THE DAY OFF: Friend or Foe?

In the days when I ruled the Kingdom of Indoor Recess, who could have predicted that someday I'd be the person who bitches about taking a day off from exercise? Those people used to sort of piss me off. My brother Phil was the first one of those people I knew, and I would look at him getting antsy about possibly missing a workout and think "settle down and read a book, son, it's not the end of the world." I can add that to the list of "eat your words" moments from my youth - it's a reeaallly long list. 

I had an intense yoga class a few days ago - during which this oldie-but-goodie Craig's List ad came to mind when the fella in front of me took off his shirt immediately and threw in extra ab crunches during every pose at the beginning of class (ab crunches during Sun A?) in order to impress the cutie-pie in the front row he was chatting up while the rest of us were in pre-class silence mode. He proceeded to lose his balance and fall on MY mat repeatedly during the second half of class - no doubt due to core fatigue. It's okay, I managed to have a good practice despite his uninvited presence on my yoga mat, and hopefully he  managed to impress his future ex-wife. So, I followed a hard yoga day with a hard run day, and yesterday my hamstrings felt like arse. I knew I should have settled for a fast walk after an intense yoga day, but a quarter mile in I found myself thinking "nah, make it a run, it's a nice night," so I ran and it felt awesome. It was a late evening run and I came home to dinner dishes to clean up, and laundry, and a host of other distractions that meant not stretching properly post-run. So yesterday was pain-filled and I cursed myself all day long. I spent most of the day finding moments to stretch, hoping by the evening the hamstring pain would work itself out, but no... I felt forced into a day off, and while I know there is nothing at all wrong with it, I was annoyed beyond reason. I was too sore to do anything but more stretching, but it was a warm-not-muggy and bug-free summer evening and I wasn't running. SIGH.

Yesterday evening's rest time.
Learn to appreciate
quiet moments.

A day of rest is recommended for all athletes, of course, and is necessary for continued health and fitness. I even sometimes like the occasional day off, but only when I choose it, and usually I choose it because I'm doing something else and won't have the time for a workout - I don't know, it feels like less of a personal failing if the day off is time-related instead of pain-related. But yesterday I had the time. The day off was not my choice, but it was my fault. And here's the best part: I very recently lectured Rick about pushing himself too hard in a 5k after an Achilles strain and plantar fasciitis flare-up, because it meant no running at all for several days after, and didn't he know better than to make that kind of rookie mistake? Yeesh. Sometimes, dear readers, I can be an asshole.

The resting time was not wasted time, of course, once I stopped fuming enough to just deal with it. I finally finished my Sandman collection re-read (no spoilers for those who have yet to embark on the Sandman journey, but I will say The Kindly Ones and The Wake broke my heart again, even though I knew what was coming. Damn fine comic, Sandman is...) while enjoying a cup of coffee on my sun porch and the occasional giggle while watching the feline members of the household lose it every time a chipmunk made an appearance. (I think we're being overrun... a Scurry of Chipmunks is what it's called, I looked it up. They watch us through the windows...)

So, folks, a question: how does the Once-and-Not-Future-Queen come to terms with a day off?  I'm not sure I can rely on the memory of being pissed off at myself yesterday to keep from running on a day I shouldn't run. Cleveland's pleasant outdoor season is short, and it feels so very wrong to miss any opportunity to be out there. Also, since participating in the Whole Life Challenge where points were lost if exercise was missed, each day off feels like I'm doing a bad thing (although I know better). How do other athletes cope with a day of rest? More importantly, how do you keep yourself from pushing too hard in order to avoid the forced "sit still" day? I'm considering recording myself the next time I lecture Rick so I can listen to my own obnoxiously-delivered advice. Think it'll work?

A member of the scurry.
Tell me this is not the creepiest thing in the world.

SUMMERTIME CLOTHES

Home away from home. Can't wait...

