It’s Lemon Month! Time to Run, Walk, Ride.

September 1, 2014 by beewhobabbles

A few days ago, my friend challenged me to log some miles for ALS. I’ve already done the ice bucket thing; most of my friends and family have. Isn’t the power of social media amazing? To date, the Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS awareness has helped to raise $100 million and counting, and raised our collective consciousness about a disease that affects so many people, including a few of my friends. As with any internet thing, there are naysayers, but as someone with the inside scoop on charity workings (my husband serves as board president of a local nonprofit), raising awareness for your cause works. The proof is in the dollars- see that big figure up there? You never know who might be watching, who has funds to give, who has been personally affected or knows someone who has, and suddenly- they care. They want to make a difference. They want to give their money. And maybe it’s a one-time thing, or maybe they can afford a recurring donation, but either way- awareness matters.

Back to my friend’s running challenge- well, I had to decline. This month is Childhood Cancer Awareness month, and all of my miles belong to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. That’s right, it’s time once again to log one million miles for childhood cancer, and this year, we can run, walk, or ride our way through September. Check out this video:

We participated in the inaugural Million Mile Run last year, and were thrilled that so many of our friends joined us. If you would like to join Team Scoot A Doot this year, we would LOVE to have you! Fundraising is encouraged but not mandatory- what we really want you to do is log your miles with us and make some noise on social media. Let’s paint the month yellow for childhood cancer awareness!

BUT WAIT. There’s more! If you join our team, here are some things you can look forward to:

#onwednesdayswewearyellow Mean Girls wear pink, but Nice Girls (and guys) wear yellow. Show us your yellow every Wednesday on Instagram and Facebook, and help me prove that it really does look good on everyone. Team members will be entered into a random prize drawing at the end of the month, for every Wednesday they participate. (That’s one prize but four chances to enter! Time to start planning your outfits.)

We love our team so much that we have two other prize opportunities!

One prize for the most miles logged by the end of the month. Now, some of us our in marathon training season, and some of us are cyclists…who will win? Start moving, post your miles, and let’s find out!

The other reward is for our top fundraiser. Raising money isn’t a requirement for our team, but every dollar raised will help fund more research, and one day, hopefully, a cure.

We have a few other surprises in store for our team, and of course we’ll be posting lemony goodness all month long, in the form of recipes, outfit ideas, and more.

Let’s get this party started! Join Team Scoot A Doot for #alexsmillionmile and give us a shout on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. Start running, walking, or riding and let’s make a difference together. The #journey2amillion starts today!

http://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/1117658

Already joined our team? THANK YOU! Are you walking, biking, or riding? Do you love yellow as much as I do?

These Shoes Were Made for Running

August 18, 2014 by beewhobabbles

You guys! Yesterday, I laced up my new sneakers (Asics Cumulus) and went for a run. ALL THE EXCITEMENT IS HERE.

New shoes, new socks and a sexy new running partner.

My last run was the Nike DC half in April, after which my foot ached something awful, and swelled to the size of, well, a foot much bigger than mine.

April was a long, long time ago. It’s been a moody four months around my house, if we’re being completely honest.

I’ve been doing some conditioning, as my doctor recommended, as well as other forms of cardio when I’ve had time (which wasn’t often), but yesterday, I decided that it was time.

The best part? I ran PAIN FREE.

Wheeeeee!

My doctor recommended that I ease back into running by doing intervals. Specifically, 10 minutes of walking, 10 running, 10 walking. I’m supposed to do that every other day for 10 days, at which point I can try 10 minutes of running, 10 walking, 10 running. And so on, until I’m running comfortably for 30 minutes. After that, I can slowly increase my mileage.

Day one. So far, so good.

SO HAPPY TO BE BACK.

Pop some nuun into your glass and celebrate with me. Cheers! What’s making you happy on this beautiful Monday?

I Can… But Then I Think Mmm, Better Not

August 8, 2014 by Meridith

Wait a minute, that’s not my manta. My mantra is I can and I will. It’s about Meridith power and how much I rock and how I can do anything. Kelly Clarkson sings about me being Stronger! Katy Perry wants to hear me ROAR!

Except that I’ve been thinking about this full marathon I signed up for and rather than being excited for it and looking forward to the training, I’ve been coming up with the reasons of why I should NOT do it.

The cons are totally outweighing the pros in my mental list and that can’t be a good sign. I’m assuming that in the history of running, I can’t be the only one who ever felt this way. Back in March, I listed reasons why I planned to sign up for the full.

