Good Enough is the Enemy of Excellence

It is such a motivational cliche and one that I generally don't put much stock in - if anything, I think in most efforts striving for the best often gets in the way off accomplishing the good. But when it comes to running, it certainly seems that good enough is my worst enemy.

I was pleased with my time for the Maritime Days 5K. Very pleased.

But what do I do with that contentment?

I slack off, of course!

I almost wish I'd posted a lousy time, if only because that would have been a wake-up call to snap me out of my "when I feel like it" approach to running. But a good time only serves to reinforce the "good enough" mentality.

Intellectually, I know I need to train more often. Not just to improve my times but also to improve my endurance - we are building up to a longer race, after all! - and to really cement the habit of running regularly.

But still I find myself making excuses.

It has been a long day. Every day is right now, with football practice starting at the crack of dawn for my oldest. But long is not the same as hard or tiring, and getting up with the sun means I have plenty of time to go for a run before the other kids even roll out of bed.

It is hot/cold/raining. Probably my worst cop-out, because we've had an absolutely lovely summer. Maybe a bit on the cool side, but for running cool is better than hot anyway.

I just don't feel like it. Well, at least that one is honest. We're in the middle of yet another stressful financial/career transition on top of a busier-than-usual summer, and my motivation and focus are just about shot. But exercise inevitably improves my mood and lowers my stress level.

I did go out for a run today, only my second in the two weeks since our last race. It was a perfect morning for it, not too warm, not a cloud in the sky, and very quiet in our little town that early on a Saturday morning.

As I ran, I found myself thinking about my stumbling blocks. 

The one that seems to really be dragging at me right now is money... My husband is quite unexpectedly back in business for himself, thanks to two layoffs in a row and a lack of solid full-time opportunities around here, so money is tight. Tight enough that I've had to pass on our second planned race for this month because I couldn't responsibly spend the $60 to register for it in the midst of all the back-to-school expenses and as we adapt to an unsteady cash flow once again. 

To make matters worse, our RunDisney dream is on hold indefinitely. With no ability to forecast our income, I didn't feel like I could register for either of the races we were interested in and they've both sold out now so even if the job situation improves there's no making it happen before my annual pass expires. 

I think the disappointment of having the "carrot" that started this journey so completely out of reach at the moment is messing with my head more than any other single factor. 

But my daughter doesn't seem to care - she's found other races she's far more interested in than anything RunDisney has to offer. She wants to do a color run, a glow run, a zombie run. She wants us to walk the Mackinac Bridge next year on my birthday. And she's making noise about the scariest run I can think of - the Detroit International Half-Marathon, which crosses into Canada through the tunnel under the Detroit river... A tunnel I don't even like to drive! Fortunately I have four years to prep for that one because she's not old enough just yet. 

Her interest in running has taken on a life of its own. She's even challenged my husband to start getting out there with us. 

So I have to find myself a new carrot and run on. 

Race Recap: Maritime Days 5K

As promised, I'm back with a full wrap up of my second 5K of the summer.

This one was a no brainer for my daughter and I. Most of the events she's interested in have us driving into suburbia, but this one was just down the street.

Our town holds an annual summer festival, Maritime Days, in early August. Last year, the event organizers decided to add a 5K to the event with the proceeds supporting the planning for the next year's festival. 

Fun at the festival

The race organizers were new to the event this year, and they did a great job. Everything was very well organized, from the registration through Active.com to the post-race refreshments. 

We chose to take advantage of early packet pickup on Thursday night at the local coffee house rather than get to the starting line early on race day. This was a very nice perk for those of us who live in town, because with the carnival and other festival entertainment it was a busy weekend for many of us.

We got to the starting line with about 3 minutes to spare. I'm not a morning person at the best of times, and the day after the town fireworks display is not the best of times. Fortunately, we already had our bibs and shoe tags on so we were ready to go. Again I have to say how much I loved the early packet pick-up!

The start was well organized. The turnout wasn't as large as for our earlier race, but that's to be expected - the manatee run is in its 11th year in a major suburban area, and this run is only in its second year in a small rural town. The mayor said a few words, followed by the race organizers, and then we were off.

Because this is a very small town, the race was run mainly on open residential streets. The one exception is our main street, which runs along the riverfront; this is closed for the whole festival weekend. So while there isn't much traffic so early on a Saturday morning there were a couple of occasions where runners had to wait for cars to pass or vice versa. The route did run a little longer than a true 5K, though; according to the pre-race announcements it was approximately 3.4 miles rather than 3.1.

