Moving Along

So, today I ran 6.5 more miles--on the treadmill today given the cold temperatures.  So, it was 52 minutes.

On my journey that puts me 39 miles along, somewhere along Old Taneytown Rd.  

My primary observation today is that when I am lucky enough to have a house that is warm and a car that runs and a warm jacket, I can really enjoy the cold.

Bright blue skies.

Relatively quiet city as the schools opened 2 hours late and I was on my way to work at regular time.

And everything was just still.  

Except for the wind that blew like crazy.

And I could just appreciate the strength of nature.

Next Stopping Point

Today, I left the house at 5:33 for my run.  It was raining sort of hard when I left.  It rained intermittently while I ran.  It was around 43 degrees the whole time.  It was a refreshing run of 7.3 miles at a pace of 8:30/mile on average.  Nice and easy.  Didn't stress my muscles too much.  Just enjoyed.  Enjoyed wearing a baseball cap with the NCR Trail marathon map on it.  Enjoyed the coolness of the run.  Saw only three other runners out all morning.  Was frustrated by the fact that some people still had not shoveled sidewalks and some places still had ice in the street from not being plowed and not having enough drivers.  And I was surprised to encounter some of the iciest locations in Towson.

There was little wind this morning.  The temperature was great.  The only real drawback was the deep puddles.  Made the feet a bit cold some of the time.  

So it goes.

By now, with the warm temps, the enormous amount of rain (enough to have torrents gushing into the sewers this morning), and wind this afternoon, there is very little of the snow from last week left now.

The roads are dry.

But the weather is cold.  Extremes not seen in two decades.  A reminder that what we are seeing is not always global warming.

So, my 7.3 miles would take me to 32.5 miles.  Somewhere on Taneytown Pike.  A bit west of Westminster, MD.

Making progress although the average mileage per day so far would only get me to 1977 miles.  Not that I have to worry yet.  Just something to ponder as I move toward the goal of my virtual pilgrimage.   

Short run--Short Note

Today, I ran outside mostly so that I could say I did.  A simple 3.2 mile jaunt around to Charles St at Melrose, up to Gittings and back again.  On my virtual running pilgrimage to Our Lady of Perpetual Help that puts me approaching MD 97 on Old Westminster Pike headed westbound.  Nothing more to say about that other than that the leg was still a little "twingy" but not bad.  Took the pace really easy.

After the run that I completed before 6, I was able to shower, take my 9 year old to his hockey game.  For that we arrived at Patterson Park before 7 after an easy drive down the Alameda and through Lake Clifton Park.  We avoided freezing rain.  The game was an excellent one that ended in a 1-1 tie.

Then, we drove up to Glen Mills to visit family.  That was a lot of fun.  Although I ended up with a nap before driving home.  That made driving home much safer.

Now doing a lot of work with my son on a financial aid application.

The joys of parenthood.

Next step on the virtual pilgrimage will be to reach out to the director of religious education at the church I am running "toward" and see if she can help make it more "real" for my students in Sunday School.  

A Workout in Three Acts

Today it was very cold this morning.  Some of my running friends went out for a run despite the cold.  Others stuck with a treadmill workout.  I took the treadmill today although I hope to get in 4-6 outside early tomorrow--sticking to the major and cleared streets to be safe and not risk ice and falling.

When I got done my workout I was stretching a bit in the long hallway at the Towson Family Y and a friend I know from a formal training group organized by Charm City Run that I was part of several years ago came over and asked what I was training for.  She is training for the Houston Half Marathon.  When I told her I am not training for anything in particular, she asked, "So you just like torturing yourself?"  I answered that I just like to maintain a working base.  

How much of a base?  I had thought about running 16 today.  I ended up with 14.  For my virtual running pilgrimage where would this put me?  Finished 22 miles.  It would be on Old Westminster Pike in Finksburg MD.  And it would be not long after a turn on MD 140 passing by Little Vinnie's Tattoos.  That is not where I got my tattoo but is a place I've seen on numerous trips out MD 140 to places like a bed and breakfast at which Sherry and I have stayed multiple times or on the way to drop Joshua off for his summer camp with the Maryland State Boychoir.  So, I am still looking at places that are familiar to me and that provide easy links to understand how this relates to my life.

