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Where my mind goes when I’m running

November 8, 2013/in Blog Posts/by RWadmin

The other day I was chatting with my neighbour when she said “hope you had a nice run on Saturday”. I drew a complete blank. What was my run on Saturday? Was it a race? No. Then how did she know I’d been running? I couldn’t recall a thing about my run. It turns out she had seen me and we had smiled and waved at each other. Whew! But this was scary as I have zero conscious recollection of having done that. I think my mind often leaves my body when I’m running and all I can do is hope that I’m acting like a normal human being. When people say they saw me running I often just have to hope it wasn’t while I was doing something strange or anti-social, like blowing an air-hanky or adjusting my running bra. This got me to wondering where my mind actually does go when I’m running, as it obviously is not in the conscious present. Here are some examples of some thoughts I recall having had while running, which may give some insight as to where my mind goes:

“I wonder if we should get a dog?”
“Holy cow, five minutes at race pace feels hard – how will I keep that up for a 10K race??”
“I love running in the fall.”
“I hope the park washrooms are still open!”
“I like this song. I think I’ll just play it on repeat until I hate it.”
“Wow, I’m already three miles into my run – only four to go.”
“I can’t believe how insensitive XXX was yesterday!” And then by the end of the run: “Poor XXX must have been having a hard day yesterday.” (Funny how running changes your perspective on things)
“Aaaagghhh!! Oh, it’s just a Halloween decoration.” (I really did nearly jump out of my skin the other day when my mind suddenly processed a dead-body type thing hanging from a fence)
“There really are a ton of raccoons in this city.”

Other than the odd fleeting thought though, I really can’t recall much. And strangely, even though my mind is apparently blank, I’m never bored. I’m glad I seem to automatically smile and wave to people who wave to me. But please don’t take it personally if I don’t – just assume I’m working through serious math problems or coming up with new ideas which will change the world. Who knows, maybe deep in my sub-conscious this is actually what my brain is hard at work doing while I run. I’ll go with that theory.

My personality change when I’m not running

October 29, 2013/in Blog Posts/by RWadmin

Whether I’m training for anything in particular or not, I generally run or do some sort of cross-training nearly every day. If I’m not, it’s usually because I’m either sick or too busy and preoccupied with something else. Last week, however, I took the week off of running for no other reason than to give myself a break after my half-marathon in order to come back to running completely refreshed. In my time off running, I tapped into something. It wasn’t time, because I run at 5:00 a.m. so if I’m not running I’m sleeping. It wasn’t physical energy, because I find running tends to give me more energy throughout the day. It was more of a personality change, really, which I can’t quite explain.

Some examples:

My children don’t love vegetables. It is a fairly constant battle to get them to eat them. When I’m in running-mode, I approach it as something to get-done, and force them in however I can (usually at breakfast!) During my running break, however, I decided to take the kids grocery shopping, buy some fresh zucchini, carrots, apples and bananas, and take them home to help me to bake all of the healthy goodness into muffins and loaves. If you know me, you know how uncharacteristic that is and how I sometimes make fun of people who do things like that because really, JUST EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!

Veggie-filled muffins and loaf

I’m a fairly social person, and I love a good party, but I generally have a limited reserve for going out to multiple parties in a row. I call it “doing a double” (similar to double runs) if I go out two nights in a row. It’s a rare occurrence. However, during my running break, I planned, looked forward to and enjoyed going to four social gatherings in three days! Not only that, but I didn’t even worry about wearing impractical footwear.

My party footwear of choice when not running

Usually for Halloween, we appreciate the neighbours’ done-up houses, but we aren’t really the ones who do more than a pumpkin or two. I generally don’t see the point in buying dollar-store junk which will then take up space in our house for a year and will eventually end up in a land-fill, all for one night. But for some reason this year I got a bit more into it. We did the dollar store trip, went to the park to find sticks to use as gravestones, and I let my kids decorate the house how they wished (which included them climbing our tree with all sorts of caution tape wrapped around everyone’s limbs).

What happens when you let the kids decorate

Happily, I am now back to running. I’m hoping I haven’t done anything permanent, and I’m assuming my normal personality will return. My friends and family will have to wait for my next running break to see a return of the veggie-muffins, multiple late nights and tacky house.

First PB since kids!

October 24, 2013/1 Comment/in Blog Posts/by RWadmin

It’s true. I just posted my first Personal Best time in running since having my first baby over six years ago. I ran 1:21:43 in the Scotiabank Toroton Waterfront Half-Marathon last weekend, which is sixteen seconds faster than I’ve ever run that distance. In fact, since I’m writing about it I just did a little bit of research and discovered that despite having been fairly consistent in the racing scene for over fifteen years, I hadn’t posted a personal best time in the last nine!

Last few meters in the STWM Half

Since I’m comparing, I thought I’d take a look at what I do now vs. what I did nine years ago:

Interval workouts:

Nine years ago I did interval workouts twice a week with a competitive group of runners. We showed up after work, and began the ritual of warming-up, doing drills, and preparing our minds and bodies for the workout to come. After completing the workout we would do some more running at a relaxed pace, and often included core work. The entire process could easily take two hours.

Today, I do interval workouts at 5 a.m. I have somehow managed to convince a group of similarly time-pressed parents from my neighbourhood that this is a fun activity and a good idea. We have a group of around seven people, ranging from run-walkers to competitive runners who meet every Wednesday at 5 a.m. prepared to take on whatever hills or intervals I have planned that day. They are amazing, inspiring, dedicated, and definitely get me out there! However, there is no waiting for stragglers, not much of a warm-up and no time for drills. The entire process takes no more than an hour.

A loyal workout buddy doing hills at 5 a.m. in January

Long runs:

Nine years ago I often did my long-runs with my boyfriend (now husband). We would run once we’d eased into our day, had breakfast and read the paper. After the runs the rest of the day was often spent relaxing and recovering.

Today my husband and I coordinate schedules around kids and various activities for me to plan my long runs. They do sometimes still include him, but those ones involve a baby-sitter. Sometimes they involve a baby-sitter and not my husband, and on those runs I tend to break down how much I’m paying per-minute to run and work my hardest to get my best value!

Races:

Nine years ago when I raced I focused on nothing but how to set myself up to run my best times. I made sure my logistics and warm-up were timed perfectly for the start, and during the race I was completely focused on my performance.

Today, I often manage my kids’ support-crew experience (food, warmth, transportation) in cheering me on as much as my own race logistics. It’s important to me that they see my running and racing as enjoyable experiences for them as well as for me. During a race I know they’re looking for me, and I’m just as keen to see them. When I do, I make sure I have a smile and wave – whether I’m feeling good or not.

Typical mid-race pose – regardless of how I’m really feeling!

Post-Races:

Nine years ago after a race I would treat myself to a nice meal, bath, relaxed reading, and usually a nap.

Today that is one thing I’m trying to maintain! I’m part-way there. After my half-marathon the kids built me a “relaxation fort” and proceeded to take turns massaging me. See? It’s all about training them along with you. And I feel like I’m finally getting there.

Relaxation Fort

The next two challenges: a 10K PB and teaching my kids to clean up after fort/playtime. Wonder which will come first??