Love, Hope and Warm Loneliness #BostonMarathon

I hold my face in my two hands.  
No, I am not crying.
I hold my face in my two hands  
to keep the loneliness warm -  
two hands protecting,  
two hands nourishing,  
two hands preventing
my soul from leaving me  
in anger.

Thich Nhat Hanh



On Saturday I went to a kirtan festival which, despite an underlying sadness after the loss of Shyamdas in January, was incredibly uplifting. My heart was open with joy and love. I was on a blissed-out Bhakti high. I was going to write all about it.

Nope. Four months ago my planned post was preempted by senseless tragedy. And here I am again.

The Boston Marathon began this morning just as I started teaching a yoga class. It ended abruptly minutes after I finished my last class for the day. Since my own marathon training begins in a few weeks, I was eager for race updates and, therefore, I got news of the bombings almost instantly.

I wasn't there. What I knew of people who were there came from 140-character snippets. But this felt personal. I was angry, I was sad, and I couldn't believe this had happened during the sanctity of the Boston Marathon.

Amateur runners and triathletes make up a diverse but incredibly benevolent clan. Immediately my twitter and Facebook feeds were overrun with people who felt just like I did. While the citizens of Boston took care of the runners and each other, the rest of the running community banded together in cyberspace.

As news reached me I saw, despite underlying sadness, an amazing outpouring of love. I watched footage of acts of bravery and kindness. I heard reports of people opening their homes to runners who could no longer get to their hotels, offering food, bathrooms and even lodging. I read that some runners who had finished the race went to the nearest hospital to donate blood. And those I follow retweeted and shared important information as well as countless "I'm ok" messages. I am again uplifted.

My heart is open with love and the joy of being part of humanity. In the banding together after tragedy I see the hints of the awakening we were promised at the end of 2012. There is suffering and horror but there is also compassion and hope.

I am still sad, but not angry. And I am no longer afraid. And until the day we realize we are all one, I'll keep the loneliness warm.

Why Not Dream?

I was wondering...After a long Christmas night in the fog and cold, did Rudolph's nose crack and peel? Or is there a reindeer moisturizing secret? Because after three days of nearly continuous nose-blowing, I look like Rudolph and I can't find a remedy that doesn't burn when I put it on. And I've suffered enough.

Just when I was feeling better after a month of yuckiness, I got "the cold" that seems to be going around the entire Northeast. It's nasty and sneaky. I, like others who've had it, got a "little touch of something" that started to go away after a week, then, "bang," the real germs attack. The ensuing running nose was so bad that I took a day off from teaching yoga.

Image via Wikipedia

Needless to say, the training drought continues. I am doing some strength training in preparation for and while teaching a new yoga and weights class I added to the yoga studio's schedule (The class is called Yoga Body Shop and for those in the area you can find it on the schedule if you're interested in trying it.), but the treadmill and bike trainer are gathering dust while I spend time in bed, snuggled under the covers with my humidifier and a jar of VapoRub.

Since I'm in bed anyway, why not dream? I've been dreaming of the upcoming race season. It's going to look like this:

Saturday, April 7th:  Glens Falls Rotary 5K at SUNY Adirondack in Queensbury, NY. Just to shake out my legs and give me an incentive to get back to training. (There's a good article at Beginner Triathlete about getting out of training droughts here.) This race, coincidentally, marks the end of the winter training plan that I have been neglecting to follow and, after an unstructured easy week, the start of my half-ironman training plan.

Sunday, May 20th:  The New York/Vermont Champlain Bridge 5K in Crown Point, NY. This is the coolest 5K I've ever seen. As part of a weekend celebrating the opening of the new Champlain Bridge, we get to run 5K over the bridge, from New York to Vermont. How many 5Ks take you from one state to another? Plus we get to run on a brand-new bridge that was designed by an engineer who grew up in Schroon Lake.