The other interesting thing was that today's workout was really a workout in three acts. The three pictures show it all.  For the first hour, I ran the 8 minute miles that were very familiar to me while I was on vacation with my family.  No complaints there.  Just nice and steady work.  I enjoyed those miles but knew that given what I was going to do for the rest of the day, I would have to pick up the pace a little bit if I wanted to meet the 16 mile goal that I had set for myself.  If I were running this on the road, this would have put me along Butler Rd.  

Since the treadmill only goes for a maximum of one hour, I had to restart the treadmill and with the restart, I tried to pick up the pace a bit.  To do that, I set the treadmill for 8.5 miles per hour instead of 7.5 miles per hour and managed to maintain it for 30 minutes.  That was another 4.25 miles.  At that point I would have  been somewhere along MD 140 heading to the final point I mentioned earlier.  Key thing at this point was that I could feel something in the back of my right thigh beginning to tighten up.  Since I am not training for any races in the immediate future, I decided that no matter how much longer I was going, running a tempo or near tempo pace for 4.25 miles was sufficient for today.

I took the pace back down to 7.5 miles per hour (the 8 minute mile again) and ran another 2.25 miles in 18 minutes to bring myself up to a total of 14 miles.  Finishing there rather than pushing ahead seemed like the best thing to do.  It was learning to say that while the tightening was not enough to force me to stop, it was enough to tell me to stop.  That is something that I think comes with maturity in running.  Don't push when I don't need to.  Accept limitations.  Look ahead to what will come later after (more miles, more races, and hopefully remaining free of serious injury) rather than only looking at today--wanting the 16 miles.  

To think back to the idea of three acts, I would say that the first act was patience, the second act was attitude, and the third act was introspection. 

Conceptualizing 2000 Miles: A Virtual Running Pilgrimage

So, on January 2nd, I ran my first 8 miles of the calendar year.  I talked about that 8 mile run yesterday.  No need to review.

Today, I did not run.  I have many friends who braved the snow and ice on the roads to either drive to run inside on a treadmill somewhere or to run somewhere outside.  Congratulations to them after the snow last night.  I didn't feel inspired and had a bit of a headache.  That is not enough to keep me in bed when it is 40 degrees out.  But at 25 degrees (or less) and 4-5 inches of snow it was a "no go" for me.

What I did do today is think about how I will accumulate my 266 hours (or so) of running at 8 minute miles over 250 (or so) days during the remaining 363 days of the year.

And I spent some time thinking about what 2000 miles would actually mean.

And to link to spirituality, I found a route from St Pius X church in Towson MD (where we attend and participate) to a church called Our Lady of Perpetual Help in a town call Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, that is 2000 miles.  Here is a link to the pdf describing the path.  Going from one church to another makes it like a "virtual running pilgrimage."  Ending up at a town called "Truth or Consequences" for a goal that is so big and a quest for which I consider "truth" to be success and consequences to be the many possible ways of failing or being injured along the way, is pretty cool.

It is too bad I won't be doing this in reality as it will take me through Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and into New Mexico.

So, each day, in addition to whatever else I want to blog about, I'll mention where I am.  The first eight miles that I ran yesterday takes me from our church to  somewhere on Greenspring Avenue north of the city.  It doesn't quite get me to the Church of the Resurrection in Lutherville that led to my early Christmas morning writing about connections from the perspectives of two priests (one Catholic and one Anglican) but it is interesting to me that in the bigger picture of trying to conceptualize my 2000 mile quest as a pilgrimage, even the first stop is near a church.

What will tomorrow bring?  12-16 miles on a treadmill at the Y on a bitter cold morning.  Once I see just how many I run, I will update and we will see where it leaves me on the trail.

Goal is set.  Now, to see where it takes me.  

A 2000 Mile Quest

This morning I went for a run.  That is nothing unusual.  I went for a run on 260 days in 2013.  So, going for a run on the second day of the yar in 2014 is something that I would expect to do on approximately two out of every three days anyway. 

