Listen to the Grass Grow and Other Things My Dad Taught Me.

Me and Dad 1978. I am 18; he is 43. 

My Dad died on May 8, 2019. He had cancer. He beat it down during the spring, summer and fall of 2018. It came back metastasized to his bones in February 2019. He tried to beat it down again but it was stronger than the available treatments. On Saturday, May 4th, he was taken to the emergency room. He had made it clear what he didn't want at the end of his life so the decision to start hospice was - not easy by any means - but it was easy to accept it as the right decision. It was clearly what he wanted.

The two weeks since he first went to the ER have been a chaotic time. My brain keeps wandering on a path all its own. Thoughts of my dad, my family, the past, the future. The lack of control for someone that thrives on order along with my ever-present self-doubt have made for some roller coaster adventures. I'm not a fan of roller coasters. :( 

On the up side, my wandering brain has landed often on what we'd call Dad-isms. There are many. I'll share two with you here. 

Listen to the Grass Grow. I'm sure he said it more than once but the memory it conjures up for me is our family and my cousins traipsing around Longwood Gardens. Between us at that time there were 12 children (6 of us and 6 of them) with about 9 years between oldest and youngest. 12 kids and 4 grownups. Even if my grandmother was there the odds were still in the kids favor. So here we are at Longwood Gardens. It was as hot as "you know where". Quite frankly I think it may have been hotter. We were cranky. Dad told us that if we could be very quiet we might be able to hear the grass grow. I don't think that bought him a lengthy peace - although we were just young enough to stop and think about it for a minute or two. "Listen to the Grass Grow" has stuck with me all these years. It comes back to me often. As I've gotten older, it has come to remind me of the need to stop, think and listen; to experience what's going on around you. 

Read with 'Spression. I don't know if dad actually said 'spression or if that came from one of us kids butchering the right word. Either way it was Dad who encouraged us to read with expression. To this day I (and likely all my brothers and sisters) can recite A.A. Milne's Poem -Disobedience by heart and with appropriate inflection and giving the various speaking parts the appropriate tone. All because Dad has us read it out loud with 'spression. It's the expression that makes a difference and makes it stick. Whenever I have to give a presentation at work (which is often) I think of the words I want to use and how I can say them with 'spression. Trust me, it works. I'm pretty sure I read to myself with 'spression too. :) 

I told you earlier that the last two weeks have brought me chaos of the brain. Staying focused on anything has been really hard. It's not that my thoughts are bad ones. I just wish I could have them when I want to and not all willy-nilly as they have been. I've been wondering if taking up meditation would help. Maybe if I practiced meditation I could get stronger in the head. I'm still not sure if I'll try it or not but it occurred to me the other day that my impression of meditation is that it is a lot like listening the the grass grow. 

Keep Smiling Keep Moving (and listen to the grass grow)

-Paula 

It's All About Finishing

Sun and blue skies at the start and throughout the run

I think all my running adventures are about finishing and this one was no different. Ok, it was a little bit different. Two weeks ago my family's lives were turned upside down and sideways when my Dad went into the hospital. 4 days later he died. The details are better left to another post but as you can imagine it's been a whirlwind of ups and downs since then. I know I'm not the only one whose daily routine took a flying leap.

Most of my training runs also flew the coop. I've run twice in the last two weeks. Neither was great and the last one - this past Wednesday - was downright painful. So today was about making it through the planned 9 miles. Even if I had to walk the last bit I was going to go the distance. 

I was grateful once again to have David running with me. He is faster on a normal day but understands the value of a long slow run. I've taken on the role of his long run 'pacer'. 😎 😉Running with David (or any one else for that matter) forces me to think about my pace and keep it even and slow. Since I know David (and most everyone else for that matter) is naturally faster than me - after warning him once again I'm going slow and I'm ok if he wants to take off - I have to force myself to stay slow. It's too easy when running with others to let them set the pace.

I was comfortable through about 7 miles before I felt the lead come back into my legs. So I focused on my breathing and reminded myself I only had to run 3 minutes at a time. As we entered the final 3/4 mile David asked if I was ok and did I think I wanted an extra walk break. I declined. We were so close I was determined to power through. We did and we finished.

Keep Smiling Keep Moving (and listen to the grass grow)
-Paula

Bitten by a Bite Valve

Today I ran 8 miles along Forbidden Drive.

Although not all my outings here have been great, I think it might be impossible not to feel peaceful here. And that makes up for any less than great outing. However, today was a very good one. The weather was perfect. Cloudy and the temperature were between 56-58 the entire time. I did get spritzed on in my last mile but even that could not dampen (pun intended) my spirits.

