Cait’s Articles at , Page 59

About Cait

Freelance writer, artist, & graphic designer. Founder of Ezzere Running Shirts http://ezzere.com/ #runner #writer #blogger #artist #designer Run. Laugh. Be.

The Story of Lane One…

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Cait — 8 Comments ↓

Lane 1 was the baby of the family. Her siblings liked to remind her of this fact as often as possible, mostly because they were jealous. The story goes that when she was paved, Papa Grand Stand put a little something special into her mix. It was a golden spike that he had carried with him and saved special for his baby girl.

track lane one

Whether or not this was in fact true didn’t really matter to her siblings, they didn’t like it one bit and Lane 2 especially. Of course we all love our siblings, but if love had a color for how Lane 2 felt towards Lane 1 it was puke green laced with envy-lime.

The reason for this jealousy isn’t fully unfounded, and who could blame them? Everyone loved Lane 1, everyone fought for her, elbowed, shoved, and dug in right up close to her rail. PR’s, heck even World Records, had come down to the wire as the athletes leaned for the tape across her physique. Lane 1 was holy ground.

Sure, one could argue that plenty of action occurred in Lane 2, even 3 or 4 on plenty occasions, but let’s be honest, nothing compares to Lane 1. I think the fact that Lane 2 rightly felt that they deserved just as much attention as its white line sharing sibling only made things worse, “Did you see that lean? Ya, well that just won themselves the Gold Medal, and do you know where that lean was? Ummm, hello?! It was right up on me! But does anyone care, no, it’s all about my snotty sister!”

You’d think Lanes 8 and 9 would be most bitter, but I think it was more just they had given up completely. They accepted long ago that they were forever and always the ugly stepsisters reserved for strides and even so low as to be used for additional warm-up area for runners prepping for their race to be run after the one currently in progress. Every now and again they got some attention, should a miscalculating hurdler go down and warrant some ‘oooh’s’ and ‘ahhh’s’ from the crowd, but not much else.

Lanes 4 through 7 played the typical middle children roles of the family. Lane 7 had adopted the second-mother role and made sure that all the lanes kept themselves neat and tidy and presentable come race days. This nagging usually was greeted with the typical grunts and groans, but the sibling lanes always followed orders, they too always wanted to look their best for the races. Well, except for that one time Lane 2 rebelled, refused to take care of a little wear and tear near the 200 meter mark and let it fester until it was an unsightly pothole. The subsequent repaving was her punishment and trust me she learned her lesson…no one likes a pot-holey track and if she thought she didn’t get enough love before, well, the scorn of a pothole made her furious.

Lane 6 was the comic relief of the bunch and liked to play commentator for the races, “Ouch, tough race for that guy, he shouldn’t have been wolfing down those chili cheese fries earlier. I hope he learned his lesson.” Lane 5 was sort of that ghost of the family, people sort of forgot she was even really there at times. This didn’t really bother her, this fading into the background, she was able to pick up some especially tantalizing tidbits and if Lane 5 were to talk more, would she ever have some whopping secrets to divulge. She stored these up like a squirrel collecting acorns, she documented these in a diary that one day she planned to publish, make millions, and rub in the faces of all her sister lanes.

Lane 4 was the prankster; usually, if you look real close, if a runner goes down in a big pack you can see it had something to do with Lane 4. Mamma Grand Stand tried to keep her in order, but to no avail. She’d constantly threaten to have her unruly daughter stripped off and resurfaced into the triple jump or shot-put areas, but Lane 4 knew all talk was pretty much an empty threat.

So Lane 1 shone. She glistened and shined, she glinted in the scorching heat, the beads of perspiration fell to her sacred ground from the harriers giving all they had and more. She elongated the shadows of the 10k racers dueling on as the evening sun set. She splashed in the downpours as the sprinters’ rapid fire legs raised in wild, explosive arcs across her formation.

She highlighted these runners’ accomplishments, swelled with pride as they mounted the podium on still wobbly legs. She cheered loudest of all because she truly felt each footstep, she had a kinship with each and every one of them. A part of her heart also ached for the ones that shed tears in addition to sweat.

Maybe that’s what set Lane 1 apart from all of her sisters, that she had a heart. Perhaps there really was truth behind that golden spike legend, and it granted her the ability to feel. To feel and know that to everyone that lined up on her sacred ground it was more than just a race, more than just laps around a track.

What I’m Doing This Wednesday…

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Cait — 9 Comments ↓

Happy Wednesday everyone! So I’ve noticed that tons of people take part in some kind of ‘What I…’ themed post on Wednesdays. (Why all the love to Wednesday, is there a reason this day of the week seems to get so much more attention than the rest? Jk.)

I have yet to take part in any of them for a few reasons: 1) At first I just didn’t catch on to the whole acronym thing, I started to see it popping up everywhere, and it confused me. Yes, I’m lame, but then when I did figure out what the things stood for it again took some time for it to sink in that there was a trend and not something specific to just one blogger.

Yes, carrots make the cut! (pic is from a design i sent to...duh, new seasons market...lol.)

