5k Race Results

I've had some good runs this week. Yesterday was the Kernersville 4th of July 5k (3.1 miles) race. I ran my best race time yet of 25:42 (8:17/mile) and came in fourth in my age group of 35-39 year olds. This is my inaugural race--last year at this race was the first time I ever competed. I bettered my time this year by almost 4 minutes. Next year I hope to run it under 25 minutes.

My training group met at a track on Tuesday to do speed work. We ran a mile warm-up and then did 4 x 800's. An 800 is twice around the track, or a 1/2 mile.  We were asked to run it at 80-85% capacity, or hard enough that we felt "uncomfortable."

I averaged a 3:40 pace for my 800's, which is fast for me. Ego took hold. People shot off the line and of course I had to keep up! Ego can be a good thing in a race to keep you going, but I really will have to get a grip on it for training or I'll burn out or injure myself. I probably should have been running the 800 closer to a 4:10 pace.

We've been lucky this week with lower humidity and a few nice breezes. I think the temperatures are creeping back toward 90 starting today, which ought to make this evening's run a challenge. But I'm lovin' all the learning and running support. Ideally, this should be my schedule for the rest of the summer:

• Sunday: Long run with training group
• Monday: Rest.
• Tuesday: Speed work with training group
• Wednesday: Trail runs with friends
• Thursday: Morning run with neighbors or evening run with training group
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: Run with whomever I can find!

Comedy Club Hour

I had a ball today. I interviewed a group of senior men for an article I'm writing. All told, there were about 30 men ages 55-75 milling around as I did my interview. Charmers, every one of them.  Some refused a handshake and insisted on a hug. I would find such a demand insulting from males in the 30-50 age range, but was happy to oblige in this case. (What is that "magic age" when being called "honey" and "young lady" by men and being hugged by them transforms from lawsuit to acceptable?) Others were solicitous, asking several times if they could bring me anything to drink and after the interview I was invited to join a group for lunch. Unfortunately, I had other commitments and had to decline.

It was like comedy club hour. No sooner did I ask a question and start to receive a reply when 5 men would rush forward with the warning not to believe a word coming out of so and so's mouth. Lots of loud, good-natured ribbing. And underneath it all, a true sense of friendship and camaraderie emanating from the group.

It was a delight to be in their presence. My challenge now is piecing together my fragmented notes into a coherent piece! But a lovely way to kick off the afternoon.

Everyone Loves A Good Potato Salad

Here's a replay of the conversation Blair and I held last night. We've been invited to a friends 4th of July cookout and...well, you'll see for yourself.

Blair: "Should we bring something?"

Dena: "Of course we should bring something. I'll figure out something to bring."

Blair: "I wish we had a really good dish that we could always just bring to things like this."

Dena: "Ooh! I know! I'll bring that 3-bean summer salad thing I make. That's really good. People like that."

Blair: "Or potato salad. We could bring potato salad. Everyone likes a really good potato salad."

Dena: "I don't know how to make a really good potato salad."

Blair, looking crushed. "Oh." Pause. "Maybe you could find a recipe?"

Dena, irritated: "I'm bringing the 3-bean salad. Everyone loves bean salad! If you want to bring potato salad, fine. YOU figure it out."

Okay, so it's not MENSA material. Just a special little glimpse into the inner workings of our life and probably something to make you feel better about your own relationship. Cheers.

Weekly Round-up

I didn't realize I'd been away from the blog for so long--that whole "life" thing intervened the last few days. Instead of rehashing minute-by-minute the drama of the past few days, here's a quick summary to bring everyone up to speed:

• I taught my "Get Published! The Ins & Outs of Writing for Magazines" to 13 people on Saturday. I'm very pleased with the outcome of the workshop. The participants were relaxed and funny and asked questions. We flew through a ton of material, and I still ran out of time! I already have 6 people on a wait list so I'll run the class again in the fall. I might make it longer and I'm definitely doing a "pay upfront & no refund after a certain date" set-up. One woman cancelled the night before class--annoying.
• I was exhausted after teaching and came home and slept for 3 hours. Although I feed off the energy in the room while teaching, my introvert side kicks in when all is said and down and I just have to go squirrel myself away to regroup.
• Yesterday morning kicked off Day 1 of Marathon Training with the Off N' Running Group. It was a little anti-climatic. We just did a quick 3-mile run so the two owners could get a sense of where we all are. I like the group though - it's a good mix of advanced (2 women in the group have qualified to run the Boston Marathon) and beginner runners. I feel confident I'll hold my own. Tomorrow we meet for speed work, which is interval training--running around a track at fast paces with short recovery periods. I've read a lot about the training but was never sure how to do it, so I'm looking forward to learning.
• Blair is kayak king. He's out on the river almost every weekend while I'm running. Then we meet back home for lunch.
• I am relishing a s-l-o-w week. I"m ahead on all my projects and just have an interview and short article to write this week. Who knows what I'll do? Maybe work on my public speaking book or I've got a bunch of new and 1/2 written stories for a sequel cat humor book that I need to put together.  But it's lovely for the first time in weeks to wake up and feel no pressure or stress. Nothing is due. Nothing is imminent. I get to set the pace.  I could get used to this...
• And speaking of setting paces, I'm running a 5k on the fourth where I will attempt to break my PR (Personal Record) of 26:27.  We'll see how I'm left feeling after Tuesday's speedwork.
• Jessica Alba. Something needs to be done. The woman looks like she's been pasted together from rejected Mattel Barbie parts. (We saw "The Fantastic 4: The Silver Surfer" on Friday).  Bad bleach job on the hair, obviously fake purple/blue contacts, spray-on-tan bordering on melanoma, and lips the size of Massachusetts.  I realize the target audience is 13-year-old boys, but dear God. I hope she doesn't go around looking like that in real life.

Let's see... running, workshops, work, and cattiness. Yes, that just about covers it. Hope you're kicking off to a stellar Monday.

Dena