Last night however I had time to run. And I did. Things started out pretty good it had cooled down significantly since it had rained half the day. I had kinda wished I could do my first run in the rain last night but by the time I was able to go out the rain had stopped. Maybe another time. Anyway, about half way through the run I had a pain that ran from my left ankle up the front of my shins (shin splints?). It was a little distracting for the rest of the run. I pushed through the pain and on the last stretch when I knew I was nearing the cool down stage I stepped up my pace on the downhill trying to get as much distance in as I could. It felt good to move a little faster on the downhill.

A funny exchange happened with me and my 3-year-old before I went for my run. She was taking a bath and my husband told her to tell me to run. She yells “RUN MOMMY YOU CAN DO IT!!!!” Then seconds later she’s all whiny and saying “Don’t run Mommy. I don’t want you to go. I’ll miss you.” Ugh breaks my heart kid. You are so stinkin’ cute!

This morning I completed Week 6. I had looked ahead last night to see that I will no longer be running intervals. This scared the bejesus out of me. But I need to walk! No seriously though it was scary. I had a hard time not concentrating on the time for this run. I just wanted it to be over. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone out the following morning after running at night. But it’s my day off and I really hate not to go for a run on my day off since  I have the whole day to get one in. And why not go in the morning if I can so I don’t have to leave my daughter at night?

I had to stop two times during this run. Not because I had to stop and take a breather but because there was too much traffic and I couldn’t cross the street. This was pretty frustrating. The first time was right as I was to start running. Way too much traffic this morning. As much as I wanted to stop and walk it made me mad to actually have to stop because I couldn’t cross the street. It was messing with my time!

This morning I ran a further distance than last night but had a slower pace. I guess I should be happy with that since it had been maybe 15 hours since my last run. I’m hoping these Week 7 runs will get easier.

I have been feeling pretty achy after my runs lately. I don’t really notice it when I’m out running (except for that pain in my leg last night). But after I get home for a little bit I have some slight pains in my knees. Like a burning sensation. Also some tightness in my calves. Not sure if that’s from the increased run times or something else. Hoping it passes and doesn’t turn into anything else.

I sucked it up anyways and hoped for the best for my UC Berkeley results (which will come out after my race). I broke the bad news to mom in the morning, put the rejection past me and went to the race with her. This annual race is held at the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade, and the promenade is famous for its stellar view of Victoria Harbour. Considering it had rained non-stop for the past week, not raining on that Friday morning was a true blessing from God! (Perhaps foreshadowing a good day? )

I learnt my lesson from my last race and got to the starting point early so I could stand near the front. Yay. I was only 3 seconds off the gun time. Success!

The course near the beginning was quite slippery due to the heavy rains from the past few days, so I had to slow down a bit and made sure I didn’t slip. Thank God I didn’t. Boy, that would have been embarrassing.

By March, I already became best friends with my then new RCX3 Polar Watch (thanks mom for the great birthday present!), so I’m able to show you guys how I performed on the day:

Detailed race performance from my Polar RCX3 GPS watch. (Click on the print screen to see it more clearly)

My heart rate was pretty much racing throughout, and I definitely felt it. For the first time in a while I felt my heart burning instead of my legs. Perhaps this was because I had been running more 10Ks prior to the race. The shorter distance + faster pace wore me out.

This was my first official 5K, so I had no expectations going into the race. Therefore when I found out I actually came 2nd for my age group (16-18)…WOW!!! I did NOT see that coming. I stood in front of the results board in disbelief and laughed at how ridiculous it was for ME to come second. I only ever (and still) just run randomly near my house on a good day. So what was that rejection letter I received in the morning about again?

The T-Shirt says ‘King of the City’.  Standing in front of the iconic Victoria harbour. But I guess second place would make me ‘Queen of the City’ instead?

This was how I felt after the race: exhausted. But strong.

After the adrenaline rush from the race results, I remembered, oh wait! There are still another set of results I needed to find out. So I sat right…

…there, stared at my iPhone and stalked the college confidential Berkeley sub-forum (don’t judge, high schoolers, I know you had all been on the site at least once) to see whether the admission results were up.

Oh crap. People got their acceptance/rejection already. My heart was racing. I scrambled on my 4.3 inch screen for my application ID, found my password, typed the login details in…and:

To be honest, I just read the words “Congratulations! I am pleased to offer…” and jumped/leaped up, screamed: “MOM! I GOT INTO BERKELEY, I GOT INTO BERKELEY!!” and tear up while hugging her. Guess the adrenaline rush was not over yet. I did get a few stares from bystanders and other runners who had finish, but I didn’t care. This was truly the ultimate cherry on top of a great morning.

