On and On

This is a July 11 post from my fundraising page that I'm just now getting around to cross-posting on Blogger.

Despite wrestling a mysterious knee injury that even my doctor was unsure about, I'm still running. Sunday last week I laid down 8 miles, and it was mostly horrible, but I finished it. Tomorrow I'm looking forward to an early morning 5k race and then returning home to run an additional 5-10k since I won't have time the rest of the weekend to get in a long run. The knee pain is still there, but with the aid of a brace, it's not surfacing until later and longer mileage each week.

The humidity is kicking my butt and slowing me down from an expected 13 min/mi pace to 16 min/mi, but I'm still getting out there. My first(ish) half marathon is the Disneyland Half Marathon on August 31, and I'm working my way up to 13 miles. I'd much rather sleep in every morning and quit entirely since I hate the heat so much, but I remember who and what I'm running for, and I remember the friends who tell me how inspiring my efforts are.

It's hard and it hurts and I keep at it.

Training setbacks

This is a June 26 post from my fundraising page that I'm just now getting around to cross-posting on Blogger.

Good news: I'm officially a quarter of the way to my fundraising goal!

Other news: Since a sudden overuse injury in mid-May, I've been struggling frequently with knee pain, and half marathon training has been absolutely brutal. I didn't fall or anything, but after the 9-mile Spartan Super, the next day when I set out at an easy jog, my left knee began screaming at me, a new pain I'd never felt before despite past difficulties with crooked kneecaps.

I've been running since 2010, but this season is kicking my butt, and I'm beginning to wonder if I'll have to walk the Disneyland Half Marathon in August and the Honored Hero Half in October. That wouldn't be the worst thing ever, but it would take a very long time to complete. 

I've been taking off a week or two at a time and icing my knees, but when I start to run again, no matter how slowly, smoothly, and softly, the aching returns just a few miles in. My doctor checked me out but isn't sure what's wrong. It's probably either Runner's Knee or Illiotibial Band Syndrome. The best thing to do for them is to ease up on running, but my training plan requires me to increase mileage in the coming months.

It's a bummer. But whatever happens, I'm still fundraising and still planning to finish those races, however long it takes.

Why do I do?

This is a May 21 post from my fundraising page that I'm just now getting around to cross-posting on Blogger.

 I don't have a heart-breaking or -warming story about why I'm joining the Team in Training program. I just want to do good.

Last spring I registered as a bone marrow donor with Be the Match when I happened to walk by a registration drive in a park, because it is a good thing to do. I organized a charity 5k run in the fall on a whim to support organizations that matter to me and will do so again this year.

I signed up with the Skepchicks for the local Light the Night walk because I knew I could contribute more by soliciting my contacts to help with fundraising than I could give from my own pocket.

Last year I hosted a food drive at my Amtgard park to benefit Minnie's Food Pantry in Plano. This year I organized the clothing drive for Hope's Door and collected 3 full trunk loads of donations plus cash and a Target gift certificate for the charity.

I'm not sure even know anyone who's suffered from the blood cancers that LLS is trying to cure.

My family and friends have been touched by other cancers, and I will run in their honor. My grandmother died in her early 60s of esophageal cancer. A college classmate was diagnosed with a brain tumor at 19 and died at 21. She was a flute player in the marching band and the kindest girl I ever met. I run because they cannot.

When I took up hashing in S. Korea, I met a woman who was battling a rare form of cancer and didn't expect to live to 40. She ran nearly every day, even though the chemo meant she had to stop frequently to puke. She ran anyway. And now she's expecting a baby! Another friend, Mofo, is a cancer survivor and marathoner who has also done fundraising for TNT. These two inspire me to run harder and longer than I could otherwise push myself on my own.

I meet more people every day who've been touched by these illnesses and I'll run for them and their loved ones. Because I can.

Long absence; Blogger blocked

I miss writing here. I've been blocked from this site at the office since May, which is where I do most of my writing, considering I spend the largest chunk of my life there.

I wrote several posts on other platforms over the summer and will share those here over the next few days and weeks. I'm going to try again to write regularly, even if I'm hardly ever at a computer from which I can post. I had a pretty good streak there for a while.

Since this is my 200th post, here are cute pictures of the pets at home.

Calypso, the princess

Popsicle, the odd one

Crowley, alpha nightfury

Paxil, the problem child

Desyrel ("Desi"), scaredy-pup

Cultural Appropriation in Racing

I rail about the color runs and how they stole a beautiful Hindu cultural tradition for profit and how much it frustrates me that people see this profile photo and ask me about the Color Run when in fact it is from a local Holi festival this year.

