One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue FOOT!?!?

Let's just cut to the chase.

I had a stress fracture last cross country season.

I was out for at least three months because the stinking thing wouldn't heal.

I wore a boot for two of those three months.

I couldn't run, or use the elliptical and for the first month wasn't even aloud to bike.

I could swim, that was it.

It sucked.

It's been more than a year since then and I've been running without a hitch.

Well who would of thought when I woke up yesterday morning the same old hint of blue began forming on the top of my foot.

Is this serious?

I can't catch a break.

We'll see as the week goes on how this turns out.

Winter Time...Errrrr Maybe?

 Image courtesy of: flickr

After Mondays frigid first practice for indoor track that we had outside I was all excited ready to talk about running in the colder more winter months. Who would have known when I walked out the front door this morning to go to class that it would be 63 degrees!? Global warming? Or what is this? I'm not really complaining it's one more run where I can wear shorts and be comfortable.

Something To Say At ROA: A Quick Link Roundup

As the winter months are quickly approaching, or at least they're supposed to be, a lot of unseasoned runners maybe thinking what am I going to do? Well the answer is there are a lot of exercises that you can do once the snow finally hits Albany.

The first step to staying in shape or running in the winter is just motivation. You need to stay motivated. Nothing hurts more than falling asleep at night to a clean sidewalk, imagining your long run in the morning and waking up to a fresh foot of snow on the path you were dreaming of.

If you're worried about running in the snow because of your shoes don't be. Runner's World has five pages of good shoes for your winter running months. The most important thing is make no excuses, just get out there and do what you need to do trust me, you'll be thanking yourself later.

From The Windows To The Walls...Indoor Track Here We Come

My last season of indoor track starts tomorrow. Because Saint Rose doesn't have an indoor track, well a track at all for that matter, we will be hitting the streets for our first week of practice. Next week we'll be able to get into SUNY Albany's indoor track so that will be nice for some workouts.

It's been chilly and the wind has been crazy so we'll see how this upcoming week goes! I'm excited to get back out there with the team again, it's only been two weeks but I feel like it's been months.

Live-blogging The Troy Turkey Trot!

Follow me as I venture to the 62nd Troy Turkey Trot this fine morning!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

(Edit 10:57am)

I'm home from the Turkey Trot, what a great day for a race! A few of my live-blogs didn't come through on my twitter because they were images. I will post them directly below! Again, Happy Thanksgiving and for everyone who ran today great job!

9:42 am "Every race day staple!"

9:56 am "Packed as always!"

10:02 am "Lilly came out for the run today, her first day out with nearly 8,000 people. She's handling it pretty well!"

There you have it, those are the ones you missed!

Something To Say At ROA: A Quick Link Roundup

The 62nd annual Troy Turkey Trot will be held on Thanksgiving day, November 26th 2009.

The first Turkey Trot ever was in 1896 held rather locally in Buffalo NY. Since the beginning the Turkey Trot here in Troy has grown into one of the largest road races in upstate NY. There are at least 6,000 participants ready to hit the streets this Thanksgiving morning.

The 5k race will start on 4th and Fulton Street. You can register online until 12pm on Wednesday November 25th. There will be some changes this year to the course and the race start times in order to enable a larger field of racers and hopefully solve previous years traffic problems.

The schedule of events looks like this:

7:45 a.m.………….. Turkey Walk
9:30 a.m.………….. Open 5K
10:30 a.m.………… Grade School 1 Mile
10:45 a.m.………… Open 10K

I will be fighting the traffic and mobs of people to Live-Blog the open 5k via my Twitter.

Hope to see you there!

My New Running Partner...Well Eventually

After waiting for three years today I finally got a puppy. She's a little American Bulldog and she is an absolute doll. Her name is Lilly, and you'll probably hearing more about her from here on out!

Do You Know Where The Turkeys Still Run On Thanksgiving?

That's true there will be turkeys still living on Thanksgiving this year, at least metaphorically speaking, and they'll be found at the 62nd Annual Troy Turkey Trot. I'll be there live-blogging the 5k!

I Hate Riding The Bike, I Do Not Hate Riding Bikes

Saint Rose has a pretty decent fitness center located on the top floor of the Events and Athletics Center (EAC). Over my past four years here I have become rather accustomed to this place whether I would have liked to or not. Over my four year running career at Saint Rose I have more often than not been injured. Because of injury I often haven't been able to run at all or have been on a strict schedule where I can only run a certain number of times a week.

Because of that I have turned to The Bike. Hear me out. Growing up and even still I love to ride bikes. There is a big difference between riding bikes and riding The Bike. I give The Bike a name because that is exactly what it is. When I was injured it was always said, "yep coach I'm going to the gym to hit The Bike."

The Bike is stationary, stands about four and a half feet tall and sits nearly a foot and a half from the large glass window of the gym that faces two stories above Western Ave.

