Skirting Your Issues, Part II

The running skirt is a go. At the 5k this weekend, I saw several of them here and there, and my own athletic wardrobe has seen the addition of one from Athleta. If you go to the big brands (Nike, New Balance, Asics, Adidas, etc.), there are running skirts aplenty, but if you're like me, you want to support women with small businesses who are trying to market their own version of the trend. Two web-based companies, in particular, have caught my eye: www.runningskirts.com and www.skirtsports.com. While I haven't tried their skirts yet, the style and testimonials are top-notch.

The first--www.runningskirts.com--boasts color options to rival the zillion choices at our local ice cream stand. And my reaction to the possibilities is pretty similar: indecision as a result of mass appeal. The color names even appear inspired by ice cream (chocopink, for example). Or maybe I just have ice cream on the brain, which I usually do on sticky days like this. I ended up ordering a skirt in pinkypink because of my commitment to breast cancer awareness.

The second website---www.skirtsports.com--also offers a variety of colors, plus various styles (one pocket, two pockets, compression shorts underneath, or briefs). You can even score a zebra or pink camo pattern to stand out from the crowd in your next race, as your family searches for you among the black shorted throngs of runners. One offer from this site really amused me, though: the Convert to Skirt Program. Send them your old running shorts and they'll give you 15% off a skirt in exchange. I plan to take them up on that deal, namely to purge myself of some particularly heinous shorts that cannot be flattering to my post-baby body.

As is apparent, I am a running skirt convert, not for the sexiness or femininity factor that both sites seem to champion. I just like wearing skirts during the summer far more than I choose shorts. Modesty, perhaps, or just a fun new thing to get me interested in hitting the hot pavement on these sultry days.

Mileage: 4
Conditions: treadmill (outside: 95 degrees, humid, sunny)
Quality: 4
Knee pain: none
Shoes: Adidas

Preparing for the Dark Alleys of Westford

To strengthen my knees through cross-training, I started taking a step/kickboxing class at my gym. I love the class, for the workout and the entertainment I derive from joining a group of other Waspy women perform jabs, uppercuts, and hooks. Layla Ali, we are not, and watching myself in the mirror, I have decided that I am, indeed, a lover and not a fighter. Good thing the crime around here seems to be limited to mailbox vandalism.

A Lovely Run Along the Charles

With sun and dry air, the New Charles River Run was a beautiful way to spend a Sunday morning. We got up at 6 to get there in time and walked a good 3/4 mile from the T stop to the start, but it was worthwhile. It was really nice, too, to run a race with my husband--a treat we don't often get to enjoy with a two-year-old to tend to.
Though I generally don't pay attention to my time or place, I was pleased that I came in 17th out of 138 in my division, and 117th out of 532 overall. And best of all: no pain whatsoever in my knee, despite running the race fairly hard.

Mileage: 5k
Conditions: sunny, 70 degrees, dry
Quality: 4
Knee pain: None!
Shoes: Asics 2120 (almost time for a new pair)

NO PAIN!

Need I say more? I'll start adding a mile a week on my Saturday runs now, so that I can complete the last 10.2 of the Boston course by the end of the summer. A great run the day before my first race since the marathon (a short 5k in Cambridge tomorrow: The New Charles River Run).

Mileage: 4
Conditions: 72 degrees, windy, dry, partly cloudy
Quality: 3 (no knee pain, but I'm still fighting a cold)
Knee pain: ABSENT!
Shoes: Adidas Supernova Control

For The Runner Who Has Everything...

...a Marathong. (Yes, I've got one. No, that's not me in the photo.)

Mileage: 4
Conditions: 81 degrees, partly cloudy, humid
Quality: 2 (humidity was a killer)
Knee pain: low-absent
Shoes: Asics 2120 (getting close to a new pair)

A Caloric Necessity For the Long-Distance Runner

Most of the marathoners I know (i.e., regular folks, not the elite) approach the weekly long run with a balance of dread and anticipation for the high-calorie gluttony that we partake in after the miles are done. At some point during the long run, one tends to think of the evening's menu as incentive to finish: "Tonight, I will be eating an Awesome Blossom, a half-pound hamburger, and an ice cream sundae," for example. If this is you, here is the ice cream for that sundae. It should be an essential element of your high-mileage reward, and the trail mix should let you deceive yourself into thinking that it's part of an active, healthy lifestyle.

Trail Mix Ice Cream

(Made in an electric ice cream maker--I recommend the Cuisinart CIM-20)

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
1 two-inch piece of vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup of your favorite trail mix, or a blend of peanuts, raisins, and M&Ms

Combine milk, cream, and the split vanilla bean in a saucepan over medium heat. When mixture almost boils (about 5-10 minutes), turn heat to low. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla extract in a small bowl until smooth (approx. 1 minute), then add 4 tbsp of the hot milk/cream mixture and stir. Slowly add the yolk mixture to the warm cream in the saucepan, stirring constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling. Cook over low heat until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon (approx. 4 minutes).

Cool this new mixture by pouring it into a bowl, then sitting that bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice. Place the stacked bowls in the fridge to speed the cooling. Be sure to cool completely (about 30-45 minutes).

When the mixture has cooled, scrape the vanilla seeds from the pods into the bowl and throw out the pods. Stir the vanilla seeds into the cream.

Pour the cream into the machine's bowl and allow it to mix until the ice cream is thick, about 22 minutes for the Cuisinart. With five minutes left on the stirring, add the trail mix to your ice cream maker to blend.

Pat yourself on the back for your run and relax on the couch with a bowl of ice cream.

Nothin' Much

An uneventful (but good) run today. Nothin' much to report except the particulars. I didn't even swallow a single bug today.

