new restaurant at the Walker Art Center, home to art of the 20th and 21st century. Like most people I know, I don't understand "modern" art, or what passes for it. Basketballs floating in a tank of water. Whatever. The Walker has a nice collection of Edward Hopper's and Frank Stella's, though.

Warhol's Marilyn greeted us at the entrance to the restaurant. It was full of cool people that I'm too uncool to even know who they are, although I recognized a couple of local singers. My friends and I got a great window table. There were four of us and we split three appetizers and three entrees. Two entrees would have been plenty. But the piece de resistance was the Spoon, Cube, and Cherry dessert, an homage to Claes Oldenburg's Spoon Bridge and Cherry sculpture that resides in the Walker Sculpture Garden. We didn't bother to order anything but that! A chocolate cube, filled with chocolate mousse, topped with Vanilla Bean ice cream, with a curved chocolate spoon and a marzipan cherry at the end. I took a picture with the CrapCam(tm).

I guess I was too close; you can't really see the spoon and cherry on top. I should have taken a second picture, but my ice cream was melting! I promised myself that I would work out this afternoon to burn it off. I may have to exercise for 4 hours, but it was worth it!

Long and lean, he was a model of running efficiency. In frigid temperature, arms and legs forming right angles, he sprinted, weaving through traffic as he raced to the end. An elite runner, heading towards the finish line? No; a downtown valet parker. He wasn't even wearing running shoes. I hope he got a good tip.

I received my CONFIRMATION for Grandma's Marathon today. OMG, OMG, OMG. I'm scared. Although I've been running, I'm not exactly in shape and I hope I'll be in good enough shape by mid-June. This will probably be my last year in Minnesota, so I figured I should participate in the Gopher State's other marathon. I guess all I can do is try my best and hope it's good enough.

Early in January, I accompanied my husband to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It's a great show, giving you advance notice of what will be on the market in the coming year. The first year I went, they were announcing some strangely named product called Tivo, and there was something called satellite radio by two competing unknowns--XM and Sirius. I didn't give them much of a chance of succeeding; I mean, who's going to subscribe to a radio station? If I ever give you stock advice, just do the opposite of what I say!

Anyway, the show is huge and exhausting, but fun to go to. It's a trade show and there are lots of freebies if you sit through a presentation. While my husband met with customers, I went to the booths that were interesting to me.

First stop: Garmin. I've had the Forerunner 201 for a few years now and don't run without it, but have some frustrations with it, the biggest one being that the display tends to go blank at times in the middle of a run. One time it even happened in the middle of a half-marathon. Tech support said they would replace it for around $60, but before I did that, I wanted to see what new product they had. Although they're keeping the 201 and 301, they announced a 205 and 305. The design looks more like a watch, although still massive for a petite wrist such as mine, and there are more satellite receptors, ensuring better reception around trees and tall buildings. The 305, like the 301, contains a heart rate monitor, and I think my husband should by me that for Valentine's Day. Even though he doesn't believe in Valentine's Day because it's an artificial, "Hallmark" holiday.

Moving on, Google was offering goodies based on a quiz. You pick up a card and then go around to all the different demo's. Afterwards, you answer five questions on the card, by scratching the correct answer. Your award was based on the number of correct answers, t-shirts went to those who answered all five correctly. After listening to Google's plans to take over the world, I stood in line and handed my card to the Nazi who reviewed it. (Honestly, some people don't know how to handle a little power.) I got three right, so I got a notebook. I didn't want a stupid t-shirt anyway, so there! If I was dishonest, like all the people getting t-shirts, I would have just picked up two cards, scratched off all the correct answers on one, then marked the correct answers on the second card.

Before standing in line, I saw a guy carrying a hat with GOOGLE embroidered on the side. I asked if I could see it, because if it was decent I would claim one for my prize. It was made of polar fleece, which means I could run in it and it would keep my head warm and dry. As he watched me scrutinize the label, he must have figured I needed it more than him and gave me the hat! I wear it when I run on cold days.

While in the Google booth, I spoke with someone about Blogger. Until then, I didn't know Google had owned it. It was the impetus to get me to move my site to Blogger, not because it was run by Google, but because it made sense.

While we're on the subject of blogging, Creative Labs was partnering with Serious Magic, who has a software product called Vlog It. The V stands for video and the software lets you read your script, like a teleprompter, while you're recording. Creative Labs was showing their desktop camera. Thinking this could take me to a new level of podcasting, I tried it out. Big mistake! I had no idea I looked so bad, and that was with makeup. I'll stick to off-camera.

Finally, although this isn't about running, TacX was a cool product at the Intel booth. You hook up your bike to a stand, plop it in front of a 60-inch, high-definition, plasma home theatre system (this is CES, after all) and as you pedal the bike automatically adjusts to what's displayed on the monitor. For instance, I was watching a video on the Spanish countryside and as the camera goes uphill, the tension on the bike increases. It was the next best thing to being there! That's just what we need for spinning class.