Depressing News

I was reading the news on the internet today and there was an article on the many ways we can ruin our skin and guess what is #3 on the list?  Yup, running.  I always thought exercise, including running, increased oxygen flow to the skin which in essence made it look healthier. Although, I do have to admit that I have noticed that women who run a lot, and I do mean a lot, tend to look wrinklier.  Their face has a very weathered look to it, but I always thought it was from increased sun and wind exposure.  So what is a girl to do?  Should we buy into the saying "beauty is only skin deep"? and focus on keeping our hearts healthy?  I guess I will continue to focus on the healthy aspects of running and let nature or gravity take it's course.  That doesn't mean I won't fight the process and start investing in some better anti-wrinkle cream either.  


3. Running (or any high-impact exercise): "While such exercise may benefit our hearts, it can cause the fat pads to slide south, and collagen and elastin to break down. If you enjoy running, try walking," explains Dr. Gross. OMG — remember on Ally McBeal when Jane Krakowski's character invented the face bra for jogging? It was for this!
Related: Celebrity Skincare Trends: 1994-Today

Celebrations

Tonight my friends surprised me with a larger than expected birthday celebration!  I have been under so much stress lately with school, work, family, and health issues with in-laws that it was such a welcome break from the day to day worries to enjoy an evening out with some of the best ladies.

As I reflected back on the evening, I was thinking about friendship and how it evolves as a person ages.  As you age, the people you choose to have in your life mean so much more, you become pickier.  When you're young, it's more important to have many friends, being popular, the things you have in common are more frivolous, etc.  As you become older and more self-aware of who you are, friends become more about quality rather than quantity.  You cut away the excess and you're left with what's really important.  I feel so fortunate to have such wonderful friends in my life.  That's the best birthday present ever!

Back to School

Tomorrow I officially start back to school for myself.  I remember when I graduated from college thinking I never have to crack open another book in my life if I don't want to and how liberating that felt.  I will be taking on a full load of classes (16 units), along with working over 17 hours per week and raising a family.  Needless to say I will be stressed to the max.  That's why when I saw today's quote, it really hit home because as we finished our run tonight, we stood around talking about our favorite desserts.  I suppose most people, when feeling really stressed turn to exercise, friends, or eating, but my friends and I tend to use all three support systems.  Unfortunately with my class schedule, I will be doing less exercising with friends, which I hope won't mean that I will be eating more to help relieve the added stress.  As we stood around talking about our favorite desserts this evening, I was surprised at how different our tastes were in desserts.  It's amazing that we all agree on what to order on Saturday mornings with our coffee.

Couldn't Last

A few months ago, Patty and I decided that we would follow our fellow SCRs example and just order coffee after our long runs on the weekends.  We decided this after we noticed that we were the only ones ordering bakery treats along with our coffee while the other more "fit" (skinnier) runners were just enjoying coffee.  We were doing pretty good for awhile.  That is until today.  After our "long" run, we sat around and enjoyed our wonderful coffee, in addition to our blueberry scone, low-fat turkey bacon egg sandwich, and blueberry oat bar.  I knew our resolution to hold out on the treats wouldn't and couldn't last long.  As Patty, Caryn, and I sat around our table, I looked at Patty and asked "How did we end up with all this food again?"  Oh well, I'm much happier with my treats and I think my friends are too.

Soup Weather

Who would have ever thought that we would be getting this chilly weather in the beginning of September?  Could it be Global Warming?  Whatever the cause, it was awfully cold today for our run.  We really had to keep ourselves from complaining though because the alternative is a lot worse.  I'm sure it will be baking again real soon since it is September, the hottest month of the year in So. Cal.  The cold weather seemed to accentuate all of our aches and pains.  I did manage to break a sweat, but I never really felt hot and immediately after we were done, we were all in a hurry to stretch and go back to the warm comfort of our homes.  Patty mentioned that she had soup ready for dinner, which sounded so good that I ended up serving soup with our dinner too!  Soup in September, imagine that.

Labor of Love

I suppose running is a labor of love for me to some extent.  Running is really hard work, so why do I continue to do it?  It's like all else that we labor for, the rewards that come from all our hard work.  It was nice to get an extra run in during the morning rather than at night, although I wish I could have had another day of sleeping in.  I also took my son and his teammates to their cross country practice and from how quiet it was in the car this morning, they were also wishing for another day to sleep in.  That's one thing you really miss when you become a runner-sleeping in!

As Patty and I ran from Central up to Haskell towards Copperhill, I was actually surprised that it was as far as it was.  We said we were going to run at least 40 minutes each time we get together, but we were so close to Copperhill when we had reached our half way time of 20 min., we decided to run a little longer to Copperhill before turning back.  It turned out to be 4.7 miles round trip, which took us about 45 minutes.  On the way back, some man walking decided to give Patty "pointers" on how to run.  That always cracks me up when walkers take it upon themselves to give us running tips.  If they know so much about running, why aren't they running themselves.  The guy looked like he hadn't run a day in his life.  Oh well, it was quite amusing and worth a good laugh.

A Good Idea

Patty had a great idea for our run today.  She suggested that we run from Lowes and head up behind Helmers from the bridge at Bridgeport and then across McBean  at Decoro and onto the bike path towards Heritage and back to Bridgeport over the bridge at Panera, and then back to Lowes.  We weren't sure about the mileage but it worked out perfectly at 6.5 miles and  the best part was that most of those miles were in the shade and we had several opportunities for water (and bathroom) stops.  After the run we sat and had coffee at Starbucks and I have to say that I do like sitting there more than at Peet's because we usually run into more people that we know.  I like chatting with our fellow SCR friends afterwards, but today we ran into one of our favorite teachers from Emblem and had a chance to catch up with her.  It was so nice to see her again and it made us realize how much we miss our little school.  We never run into anyone at Peet's, which I guess could be a good thing too if we're all sweaty and gross.

Still Talking

It's a tough call, trying to decide if it's better to run in the heat or run in the dark when it's a little cooler.  Me, Patty, and Caryn opted for the darkness and started later on our run to try and escape the heat.  We were good and stuck to our goal of running 40 minutes nonstop for the second time in a row.  I honestly don't notice the difference between the 3 mile runs and the 4 milers, other than it is usually getting pretty dark by the time we are finishing.  And of course we still stand around and talk for at least another half hour. You would think that we would be all talked out by the time we are done, but women are just different that way.  Men don't talk at all, before, during, or after and think it's strange that we talk so much.  I'm glad my friends put up with me when I'm having a bad day/week and listen to me rant, rave, and swear. We don't solve all of our problems on our runs, but it feels good to let it all out.