Well, now here are my reasons that I’ve decided that now is not the time.

#1 My foot has actually been feeling GOOD

Confused? Let me explain! I spent a good seven months in pain thanks to plantar fasciitis and this little beauty.

Seven months of wincing every time I got up in the morning out of bed. Seven months of hurting during and after every. Single. Run.

Slowly the pain faded away and I don’t think I even realized that it no longer hurt until a month of non-hurt. I was so accustomed to the hurt.

Now, I’m not hurting. And I don’t really want to mess that up.

#2 Training

Victoria and I have had this discussion more than once: you can’t fake a marathon. I mean, you probably could do it with minimal training (I’m sure that some people choose this option); I know I’d be downright miserable.

WHO WANTS TO BE MISERABLE? Not me! I like feeling good. Bring on the happy!

That’s not to say I haven’t been training. I have the Dumbo Double Dare at the end of this month and I’ve been having some great runs. Additionally I’m signed up for another 19.3 challenge in October (the Atlantic City Marathon series). Bumping up training runs to over 13 miles is where my issue lies.

Piggy-backing on the training point…

#3 I have other things that need to get done

My kiddos start school in September and both will be going full-day for the first time. In my delusional mind, I thought that this meant I’d have all the time in the world.

But uh, I already know that’s not going to be the case. Marathon training is an all or nothing type of thing. I don’t think I can give it my all at this point – there are things I need to do (PTO, laundry, food shopping, dog training) and there are things that I want to do (volunteer work, seeing my friends, spending weekends with my family). Which brings me to point 4.

#4 I don’t want to and you can’t make me. But what’s more is that I can’t make me.

To quote High School Musical, “You’ve gotta get’cha head in the game”. To quote myself, “No.”

Zac Efron, you’re adorable but even you can’t talk me into this.

Seriously though, I have the most supportive friends and family. They were all about me signing up in April. Conversely, as soon as I started expressing doubts and concerns, they were just as supportive in the other direction. Mentally, I’m just not at the full marathon level. I might be able to physically push through but I don’t want to.

Just look for me with the Elite runners.

#5 There’s a half marathon option!

Oh Philly, you can’t get rid of me that easily. You were my first road race, first spectating experience and my first volunteering experiences and I adore you. I have yet to run the half during the Philadelphia Marathon weekend so let’s not cut corners!

Who will I see on November 23rd?

That Time I Ran Ragnar Northwest Passage

July 28, 2014 by camoozle

Last weekend I traveled to the great Northwest to run 196 miles with 11 awesome old and new friends. I had some really hard runs but felt very satisfied with how I performed. I brought along my Skoras and my ninja sword and thoroughly enjoyed running in misty weather. Here are the highlights from our adventure!

That Time We Unleashed Our Ninja Skillz at the Start Line

That Time the Girls Were Photo Bombed by One of Our Own

That Time We Encouraged Random People with a Smack on the Behind

That Time We Took All the Selfies

That Time We Recreated Things That Happened at Previous Ragnars

That Time Ian Got All the Sleep

That Time I Tried to Draw on All the Faces

That Time We All Jumped

That Time We All Wanted to be Like Robert

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The Original

That Time We Ran 196 Miles in 30 Hours

Back in the (Running) Saddle

June 23, 2014 by writeitdownjess

After a several-week hiatus due to some asthma ridiculousness, I’m back to training for the Disneyland Half Marathon. What whaaaat.

No, seriously, WHAT WHAT?!

I’m so behind in training that I’m a little paralyzed about how to get back on track. I should have run 8 miles this weekend in order to be up-to-date, but instead ran about 2. The good news: Mister Jess and I are signing up for a gym so I won’t have to drag myself up the hills of San Francisco, muttering expletives to myself the whole way. The bad news: …hmm. Yeah, I’m still behind.

I have 65 days left to train, people.

Now, I know this doesn’t seem like a super dire situation, but since I’m running with Cam and Mer, I want to make sure that I’m not going to be holding them back (I can hear them saying, “no no no, you’re not going to hold us back, it’ll be fun no matter what, yay team!” right now). And I definitely don’t want to have a miserable time along the course because I didn’t get my ess (that’s shit in short-hand) together. Also, I’ve never run a race longer than a 5k, so I am kind. Of. Freaking. Out. Here.

Part of me thinks I should just try to quickly catch up to the longer weekend runs I’m supposed to be doing. However, I’m enough of a running novice to know that I’ll probably end up injuring myself doing that, and then my whole fun weekend and half-marathon-finisher status thing is a moot point.

