I’m awake, I’m awake
Posted by Carrie on 29 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Completely random
Remember that mumbly, grumbly noise you used to make when your mom would try to get you up in the morning - sort of meant to indicate that you were wide awake, but in fact was about the extent to which you were able to exert yourself without opening your eyes or moving a muscle beyond those in the back of your throat? Sam does that now, and I just can’t decide whether to laugh at the whole circle of life thing happening here or to shake him and say, “Kid, don’t you know that I practically invented that ruse? I know what you’re doing, and I’m not leaving until I see the white of at least one eye!”
Gabe, of course, is still in the zone where he usually goes from 0 to 90 within seconds of the first stretch of the morning. Those rare days that he takes his time in waking are like gold; most of the time, he wakes with a cry on his lips: “Sa-aaaaaam! Time to wake up!”
Maybe it was just me, but even the sun seemed to be taking its time climbing out of bed and over the horizon this morning. Five-thirty rolled around, and dragging myself up was pretty darn tricky, considering that there was more red than blue in the sky. Thunderstorms for this afternoon, then. Okay, so long as they hold off until then. Not that I have much on my calendar once we roll past 8:00 these mornings; I’m actually back to feeling fairly isolated most days. I’d like to do something about that, but…what? I’m socially inept. 
But I’m trying. Hey, would anybody local like to come see UltraMarathon Man with me on Thursday night? Long shot, but Eric has no desire to see it; I’ll go by myself if I have to, which is looking like what will happen. 
The other local runners I’ve asked so far haven’t gotten back to me. But you wouldn’t have to be a runner to enjoy it! Anybody in?
9 Comments »
on 29 Jul 2008 at 10:39 am
hannah said …
what about joining, or starting, some kind of a runners club? I saw one in WA several years ago, and they looked like they had a lot of fun before, during and after their runs!
on 29 Jul 2008 at 10:48 am
Carrie said …
I’m in one, technically, but they run twice a week at times I can’t join them. :-/ Was thinking about running with another local one sometime soon, but so far that hasn’t worked out for me.
on 29 Jul 2008 at 4:59 pm
Steph said …
Carrie,
There’s a whole group of us from the Racine running group (www.runracine.com) that are going to the Ultramarathon movie on Thursday. We’d love to have you sit with us and meet you. Will send you a personal email as well. Hope to see you there!
Steph
on 30 Jul 2008 at 6:32 am
Barbara said …
Carrie - I have what may be a Duh! question: you’ve inspired me to do the Couch-to-5K program and would like to know what people use to measure time (90 seconds, etc.) or distance (1/8th of a mile, etc.) that’s easily heard/programmed? I would need my reading glasses for anything I’d have to look at, and don’t use an iPod. I want to be able to head out and not be distracted by thoughts of stop/start, go, time’s up, etc. you know?
And by the way - your description a few days ago of The Zone (as I call it) you experience when running was fabulous. You took me with you, and it’s what settled it for me: I’m starting the program! Thank you! (Not to mention you look awesome.) : )
on 30 Jul 2008 at 10:17 am
Carrie said …
Steph - that sounds great!
Barbara - are you using any sort of mp3 player at all, or just not an iPod? Honestly, I think you’re probably going to either need a player or a watch that you can set to beep at certain intervals. The mp3 player could probably be had for cheaper, of the two; it wouldn’t need to have much capacity, if the C25K podcast (or this one) were all it had to hold.
But that would just be for timed intervals, not distance. Once you get up to measurable distances (I’d say beyond half a mile of running at a time), you can use something like MapMyRun to figure out your routes. Otherwise, you can get something like the Nike+ system (you don’t have to wear Nikes, but you would need an iPod nano), or a Garmin or a Polar watch (expensive, but I find it more than worth it!). I made the Garmin one of my rewards for getting through the program and running a race.
on 31 Jul 2008 at 6:08 am
Barbara said …
Thanks for your suggestions. : ) I looked at the watches - very cool, though since I’d not be able to see a thing on them without my glasses (which I can’t walk in let along run in), I’d best go with an iPod or mp3. I’ve never had either one of them so don’t know the first thing about them. Guess it’s time to learn! Yep. All about gear as well - gosh - when you think of running - just open the door and go - it’s not quite that simple is it? Proper shoes, hydration, clothes … still … I can’t wait! Thanks again for your inspiration!
on 31 Jul 2008 at 7:11 am
Carrie said …
Well, you can set the watches to give you alarms at various distances; right now, I have my Garmin beeping at the mile points, so I don’t have to keep glancing at it. On speed days, it has a function to alert me to rest times and run times. It’d probably tell me when to eat and go to the bathroom, too, if I examined some of the sub-menus.
on 02 Aug 2008 at 9:52 pm
Katie said …
Which Garmin do you have? Right now I’m just using the podcasts to tell me duration, but I don’t really know how far I’m going. I can guess based on the length of the walking path I’m using, but there have been days I didn’t do a full lap and then I’m just sort of…estimating.
on 03 Aug 2008 at 8:28 am
Carrie said …
I have the 305, with the HR monitor. I’m very pleased with it! I have heard that the 405 finds satellites more quickly, and it’s pretty, but it’s also a lot bigger than the ad photos might have you believe.
Unless you’ve got really big wrists, you probably wouldn’t want to wear it like a regular watch, as they imply that some of the aesthetic changes were to facilitate.