Blogging on the Powwow

Tonight's blog post is written from Austin, Texas. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to run. With minor exceptions, I'm interested in running pretty much any day, any time, any place...well, any place where there's a sidewalk, because I'm a cautious runner! 😊 If you've known me for some time, then you also know that I have been plagued by running injuries - mainly in the form of stress fractures. I have blogged about this many times - such as  here  and here . In 2013, I was recovering from another stress fracture, when my physical therapist said, "You know, your old physical therapy, Leigh, who moved to Austin...she's started an online coaching business. Maybe you should give her a holler." Boy, am I ever glad that he made that suggestion. I started working with Leigh, an endurance athlete herself, though the auspices of her online training business, Athletes Treating Athletes , in summer 2013. Even in that brief lead-up to the 2013 fall ...

I should probably be practicing oboe tonight. In fact, I know that I should  be practicing, but I'm "wimping out." After all, today I ran a marathon. Surely, a practice session would put me over the edge. We'll see how I feel about that tomorrow night when I'm in rehearsal... Today I ran my 11th marathon. In truth, in 2008 I also ran a 50k race, which is 31 miles, and of course, longer than a marathon. Anything longer than a marathon is called "ultra running." I think that's because you're ultra, ultra insane. But, to make things easier, I just tell people that I've run 12 marathons, because most people don't really care about the nuisances of 26 miles vs. 31 miles, etc. So, indeed, today I ran my 12th marathon at the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM). I ran this race last year, too. I didn't as much fun last year as I did today. Last year, I went into it totally exhausted - week 8 or 9 of the semester and I had been surviving on very ...

I have no idea if Percy Grainger led with his chest. But, it's a nice play on two themes that carried me through the academic year that is coming to a close (2014-2015). In the 2010-2011 academic year, I returned to the oboe when I was on a fellowship and released from all teaching/campus responsibilities. As I have written before ( here and here ), it was like magic, and Neil and I dubbed that year, the Year of the Oboe - YOTO. I think of this most recent academic year as the Year of Percy Grainger - YOPG.  In case my readers have not been exposed to the world of concert bands, allow me to be so humble as to introduce Percy Grainger to you. Percy Grainger (1882-1961) was a composer and concert pianist, wildly famous, who mostly lived in Australia, England, and the United States. He was most well known for his innovative and fresh compositions involving British folk music. I will insert a side note to add that Mr. Grainger was a very generous friend of the oboe. It would...

Yes, another blog post about running.  I've been in an injury rut for a long time now. Or, a partial injury rut. In the late summers or early falls of 2011, 2012, and 2013 I sustained major running injuries in the same location. These injuries were severe enough that they kept me away from running for as little as 5 weeks in one case and as long as 4.5 months in another. My problems have focused on my left foot: stress fractures in the metatarsals (about which I have blogged numerous times, here , here , and  here  for starters) and then some nerve-related problems . As a result, I've been told to cross train, work on my core, and strength-train. So, in late winter 2013, I started swimming, which I have been doing 1-2 times a week for close to a year-and-a-half. Same with strength-training -- 2-3 times a week, and working on my core -- 3-4 times a week. This is in addition to my regular runs or workouts if I am on a hiatus from running . I was told many, many t...

I was a couch potato as a child. Wait, I guess that's not exactly true. I played outside a lot, but I was never involved in sports or anything athletic. I don't know why children's worlds often break down into "the arts" versus "sports," but that does seems to be the way things went, at least when I was a child. I, and my family, were firmly planted in the arts. I took piano, oboe, and voice lessons at one time or another from age 5 through my teen years. I was in several music ensembles in school, several community ensembles, and when I was in high school I stated traveling 132 miles  each way  for voice lessons. This is not to say that I never ventured into the world of sport and exercise as a child. I was in track for one season when I was in the seventh grade and I went to one softball practice when I was 9. I also took swimming lessons here and there and swam weekly in the summers at my grandparents' camp on Echo Lake in Mount Vernon, ME. That...

Yes, another blog post about running. And, yes, I have a runner's high, even though I crossed the finish line about nine hours ago. Unlike my high school classmate-turned marathoner, Steve Howe, I am not a fast runner. I'm not a fast anything. But, I am getting faster...at least I'm moving in the right direction, even if I can't seem to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Nevertheless, today, I officially felt fast. I might have even been burly, but I had better not get ahead of myself. (See a previous blog post for more info on that saga.) Today I ran The Classic Hangover 10k  (which is 6.2 miles), in Salisbury Beach, MA. I only decided yesterday to run. In fact, I had to pay an extra $10 on my registration fee because I was so late in making the commitment. I may have run ten marathons in the past six years, but I have not run a 10k race since 2006. I did do a "test" 10k last September when I was training for a marathon. It can really throw someone off to ...