2) I don’t do the ‘What I Ate’ thing because really, if I posted up what I ate each Wednesday it would take everyone about two weeks to see that I basically eat the same thing all the time. It would be boring, and to be honest I might just be tempted to make a template and repost it every time since the odds that it would still be the truth would be stacked in my favor.

3) I don’t do the ‘What I Worked Out’ one because again it’s typically the same thing. I know I need to mix it up, it’s a case of ‘do as I say, not as I do.’

4) Maybe I’ll just toss this in and pretend that it’s because I’m a rebel without a cause. Nah, but the truth is that I’d probably just forget after a few weeks.

Although, I thought I saw one about ‘What I’m Thankful For Wednesday.’ I could be wrong, but let’s roll with that one. I can do that and at least for today, who knows what next week holds, like I said I’ll probably end up forgetting.

*I’m thankful to not be living in a box. Bwahaha…it was iffy there for a bit (juuuust kidding) but I am one of those people who is always really paranoid about just being flat out broke. I get nervous when I spend a lot, even if I know I have enough saved up and need whatever I’m purchasing. (Here, I’m not even going to say what I think constitutes ‘a lot.’) My mom rags on me for being a cheap-o but I like to just think I’m cautious? The thing though is that the only time I don’t feel as guilty is when I’m buying something for someone else that I care a lot about.

This princess is my sis!! (i made this card for her bday awhile back)

*I’m thankful to be closer to my siblings/family. Actually, they are probably the top two ‘get out of guilt free for spending’ cards for me.

*I’m thankful that I just found some gift cards that I forgot about. They are to Borders and since they are going out of business I need to use them fast, and I just got emailed another coupon…I’m all over this. If anyone has any book or movie suggestions, let me know!

*I’m thankful that now I have my own treadmill and TV viewing space. There is nothing worse than not being able to get on a machine at the gym, getting stuck with a treadmill that is at a wonky angle and you can’t see the TV, get a treadmill at the opposite end of where a fan is located, or being stuck watching something you really don’t care about or like on the TV. Now, I get to be the selfish kid who always gets their way with the remote. I also can place a fan right next to me that staves off my crazy sluggy salty sweat-fest self. Wow, I paint a pretty picture.

In my typical sarcasty self way, I’m going to add in some things that fall under the category of ‘What I’m Hoping for in Wednesdays to Come’:

*Be rid of some pesky blisters on both of my big toes. I usually don’t get really bad blisters all too often, so I guess this was a long time coming. They’re the ones that are mutants between blisters and calluses, I seriously should hire the 7 Dwarfs to go in there and mine, maybe they’d come up with some diamonds??

*Google Reader to stop hating me. I keep hearing that people aren’t getting my new posts since the Blogger transition. I guess I peeved off the wrong people, and I’m sort of scared that Google is tied up in it. I mean should I expect more forms of punishment forthcoming?

*Just randomly be granted a lifetime supply of: running shoes, running clothes, a tad of fashion sense, a scanner and computer that get along, a freezer and fridge large enough to hold limitless quantities of my staple foods, limitless quantities of all my staple foods, and to never have to worry about my stupid hair flying into my face while I’m running. I don’t know how the last one would work out, I don’t want to be bald, but maybe I’d just have that hair block type thing you see in cartoons???

I’m sure there are other things, I know that they are, but all in all I’m pretty thankful this Wednesday. The goods outweigh any of my snarky remarks and right now I know that I’m lucky. There are others having much worse Wednesdays, my heart goes out to them and can only say, “Get through life’s shiznit…stay the course!”

1) If you do any type of ‘What I … Wednesday’ what is it and do you feel like you have to be ‘on’ and make it extra interesting?

2) What’s something you’re thankful for this Wednesday?

3) What’s something you’re hoping for in Wednesdays to come?

4) What are some book or movie suggestions I should spend my gift card on?

I’m a Runner So I Can Be Lazy

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Cait — 11 Comments ↓

I’m a runner so that means I can be selectively lazy.

On a typical day I’ll run at least 9 miles but if I’m driving I’ll be darned if I won’t scope out the closest possible parking spot.

I will also feel no guilt if on my way home I will pull up to the curb where my mailbox is, crane out the window and get it, and then drive across the street home.

I will lift weights and do my strength work but I’ll curse at the flipping iron rolly gate that weighs a bazillion pounds when it refuses to budge and allow me to close it.

I’ve busted my bum doing repeat 800’s or 5 miler tempo runs but then get schooled by a five year old in a race to the soccer ball. I’m a long distance chick, so hey, don’t judge.

I can talk about how important it is to stretch, I will dedicate myself to periods of being REALLY good and stretching like I should, but STILL not be able to touch my toes. My excuse is that my legs are seriously my whole body so proportionately my arms never stood a chance.

I love doing long runs, so 90 min’s and upwards, but I will complain about how flipping looooong it takes to walk anywhere. Funny how walking one mile time seems like an eternity. I think that’s why I just hate walking so much, I’m just impatient and I want to get there.

