See Diva Run

I like to keep my life organized into neat compartments. There is work life, which I may kvetch about here on occasion, but I don’t give details, and I don’t name the company. I have my running life, which I live on the treadmill, the trail and here on the Internet courtesy of my blog, your blog and a few other favorite running sites. I have my friends and family who may also hear the occasional complaint about work, and possibly even a few details. They hear very little about running except for the location of the next race. Sometimes Mr Diva politely asks “how far?”. I don’t share the address to the blog. If there are photos I want to share with friends & family, they go to Kodak Gallery, and get linked here. It’s weird I know, but I’m sure it dates back to my youth when my mother read my diary and found out someone made it beyond first base. That was a really unpleasant experience which she had hoped would keep me from playing baseball, but it only kept me from writing about it

This week I made a shocking discovery. My son is following me on Twitter. My first thought was “oh dear, what have I said?” This is pretty funny, because in 25 years, he has pretty much heard it all. We have a great relationship. I’m sure there is nothing here that would shock him. He knows I run. He knows I’m sometimes cranky and impatient. He knows that I’m worried about the old dog. Still, I think I’m more reflective here than I am in daily life and this may take him by surprise.

My friend Cherl recently asked me to join Facebook and be her friend there. I did, but was reluctant to provide any links to the rest of my life. I’ve since decided that work will remain in it’s own little compartment, but the rest of my worlds are free to collide. I’ve added links to my blogs to Facebook. I’ve also discovered some fun, new, geeky toys for my blog. It started when I saw an unfamiliar name in MyBlogLog. I checked out her profile and wondered what is Lijit? It is a search tool that allows you to aggregate all of your content, including blog, flickr, twitter and other sites for a single search. This means you can search for “mardi gras” and find my blog posts, Flickr photos, Youtube videos and other relevant links. Pretty cool. My favorite feature is the explore link, which allows me to explore my friends blogs, and their friends blogs, etc. Check out the Lijit search in the sidebar.

While exploring the Lijit site, I discovered FriendFeed, which is another cool service that allows you to keep track of your friend’s various content sources. It’s like RSS for everything, and you only have to go to one place to keep track of everyone. I’m looking for ways to make it easy to keep up with my blogging friends. I seriously don’t know how people stay up to date. I’m sure you aren’t reading blogs at work!

While visiting the blog of another Lijit employee (they get to read blogs at work!), I discovered the 12 for 12K Challenge. Their goal is to raise $12,000 per month, with the funds going to a different children’s charity each month. I love it when the social networking and social responsibility worlds collide. The blogging world is huge. If 1200 of us give $10, we can help them make their goal. If you can’t afford to contribute money, you can help spread the word. Let’s be viral, but in a good way.

Do you have any fun, geeky web toys that I don’t? If so, leave a comment and let me know about them!

There, I said it. When The Runner’s Lounge first announced the “Get the Stink Out” challenge, inviting runners to try free samples of Penguin Sport-Wash, my first thought was, “Cool, free stuff”. By the time I got to the forum, a large number of runners were posting about how bad their running clothes smell. To be honest, my clothes don’t smell nearly as bad as the other runners claimed, so I didn’t sign up. A few days later, while hanging up my favorite Helly-Hansen jacket, I caught a whiff of the underarm. Ewww. So I went back to the forum and begged for a sample.

The samples arrived over the weekend, and as soon as I opened the envelope I rushed downstairs to toss my favorite jacket and my favorite running bra in the washing machine. I now know that when the nice people at Helly-Hansen advised me to wash the jacket separately, they were not concerned about fading from the bright pink jacket, but were in fact warning me about washing clothes with a jacket that is covered in Velcro strips. I won’t be doing that again! After removing them from the dryer, and then tearing them apart, I gave them the sniff test. I’m not talking about a quick whiff in the general direction. I’m talking about getting to the heart of the matter and inhaling deeply. The smell, while greatly diminished was still faintly detectable.

I went back to the results forum, and learned that all of those people who claimed to smell so bad now claimed to be odorless. Great! I have a running super power — sweat more powerful than a Penguin. Mother would be so proud! One run later, the running bra had reached a new high on the stink-o-meter. By yesterday I’d accumulated a small load of running clothes, so I tried again. When I pulled the previously super smelly bra out of the washer, I noticed no smell, and wondered if throwing it in the dryer might be “releasing the beast”, so I opted to let it drip. This morning, it is dry, and doesn’t have a noticeable smell.

In addition to combating smell, Penguin Sport-Wash also keeps technical fabrics looking and working like new. This was my biggest concern with the Helly-Hansen jacket, as I depend on it to keep the wind and rain out while I’m walking Jasmine, or when I decide to get outside in our lovely 90% humidity. I’m happy to say it is “as good as new”. I typically use Seventh Generation laundry detergent, but for my worst smelling and most important running clothes, I think I’ll invest in a bottle of Penguin Sport-Wash.

As long as I’m making confessions…. You know how good a new fleece sweatshirt feels before you wash it? Well, I bought a sweatshirt in San Antonio, to prevent hypothermia before/during the half marathon. Even though it had a bit of smell on it, I wore it all weekend, because it was much cooler than the 85 they had been teasing me with. Well, I still haven’t washed it. When I run on the treadmill, I dress for summer weather — shorts or a skirt, and a running bra. When I’m done, it’s time to take Jasmine out again. I slip the soft, fuzzy sweatshirt on over my bra and out we go. That’s right, I go walking around my neighborhood in a skirt, a bra and a stinky sweatshirt. Shameful, I know, but that plastic bag full of “stuff” really accessorizes the outfit. I think the neighbors are avoiding me I don’t blame them!

