On the road
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Tomorrow I leave for 5 days out of town for work. After a few years out of the workforce to focus on the mama aspect of my life, I’m a bit out of the business travel routine. But I have to admit, finding a way to fit in a workout or run was always the hardest part of business travel for me. I’m a creature of habit, I like to run pretty much the same route every day. And I hate the treadmill. Sometimes the treadmill is the only real option, as it will be for me this week so I’ve already bargained with myself, I just have to do 3 miles. If I feel like doing more, awesome, but that’s the minimum I need to do. It’s like I have a little drill sergeant in my head.
Sometimes though, business or personal travel takes you someplace where it’s more fun to run than your own home turf. My favorite place to run when I travel is in Sarasota, Florida. My good friend and fellow runner Saralyn lives there. I love running on the beach with her and talking and catching up, the miles just fly by. And it doesn’t even bug me when I find that fine white sand in my shoes weeks later at home.
If you are traveling someplace new and want to keep up your running routine, a little homework can help you plan ahead and get your motivated to try a new running route. Check with your hotel, I’ve stayed in some places where the concierge has pre-printed running maps. Runner’s World is an excellent resource to find running routes, check out this resource area for running routes all over the world. Though I generally like to run the same route every day, it’s the runs somewhere else that are firmly planted in my memory. I’ve run along the seawall in Vancouver, on a road lined with poppy fields in Tuscany, and through the English countryside on a dreary day. That beats my little park trail with the occasional dead armadillo.
For your on the road running mix, even when we’re running Tuscany, it’s still nice to get home.
Run, throw, and catch like a girl
By · CommentsSaturday Night Live had a sketch once that was called the “Run, throw, and catch like a girl Olympics.” I admit, I thought it was funny. But I also didn’t take offense because I was raised in a family where we were all physically active and I was never made to feel like I wasn’t good enough because I was a girl. I played sports all through my youth, mostly soccer and tennis and then started running as an adult. I confess, I enjoy it that I can run faster than my husband and that I beat my brother’s time in the Ironman we did together (in the interest of full disclosure he was scarily dehydrated, but…still). I’ve always thought that I’m a better person for having been athletic my whole life and the evidence seems to be stacking up that sports in one’s youth has a long lasting positive effect.
The NY Times reported on some recent research by economists about the lasting effect of sports and girls and Title IX. Their conclusion is that participating in sports has a positive effect on education and employment in later life. Playing sports and being active was easier when I was a kid, cable TV didn’t really become part of our life until I was in junior high and the video games that were around then weren’t all that exciting. So we spent our free time outside, dragging ourselves home when the streetlights came on. Life is different now but we can help our kids be active by being active ourselves. Model good habits and encourage outdoor activities. For me, I’m going to push my daughter to run, throw, and catch like a girl because there’s not a single thing wrong with that!
Here’s something for your running mix to remind you of your days as a girl.
I heart you
By · CommentsToday is blog your heart out day to draw awareness to heart disease, the #1 killer of women. Heart disease directly impacted my family, I never knew my grandfather because he died of a heart attack before I was born, when my mother was only 12. My grandmother had a stroke and died when I was very young. I was talking about her the other day and my two year old said “I want to visit your grandmother.” I wish that my grandmother had lived to see her only great grandchild, the sweet little girl who is named for her.
My family history stinks when it comes to heart disease, my dad was only 55 when he had a heart attack and quadruple bypass. So that’s one big reason I run. I really want to live long enough to see my grandchildren and maybe even run a race with them.
Running is just one thing you can do to keep your heart healthy, check out Go Red for Women to learn more.
This is something for your mellow mix from one of my favorite singers, it’s a little something about hearts.
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.