I started with a plan to go out 4 and back 4 because (in case you are not paying attention or have had too many mint juleps in anticipation of today's horse race) 4+4=8. 😋 As I passed Valley Green Inn I had the thought to go out to 4 1/2  before turning around. This would allow me to stop at the covered bridge and walk back from there to my car from there.

The extra distance out would mean a significant (relative to the rest of the path) uphill on my return. I decided it was worth it since the walk portion would allow me to take a few photos like the one at the top of this post. So I went for it.

As I mentioned earlier I had a great time today. I felt comfortable and on the return trip I even felt strong. On a scale between "plodding along" and "smooth running" I felt farther away from "plodding along" than I can ever remember. For about 5 seconds (if even that) I toyed with the idea of continuing my run/walk interval from the bridge back to my car. But I knew if I did that and failed, it would ruin my feel good. So I stuck to walking the mile back to the car.

And now for the 'are you kidding me' moment of the day. Early on in my miles, I released the bite valve on my hydration pack before getting my tongue out of the way. I didn't think it was possible but the valve 'bit' my tongue. I doubt I could do that again on purpose. Oh and yes it hurt!

Keep Smiling and Keep Moving
-Paula

A Blog Post in Three Parts with a Preface

Preface:

I have a lot to say today. But it's all jumbled up in my head. This may be an overly long or rambling post. Or it might be both. You have been warned. Proceed at your discretion. I think the appeal of any blog is in the eye of the writer. We write for ourselves. It's a variation on 'thinking out loud'; a practice that helps sort things out or focus. When a reader indicates enjoyment or benefit from a blog it's a pleasant, inspiring bonus. I've said it here before -- for me, knowing that someone is reading, keeps me smiling and moving. Ok without further ado .......

Part I: Halfway There

Six months ago, give or take a week, I began the effort to train for the Ocean City New Jersey Half Marathon. I started with 1 mile. Today I ran 7 miles for the second time. I have six months to go to event day (9/29/19). 7 miles puts me just past halfway to the full event distance. Thinking about that makes me shake my head.... a lot.

The good news, is that for the most part it's all good news at this point. There have been ups and downs but more ups. I'm a little ahead of where I originally thought I'd be. Although being super mindful of my wonky right hip flexor, I am not injured. And I'm not afraid of the next 6 months.

I am hyper (perhaps obsessively so) aware that I have some time management issues in August, but I'm not afraid. If all goes well, I'll be at 12 miles before our vacation at the end of August. I may have to run on Fridays or Sundays to manage it but I will. It is not likely that I will get any running in while on vacation but I hope to put in some miles the Friday before we leave and resume the day after we return.

Vacation means 9 days off. And a month to go before the event. I'm expecting that my current schedule of 3 weeks on; one week off will help with that. I haven't felt any ill effects with the week off. In fact, my return after each break feels good. The difference is that my week 'off' right now involves hiking and other non-running activities. Vacation won't have that. I still think I'll be fine.

I'm halfway there!!!

Part II: Today's Run

To sum it up in word, I choose WOW! After last week, I was concerned. Last week I bonked. I felt pretty bad mentally and physically most of the day after. And immediately after, my right foot hurt like ..... well it hurt a lot.

It was fine during the run but on the drive home it started to ache. The pain got so bad I had to do Lamaze breathing to relax enough to drive. When I got out of the car I could barely walk to the front door of our house. Elevation and rounds of icing followed by some heating pad action later relieved the pain. But I had no idea why it did that. I still don't know. However, it is my right side which is where my wonky hip flexor is. And my hip was bothering me during part of the run last week.

So this week, I increased my efforts to stretch and strengthen the hip, glutes and core. I had been doing exercises after work/evenings. And admittedly I missed some days. Well this week I did not miss any days and I added two sessions during each workday by escaping to the handicap restroom stall at work. *Shug* Whatever works. I won't do planks in there but there is enough room to do a variety of standing exercises and squats.

Today I ran pain free across all body parts. :)

I also made sure I hydrated better today. Although last week to this week is like comparing an apple to an orange. While last week was warm, sunny and dry; today was cool, cloudy and damp.  Still, I think making sure I sipped at EVERY walk break helped. I also had a piece of toast and peanut butter before leaving the house and had 2 fig newtons during a walk break at the 4 mile mark. I don't know that I needed all of that but it didn't' hurt.

Today I ran well. No bonking. I felt strong with no breakdowns physically or mentally. I had a little left in the tank at the end even.

No photos during training runs but I had my phone with me so after, Perki and I walked back to the stone ruins along the River Trail and took this. It was cloudy the entire length of my run - from Valley Forge Visitor Center parking lot across Sullivan's Bridge and then out and back along the River Trail. The sun was breaking through just as we finished.

