I got an email from a reader today. I love that! (I haven’t responded yet but I totally will soon!) She mentioned that she was a typical reader in that she was in her 30’s, a violinist, and a cat owner. Hmm. Are you all in that demographic? I suppose that makes sense. (P.S. I love emails and comments. Have I mentioned that before? Why would I do this if I didn’t want to hear from you!)

So I haven’t written about running in like, forever. But, I’ve been running! I’m training for the MO Cowbell Half Marathon in 3 weeks. And I’ve run other stuff that I don’t think I mentioned, so I’m going to do a short recap of my running this year.

As you know, my divorce was difficult (well, aren’t they all!) and I fell off the “fitness” bandwagon and instead decided I was tired of restricting and exercising, and had a few months of just doing whatever I wanted. After awhile I wanted to get back on the fitness bandwagon…and lo and behold! I realized I had become the world’s slowest runner. For instance, I ran the Go All American 5k in 38:18 (in June). And I RAN the whole time, I didn’t even take walk breaks. I kid you not. You can do the math on that. And I’m still that slow, except I’m able to run farther. Maybe I’m a tiny bit faster, but not really.

(Slow but happy)

I forgot, in my post 5k haze, to put my chin down. CHIN DOWN IN PHOTOS.

And I never (at least I don’t think so) mentioned the 5k I ran on my birthday on June 7. I had received a free race entry to the Creve Coeur Heart to Heart so I ran it. It was fun, and I ran into a former colleague from the St Louis School of Music, who was doing her first race!

Before…

After! Obviously feeling strong. Oh and my time was 40:05. That had a few walk breaks.

The race was very nice (I never did write my recap, so here I am!) Small but very well run. Well marked course, went through some residential areas which was nice. It wasn’t too hot which is awesome for a summer race, though little did we know it would barely be hot this summer at all! Parking was easy, packet pick up was easy the morning of (gotta love small races!) and there was a 10k option which is pretty rare. Maybe by next year I’ll be a little faster?

So speed, my speed, I’m slower than a turtle. But I’m running. I look down at my Garmin and wonder how it is truly that I’m running and the first number is  13…but I am still beating people on the couch (so they say, or as they say at least) and I’m getting a more intense workout than walking…even though it might be slower, and I’m having fun. I got new sneakers the other week!

I’m running in Mizuno Wave Paradox shoes. They are pricey but I’m loving them. This is my second pair. Last year (2013) I only needed ONE pair of running shoes. I got another pair in January of 2014 and now my second pair. My hope is to wear them out sooner. (That means I’d be running more, not that I would be careless with my shoes.)

Anyway, if you are a reader and are running the Mo Cowbell, do let me know! I’ve run the race 2 out of the last 3 years and it’s one of my favorites. I’m looking forward to doing it again, and hoping to finish slow but strong.

I should say: my lack of speed may have bothered me a bit at first, but now I find it amusing. I’m just happy I’m feeling like running again, and doing something good for myself!

Oh, and for you who don’t care about running but love cats:

I didn’t really say anything about violins. That will come another time, most likely.

I wanted to tell you about a couple of things coming up, fitness-wise, that you might be interested in. I get emails from a variety of people wanting me to blog about various things, and mostly they are not stuff I’m interested in talking about, but when it’s local fitness activities, I definitely am! (Also cat related or food related stuff, but nobody emails about that stuff, sadly…)

Anyway, there is a race/event coming up on May 24 that I’ll be doing (this is in addition to the Creve Coeur Heart to Heart on June 7 that I told you about earlier…giveaway winner was Jen W. and you should look at that post again if you don’t remember that race!), and then MAYBE I’ll check out Yoga at the Arch…we’ll see about that as I’m not really a “yogi” but maybe it would be good for me! I’m definitely thinking of doing the yoga at Tower Grove Farmer’s Market soon, possibly this Saturday…

Here’s the information I want to share with you about some events in St Louis…if you aren’t a local reader, you probably just want to leave now 😉

What: CDM Mind and Body 2014:

Featuring: 5K race, fitness cardio bootcamp, healthy living workshop, lifestyle vendors, food trucks, and free health screenings and kids’ eye exams

When: Saturday, May 24, 2014

Where: Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School
701 North Spring Ave.

St. Louis, MO 63108

Time: Check-in begins at 7 a.m.; race shotgun at 8 a.m.

Registration: $30 for 5K race; all other events are free and open to public

Featuring: Briant Mitchell of BKM Boot Camp leads the 5K and fitness challenge

Healthy living workshop hosted by KSDK NewsChannel 5’s Nichole Berlie

Fredbird and St. Louis Rams Cheerleaders photo opportunities

$500 prize to the first place finisher registered for the race

Free children’s eye exams and glasses by Ronald McDonald Care Mobile

Free health screenings from DePaul Hospital

Breakfast from Whole Foods

Lunch from various food trucks

Next: Do you do Yoga?

Arch grounds hosts free outdoor yoga sessions Saturdays in the summer

Beginning May 3^rd, all yogis are invited to the Gateway Arch grounds every Saturday at 9 am for FREE one-hour outdoor yoga sessions within the sweeping urban oasis of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and the Gateway Arch grounds. The sessions will be led by experienced yoga instructors from South City YMCA, and will combine posture and breathing techniques; focus on building strength, flexibility and stamina; and make way for deep relaxation of the mind and body.