Can you believe it? I wrote this post on Thanksgiving weekend and before I knew it, Christmas was here and over. But, since I wrote it, I'd like to post it, even if it is late...and it's all still true! -------------------------------------- It has taken me a while to get around to writing a blog post about being thankful. I am thankful. Of course, I am thankful, is my most common response. I am thankful for all the things that I should  be thankful. I love and I am loved in return, by humans and my canine. I have a home, and even better, a home that I like and cherish. I am warm. I have a job and an income to cover my basic needs, and then some. I am healthy and no one in my life has a chronic or life-threatening health condition. I can go about my business without interference from law enforcement or government. This is the condensed version. The expanded version addresses the aspects of my life for which I am most thankful weekly, if not, daily. I am most thankful f...

I ran my 10th marathon (or marathon-plus) run this past weekend. There are so many good things that happen on the course that only the runners get to see. One of my favorite things that happens in marathons is the goodwill that is exhibited by spectators. It is present in every race, but it's message and form is always a little different. If you Google "marathon signs" and hit images  you'll see all kinds of funny and inspiring signs that spectators make for marathoners. Here are some of the messages I saw this past weekend. The last one is my favorite. RUN FASTER, I SMELL CHEESE. YOUR LEGS WILL FORGIVE YOU...EVENTUALLY! I HAVE A HERO AND HER NAME IS ME! CARPE DIEM ALL IT TAKES, IS ALL YOU GOT! Adults and children alike line up to cheer you on, slap your hand as you run by, and yell out your number, You can do it 306! Looking strong 306! You got this one!  Of course, when they yell it at mile 3, I'm usually thinking ...I had better be looking good at ...

Anyone who has read my blog posts before or who follows me on Facebook knows that I am a casual marathoner who has been suffering a bad streak of running injuries since 2011. I'm training for my 10th marathon (or marathon-plus) and using a coach, Leigh , at Athletes Treating Athletes , so that I don't injure myself this time. Having Leigh available in all forms of communication (cell, text, and email) in a heartbeat has been a dream for me. I get daily (sometimes twice daily) feedback, encouragement, and guidance. I have been on the brink of an injury a couple of times during this training cycle, but Leigh has kept me injury-free so far. The marathon is in 3 days, so I'm hoping that my opportunity to fully damage myself is limited.  I have had many different types of running injuries, but my body's injury of choice as of late is a stress fracture in the second or third metatarsal of my left foot. It's a miserable thing, in part because it takes a long time to hea...

The answer is no. Did you have experiences as a child that made you miserable at the time, but served you well in adulthood? I did. I went to Girl Scout camp for four years as a child, from ages 9-12. My sister also went to this same camp. As the older sister she went before I could attend and came home full of stories, camp songs, and plans for me to attend when I was older. She would greet us at the bottom of "killer hill"--tanned, happy, and healthy with huge bicep muscles from swinging her ax, building unit kitchens, and canoeing all over the camp's pond. She would sing camp songs throughout the school year and pine away for summer when she could return to residential camp. I couldn't wait  to go to summer camp, just like my sister. I went to camp, but unlike my sister, I was miserable. I cried every day. It was a little too rustic for me at the time--both in living style and in the expectations of the campers. No flush toilets, sleeping in platform tents, no ...

I occasionally have to do my long runs on the treadmill. It can be pretty awful to undertake this task...9, 10, 11+ miles on a treadmill. I once did a 19 mile run on a treadmill. In truth, it's pretty good training for psychologically enduring whatever may come my way during a marathon. It is usually weather or an upset stomach which puts me on the treadmill for a long period of time. To make this task bearable, I try to find something on TV to watch that has a strong narrative line that keeps me reeled into the story, as opposed to watching the miles pass 0.10 mile at a time. My new gym provides a TV with each piece of cardio equipment, so with more channels than I have at home, I can usually find some kind of "junk TV" to watch. I like detective shows: old, new, reruns...it doesn't matter. I just like detective shows. I think that the intensity or thrill of a show helps me with my runs, too. My adrenalin is already pumping, so it's pretty easy to get sucked ...

Yes and no. I started running 9 years ago, as part of a weight-loss strategy -- like so many other people. The weight has come and gone multiple times over the last 9 years, but the running stuck. Like so many others, I found running and physical activity absolutely addictive. I went from running 3 miles to training for a half marathon almost over night...and then marathons and I even did a 50k (31 miles) once. In all, I have run 9 marathons (or plus); I tend to run 3 or 4 races a year: 5ks to marathons. But, like many amateur runners, I have suffered running injuries here and there. Last winter when I was recovering from a stress fracture, my wonderful physical therapist, Bob, at Pinnacle Physical Therapy , said to me: You need to fire yourself and hire a coach, because you have too many training errors. So, I did. My former physical therapist at Pinnacle, Leigh, moved to Texas and set up an online coaching business. A cyclist, runner, and swimmer who does full-length Ironman race...