The Chase

Tomorrow morning I will participate in "The Chase."  It is a 5k in memory of a sweet little boy, Chase Austin Ruffner, who passed away from SIDS.  Money raised will go to an organization called First Candle.  A bit about them:

Helping Babies Survive and Thrive

First Candle is a leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to safe pregnancies and the survival of babies through the first years of life. Current priorities are to eliminate Stillbirth, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUID) with programs of research, education and advocacy. We also provide compassionate grief support to all those affected by the death of a baby through a dedicated crisis hotline at 800.221.7437.

I made this quilt for Chase's Momma out of his little clothes.

Good Run

Yep, a good run. 5 miles. Ok, so it was on the treadmill, but still, five miles! I am pretty happy about it.

Tough run

Yesterday's 3.72 miles was tough. I wanted to do four but gave up. I am still trying to figure out why some days the run is easy and others it is difficult......found this inspiration......

 

 

No running tonight

Argh! I have these weird eye bleeds every so often. I think they are autoimmune related.

 

Yes, freaky, I know. I guess I won't run in the Lion's Club Sight for the Blind 5k tonight. I think all the jarring and blood pumping might not be good for this eye......I am sooo disappointed.

 

Running in Mammoth Lakes, Ca.

This was my running trail this morning.....

 

The trail included a couple of tunnels.

 

Don't 'ya love the sign?

Very beautiful, and mostly deserted. The hubby parked at the lake and I went up a bit then back down. It was way more steep than what I am used to, so I had to mostly walk going back up to the car. I think I did about three miles today but at least half was walking. I still felt like I got a good workout due to the elevation.

 

Indoor track running

I visited my son and daughter-in-love yesterday and today. I was able to get a short two mile run in on this awesome indoor track.....

 

 

The best part about the visit wasn't the running. It was seeing my granddaughter on the ultrasound! Yes, we are having a girl. So. Very. Excited.

 

Running in humidity

I was itching to run again so I went out in the heat and humidity tonight. It could have been worse. At least there were some clouds blocking the sun. Three miles at penguin pace - 12 min/mi.

By the way, I love these shorts. Nike tempo shorts.

There really is such a thing as penguin running. It was coined by John Bingham who is a very celebrated slow runner (12 min/mi), speaker, and author. He has written several books and wrote a column called, "The Chronicles," and later "No Need for Speed" from May 1996 to December 2009 in Runner's World magazine. You can find all his articles The Pengun Chronicles Archive. He encourages the masses to run. Those who like him, are self declared non-athletes, older runners, new runners. I like his stuff. He is a very funny guy too. I would love to hear him speak sometime.

I have to remind myself.....I am not in this to win races, I am in this for the long term...to improve my bone density, heart, fitness level, keep my weight down, and to have an activity that is good for me that I enjoy. I have to keep telling myself this so I won't push too hard to go faster. My heart rate still gets up in the 170s unless I stay about at 12 minute miles. Then it is in the 160s. From all I've read 170s is too high for a 54 year old.

So, I waddle along......and am happy to be out there waddling......