Running In Place

MP3 Player

I had never run with one. It just never occurred to me. I was ok with my thoughts and the sound of my incredibly loud breathing but several weeks ago, for no good reason, I ordered one. It sat on my desk for awhile and I was wondering why I ever thought I wanted it. Then I discovered podcasts! I know, I know, I ‘m way behind the curve.

So today I ran while listening to ultra-runner Gillian Robinson on Endurance Radio, a couple of short pieces from Slate.com, and a little bit of Skepticality. What a great way to pass a run!! I don’t plan to use it every time, I don’t want to come to rely on the distraction and am not necessarily in any hurry to move away from the thoughts, sights, sounds, and sensations of running that could probably be blunted by the chatter. On the long runs though, it seems very enticing.

Physical Therapy

My left hip/groin is still troublesome. After the first week of PT, I felt significantly better and the dude was all set to cut me loose. By the next, and supposedly last, visit the discomfort was right back to square one. Each visit he adds more stretch and strength but I can’t say I’ve felt any improvement in a couple of weeks. He says that the hip flexor has loosened up and that my pelvis is no longer tipped, also that my legs are of equal length now, due to the un-tipping. So that’s improvement. He also says that my ITB and hamstrings are good and don’t seem to be a contributing factor. So what’s up? Next up will be an x-ray to rule out degenerative disease or some other structural problem. Thankfully, I continue to be allowed to run as he feels it’s the best way to measure my progress - or lack of.

Slowing Down

Seriously. Since I’m always so clueless in my pacing, my training pace and race pace tend to be interchangebale. I just go run run run until I have to stop running. It’s never all-out but it’s never easy either. I’m reading up on the heart rate training and thinking more closely on what pace I run and when. One pace calculator says that if I run a 10K race at an average pace of 11:32 (which was my pace for the last 10K) I should be doing easy runs at, like 14:00 to 15:00 min/mile pace. That’s wild. But you know, I’m going to try it. Who knows, maybe not treating every run like a tempo run will ease up my hip problems. I’ll be interested to see how (if) I respond to this.

Girls’ Night Out

As I sat with a group of female co-workers last night, formed in a circle around a big round table in the back corner of a dimly lit restaurant, I was convinced that there is no generation of energy quite like that created by a gathering of women.

Orphan Fawns

About a month ago, a young girl hit and killed a mama deer in the road in front of my house. I heard the all-to-familiar sound of tires braking on pavement and waited the breathless split second that follows, hoping I would not hear the unmistakable dull thump. But I did. I went outside and headed towards her car, which was pulled off to the side. As I jogged across the lawn, I came across 2 fawns just standing, dazed, on the lawn. They didn’t know what was going on and when they saw me they started towards me. I stopped and waited, wondering if I was going to have a Snow White moment (with the deer, not the 7 dudes. Geez!), and wondering what I could do for these babies. After a minute of indecision, the fawns took off into the woods across the street. I checked to see that the driver was ok, the police were called, the carcass located. After everything was squared away, I gave a call to a nearby wildlife rehabilitator to see what could be done to help the fawns. She was not optimistic. She told me that they were right on the cusp of the weaning time and that it was a real crapshoot whether they would be able to survive without their mom. If they weren’t weaned, no - if they were, maybe. Unfortunately, I am located within the containment area due to the appearance of chronic wasting disease. Rehabilitators cannot take in deer and feeding deer is illegal, though if they weren’t weaned, putting out food wouldn’t make a difference anyway. She advised me to keep an eye out for them, that if they weren’t weaned the tale would be told within 3 days, and if I saw them and they were acting weak or sick that I should call the DEC to come and “dispatch” them. Well, to make a long story less long, evidently they were weaned and the kids are doing great. They come by frequently for visits and you can see them here. Now I just pray they look both ways before crossing the road.