Progress

I started running on 7/1/2010.

1.13 miles in 11:31... a numerical symmetry that's almost poetic.

At the time, I remember being slightly disappointed. It was a pretty brutal wake up call. I was 28 years old and really out of shape. It felt like I would never be able to run a 5k in under 30 minutes, never consider a 2 mile run to be short,  never contemplate a sprint triathlon as a realistic goal.

Well... it's almost 21 months later... my 5k personal best is 24:57, a 2 mile run is shorter than my "normal" run (3 miles), and a sprint triathlon is very much a goal for me (this one on 10/21/2012). And all this with two different extended "off" periods (6 months from 11/2010 to 5/2011 and 3 months from 12/2011 to 2/2012).

I'm proud of the progress I've made, but I have to work to stay hungry, work to push myself to get out there and hit the pavement, work to stay focused and find fun races to keep me motivated.

Keep it going, Glynn. Let's see where you are in another 21 months...

Tribes

Village. Community. In crowd. Movement. Tribe.

If you get it, you get it. The unspoken rules, niche references, common language, dos and don’ts…

You need to earn your place amongst the tribe. It takes effort and time and shared experiences to truly belong. And even though each person’s experiences are singularly their own, as a part of a tribe, each personal experience is framed within a common experience…

I enjoy (most of the time) membership in the following tribes:

-          Parent
-          Husband
-          Musician
-          Golfer
-          Theater Kid   
-          Runner
-          iPhone User
-          Youngest Kid in the Family
-          Laid Off at the End of 2008

Each and every one of these tribes has their own customs and language and rules. Some you can join later in life, some you join due to circumstance, some you can actually choose to leave.

Seth Godin has written a book about tribes. I haven't read it. Womp womp womp...


But inherently we all know about the importance of tribes and their subconscious effects on our behavior.


Doesn't mean I shouldn't read the book, though...

Focus

I use a rad iPhone app called Runkeeper to keep track of all my running stats. I can see my pace, mile split times, running routes, and a host of other statistics from all of my runs. For a slightly OCD detail freak like myself, it's pretty much a dream come true.

Another facet of the app that I love is the ability to write a little summary and attach it to each running activity. Synopsis, how you're feeling, successes, failures... you can write whatever you like. And I end all of my notes with "Focus". It's just a quick reminder... kind of like "What you've just done is great and has gotten you one step closer to your goal, but you need to remember to always push forward and take it one step at a time and not get ahead of yourself"...

Focus. One the positives. On the little things. On the singular existence of your goal.

Focus. Then go and get it...

Focus...

Hello? Blog? It's me, Glynn...

Ah... an obscure Judy Blume reference.  This is going to be a good post...

I haven't blogged in a 43 days.  What a shame...

Cliff's notes RECAP (bullet style)!!!

- Our wedding is 183 days away!!!

- Chase is 10 months and 14 days old and is almost walking... 

- I'm running a lot now.  I've decided to run in Carlsbad in January, but I need to choose either the full or the half marathon.  I'm leaning towards the half only because...

- Oh Girl is starting to hit its stride.  We're playing shows regularly (well, once a month, which is regularly enough).  We're FINALLY heading into the studio.  We're having fun and taking steps and keeping it loose but also, strangely, progressing more quickly than any other band with which I've played.  The harder you try to hold on, the more quickly it slips away... so we're learning to let go with this one.

That's pretty much been my life in the last month and a half.

And now I can sleep tonight without feeling the guilt of having not posted on my blog in a long time...

Schizo wedding-baby-running-recording posts will continue to proliferate more frequently from now on...

Run Log #11- Running Fits Me

I will gloss over Run Log #11 because I should have posted it on Thursday when I actually ran.....

No, wait.  Scratch that.  I will describe how I somehow put my iPhone into airplane mode which disabled the GPS which meant that Runkeeper didn't keep track of my route or my pace.  So I manually entered it using MapMyRun.com.  Sweet...

Which brings me to another point. I'm slightly neurotic.  I have semi-weird, occasionally OCD tendencies.  I always eat my burgers in a circle (outer crust first, then slowly whittle it down into ever smaller circles till one bite is left).  I listened to the same Helmet album every time I went to watch one of my high school's football games.  I have a thing for odd numbers and have seen a pattern in the important dates in my life (11-19-81: birthday, 7-5-09: re-Anniversary with Rachel, 11-11-09: my son Chase's birthday, 3-27-11: wedding date). 

All of this detail-oriented, anal-retentive behavior gives me a personality that it is well-accustomed to running.  When I found out that I had put my phone into airplane mode, I obsessed over not being able to track that run.  I needed to know what the specifics were... what were my splits?  Did I improve?  What does it mean...?

I'll admit I'm an addict when it comes to looking at my Runkeeper profile and seeing how far I've run, how quickly I ran, how many calories I burned, the routes I take, etc., etc., ad nauseum, ad infinitum...

Which is why running fits me.

There needs to be something a little bit off inside you if you actually enjoy putting your body through pain for long periods of time while listening to the lonely thoughts droning inside your head.

And I'm beginning to really enjoy it, to need it, to feel antsy if I don't get it, to dread rest days, and look forward to discomfort because I know I can push through it and better myself in the process.

Thanks, running.  For letting me find you.

Run Log #9- Slow and Steady Wins the Race...

Slow and steady wins the race.

I've been running for the last three weeks.  Focusing on timed runs to build up my stamina.  Started with 10 minute runs and hope to build up to 40 minute runs by the end of next week. 

Over the course of my first 8 runs, I've been averaging about 11:30 a mile.  Not horrible, considering I've never been a runner and I'm in the worst shape of my life.

11:30 a mile turns out to be just north of 5 hours for a marathon.  (*sidenote: I'm planning on attempting my first marathon January 23, 2011.  That's why I'm doing all of this running.)

So, today I graduate to a 30 minute run after two 20 minute runs this week.  And I figure a solid pace would be 12:30 a mile, which would mean I would run 2.4 miles in 30 minutes.  Achievable, right?

Definitely achievable...

... if I had run at 6:30am, so I could avoid the heat...

... if I hadn't run at 1:21pm in close to mid-90 degree temperatures...

... and if I hadn't started my run at 9:30 a mile!!!!!

I went out too fast.  I played checkers, not chess.  I got ahead of myself, and shot myself in the foot.  I was that hare, sprinting past the tortoise, yelling back, "See ya at the finish line, you slow poke!", burning out at 25 minutes, and panting, gasping, dredging to the finish line as the tortoise lounged in triumph...

I was very disappointed today.  If I had just stuck to the plan, I would have run 2.4 miles in 30 minutes, and I probably would have felt fine...

Lessons learned:

- NEVER skip the morning run.
- If you skip the morning run, definitely don't run IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EFFING DAY...  Just wait for dusk.
- Stick to your pacing.
- Set-up Runkeeper to update every 3 minutes, so I can adjust my pace if it's off.

2 rest days, then 25 minutes on Tuesday.  GOAL: 2 miles.

Now off to watch Spirit of the Marathon on Netflix...

Soundtrack:
With a Heavy Heart (I Regret to Inform You)- Does It Offend You, Yeah?
An Autopsy- The Faceless
Whatever Happened to Pong?- Frank Black
Turned Out- Helmet
He Feels Bad- Helmet
Obnoxious- Immortal Technique
This Is F*****g Tragic- The Impossibles
The Boys Are Leaving Town- The Japandroids
Blood of the Scribe- Lamb of God