44 minutes...a new world record! (for me)

So the training goes...
Yep, I have now lowered my time to qualify for a "legal" finish of the Bellport Clipper Classic. Today I began incorporating jogging-like movement into my 3.29 miles today. For those of you who may have seen me on the streets of the Village this morning, thank you for not honking as you drove by chuckling.
Note: I trained with a deficit today…my old iPod bit the dust.

My training for this week will be better than usual with the extra days off due to the holiday. (Is it just me or do you also find it nice to celebrate a holiday on the actual holiday?) Based on my current training success (ahem) I have set a goal to shave 6 minutes off my time by Sunday, July 15…race day. I will follow the Galloway method of training for a marathon because, well, other than showing you there is a method to my madness, training for this 5K feels like training for a marathon. I am glad I made a chiropractic appointment with Dr. Joe for this morning!

Let us see what happens tomorrow.

No excuses!

I suppose that runners at least take note of weather predictions to plan their next days' run. Since I am only a walker, I suppose I get a break for not knowing that thunder storms and heavy rain were predicted for today.
So in keeping with my "no excuses" mindset, I walked the 3.29 mile course today almost between down pours in 48 minutes; a slight improvement over yesterday. Perhaps it was the huge whack of thunder while on New Jersey Avenue that propelled me down the road a bit quicker than usual. My pardon to the neighbors…my voice has a way of projecting and surely the shriek I belted out was heard a few blocks away.
My change-up for today…it has been said that when you use your arms while walking, you are working 20% harder. So today I carried the new WW 3 lb. weights around town. They are now drying out with my LiveLifeActive cap.
It was a very loud workout today. The rain, the wind, the thunder, and then…a lovely chorus as I reached the dock. The lines of the sailboats were singing as the wind blew in from the west. It was noisy but what wonderful cacophony.
Tomorrow is an evening walk-about. My warning to all pedestrians: avoid Head of the Neck Road.

The Orange and Black Swoosh Takes the Lead...

51 minutes including a 4 minute hoop o' the dock. Conditions were warm; medium traffic and I set out later than I originally planned. However, as of today, the orange and black swoosh is definitely a favorite to beat the 45 minute time limit.

Note to self: 8 puffs on an empty inhaler serves no purpose; refill prescription today.

BCC Challenge Day 2...64 minutes?

Day 2 - 3.29 miles in 64 minutes? You might think my training is headed in the wrong direction. Let me explain.

Still pedometer-less I set about on my day 2 walk (note: matching Nikes and bandaid...check) anticipating an increased time because it was election day in Bellport. I know, this and the price of tea in China...

Tuesday through Saturday always prove to be jam packed, tight schedule days for me. Between regular work, 1 1/2 hour round trip commute and Weight Watchers meetings, it is always a challege to get in everything I need/want to do. So, following my Tuesday Weight Watchers meeting (5:30 pm @ the Patchogue store, near Bob's and Home Goods, join us, won't you?...shameless self-promotion) I came home, found matching Nikes, donned my green bag and headed out to walk/vote.

Good pace tonight.

Arriving at the Polling Place, I forgot to check my watch. But, after voting and chatting with friends I have not seen in a long time. (By the way...how is it possible to live in a Village of only 2,500 residents and go years without seeing friends who live only one street away...shameful. Note to self: arrange a coffee talk with friends...soon!) Watch check following the vote/chat showed 30 minutes had passed. Continuing on, with only one brief chat on my way to the dock, I returned to home base 43 minutes later. A 19.5 minute pace is not impressive, unless you consider that I also performed my civic duty and reconnected with friends along the way.

I will take the 4 activity points I earned and consider it a good day.

The Bellport Clipper Classic Challenge

Accepting a challenge is a great way for me to achieve a goal. When first challenged to participate in the Bellport Clipper Classic 5K race, I considered but wanted to watch it first to see what I would be getting myself into. 16 years ago I watched as friends and neighbors in really good shape sprinted and ran past my house. I also watched as friends and neighbors in better shape than me struggled and dragged themselves to the finish line. I have continued to consider that challenge for the past 16 years and never moved forward…until now.

This year I have again been challenged. I have agreed to truly consider participation. Today I took action on the consideration part.

First, I learned (and verified at the website: http://www.active.com/running/bellport-ny/the-clipper-classic-5k-run-2012) that walkers are not allowed on the course and the course must be completed in 45 minutes. Exactly what that means is unclear to me, but I have decided to move forward anyway. My doctor advised me to not run and I have embraced that limitation. I do walk, bike, kayak and try other, less jarring activities. However, it is more of a lifestyle recommendation than a medical command so I am considering my options. Today I decided to see if I could walk 5K in 45 minutes. I set a course from my house, around the Village using www.MapMyRun.com. The easy part.

Next, I pulled out my 2 pedometers to find that neither one works. (Note to Weight Watchers: where is my ActivLink?) I decided to time myself with a less efficient, but reliable watch…thank goodness for old technology.

I discovered that I left my regular walking shoes with the orthotic inserts at work. (Sadly, old feet need better support.) Never fear, thanks to my Nike connection, I have 2 other pairs of newish walking/running shoes and pulled those out to break them in.

Armed with my cell phone, tissues, inhaler and water bottle in my little green bag, I headed out for a 3.29 miles walk-about. The first leg of my course passes the 2 mile marker for the Clipper Classic. I was only starting out and feeling pretty strong, but I could not help but find the irony in the fact that the point marking the 2/3^rd point of the race was located at the cemetery.

