Running For More Moments Like This

Inspiring The Youngsters

Almost a week ago Sunday I had the great honor of speaking to a small group of 9-year-olds about running a marathon. With very little knowledge of what kids at 9 years of age are like, I was very nervous. I spent most of the day Sunday trying to prepare. I decided that I would try to speak mostly in Russian. No, not as a joke. All of these kids were children of Russian immigrants like me (except that all of them were born in US), and all of us could use a little more language practice.

When I walked into the little classroom, the chatter did not die down, and I was thankful. I was very afraid of the cold expecting silence staring me in the face. Instead, I could hardly finish a sentence before little hands shot up in the air with questions ready. The kids wanted to know everything, and the questions anything and everything you could possible think of—silly, and thoughtful, and funny.

• How much money can you win?
• Is the trophy 7 feet tall?
• Do you get annoyed by little kids holding out drinks and orange slices along the course?
• Do you have to pay for the water along the course?
• How old do you have to be to enter in a marathon race?

As I was leaving a little girl stopped me and said, “Was it fun?” Her question made me feel sad, as I realized that I forgot to tell them how much fun it was to train for and run the Adirondack Marathon, and how much fun I am having right now training for Boston.

Talking to the kids was a very rewarding experience, and I hope they will go watch the Boston marathon this year with a renewed interest.

Randomness

Did you know that literally marathons save lives? (Thanks, Ryan)

Bluestocking Runner's blog, which I just came across today, has an excellent Jane Austin quote, which Nick and I were able to place immediately despite a minor modification ("walk" to "run").

"Why must she be scampering about the country... ? ... To walk three, or four, or five miles, or whatever it is... what could she mean by it? It seems to me to show an abominable sort of conceited independence, a most country town indifference to decorum."

Thus the Bingley sisters were talking about Elizabeth after she has walked to Netherfield to see ailing Jane.

Double Black Diamond

I stood at the top of a vertical drop off on the Tolt pipeline in Woodinville, Washington, feeling a little bit like a beginner skier who accidently took a lift up to the top of a double black diamond slope. The difference, however, was that I knew I could get down, but I was not so sure how I would make it back up.

I was trying to do a 10 mile out and back run, and I still had almost 2 miles to go till my “turn around” point. As I stood at the top of this hill, I could see the Burke-Gilman Trail snaking through the valley below, shielded by tall poplar trees. I wanted to be down there, running along the creek between the poplar trees.

So I took the plunge and ran down this hill. And it was steep, and it was fast, and the next thing I knew I really was running in the poplars, pretending to be a Burke-Gilman “regular”. Of course, less then an hour later I was walking up the “steep” and “fast” double black diamond “cliff”, but it was worth every tilted second of it.

8 on the 8th Challenge

Actually for me the run was a little over 9 miles, but I think it still counts towards the challenge. Yesterday was a beautiful day—sunny and warm (above freezing!). I ran to the Esplanade and headed for the Science Museum bridge.

Many people were strolling along the Charles, enjoying the day. The Cambridge size of the river was even more crowded. The Canadian geese were showing in greater then usual numbers amongst the white geese by the BU bridge. And the parking lot was full of shoppers by the Trader Joe’s.

Back over on the Boston side I bravely ignored the “Sidewalk Closed” sign after crossing the River Street, and quickly found myself running in a trench. The pavement was gone, and evenly cut mud on the sides made me think of Honduras and digging up the grass for a new sidewalk at the Amarateca Technical Institute. Snow, puddles and mudd continued all the way to the BU bridge. I would like to avoid trench running next time, but I also will not deny the sense of adventure that it added to my run.

Who Won the Tickets to the Nutcracker?

Thank you so much to all of you making donations to Dana-Farber supporting my Boston marathon run! The winner of the opportunity drawing for the 2 tickets to the Boston Ballet performance of the Nutcracker at the Opera House has been selected.

The winning ticket number is:

6857015

If you have the winning ticket, please contact me as soon as possible, so that I can present you with the ballet tickets.

Back to Hill Workouts

My first hill workout in over 2 months--very exciting! My weekday morning runs usually include several hills, but the special hill workout challenges me a bit more. Its only downside is that I have to do it on a treadmill.

The idea is to run in 10 minute sets such that the incline is never 0. After a 5 minute warm up run, I run for 2 minutes at the incline level of 2, then 2 minutes at level 4, and so on, such that I run the last 2 minutes of the set at the incline level of 10. Today I ran 4 sets, but hopefully in a couple of weeks I can work it up to 6 sets. Going back to level 2 after running on the incline level 10 feels simply amazing. I definitely recommend it!