Till this day, I am still feel extremely blessed and overwhelmed by this acceptance and am looking forward to Berkeley each day. After all, this was one of my top choices and I can pursuit my love for nutrition at an amazing school! (It’s sort of an uncommon subject, so not many schools offer it). So proud to be a bear.

This wraps up my blog post on one of the best days of my life.

GO BEARS!!

Kat

Anyway, today’s run was a 4.83km (or 3 mile) slow run, followed by a short sprint session. I started pretty brightly, but started to fade after only a couple of laps. My legs are still really heavy, I couldn’t pick them up properly and this was affecting my performance quite badly. I’d like to say I brightened up throughout the run, but that would be a lie! It was a day for watching my GPS, counting down the time when I could stop. I’ve always found this feeling to be far worse on the track. My local track hasn’t been installed properly, and isn’t a full 400m track. It’s basically a gravel circle. I know that just under 3 laps of this track is a kilometre, so it’s too easy to become focussed on distance rather than enjoying the run. Don’t get me wrong, I know where the kilometre markers are on my 8km and 10km routes too, but the challenge and the enjoyment of running these routes keeps my mind from focussing on exactly how far I have to go. So, after counting off every single lap, I got through the initial run. I was dreading the sprint section, but it was actually the most enjoyable part of my whole run. It was only 3×20 second sprints with a 2 minute active recovery between each, but I thought picking up the pace would really hammer home how much I was struggling. In reality, sprinting allowed me to fully stretch my legs, stop shuffling along, and really unload for a short burst. It’s actually a lot of fun, and a good break from the monotony of plain old track running.

I’d rate today’s run as a four out of ten. The pain and heaviness in my legs, coupled with the monotony, would bring the rating way down but, on the positive side, I still completed my run despite this, and the sprints were a nice way to finish off a tough one!

For anyone who’s reading this, I’d also like to take the opportunity today (and some other days) to tell you about some of the other things I’m loving about running. This might be a route or race, a piece of tech or kit or even something as simple as a song I use to pump myself up. I’d like to start by telling you a bit about my favourite app, RunKeeper. I have it for the iPhone, but it’s also available on Android systems. For anyone trying to get into shape, this is a fantastic app, because of the variety of sports it can track. I mainly use it for running and walking, which I guess is true of most users, but it can also be used for cycling, hiking, skiing, skating, swimming and many other activities. One of the things I love most about this app, is the training plans – one of which I’m following for my half-marathon – which give audio prompts for pace, distance, time and many others. You can even plug a heart-rate monitor in and use that alongside the app. It comes with a website sign-in so you can track your activities by seeing maps with distance markers, calories burned and allows you to check your stats by day, week and month. The website really is a bit of a nerd paradise, which is why I love it so much! You can also use both the site and the app to create and track a series of different goals – I set up four at the beginning of the year: to lose 25lbs (done), to run my first 10km race (done), walk 1,000km (70%) and run 750km (35%). I know that there are a lot of similar apps on the market, but this one is hands-down the winner for me. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who wants to accurately track their exercise both on the move, and after finishing.

My Running “Go-To” Gear

• Sports Bra – cheap option:  Target   more expensive:  Nike
• Fitted Tank – cheap option:  Old Navy    more expensive:  Nike
• Running Shorts – cheap option:  Target   more expensive:  Under Armour
• Headband – Twistband
• Running Shoes -  Brooks PureConnect2 (roads or treadmill)  or Asics GEL-Noose Tri 8 (trails)
• Watch -  Garmin Forerunner 10
• Sunglasses -  Target
• Lip balm -  Burt’s Bees
• Sunscreen -  Coola
• Energy Gels (for long runs) -  Jelly Belly Sports Beans, Clif Shot Blocks
• Water Bottle -  RunningWarehouse

When to save:  While I may love to shop and would prefer to sport the latest Nike, UnderArmour, etc., on a budget, it just isn’t always possible.  Target and T.J. Maxx have become great allies in supporting my growing activewear collection.  *Secret for buying sports bras at Target:  if you wear a Small/Medium in women’s, try a Large/XLarge in the children’s sports bras.  They are just as good but $5-$10 cheaper!!!*  Old Navy has great compression gear too, and for decent prices, as compression styles can get really pricey.  I recommend going cheap when buying the clothes, they’ll get dirty, funky, and will be discarded at the same rate as the expensive clothing.