I've tried to read books or class work on the bike. Failed miserably. I've tried to peruse through a magazine. Again not happening. There is nothing you can do on The Bike to make the time pass faster or to steer you away from complete boredom. 

I always resolve to jamming out on my iPod and getting the best possible workout I can while doing so. I figure if I have to be doing it than I might as well do it right.

There's always those days where I really can't get motivated and I end up staring at random bad drivers trying miserably to park along Western. At least I don't have to park The Bike!

Race Run, How Did That Happen

Ever gone on a run, and come across another runner? More likely than not the answer is yes, especially if you're from a city or suburban area. In Albany I find that no matter where I run I pass by numerous fellow runners. The situation I'm about to describe usually only happens in the summer. But on this brisk day in November I found myself in the same circumstance.

You're on a run, usually a decently long run, a six plus miler or so and you come across another runner say twenty feet ahead of you. The natural instinct inside of you to race sparks up. You have to constantly remind yourself that this isn't a race it is in fact just a workout and you need not search for your inner strength in order to pass this unsuspecting runner. You keep telling yourself over and over that you don't need to surge ahead. More likely than not, your mind and body do it anyway.

The catch is always after you pass them.

Once you've passed this runner you quickly realize you have five more miles to go and usually this person is going for a casual two miler or something along those lines. This means they're able to run quickly easily and you're trying to pace yourself. This puts you in the transition for turning your easy long run into an intense long tempo run, which is never fun, especially when you're not expecting it.

You'll continue to push because you clearly cannot let this person pass you back. This continues for the entirety until finally the other runner fades off or takes a turn behind you. You instantly pray to never do that again and then continue on your way with a much higher heart rate than you anticipated.

I Thought It Was Bad Before

I don't often talk about myself on this blog and I usually don't rant on and on about random things. In fact I think I've only done this once or maybe twice. I was stressed out beyond belief, I felt like there was not enough time in the day to do everything that I had to do and I wasn't happy about it.

But I've come to a realization.

Abby, You Aint Seen Nothing Yet.

Today I sat down and thought about next semester. It is my senior year of college and after the completion of next semester I am done forever. FOREVER, unless for some outlandish reason I decide to go to grad school. I have finished all my required classes for both my major and my minor in order to graduate in May.

Because of this I will be interning full time next semester.
My internship is not paid.
I need to intern full time in order to receive twelve credits.
I need to have twelve credits in order to be full time.
I need to be full time in order to run Track & Field.
I need to have time in the day to go to practice for Track & Field.
I need to have time in the weekend to go to Track & Field races.
I need to run Track & Field because I'm on scholarship, and I love it.
I need to keep my scholarship because otherwise I can't afford my tuition.
I need to pay my many bills and my rent.
I need to work to pay my many bills and rent.
I need to have hours to go to work.
I somehow need to have more time to get laundry and other errands done.
I need lastly to have 30 stinking seconds to breath between all of this.
I want to have time to try and enjoy my last days in college.

How this is going to happen boggles my mind. I do however realize that in order for this to happen I need to manage my time like Tom Brady in a fourth quarter come-back drive (except for Sunday night, what a let down for us Patriot fans).

I have started to do this. I am not going to let things pile up like I did before. I am going to do things before they are due. I am going to rely a lot on my boyfriend to help around the house, not something I would like to do, but something I know he will gladly accept. I am going to get to bed earlier so I have energy to accomplish all these tasks.

It is going to be hard. But I know this too shall pass.

Something To Say At ROA: A Quick Link Roundup

Cross Country ended last Sunday. Indoor track starts after Thanksgiving break. I am now supposed to be taking part in "active-rest," sounds rather contradictory, does it not?

Active-rest by my own personal definition means you may not run like you would have during the training season but you must stay active. There are various other ways to stay active for runners besides running. Many of which will help you shed a couple of pounds you may gain during your active-rest stage.


Cross training is the best way to achieve active-rest and also is a smart bet for reducing injury between seasons and during the season. Cross training is also an excellent way to stay in ship during the cold and snowy winter days.

A special thanks to Runner's World for a majority of these informative articles.

I'm Back!

I'm back! I hope you enjoyed reading Mary Catherine's posts as much as I did. I would like to thank her for doing such a great job and giving this whole running thing a great shot. I had a good time taking over my guest blog The Art of Adaptation where I learned so much about disabilities and especially Cerebral Palsy. I was able to incorporate my love for running with the idea of intertwining athletics and disabilities. All in all it was a great week but I'm happy to be back here at ROA.

Running Out of Time [by Mary Catherine Owen]

I've had a wonderful time guest blogging for Abby here on ROA, but my tenure is coming to an end. I've gained a greater appreciation for running and people who do it, and I hope I introduced you to at least one interesting tidbit of information this week.

If you're interested in reading my usual blog, you can find me at Dissecting the Smiling Goat, talking about one of NBC's dearly departed dramedies, Ed. And if you're not nerdy enough to venture over there, thanks for reading my posts this week!

