2007 September Archive at Toots and Sally Ride Again

Monthly Archive for September, 2007

Dear ‘Walk for Vision’ Participants,

Published

on 30 September, 2007

. 0 Comments

Kudos for such a large turnout on a nasty rainy day! I noticed that you were well-prepared with both raincoats and umbrellas. In fact, I’m surprised more of you didn’t share your umbrellas with fellow participants since they were all so uniformly enormous. Even though I risked losing an eye on more than one occasion, I appreciated the chance to practice my lateral movement as I weaved and dodged past you. Just in case I decide to start that touch football league I’ve been dreaming about. You made miles 11-14 of my 15 mile run very memorable. I just can’t thank you enough.

Sincerely, Coworker #1.

Is 2007 over yet?

Published

Banana

on 27 September, 2007

in random stuff

. 3 Comments

If I were a real banana, I’d be one that has turned brown and mushy. This has been quite a challenging year for many personal reasons. Today, one more thing happened to add to the mix. On my way home from work, I had a car accident. I was driving on the interstate and it was raining. My car hydroplaned. It slid between the lanes, spun in a circle and then crashed into the rail in the median. Wooh! Lucky for me there weren’t any cars near me! My car ended up facing the opposite direction of the coming traffic. After I called 911, they came quickly and were able to push my car completely off the road (the trunk end was partially in a lane). I’m sooo glad Salma was not in the car with me! I have some redness across my shoulder/chest area where the seatbelt strap lays. The metal bar on the back of my work nametag left a nice little inprint in my skin. My back officially hurts again and I’m sure I’ll have some minor bruises tomorrow. Minor stuff compared to what could have happened and for that I am thankful. Now I’m sitting with some heat on my back and watching Frasier for some comedic relief. I guess it’s back to physical therapy for me.

AM running? Blech!

Published

Coworker #1

on 26 September, 2007

in training

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Full day yesterday: work all day, Opera in the evening… Where to fit my 4 miler? And since I was so terrible about my schedule last week, I was determined to get it in. I used to get up early every morning to start my day with yoga, but lately I’ve been having a really hard time waking up. Maybe because it stays dark so much later or because I feel the most sore in the morning? The alarm goes off and I’d sell my soul for another 10 minutes under the covers. So this pre-work run thing was quite optimistic.

And this is how the morning went: Alarm goes off. I hit snooze 2x. Realized that if I hit it a 3rd time, I would not get any miles in. Got dressed in the clothes I laid out the night before (SMRT!) grabbed my pod and my jacket and walked out the door followed by the musical barking of my favorite snuggle-buddy. Walked 20 yards and then tried to run. Shooting pain in right achilles. Aching hips, quads, calves. Turned around and walked home. Picked up (still barking) fuzz-face. I actually ended up walking/ running/ shuffling? for about 2 miles or 40 minutes. In the dark. With my headlamp. Better than nothing, and the little guy couldn’t have been happier. I’ll say it again: Blech.

No time…seems to have been the trend last week.

Published

Toots

on 24 September, 2007

in training

. 0 Comments

Well, the rest of week #7 was good. However, I did try another 3 miler on the treadmill and it did not work out quite as well as the last time…didn’t even finish the 3 miles…I just couldn’t…I “hit the wall” at at 2.74 miles and stopped…oh yeah, and my lunch break was over. My midweek 6 miler was decent…a bit rushed but the legs were feeling good. I had a 12 miler yesterday, but I was only able to complete 11.2 miles. It’s too bad because almost all the forces of nature were cooperating with me for once, except one…TIME. The weather was magnificent - that’s right, cool and breezy with almost no humidity. My breathing was good, I had a good pace going, the legs were strong, I was well hydrated, I had eaten all the right foods…I was feeling good, but then I simply just ran out of time….

Women Run the Cities

Published

Coworker #1

on 24 September, 2007

in training

. 2 Comments

What a fun race!! Well organized, not too huge- even had a bag check (great because I overslept, was totally late and did not have time to drop my swag and sweats back at my car…). All women runners, all shapes and ages. I really was not prepared for how neat that would feel. The 10 milers were all lining up for the start as the girls’ one mile race was finishing and I don’t think I was the only one who teared up a little… They were all having such a blast as they crossed the finish line!

Before the race I decided that I would shoot for a 10 minute mile pace, but quietly hoped for closer to 9:30… Continue reading ‘Women Run the Cities’

Now is the winter of our discontent…

Published

Lumpy

on 23 September, 2007

in lumpy's wisdom, quotes and training

. 3 Comments

Feh! … Sally, as she noted earlier , has spoken highly of Frontenac State Park . She’s been there at least once before, running with DAWG, and so I was looking forward to it. Then I got a bit wembley . In the end we ~~ran~~ ended up at Frontenac. ~~We ran~~. ~~We walked~~. ~~We climbed~~. ~~We stepped~~ … We persevered. It felt horrible and it felt great. Well, except for the blisters I ~~enjoyed~~ ended up with…

Continue reading ‘Now is the winter of our discontent…’

Today, I sucked.