So, here I am asking you all for advice once again. In times of question, I either run to Google or you super-smart peeps. How can I get back on my half training track by August 31st? Talk to me in the comments!

Running through my head

June 11, 2014 by vfreile

I don’t listen to music when I run, but rather, I let my mind wander.

And oh does it wander…. Today, I thought I’d offer a peek into my mind. Dangerous… I know. But here’s an example of my stream of consciousness while on a run long distance. (abbreviated of course, since you don’t want a 2+ hour ramble!)

Off I go. I always start out too fast. Slow down, woman. You’re going to need that little burst of energy later. Speaking of later, I need to clean the house for our dinner guests tomorrow. I guess I can always do that tomorrow though. I could vacuum today and oh man, I forgot about laundry. I don’t want drying laundry hanging on the rack or in the bathroom when our guests arrive. I mean, they don’t need to see all my clothes. Then again, will they really be looking at my running gear? On the second floor? (ahem, no where near the kitchen) Gosh, I hope not.

Drying gear. Note the Oiselle obsession.

How does it go? Pain is temporary, pride and prejudice. No, that’s not right. That’s definitely not right. But that’s a great book. Heck, I also love the movie. I need to get a new DVD player so I can watch it again. I can’t seem to remember much of anything these days. Good thing my job doesn’t rely on my memory. And thank goodness I have amazing friends and running partners to keep me sane. And yes, I know some of us can’t plan out the correct mileage to save our lives, (raising hand) and others seem to keep inserting hills in the middle of every single run. Eh, that’s OK, I am better for it and need more hill training to improve my base- and my time. I’m thirsty. Why did I drink all of my water already? Good thing I can swing past the library to refill, and refuel, and use the bathroom. But I do need a new water bottle, or I can keep hiding bottles mid-course to pick up later.

Am I done yet? One foot in front of the other. Why have I not finished and why have the new neighbors added that hideous trellis around their lovely wooden deck? The old residents would cry. They were so proud of that deck. I wonder how they are doing out in Utah. Or did they move to Idaho? I know it started with a vowel. How old are their kids now? Gosh I bet they can drive. Oh and a random dog-walker is waving. Hello ma’am, puppy! Did I say that out loud? I think I did. Maybe I didn’t though since neither batted an eye. Ah well. I’m back in my yard and am beyond ready to guzzle some water. 15-miler done!

Moments like this one, and many more, will be starting back up in the next few months as I start to train for marathon number 6, the Philadelphia Marathon! Philly was my first marathon (in 2010 – and this year will be Meri’s FIRST MARATHON – so I’m looking forward to heading back to the City of Brotherly Love for another 26.2.

Today’s stream of consciousness run was brought to you by my tired brain. I really do need a new handheld water bottle or belt though. Can you give me suggestions? I’d love to hear all about what you use.

See Jess Run: Volume 3

June 9, 2014 by writeitdownjess

Okay, admittedly, perhaps this playlist should be titled “See Jess NOT Run.” Unfortunately, I’m having a wee bit o’ the asthma flare-up, so I haven’t been training. With any luck, that will be turning around this week, but I have been feeling pretty guilty about my lack of running.

In that vein (and also since I don’t have much running-related things to share this week), I decided to make a guilty pleasure playlist. You know what I’m talking about: it’s the reason you’d tackle someone if they tried to steal your iPod and browse through your downloaded songs. This playlist includes the kind of songs where, the first time you hear it on the radio, you say to yourself, “Ugh, what IS this?” But by the fourth or tenth or twentieth listen, you’re singing along to lyrics you didn’t even know you knew. For any of you who have seen Easy A, it’s the playlist equivalent of “Pocketful of Sunshine.”

Please note that my sharing of this playlist required a lot of courage on my part.

[8tracks width=”300″ height=”250″ playops=”” url=”http://8tracks.com/mixes/4222098″]

P.S. Please ALSO note that it took everything in me to include Backstreet Boys in this playlist, because I am strictly *NSYNC. But I mean…As Long As You Love Me is really good. I guess.

So now you know my musical secrets and shame. In return, I want to know what your guilty pleasure song is. Tell me in the comments!

A runner’s point of view: VIDEO

June 5, 2014 by vfreile

“You run really steadily with a camera,” my husband told me over the weekend. “That’s a talent.”

Uh, thanks?

But really, I was worried if I could pull it off, shooting video footage with a camera strapped to my noggin. If I was all over the place, it would make all our viewers green…but certainly NOT with envy.