Running as Fast as Wii Can [by Mary Catherine Owen]

It's a strange world we live in when people are running in front of their televisions while also watching animated versions of themselves run.

That being said, I totally want a Wii Fit now.

Running Over Western Avenue: My First Visit to the Fitness Center [by Mary Catherine Owen]

Photo courtesy of The College of Saint Rose

I did it. I bit the bullet and went to Saint Rose's fitness center.

This is something that I have long intended to do, but never have done for one specific reason: I am intimidated by people who actually know how to exercise. I need some sort of gym full of clueless people, with lots of helpful, non-judgmental, non-buff trainers to teach you how to use the machines without killing yourself. But as I don't know where to find one of those, off to the third floor of the Events and Athletics Center I went.

And then came back down to the first floor when I discovered there was no drinking fountain to fill up my water bottle.

Eventually I made it back upstairs and in the door. I had to admit to the people at the desk that I had never been to the fitness center before, because they now make you authorize your ID card to gain access. I did, and then asked the work study student if I was "good to go," trying to appear eager to start burning calories. Unfortunately, the answer was yes, so I headed over to the bank of treadmills and what I believe were elliptical machines.

Photo courtesy of Precor

I chose a treadmill (a PrecorUSA 954i model, in case you're interested), set down my stuff on the little shelves next to the control panel, and stared at the buttons for about a minute. The article I read about how to use a treadmill told me to familiarize myself with the controls before beginning; I located "Quick Start" and "Stop," and figured that was good enough. I pressed start, and away it went.

I forgot my MP3 player and wasn't sure there'd be a place to rest my book while I walked, so I was resigned to walk in silence like a loser. At first, I was inwardly freaking out about not being able to walk on the belt without holding onto the handlebar-things in front of me. I gradually got the hang of it and let go, and began ramping up my speed in little increments. Then I got a little bolder and changed the incline as well.

Photo courtesy of The College of Saint Rose

The machines in the fitness center automatically turn off after 30 minutes. About eight minutes into my walking, a girl got on the treadmill next to me and began running. Not wanting to look too lame, I bumped up my speed even more. It wasn't that effective; she was running at an 8.0 speed (miles per hour, I assume), whereas I peaked at 4.3 and then started panicking that I couldn't walk fast enough to keep up with the machine.

Around the five minutes remaining mark, I began to slow my speed back down. I was a little disappointed that I hadn't felt able to attempt running, since that would have made more sense for this blog. However, just staying on the treadmill and not eliciting confused stares (that I was aware of, anyway) was a big accomplishment for me.

When my 30 minutes were up, I stopped the treadmill, tried not to fall over while walking on the very stationary ground, and managed to take one picture of the fitness center sign before my camera's batteries died.

I don't know about you, but I'd call that a pretty successful first visit.

Can You Tell Me How to Run, How to Run on Sesame Street? [by Mary Catherine Owen]

Photo courtesy of MyAirShoes.com

If you've been on Google's homepage in the past week, or if you're just a fan like me, then you might be aware that today is Sesame Street's 40th anniversary, the show having debuted on November 10, 1969.

Sesame Street is usually known for teaching letters and numbers, but they have always covered other important topics as well, such as health and fitness.

The Sesame Street website has an awesome archive of videos from all 40 years of the show, including ones about running. There are also plenty to be found on YouTube, as you can see from some of my favorites below.

Grover's Monster Workout Video


This is so '80s-looking, but according to Muppet Wiki, it actually first aired in 2003. Either way, I want Grover to be my personal trainer.

Monsterpiece Theater: Chariots of Fur

I love the closeups of the puppet feet -- and the super-slow-motion sequence at the end!

Gordon's Morning Run

I guess Chariots of Fire is an easy target to parody.

Happy birthday to Sesame Street, the longest-running children's television show! (See what I did there?)

Learning to Run: Advice for the Running-Challenged [by Mary Catherine Owen]

Photo courtesy of MotivatedPhotos.com

I would be the first to tell you that I am not a good runner. People assume that because I have long legs (I'm 5'11"), I must be fast, but I prefer to use my powers of tallness for power walking or reaching things on the top shelf.

In that spirit, here are some examples of resources I could use to improve my running (or, you know, learn how to do it in the first place). Fellow running misfits, take note.

This video about proper running form shows how your body should move while running long distances.

I took a quiz about the 11 most common running mistakes and was told that I was an expert runner. If you say so, Women's Health! I think I just made some good educated guesses.

I like this author's approach to running as something that should be enjoyed, regardless of one's ability level.

The Complete Running Blog Network (whose tagline -- "bloggers with a running addiction/runners with a blogging addiction" -- would describe Abby well, I think) has a special archive of bloggers' posts about learning how to run.

I have a phobia of going to the gym because I don't know how to use a treadmill. I hope these guidelines help me when I take my inaugural trip to the campus fitness center this week.

