Icarus and Achilles

I had my first training run with the local chapter of Achilles International last week, and, unfortunately, I was out of town this weekend, so couldn't make it to one this week (which was eventually canceled, as it turns out). However, that didn't stop me from practicing how I would handle the "course" that I was on for my outdoor run on Saturday.

I went up to Vermont this weekend for the opening of my goddaughter's senior project art installation. She is studying to be an art teacher and had pieces in many different media: sculpture, photography, watercolors, ceramics, embroidery, collage, and possibly one or two others whose types I don't know the proper names for. Suffice to say, a rather eclectic mix, mostly because she wants to make sure she is conversant with the different media that she will need to be teaching to elementary and/or secondary school students. If you are in the vicinity of VT University, Castleton, up through December 19 (and possibly even as late as mid-January), you should swing by the Fine Arts Center and take a look. My favorite pieces from the show:

(No, despite the title of the blog post, these wings are not made out of wax, rather feathers. Over 1,000 feathers glued onto tulle.) 

It was a nice, albeit chilly, weekend. When I went outside on Saturday morning, it was about 34F. Surprisingly enough, my MCM mock, running pants, knit cap, and (relatively thin) knit gloves (sans hand warmers) did a decent job of keeping me warm enough during the first mile until I was generating my own heat.

The scenery was definitely a nice change of pace compared to the same stretches of road or W&OD trail that I run on when going outside, and I was encouraged that outdoor running in those temps really aren't so bad. The hills were a little taxing, but a couple of the houses were really cute. While one had a "flock" of pink flamingos standing out front, another had a large variety of bird feeders on tall colored poles. I can only imagine just how unique a scene it is in warm temperatures with a wide variety of birds flitting about and dining from the differently shaped and colored houses.

Despite it being a simple rhomboid 2-mile loop (that I ran 3 times), there were enough tricky spots for me to pretend I was tethered to someone else I needed to lead through the area. There were several sizable inclines/declines to be pointed out, a couple of large swaths of fallen leaves to be mindful of a slipping hazard, spots where we would need to be single-file because of it being narrow (typically because of an obstacle in the way), and some tricky zig-zag type turns to navigate. While it felt a little awkward to be talking out loud to a phantom athlete, 1) no one else was around to hear/observe and 2) it didn't matter if anyone was able to understand what I was doing as it is helpful to become better accustomed to doing all of these activities when running outside. It will behoove me to continue doing at least one run per week outside while also practicing this, whether it be during an actual chapter run or just on my own. I'll certainly need to refrain from it while doing my regular pacing duties, though -- I think that could be rather confusing. (Though, frankly, some of the same warnings apply, regardless, when it comes to any sizable hills (up or down), obstacles upcoming, or other oddities that really need to be called out.)

I also interviewed with Achilles International on Friday for one of their very limited (read: five) bibs for the Boston Marathon. As I understand, everyone who interviewed will find out in the next few days (as they said they would decide before Thanksgiving). Fingers crossed that I didn't put my foot in my mouth -- at least too egregiously. I was truthful, potentially to a fault, providing slightly more detail than was necessarily warranted. At least I don't have much additional time I will need to wait for a final verdict.