What I've been doing ...

I've not posted here in over a week, but I have a good reason for it. The wonderful Barbara Feldman trusted me to write some of the little informative pieces on her website, Rosh Hashanah Fun. It's got lovely colouring pages and stuff for kids, and it also has little tidbits of information, such as why we celebrate RH, what we eat, whether Yom Kippur is a happy or sad holiday, why we fast, etc. Even better, she's PAYING me for it. I'm so excited. I've been paid for online writing before, but each time it fills me with wonder and awe.

Originally she was looking for one writer to write the 20 pieces on the website, but mercifully she decided to split it between me and the incomparable Rabbi Phyllis Sommer. I am kind of stunned that I'm up there with a rabbi, especially one I admire so much. Here's a fun exercise for the reader: see if you can figure out which ones I wrote, and which ones she wrote.

Anyway, I will try to post more, now that I've got all my work for Barbara in (at least for now ... there are hints she may want me to do more, which would make me very happy). For one thing, I want to get in on Rabbi Sommer's Elul challenge, which you will have seen if you checked out her website above. I've also been feeling extremely artisanal in the kitchen lately, and I totally need to brag about everything I've been making.

Oh yeah, and I also need you guys to donate to my Breast Cancer run. Last year I made it to $1000. I'm not saying we necessarily need to duplicate that, but with heartfelt thanks to those who have already donated, I'm sure we can do better than $300 ... 

What exciting things have you been doing?

It's that time of year again ...

I've signed up to run in the CIBC Run for the Cure. I'm not generally a big supporter of pink ribbon stuff, there's just too much pinkwashing going on in this world.

But I have a weakness for this run, because it was the first 5K I ever ran (all of last year - nostalgia already!).

Also, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation assures me it has no formal links with the Susan B. Komen Foundation, recently in the news for pulling its funding for Planned Parenthood's mammograms. So I feel pretty comfortable fundraising for this organisation. I have many friends and relatives who have been touched by the spectre of breast cancer, so there's no question that the cause itself is worth supporting.

Last year you, my friends and readers, stunned me by donating over $1000 to support my run. So here I am again, virtual cap in hand, to beg you to repeat or even surpass that performance. The picture on this blog post should be a live link to my fundraising page (do please tell me if it doesn't work!), and I will add the widget to my blog as well.

Whom am I running for? You, me, and every human mammal on this planet.

Dashing through the Snow

So, I didn't run barefoot or in a skirt, but I am still recovering from a 5K I ran on Sunday in St. Vital Park. It was called the First Annual Run Your Heart Out Run/Walk in support of the Canadian Diabetes Association. I have to admit, my heart was fine, but I did have some concerns about my ears and toes.

It was my own silly fault, of course. It was -16C and I decided not to bother with a hat because I tend to get very hot on top of my head when I exercise. The obvious answer is a headband, and I do actually own one, but unfortunately I didn't bring it. I did have gloves on (not really warm enough), and I was the only person not wearing a windbreaker (although I did have a warm jacket from Iceland). I was wearing my normal padded running socks and outdoor running shoes (which hadn't seen any use since November or so).

I have to say, it was fun, except for the cold ears and toes. I definitely did not miss the windbreaker - I was sweating inside my Iceland jacket. We ran on the road that loops around the park (about 2.5 times around to make up the 5K). The snow was freshly plowed, there was no visible ice and it was in fact not slippery at all. My husband had expressed some concern about breathing freezing air but I, at least, did not experience any difficulty from this. My ears did warm up after about 2K, on their own so I'm not concerned about frostbite. My toes took longer to recover but appear to have suffered no ill effects. I probably should have put more moisturiser on my hands and face.

I'm a slow runner at the best of times, and of course, what with the snow and the preoccupation with my sore bits, I clocked in just over 40 minutes, one of the last people in (if not the last). I honestly don't care. I did it, I finished it, and I'm very proud of myself. The people who were ahead of me ran faster but also took walking breaks. I decided to stick to a steady slow jog - maybe it's not the best way to go, but I did run the entire 5K without a single break. I do know about the advantages of intervals, so I'm debating in my mind what to do next time.

Runs can only get warmer from here on out. I'm trying to decide whether to stick with 5Ks and try to get faster, or look at moving up to a 10K - although, if I stay with this pace it would take me nearly an hour and a half! Not even thinking about the half marathon at this stage ... and I'm not looking for distance for distance's sake. I just want to be healthy and happy and do things that make me feel good.

What do you think? Which way should I go?

If not now, when?

Hillel says, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, who am I? If not now, when?" Ethics of the Fathers, 1:14

Next week, G-d willing, I will be celebrating a significant milestone in my life - achieving the half-century mark. As I fully intend to live to be 100, that's halfway through my life's journey.

As I recently said to my friend Jodi, also turning 50 this year, they don't make 50 like they used to. Once upon a time, a 50-year-old woman was old. Nowadays, I know 60-year-olds who easily bike over a hundred kilometres a day. I know octogenarians who regularly hit the gym. We are fortunate.

So, this is the year I am going to run at least one 5K (I did one last October, but I've let it slip since), lift heavy things and become a strong, healthy person. Maybe I'll even run a 10K. Why not?

This is also the year I am going to find my passion and go after it. I'm going to kick the Lizard Brain in its scaly tail. I've spent too much time worrying and procrastinating and reading Facebook. I don't know yet what I want to be but I've got to grow up sometime. If not now, when?

