Almost two weeks ago, I found myself alone in the back of a taxicab, stuck in New York City traffic, moving more slowly than I could walk. But, my post-marathon legs didn't feel much like walking, and so there I stayed chatting it up with a virtual stranger, exchanging bits of our stories.
Read MoreToday is the one-week anniversary of my inaugural NYC Marathon, and I have spent the better part of my time since trying to summon the ability to describe the race in a way that does the experience justice. Going into the race, I clearly recognized that it would be big. I watched race videos, I read the runners blogs, I visited New York in the spring and ran Central Park. But still nothing – nothing – prepared me for the tidal wave of emotion and energy that surrounded this marathon.
Read MoreAs a surprise for my 40th birthday, my husband whisked me away to Vancouver Island to an idyllic resort overlooking Brentwood Bay, sans children. It was beautiful, perfect, more than I could have imagined. Which, on reflection, makes my meltdown on the actual Big Day seem even more pathetic.
Read MoreAfter I signed up with my marathon coach, I was given access to explore the robust NYRR training site. This also gave me the option of clicking through a week-by-week view of my personalized training plan. You know that moment when you have to decide whether to peek ahead just to see what you are in for, or just let the whole thing roll out over time? Well, I peeked. Oh why did I peek?
Read MoreMy coach’s stated goal for Week 10 marathon training was to work on mental toughness. It is self-evident, I suppose, that a runner cannot coax her body to run 26.2 miles without it. However, as the week rolled on, my initial view of the meaning of “mental toughness” changed as both my runs and life threw challenges my way.
Read MoreYou can chalk this post up to One.Too.Many. “Life Hack” links pinging my social media accounts ... Which got me thinking about the intrinsic value of hard work and figuring things out the long way, and why it is still important.
Read MoreA recent article profiled a runner who qualified for the Boston Marathon in each of the 50 states. In my imagination, I envision his buddies offhandedly asking whether he wants to run a marathon next weekend, and this runner nonchalantly replying “sure, sign me up” in the same way that I would throw in for a 5k any given day of the week. In my vision, I am sure that he does not have to prepare, because he is always prepared. Unlike that guy, my warm up to marathon day is a 16-week haul, and I am only now closing in on the halfway point.
Read MoreA husband and wife went on vacation to an island together. They arrived on the same day, left on the same day, and spent every day in between together. Neither engaged in any work while they were there. The wife went on vacation for ten days, but the husband was only on vacation for six. How is this possible?
Read MoreWeek four of my marathon training was the week that I officially crossed over to the other side. It was the week that I transitioned to one of those crazy people who rearrange their vacation itineraries to make room for long runs. For fun.
Read MoreBeginning official marathon training with the NYRR coaching staff embodies everything that is fresh and good about the first week of school. I have daily running homework assignments complete with tips and detailed instructions. Once I get the job done, I use the tracking system to send the details of my workout to my coach and within a day I have email feedback (my report card) from the coaching staff. In Week One, I started to learn some of the workouts and their acronyms that, no doubt, will become rote by Week Ten. Ironically, though, the most important lesson I learned the first week had nothing to do with running at all.
Read MoreRace starts are peculiar events to witness. Hundreds of people, in various states of dress and preparedness, are wandering, stretching, chatting, and waiting. Everyone has a story about the journey to the start line, and everyone will have a unique narrative about his or her experience en route to the finish. On Saturday night, this was mine.
Read MoreMe committing to run the New York City Marathon and deciding to publicly write about it was the suburban-mom equivalent of playing your first game of poker at a high stakes table in Vegas, pushing your chips into the middle, standing up and declaring with conviction that you’re all-in. Yep, I’m all-in all right, and with just over 13 weeks to go, this sh*t is getting real. Which is why I hedged my bet and hired a coach.
Read MoreBefore I turned forty, the word “diet” was synonymous with “how to look good in a bathing suit this summer.” Apparently getting (dare I say it) older changes things. I still devour books, articles, and pretty much any other mode of media devoted to diet, but now the focus is not so much on that bikini but on staying healthy. Most of what I read consists of reruns of the same advice: buy seasonal organic produce, shop the perimeter of the grocery store, read labels, “eat clean”, “eat local”. How many times have I read the same or similar advice? But for whatever reason, while skimming my newest healthy-lifestyle magazine, it struck me: I already learned all of this stuff - at camp – when I was 12.
Read MoreThis week’s long run coincided with Father’s Day, a day when the kids and I celebrate my husband and the gift that he is to our family, at the same time that I try to reconcile that joy with the grief that comes with my own father’s passing. So when I set out today, it was with memories of my father heavy on my mind, intent on running through neighborhoods and places where he and I shared time, confident that this solo run would bring me closer to Dad.
Read MoreI am not prone to spontaneity - particularly when it comes to races. But, one experience at a time, I am learning that there is something to be said for getting a bright (or dumb) idea and just going with it. And so it was that a couple of weeks ago my husband and I were sitting on the couch talking about what we had to do over the weekend (surprisingly, nothing), and I wondered out loud whether there was a race nearby that we could run.
Read MoreI wish time could stand still ...
As a young mom, I devoured parenting magazines and, had they been invented yet, with certainty I would have been addicted to Mommy Blogs. Tease me with headlines promising ways to “find time” or “sanity and time-saving tips for crazed-moms-on-the-go” and that was all it took to lure me in to devour every bit of advice. What the articles should have told me (if they were honest) is that there would be no (as in zero, zippo) uninterrupted, unaccounted for, free time until the kids crossed the threshold toward independence, and even then the odds of having free time on any given day would be slim to none.
Read MoreIf you look at the title page for this website, you'll see that it is about running, parenting, and living well in midlife. Consider this part of "living well." You also could file this under "more reasons to run."
Read MoreIt’s a fact of life that most of us can pretty well pinpoint when we hit “bottom” – whether that be emotional, physical, mental, or a combination of all three. The bottom can be deeper and darker for some as compared to others, but no matter the distance to get back to the surface and into the sunshine, we all have this in common: if you want to get out, you have to take the first step. If you’re lucky, you have family, friends, or faith to throw you a rope or to reach out a hand – but the key is you have to grab on and also put your own effort into climbing out.
Read MoreIt is a generally accepted fact that I am going to be a hot mess when we drop off our oldest at college in the fall, and I’m pretty sure that my family already is developing contingency plans to wrest me away from her dorm room before I embarrass her. We’ve had a number of mini-milestones already: last first day of school, last school dance, college tours, signing a letter of intent, and a hundred other moments each of which ended with my daughter looking at me, rolling her eyes, and asking “are you starting to cry AGAIN?”
Read MoreRace Bling
The parents in our town are notoriously, how shall I put this kindly, opinionated. I usually try to stay out of the fray, but there have been times when I’ve found myself right in the middle of it. Case in point: the 2007 debate over whether my son’s 6-and-under AYSO team should get trophies or should make tie-dyed t-shirts at the end-of-year party to commemorate the soccer season. It was Civil War between the moms. I don’t exaggerate.
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