Wednesday, September 30, 2009

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.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

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.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

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).

Sunday, September 20, 2009

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.