Running Blind [by Mary Catherine Owen]

Hi, everyone! My name is Mary Catherine Owen; before you get too confused, let me explain that Abby has graciously offered me a chance to guest blog for ROA for the next week.

Abby and I are classmates and both of us are writers, but in terms of running, we couldn't be more different. She likes to run and does it often. I run as a means to get out of the pouring rain, or when late to class.

That's why I'm excited for the opportunity to broaden my horizons and explore the world of running. Hopefully I can do the topic justice!

Just An FYI

Hi everyone, just letting you know we will be having a guest blogger for the next week, I hope you all embrace and enjoy this opportunity! I will see you in the middle of the week and for now you can find me on The Art of Adaptation!

iRun With My iPod

When I go out for a run on my own I always have my iPod in tow. My music varies each run, mostly depending on the mood I'm in. A whole different play-list is made for race days to get me pumped up.

Here's a list of 10 songs you will probably find on my day to day running play-list.

1. Shake It by Metro Station
2. Higher Ground by Red Hot Chili Peppers
3. Viva La Vida by Coldplay
4. Gives You Hell by The All American Rejects
5. Encore by Jay-Z
6. The Middle by Jimmy Eat World
7. Where The Streets Have Know Name by U2
8. All These Things That I've Done by The Killers
9. Lose Yourself by Eminem
10. Pump It by The Black Eyed Peas

If you asked me tomorrow I'd tell you ten different songs and I probably will.

Long Runs and Skim Milk

DISCLAIMER: I'm not promoting binge drinking, but I'm being real and I know it occurs on college campus's world wide especially on 21st birthdays.  

So per usual 21st birthday festivities I had a bit too much to drink last night. As the great Kanye West says "Why is everything that is supposed to be so bad make me feel so good?" Luckily I took the day off of work today and I don't have any classes on Friday's so I was able to go out for a decent run this morning.

Here's some VERY HELPFUL hangover facts for everyone.

First I must disclose that I am lucky enough to not get that hungover the next morning when I drink heavily the night before. But as a semi-typical college kid I've had my fare share of rough nights with 8am wake-ups to go for a run. As my team and I like to say the best cure for a hangover is a long run and I personally like to complete it with a large cold glass of skim milk. I love skim milk and the morning after I drink it feels so good.

I know everyone's probably thinking how the heck am I supposed to run with a hangover, but that simply is the hardest part actually getting up and going out for the run. Once you're out there, after about mile three you'll start to feel refreshed, the first couple of miles you'll still be questioning why you're doing this. After you're done you'll feel so rejuvenated.

Trust me.

21-21-21-21!!!!

It's my twenty first birthday today, and I'm excited.

We've got a night full of plans, and a 20 person Escalade Limo coming tomorrow.

I won't be running today.

See you tomorrow!

So Go Downtown, Things'll Be Great When You're Downtown No Finer Place, For Sure!

Petula Clark said it best,

"When you've got worries, all the noise and the hurry
Seems to help, I know - downtown
Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city
Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty
How can you lose?"

Now a time for reflection.

It didn't hit me until I was walking to my car after today's practice, but today was my last Cross Country practice of my college season. That's kind of depressing, where did the time go? I also realized it all came full circle. My first practice ever in Albany was the summer before I came here and we ran downtown. Today without even realizing it, we ran downtown. This was without a doubt my favorite run this season. We all laughed and told stories, we matched ourselves up with our equals, or so we thought, from the men's team, it was just exciting.

We arrived downtown around dusk, all the lights were on in the capital building, the state buildings and Corning Towers.

It was beautiful.

It was a great way to go out.

So just remember:


The lights are much brighter there
You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares
So go downtown, where all the lights are bright

If These Shoes Could Talk

If my running shoes could talk, they would say:

These streets aren't clean.

You cut my sole soul, there's glass everywhere.

Bring me to the country, this pavement hurts!

I want to feel grass.

I'm pretty worn out.

Lose some weight.

You never do this in your heals!

Ever heard the expression, "be light on your feet?"

Why is there so many freakin red lights?

I'm losing my momentum.

I Forgot To Leave Time To Breath

Lately I've been running around like a mad woman. Between school, work, homework and running I hardly ever have time to breath. This week there was the stress of finishing Halloween costumes and also my 21st birthday plans.Today for example, I got out of work at 3:30pm and practice was supposed to start at 3:00, we were supposed to have a pool workout, so I wasn't able to make that. This means I need to figure out when I can make it to open swim tonight. It never ends.

Halloween is behind me, but school, work, homework, running and my birthday stuff still rolls on.

I've been moving from task to task and forgetting to breath or even eat. Gotta love college life. You'll have to excuse me for that quick rant but I really needed to get that out.

Something To Say At ROA: A Quick Link Roundup

So the New York City Marathon was yesterday. For the first time since 1982 an American won: 34-year-old Meb Keflezighi crossed the line in a PR of 2:09:15.

