I'm reading it....

This book is awesome. It gives real, solid information about how to change your current or adopt a new running style that will allow you to run all you want without pain or injury. I am trying to apply it to my running, although I have no pain (beyond muscle soreness) or injury, but I'd like to keep it that way for many years to come. I think Danny Dreyer has something great here....

More to come!

boo hoo

No running to report. Hubby is gone. Need to run tomorrow for sure.

close call

Today I almost got hit by a car. Well, not really, but I'm pretty sure there is still one heart beating way too fast out there somewhere. Here's how it went down:

I was crossing a busy street, on a crosswalk. The car closest to me waved me on (I always make sure I make eye contact, since many drivers don't see runners...which brings me to the bumper sticker I need Start Seeing Runners). I started running across when another car was moving forward, they saw me mid-intersection and slowed for me, but the car to the right of them was not watching at all. Luckily I saw them and stopped for them, but man when they saw me it scared them so bad that they slammed on their brakes and did a real, live Dukes of Hazzard fish-tail about 5 feet away from where they thought they would hit me. Oh dear.

Not my fault at all, but so sorry about the cardiac arrest you almost experienced. Just START SEEING RUNNERS.

happy birthday to me

Today was my birthday, and I gave myself the gift of a run around Oswego Lake. How freakin' lucky am I to live in this beautiful area?! The run around the lake from my house is about 8.2 miles, and full of hills, but so worth it for the amazing sneak peeks of lake amidst the trees. The sun shined for me, and the leaves crunched beneath my feet, making it the perfect autumn run. My husband loaded my i-pod with a new CD he bought for my birthday: Five for Fighting's new one, and it is so good. I got to bed so ridiculously late last week, and after a stressful week, somehow couldn't sleep. I woke up feeling like a zombie; like I was in someone else's skin. But then I donned my running gear and did just what I didn't feel like doing, and it made me feel fresh and new again. So much better than a nap.

camaraderie

Ah, runner's camaraderie. I heart it. It's so fun to be out on a long run, and pass others who are going the distance too. You look at them and just see it. They are runners. You are a runner. You have something great in common. Something tangible and real. An achievement. You are cheering them on in your mind. Good job, just a few more miles. You are doing it! All you do is smile or nod or maybe say good morning but what passes between you is so much more than that. It's like a club.

Walkers have a separate club entirely. They often don't even look at me when I pass them. Maybe they feel an aversion to me because of my running. I think walkers are the "stop and smell the roses" type. Runners, well I am generalizing now, are overachievers; get-things-done types. I feel antsy when I walk. I don't say that to brag, it's probably a character flaw, but it's the truth. I feel a need for the pounding, the quick steps. A need to cover more ground. And, I feel like other runners get that.

So, here's to all my running buddies, whom I've never met, nor spoken a word to, but who are absolutely on the same page as me. My running brothers and sisters. Let's keep going the extra mile!