Guest Book Review by Michelle Spring

To Be a Runner: How racing up mountains, running with the bulls, or just taking on a 5-K makes you a better person (and the world a better place), by Martin Dugard, Rodale Press, 2011

This is the second book on running that I have read, and the second book on running that likens running to writing. I came around to this book by way of the author’s Into Africa: The dramatic retelling of the Stanley-Livingstone story, a compelling history and character study of two seminal men, but one that suffers from a disjointed style and a narrative that jumps back and forth too quickly in time and place. Same with this book on running. There is really no seamless flow to this book, which makes me wonder what kind of runner Dugard is.
Modern running, according to Dugard, began in 1967 with the publication of Aerobics, by Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper. Both of Dugard’s parents were inspired to begin running, and Martin inspired by them to become a cross-country runner. In the book Dugard describes the ups and downs of his career, taking long breaks from running, gaining weight, losing weight, running with the bulls at Pamplona, tackling a muddy, python-ridden 10-miler off the coast of Borneo, a hilarious description of the Tough Guy run in the British Midlands, and ultimately becoming a running coach for high-schoolers.
 While I enjoyed tremendously Dugard’s descriptions of his ideal runs—all alone in the wild, going off the trail to explore (“going rogue,” he calls it), the transcendence of a pre-dawn run along a pristine golf course—I almost didn’t finish this book.  But I’m glad I did, for the final chapter, “Superheroes,” alone. Attending a concert with his children that features music from films about comic-book heroes, Dugard muses on the heroes in his own life: the great runner Steve Prefontaine, his writing heroes Hunter S. Thompson and Hemingway. He remembers, “Running saved my life. Without running I would be dead somewhere. ...It kept me sane when I was trying to find my way in life. It gave me a sense of self when the world didn’t seem to get me. It gave me peace on days when my mind was chaos. It gave me glory as I crossed the finish line first. It gave me contentment, gave me connection, gave me catharsis. It made me feel, on those days when the sun hit me just right, like a superhero.”

—Michelle Spring


Note: This review is based on the Kindle edition of the book.

Veterans, Birthdays and Campaigns …


Last week was an eventful one for me.  For one, it included my 44th birthday.  I will get back to that later.  I was also busy at work and I had a few non-work related activities I wanted to participate in.  On Tuesday, June 5th, the day before the 68th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion of Normandy, I participated in an event that is always a great joy.  For many years I have participated in welcoming Honor Flight to Washington, DC.  Honor Flight are ones that bring WWII veterans, at no cost to them, to Washington, DC to visit the memorial built in their honor.  Most of these men and women are in their 80s and 90s,.  Usually we welcome these charted flight of veterans at Reagan Airport.  A few times each year, however, there are flight that originate from my home state of Iowa.  For these flight we meet the veterans and at the memorial, welcome them and then walk around helping with any of their needs.  Last Tuesday’s flight was from eastern Iowa, my neck of the woods.  There were approximately 95 veterans and guardians in the group.  As always I greatly enjoyed helping and even met a father/son team from a tiny town close to where I grew up.
  

Wednesday, June 6th, D-Day, was my 44th birthday.  The day was full of meetings and little celebration.  All those that I love are half way across the country in Iowa and Wisconsin. I did start the day with a great run.  At 44 running my age was out of the question, especially considering I had other obligation that day.  Instead I decided to run the sum of my birthday 4+4=8 .. in all I ran 8.88 miles at an 8:16 pace.  The pace, and the multiple of 8 was pure coincidence.  The best part of the day was an evening call from my 3 favorite little people in the world … my 2 nieces aged 4 & 2 and my nephew aged 1.  Nothing makes me smile quite like hearing their voice, well other than seeing them.  Apparently my 2 year old niece kept trying to show me pictures she had drawn for me.  They talk to their uncle on the iPad via Facetime.  Unfortunately I don’t have an iPad.  All-in-all it was just a regular day.