I like running so much also because you get ‘the most bang for your buck.’ I talk to cyclists and have been told that the ratio of running to cycling miles is about 3:1 or 4:1. Again, I’m impatient, I’d rather run for an hour than have numbbutt syndrome for three or four.

I will ask my sibling to hand me the piece of paper that is on the counter about five feet away, even if they might have to get up to do. Even if they say no, it was worth a shot.

On the flip side I HATE car rides, long flights, and anything that forces me to sit still for too long. This is, I know, sort of screwy because I can be sucked into my laptop for hours writing, FBing, etc. but I refuse to go to a movie that pushes too far past the two hour mark. Maybe it’s the idea that I am forced or ‘trapped’ in a car and there is no option of leaving??

I’m a runner and I can be selectively lazy; but I still retain the right to make fun of people who are just straight up lazy.

This was an old Mom's Day card I made...hence the kids tied up in the background. 😉

1) What are some of the funny, quirky things you ‘allow’ yourself to do because you workout?

2) What are just some random weird things you do?

3) What is the name of your third grade teacher? Can you remember? Do you have a particularly ‘traumatic’ grammar school moment that may or may not still influence something about you today?

Okay, third grade teacher was Mrs. Hayes, I will never forget her because I am dead certain she is the spawn of the devil. Random grammar school moment that I am also certain must have something to do with me eventually being self-conscious if I’m running too slow: second grade PE class, it had been raining in the morning and my mom had made me wear rubber rain boots to school. Back then you didn’t change for PE class so when they had us go and run, probably about 300 meters, I was about dead last because I was trucking bricks for shoes. Patrick McKibbin (look, I still vividly remember this) whizzed past me and says, “You’re slow.” I hated him for that for years.

Flies Stink and an Epic Length Post on the Benefits of Bad Races

Posted on August 16, 2011 by Cait — 10 Comments ↓

Flies, what are their deal? They are attracted to all things refuse, decaying and dirty then at the same time feel like it’s okay to roll around in said filth and THEN come schmoozing up on me and my food? How wrong and to coin an annoying blonde haired child, “How rude?” (Stephanie was always my least favorite Tanner.)

I know we’ve all heard urban legend that the second a fly lands on anything it throws up, and so I ask, is that true? If so then I’m covered in sh** on top of being annoyed.

There are other ‘flies’ in life, the flies at the office would have to be those people that buzz around eavesdropping and then spread any juicy tidbits they pick up. Pretty much the same people would be flies at high school, only those flies are a hybrid with mosquitoes because they are out for blood. High school is a blood sport.

Being ticketed for a broken taillight could be a life ‘fly’ because unless you get tipped off by a friendly person watching you from the back, how are you to know? Ooooh, this is fun, so I’m going to keep going. Okay, how about going on a first date, you’re walking along on the beach thinking you’re all cool and romantic and BAM seagull poop lands right on your shoulder? True story, happened to my friend who shall remain nameless only a few weeks ago…so sad, he just started dating again and look what happened. 😛

I guess nothing to do but deal with those flies and swat them away the best that we can. Bad races and horrible workouts are obvious flies. Necessary evils that come with the territory. Heck, bad days in general, but when it comes to running and working out we ALL have those fly days…sadly sometimes fly weeks. Fly slumps. Been there, let’s not look back through those scrapbooks.

BUT, fly races can be good things:

*The Learning Tool: After you finish, mop up those tears, or wash out that mouth, and think. Could there be a reason that you had a less than stellar performance? Did you go out too fast in the beginning or make another obvious racing tactic blunder? Did you go too hard, too close to the big day? Did you not really prepare the way you should for the race? Are you overly tired? Races are like check-ins and if something’s not working then find a way to fix it.

*You Underestimated: Did you go in with an off race plan or maybe no race plan at all? Racing on the fly can be sort of liberating, but you still want to go in with at least some clear goal or tactic. If you knew certain people were in the race, or if you are on a cross team and you were hoping to beat a certain team, did you underestimate your competition? On the flip side, did you underestimate yourself? Did you hold back too long, maybe you should have surged on a certain lap, closed a gap sooner, made a decisive move? Planning mistakes happen, again, use them as a learning experience and be better prepared for next time.

*The Off-Taper: When you taper for a race that means you intentionally cut back mileage, the days leading up are easier. Tapering is a tricky science, all about finding the right balance between doing enough so that you are sharp and ready to go and not doing too much. Look and see if maybe your tapering was a little off. Tapering usually leaves people feeling like they have way too much excess energy and sometimes we have to force ourselves to not do any more than we should. On the flip side, you don’t want to do nothing or take out all fast running, which will leave you feeling sluggish and slow.

You got problems if THIS guy is beating you...

*Overdistance, Underdistance: Was this race ‘your’ race? I mean if you’re a miler and you go run a marathon, you may need to go in knowing that, “Hey, this race is going to be more of a challenge for me than the person who genetically is predisposed to running longer, marathon type distances.” The same for the marathoner running a mile race; it’s great to run a range of races but base the results off of you personally as a runner. If our marathoner runs a decent time FOR THEM in a mile race but comes in dead last, they need to be sure to keep things in perspective.

