Athletics!

Son, Devon, sent me a truly delightful surprise for my birthday: a book! And not just any book:
a mystery (my most favorite genre), about women's basketball (my most favorite sport next to running), copyright 1914!!!
The title: The Girls of Central High at Basketball - or The Great Gymnasium Mystery
by Gertrude W. Morrison.

I just finished reading it today - what a treat to get a peek into the language, culture, morals, and behaviors of 1914.  Reading about girl's basketball as played in 1914 was quite the eye-opener!  The game was played with nine girls from each team at a time, with positions of: goal-keeper, right forward, left forward, forward center, jumping center, back center, right guard, left guard and goal guard.  I'm guessing it was half-court play - but was played outdoors so I'm wondering if there was any dribbling at all; there was certainly a heckuva passing game in play.

Some of the quotes that stuck with me, as a lover of basketball and reflecting the sensibilities of 1914:

• "Mrs. Case [the physical instructor] believed most thoroughly in the efficiency of basketball for the development and training of girls. ... Basketball is the first, or one of the first vigorous team games to become popular among women and girls in this country, and under proper supervision will long remain a favorite pastime."
• In a father-to-daughter chat: "Do you know what seems to me to be the kernel in the nut of these school athletics, Nell?" ... "Loyalty.  That's the kernel - loyalty."
• "Basketball is perhaps the most transparent medium for revealing certain angles of character in young girls. At first the players seldom have anything more than a vague idea of the proper manner of throwing a ball, or the direction in which it is to be thrown. The old joke about a woman throwing a stone at a hen and breaking the pane of glass behind her, will soon become a tasteless morsel under the tongue of the hunorist. Girls in our great public schools are learning how to throw. And basketball is one of the greatest helps to this end. The woman of the coming generation is going to have developed the same arm and shoulder muscles that man displays, and will be able to throw a stone and hit the hen, if necessary."
• "But once a girl has learned to observe and understand the position and function of team mates and opponents, to consider the chances of the game in relation to the score, and, bearing these things in mind, can form a judgment as to her most advantageous play, and act quickly on it - when she has learned to repress her hysterical excitement and play quietly instead of boisterously, what is it she has gained? It is self-evident that she has won something beside the mere ability to play basketball. She has learned to control her emotions - to a degree, at least - through the dictates of her mind. Blind impulse has been supplanted by intelligence. Indeed, she has gained, without doubt, a balance of mind and character that will work for good not only to herself, but to others. Indeed, it is the following out of the old fact - the uncontrovertible fact of education - that what one learns at school is not so valuable as is the fact that he learns how to learn. Playing basketball seriously will help the girl player to control her emotions and her mind in far higher and more important matters than athletics."
• And, in the final snippet of banter from the book: 
  " 'It's all right to say that school takes up all our time; but it's the fun we get out of school that makes Latin, and French, and mathematics, ... bearable! My! suppose we didn't have athletics at all?'
  'That would certainly be a state of existence perfectly unbearable for you...you'd burst, wouldn't you?'
  'Into flinders! Athletics is the 'scape-valve for me - and I guess it is for some of the rest of you. Now, tell the truth!'
  And her friends had to admit the truth of her declaration."

 Which leads to my declaration: thank heavens for the women of 1914 who recognized the value of athletics!

A surprise found within the book - in there long enough to dye the page...

The Trail Is Back!

September's flood damage has finally been repaired along the entire 3-kilometer stretch of the eastern portion of the South Boulder Creek Trail!  Not only does this stretch of trail offer a peaceful respite from city life right at the city's edge, but it is also a favorite for timed speed work among the gangs of runners that populate Boulder.  And who wouldn't want to do their speed work here?  Soft surface, very little incline, quiet but for birds and the breeze, and a heckuva view.