In conjunction with my birthday I urged my friends, family and my FB/Twitter universe to consider making a donation to my Team USO – Marine Corps Marathon campaign equal to a multiple of the sum of my birthday.  While I only got 1 contribution, it did give me a way to get out word that,. Yes, for the 5th time I will be running the Marine Corps Marathon as part of Team USO.  This will be my 7th marathon and my 6th Marine Corps Marathon, my 5th running as part of Team USO.    If you have a minute, please take a look at my fundraising page and consider making a contribution!  My sites can be found at www.TeamUSO.org/2012/Marlene_English.

Skirt Runner


The term “skirt chaser” has never had a good connotation.  In the past few years it has taken on a new and better definition with the advent of running skirts.  I discovered running skirts about a year into my running life.  Before that, like most women I had run in regular old shorts.  Then one day I saw an article about running skirts and thought, hey that could be really fun.  The first one I found was pretty pricey but I was able to find the same one (a Champion brand) at Target.  With that a devoted skirt runner was born.  

My first running skirt

I have added a number of skirts to my wardrobe, a dozen to be exact. I haven’t worn a pair of short for running in a number of years.  If you see me out and about, most likely I will be wearing a running skirt and race shirt.  It’s my non-work “uniform” and a lot more fun than the skirts I wear at the office.  In 2009 as I made a return visit to London and Paris I got quite a few looks and comments.  The craze hadn’t quite reached the other side of the pond yet.

Skirt on vacation on the Seine in Paris

Even Princesses wear skirts to the palace

For a while, even here in the US, it was hard to find them.  None of the sports stores carried them.  I mostly found them on-line and increasingly at expos before races.  Now just about every store has them, big sports labels have them and there are hundreds of companies that make just running skirts.  You can get plain old hum drum ones, or you can get ones with some really awesome prints.

My skirt collection

There are all different kinds of running skirts. Short ones.  Longer ones.  The big difference between skirts is the undergarments that are built in.  Some are small like cheerleading bloomers, other are longer spandex shorts.  There are even some running skirts that have full length pants.  I have one skirt with the bloomer type underwear.  Those are my least favorite,  They tend to bunch up in “cracks.”  There is nothing fun about running on a windy day and realizing that your USMC tattoo is there for everyone to see when you skirt flies up.  I have to admit a couple of my favorite are my shortest ones.  

My two favorite skirts

It does make me sad that now, years later, a few of my skirts are stretching out and I can’t really run in them anymore without spending time pulling them up.  Those will be retired, or passed along to someone who can wear them without the slipping problem.  One other admission, and it took me a while to get where I could do this, it is best to go commando with running skirts (if you know what I mean).  After all the undies ARE built in.

 I do not recommend the bloomer type

 Short spandex

Longer spandex

Why do I like running skirts?  Easy, because they are girly!  I love the sensation of my ponytail and skirt swishing as I run … especially when I am passing boys :-)  Sorry, guys.  To quote one skirt site “Women should never have to sacrifice femininity for performance in their workout clothes.”  I agree.


You can even make it so your running outfit suites your race

My military outfit for the Marine Corp 17.76K at Quantico, VA

I think my favorite comment that I received about my skirt was at the end of the Army 10 Miler last years.  As we crossed the finish line a guy tapped me on the shoulder.  “Thank you,” he said.   “I was getting tired about mile 7 and you passed me.  From that point on I used you as my pacer and told myself … just keep following the swishing red skirt.”  


Here are links to couple of my favorite running skirt sites:


Spots Skirts: http://www.skirtsports.com/shop/
Running Skirts: http://www.runningskirts.com/
Lululemon: http://shop.lululemon.com/products/category/women-skirts-and-dresses?pagesize=All
Running Warehouse: http://www.runningwarehouse.com/catpage-WRSK.html

Okay so the Redskin's cheerleaders have on tiny non-running skirts, but this is on of my favorite post race pictures ... after the 9-11 Memorial 5K

I suggest that all my girlfriends try running in a skirt at least once.  I think once you try it you will never go back to wearing shorts.  One other thing I want to do some day is to participate in one of the Skirt Chaser 5K races.  At these races the women start 3 minutes ahead of the men.  It is the mission of the men to chase the skirts.  I think DC is way too politically correct to every host one, but if they did I would want to start with the men  I would rather give them a skirt to follow :-)

Me and My Shadow


Last weekend I was able to spend about 48 hours in Wisconsin with my 2 nieces and my nephew (all under age 5), also known as the munchkins.  I don’t get to see them very often since I live on the east coast.  I treasure every minute I get to spend with them.