*Training Through: Did you train through this race? That means was this race not exactly ‘a really big race’ in your training program but instead one along the road to your ‘big goal’ race? This happens a lot for high school and college runners who have to go through league or prelim meets. You can’t rest up for everything because you’d never get in a solid block of training, so for many of the smaller meets you’ll go in without tapering and while you still may put forth your best effort, your legs have that extra workload in them and won’t be as fresh as when you eventually do taper for the big day. This is a big mental thing though because for some people these off races put doubts in their mind and they become afraid that come their ‘big goal’ race they will still feel flat. So you have to stay confident and know that come the big day you’ll be rested and ready.

*Something New: Trying something new on a race day isn’t something you should do. The pile of cheesy nachos an hour before the gun will bring you your own just desserts. In times like these, get through the race and let’s hope it’s a lesson learned.

*New Training: Anytime you go with or are transitioning to a new training method, program, or coach expect that to get results you’ll need to wait through the adjustment period. It takes a few months, yes months at least, to fully adjust to something new and see the results you want. Expect that, and if you really believe in the program stick it out and give it time. That said training philosophies and techniques are VERY personal and if something doesn’t click after an acceptable period of adjustment, reassess. Make sure anything you are doing you fully believe in, running and racing is mental, you have to believe in what you’re doing to make it work.

*Gut it Out: Making it to the finish line despite knowing that you’re having a bad race is one of the best ways to improve your mental fortitude. It’s a mind game. If you were to drop out and stop after each bad race, you run the risk of getting into a very bad habit. There are times when the smart thing to do is drop out, you don’t want to risk an injury, but I’d say for the majority of the time you should stick it out to the end. Why? It’s all mental, if you don’t force yourself to finish when it hurts and sucks too many times, you start to give yourself that ‘out’ and that ‘out’ becomes way too appealing any time a race or workout hurts…and running does hurt. 😉

*Test of Character: Lose as gracefully as you can, or if you don’t meet your goals give yourself an hour, maybe a day/night of wallow, but then get sane and productive.

*The Flies Gotcha: Look, sometimes there are just no reasons for bad races or bad days. The clouds align and they are stormy. To be honest, having exceptional races are a rarity, having good races you’d like to be the ‘almost’ majority, most of them are middle of the road or you at least hit some expectations, but there are plenty of fly races. Bad races and bad days come with the game. You do the most you can to swing the odds in your favor, but at the line it’s all in dem legs and dem legs can be moody like a menopausal woman.

1) What are other flies in life?

How about getting maybe 4 miles into a long run and already scoping out a place for a bathroom plot?

2) One good thing about bad races for you?

3) Worst bad race memory?

The one that instantly comes to mind was when I was running a 10k and through about 4 ½ miles stoked that I was underpace and on track to run a time I REALLY wanted. Crazy how much difference a lap or two can make, I CRAWLED in those last 5 laps. That race was one of the times I wanted to DNF soooo bad…but I didn’t. Haha…that last mile was horrendous!

4) Speaking of, did anyone race this weekend, how did it go? I’m hoping that this post didn’t reopen any fresh wounds. 😉

Gettin Your Fight Club On – We Play by My Rules Though

Posted on August 13, 2011 by Cait — 8 Comments ↓

Happy Friday!! I hope you all are ready to kick off a fun weekend. Things around here have felt a little too ‘seriousy’ for me, so we obviously need to inject some kind of immaturity.

I’m also sitting on the verge of a minor/not-so-minor Hulk style flip out. Why? My computer and this slow butt internet has been working my last nerve!!!!! That whole Office Space scene of them just kicking the shiznit out of that piece of equipment, I wish I could do just that.

I know logically pounding on it won’t do a lick of good but the amount of instant satisfaction is almost just too tempting to pass up. I’ve never actually been in a real smack-down style fight with anyone…

Pic I made for my family...they've got a Boston Terrier named Rocco

…I think the closest I’ve ever really come to honestly physically trying to overpower someone was in a struggle over a chair with my brother. Sibling moments at their finest, but this was one time we did cross that line between ‘haha, I want that chair’ and ‘I don’t care who the heck you are, or the fact that it’s over something idiotic, I’m going to try to kick your butt’ territory. I was 18, my brother 16; he outweighed me by probably a good 60-70 pounds and had a foot on me. You probably know how it ended, he got the chair, but I tell you he got it a lot harder than he thought he would. Oh, and in my mind I totally creamed him. 😉

On the subject, I’ve always harbored secret fantasies of being all street tough and like I really could win in any kind of fight…heck, I can barely come out on top of most verbal ones. That, and being that I love me my Fight Club, (okay, back when Brad Pitt wasn’t tainted by Jolie, he was hot!) I’ll start my own little knock-off. I’ll share a few rules:

We can talk about this fight club, but only if I win. That’s right, just like any other sore sport I can’t have you bringing up my failures. If I’m not in the fight, then you can brag all you want.
Races seem to feel okay about charging an arm and a leg to enter, then I’ll follow suit. You want to fight? I wear a size 8.5 Nike Structure Triax, I also want me some Franz Blueberry English Muffins.
We don’t have weight divisions, but we instead rely on the PO scale: levels of pissed-offness. It’s all about the size of the fight in the dog, in this case it’s about the amount of pure rage adrenaline this sucker’s running off of.
We don’t use weapons. If there is an object in your hand then it better be the item that your rage is directed towards…example: computer.