As some of you may already know, I ran the J.P. Morgan Corporate Challenge in Rochester last week with a GoPro camera on my head.

Yep. That’s a video camera on my head

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE VIDEO: Running the Corporate Challenge

I really wasn’t sure how it would go – and it very nearly didn’t since I managed to drain the battery just before the big race. Fortunately, I caught it in time, recharged and was ready to roll when the 3.5-mile road race started Thursday evening.

So this is happening. Go pro running @JPMorganCC @dandc #roc #rocrun #runchat pic.twitter.com/SkkTDWOKWc

— Victoria Freile (@vfreile) May 29, 2014

I tweeted the above picture out moments before I headed to the start line.

I’ve tackled the race, Rochester’s largest office party more than a half-dozen times in recent years. Held annually at the Rochester Institute of Technology campus, it’s a lot of fun.

Laughing my butt off with Jessica before the 2013 race.

I’ve run in 95 degrees and begged for water at both of the course’s water stops. I’ve raced it. I’ve paced other runners. I’ve run injured.

Oh yeah, and I ran in a monsoon. Looking at you, 2009.

With former colleagues Steph and John in 2009. You really can’t tell in this pic, but we are all completely drenched. And as a side bonus, my car battery died on the way home from this waterlogged race.

I know the course well, so was prepared and excited to take the Democrat and Chronicle’s readers on a tour. This year, the weather was perfect. It was in the 6os or so, with a light breeze and only a few clouds in the sky. I was ready to run.

Team Democrat and Chronicle

I headed over to the start line just minutes before the 7 p.m. and shot some footage of some of the 10,900 waiting runners. (It was way more packed than the below pic, which I snapped about 2 hours before the race started.)

The starting line; before the masses arrived.

I lined up with my friend Traci, knowing full well that I’d lose her in the first quarter-mile. Even if she wasn’t listening to a word I said, I felt better chatting up a storm with a friend nearby rather the talking-to-myself tactic I adopted partway through the course.

The second wave started and were were off. I repeatedly reminded myself not to dodge other runners and weave through the crowd as I’d regret spending that energy later. And really, it doesn’t get you any further ahead in the crowd, it only serves as an aggravation. Trust me!

Last year was the first year the race offered wave starts, a huge improvement from previous years when about 10,000 people started at all once. It was always frustrating, as people would line up inappropriately and you’d be dodging people left and right for the first full mile. The improvement was much appreciated.

I quickly conquered the lone hill on the course and chatted with a few strangers as I coasted downhill. I pulled to the side to film runners rounding a curve. I paused at the water stop – and as a result scared the stuffing out of one lovely volunteer, sorry buddy! But I got some great footage.

I talked to myself as I ran. I cheered for a few strangers. I chatted with (and scared off) several more runners.

I pulled the camera off my head repeatedly. I shot my own moving feet. I shot the people next to me as we ran side by side. I shot over my shoulder. I shot upside down. I repeatedly checked that the camera was operating properly. (it was, sorry Tina.)

I ran off the course repeatedly and filmed runners coming straight towards me. I shoved the camera back on my head and huffed and puffed to pass people as I ran toward the finish.

After crossing, I zipped to the side, behind one of the D&C’s photographers, and shot more images of finishers. Success!

Thanks for watching!

The final video was produced by my talented colleague Tina MacIntyre-Yee. She did an amazing job, as she always does.

Have you ever run with a GoPro? Would you? Have you ever run the Corporate Challenge… in the sun, wind or rain? Tell me about your experiences in the comments!

Those Summer Nights

June 2, 2014 by camoozle

Anyone who’s familiar with Southern California knows that we don’t believe in seasons. I live in a little part of CA known as the I.E. or Inland Empire. Which means there’s no off shore breeze where I live. We have two temperatures, hot and slightly less hot. Both of which may or may not be accompanied by the Santa Ana winds. Summer starts in May and ends in October, which makes running during half the year really, really, really, really sucky.

I know, I know. I sound like a whiny bitch. It’s because I am.

I don’t know about you peeps, but I’m what’s considered a “heavy sweater” and no I don’t mean like a cable knit. I mean shirt completely drenched after a 60 minute yoga class heavy. I mean wiping up my sweat after push-ups so I don’t slip and break my neck kind of heavy. I know sweating has its benefits, like, you know, that whole eliminating toxins thing. But the last thing I want to do when it’s 100 degrees outside is run. I’ve been going to RIPPED and Body Back at 5 am for this very reason. So far I’ve been able to keep up with my cross training, but with the Dumbo Double Dare rapidly approaching in August, I’m starting to feel a little nervous. Because, yeah, August in SoCal sucks the life right out of you. I know I need to train and I need to train in the heat. I’m just finding it very very hard to actually get out there and do it.