This is the year I'm going to figure out the veggie paleo gig and blog about it. You are all warned. It may seem like a contradiction in terms, but I'm going to find a way to make it work. It may not be fully paleo or fully veggie, but that's OK. If it works for me and my family, it is good. If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

This is the year I'm going to find ways to give back to my community. I keep meaning to go out and volunteer with all kinds of worthy causes, but there is always something else going on. Enough. I need to do it. I do some things, but I need to do more, and I need to involve my kids. We all spend too much time in front of screens. If I am only for myself, what am I?

Whether you are hitting a significant milestone or have just noticed that time is slipping by, what are your plans for this year?

Underestimating the stride

As you are all getting tired of hearing, I'm training to run a 5K, using Robert Ullrey's wonderful podcasts. I'm now in week 9 and running for 30 minutes at a time. It feels good and really improves my confidence, as well as my health and appearance. There was just one problem - according to my pedometer, I was running nowhere near 5 kilometres. Seemed like I just couldn't run a 5K in 30 minutes, maybe it was going to take me 40 minutes.

I mentioned this problem to my husband, and also described the route I had taken (from our house up Scotia Street to the playground in Kildonan Park and back, for the locals). He frowned. We have walked that route many times, and it is at least five kilometres, probably more (the podcasts include 5 minutes of warmup and cooldown as well as the actual running). What was wrong with my lovely Omron pedometer? It was clearly shortchanging me in the length of my runs.

Nothing, as it turns out. The short circuit, as so often happens, was between my ears. The pedometer, of course, only counts steps. You have to tell it the length of your stride for it to know how far you've actually walked or run. Can you see where this is going?

I'm a short person. 152 cm tall, to be exact, or five foot nothing for you Imperialists. Good things come in small packages and all that, and I had estimated my stride at about 50 cm, or about 1'8" for my USAmerican pedometer. It was too much trouble to go out and actually measure it. But finally, the other day, my husband and I did exactly that. It is so much easier with two people.

Guess what? My running stride is more like 85 cm. That's nearly 3', or almost two-thirds of my height. I cover a lot more ground when I'm running than I think. I've easily been running 5K already, all the while worrying about whether I'd be able to do it on the day.

How often do we do this to ourselves? Especially women, although I know plenty of men who can tear themselves down like demolition experts. We can do so much more than we think. The realisation that I could run a 5K tomorrow is so liberating, I'm already starting to think about maybe moving on to a 10K when I'm done with this one ... anybody got some good podcasts for that?

How have you been shortchanging yourself?

I beat the Lizard Brain!

I know such victories are fleeting and the battle must be fought every day, but each time my frontal lobes manage to shut down my amygdala, I feel the need to crow from the rooftops like a rooster.

So, today is Wednesday. As most of you are getting tired of seeing on Facebook and Twitter, I'm doing the Couch to 5K program, and I'm mostly running Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Drop the kids off at camp, change into my outdoor running shoes, pack up my paraphernalia (water bottle, iPod with headphones, hat, oy vey) and head OUT THE DOOR. No compromises. It's just what I do on Wednesday mornings.

This morning the Lizard Brain was in full whiny force. It kept listing all the reasons for me to stay in the gym and do something less strenuous, and I had to keep squelching it like a game of whack-a-mole. The conversation went something like this.

LB: I need new shoes.
Me: True, but these still have a few runs left in them. I'll get new ones before the 5K, I promise.

LB: I hurt my foot on a broken curb yesterday.
Me: True, thank you for nothing City of Winnipeg, but it's not that bad. My running shoes give much better support than sandals and I think it will be OK.

LB (full-bore whine): But I'm TIRED!!!!
Me: Well, um, you know, if YOU would let us get to bed before midnight once in a while instead of staying up doing Facebook and succumbing to carb cravings ... whatever. We're going to do this.

But the final blow to the Lizard Brain, and one that I'm very glad I added to my arsenal, was the following.

I've got nearly $500 worth of people who believe I can do this. I can't believe how much money my rocking group of friends and family have raised in three days. I'm humbled and blessed and everything else. Of course it's a good cause, but there are lots of good causes and lots of ways to contribute to this one, and you chose to support ME.

I went out and did my run, my foot was fine, I feel less tired than before, and I love you all. Thank you for believing in me, and helping me believe in myself.

What has your Lizard Brain been complaining about? Any way you can improve your defence against it, too?

Running for the Cure

I've been trying to become a runner for quite a few years now - pretty much every summer I pull out my old running books and try to get myself going. I run a couple of times a week for a few weeks and then life interferes and I'm done. Also, I found that I couldn't pace myself properly and ended up either injured or frustrated or both.

This year I've been doing the Couch to 5K program from coolrunning.com, using podcasts made by a guy called Robert Ullrey (ullreys.net). My pacing problem is now taken care of by his calm, competent voice. The music is not what I would have chosen but hey, it gets me moving and I'm very grateful to him for making these podcasts. The program starts very gently, with 30 second runs and 90 second walks, taking you to the ability to run for 30 minutes straight (which would be about 5 km) in nine weeks.

I started in May and made it up to week eight (25 minute run!) before taking a vacation hiatus for five weeks. So I have now moved myself back to week five (just finished it this past week) to get back into the swing of things. Since I am currently in the mode of setting myself goals to achieve, I have just signed up for my first 5K run - and for an excellent cause, too!

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure:

All being well, the above link should take you to my Personal Page at the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's website, where you can donate some money for this cause if you so desire. The run is on October 2nd so I have plenty of time to get myself ready. It's the Fast of Gedaliah - the first weekday after Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year - an excellent time to start a new, healthier lifestyle! Yes, one could have quite the conversation about whether I should be running a race on a minor fast day, but I think I can swing it - it's not a marathon, after all.

I'm going to leave it at that for this blog post, although I definitely have thoughts about the symbolism of the name "Running for the Cure". Stay tuned.

Support me? Thanks!!