52 Weeks, 52 Runs. No. 2: Or how I learned to stop worrying and love hills (kind of)

Posted on January 10, 2012 | 23 comments

A side effect of becoming a “runner” (I use the term loosely) is that I now apparently have the ability to stop traffic. It’s every girl’s dream, yes? This skill was on display during last weekend’s South Shore YMCA Frozen 5K (the second of my 52 Weeks, 52 Runs challenge) as I ran solo – hair blazing, face subtly aglow – through a forbidding intersection and coolly waved to a handful of Quincy police officers who were standing around looking bored. “Don’t mind me, guys. This kind of thing happens all the time.”

OK, it may not have gone down quite like that.

I did run through a forbidding intersection, but my hair was plastered to my neck and my face was its usual shade of bright crimson. (I could tell.) At this point, the Speedy McSpeedersons had finished or were close to it, and the rest of the runners – who had clearly become lost – were behind me. So I was briefly, and disconcertingly, solo. I did wave to the fine officers of the Quincy PD as they used their mad skills to hold back the throbbing traffic, but it probably looked less like a nonchalant thank you than a deranged “Holy crap!”

Quincy YMCA Frozen 5K

Running like the wind (but slowly enough that I can take my phone out of my shorts and snap a photo). So, really, running like the breeze.

Despite the pain suggested by my facial hue, things were pretty good. I had just come off an amazing downhill stretch that gave me a burst of energy, and I was feeling free and almost speedy. Even my lungs were playing along. Maybe I was born to run after all!

This sensation lasted for about a minute and a half …

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Take the Bunny and run

Posted on January 6, 2012 | 10 comments
Rocco Choco Banana Bunny Bar

Box o' bunnies.

We recently got a $50 Amazon gift card as half of an extremely generous Christmas present from my sister in Australia, and Hubby decreed that he would spend it. Go nuts, I said. (I got the iTunes half.)

He tossed around a few ideas, mostly of the unsexy we-need-it-but-it’s-nice-that-someone-else-is-paying-for-it variety. So you can imagine my intrigue when I happened upon a box on our porch that at first glance didn’t appear at all appropriately sized for a motion-sensor light (told you, unsexy). Further investigation revealed that this package in fact contained 48 Rocco Choco Banana Bunny Bars. That’s right, Hubby spent his $50 Christmas gift on 48 Rocco Choco Banana Bunny Bars.

Who knew Amazon even sold granola bars?

What does this have to do with running, you ask? Well, my Granola Bar Fiend (ie, Hubby) is always looking for his next good post/pre/mid-run hit, and he seems to have found it in the bunnies.

He was particularly swayed by the presence of chia. Those who read my post about the weird (but surprisingly tasty) Mamma Chia will recall that I was convinced Hubby is on the payroll of Big Chia, as he has so far brought both the seeds and copious amounts of the aforementioned beverage into my life. Well, this just confirms it! (For the uninitiated, chia is considered to be running fuel.)

Rocco Choco Banana Bunny Bar

Thanks to 18rabbits.com

But what does it taste like?

Normally, I’d rather munch on my own shoe than eat a granola bar. Mostly because when I eat a granola bar, it feels like I’m … munching on my own shoe. But, for the greater good, I decided to sample one-48th of Hubby’s Christmas gift while he was away on his weekend with the National Guard. Did I mention that he bought an entire box of granola bars?

The Bunny Bar is definitely yummier than your average shoe. Among the bars I have eaten (usually while trapped under something heavy, and out of options), it ranks extremely high. At least I can actually taste the banana. I’d probably eat one again, and I know Hubby is planning on taking these along as he attempts 12 half-marathons over the next 12 months, to complement my 52 Weeks, 52 Runs plan, so I’ll no doubt get the chance.

What I love about this product is that (a) it’s made in the US and (b) the company, 18 Rabbits, gives more than one percent of all bars it makes to kids in urban schools. Nice.

A non-granola bar postscript

A massive hello to everyone who came upon my blog thanks to its recent appearance on Freshly Pressed. I am truly honored to have you all as readers/followers and I hope you’ll enjoy my running journey insanity.

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Posted in Fitness, Humor, Reviews, Running

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52 Weeks, 52 Runs. No. 1: Snappy new year

Posted on January 3, 2012 | 94 comments

At the end of last year, I publicly declared my intention to do 52 organized runs in 52 weeks. In the harsh reality that was 7am on New Year’s Day, I wondered whether I hadn’t been chemically altered when I concocted this folly (too much Mamma Chia, perhaps?). Or potentially replaced by aliens …

But a quick 2012 audit of my corporeal self confirmed that everything was in order. So I decided to place the blame squarely on my new running alter ego, who, after appearing out of nowhere, is apparently now calling the shots – fueled by Spandex, Lululemon and many playings of Kylie. What else can explain my sudden desire to travel vast distances on freezing weekend mornings to run until I feel as though I am going to pass out? It can’t be the bananas. Or even the beer.

The happy crowd gathers for the start of 1st Run in Lowell.

It’s a good thing (or a sad thing, depending on how you look at it) that neither myself nor my alter ego overindulged on New Year’s Eve, or we would not have been at all equipped for the 5K 1st Run in Lowell, MA. Of course, I may have been secretly hoping that others had overindulged, in the interests of making me look faster. But these running types are serious!

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My 2012 challenge: 52 Weeks, 52 Runs

Posted on December 28, 2011 | 41 comments

I didn’t have a goal in mind when I started running. I didn’t even have running in mind when I started running. My first 5K was undertaken less out of a noble urge to test my physical limits and get fit than a desire to not be stuck in a Virginia hotel room while Hubby ran with cows.

But six months later and I am hooked. It still has less to do with getting fit than it probably should (my gym visitation of late is testament to that), and my motivation can often be summed up in two words: T-shirts and beer. But over the past few months, Hubby and I have pounded the pavement more weekends than not, which has made me happy. And sweaty. And sometimes grouchy. But mostly happy.

Brooks Spring Into Shape Series Parramatta Park

What my weekends will look like from now on (minus the eucalyptus trees). This is from the Spring Into Shape series in Australia in November.

Which brings us to 2012 …

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It’s brisk! (And I don’t mean my pace): Cambridge 5K Yulefest

Posted on December 21, 2011 | 2 comments

I lived in Canada for eight years, so I know from cold. But not once during my time in the Great White North did I think it was appropriate to stand around outside in sub-zero weather wearing tights and no parka. Waiting last weekend for the Cambridge 5K Yulefest to start, I had a moment of clarity. It was along the lines of “You’ve proved your point. Now go back to bed.”

Of course, I didn’t do that. I mean, I was in the tights already.

Cambridge 5K Yulefest

The masses come out of their huddle to walk to the start of the Cambridge 5K Yulefest in Harvard Square. And yes, that is a giant gingerbread man.

About 800 hardy souls turned out for this event, which was in support of Cambridge Family & Children’s Services. I was surprised at the numbers, considering the chill factor, but then I remembered we had been promised beer.

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