Hosted by the National Park Service, these workout sessions are free and open to everyone ranging from beginners to advanced yoga enthusiasts, who are looking to escape the confined spaces of an indoor studio and instead desire the welcoming outdoor atmosphere of a national park. The sessions will continue weekly until construction on the Arch grounds begins later in the summer.

“We are extremely excited to host Yoga at the Gateway Arch again this year,” said Ann Honious, Chief, Museum Services and Interpretation, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. “The National Park Service strives to promote health and fitness, and with these yoga sessions Jefferson National Expansion Memorial seeks to encourage regular exercise while combining the Arch grounds and group-friendly workouts.”

More than 100 people convened at each Yoga at the Arch session in 2013.

Although the sessions are free, participants are encouraged to make reservations in advance at http://ticketsforthearch.com. In doing so, they’ll receive free parking at the Gateway Arch Parking Garage.

For more information, visit www.gatewayarch.com or call 877-982-1410.

Happy St Patrick’s Day, dear readers. I’m wearing a green shirt and clover earrings. Oh, wait, let me take a quick selfie to show you.

You’re welcome.

Saturday I ran the 5 mile race downtown for St Patrick’s Day. It’s officially called the St Patrick’s Day Parade Run.

I originally wasn’t planning to run it, but my friend April wanted somebody else to do it and I realized it did fit into my schedule, so I figured, WHY NOT…and though I had a very rough start to the morning (I’d slept very poorly due to some and lingering effects from the cold) I’m very glad I went.

We took the Metrolink downtown from April’s house and it was very convenient. For April, that is, and for me it wasn’t convenient but it was cheaper.

The weather was phenomenal—it was cool at the start but by the end was simply gorgeous. I’m glad I wore shorts! Anyway, April and I stayed together the whole race and had some good girl chats while trying to run more than I wanted to (I was feeling pretty lousy at the beginning of the race, but I started feeling better, and by the end I felt VERY strong and capable).  It’s a fun race, over 10,000 people running, mostly wearing green, and the crowd support it great too. I highly recommend this race, honestly.

After the race we stopped for a photo op in front of Busch Stadium with one of the STL250 Birthday Cakes.

Anyway, I had a few more pictures to share but they keep showing up upside down, and when I rotate them they get distorted…so…whatever. It is hard enough getting photos from my phone to my computer using Windows 8 and then getting them in blog posts…*sigh*

Our time wasn’t anything to write home about (1:09:38), but April was a great friend to stay with me, and I am improving, slowly but surely. I finally have confidence in my abilities again, and know that I WILL reach my physical goals 🙂 I also realized I’m happier right now that I’ve been in a long time, and that I do actually deserve this sort of happiness, and that I am so happy to be surrounded by people who feel the same way—people who love and respect me, and want the best for me.

I know I’m vague-blogging, and I apologize for that (all will be explained to an extent someday, I’m sure), but suffice it to say, this race made me feel strong, and I am happy that running and working out is making me realize I’m stronger than I thought I was.

I initially typed Stan “Musical”. That would be an entirely different sort of run. Or not…maybe it would be similar but everybody would just be kind of dancing and snapping their fingers a bit more?

Race swag. T-shirt, bib with a really nice picture of the bridge on it, and a commemorative medallion.

Saturday’s race was a 6k run from downtown over the new Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge (before it opened to traffic, very exciting!) and back. It was a 6k because “6” was Stan Musial’s number.

I was pretty happy with my time, only because it shows improvement in my running, not because it was in any way a good time. I finished in 46:58, which isn’t at all fast, but for me it was good. Two things I was proud of: 1) getting up in the freezing, freezing cold (did I mention it was cold?) and DOING the run and 2) running quite a bit, versus walking, including the final uphill (naturally) to the finish line, during which I ran hard the whole time I could see the finish line, which seemed like forever, and which was probably about 30 yards or something. Really I have no idea, and runkeeper isn’t very good for actually keeping track of distance, at least not during races. Oh well. I should probably dust off my Garmin in the future for this sort of thing.

I won’t bore you with details, but instead show you some of my awesome race pictures, which I decided was worth the $10 to show you. I could have simply screen capped them, but I feel that $10 is a reasonable rate and wanted to be on the up and up and buy them for that REASONABLE price. (Do you hear me, other races? $10 for a bunch of digital photos is a good price, not $40 to $100…)

Photographer at the turnaround. Mild awareness in my eyes, and oddly stumpy legs. I should say: lots of folks were stopping on the bridge to take pictures, but it’s a race, right? And honestly, the new bridge is cool and all, but the scenery wasn’t super great, it was cold and I wanted to be done. Let this blog post prove that I ran on the bridge before anybody drove across it!

Oh look, I’m smiling for the camera. The lady behind me wins the prize though. Also we look like we are winning the race against that huge pack of people behind us. YES.

This must have been closer to the finish line. Working hard! (I like this one.)

And…near death…but I survived. I promise!

I’m very glad I ran the race. I’ve been getting back into fitness, and I’m totally aware that I don’t look good in running tights, but I’m proud of getting back on the “fitness horse” so to speak, and I won’t let negative body thoughts get me down, and instead will use them to motivate myself to do better. (Blah, blah, blah, try to focus on “I was working hard” rather than “I look fat”).

And whatever. Getting up early to run in “feels like 8 degrees” is pretty bad ass, right?