Saturday, June 30th:  North Country Triathlon in Hague, NY. I'm returning to the scene of my very first triathlon for a third go at the sprint-distance race. I considered the olympic-distance race, but I don't think I can get enough swim time after the lake melts (and warms up to a reasonable temperature) to be ready for the longer swim. Besides, there is a hill in the sprint bike course that needs to be taught a lesson.

Wednesday, July 4th:  Montcalm Mile in Ticonderoga, NY. Just for some Independence Day fun during the summer when I normally can't take time off from teaching yoga to race.

Sunday, September 2nd:  BIG George Triathlon in Lake George, NY. My first half-ironman distance triathlon! 70.3 miles! Enough said.

Sunday, September 23rd:  Adirondack Distance Festival Half-Marathon in Schroon Lake, NY. Third year in a row for my hometown race, this time on my 45th birthday. Finishing under 2:10 would be a nice birthday present, and a nice end to my race season.

I've also been dreaming about the new road bike I'm going to buy when our tax refund arrives. My 1970's Schwinn 10-speed is retiring from triathlon. I haven't made the final decision on a bike yet, but I'm close. Pictures will be posted.

During rare moments when I'm not spending my bed rest dreaming of riding 56 miles on my new bike, I'm thinking about my ongoing battle with nutrition. I've decided to follow the plant-based nutrition plan in Brendan Brazier's book Thrive, almost. (I get very spacey without any animal protein and I'm not sure I can live for long without cheese, so I'm going to have some occasionally.) While I know what foods I should be eating, like training I eat better when I'm following a specific plan so I don't have to think too much. What Brendan suggests is close to the diet I followed when I did a week-long cleanse with Leslie Hadley of EveryBODY Wellness last fall, only geared towards supporting endurance sport training. After that week I felt great, so I'm excited to see how it works long-term.

The biggest dream? An entire season of feeling good and staying healthy. I plan to start on that dream right after I stop coughing.

Death and Life at the Chicago Marathon

Last weekend was a big one for endurance sports, with the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii on Saturday and the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. The Chicago Marathon proved the more newsworthy, marred by the death of a 35 year old, and apparently very healthy, firefighter from North Carolina. The exact cause of his death, just 500 yards from the finish line, is still unknown, but, as anyone who has been reading the (seemingly endless) chapter on determining VO2max in the personal trainer manual knows, the risk of cardiac arrest at maximum heart rate is significant. After 26 miles, could the sight of the finish line inspire even an experienced marathoner to sprint to the finish, pushing his heart past the breaking point? It's possible.

Chicago Marathon death: Autopsy inconclusive on Bank of America Chicago Marathon runner - chicagotribune.com

The universe, though, keeps everything in balance. A few hours after the news of the death reached my twitter stream, this story hit the internet.

Some will question the wisdom of participating in a marathon when 39 weeks pregnant and point out that it led to the somewhat early birth of the baby, but these are not people who consider running a normal part of daily life. My oldest was born at 38 weeks and the early labor may have started as a result of an afternoon spent walking around the mall, trying to finish my Christmas shopping. Shopping is certainly a normal part of life for many of us and not likely to be considered too risky an endeavor for moms-to-be. Amber Miller was a seasoned distance runner and had clearance from her doctor to run/walk the 26.2 miles last Sunday. The baby is perfectly healthy, although I've heard rumors she came out complaining about the bumpy ride.

Interestingly, this video about pregnant rock climber Carrie Cooper, also 39 weeks pregnant, was making its way around the web last week.

Carrie Cooper: 39 Weeks from Prana Living on Vimeo.

Neither Amber or Carrie took up their respective sports after they were pregnant. They just continued doing what they always did, reminding us all that pregnancy is not a disease or a disability, simply something that women's bodies can do in addition to all the other activities of daily life. If those activities happen to include running 20+ miles or climbing rocks, it's because these women are amazing athletes. We should admire them for that. I would like to be a fit and strong as either of these two, sans baby.

