I Run This Town (Part 5:Weeks 15-17)

I RUN THIS TOWN (PART 5: WEEKS 15-17)

You may have noticed that I had a long gap between my last post and now.  We took the dogs and headed off to live in our RV for a little over a month.  During this time I got serious about my distance running again.   On five consecutive Saturdays I did marathons.  Two in Michigan, and one in Idaho, Utah and Colorado.  I’m working at doing a marathon in each state, so this brought my state total to 38 states and my total marathons run to 72.  Now that I’m back home, I’m making progress again with running my town.  

Week 15: October 6-13, 2017

It feels really strange trying to get back in the swing of things.  I sized up the map and decided I need to finish off a particular section then I would have all of the south side of town done.  

A few times this week my husband came out with me and several other times I had one of my dogs for company.  Since I use a different color highlighter on my map when one of the dogs is with me, it is pretty neat to see how much of the city they have traveled.  They seem to enjoy all the new sights and smells.  These border collies are high energy.  I say that taking them running “burns off their crazy.”  

As part of my run one day, I had to go down a dead end street in a condo complex.  A couple guys from a lawn care service were stopped eating their lunches by their truck.  As I got closer, I saw one of them was urinating on a fence by a house at the end of the street.  What is wrong with people? 

As if that wasn’t creepy enough, the Halloween displays are starting to show up in yards.  Thankfully my dogs aren’t freaking out when they see them.  Kirby was pretty happy to find some bones one day.

Weekly stats: 21 miles

Week 16: October 14-20, 2017

The fall leaves are changing fast.  The black walnuts are falling and if you’re not careful it’s easy to twist an ankle on them.  

My husband joined me one day, it was warm but rainy morning.  The Detroit Marathon is going on today and I remembered back to 22 years ago when I ran my first marathon there.   Later, we saw a few street signs that seemed humorous to us.

Again I’m joined by my husband and my dog Kirby.  We hit the streets in the last big condo complex.  There are a ton of little streets.  As you start running them they look like a road, then shortly after it looks more like a driveway and it goes to someone’s garage.  I may have cut a few roads short in here, but I certainly don’t want to wind up on someone’s private property.  On our way out of the complex the last road we go down leads to their clubhouse.  It has a small pond next to it.  To my surprise, perched on the rail of a small dock is my favorite bird, the Great Blue Heron.  

I ran a diverse section today that varied between old condos on a golf course, to modern homes, and then to older homes.  It was fun to see the variation of housing in one small section.  I had one long dead end street to run.  I got to the very end and saw three dogs out in a yard.  The owner was in the backyard.  I asked her what kind of dogs there were and I guess that was the international signal for the dogs to run out into the street to me.  They seemed nice but two of them were quite large, and one looked to be a puppy.  They initially looked like pit bulls but as they got closer I saw their faces were all wrinkly.  The owner came out to the street to get her brood and she told me they were French Mastiffs (think Turner and Hooch.)    These guys were all very friendly but I left there feeling inappropriately sniffed and covered in dog drool.  

Another day I found the back entrance to the Dinoasaur Hill Nature Preserve.  I’ve always seen it from the Paint Creek Trail.  It is technically in the city of Rochester, but since I was so close, I had to stop and check out the cool trails.  

Weekly stats: 16.99 miles

Week 17: October 21-27, 2017

I started this week out with the Kansas City Marathon in Missouri, state #39 in my 50 state marathon quest.  

I took it really easy this week and didn’t run a lot of miles.  But I did enjoy seeing lots of fall leaves changing colors.  The mornings are cold, with temps in the mid to high 30’s.  I’ve had to break out my winter clothes including hat and gloves.  Ironically the subdivision I ran thru this week had streets named after ski resort towns.  Steamboat Springs, Winter Park, Powderhorn and Snowmass.  I’m serious wondering if I will be running in the snow sooner than I think.

Week stats: 12.15 miles (marathon not included)

Square miles completed: 23

Approximate square miles to go: 10

Progress

PROGRESS

 

Not long ago, I was asked to write a blog post for Skirt Sports. The assignment, pick a word. I thought it would be easy to pick a word.  Just one word, something that I felt described me and how I felt about things lately.   I wish I could say it was a word that seemed more honorable, generous or commendable.  But my word was about me and how I’d felt about my life lately.  There are so many words to chose from, but in the end I chose “Progress.”   It took me a lot of thinking to come up with this word.   Then after I chose it, I realized it was something that should have come to mind far easier, since it is tattooed on my body.  If it was three words it would have been “Relentless Forward Progress.”