Farting would be an accpetable way around the 'no weapon' rule though...

**Disclaimer: To state the obvious, the above is all a fictitious rambling and in no way represents anything I stand for or believe in. In reality I’d probably get the snot knocked out of me by mini-me, I’d drop to the floor faster than a hot potato…I vividly remember that Holyfield vs. Tyson, I’m not willing to lose part of my ear or any other bodily extensions. Finally, failures do make us better and hungrier for the next round, so I’m not saying losing sometimes isn’t a bad thing (heck, there are some egos out there who deserve a swift loss).

1) What was the last inanimate object that was the bane of your current existence and focal point of your utter rage?

2) Have you ever been in a ‘real’ fight?

3) Do you have a rule you’d like to add to our fictitious knock-off Fight Club?

4) Any fun weekend plans?

Summer’s Over and High Schools Need to Stop Messing Around With Our Sports Programs!

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Cait — 12 Comments ↓

I’m typing this while coming down off of a Sharpie induced brain fog. I’ve been doing art work for the past three plus hours and because I’m still old school and draw/sketch, then ink my stuff out with actual pens, I’m blessed with pen headache.

That’s okay, I’m over it. Today was also the very first day of high school for my littlest brother!! He’s the fourth and last (by word, he better be the last at this point…haha) of the Chock kiddlets to work their way through GB High. My sister is also a Junior there now…cut to picture…

my siblings

…Wes on the left, Shay in the middle, the one of the right is my brother’s good friend. Again, I wish I looked half as stylish and amazing as my sister.

I still can’t believe how old they are getting. And upon writing that I’m feeling more and more old fartsty and like a parent myself!

Second thing, last night I watched a movie called ‘Racing for Time.’ Or at least I think I’m remembering the title correctly, I’m horribly embarrassed and appalled to admit it was in fact a Lifetime Movie, but hear me out before you automatically close this window.

I read the little recap on it and it was about a man who starts a track team for a girls’ youth correctional facility. It had running so I thought I’d try to force the Lifetime credit down and hope it didn’t come back up. 😉

Of course it was laced with the typical feel good, warm and fuzzy subtext, but overall I think it was pretty decent. I did like how the corny ending was staved off from being unbearable by the fact that (spoiler alert…haha) while they did rise above and end up technically winning the big race against ‘normal high schools’ they were DQ’ed for a bad handoff on the last leg. The trophy went to the catty girl’s team who made some snippy remark at the starting line.

Though the message at the end was that despite being DQ’ed they were still winners. They’d overcome personal and social barriers and at least been given a chance to feel like a part of a team. Hopefully they would carry over that discipline upon their release and create a better life for themselves…yada yada yada. Before I go all Lifetime on us, I’ll just say that I think the movie was pretty inspiring but for a couple other reasons.

First, implementing sports, especially running or ones that involve a great amount of discipline, WILL build character for those who participate. Along with plenty of other things. I think what this guy did by starting the track program is admirable (I’m not sure if it was based off of a true story or not) and should be done in these types of places. That said…it should be continued or reinstated in any other school, YMCA, rec league, etc everywhere.

In the Runner’s Log I made for one high school, GB actually…haha, I heard from the coach that just to participate in a sport a student has to pay some ginormous fee (it was close to $200 I think) and on top of that pay to the individual sport that they are participating in…each separate sport. On top of that, parents are again nickel and dimed for all those other things…thankfully running doesn’t require too much equipment.

Yes, we should even save football...haha. 🙂

And this is a school lucky enough to even still have sports to their students. Don’t even get me started on cutting youth sports, then even their phys. ed classes…I mean I could go on about how wrong that is for days. I also just think it’s wrong that you’d have to pay an arm and a leg to take part, what about the kids who don’t have those kinds of resources? To coin a playground phrase….no fair!

Back to the movie, the other thing I liked about it (while it was a sprint 4×100 race and it would have been way better if it was a long distance one) is that it did show how our sport really is the best. So brownie points for Lifetime on that one.

1) Do you feel like an old fart when you listen to yourself sometimes?

Yes, not just in the above example but anytime I make a comment about the weather…really, Cait?! I mean, really?

2) Cutting youth and high school sports teams and PE classes, what’s the situation like where you live? I think the whole thing is just disgusting.

3) What’s the last movie you saw?

4) Did all your siblings go to the same high school as you? Was one of them there at the same time as you?