When to splurge:

1. SHOES!  Running shoes are the key to the whole experience.  Without proper footwear you will be more prone to injury.  The right style, brand, and fit will determine the comfort level of your run.  Fashion over pain?  This shouldn’t even be a question when it comes to fitness.  A smart runner isn’t looking at shoes and judging the color.  That’s the last choice they make, if there is a choice at all.  If you’re going to put an investment into running, invest in your shoes.  Google “local running stores” and find a place near you.  Sports “department store” employees (Dick’s, Finish Line, Sports Authority) are only there to run to grab your size.  While some of these people may be knowledgeable on the shoes, they won’t be as informed as those working in a running specialty store.  The running specialists will actually measure your feet, discuss injuries, watch you run, and target problem areas.
2. GPS watches:  My Garmin is my best friend during my outdoor runs.  I went with one of the more basic styles from Garmin, the Forerunner 10 (a birthday present from the man-friend, awesome right?).  It displays my mileage, time, pace, and calories, all with the push of a button.  The watch even stores my run history including PRs made while using the watch and splits.  The watch even features a pacer that will alert you when you are on, ahead, or behind pace.  I absolutely love this GPS watch, it was one of the best birthday presents Trae could’ve thought to give me.

Know of any places to get good deals on running attire?  Have a favorite pair/brand of shoes?  When do you splurge vs. save?  Have any requests on running gear you’d like me to review?

  Share your thoughts, questions, and comments below…no login needed!

The timing of that post was also perfect as I found out last night I was accepted to be a Sweat Pink Ambassador! Their mission:

We believe that kicking ass is best done in pretty shoes. We’ve learned that real women sweat, and sweat hard. We know that assertiveness, strength, and ambition are the ultimate feminine qualities. We concede that sometimes it takes hours to get ready, but we’re also no strangers to just rolling out of bed and going. We’re convinced that we run faster in pink shoelaces. We believe in pushing ourselves, and we believe in giving ourselves a break, too. We’re all about the rush of endorphins and the thrill of the challenge. We’re all for looking great and feeling even better. We’re committed to finding our best fit, and making it stick.

We believe that kicking ass is best done in pretty shoes. We’ve learned that real women sweat, and sweat hard. We know that assertiveness, strength, and ambition are the ultimate feminine qualities. We concede that sometimes it takes hours to get ready, but we’re also no strangers to just rolling out of bed and going. We’re convinced that we run faster in pink shoelaces. We believe in pushing ourselves, and we believe in giving ourselves a break, too. We’re all about the rush of endorphins and the thrill of the challenge. We’re all for looking great and feeling even better. We’re committed to finding our best fit, and making it stick.

We sweat pink.

- See more at: http://www.fitapproach.com/about-2/#sthash.YOyy9QQQ.dpuf

Now THAT is something I can get behind!  Empowering women to kick butt, work hard, and most importantly be PROUD regardless of your fitness level is fantastic and something I am so excited to be apart of!

Thank you to the ladies of Sweat Pink for including me!

“The good news is, you’re not going to die,” he told me after looking over my test results. “You’ll never be a runner, but you should be able to live a fairly normal life.”

And I was like no shit I’ll never be a runner, I weigh 175 pounds and my idea of athletics is spraying Cheez Whiz on crackers while watching half-naked men swim at the Olympics. Instead of taking it as a challenge, I looked at it as a get-out-of-exercise-free card. And for the next year or so, my weight continued to balloon to the point where I glanced at a photo on Facebook from a friend’s wedding and thought to myself, “Who is that fat girl wearing the same dress as me?” When I looked closer, I realized I was the fat girl. So that kind of sucked.

And in case you think I’m exaggerating:

Fat girl wearing my dress.

Giant me in front of a giant sequoia tree (along with my super-fit siblings).

Obviously I knew I had weight to lose, but was too self-conscious to go to the gym since I could barely use the elliptical machine for more than 10 minutes without becoming drenched in sweat. So instead I counted calories. I had friends try and convince me to do all kinds of gimmicky diets (even one that involved drinking hormones from pregnant ladies’ pee!) but instead of “dieting,” I decided to create new eating habits that I could sustain my entire life. Instead of depriving myself, I left myself eat a cheeseburger for lunch if I felt like it. I’d just eat veggies for dinner instead of a huge helping of pasta and half a loaf of bread, like the old Heather would have. Slowly but steadily the weight came off, until I felt comfortable enough being seen in public wearing gym shorts. There was a lot of self-tanner and internal pep talks involved.

My first day at the gym I thought about what that doctor said about me never being a runner, and out of curiosity I hopped on the treadmill just to see what I could manage. The answer was: Not much. Like, I could barely run for a minute straight at a 12-minute pace. So I lifted weights occasionally and stuck to the elliptical for my cardio, and managed to shed close to 40 pounds.

