Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Category Archives: running


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Another hot and humid Crim race completed. Just.

I’ve been “running” (and I put running in quotes for a good reason) the Crim 10 mile race in Flint for about 20 years. Each August, the last Saturday before the Labor Day weekend I and 10,000 of my closest friends crowd into Flint Michigan to enjoy their festival of races. Besides the 10 miler there is an 8K (about 5 miles) and a 5K (about 3.1 miles), a fun 1 miler for the kids and a family 5K walk. Mostly I’ve done the 10 miles, though I think once I did the 8K. There isn’t as much satisfaction in completing 5 miles, but that’s what I should have done this morning instead of struggle through 10 hot humid hilly miles.

I have been training with a group of people for an October 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) and the Crim was just another training run. Right. The group has been running for 2 minutes and walking a minute, but that seemed too slow for the race, so I ran the way I used to run, to the mile marker, walk through the water table area, and run to the next mile marker. I did that for a whopping 2 miles, not much, but still more than I’ve run in a really long time. Did I mention it was HOT? During miles 3-5 I ran 3 minutes and walked a minute…sort of. You see in mile 5 are the BRADLEY HILLS! The dreaded Bradley Hills are a series of 3 hills, one after the other. And when you get done with them there are more rolling hills (though not as steep) the rest of the course. By mile 5 I had a new strategy. Run the downhills. Crawl up the uphills. By mile 7 the strategy became; run the downhills if there is shade, and by mile 8 it was pretty much just walk and hope I survive to the finish.

I’m not even sure what my time was, it doesn’t matter. As we turned onto the final road and could see the finish line 4 blocks (downhill) I began to run again. But two blocks into that final push I wanted to stop. What the heck. Just walk. It doesn’t matter. A young lady running next to me said “Don’t stop now, you’re almost there!” and I smiled at her as I was slowing to a stop. She said “NO REALLY! DON’T STOP!” and I kept on running, ran with her the rest of the way in. She said “Congratulations!” and I said “THANK YOU!” and that was the end of my race. I ended it with a run because a complete stranger didn’t give up on me and wouldn’t let me give up on me either. That’s the way it is on the Crim course. It’s a great race, even if it is always hot and humid!

The thing I learned from this is that I am going to have to get more serious about these final training weeks before the half marathon in October. Because if I had had to run 3.1 more miles today I don’t think I would have finished. But today I got my finisher’s medal!


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Eight done

I just finished an 8 mile training run. I had deep misgivings about the length of this run; it’s a lot longer than any I’ve done in a couple of years. But I’m following the program and have faith that as long as I do that I can get through whatever is scheduled. My plan was that when the dog got me up at 6:30 I’d leap out of bed, eat my Cheerios and blueberries and get out the door while it was still cool. And this time the plan worked, (except for the leaping part) even though I didn’t make it to bed till long after midnight. Last night I picked up another brother from the airport at 11:30 and of course we had to talk for a bit before going to bed.

It took me 1 hour, 47 minutes and 3 seconds to do 8 miles. The three seconds were the hardest part. Mostly I was doing 2/1’s (two minutes running, one minute walking)…but there were some 3/1’s, 4/1’s and one notable 5/1 followed by a 3/1 while going down a long hill that I paid for in the next mile. Usually I note nature stuff along the way to report, but I didn’t notice much this time. I considered this a serious run and concentrated on my watch, my feet and my breathing. I thought a lot about my uncle who is now home under hospice care. The doctors underestimated his strength when they told us he’d die “within hours” five days ago. Now he’s home focused on each breath, much like I was focused on my breathing as I ran. In the old days when I used to run marathons I’d get through them by ignoring the big picture of 26.2 miles and paying attention only to the mile I was in. Now I am reduced to focusing on the minute I’m in, and that isn’t at all bad.

I’m headed to the shower now, and then my two brothers and I are going down to Ann Arbor to visit with a man who is living in the moment.


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Thirty-Eight

As many of you know, I’m training for a half marathon in the fall. That means I’m getting back out there and attempting to run again. It’s hard to start over. Today I was scheduled to do 6.5 miles. For those of you not runners, this isn’t as horrible as it might sound. We “beginner” runners are doing these training runs one or two minutes at a time. So just about any length should be manageable. Really.

My plan was to get up at 6 a.m. and be out the door by 6:15. It’s good to have a plan. The reality? I woke up at..well I don’t know what time it was, and I went back to sleep. A couple of times. By 8:30 I determined that this morning was going to be cooler than tomorrow morning, so I ate my breakfast and then headed out about 9. I have to say this 6.5 miles kicked my…well you fill in the blank. By mile 5 I was seriously considering calling home and getting a ride. And I’ve never done that. But since I wasn’t carrying a phone I lumbered on. Almost funny today was the fact that whenever I checked my watch it would show 38 seconds after some minute. Almost every time! I’d convince myself that I could run 22 more seconds..right!? And that’s how I got through this run.