Crossing Station Road and heading to New Jersey Avenue I realized I was developing a blister on my left heel. It seemed I had a defective sock on my left foot that kept slipping down. Wasting valuable time I stopped to fix it…the first of several fixes…but only the left foot. Hmmm… Pace increase to make up for lost time.

Down across South Country Road I crossed paths with Bobby (…as Bobby, not the Easter Bunny or Uncle Sam today.) No time to talk, I am focused. Stop to fix sock. (Note to self: try out other socks before race day.)

The Village was quietly humming as I rounded the Old Purchase corner and headed to the dock. Blister is growing but I am not ready to waste more time with the stupid sock so I push through the pain and hoop the dock, dodging the vehicles also hooping as their drivers sip their morning coffee, paying no particular attention to pedestrians or seagulls.

Taking a left on to Rogers I again stopped to adjust my left sock when I realized I was wearing 2 different shoes. I thought this was something only old people did. Now I am motivated to quickly complete the course, avoid anyone I might know and check my time.

53 minutes…sock issues and an extra hoop around the Bellport Yacht Club included. 3.29 miles. That is a little more than a 16 minute mile. Not good enough for the Clipper Classic. But, I have 26 days to train, get my time down and work on a good jog/runner’s look to get past the officials. But not until I retrieve my other shoes and some better socks.

Chase, the dog...

We have not exactly settled into our new house, but we seem to be easing into the routine of the new digs.  Our dog, Chase, on the other hand, is right at home.  After nearly 10 years of a rather boring routine (twice daily walk-abouts and napping most of each day) Chase now has a fenced-in back yard, a doggie door and a new world to explore on his own. 

Chase is a young 10 year-old golden retriever mix we adopted from the Brookhaven Animal Shelter.  He and his litter mates had been rescued from the parking lot at Lowes in Medford.  He still jumps on people, cannot walk on a leash, relentlessly begs to play catch and continues to be mocked by the squirrels he futilely chases up trees. 

This old dog has developed a new, more independent character.  He spends hours in the backyard watching and listening.  When we were living on a main road in Bellport Village, the sounds of nature (and neighbors) was often obscured by the traffic (such as it is in Bellport) noise.  Chase, like the rest of us, is discovering just how distracting and intriguing those birds (and neighbors) can be. 

Chase is the one member of the family who is home all of the time.  He has learned the weekly routine of the new neighborhood; when the postman, UPS truck (his mortal enemy,) and the garbage collectors make their rounds.  He is learning the voices of neighboring mutts and seems to be relieved that there are no stray cats in the area.  He is afraid of cats.

It will take us humans in the house a bit longer to find our stride.  It will help when we actually find all of the things we packed.  My work space needs organization; the kitchen is not quite functional; the instruments have not been removed from their cases; where will I be storing all the linens?  Perhaps I will just follow Chase’s lead; sit in the backyard to watch and listen.

The key to something great...

Until now, I never really considered taking time to select a special key to my house, or the key to anything for that matter. On Tuesday, as I waited at the Home Depot key kiosk to order additional keys for our new house, I noticed the collection of novelty keys on display.  Though I have been a Home Depot key customer since the local paint store closed, I had never really considered that these keys were options for me. 

In the middle of the display hung a key – my key – in the shape of an acoustic guitar.  As I was reaching for the guitar, the young key smith approached and said, "Ah, do you just like the guitar or – ha, ha – do you play?" I paused, remembering my April declaration…I am a musician, “Oh no…I play," I responded, "Do you?" He did.  We actually had a brief conversation about guitars and bluegrass; I shared information about local jams and then happily strolled out of the store, guitar key in hand.

Holding new keys to a new house is rather empowering.  It is a new start.  Usually, and for most people, that is enough.  However, I had already decided that 2012 would be a new start for me.  On January 1^st, I cannot say that I exactly knew what that meant, but as the year has been progressing, these new starts are being revealed. 

It began with the Cash Mob movement that spread through the country and right into the heart of Bellport.  This represented a new start or re-start into community activity for me.  Since Erin’s graduation from high school, I have been on the down-low.  It has been great to reconnect and to make new connections with my community. 

Then came the self-declaration…I am a musician.  Though music has always been a part of my life, it now has a new look for me as I play my guitar and sing in public.  Deciding to call myself a “musician,” now that is a new start.  And, because I just could not stop, along comes self-declaration #2 (thanks to the My Name Is Not Bob April Challenge and encouragement from my friend Terrell)…I am a writer.

Sometimes new starts are intentional, some just happen.  They are all meant to be.  The new house was a “just happen” new start.  It resulted in a lot of emotion, took agonizing work, but with the trust and help of a very dear friend (thank you Garry!) it happened.  The guitar key is, as my friend Sue declared, a positive omen.

The journey through 2012 has been and promises to continue to be dynamic.  Our family is seeing many other new starts.  Next week Erin will have completed her undergraduate degree in spite of her recent diagnosis of mononucleosis.  (The Hall family GPS has the added, and most used, feature:  the most difficult route possible option.)  Recovery and a new start are imminent.  We are also learning a new normal as the family navigates a life altering diagnosis for my sister-in-law.  Health issues prompt a reconsideration of life’s purpose and direction for an individual and the family.  We are in this together and I am confident the purpose and direction will be revealed.  It is yet another new start. 

Life is dynamic, new starts will continue.  Some we will select and some will be imposed.  Some will make us happy and some will wrench our hearts.  I can only trust that these new starts will cause a positive and purposeful journey.  We start now by choosing the right key to help us unlock the door.  I believe I will be making another trip to the key smith; new keys for everyone!