My fitness/diet routine stayed pretty much the same until January of this year. I was going through a bunch of life changes that at the time felt pretty shitty. I needed a goal; something to work toward and feel good about. And for some reason that damn heart doctor popped back into my mind.

“You’ll never be a runner.”

That night I texted my mom and told her, “I want to run a half marathon this year.”

So I did.

Via Instagram

Suck on that, Mr. Cardiologist.

The biggest thing with these is going to be getting them to show up.  None of them showed today.

One is alright with running.  Another is alright, but I can tell immediately by looking at him that he could be twice as good.  The last is awful at running and desperately needs to improve.

Lastly, there’s the knowledge aspect.  I doubt any of these have their knowledge stuff really nailed down (general orders, leadership traits & principals, ranks – all of ‘em, etc).  In fact, out of all the poolees at the monthly functions, I would guess less than 5% have a firm grasp on their general orders, and that might be too high of an guesstimate.  General orders are just the tip of the iceberg, so if someone doesn’t know them, I can kinda surmise they probably don’t have a mastery over the other things either.

My game plan is to get them to show up on Friday and get them to speak to me.  I’m not going to shout at them or anything, I’m not planning on doing much talking at all.  I have a very specific goal and a very specific approach.  I’m not going to push them, but I am going to incite a desire within them to push themselves.  As an optional goal, I’m going to try to inspire ambition, not guilt.  I observe that people often do what they’d like to do far more readily than they do what they need to do.  I’d like to blog today, but I have to mow.  Guess which I’m doing first.

In closing, I’m optimistic overall.  I’m sure I can get these folks up and running (literally and figuratively).

A couple of my friends and I looked just like that a couple weekends ago. We participated in the popular Color Run. There were more than 8,000 people that attended the Cleveland location (Willoughby Hills). It took about an hour and a half for us to start, they started people in chunks. It took a little over two hours from start to finish and it was only a 5k. We walked the majority of it because we just wanted to get as much color as we possibly could.

We did just that. We started out in mostly white t-shirts and white tutu’s, by the end we had color everywhere. We were blowing color out of our noses for days, one of us had blue spots in her blonde hair for a week!

All in all it was a great time, the after party they have was fun, however, I wouldn’t stand so close to the stage again. The entire rest of the day I felt like I came down with a bad cold from inhaling all of the colored powder.  The same group of girls plus one or two more are signed up for a similar run called Run or Dye in August, I’ll be sure to post about that and compare.

-theKRPD

I was treated to quite a surprise this morning when I got to my water aerobics class late, my friend from weight watchers, Racheal was there and trying it out. It was quite a shock to see someone new in our class, let alone someone I knew. Racheal was my inspiration to try running. She is also a foodie blogger. Her blog can be found at Running with Racheal .

I try to run on Tuesday’s, Thursday’s and Saturday or Sunday (weekends are fluid), but I am a strict observer of the DOR – Day Of Rest between runs. I started my running journey with a Couch to 5k program and they emphasized the DOR and it worked well during that and I’ve stuck with it. I only feel knee discomfort near the end of long runs now and I credit the DOR with that so my muscles have time to recover. I also do water aerobics on Monday, Wednesday, Friday for low impact exercise and to get in some core work. I get a big smile when she says, lets run in the lazy river, and the retired ladies in the class groan and I’m like 2 laps, no problem!!

Tuesday’s run was blog worthy. My new year’s resolution (goal) was to run at least one 5k per month for 2013 and one 10k. I also set a secret goal that I guess won’t be all that secret now that I’m posting about it, but it was to run the 10k in under an hour. I did my first 10k last October and my time was 1:05:49, so shaving 6 minutes off my time is a rather ambitious goal. Well, on Tuesday, I ran 5 miles in just under 50 minutes, 49:53 to be exact and I’m still flying high about it. I’m crediting my Father’s Day gifts with my speedy time. My wonderful son with a little help from my sweet wife got me a new pair of running shorts, a visor, and a water bottle that straps around my waist. Taking that quick shot of water at about every mile really made a difference in how energized I felt. That is a first for me, feeling energized on a long run. Maybe it was because when I hit the road it was very early and about 65 degrees F, too, but I’d rather give credit to new running fun gadgets that I got.

Back to the 10k in under an hour. I’ve done some research and there are sub hour, 10k apps for my phone, but I don’t know about all of that right now. My training is going pretty well without it.