Mileage: 3
Conditions: humid, 78 degrees, overcast, drizzle
Quality: 3
Knee pain: low-absent
Shoes: Asics 2120

Nothin

curiousteacher, This One's Going Out to You

I had a brilliant run today that was capped off by a "Footloose" stride at the end. One of those days when you get to the end of your run, a great song comes up on the Shuffle, and you have to keep going so you can finish the song. The running equivalent of sitting in your driveway with the radio on, waiting to for that great song to wrap up. Today, "Footloose" was that song. Not one of the most inspired tunes of the last 25 years, but a terrific beat.

And the comment from curiousteacher on an old post, in which she said she was motivated to try out my top ten running songs as she gets back to her own running after a baby, leads me to post a few more essentials on my playlist:

1. Dashboard (Modest Mouse)
2. Friday Night (Lily Allen)
3. Better Than (John Butler Trio)
4. LDN (Lily Allen)
5. Change Clothes (DJ Danger Mouse)

Let me know how you like them (warning for those with delicate sensibilities--explicit lyrics in: #2, 4, 5)

Also of note--I graduated from physical therapy yesterday. On my own with the stretching and strength training now. Wish me luck.

Mileage: 3.5
Conditions: 65 degrees, sunny, humid (bugs eaten: 1)
Quality: 4
Knee Pain: low-absent
Shoes: Asics 2120

Longing For Winter

In February, when I was running in sub-freezing misery, I didn't think I'd ever long for winter, but it turns out I hate running in humidity more. While running in the cold is unpleasant, it doesn't test my fitness level like the thick, hot, and damp air that makes me suck wind a mile into a run. And then there's the issue of what humidity does to my hair. Don't get me started.

Yesterday's mileage: 3
Yesterday's conditions: 75 degrees, humid
Yesterday's quality: 3 out of 5 (5 is best)
Knee pain: 1 out of 10 (10 is worst) (up to a 3 today since running last night--ice is helping)

Miles Go Up, Rain Comes Down

Hit the road early this morning to get a run in before the rain started. The PT advised I try to increase my mileage to see how the pain is, since next week will be my last week of rehab and then I'm on my own. I'll miss having someone to regiment my stretching and weight training, but frankly, discovering that PT wouldn't be all about the massages and is more about discomfort means that I won't miss my twice-weekly sessions too much.

I ran further than in the past few weeks, felt some mild discomfort, but made it home before the pain or the rain ruined my outing. I realized just how tired I get when running in the humidity, though, and was disappointed by my fitness level as I sucked wind the whole way home.

We then went to Harvard Square and managed to resist the temptation to buy more running shoes at Marathon Sports, where they should have a frequent-buyer program for shoe junkies like me.

Today's mileage: 3.8
Conditions: 60 degrees, misty
Quality: 2
Knee pain: 2

Be Like Nishi

The July issue of Runner's World features Japanese runner Hajime Nishi, a self-proclaimed "ecomarathoner" who was the first person to run seven marathons on each of the seven continents (yes, including Antarctica) in seven months. More impressive, though, is his philosophy about running, which he explains on his website. While much of the site is still under development or in Japanese, Nishi is described as a "missionary for the environment" through a peaceful and nondisruptive running practice. He espouses a "slow running" ethos and technique that strives to run marathons as slowly as possible. As the RW article put it, his worst marathon time was 3 hours, 45 minutes, and his best time was clocked at over ten hours. He is grateful to volunteers along the course, stopping to thank them and take pictures, explaining that the more photos he stops to take, the more successful he considers his run. He asks that runners leave nothing but footprints on the course, bring their own water bottles, and express their gratitude to the race organizers and volunteers. His espousal of a the-slower-the-better method is inspirational, I think, and if I'd known of this prior to my marathon, I might have finished by holding the belief that I could enjoy the day by taking it very slow and having a peaceful run.

Today's mileage: 3 (on treadmill)
Today's conditions: treadmill
Today's quality (1 to 5, 5 is best): 3
Knee pain (1 to 10, 1 is best): 1

Five Reasons You Know It's Summer Running Season

1. Instead of Gu, you eat bugs on your run.
2. You wonder how few layers of clothing you can get away with before the neighbors call the cops on the streaker running down the street.
3. You add a hurdles element to your route by jumping over dead snakes, frogs, and chipmunks.
4. A windy day is a blessing, even if it's in your face.
5. SPF no longer stands for Snow Packed Firm.

Happy Summer!

Today's mileage: 2
Today's conditions: 78 degrees, humid, overcast
Today's quality: 4
Knee pain (scale of 1 to 10, 10=worst): 2

Uneventful is Good

Today's mileage: 2
Today's conditions: 60 degrees, cool, but humid
Today's quality: 4
Knee pain (scale of 1 to 10, ten being worst): 1

The Nastiest Thing You'll Ever See

Because I just lost a toenail that was busted by the marathon, I did find a bit of humor in this one, but don't click the link to the necklace made of running casualty toenails if you're eating while you read this. Yuck.

Bit the Bullet, Joined a Gym

I forgot to blog my run on Wednesday (2 miles, cool and dry, no knee pain) but remembered when I worked out in a gym for the first time yesterday. Henry and I joined a gym so I can do some cross-training during my recovery and begin to regain some of the muscle I've lost since doing nothing for the weeks following the marathon. Like many people, I'm not too fond of gyms, but this one gives Henry and I a break from each other, too, given that we're spending the summer together. He plays in a children's room and I watch the Today show while marching on the Arc Trainer. I do think he's already sick of hanging out with his mom. He told me today that he wants me to go to work. Ouch. Only two and he knows how to cut his mother to the quick.