How do you stay motivated when it’s hotter than Hades? Any tips for running in the heat? Has anyone ran the Disneyland Half in August? Am I going to melt out there?!?

A Day in the Life: Vic

May 30, 2014 by vfreile

My newspaper used to do a monthly Day in the Life series. It was one of my favorite assignments each month as I got to learn all about people’s special stories.

I witnessed a grape fight in the cafeteria of an area high school, which made it into print despite pleas from an assistant principal.

I met a local vet who showed me the bullet that was his ticket home from Europe in World War II. (He proudly kept it, by the way.) And I even interviewed an enthusiastic autistic teen just days before he wowed the world by sinking six 3-pointers in the final four minutes on the basketball court during his only varsity game of the season. Yep, I’m talking about J-Mac.

Yep. DITLO has a special place in my heart. But still I wasn’t sure how to go about my own.

I couldn’t decide whether to share a weekday or weekend, so I went with my behind the scenes on a workday. After all, I know you’re dying to know what happens at a newspaper.

On days when I don’t run before I head to the office, I snooze my alarm until the last possible moment before I launch into my pre-work morning routine.

And what’s the item I can’t leave home without? You guessed it- coffee.

I make myself not one, but two travel mugs of coffee each morning.

I’m at my desk by 7:30, unless I’m called in earlier for an assignment or sent straight to a crime scene. I’ll regret saying this, but I haven’t been woken out of a dead sleep by an editor yet this year. I’m long overdue.

My home away from home: The Democrat and Chronicle newspaper. It’s in a pretty sharp old building in downtown Rochester.

I make calls and gather info for breaking news stories. Then I run over to court to get some more info, interview people and so on.

Headed to court, with a letter to mail to Meri!

I can’t take photos inside court, but here’s the view of from the front doors, just outside Rochester City Court.

That’s the Hall of Justice on the left. I spent lots of time there.

Sometimes I cover a news conference, as I did with this one about the lone unsolved homicide for 2014 in Rochester.

Family of a city man killed in January and Rochester police before a news conference.

As I worked Tuesday, runDisney announced their newest race – the Star Wars Half Marathon… And the interwebs exploded. Holy Moly! I quickly wrote about it for work before the workday was through.

After work, I hurried over to my salon to get my eyebrows waxed. I get defuzzed every few weeks and today was my day. Otherwise I could double as a wookiee for an upcoming race!

Waiting my turn in my fave pink chucks

After my appointment, I popped into a drug store. But first, traffic.

Jamming to my jams in a jam

Then I headed toward Wegmans to get a few staples – milk, yogurt, bananas. I also got English muffins. I am currently obsessed with them. Never heard of Wegmans? I live in the land where the popular grocery store is based, so I have more than a dozen stores to choose from. My neighborhood store is a mile from my house.

And yes, I go almost daily. Take my money, Danny.

Got yogurt?

Nanas! The greener the better.

Once home, I found that our new screen door was partially installed. Hubs and I live in a 190-year-old farm house in suburban Rochester. And an old farm house, while pretty damn awesome, also means a lot of work. This summer we are tackling some work that we had been putting off. This door was long overdue – the old one was literally crumbling and has been since we bought the house 9 years ago.

view out the new screen door

I was greeted by my two kitties, who turned on each other shortly I after I fed them. But hey – progress! Old cat has started fleeing the loft and stealing food from new cat. She’s tiny but feisty. I have the scratches on my hand to prove it.

Old cat strikes a pose. or pouts. Not sure which.

To help clear my head, I went for a quick run around dusk. Not my best mileage, but it felt good. (and I looked cute in some Oiselle gear)

Creepy leg shot, but I love the brill blue Big O burnout tank and poppy rogas. The bright colors will lift me out of any funk.

Each day is different and that’s so much what I love about my job. As I type this, I am working a split shift, and will run a local road race in the evening with a go-pro camera attached to me. You’ll hear about THAT next week!

I’m a true mobile journalist. Photo by Tina MacIntyre-Yee

How much coffee do you drink each day? Do you have a Wegmans store near you? Any suggestions on how to repair an old farmhouse?

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Tag Archives: running