Ah, winter
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Today my mother claimed that he has ennui. Which reminded me of Neville in the Gashlycrumb Tinies, poor Neville died of ennui. My mother’s source of ennui is winter. They’ve had a particularly cold and brutal winter in her neck of the woods so I don’t blame her. We moved to Austin particularly because of the mild winters and in some strange city swap, this year we seem to have been given Seattle’s winter. Our back yard is a sort of pond and I realize that the toddler’s rain coat and rain boots are now too small. While I am a somewhat hearty runner, cold and rain are my least favorite combo so the past few days I’ve chosen to hit the gym.
I think a change of pace is just the thing for a touch of ennui. My least favorite piece of equipment at the gym is the dreadmill so unless I’m training for something and HAVE TO get the miles in, I opt for the elliptical machines (actually I’d love to swim but my gym doesn’t have a pool). On the few occasions I skip a workout because of weather, I feel guilty all day so I’d rather at least do something. A routine is nice but as I told my daughter last night after she discovered she liked the broccoli nuggets I made her try, if you try new things you’ll discover you just might like them. So if winter or life has got you dragging, make a little change. Try a new class, download a yoga podcast, or take a swim. Don’t end up like poor Neville.
I feel really sorry for people who live in tropical locales where the weather is beautiful every day. What must they use as a topic of conversation when they meet someone new? And without the universal complaint that binds us all together “boy this weather sucks today!” They don’t know what they are missing.
My linkmaker isn’t cooperating today, but if you want to listen to a little musical ennui, check out Django Rheinhardt’s Fleur d’Ennui.
When I grow up I want to be Joy Johnson
By · CommentsI’ve met many people who, when I tell that I run marathons, say “oh I could never do that!” These are often young, relatively healthy people. I almost always say “yes you could.” If you have the desire and the dedication, there’s a lot you can do. In every marathon I’ve run I’ve seen people older than me, heavier than me, and even racing in a wheelchair. When I see people like that I always think I should not utter a word of complaint because in comparison, I have it easy.
Whenever I see older runners, especially women, I say to myself, “I want to be like them when I’m that age.” I’d also like to be like Betty White who always answers “Robert Redford” when asked “what’s the one thing in your career you’ve never done.” But then I saw this video of Joy Johnson, an 81 year old marathoner. And now, I’d like to be just like Joy. Well if I could be a Betty/Joy hybrid, I’d be pretty content in my old age. Take a few minutes to watch this video about Joy, it will put a smile on your face and might even make you want to lace up your running shoes and start training for a marathon.
If you listen to my running mix suggestions you’ve probably picked up that I love me some French music. Today’s pick is a French singer and the daughter of a French singer. I love French things even though France to me is a lot like New Years’ Eve. You always think it should be way more romantic and awesome than it usually is so it’s kind of a letdown. But I have this very vivid memory of sitting on a park bench near the Eiffel Tower next to my husband, each of us reading a book, and tearing pieces off the most amazing baguette and I think France is kind of cool. Seriously, any country that invented pain au chocolat can’t be all bad.
I can use all the help I can get
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Despite evidence to the contrary (I almost took a swig of olive oil last night since I wasn’t paying attention to what I was grabbing), running might be a brainbooster. Turns out exercise might help your cognitive function so add another thing to the “pro” column for exercise.
After a couple months of casual running after my marathon, I’m starting to ramp up my training. I am going to run the Zooma half marathon at the end of March. If you live in Austin, Annapolis, Atlanta, or Denver and want to run a fun race, check out this series. I ran it last year and for the first year, they put on a pretty well organized race. The race shirt was cool – pink and a technical tee, they had a post race brunch at the hotel that served as race headquarters (side note, this year my friend and I are going to spend the night at the hotel for a fun escape), and everyone got a necklace at the finish. It’s a women’s race series but open to men as well, though the women runners tease them in their pink shirts. Ok, I made that up but they do allow men.
Now that it’s training season again, Sundays are long run days. If you are training for something, here’s something for your long run mix.
Dip your toe in the deep end
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A recent post on Model Per4mance about injuries got me thinking about my friend Saralyn. About this time last year she called me from a ski trip she was on and started telling me a story about how she and her husband and some friends were at the top of a run that had a jump. She was wary of doing it but her husband and friends were encouraging her to try it. She then says “you see where this is going, right?” It went right smack into a fence or rather, she went right smack into a fence and tore her ACL. She’s a runner and was really bummed that the injury was going to sideline her for so long because she was going to need surgery. But after her surgery, when she was cleared to do so, she started swimming and discovered the she actually liked it.
Saralyn’s not alone, lots of runners give swimming a try when recovering from an injury because it’s a good low impact exercise alternative. Many people shudder at the thought of swimming for exercise, thinking that it will be so boring just swimming laps. I started swimming because I wanted to do triathlons but I had the same thought and wondered how on earth I would keep sane doing the distance I needed to train. I found that after a few laps I get into a zone and just enjoy the solitude. But there are a few tools that have helped my swimming get to the point where I could do the 2.4 mile Ironman swim. If you’d like to start swimming or build more swimming endurance, check these out.
Total Immersion Swimming This is a swimming technique that teaches you to swim efficiently. The goal is “fish like” swimming where you glide through the water. I love it, I bought the DVD, an open water training book, and the book of drills. I would love to attend a workshop but haven’t had the time to do it. If you would like to swim more but feel like it’s so difficult and you just couldn’t do any distance, check out TI swimming.
Workouts in a Binder It’s easy to get in a rut with whatever your workout routine, so it’s good to have a plan. The workouts in a binder do all the planning for you. This waterproof workout binder has a good mix of speed work and endurance workouts. Because it’s waterproof you can set it down at the end of your lane to refer back to so you don’t have to memorize your workout.
Another reason I was thinking about swimming today is because I was listening to this song. It’s by Kate McGarrigle who just died, she was the matriarch of a musical family. I love this song because it reminds me of the summers of my childhood which were spent mostly in a swimming pool, playing marco polo with my friends or taunting the lifeguards by pretending to hit our heads on the diving board. It’s a good song for your running mix too.
