How To Stay Safe on the Run: Self-Defense

How many times have you been on a run and was spooked by a creeper?

It's happened to me a few times over the years. Once, I was out for a long run in the local forest preserve. It was an early morning and I approached a guy with a hoodie pulled over his head. I couldn't see his face, but something didn't feel right and I did a quick 180 and sped back out of the preserve. Another time, I was running at the retention pond and passed a creepy looking guy. I finished my loop and headed towards home-until I ran face to face into the creepy guy. He grabbed my shoulder but I shook it off and ran towards the local school.

I was lucky.

This past weekend, I was fortunate to be able to attend a session of Girls Fight Back and a self-defense session presented by FIRE, a local women's self-defense training system.  The free program was sponsored by our local high school district. While the program was geared towards young women, I was curious and I thought it could be useful for me personally since I do run alone the majority of the time.

Ready for Anything

Well, wow. I feel like after last week I can handle just about anything that comes my way. Fortunately, life was uneventful this week. The weather, however, was not. Are you tired of talking about the weather? I am. I wish it would just settle the hell down but nope, we have been on a wild ride this week, going from snow on Monday to spring and 70 degrees on Thursday, and then back to cold, gloomy weather on the weekend. In all my years, I don't ever remember a spring quite like this one. I keep thinking that the climate has got to right itself, but nope, not yet. I looked ahead for the next month (I checked multiple weather sites) and it doesn't look like anything remotely warm is coming our way.

I hope that's wrong. In the meantime, I'll just resign myself to the fact that I'll be running in the cold. On a more superficial note, I won't be able to model my new InkNBurn tanks and shorts anytime soon. At least outside I won't.

Ok, enough whining about the weather. In spite of it all, I had an excellent week of training! And that's what this weekly wrap is all about. While Holly is away this weekend, I've got a guest host with me, the lovely Teresa from Finding Fabulous at Fifty! Be sure to show her all the love you normally bestow on Holly and me, including linking back to her blog. 

Fitspiration for Older Runners

My friend Allie, who blogs at Vita Train for Life, recently wrote a post titled Fitspiration vs. Reality. She compared her recent workouts to some of those motivational aka "fitspo" memes meant to push athletes through tough workouts. You know the ones I'm talking about. There's usually an attractive, sweaty runner picture with a sassy, catchy mantra. Some of the fitness ones are quite provocative. I have a whole Pinterest board full of the running ones. 

Her post got me thinking. Do fitspiration memes encourage or discourage? Certainly, there are some that seem to be more harmful than empowering. For some of us "older athletes", many of the messages don't apply. I mean, come on! At this point in my life, I'll never attain "six-pack abs". That ship has sailed. My fastest miles are behind me. But that doesn't mean I don't want to push myself to my very best!

For today's post, I found a bunch of empowering fitspirational memes for older athletes. I also made a few of my own. Some are serious and some are snarky. After all, we can never take ourselves too seriously!!

7 Reasons Spring Running Keeps You on Your Toes

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Ah, Spring! Always welcome after the bleak winter, spring is the reward for those of us who brave the cold and run outdoors.  There's so much to love about spring--the birds are singing, the landscape changes from gray to green, and the flowers start blooming. Spring is a time of renewal and often the warming temperatures are all a winter-weary runner needs to put some pep back into their step.

But...there's always a but...spring running is never predictable, presenting some interesting challenges for runners. After running outdoors all winter, you'd think you're prepared for everything, right? Until you're not...

All Aboard the Hot Mess Express

Hey there!

If you read my Coffee Talk post, you know that my week was pretty much a hot mess. When things first started to unravel, it was distressing, but after a while, it was almost comical! I kept thinking, what next? I was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with me, like early-onset dementia. What made me realize I was ok was my running. Life is all about balance, right? So even though everything was seemingly falling apart around me, I had my good runs and that made all the bad stuff a little less painful.

Coffee Talk

Let's sit down and catch up over a cup of coffee. How do you take yours? Since attending my conference in downtown Chicago a few weeks ago, I've been loving on lattes. Soy or dairy, no matter. Give me that foamed milk and a shot of espresso. Yum!

Since I'm making coffee at home, it will be just half and half. I hope that's ok. So, tell me what's new...

A Few of My Favorite Spring Running Things

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"Super fast splits
and cups full of beer,
Bright colored clothing with soft comfy gear,
Finish lines ending with really cool bling,
These are a few of my favorite things...

When the wind blows,
When the sky snows,
When I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my favorite things.... 
and then I don't feel so bad...."   ~ adapted from Rodgers and Hammerstein My Favorite Things

Running Out of March Like...

Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate! Anyone have any April Fools pranks played on them today? Isn't it weird having both of those days together? I'm not a big fan of practical jokes. When I was a kid, my sisters and I tried pulling an April Fools joke on my dad by mixing all his socks up. The joke was on us as we waited patiently for him to say something, but it was until about a week later that he asked my mom why his socks were all mixed up.

Anyhoo, in spite of the terrible weather we've had this month, I'm wrapping up what was a fabulous month of running for me. Feeling good never felt so good, and I guess it takes feeling bad to make you appreciate the good times. Running-wise, for March, I totalled 89.5 miles, ran a half marathon, and a speedy 8k! I'm hoping to ride this wave for a while and am looking forward to my favorite 10 mile race in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, here's how my week went down.

Runfessions: March

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I am so glad March is coming to an end. I don't know about you but this month felt like the longest month ever! It's been bitterly cold and windy, although we have escaped most of the weather wrath that has plagued so much of the country. A little mini-runfession here, I'm really tired of complaining about the weather. In spite of the bad weather, running-wise, it's been a good month for me and I'll share some of that in Sunday's Weekly Wrap.

Since it is the end of the month, it's time to runfess! Every month, Marcia hosts runfessions, which is a great place for runners to share their running sins. There is no penance, just that good feeling of clearing the conscience and starting a new month with a clean slate! It's been a long month, but in keeping with the Friday Five theme, I'll stick to just having 5 runfessions.

Race Recap: Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8k

Earlier this spring, I received an email about the Shamrock Shuffle. There was a one-day-only price special of $39. For a Chicago race, that sounded like a bargain. It had been a long time since I last ran this race--the last time was in 1995! I thought it might be fun to revisit it, plus the distance--an 8k-- was really attractive to me. I contacted my friend Steph and she said she was in.

Fast forward to the present. Steph is injured and winter won't let go. All week, I agonized over my decision to run this race. Plus, I just ran that spontaneous Sarasota Half Marathon last weekend. Did I really want to trek into the city for an 8k? I had opted for having my packet mailed ahead of time, so I didn't have to go to the expo. Bottom line, I don't want any DNSs this year, so I sucked it up and headed into the city for the 2018 Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle.

Race Recap: Sarasota Half Marathon

The Monday before I was set to leave for my Florida vacation, I made a decision about something I had been considering for a few weeks. I went to the website for the Sarasota Half Marathon and reviewed all the logistics. Completed the entry form. Entered my payment information. Rechecked the logistics. Started to sweat. Did some deep breathing. Clicked submit.

Within seconds, I received an email confirmation of my entry into the Sarasota Half Marathon. The race was in 7 days. My husband told me I was nuts. My parents told me I was nuts. Maybe I was nuts. My last long run was 4 weeks prior when I ran the Mercedes Half Marathon. But I had been feeling good. My mileage was good. Plus, I had some unfinished business with this race.