Fear Factor Recasting – Overcoming the Fears We Battle

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Cait — 2 Comments ↓

Cue Joe Rogan. So I am bringing you this post as a major alert: CHECK OUT DIS CHIC CHICKPEA…do it now!! Haha, now I usually try not to bust out the all caps in multi-word format that often because it is annoying, but Amy over there posted a poem she wrote that really is too amazing to ignore.

It’s about fear. It is ever-present but needs to be pushed out of our lives. She really puts it best, but it also got me thinking about fear and so now, as always, I can’t just shush-up and will ramble on with my two cents.

I think pushing fear from our lives in sort of like an ongoing battle, you shove one out the window and the door knocks with another. Sometimes I think it’s almost impossible to avoid opening the door, or I guess rather the door gets thrust open against your own will. So then, it’s up to you to rid yourself of the intruder.

There is also the little fear spectrum, or rather a speedometer. Worries and fears sort of blur together in my mind sometimes, and it’s a matter of placing a particular worry/fear on that odometer. Is it running at a 4 minute mile pace or is it walking at 20 min/mile pace? Sometimes it looks like a speed demon but when you stop and actually clock it, it’s going much slower than you thought. Sort of like that red sports car vs. the cops thing.

Amy’s poem also comes at really, a perfect time for me. I’ve got my own little knock-knocks on the fear door and actually, should I be completely truthful they’re already sitting in my lounge sipping coffee. I don’t like to really admit some things, I like to either be positive or make enough jokes out of it that I laugh it off, but then again I don’t like to lie or feel like I’m being a hypocrite either.

I would sort of feel like a hypocrite if I posted up this amazing poem about giving fear the finger and then not put the disclaimer that I’ve got my own fears and worries. I’m not sitting in an empty room, I’ve got Fear Nasties too. But, I also have other people in it besides fear and worry. Those people are there to help me oust Nasty Thing 1 and 2 out the window. In some cases those people are actually battling against the very same fear as you.

Our Fear Nasties Graveyard

The tough thing I’ve learned is that those ‘good’ people are sometimes hard to find, the Fear Nasties can really crowd the room and the ‘good’ folks can get buried in the back. Here are the sticky points: 1) Identifying there ARE actually other people in the room besides you and the fear dudes 2) actually believing that they are there (yes, this is another step) 3) reaching out to them and saying you need their help and 4) actually getting the fear thangs out the window.

The Fam

Getting back to the fear speedometer, if the things are more just worries, sometimes you can take a step back and realize that you’re making them ‘faster’ than they really are in your mind and if you start thinking more rationally or logical you can come up with some sort of solution. If there IS no solution than your solution is that whatever it is may be out of your control, so the best you can do is accept that it is out of your control, then distract yourself until the thing works itself out or you learn something new about the situation. Push it out of your mind as best you can.

Lots of my ‘fears’ are actually just my over-worrying. Fear in my mind is more gripping, heart-stopping, or it’s an enormous weight that is pressing down on my chest. Fear seems shorter, or like a climactic eruption. Worries to me are the slow build…I think they can lead to the gigantic fear eruption as the weight just builds to a point where it feels like it’s crushing you.

Worries are more my problem. I’ve briefly brushed on that fact that I’ve got OCD where I made fun of myself, and if I told you all of my worries I’d laugh right along with you as I said them out loud. But laughing them off inside is far harder, and it’s a matter of forcing myself to discredit these worries. Of course I’ve got actual ‘real world’ worries too, like we ALL do…and there are becoming more of those, so that adds to my lounge room of folks with Starbucks cups.

As I again catch myself in an epic ramble, I don’t want to make this too personal, my intention was to identify that this particular poem is something we should all read, digest, then read again. Because it’s a reality check: do you want to keep living with Starbucks sipping, uninvited, fear nasties with a speed rating taking up space?

I know I don’t, and I know I’ve pushed plenty out of my room before with the help of the other ‘good’ people in the room. I think the digesting part for me has also been admitting that there will always be new fear/worries or whatever knocking on the door, some of them the very same worries I already pushed out before, and I need to really listen when they start knocking. When the knocking gets louder, barricade that d*** door and if the door bursts open anyways, rally the troops, open the windows, and get to chucking!

In a Galaxy Far, Far Away I Picked Up Some Racing Tips

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Cait — 6 Comments ↓

Okay, I sort of feel wonky about doing this post because it’s been about a zillion years since I last actually raced. But I was talking with some friends of mine and the whole subject of race tactics and such came up. That, and I know that a lot of my bloggy friends have big races coming up or they are training for, so I thought it might benefit a few folks out there to offer up some things that I’ve learned along the way. There is way too much to go on and on about regarding races, so I’ll probably have to make this a topic to return to again later. (Look there, every now and again when you come here you might actually be able to take something of worth away…haha)

Fire up those quads...

