Month: July 2011

Updated Story Line for Rod Serling

So I passed by the Borders Books that is on Howe Avenue this morning and noticed this sign.

I was immediately sick to my stomach! I think I may have heard somewhere that the Borders company was going to be closing, but something about seeing the really big signs this morning, really got to me. Now, I have to say, I support and technology as much as the next person (well as long as the next person isn’t my mom…I use it more than her!). But, I draw the line when it comes to books. I don’t want a kindle. I don’t want a nook. I don’t want to read a book on my iPad or anything with a cord. I just want my plain old book with physical pages. I like to be able to pass along actual books to friends and vice versa. I want to be able to browse in actual bookstores. Smell the new pages, maybe smell some coffee being brewed, maybe sit in a comfy chair and read a bit and just take my time to look before making my selection. I just think it is sad to see bookstores close. What is next libraries?

As I was pausing to take this picture today I started thinking more about this whole situation and I recalled a Twilight Zone episode called, “Time Enough at Last” (yeah, I looked up the title). It’s the one where the bank teller sneaks into a vault at lunchtime to read when he is knocked unconscious by a shockwave. When he wakes up he discovers that a nuclear war has destroyed the earth. He decides to commit suicide until he sees a library. This is paradise to him and he begins to organize books to read for years to come. Just as he is settling in to read, his glasses fall from his face and smash to the ground, forever trapping him in a blurry world. This episode was shown in 1959.

Well, here is the 2020 version. Bookstores and libraries are all closed; gone bankrupt because everyone has their books on iPads or other electronic readers. Life is good until the earth is invaded by aliens who cleanse the planet of all power cords. People then only have 2 hours or less of power to get all their reading done and then nothing. No more reading! Ha! Yeah, okay they could still use desktops, but who really does that anymore anyways. You get my point.

I like books and bookstores and I am sad that it is changing. End of story.

The Power of Positive Energy

Sat, July 30
Ran 8 miles
Time: 1:27:56; Average Pace: 10’59”

Today’s run was pretty good. I got a late start because I wanted to go to Weight Watchers first. I missed it last week because of my run, but this week was going to be shorter so I figured I could still get it in. That is how it is going to have to be until Race day, I think as the longer runs are every other week. It was extremely humid out there today! I managed okay, however. I didn’t even drink all my water because I paced myself. I deliberately said good morning to every runner or walker that passed me today. I was tired and hot, but I felt like if I made an effort and put out some positive energy to someone, it would come back to me and you know what? It worked!!! It made me feel good to make them smile even if just for a split second and gave me the energy to keep going. Funny how that works and would yet again, be applicable to life in general. What kind of energy will you put out there today?

Yoga: Three Days in a Row

Fri, July 29
Yoga at lunch

I did Amy’s class yesterday and it was awesome as always. My towel saved me again as it was a billion degrees in the studio. We did some cool new poses. One new one, as it turns out, isn’t really a pose on its own, but it is the primer to get us ready to do another one that has a crazy name. Not an animal this time! I love it because there is so much to learn. Can’t remember what I did before yoga now. Did I really do bootcamp all the time for cross training. Ugh. Never again!

Embrace the Sweat!

Thurs, July 28
Yoga at lunch

So I had a double whammy today! Running in the morning and yoga at lunch. Class was good and sweaty as usual for this time of year. So Lisa reminded us of something just at the right moment for me to hear. She reminded us that sweating helps us get rid of the body’s toxins. I was just in that mode of thinking, “crap, I forgot a towel again today”, when she said that. I immediately relaxed and just gave into it and it no longer was an issue for me. I have adequate supplies in my locker to take care of the sweat after class and so I just disregard it and lean into it. So, toxins out. With every breath.

Next up: yoga tomorrow at lunch

Parks and Rec? No Park’s a wreck!!!

Thurs, July 28
Ran 60 minutes at 5:50am
Distance: 5.63; Average Pace: 10’40”

Well, I’m not which was harder to do this morning: run the hill up Veterans Way or see the displaced deer look around at their missing habitat and go, “what the hell!”. You see someone thought it was a good idea to put in a park (since we only have like 8 or 9 parks already in Hudson) on both sides of Veterans Way, the road the cuts through from Milford up to Rt. 91. I knew it was coming since it was in the paper and everything, but it really has hit home now since the developers have come in and basically decimated the woods and habitats that were there in preparation for this park. And it is a huge area too, very noticeable that the woods are gone…and I’m not an animal that lives in it! I mean, shouldn’t we be spending money on refurbishing or repairing the parks we already have? I mean, what would Leslie Knope say?! Okay, enough of that. I just couldn’t help myself!!

Besides being saddened by the park issue, the run was great this am! Very humid, but once I was about 5 minutes in, I was sweating and happy. I take that back, once I got out of bed (in time) and got out there I was happy!

Is there a pose for every animal, or what?!

Wed, July 27
Yoga at lunch

I tried a new instructor today. Since I had a lunch meeting today I was able to take my lunchbreak at 11am and go to a yoga class. It was different, but good. We did some new poses. Just when I think I’ve heard of them all, I learn a new one. I think I finally understand the format so to speak of the a typical class, if this is such a thing. I’ve noticed that they all include certain main elements, but different poses within those elements depending on the instructor. For example, we start either in child’s pose or some other inversion pose. Then we do some sort of sun salutation pose series and begin adding the flow to it (chattarunga). Then we do a series of balancing poses interspersed with resting poses. Towards the end of the class we do some hip opener poses and then finally after the “rebirth” we do my favorite: shavasana and of course end with namaste.

The new poses for me today were:

Horse – this one wasn’t difficult, just new

Frog – this one WAS pretty difficult! It was a new “hip opener” one that I had to really breathe to forget I was doing it….yeaowww!