My 10k this year is in September, so I need to get started on prepping for it. I do at least one long run per week and I was talking with a colleague and runner about that and she told me, if you can run 5 miles, you can run 6. My problem is with the splits and how I get slower with each mile, so I’ve been trying to learn pacing. It is tough because the adrenaline of the race atmosphere tends to make me come out of the gate really fast. My last race, I got to the start line late so I was behind the walkers and runners with strollers and my slow pacing made it feel like I was really speedy as I passed so many people all the way through the race. I finished 305 out of 874 and 35th in my age division of 40-44 with a time of 28.44. My first mile pace according to my app was 10:02 and my last mile was 9:38, so maybe pacing really does work. I also tend to attack hills and there were a lot of long hills on this course, so I had lots of chance to go after them. When I ran the five miles on Tuesday, my phone app and my watch showed my first mile at 8:54, which I didn’t feel like I was running that fast. Lately, I’ve been trying to find what seems comfortable for me stride-wise, if that makes any sense. It seems like I should be able to be comfortable as run and try to actually enjoy my run. Maybe I’m crazy to think I could actually enjoy running, but I’ve now run 6 out of 6, 5k’s for 2013 and I’m confident I can make my new year’s resolution. I’m sure that will be a first for me, too!!

May you have clear skies, fair winds at your back, and an awesome day!!

Dave

It is race week. I’ve honestly already been mentally done with my marathon training for at least a week and a half. Already mentally preparing for the work to be done to get to my start line in October. Slow down though. 26.2 miles is happening in 3 days. Mental downplay alone isn’t going to get me to that finish line. The next three days are simple. Stay adequately hydrated, eat carbs, sleep. 3 days of rest and healing for my tired body. I wonder if there is some sort of math equation on converting the miles in a marathon to ounces of bottomless mimosa at the next days celebratory brunch…

“Ask yourself: ‘Can I give more?’. The answer is usually: ‘Yes’.”

 -Paul Tergat, Kenyan Professional Marathon Runner

I think I’ve fallen in love. My Jump Off the Ladder challenge of running at least 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week was hard the first week, but this week I feel amazing. Yesterday, my day was jam-packed full of work, and then I had rehearsal for a play I am in: Comedy of Errors (by Shakespeare, of course!). So early on yesterday, I knew that I wouldn’t really want to go running after all the festivities, especially with all the rain I’ve been getting this last week. Thankfully, my challenge pushed me forward, and I wrote a reminder on my wrist that I looked at throughout the day: No Excuses.

I asked Schofie to go running with me and soon we were off. I started off jogging and said, “I feel like my body could do this forever!” Soon I was eating my words. I got about three “side-aches” throughout the run, but I ran farther than I ever have before! Unfortunately I didn’t track it with my phone, but we think he and I ran about double the distance of what I ran last week, and thanks to a new neighborhood route, it wasn’t boring at all. I didn’t bring any music with, but Schofie was an excellent coach. Towards the final home stretch, he reminded me,

“Right now your heart rate is through the roof, and you are burning lots of calories, but you’re hitting that place where you feel you can’t quite go on. If you push past that point, that’s where you’re really going to see a difference!”

On Monday I went out for my own long run. I hadn’t done a long run in a couple of weeks. I’m not particularly good about doing long runs. My goal this summer is to do more of them in order to prepare the Wineglass Half Marathon in October. The purpose of Monday’s run was to do a long run. I would have liked to have ran it between 9:00-9:30 pace, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I didn’t stressed about it. It was warm and at that moment it was more important that I doing a long run.

Distance: 8.1 miles

Pace: 9:51

Mile splits

1.  9:44
2. 9:44
3. 9:22
4. 9:36
5. 9:19
6. 10:16
7. 10:27
8. 10:17

Total Time: 1:19:40

People often ask me if the time commitment of marathon training is overwhelming, and while I originally thought it would be, I actually find it pretty manageable. I know it’d be a horse of a different color if I had kids, or a significant other, or if I had a thousand other activities I was hoping to keep up with alongside my training schedule (well, okay, I do have a few of those…). At least for now, though, I’m lucky enough to be able to make training one of my top priorities; with some careful planning, it fits nicely into my daily routine.

Without a doubt, it’s more difficult to find time for running during the week, when work is crazy or I’m exhausted and I just can’t get myself out of bed, or when I just want to get home ASAP to sit in my PJ’s watching The Voice finale with my roommate as I eat dinner. But I’ve found a trick to make week day running more appealing, more fun, and most importantly, more likely to actually happn. Once or twice a week, I turn my commute home from work into a run. It’s much more enjoyable than getting on the hot, sticky subway, and it only takes 15-20 minutes longer than my regular commute, so it lets me put in six plus miles without giving up much free time at all. As an added bonus, I’m often joined by my coworker and trusty running pal, Ellen, for some company and motivation along the way.