Jasmine hasn’t complained about the way I smell. Well, maybe she has. On Christmas Eve, she left a little something on the running clothes that I left on the floor. I thought it was an accident. Now I’m not so sure.

Triathilates is a workout video by Coach Kelly Wissolik of Energy Fitness Coaching that combines mat Pilates with other core strength and balance exercises to improve flexibility and reduce muscle imbalance for triathletes. Although I’m not a triathlete, I am serious about core strength and have been curious about Pilates. I bought the video last spring, right before life got really complicated. While reading an article about Pilates moves for runners in Women’s Running, I remembered the DVD, and decided it was time to give it a try.

There are 2 25 minute routines on the DVD. The first routine is called Fusion, because it fuses balance with core strength. Even though I had no prior Pilates experience, I found the workout easy to follow. It helped that Coach Kelly offered alternate ways to do many of the exercises for beginners, intermediate and advanced participants. The Function routine is a tougher workout that focuses on building strength. I struggled a bit with this one, because I sometimes tried for a level that was more than my body could handle. It was an excellent core workout that punished my adductors and abductors. I was quite sore the next day!

The Fusion workout would be an excellent cool down after a hard run. The Function workout might be better after an easy run, or a cross-training workout. You can combine the two on those days when you work late and think you aren’t going to get any kind of workout in. That is what I did last night! There is also a Triathilates 2.0 workout available, which I plan to get when I’ve made to at least the intermediate level on all of the exercises. The workouts are available on DVD or as an MP4 download. To purchase Triathilates, go to http://www.energyfitnesscoaching.com/products/triathilates.cfm.

I meant to write this review before the first of the year, but there is still time to pick up a copy of the 2009 Complete Runner’s Day-By-Day Log by Marty Jerome, and chances are, you can get it at a discount. I picked mine up for half price at the calendar place in the mall on the day after Christmas.

With so many online training logs available, you may not keep a written log. I confess that I haven’t managed to keep the written log up for an entire year, but as the beginning of a New Year approaches, I’m always excited to start filling in those blanks. I also like to go back an look at the previous year’s logs, even if they aren’t complete. The 2009 edition has been restyled, with color photos and printing. The motivational messages in the introduction and at the beginning of each month are some of the best ever. The marathon split times are no longer listed in the back of the book, but the weekly graph space is still included, along with the pages for entering your 2009 races. You can enter a lot of races!

I’ve only got one run recorded for 2009, but the year is young. I also record my cross-training in the log, because it makes me happy to see those blank pages filling up! I also keep an online log at Sweat365.com. I love the graphs and the reports.

After the mystery knee pain on Saturday, I was reluctant to do anything to risk further injury before I can see RunDoctor on 12/23. By Monday I was getting cabin fever, so I went out for a little walk in the fresh air. By the time I’d gone a few hundred feet I’d slipped on the ice and wrenched my back a bit. I decided to keep going and “walk it off”. There were no lingering problems, and no further issues with the knee. Last night I walked to the store to pick up some fresh produce. All of the moving parts felt great, but I noticed some sensitivity in a tooth at dinner. I took some Tylenol and went to bed early. By this afternoon I was in agony, and the left side of my face was swollen. I applied Orajel, took Tylenol, and even rubbed Emuprofen
on my cheek. It helped a little, but I decided what I really needed was a walk in the falling snow.

I grabbed my Helly-Hansen Helly-Tech jacket, which is an impressive piece of engineering. I have been getting plenty of use out of it this fall, but this was my first time wearing it in snow. The temperature was about 32 and the snow was the heavy stuff we get in western Washington. My cheap Target gloves had been demoted to the laundry pile after a horrific “scooping” accident, so I wore my Mizuno Breath Thermo Gloves. I also wore my Nike Zoom Structure Triax+ 11 GTX shoes. I know, I’m suppose to be exclusive with Brooks, but the Triax has a Gore-Tex upper that makes it an excellent choice for walking an old dog across a wet lawn. It is also an excellent choice for running in slush. My Brooks would have soaked through by the first half mile.

As I walked in the falling snow, I thought about how happy I was to be there, and before I knew it, I was jogging slowly up the street. I kept jogging back and forth. The snow kept coming down. My jacket kept me warm and dry, but not too warm. The gloves were incredible. They kept my hands dry, and just the right temperature. My feet were dry and comfortable in my shoes. After a few trips, I noticed that the hills were getting tougher, so I called it a night after 2.73 miles, but it was fun while it lasted. I hope it snows again tomorrow, so I can do it again! If you spend a lot of time outdoors in cold, wet conditions, I strongly recommend the Helly-Tech jacket (not sure which model), the Nike Triax+ GTX and the Mizuno Breath Thermo Gloves. I got my gloves from Run 26 in Lynnwood, but you can get them from Amazon.com, too.

The run was just what I needed. My stress level became manageable, and so did my pain level. Unfortunately, the pain level shot right back up when the run was over. I’ve popping Tylenol and rubbing Orajel all evening. I’ve got a dentist appointment at 10:30 tomorrow morning. I may have to take an early morning run in the snow before I go!