But I signed up for Cinco de Miler and Cinco de Muddo without a thought about cultural appropriation. There's a big difference between appropriation and celebration; the short explanation is demonstrating respect versus mocking the culture.

I went to the Cinco de Miler for the celebratory atmosphere, cool t-shirt, and the chance to run a 5-mile race, a race distance I'd never run before. Many participants dressed up in sombreros and luchador masks, and I saw one woman running in a full-body taco costume. I was ignorant. They were mocking. The race claims to celebrate "Mexico's colorful culture," which is NOT what Cinco de Mayo celebrates, and it supported the Ronald McDonald House Charities — Dallas.

No. Just stop.

At Cinco de Muddo, we got free samples of tequila. If there was anything questionable at the event, I didn't see it. The mariachi band and flamenco dancers were gone before I arrived. This event made money off the Cinco de Mayo celebration but/and benefited the Sharkarosa Wildlife Ranch, which houses and rehabilitates rescued wildlife.

The issue of cultural appropriation as related to these events only occurred to me after the fact, so I did some research. Cinco de Mayo is a small Mexican holiday with about as much fanfare as the United States' Flag Day. It commemorates an unlikely victory at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. In the US, we typically celebrate by dressing up in sombreros and mustaches and getting falling-down drunk on the basis that that's how to celebrate Mexican culture. It's mocking, it's rude, and it's wrong. So it's very American:

We completely forget about the true meaning behind the day. Instead, we get giant store displays of beer and tortilla chips stating things like: “Corona de Mayo” and “It’s Cinco, let’s salsa!” Because obviously the only way to engage others in this holiday is through beer and tortilla chips. I always dread the few weeks before Cinco de Mayo because of these stereotyped displays. All they do is trivialize the holiday and push people back into further ignorance about the significance of the day. Cinco de Mayo has come to be known as more of a drinking and partying holiday than anything else, which is wrong.

I mentioned the charities above because other racing events, such as Chicago's Carrera de los Muertos 5k, manage to create a race based on a cultural tradition AND support local charities that benefit the Hispanic community. Unlike the Dallas events that didn't even bother.

I'll think twice about participating next year and see if I can get in touch with the event organizers about my concerns before I do. Cinco de Miler sent out a thorough post-race survey with ample opportunity for me to speak my mind about the event. At least it's something.

It's a process, and every month I learn something new that I ought to look for in future races so I can responsibly vote with my dollars for basic respect of others.

JCC Bagel Run 5k/10k

After the DISASTER that was the Lone Star Race Series, I was devastated and panicked about finding a timed race to submit proof of time before RunDisney's June 1 deadline and scoured the web for local events. DFW is huge, and there are typically dozens of running events every weekend, but May 11 was my only race-free day for the next month, and it was oddly devoid of events.

Except for the Bagel Run.

I found this little event hosted by the JCC, Jewish Community Center, and the website noted age group divisions and an awards ceremony but nothing about chip timing. I emailed the listed contact to ask, feeling both hopeful and doubtful, and I received a response to the affirmative! I quickly registered and was doubly delighted at the $20 registration fee and close-to-home (compared to most races) event site. I usually expect to pay double or triple that for a 10k.

Sunday morning I got up early and got to the JCC with about 20 minutes to spare, having already done early packet pickup, meaning I already had my race t-shirt, bib, and timing chip in my possession and only had to line up when I arrived.

Standing in a crowd at the start line, I listened as the announcer explained that 10k runners would be running a double loop on the course and need be careful to cross the timing mats but not the 5k timing mat, and I couldn't see him from the middle of the crowd or understand what he was pointing to, so I just had to hope that volunteers and/or signs would be there.

We started out in a big crowd all together and enjoyed a nice downhill slope for a block or so at the start. I was irritated that walkers were mixed in with all the runners, because it was crowded and I was trapped behind a lot of them. It's one of my top peeves and dangerous not to separate walkers from runners at events.

We thinned out and as a volunteer called out the time at the 1-mile marker, I realized I'd been going much too fast, but fierce uphill running for the next mile and a half straightened me right out. It was horrible. It was a little over 70 degrees with 95% humidity, my joints ached from running the days before and now on concrete, and I hated every step. There was a sizable bruise on my inner thigh from the previous day's mud run that stung every time my other leg brushed it, which would be a LOT over the course of 6.2 miles. I hadn't brought music, so I hunkered down and embraced the suck, focusing on my form and breath.

As I passed a pair of women walking their 5k*, I overheard one ask the other, "So what's up with those toe shoes? Aren't they, like, really bad for you?" and her friend responded, "Yeah, they are really bad for you. There are all kinds of lawsuits over it." I muttered to myself and kept running while they walked comfortably. Much as I wanted to hang back and correct the ignorami, I had a serious time goal to keep.