When we make our “usual” trek home to Brooklyn, we take the Manhattan Bridge for the most direct and traffic-free route home.

Manhattan Bridge

The Manhattan Bridge crosses the East River at Canal Street in lower Manhattan, and if you can get past the foot traffic in Chinatown, it’s definitely worth a shot.  The 1.3-mile bridge is full of perks: it’s relatively flat (for a major bridge) and it’s got separate sides for runners and for bikes. Plus, since it’s not a major tourist attraction, it’s rarely crowded with foot traffic, but it still boasts great views of the skyline—like the picturesque sunset shown above.

Brooklyn Bridge 

On days when we’re looking to extend our run—or just to switch things up—Ellen and I have taken to running (or run-walking) the Brooklyn Bridge. While undoubtedly one of New York City’s most beautiful bridges, the Brooklyn Bridge presents a few problems for runners: first and foremost, since it’s such a hot spot for tourists, navigating through the crowds can be a bit challenging, to say the least. Couple that with narrow footpaths and the adjacent and equally narrow bike path, and you’re looking at potential pedestrian disaster. Unfortunately, the constantly shifting but seemingly ever-present construction on the bridge also creates a crowd.

However, this certainly isn’t a warning to stay off the Brooklyn Bridge altogether. The views are nothing short of breathtaking, and the wooden deck provides a comfortable give underneath your feet. Just be sure you’re not taking yourself (or anything else) too seriously if you give this one a run.

Wiliamsburg Bridge

I rarely take the Williamsburg Bridge home from work, but I’ve run it frequently to get into the city on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Of the [large] handful of times I’ve incorporated this bridge into my long training runs, it’s always been a rush to take on that downward slope into Manhattan. The Williamsburg Bridge leads into the heart of the Lower East Side with a double-wide path decorated in cheerful, colorful graffiti, and it tends to be chock-full of other happy runners. The downhill is just enough to spark a natural spring in your step, but it’s not so steep that you’ll need to restrain yourself from flying down and over-exerting too early in the run. In fact, the entire 1.2-mile run over the Williamsburg Bridge consists of a nice, manageable slope and is generally (in my experience) full of other courteous runners and bikers willing to share the road.

Queensboro Bridge

Before I moved to Brooklyn and made fast friends with the three bridges there, I was already well acquainted with the Queensboro Bridge. I do miss it, so I make sure to visit from time to time.

The Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, also known as the 59^th Street Bridge, is located between 59^th and 60^th Street in Manhattan and Queens Boulevard in Queens. After a year of living in Queens, I can admit that I’ve got a sweet spot for this bridge, but I doubt many others would call it a favorite. Nevertheless, while neither side boasts particularly beautiful neighborhoods, the bridge provides a relatively easy 1.5 mile run from one borough to another with a lovely view of Roosevelt Island at its peak. The narrow pedestrian path can be crowded with bikers especially at rush hour and on weekends, so it’s a run that requires a strong sense of awareness and caution, but with a little courtesy from both parties (and a little luck), this bridge allows for a nice continuous run without constantly ducking in and out of foot (or bike) traffic.

I love running the different bridges, if for no other reason than that it facilitates my exploration of each borough and different parts of the city. It’s also a great way to mentally break a long run into several shorter, more manageable runs—one of those Jedi mind tricks I use to get myself through the really lengthy days. But don’t take my word for it—try ‘em out for yourself! I’d love to hear which bridge is your personal favorite.

Who knows, as I ease into Marathon #2, maybe I’ll even venture onto some other bridges and give Jersey a go. Of course, there are also some pretty great spaces to run between the bridges, too…but more on my other favorite running locations later.

Running is precious to me, mainly because a few years before I started running, the world had become a dark, dreary place. I was in pain and I was in search of that girl who I once knew was optimistic and bubbly and happy most of the time. I was still bubbly, I was still optimistic, but I knew the wind had run out of me.

Then I discovered the joy of running–again. Running as an adult reminds me of the thrill of games I played as a child. Runnig literally takes my breath away. And no, it isn’t only for the athletic. In fact, the reason why running sticks with me is because the movement involved is such a natural thing. There are no steps to follow, no tune to dance in rhythm with, so special skills: you just have to want to move, to run.

So I do.

Some time along mid day I got up from my desk to walk up to see a colleague.  As I opened my door, I heard the tell tale sign of rain.  Sure enough, a cloud burst had opened up and it was pouring.  Huge, heavy rain drops, the kind that make you worry they will dent your car.  It didn’t last long but it left in its wake the steaming moisture that fed the humidity levels.  As that storm blew through, the Weather Channel radar told me another one was heading our way soon.