Freighter on the river

The best part of the course was the run along the river, and the organizers certainly must have known this because we traveled that part of the route twice. The rest looped through residential streets lined with old Victorian homes, nice scenery for running with lots of lovely shade.

Speaking of shade, the weather was perfect - sunny with just a few puffy clouds, but not quite 70° for the 8am start. I worried about August races because even up here in Michigan August can be brutally hot and humid, but this was wonderful. I hope we have the same luck with the other race we have planned for this month!

Back to the race...

There was one water station in front of my girls' school/church, at the turn-around point that we passed through twice, once at about 1.2 miles and the second time around 2.4. I thought that was exceptionally well planned, to require only one set of volunteers to staff the station but still provide runners two well-spaced stations.

Our Lady on the River Church

After the race, runners were directed to a table with refreshments provided by a local grocery - bananas, water, and some chia-seed sports drink that my daughter warned me was "gross" so I didn't even try it. Water is really the only thing I want after a run anyway.

At the end of the race, the organizers posted times for the quicker finishers. When we left, results and splits were posted for everyone who finished in under 40 minutes. We didn't stick around long enough to see my results - I crossed the finish line right around the 48 minute mark - and the full results haven't yet been uploaded to the race page so I haven't seen my official time. I couldn't be happier with my unofficial time, though!

My daughter doesn't remember her time but thinks it was around 37 minutes, which breaks down to the same 10 minute per mile pace that she posted back in May. She was a little disappointed with that, but between all her activit

All in all it was a really fun race, but I'm not sure we'll do it next year for reasons entirely unrelated to the race itself. The whole reason we didn't stick around to see the splits or chat with friends who also ran was because I had to leave home to pick my son up from band camp. The race started at 8, and I had to be on the road by 9:20 to get up to the college where they hold camp by noon.

Band camp finale

So unless the dates line up differently next year, I won't be running the race again. Between the 5K, the 2.5 hour drive up to camp, an hour long presentation/show for parents, a couple hours of swimming and picnicking at a state park, and 2.5 hours' drive back home, it was just too long a day!

One Quick Post

I am literally on my way out the door, but had to post a quick brag.

My town's 5K was this morning. Official results haven't posted yet, but MapMyRun is showing a total course length of 3.42 miles and a time of 48:15... For a per-mile split of 14:07.

That's right. 14:07!

A full minute per mile faster than the last 5K I ran back in June!

And that's with almost no training, just walking the dog and getting around on foot/bike like I always do during the summer.

Just imagine what I could do once I'm back on the training wagon.

Now, for 3 hours in the car to pick my son up from band camp...

I'll post a full race recap later.

Off the Wagon

So it seems I've fallen off the wagon a bit. With running, and with blogging.

June was an off-and-on month. Some weeks I was good, walking or running 4 or 5 days. It almost started to feel like a habit. Others, I was not so good, only getting out on the trail once or twice. Those times, it felt more like a chore.

July is a wasteland. I don't think I've been out running even once, and the month is more than half over. I have a million excuses - kids to get to activities, ridiculous amounts of stress at home, this absurd heat wave that has me wishing I could jet off to Florida to cool off. But none of them are good excuses, and the fact remains that I have to lace up my shoes and get back on the trail. Now. Like yesterday.

Our next event is a hometown 5K on August 3, and this one more than any other is a mental challenge for me. Not because it has a swift pace requirement or will be especially competitive, but because this is the only race on my calendar where I'll actually know some of the other runners. For me, that's harder to face than any pace requirement or threat of being swept.

Irrational? Sure. But there it is.

I'm much more comfortable being not-a-runner, fat and happy, than putting myself out there and publicly doing something that is so far from my strengths and skills.

Giving into the urge to skip this one isn't an option. My daughter would never allow it. She's very excited about this race more than any other, in that pre-teen, showing-off sort of way. She's the only one of her friends who runs any distance, the only one who volunteers for the mile on her track team, and she's hoping to win this one.

So it is time to dig my running shoes out from under the mound of flip-flops and get myself going.

Tomorrow. As soon as this blasted "heat advisory" weather moves on.

A Diversion - Orion Music + More

I debated posting about this because it isn't related to my training in any way, shape, or form.