*Run the tangents: this one might some sort of ‘basic’ or ‘duh’ but I’m not kidding you that it took me forever to actually really apply it. One reason was because I just didn’t think about it or figured an extra few steps couldn’t really make all that much difference, but it adds up. There is a reason that you’ll see people hugging the curves or in a road race cross to the other side of the street to run as close to the little taped off markers as possible; there is also a reason why on the track you usually want to pass someone on a straightaway so you can go around them without running extra distance. If you’re going to focus on something during a race, look for the shortest routes to get to the end; this adds up even more the longer you go and if it comes to the finish line and you see you missed a PR by a few seconds, do you want to be kicking yourself in the bum thinking you could have beaten it if only you didn’t run a few turns too wide?

*Slap yourself into focus: it’s easy to let your mind wander…guilty (moreso though just in everyday life)! But whenever I am in a race or a hard workout I don’t tend to wander, the pain usually tries to take my focus. 😉 But really, you don’t want to be caught in mindless wandering, that will usually lead to the legs slowing down and you might not even be aware of it. So if you catch yourself starting to drift, slap yourself back to the moment, look at the person in front of you and key off of them. Stare a hole into their back and don’t let them get any further ahead of you, instead catch up to them, try to pass, and if you do, then look for the next person in front…pick people off one little bugger at a time. 😉 haha.

*Chuck the baggage: I see more and more people going gadgecized. It’s like before heading out for a run or race they are plugged into more things than NASA. Granted I’m maybe too ‘outdated’ but sometimes it’s good to ignore the garmin, the watch even, and just race off of feel. This is good for a few reasons; one, you can freak yourself out if you feel great and are clicking along but look at the clock and think, “Holy heck, I’m way ahead of pace, am I going to blow-up?” This can mess with you mentally and sometimes cause you to slow down when you’re on the verge of a breakthrough race. Second, constantly checking on your pace isn’t always necessary, as you become more experienced you want to be able to be in tune with your body and ‘know’ what paces feel like.

I don't even think I spy a watch on any of them...do you?

*Still, splits help: wow, so now I am going to contradict myself because there ARE times when the watch is playing to your benefit! Examples: giving you a clear warning you may be going out too fast, a nice kick in the tush if you have mentally checked-out and slowed down, are hitting target pace and a motivator to keep doing that, and there are other instances. The thing is, the clock has its time (horrible pun, sorry) and place, but in the end YOU are the one out there and how you feel is going to trump whatever the clock does say. So if looking at the splits is only going to stress you out or you’re having a bad day and the legs just didn’t show up, then the time can be a little defeating and better to just get through the race at that point.

Bwahaha...we've all been there.

*Hold dem horses: this one was mentioned in the last but it deserves it own because it’s one of the biggest mistakes you can make…going out too fast. We are all guilty but trust me that bootylock crawl to the finish is our only reward. Race day excitement makes it easy to get sucked into this but an experienced racer knows that even if that adrenaline makes the early mile pace feel much easier, it will catch up to you trifold. They say for every second you go out too fast the first mile, you’ll end up slowing down by at least 10 sec’s by the end…trust me it might be even more than that and it will certainly feel much longer. Trying to ‘get ahead’ and under your pace thinking you’ll get a ‘cushion’ by doing that will actually work against you…much better to pick it up and get faster as you go along, all about those negative splits.

Those are just a few tips and hopefully they might be of some use for you. I also want to bring up that there are benefits of ‘bad’ races or workouts and also how you can mentally come back after those…all jabber for another post as this one is getting mighty lengthy!

1) What’s one of your racing tips?

2) Do you have a funny story of you making an obvious racing blunder?

For awhile I used to not run the tangents because somehow in my mind I thought it might be ‘cheating’ or like I was trying to run less than the ‘real’ distance. Stupid, I know. The race directors measure the course gauging off of the shortest distance marked by cones (read: the tangents) and on the track, so long as you’re not crossing that white line you’re golden. 😛

3) When your mind does wander when you’re running or racing where does it go?

I get song lyrics stuck in my head, which can work to my benefit sometimes. I also get random words or phrases stuck in my head; when I was taking Spanish in high school there would be times where I’d honestly keep thinking ‘la luz’ in my head.

Seven Links to Runnerpeeps and Some Things Shouldn’t be Cooked

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Cait — 6 Comments ↓

Hello writer’s block. I have no idea where this post will go, nor something funny to open with…not that I ever really am able to open up rather quippy. So let’s see where this stray brain will lead us…

I'm sunk...no inspiration...

We’ll start with this: the running world is crazy small, I mean it’s dinky. I say this because it seems like every runner somehow, some way knows a person, who trained with so-and-so, coached so-and-so, or something like that. Forget the whole Kevin Bacon thing, I think there should be something like a seven links to Bill Squires. Don’t know who that is, Google, baby. 😉

I say that because I was talking on the phone with one of the coaches getting her team the Runner’s Training Log I’ve made and we kept hitting points in the conversation with, “Wait, you know them, did you know that they used to be coached by so-and-so and so-and-so was the person who used to coach me back in the day!” or “Wait, you know that person, oh my gosh, my runner friend works with them managing all these races.”