But I learned something about myself today.  First, I must be building up a reputation for posting pictures of my watch.  A friend wrote a post today with a picture of his Garmin and noted “in true Professor Frick style”.  He had the opportunity to run 16 miles in about two hours.  That was almost twice as long as the time I had available to run—I ran just under 1:04.  And that was twice as far as I ran (I ran exactly 8 miles).  So, his pace (based on the twice as far in less than twice as long) was obviously faster than mine.  I have not run with this friend in quite some time.  I noted that I look forward to running with him but that I will have to work to keep up with him next time.  That’s also not really a surprise.  If I had run the Charles St 12 last year, he would have been way ahead of me.  In the Baltimore Running Festival half marathon he was well ahead of me, although not nearly as much as he’d planned.  The only race in the past twelve months for which I had the lead was the Boston marathon.  There, we ran nearly even for about the first half and then I had the lead.  It was the third marathon (and fourth race overall) where he was ahead or we were even but I eventually took off.  The other three times it was much closer to the end of the race.  But on any given day for any race less than twenty miles, he will be way ahead of me unless something goes seriously wrong.

But that is part of why running is such a cool sport.  Many of my friends are impressed at what I do.  The distances I go each day.  The distances I go in a year (1867 miles last year).  The pace at which I run.  But then I look at what some of my friends manage, and I realize that my running is neither as fast nor as far nor as consistent as many other people. 

This is the first year I recall lots of people posting about how many miles they ran during the year.  I have several friends over 2000 miles.  I have one friend who was a little closer to 2000 miles than I was.  And I have friends with a variety of shorter distances that either they achieves last year or are looking to achieve in the cominb year.  And, in the end, all are fine.

I posted online this morning that I was happy with my overall 1:03:40 for 8 miles as other than a 14.4 mile very hilly run (at least noticeably uphill in the second half) on the winter solstice, I had not run much that included hills since the 5 mile race on December 14.  And, for six days in a row, I had run nothing but treadmill miles—nearly all at an 8 min/mile pace with the most slight incline possible.

So, today, I began by climbing Highwood, running the down and up along Lake to York, and then the relatively flat from Lake and York to Lake and Bellona and then along Bellona toward Springlake Way for the first mile in 8:12.  Then, I ran down Springlake Way to Norhtern, across Northern to Charles, and up Charles toward Stevenson for the second mile in 7:55.  After that I continued along a relatively flat Charles, then hung a right on Stevenson toward Bellona and then downhill along Stevenson after crossing Bellona for mile 3 in 7:55.  Next, I ran up Stevenson toward Osler and then down Osler toward Towsontown—hitting 4 miles before I hit Towsontown.  Fourth mile run in 7:53.  Then, I continued along Osler, hung a right on Towsontown, and then around Bosley headed back toward York Rd, hitting mile 5 right around York and Bosely.  Mile 5 run in 7:53.  Along York Rd toward Regester, hitting 6 along York, with mile 6 run in 8:01.  It’s a bit more up on York Rd than meets the eye when driving.  Then, along Regester to Sherwood.  Hit 7 miles right about there with mile 7 in 7:58.  Finally, finished by taking Sherwood to the Alameda, then Walker, Northwood, Woodson, and home.  Last mile in 7:51.  Relatively consistent.  Home in time to eat, shower, get Christopher to the light rail, eventually pick up the dog, do some work, take Joshua to TWIGS, and go to SPH to record two lectures. 

What I learned while I was running was not just that I had not lost anything on my pace during my 10 days without hills, but that I really do enjoy the hills.  Maybe not a hill workout but definitely a workout with more variation that I get on most of my treadmill workouts.  I love the sounds of the city.  I love the smell of the city.  I love seeing the outside—more than I could ever enjoy any number of minutes or hours of watching TV while running.  I love being in running tights, a long-sleeved shirt made for cold weather, and a long-sleeved t-shirt.  I love seeing people with their dogs.  I love seeing other runners.  I love saying hello.  I love being a part of the early morning community.

Of course, I would not run outside in bitterly cold temperatures.  And I would not run on the streets with ice and a risk of falling that is more than the risk I already face on the sidewalks—which I have fallen on once or twice. And there are only certain parts of the city I will run in by myself.

And I learned how far I am willing to try to push myself this year—I wrote that I am on a 2000 mile quest.  If I simply run 1:04 per day at the same pace for each of 250 days, I’ll have the 2000 miles. I don’t need any 10 mile races.  I don’t need any half marathons.  I don’t need any marathons or ultras.  And 250 days is fewer days than I ran in 2013.  So this is very doable.

