damnit body, you're not a runner..

okay so i work at a medical school.  today, a bunch of us in the curriculum office were testing out the equipment for the EMT course that starts next week with the guy who runs the EMT program.  so we're passing around this little machine that you slip onto your finger and it tells you your heart rate.  i'm in a room with all young, fit, people so it makes sense that everyones heart rate is around the same, 70-80ish or so.  then i slip this little piece of equipment onto my finger.  here is the conversation that followed:

me: ummm mine is 52.
vinny (EMT guy): [look of panic, either because he thinks the machine doesnt work or because i'm about to pass out in the curriculum office] uhhh no something is wrong cause that means you're about to die!
carole: yea but she runs marathons.
vinny: oh you're a runner? then you're fine.  runners have a low resting heart rate.
me: oh ok. but i'm not a... [look of shame]... nevermind.

well folks, there you have it.  i will never speak of this conversation ever again.

as training picks up, here's a lil reminder as to why we do this..

runners (and people who run) through social media..

so susan rinkunas has been the woman behind Runner's World's tweets and facebook posts for the past year and a half or so.  as she is now leaving her post as RW's social media-er, she wrote an article about what she learned about runners (or, in my case, people who run) during her time managing RW's twitter and facebook accounts.

susan wrote 6 things that she learned while managing these accounts, the first of which is one of my biggest reasons for continuing to run...

Runners are nice to each other. Cliche but true: Runners support other runners who are total strangers. Even a simple comment like "That's awesome Brian!" on a post about running with asthma warms my heart. Elites like marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe offer encouragement, too. And when the errant jerk does say something mean to someone, others swiftly jump in to defend that person. I don't want to point out the meanies, but trust me when I say that I've seen this more times than I can count.

it's true.  if you run in new york, if you run anywhere, you know that there's nothing like the support of other people who run.  it's why i had so much fun cheering on the runners in this years nyc half-marathon, it's why i remind my running ladies how badass they are when we finish a rough run, and it's why i keep going when all i want to do is stop.

maybe it's why i still run even though it's not something i particularly enjoy doing... who knows.  on that note: if you're a psychiatrist or psychologist or psycho-anything, would you happen to know why my friends and i continue to run and sign up for races when we don't like it?  is it the whole "why do i keep hitting myself with a hammer? cuz it feels so good when i stop" mentality?  any explanation would be greatly appreciated.

interested in what else susan had to say?  read her entire article here: What I Learned About Runners as RW's Social Media Editor

barney stinson on running a marathon..

PRIDE for new york.

it was absolutely the best day for the PRIDE run in new york city: the morning after same sex marriage was legalized in new york.  seriously, this couldn't have been planned better.  it's like all the ny government lawmaker people decided "hey, let's let the gays get married, and let's line it up with PRIDE weekend so they've already got a gigantic party."

good looks, ny, it's about damn time.

so since the race didn't start til 9 and the start was only about a mile from my apartment, i got to sleep in a bit.  twas glorious, oh yes it was.  meg and lisa woke up earlier to do two lower reservoir loops of the park before the race.  i decided they were lunatics and chose to just run the mile to the start line and finish the day with an even 6 miles.  it was hot.  it was humid.  i had lead legs.  lead legs dipped in concrete.  lead legs dipped in concrete and coated with polyurethane.  and i had only run a mile to get to the start line... what a crappy way to start a run.

some dynamic stretching pre-race.

anywho, i get into the park and start walking towards the corral where i'm meeting lisa and meg and find that the entire crowd is stretching in unison.  it was hilarious. i literally started laughing out loud as this was definitely a sight i've never seen before.  only at a gay PRIDE run, people, only here.

so i meet up with lisa and meg (and paul, to my pleasant surprise) and we start running.  nyrr, this was the worst possible course ever.  in the history of 5 mile courses, this is the absolute worst one you could have ever picked.  it's like the good ol' people at nyrr were sitting around one day and some evil old cranky lady with too much time on her hands goes "how can we make 10,000 people miserable this weekend?" and another evil old cranky lady goes "let's change the course for the race! let's put the harlem hill right at the beginning.  and let's have the course finish up cat hill. and let it be hot and humid! MWAHAHHAHAHHAHHA!" cue thunder and lightning.

anywho, while i was miserable running, it was definitely great to see new yorkers so happy about the passing of the same-sex marriage bill.  lots of love and happiness going on.

also, there was lots of love and happiness when we crossed the finish line and i was handed a popsicle. i don't think a popsicle has ever tasted so good.  i almost forgot how miserable i had been just seconds before.  it's like all the wrongs had been righted and life was good again.

and it was, good again, until i finished the popsicle and realized i had to walk a mile back home.   note to self: invent popsicle that will last a solid half hour.