It’s cool because even just out and about in ‘real life’ (runner life world is far better btw…haha) you bump into a runner and chances are somehow, some way you guys are connected through the WWRT…World Wide Runner’s Trackwire. Try it, it’s fun…maybe it works like that in bloggy world? Who knows…

Next up, I’ve been meaning to say this but keep forgetting….there is this road close to my new place named: Dick Cook. Not even Dick Cook Road or Street…every time I pass it I smirk. How immature am I? Then again, what a tempting appetizer that sounds like, no?

I’ve just started working on a new project so I just finished doing some 1950’s style moms. It makes me wonder if I would have really ‘lasted’ back then. I mean, sports for girls weren’t really there and there is no way I could live wearing poodle skirts and the like back then.

Though I know I couldn’t really cut it as a ‘rebel’ bad girl either…I don’t like tight leather pants anyways. Nerd? Maybe, I mean I know I’m a dork but maybe I just wouldn’t be smart enough to make the cut. So where the heck would I fall? Would I just be the really weird girl no one would even talk to because I just somehow still managed to find running and spent my free time running around? Did they even have treadmills back then? If so, did they go faster than 10 min/mile pace?

Insert random Boston Terrier fist pumping like Snooki...I made this for my sis when she got her new puppy. 🙂

I guess that’s it for this chick for now. I’m out! For those who care, do you even need to ask if I ran today? 😉

1) Do you notice that the running/fitness would is funny small? Do you have an example where you stumbled upon a stranger who’s really not a stranger thanks to so-and-so?

2) Who the heck comes up with street names? I wonder sometimes. What’s a funny street name you’ve seen?

3) 1950’s, where do you think you’d land amongst the populous?

4) What are people listening to these days? What’s the last song you heard?

I was in my sis’s car and it was Taylor Swift. But my roommate has some crazy old song on that I i don’t know who it is; I don’t know if I should count that because it’s not exactly my choice to have it playing…

Running Skirts — Crossing a Thin, Frilly Line?

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Cait — 21 Comments ↓

Happy Saturfarts to all! I hope you are having a great weekend thus far, and for those that raced do feel free to brag on your fine selves, I want to hear all about it!

Today, I think I finally need to bring something up. I hope it doesn’t offend any of my lovely lady bloggers because I think it’s something that may be a little touchy subject. Running skirts.

Okay, let me start off by saying that since they’ve been around they’ve become more and more popular and I’ve seen lots of people wearing them and my tolerance for them has grown as such. I actually will go out and state that I’ve seen pictures of some friends wearing them and they do look cute, but here is my dealio with the whole running skirts thang.

When they very first were about to come out, I was working at the Nike World Headquarters up in Oregon and so I saw the wear testers doing the whole testing and fitting then first. Right away I said to a very good friend of mine (he’s a guy and shares my snarkness…we were probably twins separated at birth and a couple of years removed) “What in the heck is that??! What are they doing…those are the stupidest things I’ve ever seen…I hope they don’t actually start selling those things. I swear if those things take off I’m going to flip my top!”

Well, they did hit the stores…they did take off.

Here was my line of thinking, hear me out. This tomboy sort of saw them as yet another attempt to ‘girlify’ our sport. Here we go through all these great pains to be seen/treated as equals and now they go and bring back the skirt? I mean we already have to fight and scour shelves for any article of clothing that ISN’T in a pink or similar color palette.

On the competitive scene, girls already get plenty of flack over the fact that yes, we will forever run slower than the guys, but dang it that’s genetics and women pros are still stellar and deserve the same level of respect. They put in the miles (albeit generally less overall than the males but again that is mostly due to body composition…and if you totaled up the amount of actual time spent running versus miles the gap is even less), bust out the repeats, and can be just as gritty as the dudes. There have even been college/professional level coaches joking that, “Eh, it’s just the women’s races, they don’t count all that much.”

So that’s where I saw the skirt as a bad direction for our sport. I will admit I did cringe when I saw a few professional ladies even wearing and talking about liking the running skirt. I dunno, that’s just me. I haven’t ever worn one myself so maybe I’m not giving them a chance out of just principle and being a dorkette….that and the fact that I don’t even own a normal kind of skirt.

I’m also super picky about running shorts, so there is the comfort issue. I think the skirt part would only keep getting bunched up and ‘eaten up’ by my thighs and that would annoy the heck out of me.

So am I just being way overly feminist about this issue, girls? Like I said, in the years since I’ve seen more and more people wearing them, some of them friends, and I don’t hold it against them necessarily, but I still don’t ever see myself donning one of those running skirts. That’s just me.

1) Running skirts, have you ever worn them, where do you stand?

It’s sort of funny that I pick THIS topic to go on a rant about, particularly since I’m not one of those people who tend to go all overboard with reading into social things and women’s rights. Haha.

2) If any guys are reading this, what are your thoughts? Do you think running skirts are stupid or do you think they are ‘cool’ or whatnot for ladies…obviously you might not want to wear one for other reasons.

3) Anyone race today, if so how did it go? If not, what was your workout?

Love affair with my treadmill today (a bit over 9 miles) followed by ab and core work.