The tattoo on my leg was done shortly after I finished my first 100 mile trail race.  It was the title of a book that inspired and guided me along the way to achieving my goal.  It became a mantra to me, to remind me that every step you take in the right direction is making forward progress.  And sometimes you just have to be relentless about it.

I wound up with pretty serious stress fracture in my femoral neck late last year.  It resulted in surgery. I had three screws, each three inches in length inserted in my femur to brace the fracture.

I had no idea how hard it would be to sit around in my recliner all day and use a walker just to get the the bathroom.  I needed help to do just about everything.  It was very humbling and honestly quite depressing.  It was so difficult to hear the amazing things my friends were doing while I sat on my butt all day reading books, watching Netflix, or throwing the ball for my dogs. (Ok, I did enjoy doing all of those things, but I didn’t like the being injured part.)  I was happy for their achievements, but felt sorry for myself.  We cancelled races and vacations because I could not even get on an airplane, let alone run the race I was signed up for.  

I worked hard at my physical therapy and a few months later I was able to run again.  I am now running outdoors and doing a few races now and then.  I can’t do the insane ultra distances I was doing before my injury, but one day I’ll get back there.  But for now I’ve altered my plans and decided to take on a project of running every street in my town this summer.  It’s been fun to give myself new priorities and new goals, and I’m enjoying the process it is taking to get there.  I’ve stopped comparing myself to others and counting mileage.  I’m just being me, doing my own thing and enjoying the process.  I’m happy to be healthy and getting stronger.   

One day in the future, you will find me at the intersection of crazy and stupid.  I’ll be doing some insane distance or event that will make my family and friends shake their heads. But until then, I know that the things that happen in my life are for the greater good and I’ll embrace the change and continue making Relentless Forward Progress.  

AfterShokz - #beopen #airinaction

     Anyone that has read my blog recently knows that I took on a project this summer.  I am running every street in my town.  I’ve discovered that a lot of areas don’t have sidewalks and I’m forced to run on the road.  This made me become even more aware of my safety.  I enjoy listening to music or podcasts while I run. But with the headphones I was using I had to have the volume super low, or wear only one ear bud to be able to hear people, cars and dogs.  Then I found Aftershokz.

     Aftershokz headphones do not go in your ears.  They rest just in front of your ears, leaving your ears open to hear the noises around you.  The headphones transmit the sound through mini vibrations.  It travels through your cheekbones into your inner ear, leaving your ear open so you can be aware of your surroundings.  

Wearing Trekz Sportz

     My fist pair of Aftershokz headphones were the Sportz Titanium.  These were so comfortable that I forgot I was even wearing them.  I felt much safer while running because I could hear what was going on around me.  They were comfortable while wearing sunglasses too.  This model is wired but they still need to be charged.  A twelve hour battery life means you don’t have to charge them as often.  I was so impressed with them that I emailed the company to tell them how impressed I was and they invited me to be one of their ambassadors, a ShokzStar.

     They sent me a nice goodie package including the Trekz Titanium.  This model is even lighter than the Sportz Titanium.  It is also bluetooth and has a six hour battery life. I had never used a bluetooth headphone before and now I’m not sure I can go back to wired.  These would be great for anyone but they really had athletes in mind when these were designed.  They are sweatproof.  The wraparound headband is really comfortable for running and biking, and I’m sure a ton of other activities.  Aftershokz even sent me a pair of the Sportz Titanium and Trekz Titanium to loan out to my local friends to try. 

Wearing Trekz Titanium

     As if those other two models weren’t good enough they out did them selves with the Trekz Air.  This is the lightest model. 20% lighter than the Trekz Titanium.  The amazing sound and fit make this model a star.  I could wear these all day, I’ve never been able to say that about any other headphone.  Every other brand I’ve tried hurt my ears after several hours of wear.  This model has a six hour battery life and is also sweat resistant.     Both of the bluetooth models can be used for phone calls when bluetooth paired.  All their headphones are great but they hit a home run with this model.  

Wearing Trekz Air

     I’ve fallen in love with these headphones and if you try them, I think you will too.  If you’d like to know more, check out their website at Aftershokz.com

     Feel free to use this link to save 20% on the Sportz Titanium and Trekz Titanium models.  http://mbsy.co/j2cjw 

#aftershokz #shokzsquad  #airinaction #beopen #aftershokz