And speed work along the South Boulder Creek trail is just what I did today:  about 35 minutes' worth, back and forth, appreciating every step of the repaired surface.  Passed only by two other runners, two walkers, and two women on horseback.  An excellent outing, even though it was a solo session due to having to juggle my training schedule.  The workout should have been tomorrow, preceding long-run Sunday - but tomorrow day Kendall and I will be at the Democratic County Assembly as alternate delegates, and tomorrow evening we'll be cheering on the CU Women's Basketball team in round 2 of the WNIT.  Go Buffs!  Yay trail runs!  Hooray for Spring!  I guess it's an all around day of good cheer, eh?!

Bolder Boulder season has begun!

Chalked-in start line for our 3-mile time trial

 
Spring may not arrive until tomorrow, but our 10-week training plan for the Bolder Boulder kicked off today with a 3-mile time trial.  The neighborhood next to mine has proven to be a perfect area for measured speed work and I've got courses measured out for a plethora of interval distance combinations - including today's 3-mile loop.

My expectations for today's time trial were not lofty.  After a winter filled with 12-minute-per-mile slogs, I very much hoped I could somehow manage pull out a 3-mile run at something quicker than 11 minute pace.  Imagine my surprise when each of my miles were in the 9's with the total for the 3 miles coming in at 28:12, which even included a lap (the 2nd mile) with Taz when Kendall and Taz surprised us on the course.

'Tis definitely time to step up the training!

Taz - definitely up for some speed work!

 

Feeling Spring-ish!

Spring, 1990 with wee Paul and young Devon

Spring may not happen for a few more days, but there most certainly was spring in the air to accompany a spring in my step this morning!  Today's run felt better than any run has for months.

Could it be that I am finally turning the corner after sooo many frustrating months of inconsistent training due to disruptions of every hue?  I sure hope so!  I am more than ready to be a happy runner again.  And happy I was today!  I ran the entire 2 hours and 27 minutes with a huge silly grin on my face, admiring the blue sky, the first meadowlarks of the season, watchful llamas and sheep, honking geese, soaring hawks, grazing bulls, snow-covered peaks ...not to mention the extra bonus of the delightful company of running buddies Connie and Anita for the last hour of the run.  What a morning!

Icing on the cake: today's run followed an almost 2-hour run yesterday - yet my stride today was smooth, my push-off was strong, the tempo steady, and my muscles and joints were cranky-free. What a day! What a run!

There was a quote in the paper this week:
"The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done." (~Arnold Palmer)
It wasn't all that long ago that I was doing things that I, myself, never considered couldn't be done, but many around me thought I was nuts for even trying.  Today's run has me thinking that could be my reality once again.  Whoohoo!

Boots Take Three

I thought you loved me mom.....

Very cold and icy yesterday.  Still very cold today - 5 degrees - but Taz pup was seriously jonesin' to get out for a run.  So the boots came out once again.

On our first attempt a month or so ago, while just sitting around the house looking for some entertainment, we didn't even manage to get the boots on his paws.

On our second attempt, I donned all my running gear and put the harness on Taz before even pulling out the boots. With his focus firmly on going out the door, he tolerated me putting the boots on his tootsies.  He hated the feel of them, unwilling to put his paws down on the ground, walking with legs akimbo until somehow shedding all of the boots within about 20 yards of the beginning of the run.

Today, again, all my gear on, his harness on, focus on going out the door, and tolerance of me covering his paws with the boots.  This time, however, we made it part way along our sidewalk before the first boot came off, he ran with a fairly steady gait as the run got firmly underway, then made it a good 4-to-5 minutes into the run before the 2nd then 3rd boots came off.  The fourth boot held on as we got into the meat of the run: Taz's yaya loop where he can run off leash.  Woohoo!  a 25% success rate!  Part way around the yaya loop I called him back to me to make sure the boot was still on so I'd know whether or not I should be poking around in the snow looking for it.  Taz being Taz, he came charging back to me at full speed which, of course, sent the boot flying off.  Ah well, at least he had warm tootsies for a bit of the run.  And, cold or hot, snow or sunshine, wet or dry, that dog just is happy to be out!

