MIA to 10K

The end of the fiscal year is a time when my personal life seems to come to a halt. No, I'm not in finance; I have contracts coming to an end... At work.

I've meant to write about the beautiful autumn we are having here, how I've enjoyed running in the briskness of the setting sun, or the brilliance of the new stretches I learned. Instead, I'll post a picture and promise to provide at least a synopsis of my first 10K, coming this Sunday.

It's the largest one in PA and the 12th largest in the nation. I'm excited, but a little nervous. I'm wishing that I didn't have slight pain in my shins. (Possibly from the brisk trail running I did. :-/)

I'll finish. I know I won't let myself quit. I don't know how to quit. :-)

Anyway, the photo here is a white-breasted nuthatch. I was especially thrilled when I discovered him at my feeder because I've never been visited by this particular bird in the past. It's the small things, you know?

Back in action

Wow, so I hadn’t planned to take off this much time from blogging. I went on vacation and ended up getting slammed in both my professional and personal lives…

It’s been a struggle to get back into the swing of things. It’s so easy to break up the everydaying of life with something exciting, but I find that it’s more difficult to transition back to the same ol’, same ol’ afterwards. Isn’t that strange? I thought that humans were creatures of habit. I like consistency and planning things out. I thrive on knowing my next step in whatever it is that I’m doing. I just can’t seem to get myself back on schedule.

Anyway, the good news is that fall is here and the temperatures have dropped along with the humidity, leaving me free to run outside again. I’m looking forward to the races I have in the coming weeks. I ran outside a few days last week and felt great, so I am hoping the races will go well too. I’ve got a 10k at the end of this month so I’m trying to build my stamina right now—longer runs with a consistent pace. I’m not worrying about speed right now. My first goal, as always, is to finish the race. Other goals come to mind on race day, usually: don’t finish last, finish before some other person I’m pacing myself with… things like that.

My asthma is a little more under control, even though I still struggle with some breathlessness. I’m planning to meet with an allergist, though, to see if there are any triggers I should look out for. Evidently ragweed is really bad right now. I did not know that…

Running around "The Square"

Saturday morning, despite the orange level air quality warning for the area, I ran. Yes, for the first time in two weeks. (Thanks, asthma.) I'm so glad I didn't back out of the race. It was a blast and I know that I'll be running this one again. 

There's a lovely little neighborhood in Pittsburgh called Regent Square. It has some of my favorite restaurants and the atmosphere is very friendly. The amicable spirit was wholeheartedly translated into what is possibly the most enjoyable 5k I've ever run. It's the Run Around the Square, and this year was the 30th annual event. (The anniversary really meant that we got awesome tech shirts and sweet medals for finishing, among the other perks like the huge celebration at the end of the course!)

When we were weaving through the brick-laid streets, the route was lined with neighborhood folks cheering for us. Some people even set up their own impromptu water stations. Given how warm it got so early in the morning, the extra water was dearly appreciated!

Later on, when the race path drew us into Frick Park, there were musicians playing various upbeat tunes for us. We were serenaded by a young violinist, a talented preteen cellist, a pianist, a saxophone player, and a tuba. These kind people were spaced throughout the woods, near the tennis courts, and along some of the more challenging areas of the course--namely, the hill at the end of the second mile...

Locals had signs for us, encouraging us to keep going, push onward, "It's just a hill... Get over it!" They were delightful. I couldn't help myself. I yelled, "Thank you!" to every person I could as we swiftly passed.

My goal upon starting was just to finish. My asthma has been so debilitating over the last few weeks that I just wanted to complete the race. Once I started, I felt pretty good. I had my inhaler with me, so I decided that my goal was to finish in less than 36 minutes (that would put me at a 12 minute mile, and that would be the slowest I've ever run). When I got to mile one in 10'30", I decided that this was a good goal.

Mile two was the toughest. Sadly, I walked most of it and my second mile came in at just over 13'00". Disappointing. But I am grateful that I didn't have to stop altogether.

The last mile was mostly downhill, which helped for sure, but I still needed to push myself forward. I'm not thrilled with my race time, but it is decent considering the challenge of not breathing so well... I finished at 34'50".  It's my worst race time to date, but I'm trying to think of this as a baseline for what I can run when I'm at my worst... With this in mind, I should always be able to beat this time at the very least, and hopefully I'll crush it during another upcoming race.

This was my fifth 5k of the year. I've completed a race for each month from April to August. I have a 10k at the end of September, so I need to get in gear for that. Mostly, I think my nutrition is in need of a revamp, but I know I need to practice running longer distances (and downhill). Any advice?

What makes the difference in day to day air quality?

Yesterday and today are nearly identical end-of-summer days in Pittsburgh. In terms of weather, temperature, and wind, they were cut from the same mold. Yet the air quality index is significantly different from yesterday to today. Neither day is as awful as the orange action days from last week... What makes the difference?

It rained last evening. It was intensely foggy this morning. It is a Tuesday and therefore traffic patterns and weight might vary. But scientifically, what makes the difference?

Tuesday, August 28

Monday, August 27

I wish I knew.

Unfortunately, it's not as simple as looking at the numbers and doing simple math--a particulate matter pollution rate at 58 today (8/28) from a nice low 23 yesterday (8/27) means little to us non-scientist types except that the EPA has done the math and assigned a ranking to the level of pollution present in the air (seeing today as more hazardous because of a higher rate of PM). The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) lists primary and secondary standards--primary for sensitive populations and secondary for the general public welfare.

There's some serious atmospheric science involved with these calculations and the regulations that apply, and I hope to understand more as I continue to read about them, but for now I'll take the AQI for what it's worth and adjust accordingly.

Toad for my birthday

And now for a less serious post!

It seems that nature has a way if reaching out to me on my birthday. Last year it was a praying mantis at my rendezvous. This year it was a toad greeting me and my dog in the twilight.

The picture isn't great, but he was a wonderful toad! He didn't pee on me (yay!) and he didn't get scared away by my dog.