Adirondack Half-Marathon

I suppose running farther than I've ever run before is a fitting end to my 2010 race season. Getting to run a half-marathon as part of the Adirondack Distance Festival, right here, around my lake, made the end of the season extra-special.

Since it was my first half-marathon, I had no idea what to expect from myself. My longest training run was 12 miles and it took me 2 hours and 21 minutes to complete, so I estimated 2:30 for the entire 13.1 miles. Since my knee was still hurting when I ran 3 miles on Saturday, the day before the race, I thought I might not even make the 2:30, but would be happy just to finish.

The morning of the race was kind of weird. I'm used to being at a triathlon, setting up transition, around 6:30am. This race didn't start until 10:00am. We had to be at the buses that would take us to the half-marathon start (the full marathon is a loop around the lake) by 9:00am. The buses were waiting less than a mile from my house. My husband drove me over at 8:50am. I didn't know what to do with myself all morning.

I warmed up by alternately jogging and walking for about 15 minutes before the race started. My knee was stiff and sore. When the gun went off and I started running, my knee hurt. Knowing this was the last race this year, I decided to let it hurt and I kept running.

Sometime between miles 3 and 4 my knee stopped hurting. I didn't feel it at all. I have no idea why. Maybe the running gods thought I deserved a break. I was checking my time at the mile markers and was running just over 10 minute miles, which is faster than I expected. All I had to do was keep that pace and I would come in before 2:30.

When we made the turn onto Route 9 I really started to have fun. I logged many miles up and down this road while I was training. I knew all the hills and where the potholes and bumps were. People I knew were watching from lawn chairs at the bottom of their driveways or side streets or volunteering at water stations, so I got to hear my name and cheers often. There were bands and musicians along the route and Mark Piper, our infamous local singer-songwriter, managed to get out "Go Debbie" in the middle of a song. I ran past my parents' house and was greeted by my family and some of the neighbors. My aunt gave me water at the next water stop. It was like having the home field advantage.

When I reached mile 12, I still felt great. I knew I had more than a mile left in me, and couldn't help thinking that I needed a swim and a bike ride to go with this run. My pace hadn't slowed at all. I was loving every step.

To get to the finish line we had to make a right turn, run past the church where I teach my yoga classes, then go another block to the town beach. As the time on the finish chute got close enough to read, I realized that I could finish under 2:15 if I hustled. I had plenty left to go faster, so I sprinted and finished with a time of 2 hours, 14 minutes and 21 seconds.

I came in 257th out of the 526 runners who finished the half-marathon (22nd out of 52 in my age group), which puts me squarely in the middle of the pack and - I can't believe I get to write this - in the top half of the finishers. I've never gotten to use the word "top" in any of my race reports, so you can imagine how excited I am.

Next year, I'm trying the full marathon. But for now I'm putting my running shoes in the closet to focus on my yoga practice, put a new knitting project on my needles and spend more time writing. And I plan to spend some time in another pair of shoes. Stay tuned...

Running and running and running...

Image by Sachmanns.dk via Flickr

Today I completed my last run for the month of October. During the month I ran just over 38 miles. Not an impressive total compared to those training for marathons, but huge for me. In fact, it's the most miles I've ever run in one month.

For kicks, I looked back in my training log to October of 2008. Last October I "ran" 6.7 miles; most of those miles were walking. I had just started a couch-to-5K program, and at the end of the month had built up to actually running 6 minutes out of 30. Most of the comments I'd made read something like "I hate running." It was almost silly, but I stuck with it, because I wanted to do a triathlon.

The plan worked.

Today I ran 3.4 miles, slightly longer than the 5K distance. It was easy - just a short mid-week run. And I enjoyed it. I saw a quail, a couple of deer and a woodpecker. I planned the evening's yoga class in my head. I thought about lengthening my stride, and how I could improve my speed. When I was done, I felt good.

I like running.

One of my goals for 2010 is to finish a half-marathon. Another goal is to do a handstand. Looking for the "couch-to-..." program for that.