Tuesday, June 10, 2008

All About Me

I've been tagged by AKA Alice - Heffer Blog for a running meme.

Tagging is easy. Just copy the following onto your post. The rules of the game are posted at the start of your blog post. In this case, I'm asking you 5 questions about running. Each player answers the 5 questions on their own blog. At the end of your post you tag 5 other people and post their names. Go to their blogs and leave a comment on their blogs telling them they've been tagged and to look at your blog for details. When they've answered the questions on their own blog, they come back to yours to tell you. Got that? (Yeah, I stole the verbiage off of AKA Alice's blog.)


1. How would you describe your running 10 years ago?
Me? Running? Yikes. 10 years ago, yesterday, I was in a car accident - right on my 39th birthday. My left hand was injured and required surgery. I wasn't running but I thought I was relatively active. I was also about 15 pounds overweight, and after the accident I put on 15 more pounds just about right away.

2. What is your best/worst running experience?
Hmmm... There's a few that fall into the *best* category , but one that stands out was when I lived near Lake Murray and I was training for my second Rock 'n' Roll marathon, running back and forth on the lake path in the cool, early morning until I got to around 20 miles. After about the third time around the lake, a group of women who were taking a leisurely walk, who I passed a couple of times took notice, and one of them said "there goes that girl again. I'll bet she really didn't do all that running and she just went to Starbucks for a hot chocolate." That made me laugh and it made me feel good that somebody noticed. I also have to add the one and only time I placed in my age group in a 5k run. It was at the Annual Coronado Independence day 5k-15k. I'm not sure why, but that year's race was a little on the small side. I ran my worst 5k time ever and placed 2nd in my age group. I was in shock and I made my husband check the results several times, just to make sure there wasn't an error. I was thrilled. That's a picture of me with my winner's t-shirt prize.

My worst experience was this year, on May 3, running with the track club, where I got that bad cramp at mile 10 of a 16 mile run, which kept me from finishing the run, and eventually turned out to be a fracture, then I needed surgery, and so on, keeping out of the marathon, or any summer races for this year.

3. Why do you run?
Because it's my "me" time, and I can solve the world's problems in my head when I run, well, at least it feels like I can.

4. What is the best or worst piece of running advice that you've been given about running?
Best advice: When I was diagnosed with arthritis 5 years ago, the advice was to NOT stop running, so I don't lose range of motion, and, well, motion.

Worst advice: Not necessarily advice, but it's the worst thing anyone can say to me during a race: "You're almost there!" Those words really mess with my head, especially towards the end of a race. Technically, you're almost there when you pass through the start line.

5. Tell us something surprising about yourself that not many people would know.
When I'm not recouping from surgery, I can still do a cartwheel.

Now, here is who I am tagging...
Let's see... Dori, Leslie, Pat, Waddler26.2, Flo.

Yesterday's song:
In My Life - The Beatles - AKA Alice - Heffer Blog


PEACE

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very nice. I liked learning a little bit more about why you like running so. Can't wait to hear that you're all healed and back at it!

Anne said...

Happy birthday, Irene! I'm envious you can still do a cartwheel. I haven't even tried in decades, but something tells me it wouldn't be pretty.

barbie2be said...

please tell me todays song is by the oh so beautiful matt dusk!

i love your answers. someone asked me once why i was training to do the tri and i said because after years of not being able to do hardly anything, i wanted to celebrate life. even if it killed me! ;)

Irene said...

Evelyne,
I wasn't always a runner. :) It just evolved. I hope to be running by fall.

Anne,
Thanks for the BD wishes! I had this weird notion that I could be a cheerleader in high school, so I became proficient at cartwheels and other basic gymnastic skills. Out of all that, I can only do the cart wheel. LOL

Barbie2be,
Yes, he is! Winner! You know, sometimes it's just hard to explaint to people the whys. You just do it for you. :)