Later on, a pair of runners drew up beside me and one asked me jovially, "Have you heard you might be getting a refund on those?" I said, "Yeah, looking forward to buyin' even more of 'em." They laughed and we bantered about the hills briefly before they passed me.

So much suck

As I approached the 5k finish line, I heard the announcer calling out that the second place 10k runner was just finishing before I even got there. Wow. Fortunately, there were clear signs directing 10k runners around the timing mat and on to the second lap.

And then I was alone.

The final numbers aren't online yet, but it appeared that 95% of the participants were running 5k or less. It was just me and the cops and cones from there. After a long block, I drew up to a runner and passed her near the first water station. In the fourth or fifth mile, I passed a man and two women who were decidedly walking all the hills while I slog-jogged up them. After mile marker 5, I caught my second wind and picked up the pace to the end, passing one more woman and approaching another man who was still going strong.

I made my walk breaks shorter and took one more just before the final stretch but cut it especially short when I saw the pair of women I'd passed drawing up behind me and a third as well. I ran all the way to the finish, miserable, hot, dripping sweat, and certain I'd failed to make my goal. But when I glanced up at the clock, I broke into a huge grin at seeing one-some-teen, and the folks at the end cheered me as I finished. I was handed a red carnation and cold water, and I walked the length of the parking lot to cool down without puking.

I went for an orange just in time to see the child in front of me sneeze full-on the tray of oranges, so I plucked one from another tray farther away, shaking my head. I usually take off right after a run, but the announcer announced that he'd be announcing the 10k awards in about 5 minutes, so I hung out to cheer with everyone else and welcomed the opportunity to sit briefly.

"And the third place 10k Female 20-29 finisher is Mow-neeqwa Pahlit!"

"Wait. Wut?!" I actually said as I dragged myself to my feet and shuffled over to the awards table as quickly as I could. Then they couldn't find my trophy. It appeared that the 5k 20-29 third place finisher had taken my trophy by mistake! I posed for a photo with the 5k trophy, and the race organizers took down my info to mail me a corrected plaque, saying they might even personalize it with my name.

I've never placed at an event before! If I'd thought to sign up for the Barefoot division in the 2011 Merrell Down & Dirty, I would have placed third among females, but that doesn't really count. I wanted to downplay this achievement since it was such a small field, but I was in a lot of pain and really did earn that beast. Most races use five-year age-group divisions, so placing as a 27-year-old among the 20-29s is no small feat, especially since all the women I passed in my second lap looked to be in that range as well.

Freaking awesome. 1:18:23 is not exactly impressive, but it's 12 minutes faster than I could do last year, and I look forward to training and returning to this event next year.

*Not that I would ever shame someone for walking a 5k, only for being ignorant and suggesting loudly that my chosen footwear was injurious as I passed them like a BAWG.

I dig Vibram FiveFingers

Yes, I've seen the Vibram FiveFingers news going around today:

"Vibram USA, the makers of the glove-like FiveFingers running shoes, has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit against them that alleged they made false and unsubstantiated claims about the health benefits their footwear.  

"Consumers who purchased a pair of the shoes between March 21, 2009 and the date of the first dissemination of summary settlement notice or class notice, will be eligible for a refund of up to $94 per pair.

... 

"The class-action suit was brought against Vibram in March 2012. Valerie Bezdek filed the complaint in Massachusetts and said that Vibram deceived customers by advertising that their shoes could reduce foot injuries and strengthen foot muscles.

"The company has denied any wrongdoing alleged in the suit. They settled to put the matter to rest and avoid any additional legal expenses."

It sounds like an issue of semantics in the wording of VFF advertising and whether consumers followed the clear advice given to transition slowly into running in them and using a proper forefoot strike form with them.

A different piece of crap article cites a study and claims "science has discovered that barefoot running can really fuck you up."

That study used 36 participants and was pretty much designed specifically to induce injury by directing the participants to start out running 1-2 miles in their new VFFs. The conclusion of the study states exactly:

"Runners interested in transitioning to minimalist shoes, such as Vibram FiveFingers [OMG WHY ISN'T THERE ANOTHER COMMA HERE?!] should transition very slowly and gradually to avoid potential stress injury in the foot."

Fucking duh.

As for me, VFFs and forefoot striking saved my knees and made me a runner. I sprained my toe badly in 2012 while wearing a pair and suffered shin pain from overtraining in them last fall when I tried to log 70 miles in one month after 50 the month before. I did it but was off from running for a month after that.

Then I completed a 15-mile Spartan race in them in December and 18 miles of racing in them last weekend and feel great.

I know a lot of people who might try to get in on the settlement money for the express purpose of reinvesting the payout in more VFFs.