Tag: postaweek2012

Posted in Running

Chasing Demons Leads to…

Posted on by M Garcia

Runners run for different reasons. Some runners run for weight loss, some for fitness. Some runners run to hold back the hands of time, some because they’ve always run. Some runners run to meditate, some to relieve stress. Some runners run to remember, some to forget.

I started running as a way to spend time with my father and I’ve run ever since. I don’t mind my own company so running suits me because it’s mostly a solitary pursuit.

My brother ran because he had to for football. But other than that, he didn’t run at all. Until recently.

About a year or so ago, my brother started running to keep someone company while she trained for a 5k. He didn’t want to enter the race, he just joined her for random training runs. He’s a much more social being so he prefers team activities like volleyball and bocce. I watched his running progress via his Runkeeper and Facebook updates, not offering much besides a thumbs up or to comment, “Good job!” He made it pretty clear that he wasn’t interested in entering a race and that he was just running for a girl.

Life is all about change and it’s a time of change for my brother. He’s going through some interesting times right now and his updates refer to his runs as “chasing demons.” Running has become his escape.

I noticed via Runkeeper that his runs were becoming more frequent so I thought I needed to step in with some words of experience. I didn’t want him to injure himself by adding mileage too quickly or by pushing too hard a pace too often. I wanted him to stick with running and grow to love it, as I do.

So as we’ve been talking, texting, and emailing over the weeks, I’ve always managed to sneak in a word or two about running. I encouraged him to increase his distance slowly instead of running the same distance every time. I advised him to run fast only once or twice a week and to run all of his other runs at a conversational pace. I knew he was hooked the day that he called me and asked me to talk to him while he ran so he could determine what his “conversational pace” was.

That’s when I moved into phase 2 of my running campaign – trying to convince him to enter a race. But not just any race, a half-marathon. That would accomplish a few things. It would give him a goal to progress towards, it would give him a reason to continue running, and it would get him to come home for a visit. I managed to mention the Big Sur Half-Marathon  each time we spoke, telling him that there was plenty of time to train because the race wasn’t until November.

Big Sur half marathon monterey 2011
Big Sur half marathon monterey 2011 (Photo credit: fogcat5)

When registration opened on the 1st of April, I registered for the Big Sur Half-Marathon and tweeted that I had. My brother called me that afternoon and without any greeting, he said,”Ninety-five dollars?!? That’s expensive!” That made my day – I knew he was hooked. I told him that if he skipped one dinner out a week or had one beer less when he was out with the guys, he could save up the entry fee in no time.

And then the miracle happened.

On Friday, he registered for the half-marathon. And did he even call me to tell me he had? Of course not. I had to find out by seeing it posted on his Facebook page. It didn’t matter because I was so excited for him, for me, and for running.

My brother started running to chase the demons and he’s chased them right into a half-marathon.

Why do you run? Where will your running take you? How do you share your love of running?

Happy Running!

Posted in Running

Running with Rambo

Posted on by M Garcia

I am on a mission. Before the end of the year, I am going to turn Rambo into a runner. That is my mission.

Pretty simple and straightforward, right? Let me explain.

Rambo is a walker. He’s used to a brisk morning stroll on the weekdays. Brisk enough to get his heart beating a little faster than normal but leisurely enough so that he can smell the wildflowers. Long enough to get out of the house to smell the fresh air but not so long that he would miss his next meal. Early enough in the day to sometimes beat the sunrise but perfectly timed so that the rest of the day can be spent doing other, more important things.

Important things like lounging around on the couch, chasing after one of the three cats, and barking at the mailman.

Yes, Rambo is a dog. He’s a four-year-old mutt with hemophilia. Had he not been diagnosed with hemophilia when he was a puppy, he probably would have been running with me right from the start. But I always worried that he might cut his paws on broken glass or sharp plastic fragments or whatever other pieces of trash there might be on the sidewalks and roads. It was easier to leave him at home than to worry about him getting hurt while we were running.

But after his second birthday, we were able to relax and stop worrying so much about him getting cut or scratched or starting to bleed internally again. So he began joining my parents for their weekday morning walks, which he thoroughly enjoys. He knows when it’s time for the morning walk and is as excited for the walk as he is to go for a ride in the car. He has his shearling walking jacket for the fall and winter walks and his windbreaker for the spring walks. He has his favorite fence posts and lamps to lift his leg on and he has learned not to just squat in the middle of a crosswalk to do number two.