The one thing you learn quickly about children is that they are little sponges.  They pay attention and remember more than we think.  My oldest niece Ava knows I am a runner.  In the past she has told people “My Aunt Molly runs REALLY far!”  She has also been known to ask if she can ride her bike next to me when I run.  She is my little runner in waiting and I love her interest in it. 


I get up fairly early to run even when I am on vacation at their house.  Last weekend was no different.  The first morning I was getting ready to run and Ava asked me if she could go running with me.  Of course Naomi, age 2, chimed in that she wanted to go too. I explained that I was going for a big people run (that always sounds kind of condescending to me).  She was disappointed but I told her we would have a special kids race later on the day.  That seemed to make her happy.  So after getting kisses and high-fives from all 3 of them I headed out.  They watched, with their little faces pressed up against the window as I waited for the Garmin to catch a satellite and then took off.  When I returned from my run Ava did what she always does as I walk in the door … she ran up to give me a big hug.  She doesn’t seem to even notice I am usually sweating like a pig.


That afternoon we decided to head to the animal park.  I told her that while we were there we would have our race. She picked up the running jacket I got her for Christmas and was ready to go.  We had to convince her that she didn’t need her jacket to run.  It was pretty warm outside.  Once we had visited some of the animals we went to play in the park and to have our race.  We did some running back and forth and then I let her put on my Garmin so she could do a timed run.  I promised her I would upload her run to Daily Mile when we got home.  She, Naomi and even little Simeon took off.  She was so proud of herself.

Later that day we decided to ride bikes, well Ava and Naomi rode their bikes and I walked along side of them.  We just went around the block a few times because Naomi is just learning to ride and has not mastered the whole stopping thing.  They both can go pretty fast.

I am so glad I got to spend time doing activities with my munchkins and I am happy that they love to be active.  That sets a good path for a healthy future ... and for lots of fun with Aunt Molly when she visits.

Confessions of a Runner  … Who Occasionally Hates Running.


This week my friend Andrea posted a link on my Facebook page to “Under Armor’s What’s Beautiful – A Competition to Redefining the Female Athlete.”   http://whatsbeautiful.ua.com/  The mission of the competition is “We're going to show the world what beautiful really is. Are you in? The three women who push it the hardest and farthest will become the new faces of Under Armour Women and have their lives sponsored for a year with greatness, glory and gear. Step up. Declare your goal.”  


On the post Andrea put a really sweet note that read “You're one of the physically most driven athletes I know :) Heck, you're already training like a villain - you just have to capture some of the workouts and upload them! Have a great weekend!”  That made me feel good.  Andrea is one of my teammates from Team USO for the Marine Corps Marathon.  She lives hundreds of miles away but still is a great encouragement to me.  

Post Marine Corps Marathon 2011

After an unplanned Semper Fit Race at Joint Base Ft. Meyer-Henderson Hall

She just happened to be in DC and we decided the night before to do the race

I love when people say that I have in same way inspired them to run or be active.  But the truth is, I don’t always feel like doing it myself.  Today was one of those day.  Usually running is a way for me to work through the stress and the challenges of daily life.  But  sometimes my running is almost like being a manic depressive.  I can have extreme highs followed by extreme lows.  Last weekend I ran 3 races … a 5K a 4.2 miler and a 10 miler, all at a 7:30 – 7:45 pace.  I was really pleased.  I did a couple of spinning workout this week since I am toying with the idea of doing a triathlon.  I even did a brick session on Thursday.