Peeking out

What's this?! Tulips beginning to poke up in the garden?! No doubt taking advantage of the 50-60 degree days amidst our snow storms, gale-force winds, and temps in the teens and lower.

Usually by the time the tulips peek out, my base training has done its job and my legs, lungs, and brain are ready to crank it up for whatever monumental running accomplishment I've planned for myself for the year.  Much to my dismay, I seem to be lagging behind this year.  Legs are cranky, lungs are so-so and brain is needling toward the discouraged side of the scale.  The weather certainly hasn't been conducive to hard training - but it's winter so what's new about that, eh?!  Tho' I must say, two long runs through snowdrifts did my hips, back and glutes no favor and they've been quite demonstrative in their reactions to the abuse.  Cranky, cranky, cranky.

So what to do? Nothing too drastic since #1 in the plan is to be sensible in order to achieve #1 on the goal list which is to have a consistent year of running.

• Stick with one mid-week day of hard running, gradually incrementing the distance.  For the last couple of months, the hard running day has consisted of hills which I do believe offer a very big bang for the buck.
• Increase weekend mileage - gradually - with a semi-long run on one weekend day and a long run on the other weekend day.  In mid-April, speed work will be incorporated into the semi-long day in preparation for the Bolder Boulder.
• Put stretching into the daily routine.  Running buddy Connie told me she has been very consistent with her stretching this winter and it's been helping tremendously (and she's running faster and stronger than I am these days so 'tis good inspiration ...also a clear demonstration of what a prolonged period/months of consistent training can do for a person vs. the haphazard stretch I've had since early last summer).  She mentioned this during our hill workout Wednesday and I've been doing two stretching sessions per day since, focusing on hips and back to very good effect.  The crankiness is quieting!
• Lose weight...just a few pounds but a few pounds on this 5' 2" frame really make a difference with increased pounding (so to speak), compromised speed (such as it is), and general lethargy.

Follow those few simple steps, and hopefully, come April, I'll be ready to jump into Bolder Boulder training with all the flair and panache of a garden full of tulips!

Slip Slidin' Along

Our little library seems to be holding steady in this white and slippery winter.  However, we humans are having to be oh so careful.  It seems that every winter I have one spectacular fall.  I'm amazed it hasn't happened yet this year given the snow-melt-freeze cycles we have repeatedly experienced.  Yesterday was one of the melt days, today we awoke to temps in the teens and about 1/4 inch of snow covering yesterday's melt/today's ice.  Tricky going.  So tricky, in fact, even Taz pup's feet slid out from under him as he rounded a bend on the trail we were running (yes, a snow-packed trail topped with a thick layer of ice, topped with that very light invisibility cloak of snow).  My hope is that we get another 4 inches of snow today so that the ice camouflaged as snow will truly be a nice soft grippy layer of real deal snow for tomorrow's early morning run.

I am oh so tired of running on this stuff.  But! Still runnin'!

...and More Winter!

As noted earlier, what a winter: ice, snow, wind, cold.  And today, the result of that wind and that snow: snow drifts.  Forty-five minutes of breaking trail through snowdrifts in the middle of my 2.5 hour early morning run. Toasted my legs yet, as also mentioned earlier, oh so beautiful.

...still runnin'...

Cattle dog grins

I am not a fan of out-back runs, nor am I wild about running round and round in circles.  But! The last few days of below-zero temperatures have meant that Taz pup was only able to be out for a few moments at a time.  That all changed today when Boulder warmed up to a whole 21 degrees!  Weehaw!!! Time to take Mister Taz for a run.  His reward for patience during his house-bound days was a double trip round and round his Ya Ya loop (so called because that's where he gets his ya yas out).  My reward was the joy of seeing Taz's big ol' cattle dog smile at full wattage.  A great day for a great run with a great dog.

What a winter!

Running on ice.  Running in calf-high/knee-high snow. Running in monster winds. 

But still running!

Today's run was on packed snow - and in minus 6 degree temperatures.

Cold but beautiful.  And still running.