With all that, why would I disrupt his routine? I’d like to say it’s solely because he’s become a little roly-poly since my parents don’t walk as fast as they used to walk – my mom had a partial hip replacement last July and my dad’s waiting to be called for knee surgery. But that wouldn’t be the whole truth.

Yes, Rambo has become a little rounder these past nine months but he’s still healthy and able to play for hours on end. My reason for wanting to turn Rambo into a runner is mostly selfish. Taking Rambo for a run makes it easier for me to want to run outside instead of on the treadmill. Since I’m a big treadmill fan, I truly need all the motivation I can get to encourage me to run outside.

Rambo 2010

Results so far have been mixed. He loves going out with me after work but he’s not used to trotting along for 20 minutes at a time. I have to keep an ongoing stream of encouragements and blandishments so that he doesn’t slow to a walk. My running pace is slower because of him, which is incredibly funny to me because I am a slow runner. The last time we ran, I felt like I was dragging him the whole time and that he only picked up the pace once we came within sight of the house.

I haven’t given up yet because I have a feeling that once Rambo finds his running legs, he’ll be pulling me along.

Happy Running!

Posted in Race Reports, Running

Race Report: Together with Love 10k 2012

Posted on by M Garcia
Bahía de Monterey, California
Monterey Bay ~ Image via Wikipedia

The 27th annual Together with Love run took place on Sunday, 12 February 2012. The race benefits the Monterey County Rape Crisis Center.

This race is a beautiful out-and-back course along the Monterey Bay coastline from Lover’s Point up to Spanish Bay (for the 10k). The weather on race day was perfect running weather – overcast and on the chilly side. It looked like rain so I wore a light rain jacket but the rain didn’t show up for the race.

As with last year, the race was chip-timed. I received my bib and D-chip in the mail but this year, there was nothing else in the envelope – just the bib with the attached D-chip. I’m not sure why the race organizers chose not to include race instructions this year. Perhaps it was a sustainability-related decision. I would have preferred to have something mailed with the bib. At the very least, a strip of paper with the date and time of the race!

I was signed up for the 10k but after I picked up my t-shirt and goodies bag, I briefly toyed with the idea of just running the 5k because of my hip and lower back aches. Just briefly, though, because I really wanted to run 6 miles to stay sort-of-on-track with my half-marathon training.

The race t-shirt was a long-sleeve technical t-shirt with another great minimalist design. My dad, who is the beneficiary of all my long-sleeve cotton race t-shirts, probably wishes that the race would go back to giving cotton shirts. I, however, like the technical t-shirts a lot. As with most races nowadays, people wore their race t-shirts before they earned them.

The race started close to on time and we were off. For the first couple of miles, I just ran. I didn’t pay attention to my Garmin, I didn’t worry about my time or my pace, I just ran. The 5k turnaround came and went and I ran on. I think the race organizers have a wicked streak because the 10k turnaround is on a hill. Granted, it’s not a big hill but after nearly 3 miles, any hill counts!

The race flow felt more disorganized this year – probably because race instructions weren’t included with our race bibs. By disorganized, I mean that people were running on both sides of the road and at no point were we ever moved over to one side to make room for the returning runners. So the 5k winners were having to run against the slower runners, most of whom were so oblivious that they didn’t bother to move aside, much less cheer for the faster runners.

There were some volunteers on the course who were amazingly enthusiastic, encouraging, and uplifting. And they were placed at the perfect spots – close to hills. These ladies cheered and clapped and made runners smile. I really appreciate race volunteers, especially the ones who cheer and smile.

I finished the race and felt good. My time was just a twitch faster than last year’s time. I need to work on being able to hold a faster pace at the end for a longer distance.

There was a line for the munchies and I didn’t have the patience to wait in line for a muffin half or a bagels half or a banana half. I think as the race becomes more popular, as it does year over year, the race organizers need to consider a different setup for the post-race food. The nice thing, though, is that they always seem to have a lot of food, which is a good thing for slow runners like myself!

All in all, it was a good race. I would recommend it for anyone who wants a beautiful course with small rolling hills.

Happy running!