But yesterday something happened in my running brain.  I decided to not run a 5K in my neighborhood.  I was just too tired I told myself.  Even one of my Daily Mile friends asked if I was okay because I don’t usually just decide not to run. I know it’s a combination of factors causing my general nasty state of mind..  All I wanted to do today was stay curled up in bed snuggled up with my fur ball Liberty.  Skipping workouts, however, is a slippery slope and missing one day can easily turn into skipping a few.  Today I told myself that I hated running and had to be a crazy person to go out and run for no reason and on an icky day.  Somehow, maybe it was guilt, I managed to get my shoes on and get myself out the door … but I absolutely hated every stride of the 8 ½ mile run.  I really do not like it when things rob me of the joy I get from running, things that make me hate running.


Right now I am kind of in no man’s land running wise.  I worked really hard to qualify for Boston at the Shamrock Marathon in March.  When I did I felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.  I was on a real runner’s high, even if it hurt to move, for a few days.  Then the post race blues started to set in.  I have also started worrying that, despite qualifying for Boston, I may not get in when it’s actually time to register.  That is eating away at my running soul.  Right now I am just running to run and going between races.  I don’t have any real goal or schedule.  I am very much a task and goal oriented person and the lack of either is not a good thing. I will most likely be signing up soon to run the Marine Corps Marathon again for Team USO and begin real/focused training.  Until then I will just have to dig down deep and force myself out the door.


There are a few glimmers of hope though.  I got home from my run today and saw a picture of a friend who just finished his first half marathon. That made me feel really good for him!  Next weekend I am flying to attend the wedding of a very good friend and we have planned a short wedding morning run.  Best of all I will also get to see  my nieces and nephew and have the opportunity to run on my trail away from home the Chippewa River Trail.  Nothing beats wrapping up a run and knowing my little niece Ava is there waiting to give me a hug :-)  All that should help put a spring back in my stride.

Being Faithful to the Shoe


With apologies to my pledge daughter, I have never understood women who go on and on about shoes … buying them more than 1 pair at a time, gleefully boasting just how many pair they have, talking about this kind and that kind.  I have a black pair, a blue pair and a brown pair.  I wear them into the ground until I HAVE to buy a new pair. For me there is no difference between Naturalizers and Jimmy Choo.  They are heels, I have to wear them to work , they hurt my feet after I have been running around Capitol Hill all day and I HATE them!!


The one exception to this rule is my running shoes.  I LOVE my running shoes.  In fact, in the past I have been unnaturally attached to them.  From the time I first started running in 2006 until just before I ran my 3rd marathon in 2009 I kept every pair I had ever worn.  I could tell you which races I had run in them and how many miles were on each pair.   A total of 14 pair were lined up neatly in my foyer just as you entered my apartment.  Finally I took them all to the booth at the marathon expo that was collecting old shoes for some charity, but it was hard to tell them good bye.  We had been through so much together  


Right now I have 4 pair at home and one in my office under my desk.  I have one pair that is only for running, one pair is reserved for everything else like walking around or wearing on the Metro to and from work and the others just kind of sit there.  I generally rotate out a pair of shoes after 300 or so miles.  Tonight was the night I went to Pacers to buy a new pair.


I have always worn Nike Structure.  I have toyed with the idea in the past of trying something new but always, in the end, decided to go with the tried and true.  Tonight I finally gave in and bought a pair of Asics … now I feel like the woman who, after many years with the same man, decides that she is tired of the same old, asks for a divorce and strikes out to find what she just knows has to be something better.  The Asics were my something better. I was seduced by the lighter feeling of the Asics and the way the arch felt just a little bit different.  Best of all the coloring was that of the Boston Marathon.  I mean look at them, they’re beautiful!

The counselor (salesman) tried to persuade me to stay.  “If if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”, he said, “You’ve always run in the Nike.”  In the end I didn’t listen and I brought home the Asics.  As soon as I got home, I took them out for a 5 miles test run.