When I got home, I looked out my window to see the dark clouds rolling in.  A few lightning flashes sent me to an app on my phone.  As a soccer coach on fields in wide open spaces 8 months out of the year, I have learned to be very wary of lightning.  Vanderbilt University has developed an app I use called Coach Smart.  It provides local current temp, heat index and humidity readings based on GPS location.  It also provides lightning strike info for strikes within a 6, 12, and 30 mile range.  It also lets you know how long ago that strike was up to 30 minutes.  It is ideal for coaching situations, as the time and location of lightning strikes are crucial to decisions on when it is safe to be on a field.  But I also use it sometimes to decide if I’m going to run outside or not and when.

Yesterday a look up at the skies and a quick check on Coach Smart convinced me if I was going to run at all, it had to be inside.  I had evening plans and only a two hour window in which to run.  So off to the treadmill I went.  I certainly don’t mind running on a treadmill and don’t think twice about it when the situation dictates.  I set the incline on 2, the speed at 6.5, plugged in my audio book and sauntered on my merry way.  A few minutes after I started, I saw a flash outside the window and glanced up to see a deluge of rain.  The thunderstorm had arrived and I had made the right choice.  It continued on for another 30-45 minutes then quit.  When I left the gym and walked outside, I could have cut the air with a knife it was so thick with humidity.

I don’t mind running in the rain and have done so many times.  A steady rain-run is actually kind of refreshing to me.  I drop my phone into a zip lock baggie and off I go.  Thunderstorms and lightning, however, are a different beast and not one I care to battle running my usual, “wide open spaces” routes.  When they pop up and look like they are going to be around for a while, I have no problem Running on the Treadmill.

Today was my first run in the rain. It felt great. I had the sidewalks all to myself. I didn’t need music I let the rain drown out my pain. So much so that I achieved a personnel best in my 5k run today. A very happy me this morning. A mammoth day ahead at work with two major presentations looming. There I was running free without a care like a child in the rain. I held on to that feeling all day. It got me through the stress. Finding the most immense enjoyment from the simplest of things in life is what I’m coming to see running as. At first it was almost an unattainable art, correcting my form posture etc. Then a challenge, a personnel sense of gratification a moral booster a self help I can better myself kind of deal….while the latter has stuck running has developed to a new level it has become natural a part of me a reflex that happens every morning. Just as I need to eat and breathe. I need to run!

My legs are still sore Wednesday

That run streak mile hurt.

I think it was the movie Princess Bride where the giant had trouble in fighting the man in black only because the moves used in singular, one on one interactions are much different than those needed when you are facing many.  A gang, a pack, a team, somehow we have a small group of people that for many reasons, are together in this.  

Seek the Wisdom.   Be straightforward, but the wisdom in doing something often is not.   Sometimes not everyone is ready to receive so realizations can come at different times. We typically want to do the right thing.  Even the right way, if we know how.  When presented with an idea, listen, consider, and explore the possibility of what people are trying to understand.  It shows respect, and many times we learn from the encounter.  It helps us practice being flexible in our thinking.  This will be the greatest resource you bring to the team.

Mind the Balance. Asses for impact. Is the effort of  simply trying something a little time to learn something.   Typically the all or nothing is a false dilemma. Sometimes we build vertical slices up through layers of architecture… sometimes we build a little architectural runway.  Be comfortable in seeking the Mark that is Twain (between the two).

Be a time traveler.   Often I find myself in the midst of a conversation between two people that strongly disagree.  Then the perspective and context comes in, they are both really talking about the same thing, only from different points in time.  The ability to alter your perspectives, build from one to the next, and right size the work so that it can be done in deliverable increments is learned.  Practice makes it a skill.

Go forth into the Org.  This speaks to being empowered.  Very few teams are islands.  The ability of a team to exist in some environment, requires being able to forage, communicate and align.

Be a Constant Gardener.  Have patience for growth. There is also implied weeding (maybe refactoring),  feeding (celebrate small wins and improvements),  reflection (retrospective moments), and even cross pollination (shared experience and lessons).