Part III: Final Thoughts (for today) 

For the last couple of weeks I've tried to convert from my interval counts to my pace and time. This involves taking the number of intervals multiplying by 4 adding in leftover minutes from any unfinished interval and dividing by the number of miles entering the resulting pace into a calculator to see how long it might take me to do the half marathon. The numbers have not been encouraging. For the past three weeks, I've been consistently coming out at a 3 hour half marathon. This is depressing on multiple points.

Point 1 - the race has a 3 hour and 15 minute time limit. That is not a lot of wiggle room. :(
Point 2 - it's frustrating to think that I've gotten that much slower. It's been a few years since I ran a half but back then I was finishing well ahead of 3 hours. Yeah I know it's been a few years but still ...
Point 2a - if I'm honest, this race is about more than just running in a place that I love and doing the 10th anniversary race of an event that I really like. It's also about turning 60 at the end of the year and needing to prove to myself that I can still do this. I don't need to break any records but getting swept off the course for taking too long would be pretty devastating. I know it's a 'first world problem' and I'll survive but ....

Well the good news is (I told you it was all good news when I started this, remember?) it turns out I was figuring things wrong. In the brain fog after finishing my runs I was making a big mistake in counting my intervals. When the timer reads 86 for example, that means the last complete interval was 87 not 85 (it counts down not up). Anyway, I re-worked last weeks numbers and my short runs this week and then did the math (correctly this time) on today's run and I'm pretty solidly in the  2:45 half marathon time. Whew!! Lots of wiggle and break down room.

Keep Smiling Keep Moving
-Paula

Good Company and Lessons Learned

Sunrise over the trail just before starting out at 8 am

Today I had the pleasure of running with David Magill. I have not seen him in awhile. We last ran together over 6 years ago when I was training for the Bob Potts Marathon and I think we were on the trail together for New Year's Day breakfast miles since then. I was thrilled to see him.

David told me he was hoping to do 4 miles today. I told him I was doing 7 using 1 min walk; 3 min run. I reminded him that Perkis meetups were strictly for the purpose of giving folks (especially me) a reason to come out. And that as happy as I was to see him I did not expect him to hang back with me. David began my intervals with me and not too far into it he commented that at this pace and intervals he could probably manage 7. And - spoiler alert - he did. :)

I have to admit to being a little concerned when he said that. As much as I knew I would enjoy spending time on the trail with him, I was concerned that I might unintentionally push my pace. Instead I made a conscious effort to keep to my pace. David, being the Philly Fit alum that he is, understood.

David stuck with me anyway and I am very glad he did. He literally talked me through this run. At one point he asked, if he was talking too much. Absolutely not!!!! If anything I wasn't holding up my end but he understood that too. Paying attention to him and what he had to say really helped the miles fly by. I was paying attention and it was a fun moment when he realized I truly was.

That's not to say the morning was all smooth sailing. For two days I've been debating which way to run on the trail. Starting at the 5.5 marker I could go south to the 2 and back or north to the 9 and back. By last night I had all but talked myself out of going south because in my head that is "downhill" which meant coming "uphill" on the way back. That's so not true but a lot of this running thing is in one's head. So I decided to go north.

Ok great except I forgot where the mile markers are. I had it in my head that the 9 was at the Graterford Trail head across from the Perkiomen Fire Company. But that's the 8 mile marker. Continuing on to the 9 meant going down the hill and around the bend at Graterford Prison and what goes down must come back up again on the return trip. THAT really got into my head at first. But as I said to David at that point, I have to do hills in order to beat the Longport Bridge so here we go. I just wasn't expecting that today. I'm happy to say I powered back up the hill on the return and was left feeling very proud. My memories of that hill are far worse than it actually was.

I was cruising more or less (as much as one can say 'cruising' at my pace) until 5.5 miles into the planned 7 miles. And that's when I hit a wall. It only took a minute or two to understand why my skin felt clammy and my head felt like my brain was bubbling. I don't know if that's how other people feel when they run out of steam but I've come to recognize that feeling when I do. At first I was confused because two weeks ago I finished 7 miles just fine. What was wrong now?

It's not so much what's wrong but what's different. The only change I can think of is that it was 20 degrees warmer at the start than it was 2 weeks ago and got warmer as the run went on. I thought I was drinking enough but apparently I was not. I told David I needed an extra walk break. That and a water seemed to help. I still felt dizzy when the run was over but I did finish. I should probably eat before going out in the warmer weather as well. No harm done. This is what training runs are for.

I enjoyed the company and the scenery of today's run. I would have managed on my own but it was a treat not having to do that. Also going 'north' from Collegeville, the trail meanders more. There are also more noticeable ups and downs but all in all a very pleasant stretch. We saw lots of runners, walker and cyclists today. Some we saw in both directions. It was a great day to be out.

Keep Smiling Keep Moving
-Paula