Each year, sometime in early spring, I begin my Countdown to Canada. The long dark chill of a Cleveland winter inspires daydreams of the blissful two weeks I spend with my family in the Laurentian mountains, book and coffee cup in hand while parked on the warm sand beside a cool, clear lake. Cell phones don't work there. We don't have cable. Internet is limited for folks who need to get a little work done. We pack only shorts and t-shirts, making sure one or two items of clothing don't have holes in them in case someone has a cocktail party (no holes = fancy duds in the Laurentians). It's a welcome and much-needed respite from the non-stop race pace of our daily lives. It's a place teeming with extended family - one of whom, my cousin Andre, greets me (and everyone) each summer with "Welcome home!" This year has been especially hectic, so much so that I haven't really had time to even pay attention to the countdown, but it's time now. We're ready to stop racing, put on our summertime clothes, and go home.

In my last post, I covered all the crazy ways I've been trying to keep up with my own life... but I'm not the only master of multitasking in my house. I have to take a moment for a shout-out to my crew. 

Mad and Mama, ready to run!

This Sunday, my entire household ran Race for the Place, an annual 5K that raises funds for The Gathering Place (more about this later). Mad, who just competed in and took first place in the Power of the Pen State writing competition (my friend Laura, mom of Mad's amazing friend Isabel who took second place, has my voice on video shouting "Rock on, baby!" when this was announced... yes, I'm secretly a stage mom), then immediately left for a class trip to DC, and had one day of rest in between hours on the bus and this race, got up early on Sunday and ran her first 5K! She was a superstar. She was skeptical about the idea of running any part of it (there are many participants who walk it), because she's not really a distance runner. I assured her we would stop to walk when necessary, and while we did some walking, we actually did almost three-quarters of the race running. Throughout, Mad's face had a look of determination mingled with anguish -- she knew why we were running this race and she persevered, but it wasn't easy for her. I'm so, so proud of my girl. 

R & E just before
taking off. The last
we saw of them
until the finish

Eben - who in recent weeks studied his ass off for two AP tests, performed with his band at a couple of shows, was inducted into the National Honor Society (along with all of his close friends - so proud of these amazing kids!), lettered in track, and is ready to wrap up his school year and dive right into a summer of being a camp counselor, working at a local ice cream joint, and developing some new material with his band - took off with the other hares on Sunday and waited patiently at the finish line for all us tortoises to eventually come along. I am, as ever, in awe of his easy confidence and ability to handle so many simultaneous things with grace. If only he would channel some of his energies into CLEANING HIS ROOM OH MY GOD.

Click here for context
for that second to last text

...and Rick, my constant cheerleader and inspiration, kicked ass despite not having a lot of running time in recent weeks. His most recent work-related travel was delayed by a day due to the discovery that we had a malfunctioning septic tank (resulting in a day of shit-related text messages between us because it was either laugh or cry, man. Laugh. Or. Cry.) and when he finally managed to dig his way out of the septic crap and make it to his out-of-town meetings, he received the news that he will have to spend a week in India, probably in early July, with the part of his work team that is housed there. July in Hyderabad. Should be pleasant. But Rick's endless work (at home and office) and a few aches and pains in various areas of his legs and feet didn't dampen his race enthusiasm, and my fella had a seriously fantastic personal time, coming in second for his age group (as he phrased it, the "old but not THAT old" age group). My family rocked it.

As you can see -- we love a good race. We're running races all the time. But stopping for a minute now and then is good, too, and we're ready to hang up the racing gear for just a little while. Time to walk around in our summertime clothes. 

Countdown to Canada: 53 days.

A note about why we do Race for the Place... The Gathering Place is a center that provides support services to individuals being treated for cancer, as well as services to their families and friends, all free of charge. This is my third year doing this race, and I'm hooked. There are races everywhere, all the time  - especially 5Ks because they are easy to organize - but this is the only one I've done that kicks off with a celebration of cancer survivors, and then takes runners through a small neighborhood where folks all along the race route come out of their houses and cheer us on, not because they are fans of races, not because they are impressed by the athleticism of runners, but because we've come together as a community to support an extraordinary community resource. One of the loudest cheerleaders that day was a little boy, bald and pale, seated in a lawn chair with a blanket, wearing the biggest, most beautiful smile on his sweet, small face. My heart broke and soared at the same time when we ran past him and he's why I'll run this race again and again and again. The Gathering Place provides support to that sweet fellow and his family without any of them having to open their wallets. My sincere and deep thanks to all those who did open their wallets to support me, Rick and all the other runners for this race.