The only good thing I can say about this training run is that it is OVER. I can already tell I’m going to be sore tomorrow. And it was taking me 13 and 14 minutes to do a mile! That’s not much faster than walking it for heavens sake. Good thing I’m not running for the US in the Olympics.

This is all testament to being a middle aged woman, slightly overweight and out of shape. I can’t do anything about the middle aged part, but I’m working on the weight thing, and the exercise. So it can only get better. Right? RIGHT??!

On a happier note: We finished moving the last of the ten yards of wood chips yesterday! Bye-bye wood chips!

Good-bye wood chips!


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Running today for sure

Early this morning I noitced several plane trails across the sky above the house. I wish I were going somewhere! But I can’t because:

1. I don’t have any disposable income.

2. Travel costs so much more now with the price of fuel.

3. I have 10 yards of wood chips to move

4. I need to get my training run in.

So sadly, I headed out on my 30 minute run. I’m supposed to get two of these completed each week prior to the “LONG” run that I do on Thursday mornings. So far I’m only doing one 30 minute run during the week. I have no excuse, it’s not like I’m employed. So this morning I knew I had to get it moving…Thursday is looming. I wore a hat for the first time ever for this run. I hate hats. But it kept my hair off my neck, and actually turned out OK, so it may become a running staple after all.

Then I moved wood chips. All day. Husband came out during the afternoon and it went much faster after that. But I have over half of the 10 yards still in a heap in my driveway. Wish that I were Samatha Stevens and could wiggle my nose and make them all disappear!

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5 miles

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This morning as I walked the dog out for the morning paper the intense color of the delphinium near the mailbox hurt my sleep deprived eyes. I had stayed up past 2 a.m. playing retrieve the squeaky toy with the dog while talking to my husband, so I was operating on minimal sleep. I faced a day full of mulch moving, having received yesterday 4 yards of composted mulch that smells, after the evening rain, reminiscently of my uncle’s pig farm. But first I needed to get my 5 mile training run in. And I had to do it quickly before the sun got any higher and the temperature got any warmer. I headed out the door immediately after eating my Cheerios.

Nature report mile 1: The tracks of deer crossing the muddy road, a deer fly circling my head, and the calls of the blackbirds in the swamp; “Hey! Whose on guard duty?! She’s already out here running! Get her away….away…away…!”

Nature report mile 2: A bright red male cardinal flying out of the brush on the side of the road next to me and perching in a tree to sing me along, and during a patch of road in the sun, the shadow of a deer fly buzzing the shadow of my head.

Nature report mile 3: Two blue herons flying low across a horse pasture parallel to the road where I was struggling up a big hill, a couple of horses further on, maybe mom horse and her child looking up calmly as I gasped my way past their yard, with a deer fly buzzing my head.

Nature report mile 4: This is my worst mile, uphill, through town, on a busy road. I watched a white egret fly above me as I passed the pungent Davisburg candle factory, and swatted a deer fly that bit my leg.

Nature report mile 5: A very loud chattering little red squirrel up high in a locust tree scolding me for disturbing him, a couple of rabbits zig zagging across the road in front of me, a neighbor woman walking her child in a stroller, talking on her cell phone and trying to control a very big young dog, and a deer fly who bit my arm.

During the last quarter mile walk home after I finished the requisite five miles another male cardinal sat on an overhead wire and cheered for me, and up ahead a blue jay jeered; “It’s downhill, you could be running!” Three black ravens flew up from an ant hill beside the road and cawed; “She’s not dead yet!”

But I might be after I move four yards of stinky pig farm mulch!

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The Brooksie Way

I told someone this week that I was a runner. The truth is that I used to be a runner, but life events and the ensuing emotions interrupted my running lifestyle back in 2004. Since then I’ve attempted on occasion to begin again, but without much enthusiasm. I’d see runners from my office window, or later, from a window on campus and reminisce about glory days gone by. (Well, they were never really glory days, but I’ve run my share of races and the glory is in finishing standing up.)

I have a small group of very loyal running friends who have been extremely supportive, trying to help me get going again, and allowing me to wallow when I needed to. I keep track of their accomplishments, personal and running, with an online connection and always revel with them when they reach another goal, but none of it made me actually get off the sofa and start running. Because, you see, I know how hard it is to start from scratch, and I just didn’t want to go through all that pain again.

But this week one of my friends told us she is going to be a group leader to help people train for The Brooksie Way half marathon which is coming up October 5. It’s an inaugural race, named after the son of our county’s County Executive who was killed in a snowmobile accident. More information about the race is here: http://www.thebrooksieway.com.

So this morning I rose early, after a good night’s sleep in my new tent (really, more on that later!) and spent two whole hours convincing myself to get out there and start running again. My friend is training with her group tonight doing a 3 mile run, walking a minute, running a minute. Heck. I can run one minute! So I made myself do it, and it was actually fun. I’ll pay for it tomorrow. Today I’m going out to plant a new peony, do some weeding, look for a source of wood chips, practice with the dog and mow the lawn.

Freedom is a wonderful thing.