The regret was almost immediate.  My stride and strike didn’t have the same feel.  What I thought, in the store, was an awesome new feeling in my arch started to bother me.  They pinched my toe.  They did feel a lot lighter but after running a while they also felt like they weren’t providing the same support.  They weren’t cradling my foot the way I liked.  I felt like I was running slower.  I started to long for my old partner the Nike Structure.  Then the uncomfortable feeling (s)started to feed on themselves and by the time I got home I really hated them.


Discouraged, I walked in the door to my apartment and saw that even Liberty, who usually loves new shoes too because it means a new box to sleep in, didn’t seem thrilled with the box they came it.  

Asics Box

It was smaller and she couldn’t lay down in it like she could the Nike box.  

Nike Box

I took off the shoes, took a shower and when I came back out it seemed even the Nikes had ostrisized the Asics in their place next to the door. 

Who knows, maybe I will get used to them.  Maybe I will go back to Pacers to beg the Nike Structures to please take me back and listen to salesman as he says, “I told you so.”. The jury is still out on it, but right now I am feeling it’s best to always remain faithful … to your running shoes.  Love the ones you're with!

Running in Remembrance and Celebration

Races are organized and held for all kinds of reasons.  They can be exhibitions of the athletic excellence of elite athletes like the Olympics.  They can be run to showcase the achievements of mere mortals such as the Boston Marathon.  Some are the  like the Marine Corps Marathon that was organized to “promote goodwill between the military and the community post-Vietnam.”  Many other are run to commemorate an event or honor a particular group or person.  The 9-11 5K here in the DC is an example of that.

Today I had the opportunity to participate in a race I have long wanted to do … well sort of.  That race is the Pat Tillman Memorial 4.2 Miler.  The race itself is run in Tempe, Arizona but 4 years ago the ASU Alumni Association started organizing an informal shadow race here in Washington, DC.  There are currently 20+ shadow races.

Why did I want so badly to run this race?  My love of the military is no secret.  Pat Tillman, his choices and the ultimate sacrifice he made are all inspirational … and an example to each and every one of us.

Pat Tillman was standout linebacker in college for the Arizona State Sun Devils.  In addition to all the honors he earned on the field, he was also a star off the field graduating in 3 ½ years with a 3.85 grade point average.  He was even inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

After completing his studies he was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals where he again excelled, playing at the safety position.  During his time with Arizona, Pat’s strong sense of loyalty was demonstrated when he refused a $9 million contract offer from the St. Louis Rams.  In 2000 he was named to the NFL All-Pro Team.  

The something happened that would change Pat’s life, the terrorist attacks on the United Sates on September 11^th, 2001 ... attacks that will be clear in my mind until the day I die as I was witness to the events here in Washington.  

In May of 2002 Pat turned down a new contract with the Cardinals so that he could join the United States Army.  That month he and his brother, who gave up a professional baseball contract, enlisted.  In 2003 Pat participated in the initial invasion of Iraq.  After returning from Iraq he entered Ranger school and in 2004 he deployed to Afghanistan.  On April 22, 2004, at the age of 27, Pat was killed in Afghanistan in an incident of friendly fire.

After his death the Pat Tillman Foundation was established.  The mission of the Foundation is to “invest in military veterans and their spouses through educational scholarships; building a diverse community of leaders committed to service to others.”  Eight years ago the first Pat Tillman Memorial 4.2 Miler was run … 4.2 miles in honor of his jersey number 42 that he wore while playing for ASU.

We had approximately 70 runners today on a gorgeous spring day. For me it was an emotional race.  While I thought about Pat during the race, I also though of my own cousin who only last week arrived in Afghanistan and who served 2 tours in Iraq including he initial invasion in 2003.

I still would love to try to get to Tempe to run the main race.  The idea of finishing on the 42 yard line of Sun Devils Stadium with 28,000 other runners and being greeted by the ASU Sun Devil football players.  Today I am happy in knowing that I was able to honor Pat and his legacy ... all while helping to raise money for his foundation.