If you’ve not heard of it, there is a race called the Sawtooth Relay.  Take a team of 6 and some volunteers and divide a 62 mile course through the mountains into 12 legs.  I was part of a new team that took on the challenge.  I wasn’t even part of the original team.  I took someone’s conflict and stepped in to fill the gap.   To this point I have never run more than 6 miles in my life.  With the relay, I would run two 6 mile segments in the same day.  I took someone’s difficulty as my own challenge and opportunity.  It even meant a 1400 ft elevation change along one of the segments.  This team had never run together, no one had been in the race before, and none of us had run this distance.  We started at 3:30 am and everyone simply amazed me as we each ran our leg and contributed.  After all was said and done, I ended up with and additional 3rd leg of the race.  One runner on our team had to pull up with a painful injury.  We were all concerned and thankful that a week later there were no lasting effects.  I got to both start and to finish the run – which I think to be a great honor.  Our team came in under the 10 hour mark – which to a person, we thought was very successful for what we collectively hoped to accomplish.  I myself, appreciated several things about this new team!

We had individuals from different teams across a software program come together as a team for this event.  This was a great chance to continue growing our cross-team communications.

We shared the truth – we were honest about what hurt, and shared every thing we could to help.

We did it by the rules – we took to heart the honesty and integrity that everyone even the 304 other relay teams and the 5 individual Ultra runners (who ran the whole 62 miles) were striving for.

We savored EVERYONE’S encouragement and help.  Especially if they weren’t on our team.  (Running at night, my headlamp started going out, and another team loaned me one of theirs…  My appreciation for help in a time of need goes way beyond words.  We in turn encouraged others. We went out of our way to  keep each other motivated, and share the experience.

We celebrated the achievement and this meant special appreciation for the volunteers without whose participation we would not be allowed to run.

We adapted our processes and adjusted how the team operated.  Sure we made a few mistakes, but none of us felt halted by them.  There wasn’t enough time to dwell on it and angst or anger wouldn’t have been useful anyway.

I look forward to doing better!

This will be a reminder to myself as I again become part of a new Agile team.

1. This is about doing our work differently
2. Cherish people  but don’t just associate, achieve together.  My day is ever better when I have learned something new AND I have been productive.
3. You are part of a team for a reason, and just as you are unique, the team will have it’s own personality.  Like any seed needs sunlight, water and soil,  teams need space, support, and empowerment.

Can you hide in a team… sure… Leave your grumpiness, your bullying, and your defensive insecurities elsewhere… we have work to do.

The Worst Teams

1. Always find an excuse, never fault ourselves. Can’t be corrected.
2. Miss the opportunity. Don’t use the chance to improve… may be heads down in activity – something always breaks, but never look up, learn, level up.
3. Never venture beyond and out from their comfort zone, like program contributions, or even cross roles.  We isolate ourselves.
4. Have fun only by criticizing others. Stereotype and make blanket statements, leaving criticism without specific recommendations and even better.. a willingness to help.
5. Have no urgency.
6. Leave mayhem behind that other teams don’t want to clean up.  Management may have  to smooth interactions over.  Never becoming truly become aware of  our impact.

The Best Teams

1. Don’t stress, aren’t defensive – they are forward looking.
2. Have some fun and celebrate the achievement.
3. Help each other grow.
4. Give honest feedback.  We are also honest with ourselves.
5. Learn something new.  More importantly they teach others.
6. Exhibit a fearlessness in exploring. They TRY IT.
7. Have a tempo which allows urgency and thought-full-ness.  It IS possible to show urgency for some things and patience for others.
8. Adapt – Accepting the situation and weigh the impact to implement recommendations.
9. Think at different levels, context switch, or time travel.
10. Make whatever we touch better – improve.  Innovate, create, surprise…
11. Are calm problem solvers.
12. DELIVER.  Higher quality.  Higher standards.  There is no hesitation for representing what anything is really like.

The last two miles of the Sawtooth Relay I will always remember…  The penultimate mile was painful, and the more I concentrated on the pain, the slower I got and the pain only increased…  That Last mile I focused instead on going faster… pushing myself.  My pace increased, my running was lighter and smoothing out, the pain went away… I finished knowing I poured myself into the moment and gave more.  The accomplishment pushed past the limits I knew for myself,  it made me proud to be part of the team. More so, as I knew others had done the same.

When I wasn’t fit or active I was the perfect host for every cold or flu going around. I swear I had a note pasted on my forehead that said “illness welcome here” and being diabetic without knowing it certainly didn’t help. I dreaded winter because I would be plagued with illness after illness. Sometimes these would manifest as bronchitis and I’d be down and out for a good six weeks or more. Now, I force myself to run, cycle, or walk during the illness rather than lie down on the couch with my tissues in one hand and the remote control in the other. I haven’t had a bronchial infection in more than three years. The few colds I have had were nominal, lasting mere days rather than weeks on end.

I wondered why running and other exercise boosts our immune system. The other day I learned a little more about this from Dr. Greg Wells’ latest video for The Running Room.