Then I rationalized it by telling myself I walked to the island so I got a short workout in anyway.

Who am I kidding? I didn't fit in a single run all weekend.

Actually, in all seriousness it is just something I feel very strongly about. Those readers who know me in real life or through forums where I'm very active know that I'm a Detroiter. I may be living in exile these days for the sake of a more child-friendly community, but in my heart I am and always will be a Detroiter. And this weekend, I had the privilege of attending a fabulous event in my hometown.

Orion Music + More is a festival put on by Metallica, and for this year Detroit was chosen as the host city. The festival was held on Belle Isle, which is a rather unique city park in that it is an island in the Detroit River. It has also been at the center of some controversy lately as the city has considered selling or leasing the park to help solve the city's budget crisis. I hope that never comes to pass; Belle Isle is more than just another park, and it brings a lot to the city. 

My son and I got tickets to the festival as soon as it was announced and I knew we were going to make a whole weekend of it. We started at Eastern Market, which can only be described as the mother of all farmers' markets. On a Saturday morning, it is also home to some of the best food truck eats the city of Detroit has to offer. We started with pierogis from the People's Perogi Collective, then shared a burrito from El Guapo, and finished up with beignets from Beignets2Go, all washed down with apple cider from an Imlay City farm. Quite a feast for $20 and my son found the street entertainers fascinating. I never realized what a small town kid he really is until I took him into the city!

Eastern Market

After lunch we headed down to Cobo, where the official festival parking was. To be honest I suspected this was a bad idea from the start - as a native, my first instinct was to park close to Belle Isle and cross the bridge on foot, but the festival guide made it sound like this wouldn't be allowed so I went with the masses downtown. A fleet of buses shuttled concertgoers to the island, but there were just so many people to move! It took us a good half hour to get on a bus but eventually we were on our way.

Once we got to the island the process was much smoother. RFID wristbands in place of traditional tickets made the gate a breeze, and soon enough we were finding a spot for the first must-see band of the weekend. My son discovered the Dropkick Murphys after they did the main theme for The Departed, and was really looking forward to seeing them. They put on a great show, very unusual with the combination of bagpipes and flute with hard rock/metal guitar. Sebastian picked up a t-shirt and got it signed by the whole band. 

We wandered a bit after their set, checking out the car show that was set up along the edge of the island. Each of the band members added a "lifestyle" element to the festival, and the car show was James Hetfield's contribution. When it came time for the best-in-class honors to be awarded on Sunday he announced them himself so each winning car owner got a brief meeting!

My favorite of the displays was Kirk Hammet's "Kirk's Crypt", which featured some of his personal collection of horror movie memorabilia as well as an extended trailer for World War Z. I got over there just in time to hear Tom Savini speak on Sunday which was really cool, and I got a WWZ promo t-shirt for my zombie-loving daughter. 

Kirk's Crypt

But of course the music was the highlight. Some of the smaller bands were very enjoyable, particularly Japandroids, Gogol Bordello, and of course the Dropkick Murphys. But the headliners absolutely rocked the island. Red Hot Chili Peppers took the stage on Saturday, and man I cannot believe they're still so high energy! Its been maybe 15 years since I've seen them live and Flea is still bouncing around like he's a young man! Then Metallica on Sunday, an absolutely killer performance mostly made up of songs old enough to bring back memories of high school for me. It cracks me up that my son is into so much of the same stuff I was listening to at his age! 

Metallica

The only minor glitch with the festival was transportation back to the parking areas on Saturday. It took us over three hours to get back to my van and to our "home" for the night, about 20 minutes away. That was easily solve by walking over on the second day; our ride dropped us off on the land side of the bridge and we crossed on foot, which worked out much better - an hour after the show ended we were on the expressway headed back home to the country. From start to finish it was an absolutely awesome weekend and I'm actually glad my son chose the concert tickets over the mother-son Disney trip I had in mind. I know people say parenting teens is so very difficult but I rather enjoy that my kids are older have such fun interests that end up pulling me in so many unexpected directions. 

Orion has a contract with the City of Detroit for two more years of festivals on Belle Isle with a possibility of making Detroit the festival's permanent home. I'm thinking this just might become an annual tradition for the city, and for my son and I. 

View from the Belle Isle Bridge

My New Running Buddy

There is nothing like a puppy to keep you motivated to run every day!