Runner's World gives a full synopsis of this story and more on the men's side.

My personal favorite, Paula Radcliffe, placed fourth while beginning to struggle at the 11th mile because of tendinitis of the left knee.

Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia won on the women's side in a time of 2:28:52.

If you missed the race Universal Sports has video and commentary on what happened.

Pasta Pasta Pasta!

 Photo courtesy of PlusMagazine

For the majority of my life I have been the only girl in my family. I wasn't necessarily taught certain table manors. I'm not a pig I swear.

It's just that my dad didn't time and time again tell me to hold my fork a certain way or teach me that the fork goes on one side and the spoon and knife on the other. I've learned most of this since then.  Also working at a restaurant doesn't hurt my cause.

You might be thinking what does this have to do with running at all. Well a part of running is carb-loading the day or two before a race. Pasta=Carbs. Pasta Parties=An essential high school team and now college team must.Usually each and every pasta party contained spaghetti, which I didn't mind because it is my favorite pasta dish.

I was never taught how to eat spaghetti.

I'm not sure if there is a right way to eat spaghetti.

6 Ways to Eat Spaghetti:

1. Do you try to do the perfect twirl with the fork and the spoon as your base?
2. Or maybe you just try the twirl against your plate as a base?
3. There's the slurp, which never turns out well.
4. If you're feeling lucky you could always take advice from Lady and the Tramp.
5. A rather funny video explains 3 ways here.
6. My solution is always to cut it up and eat it like you would eat anything else. It never fully works, and usually ends in a mess.

I don't know the right way, I probably never will.

My one promise to myself is to never eat spaghetti on a first date.

Just Some Halloween Spirit!

And if you think you couldn't run a marathon before try running 26.2 miles in these costumes.

Happy Halloween!

 

 

Pictures courtesy of EliteFeet  

Something To Say At ROA: A Quick Link Roundup

Not everyone in Albany who's running has been cold lately.

We've got all kinds of political talk coming up, and new representatives running for office's and boards and such, as you can tell I don't follow it all to well. Apparently Republicans feel they need to target Syracuse, Albany, Watertown and Plattsburgh because they are all "distinct areas."

"Distinct" they are.

I've run at Lemoyne College (just outside of Syracuse), The University of Albany and SUNY Plattsburgh, and each of them offer a variety of different terrain and running conditions. But I don't think that's what the Republicans meant.

There are in fact many local races coming up that aren't political.

The Siena Men's and Women's cross country teams will be holding the Spooky Siena Scramble on Halloween day. More information can be found here. I've never run this particular race, but I've ran in costume and it's quite fun. Runner's World has some funny ideas for running-themed costumes that can also be worn while running.

The 34th annual Stockade-Athon will be held on November 8th and it's always a fun race. The Stockade-Athon is a 15k, so it's probably only for more serious runners.

GetSetNY has a list of more upcoming local races.

Rainy Day Runs

 I love to run in the rain during the summer. There's nothing like the feeling of a sweltering hot Sunday run when the rain starts to pour down in sheets. I say Sunday run because Sundays are usually the longest distance run of the week.

I hate really hate running in the rain in the fall/winter months. 

I really hate really freaking hate running in the rain in the fall/winter months.

I especially I really freaking hate running in the rain in the fall/winter months  really freaking hate running in the rain in the fall/winter months when I'm sick.

So rain rain go away come again some summer day.

Thank goodness for us practice today was just a quick and easy four to five miles. Also thank goodness for us the rain had calmed down to a steady sprinkle by the time we took off on our warm-up. Warm-up was no small feat for us because the girls were directly behind the boys (normally we have a little gap between the two teams). The problem is when you're running in a pack you cannot see what is coming directly in front of you. Therefore your leader would jump to the side to avoid a massive puddle, and you would be left to quickly react and find another way around. Mind you at this point we were still in the mindset of not completely soaking our socks and sneakers.

Our run was pleasant. The rain had almost completely died off by our first mile although it got rather chilly. I would assume our breath could be seen by the cars passing by us. All in all it wasn't the worst rainy day run I've ever had, but I still could have done without it and opted for a nice bike or treadmill workout.

We had to make a quick decision to do our striders on the sidewalk back at school because the courtyard where we normally do them was  quite swampy. Our striders are done to remind our body of the race day finishing kick. While we mave have ran an easy run we still want to make sure we keep the body ready for that lactic acid rush.

While nothing too crazy or exciting happened I didn't mind, I was in need of a break from Albany's antics.

Too Sick To Function

I'm sick as a dog today so I won't be attending practice. I feel like a waste of life. I actually got a lot done today but I always feel groggy if I don't run or do some sort of exercise. I contemplated going to the gym and jumping on the bike for an easy 45 minutes.

But then I decided against it.

I miss the team though, it's so weird that this is almost over. I know I have another whole semester, and I have Indoor and Outdoor track coming but still college is almost over.