What will I have to overcome?  Well, sometimes the workouts can take much longer than 1:04 when I drive somewhere to run.  And sometimes I won’t run at an 8 minute per mile pace if I am running with certain friends.  And there will be times that I just won’t have the 1:04 even without needing to drive.  And there are times when I will want to go further—and run either a half marathon or a marathon. 

But each run will bring a lesson.  Each run will bring a meaning.  Each run will bring a revelation. 

Something about me.  Something about a friend.  Something about life.  Something about running.  Something about my city.  Something about my shoes. 

And I will take it all in. 

And I will write it all down.

And I will share it with anyone who wants to read.

And I will continue to try to understand the meaning of life.  How I fit in.  What I am called to do.  And what God’s plan is for me.

Other than to run and write and teach and learn and be the most supportive person I can be to my friends and family and students and colleagues.

Life is good. 

Family is People You Share Food with on a Regular Basis

Last night, I wrote a post about my social media family. I described family as: 

It includes blood and marriage of course. And immediate family are the people I cherish most in the world. But family here is the people I share with and who choose to share with me each day.

My friend, Alex, then posted:

I was in a community once that defined family as people that you share food with on a regular basis.

This was an interesting premise to learn about.  It got me thinking. In the traditional sense of a community, this would make a lot of sense. What would it mean to an electronic or virtual community? I wrote that perhaps if we adapted it to say "food for thought" or "pictures of food" it would work.

While this is an interesting adaptation of what Alex said, I wanted to spend some time thinking about why sharing food on a regular basis would make family by choice.  This is particularly interesting in light of some recent posts about blended families being families by choice and what the implications of families by choice would be.  

We can start with the obvious.  Family is about sharing.  Not only food, of course.  Although perhaps the earliest versions of family were mostly about sharing food-at the bottom of Maslow's triangle.  The most basic need.  With whom do we share when we are worried about taking care of our most basic needs?  The people we care about most.  Family.  At that point it was about survival.  And if we want to get biological-it was not only about our own survival or the survival of the species but also about the survival of our DNA once children were involved.

In this day and age, what does sharing food bring out?  Well, food brings our conversation.  When humans moved from just sharing whatever they already had to planning ahead, people could have been discussing strategy for the next hunt. Today, conversation could be about what was good in the day.  About what was bad in the day.  About the bigger picture.  About how each of us and the family unit as a whole fit in with the bigger picture and something bigger.  Spirituality.  Much higher on Maslow's triangle.

Why does it bring this out?  Well, I believe that truly sharing food doesn't mean just leaving a pot of something on the stove that everyone can grab a plate of when they get a chance.  Truly sharing means stopping and sitting at table together.  It makes us slow down.  It means we spend time in one place.  Around one table.  Focused.  Together.  Being a part of something bigger.  If we give a completely secular interpretation to "whenever two or more are gathered in my name" and just write "whenever two or more are gathered" I begin to recognize that there is something to that.  

In a world of friends separated not by the next cave, next house, or even next community over but by hundreds or thousands of miles, we can always gather at table.  But there are other ways to gather.  

I find that sharing pictures of food speaks volumes.  It speaks to how I (or anyone else sharing such a picture) likes to put time into our cooking.  Cares about our cooking.  Cares enough about our cooking to do something more than just a TV dinner for our family.  Cares enough to share it.  Some might say, show off rather  than share but I think it is about having other people be interested and thinking about whether they would ever make the same thing.  What they are going to make for dinner tonight. Sharing our inner workings as it really matters.  And sharing what is important.

Finally, sharing food for thought.  For me, it means I take the time to write.  For those who are part of my "Connecting the Dots" family it means taking the time to read what I have written.  The time to think and write, and time to read and think, is a reflective process that fits well with the sharing that could occur around a table with family (in whatever sense of the word) and food and drink.  It is an synchronous sharing relationship, but it is still a sharing relationship.  An online family.

It doesn't mean that a virtual family (even one centered around thinking) could ever replace a real family.  A family of people you can walk next to, sit next to, hug, and look at.  But it does offer a way of extending family.

And for that, I am grateful to have learned about my friend's community's interpretation of family.