Next up: Run in the morning

“Mom, these shoes run fast!”

Tues, July 26
Ran 50 minutes at 6am
Distance: 4.69 miles; Average Pace: 10’39”

What a great run this am! I tried out my new shoes – Nike Pegasus, of course
Those are ma shoes…

I did actually run faster today, but I cannot give credit to the shoes. I can give credit to the weather, however! It was about 67 degrees and lower humidity this morning. I could totally tell a difference. I didn’t feel like I was running faster, but I just felt good. I tried to run on the other side of the road – the right – but it was difficult to do. I kept thinking that a car was going to zoom up from behind me in spite of the handsome reflective vest I was wearing. I did it for about half the run, give or take and my foot feels good!

I was thankful for fences this morning as I passed one house where a dog started barking viciously that I nearly jumped out of my new shoes! His bark was serious and I was just glad that he was held back by a fence. Yikes. That was about all the animal activity I witnessed today – no deer and no dead things on the road even, save for one more little frog.

The Old Switcheroo…

Mon, July 25
Yoga with Rodney Yee

So I noticed a little bit of swelling in my right ankle yesterday. That ankle was definitely more stiff too. It pretty much stayed that way all day so this morning I decided to forego running and do my yoga DVD tonight and then run tomorrow instead. It worked out better anyway since I had a new person starting in my office today and needed to be there a little bit early. I have already figured out the problem with my ankle. I need to switch up the side of the road that I run on. I always run towards traffic, like you are supposed to, but after a long run, I think I have begun to notice the slight elevation difference in the road. Of course it isn’t banked like the evil track is, but it is just a little bit different after that many miles. So, my plan for tomorrow is to run on the other side of the road and just watch for cars…I’ll probably also wear my reflective vest for good measure.

Yoga tonight was great. I got home a little before 6pm and asked Mike if he could start dinner so I could do my yoga tape. I didn’t want to try to do it on a full stomach. It worked out perfectly. He had the kabobs marinated and ready to go on the grill with nice fresh vegetables and a nice big vegetable salad. It was a no stress, little work dinner after my namaste tone set by Mr. Yee. I enjoy the workout. It is a good one (I have the Power Yoga one) and I hope to eventually have a few different ones of his just to have a selection so I can mix it up. It was funny, but I was even able to get into the flow with Zach in the room. He was playing a computer game with the sound off and it didn’t bother me at all. He even chimed in once with “oh, downward facing dog!”

Next up: Run in the am before work

New Distance Record!

Sat, July 22
Ran 14 miles at 7am
Time: 2:39:00; Average Pace: 11’25”

So I set a new record today with my distance. Never ran 14 miles before…until now! I’m not gonna lie, it was pretty tough. I’m really glad I decided to skip my Weight Watchers meeting and start the run at 7am so I could avoid the sun. It had just stopped sprinkling when I left and was really just overcast for the entire run, but maybe about 73 degrees and very humid. Today I decided to run half-way “around the block” and then back the way I came. Basically I ran 7 miles one way, turned around and ran back home. I hadn’t really planned out the route prior to the run and I didn’t want to think about it, so I just took the easy way. Not that it was easy, mind you. I did the big hill up route 91 and some fairly decent hills throughout the route. I had to walk a few different times throughout the run, but I was actually pretty happy with my time, none-the-less. Given that my time for the half in May was 2:31…adding 8 minutes for almost another mile is not too shabby, I suppose.

I finally tried some “energy chews” during this run. I brought some with me along with my phone just in case I would need them. I had bought a few packs of different types awhile back to try in order to figure out what I might like for race day. Today I had the GU Chomps, watermelon flavor.


I had about half the package at about mile 8 or 9 and then the rest of it around mile 11. They seemed to work well…at least I felt a little boost from them I suppose. They tasted fine, just a little bit softer than a regular fruit snack, I guess. And, they didn’t make me feel sick during or after the run. Score! I had a little difficulty opening the package so I ended up jabbing it on a sign post to get it open, but that worked!

So, I’m not sure why, but today was amphibian/reptile day on my run. I saw 6 dead frogs, those cute little tiny baby ones and then 1 snake, (dead, thankfully) and not so cute. So why do I keep track of the “body count” along the way. It is just something to do, I suppose, and something to focus on rather than sweating.

I’m a little tired of the traffic along the way during my long runs. I’m thinking I want to explore a trail sometime, but I’m not sure I’d feel safe running on trails by myself. We’ll see.

Crow Pose

Fri, July 22
Yoga at lunch

Great class again today! Amy totally rocks! And yes, I had some water during class and actually drank some! And, I remembered to bring my towel. The towel made me feel less stressed about the sweating situation. Yesterday, without the towel I found myself worrying about being so sweaty and that took away from my yoga experience. I couldn’t totally relax. But today, I could just give-in to it and just whisk it away when necessary with my towel. That sounds like such a little thing, but it really isn’t, especially when you fee like you are doing yoga on the surface of the sun.

Today we did a new hip opener (can’t remember the name of it to show a pic) that was pretty good. She also taught us to do crow from a perched position (a block). Here is the pose without a block.

I have a real hard time with this one, even with the block. My knees pull on my arm skin and it just plain hurts! So, I’ll have to keep working on it. Plus I think there is just a fear there that I’ll fall on my head!

And for those keeping score, no, I did not run this am. Next week I need to do better about getting my week runs in. M, W, TH is the plan so I can have a breather before the long run.

Next up tomorrow: 14 miler. Planning to get up at 6am for my bagel and run at 7am. I’m actually hoping that we get a little rain – maybe.