I will run for the rest of my life, but I won't have a team to run with for the rest of my life.

I Didn't Want To Regret It, But I Think I Might.

This summer I battled with myself on whether or not I was going to race this Cross Country season which will complete my last year of college.

That's a scary thought in itself.

I self finance my education, my apartment, my bills, everything and Cross Country takes up a lot of time. A lot of time for practice and meets equals a lot of missed hours at work. Which equals less money to go towards my education, my apartment, my bills.

I fought with myself for a while and ultimately decided against it. My scholarship at Saint Rose is for Track and Field, meaning I am required to do Track but not Cross Country. I love Cross Country and I love my team which is why this was so hard for me. I worked out a deal with my Track coach that instead of doing pre-season with them I would be running with my Cross Country team on the days when I worked in the morning so I could get to practice at night.

This meant I would not be racing but just practicing with the team.
I did not want to regret my decision.

But I do.

I miss my team immensely. I understand I see them three times a week, but most of the fun comes during meets and over night events. I miss the racing and I miss the complete dedication to something I love.

I don't think I would have been able to survive on my own, monetarily speaking, if I had done both but I now wish that there had been another solution. This would have been the end of a chapter with my team if I had completed all four years, but now I feel a little sense of loss.

I wish to not regret this because there's nothing I can do about it now. But instead I will try to pull from it the good and move on knowing that some things just have to be done a certain way in order to endure situations you are put in.

Flashback to Elementary School

Coach decided we were going to have some fun at practice today. So we played games from elementary school gym class for 45 minutes while continuously running.

At first i wasn't excited.

But honestly once we got to game three or four we were all wicked into it. I think the kicker was the final game of group freeze tag.

It was an even match up. 
It became a seriously intense game.

Finally coach had to call it a four way tie. This was probably a good thing because we were all getting rather tired, and I think injury was soon to follow.

One Fist, Two Fist...Holy Crap Fight!!!

I should not be amazed anymore about some of the things I see on my day to day runs. But it seems every time something new and crazy happens I still have to do a double-take and really ask myself :

Did that really happen?

It was a gorgeous day for a run. The weather was just right and the team and I had good conversation flowing throughout the entirety of our seven-miler. Almost back at school, running down Ontario Street, we looked ahead to see six guys. I would say they were about 18-years old walking towards us on the sidewalk. None of us thought twice about this because we often share the sidewalk with others.

We got closer and their pack shifted left except for two of them. We were about ten feet from these two and began to shorten our stride trying to anticipate what they were doing, seeing as they had not yet moved. Next thing we knew we were witnessing a fist fight directly in front of us. We literally jumped out of the way into the road to avoid these swinging idiots.

Seriously? What the hell?

We looked back thinking that maybe they had been trying to show off in front of 15 girls but they were still going at it pretty fiercely. We couldn't do anything but laugh, so that we did...pretty hard.

That was enough excitement for the day at least that's what we thought. But of course that wasn't enough action for an Albany run.

Around 50 yards later we crossed Park Avenue. The three of us in front of our pack, myself included, nearly got nailed by an oncoming Honda Civic. The airhead was on her cell phone and decided it was smart to roll through the stop sign and somehow failed to miss all of us in brightly colored t-shirts running directly in front of her.

She seemingly failed to miss the Albany Police Car that was stopped at the adjacent red light.

Unfortunately for her the officer wasn't  missing anything. He let us pass then threw on his lights and siren and pulled her over 20 seconds later. Oh karma.

Just Don't Freakin Do It

I was walking home from the gym today and I saw it: my pet peeve

This unsuspecting middle-aged women annoyed me and she didn't even know it. Judging by her stride, she was a pretty avid runner. Nonetheless, she had committed the ultimate runner's fashion faux pas.
She was wearing black spandex with blue running shorts over top of them.

Please.

I'm begging you.

If you wear spandex pants to run in--Under Armour, or Nike spandex, I'm not talking leggings--DO NOT where shorts on top.

I don't know what it is, but over the years this has become one of my biggest pet peeves! It's not necessary. It doesn't even look functional and it's not comfortable.

This rule goes for runners only. If you're playing soccer or another recreational sport outside, then by all means wear shorts over your spandex.

But all you runners should be more seasoned than this.

I've discussed this with many other runners, and so far they have all agreed. By all means if you disagree and have supporting evidence for your case, please leave a comment.

So as the weather continues to get colder, you can find me throwing on my spandex for a run. But you better believe I'll be leaving the shorts at home!

Which one is better? You Decide!
                                                        Granted, it looks frumpy different when you're actually running in them, but I had already done my workout for the day and I wasn't about to be caught with shorts on over my spandex.

(Even if it was only for a five-minute span to take a picture!)

Oops, Forgot My Toilet Paper!

WARNING: This post is not to be read while eating. Some will handle this post better than others after the realization that this is a natural occurrence. I hope you will now grasp the realization that everyone poops.