Okay, so she isn't exactly a puppy. We're estimating she's 2-3 years old, and the poor thing just came to us last week. My son's stepbrother found her playing in traffic and since he couldn't keep her he brought her here.

She is such a sweet dog that I can't believe no one is looking for her.

She has a collar but no tags and no microchip, and other than being very thin she's in good health. My Disney-loving four year old named her Lady, though there is clearly no physical resemblance, and it only took her a couple of hours to start answering to her new name. She stays home, even when she's out in the front yard while I'm doing yard work, and other than needing a lesson on staying out of the kitchen trash she's been very well behaved. But she gets along with our other dog, is very gentle with Katie, and is the sort of animal that just has a way of making you smile.

And boy is she high-energy! We're going out together morning and night for long walks and a little running, but it never fails that I get tired before she does. She's certainly good for my training, though - unless it is pouring rain she wants to be outside and she'll gladly keep going as long as I'm willing. In fact, she pretty much never sits still!

Right now, we're alternating between working on pace and distance. Twice a week we're covering the full 10K distance at a brisk but not especially challenging pace, and three times a week we're working on a 5K distance at a faster pace.

My next run with my daughter is July 20, quite a long way off still. I think with Lady's help a 14min pace is a reasonable goal to shoot for.

I did it!

Only have time for a very quick post before I get back to the craziness that is May in my household, but I had to share the few pics I took and my thoughts about yesterday's Save the Manatees 5K.

The day could have gotten off to a better start. I woke up with a headache, totally self-inflicted so I was determined to power through it. See, I'm a caffeine addict. I don't mean I'm cranky before I have my morning coffee. I mean I get migraine-like withdrawal headaches if I don't keep up with the habit, and I was on the go so much on Friday between a morning run, afternoon at the park, and evening getting a new dog that landed on our doorstep settled in that I just didn't feel much like anything other than water. And I was paying for it as I got ready to go, but after a breakfast of Motrin and toast I was feeling a bit better by the time we got on the road.

It was cool and cloudy when we arrived, but as the morning progressed the sun did make an appearance. The weather really couldn't have been better - probably mid-60s with a gentle, warmish breeze. We got to Lake St Clair Metropark around 8:30, which gave us plenty of time to pick up our race packets and stretch a little before the 9:30 start.

Shanna had to have her picture taken in front of the giant manatee balloon.

It was clearly a family-oriented event. The race packet for under-12 runners included a really cute stuffed manatee. A DJ was on hand to entertain the crowd, playing a very beachy selection of tunes, heavy on the Jimmy Buffet. Very apropos since Jimmy Buffet is one of the founders of the Save the Manatee club. An adorable clown was on hand making some very creative balloon animals for the kids, including manatees of course.

The first race of the day was the Mini-Mile and it was really cute watching the little ones line up to run. The youngest child out there couldn't have been more than 3 or 4, and it got me thinking that next year maybe Katie would like to join us. 

Then it was our turn. The turnout was bigger than I'd expected, about 1200 people registered for either the 5K run or 2 mile walk, but once we got a few hundred yards from the start the course didn't feel crowded at all. Shanna and I ran together for about the first half mile, then I slowed to walk some and she left me in her dust. I only caught sight of her once after that, when the course doubled back on itself, and according to her time she was at the finish line about as I hit the 2 mile marker. 

The course itself was very nice. The park occupies a small outcropping into the lake, and the course went all the way out to the end before doubling back and winding through the more developed parts of the park. 

I ran about half of the first mile, then walked all of the second, then alternated between running and walking through the rest. My overall time wasn't bad - 46:47, which breaks down to 15:05 per mile. I'm shooting for 15 minutes as my first pace goal, because that feels comfortably under the 16min/mile pacing requirement for the time-limited races I'm interested in, so I did get close and was slightly faster than my best training run so far. I was disappointed with myself for not running more, though. I wasn't sore and was only mildly tired afterwards, so I know I could have pushed myself harder. 

I was very proud of Shanna, though! Her final time was 31:11, pretty good for a first effort especially since she abandoned me on our C25K program for the duration of track and baseball seasons! 

All in all it was a very nice outing. I'm taking today off to work on things in my garden and around the house, but I'll be right back out on the track tomorrow morning to get ready for the next race, which right now is looking like it'll a local charity fundraiser on July 20th.