Published

Sally

on 23 September, 2007

in training

. 3 Comments

We paddled a 10 mile portion of the Minnesota River yesterday with our favorite/only paddling partners. We were exhausted. We are still exhausted. Today, I was planning on running in Frontenac State Park, where I have been anticipating running for a while now. I love this park, and I’ve been wanting Lumpy to see it for quite some time. Well, I could not run it. I have a slight sinus cold, I’m exhausted from my week of high emotional roller coaster-ism, and paddling wiped my sorry behind out entirely. The best single track trail running that I’ve seen yet is at Frontenac, and it’s hard, and treacherous, and it absolutely kicked my ass. It then picked me up, threw me back down, and kicked me some more. Then, once again, just for spite. DAMN YOU, FRONTENAC!!!! The best part were the 5 billion stairs to get back up to the top of the bluff. Mmm hmm. I sat down at one point. I hate my own weakness. It’s the very thing that makes me feel terrible and makes me remember all the bad times in my life. It’s absolutely human and normal to have your butt kicked by a run now and again, but right now is not a good time for that for me. I had a rough day. Lumpy saved the day/week/year/my life by just helping me get through. Thanks, Lumpy. It’s been a long, hard road, and I’m so glad you’re here to travel it with me.

A day in the life of…

Published

Sally

on 21 September, 2007

in random stuff

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The Fuzz…I’ve been home for the last few days. I’ve taken off work since I can’t seem to hold it together. I’m grieving, I’m exhausted, I’m thinking about Deb, my dad, my granny, Lumpy’s grandma, and Lumpy’s cat, Winter. I’m tired of death. I’m tired of thinking about who I am and what this terrible pattern is that I fall into. Realistically, I’m doing great. Most people could not be as okay as I am right now with all I’ve had to deal with. However. I’ve been observing the wildlife in our own home, taking comfort in fur, enjoying the four paw mentality, and attempting to live as they do. One moment at a time, and doing what my instinct tells me to do. Here is photo documentation of the evening activity of The Fuzz:

Note the tissue…this is Haggis McDanglePaw. He likes dirty tissue. This is his normal evening pose. Watching, dangling, waiting.

Yep, she’s in the middle of the only place to walk. Yep, we make her “BOUGE!!!” (move) everytime. Yep, she does this over and over and over and over and over and over.

Yep, this is Lily(aka Lillith Amelia) on my lap. Yes, she’s completely comfortable. No, I’m not entirely.

Guinness at her best/worst. She’s right between my legs. She’s so cute, but I still would love to beat her. “Hi lady, hi lady, hi lady, hi. Do you see me? Do you see me? I’m right here, do you see me? Hey, should we do something outside? Don’t you think you should take me out? Hey, lady, I love you. Do you see me? Hi lady. Do you see me? Hey, should we go out or something? Hey, hey, hey, hey…” (Approximate quote)

Oh, and here’s Winter, she’s the NICE one. Drinking from the bowl…:

It’s hard out there for a banana, or others…

Published

Lumpy

on 20 September, 2007

in paris '07, random stuff and training

. 1 Comment

Yeah, it’s hard being a banana …or any of us for that matter. From my point-of-view we’ve all been facing a whole lot of rough road (trail) lately. Be it family, death, work, life, work, running, what-not…

But I recall noticing how much better we all felt when training. Well, I came across this tonight:

Exercise Helps Depression As Well As Meds, Says New Study

If you’re blue, but not into treatments that require a prescription, hit the gym. In a recent study of 202 depressed adults, researchers found that those who participated in “group-based exercise therapy” showed the same results as those treated with antidepressants, while those who exercised at home showed slightly less improvement, and those who were given a placebo pill remained depressed.

The difference between this study and past ones is the presence of the placebo group, which addresses criticism that the very act of therapy was positively affecting depression studies. After 16 weeks of treatment, 47 percent of those given antidepressant and 45 percent of those who exercised in a group setting were no longer diagnosed as depressed. (We’re not sure if “group-based” and “group setting” mean taking a class, or running on a treadmill surrounded by other exercisers.)

For home exercisers, the number was 40 percent; for the placebo group, 31 percent.

[Update: as some of our readers have pointed out, don't look to The Consumerist for medical advice! If you're suffering from depression, seek professional medical assistance. kthx]

“Exercise on par with drugs for aiding depression ” [Reuters]

Continue reading ‘It’s hard out there for a banana, or others…’