I've never run a marathon. I've thought about running a marathon after I graduate. I'm just not sure.


Something I do think about, however, is how people go to the bathroom in a marathon.

I've been in a running environment for a long time. Precisely I've been running competitively since the fourth grade which makes it about 12 years. Because of this I've learned and seen and the whole idea of pooping and peeing (yes I said it) doesn't come as a shocker to me.

I've become accustomed to Porta-Potties, I'm not afraid to use them, and better yet I don't think twice about relieving myself in the woods. I would think this falls true for many other long time runners. If you attend any race you'll more than likely see the line of these iridescent blue toilets not to mention you'll see a even longer line of runners waiting outside them.

One of the first things I remember about being on my high school team was how quickly we all jumped into talking about our digestive cycles.

Runners share a bond because since day one it's something we've all become comfortable with talking about for the simple fact that everyone poops and everyone pees (again I said it).

The worst position to be in is 15 miles deep into the woods when you realize you have to go number two.

Trust me.

Not only have you more than likely forgot to bring along a few sheets of toilet paper but at this point your bodies extremely tired and more than likely having a hard time holding things in, if you get my drift.

Then there is peeing while racing.

This Runners World forum discusses a variety of times that fellow runners have witnessed or taken part in peeing during a race. The first time I saw this happen was at the New York State Cross Country Championship meet my freshman or sophomore year of high school. I would say at least 4 out of the top 10 female finishers had wet their Spankies. I was a little put off by this but soon realized the likelihood of this happening to myself, or one of my teammates was basically inevitable.

You maybe asking yourself the question "Why do runners pee during a race?" You have to understand that the amount of fluids that runners take in daily is way more than the daily human. This is especially the case for marathon runners. So the combination of drinking an excess amount of fluids and running for as long as six hours at a time equals a large chance for urination. Not to mention that fact that your body is completely drained allowing all effort from your muscles to focus on moving your legs and not holding in your bladder.

Paula Radcliffe a nationally known marathon runner shows us how to relieve yourself in a classy manner while running and going on to win the London Marathon.

Whether you're a high school athlete or a world famous one, this kind of stuff happens. If it happens to you don't be embarrassed if you're witnessing this try not to cringe and always remember bring an extra pair of underwear.

Fast Community Servers

I'm sure you've all seen them lately; the vast array of knocked over garbage cans littering the sidewalks or even worse the roads.

It's the worst thing when you're driving down a one way street and there's a garbage can or 5 in the middle of the road. You're left with the option to bump it enough with your front end to get it out of the way or put the car in park, get out, and move it to the side (because god knows you're not about to nail the thing and see what comes flying out...or maybe you are).

Well yesterday the team and I took it up ourselves to help out the innocent drivers and walkers of Albany. I'd say we turned upright at least 15 cans on our 6 mile run covering mostly main streets. Not to mention at least 10 that we removed from the road.

It's all about the little things!

Spankies!

I was doing some re-arranging in my room today and came across my old high school uniform (which I was probably supposed to return, sorry coach).

I remember the day my high school team got our new uniforms.

We were scared.

We had made the transformation from woman's running shorts to Spankies (see definition number six). Most of us were scared but we all saw this transformation as not only a new uniform but we now "looked" faster.

It's funny how something you wear can change your complete persona. Most of the fast teams in our Section have Spankies, and now we were a team to be reckoned with and we had the Spankies to prove it.

We decided to wear our new Spankies at practice the day before our first meet so we could adjust to them (after all from running in shorts your entire life to practically running in underwear in front of crowds of people can be a bit nerve racking at times).

As captain I probably should have picked a better place to warm up that day rather than around the soccer fields where we found the Men's Soccer team oogling over us as we strided by.

None the less Spankies are rather comfortable for race days, and most teams who race in them love them.

At the collegiate level we've mostly all changed to spandex shorts. These are the same material, but a lot more comfortable and a lot less revealing.

Want a Cig?

I had my first run back with the team today, and I forgot how much different it is to run with a group of girls rather than flying solo.

For one you're always looking in front of you to make sure you're not stepping on someone else or tripping on something directly in front of you. Aside from these small differences, the major difference is that when one girl runs by on the street in Albany she gets an occasional head turn from a gentleman walking or driving by but when 15 girls run by its a constant occurrence along with the more than frequent "hollas" from the fellas. Anyway so we ran our warm-up, stretched out, and took off for our 50-55 minute run.

Not even three minutes down the street we passed Sadies; the bar on the corner of Ontario and Madison Avenue. A young man was outside smoking a "cig." It was like he had never seen girls in his entire life. His eyes bugged out and he didn't say a word until we passed (ballsy move buddy...NOT). We almost reach the corner and I hear "oh yeahhh ladies, want a cig?"

Is this guy serious?

Yes actually buddy I'd like a pack for each of my teammates. Come on! If he wanted to say something couldn't he have thought of something a little bit more fitting?

Witty. Only in Albany.

How Do You Run?

Contrary to popular belief more often than not people say to me, "How do you run...for 13 miles?" (the part after the ellipsis changes depending on the speaker).

Well everyone, here you go!

Stop procrastinating, you can always make a good excuse why today's a bad day to run.
Put on your clothes; please -- no jeans.
Find a pair of sneakers.
Lace up those sneakers.
Grab your ipod, if you have one.
Open your door, and walk out of your house.
Begin to run.
This is done by putting one foot in front of the other (hopefully this was known w/o explanation).
Increase your pace, be comfortable.
Enjoy it, this is key.
Go for your desired distance, or time.
Remember you're not going to be an Olympic runner your first time out there, or for most of us you're never going to be an Olympic runner.
Enjoy that runners high when you're done.
Stretch well.
Relax.

There you have it, try it, you might like it.

And So It Begins

Here i am, back from my first "run to be published" and I wasn't sure if I was going to make it as I nearly died on Washington Ave. Let's begin my asking:

Why Albany decides to start tearing up one of the busiest roads when, I'd say, 50% of Albany's population returns to the city to start another year of college?

I took off through the college ghetto that i am blessed to live in (insert sarcasm here) and decided i was going to take Washington Ave for a little bit to increase the distance of my run. Big mistake. I should have turned around when i saw the dust cloud protruding a mile away. I wasn't thinking that that was going to soon to be inhaled into my lungs.

So the city figured out pretty nicely how to manage traffic, not to say that there wasn't a line of cars that lasted a mile, but i mean they did have a plan and they did have plenty of people with fluorescent vests on directing traffic.

Imagine their eyes when they saw a runner coming through the mix of this, they didn't know what to do. I took matters into my own hands and crossed 4 lanes of traffic to finally find myself on a nicely non tore up patch of sidewalk (yes still in a cloud of dust).

Links

1. Sweet!

Sweet there's an entire site that is a directory to hundreds of running-blogs, i plan to use this a lot and hopefully add myself to the list.

2. Running Skirts

Plain and simple i think the idea of skirts to run in is stupid. I've seen them, i don't doubt that they're comfortable, but i don't like them...none the less there's still some decent info on this site.

3. Back to my roots

This is the Section 2 website, i spent hours each night in high school perusing this site scoping out my competition. I still check it from time to time to see how my dads team is doing (yep, my dad was my coach).

4. Shout-out to Saint Rose

The College's athletic website, gotta represent.

5. Shoes!

Possibly one of the most important things, you'll understand soon enough.

6. One of the best magazines on earth, next to Cosmo : )

I said it all in the link, i lovesss it.

7. Another good mag

I don't subscribe to it, but i check it out online often. Maybe when i place myself on a larger budget I'll be able to grab this one too.

8. Injury Prevention

This is a good site for runners who are just beginning, or runners who are uneducated in the field of injuries. A lot of whats on this site is second nature knowledge for me because I've been around this lifestyle for so long, it's still helpful tho.

9. Map My Run

I use this often to log my miles for my coach, to figure out how long certain routes are, or to plan my run if i want to switch things up a bit, it's REALLY helpful for training.

10. Running Network

This website features a wide array of information on running, and what's going on in the running world, competitively and non competitively.

11. Book of woman's running

Here's a link to a book i like produced by my favorite magazine, next to Cosmo of course, (Runners World) it's all about woman's running.

12. USATF

This is a great organization USA Track and Field, they put on A LOT of races, have a wealth of knowledge and an organization i belong to.

13. Shoes AND clothes!

Another site full of running shoes and running gear, it seriously becomes very important for comfort and injury prevention.

14. Cross Training

HUGELY IMPORTANT, whether you're already injured and have no choice but to cross train or you want to get more in shape, and balanced so you don't become injured cross training is key.

15. Fashionable Runner

This is a fun blog based out of NYC, the blog was launched by 2 woman looking to create an apparel line for functional and fashionable running.

16. 518 Fevaaa

518fever.com is an entertainment based website about the Capital Region (hence the 518 area code) there's a blogger named Maria on the site, who runs for Albany Running Exchange, who discusses running.

17. Running Raw

This website is pretty intense, it's an entire project dedicated to running, and being an athlete on a completely raw vegan diet. WOW a lot of people have controversy about this because they feel athletes can't rebuild muscle w/o protein. He also has a blog portion to his site.

18. RunYourCity

A running website with the basis to unite fellow runners from all over the place, i hope to also be added to this directory, a lot of great things on this site.

19. The Happy Runner

A blog i recently came across, another Albany native, who recounts her running, thoughts on running, and running-related tips and information.

20. Albany Running Exchange

The Albany Running Exchange is a unique organization. With hundreds of members of all ages and abilities, daily group runs, our own races, several organized trips to races throughout the northeast, and a high-level website that tracks everything from your race history to how many miles are on your shoes.