Running Around Town

Many of us have probably heard the saying "running is 90 percent mental." I don't know if I buy 90 percent, but anyone who has run that last mile in any race knows there must be something in our brain that pushes our tired, little legs across the finish line.

This week, I found out that the mental thing that keeps us going can also be the thing that holds us back.

You might remember I'm coaching/cheering my friend, Tracy, to finish her first 5K next month. I volunteered (actually begged) to help her out in my on-going effort to spread the running bug across the newsroom. She's on a good beginner's plan that has her walking and running for about 30 minutes three times a week.

As you might expect, Tracy has been a champ. It doesn't surprise me one bit that she's taken to this training with gusto – and has really improved. Each day, she tells me of her successes. She's a little more reluctant to share when she misses a run. It's cool. I don't like to talk about that stuff either.

When we hatched this plan, I promised I would give her a little tough love. I told her I would be caring, but firm. Our first real test came last week when she and I did a 2-miler on Lake Calhoun. She passed with flying colors – but not for the reasons you might think.

She didn't pass because she's gone from running 20 seconds to 90 seconds. She didn't pass because we made it more than two miles. She passed because she overcame her mental block that 1 minute of running was all she could do. She had this crazy idea in her head that if she ran for more than a minute, she might pass out and die. When I suggested we go 1:30, I knew she was afraid to say no to me. (Sorry Trace – fear works – tough love.) Check out her blog for her side of the story!

So, we ran 1:30. Twice. Not only did she not die, she also didn't pass out. In fact, she was back to normal breathing after about 30 seconds of walking. So, Tracy has this week to work on the 1:30 run/3-minute walk. We'll be back at it next week and push it to 2 minutes of running… then 3… then 4… then eventually no walking at all!

I know this is hard. Getting to the point where you can do those first three miles is harder than any marathon. But my girl Tracy is a tough cookie. I know she can do it. I know she has the power in her lungs and her legs. She just had to see she has the power in her mind.

I am so embarrassed right now. In fact, I can't believe I'm going to tell you what I did Friday morning. I thought about hiding it and pretending it didn't happen, but that wasn't an option because the pain almost knocked me out. So I'm coming clean in hopes of shaming myself to point where it never happens again.

I tripped while I was running again. I'm embarrassed because this wasn't the first time this has happened this year. It also wasn't the second. It was the third -- and the closest I came to breaking a bone or tearing a ligament. I won't post the picture on this blog, but offer it up as a link if you'd like to take a look. Because I was wearing pants, there's no blood or scrapes. There's just a swollen, bruised left knee. You'll notice the outline of my kneecap on the right knee. It's hard to see that outline on the left. And, don't worry about those pink spots. They're from old falls. Yes, I have the scarred, banged-up knees that you generally find on a 9-year-old boy.

Here's how it happened. I was running in the dirt path next to the asphalt path along the lake. It was covered in leaves so I never even saw the rock or stick that sent me flying. I went hard. It wasn't like before when I was on the ground before I even knew it. This time, it was almost in slow motion. I think I supermanned through the air for a few feet before taking the hit to the left knee. Fortunately, no nice older ladies were around to effuse over/embarrass me. No one saw me go down. Thank goodness because I'm quite sure it was hilarious and ugly.

I even thought to myself before the fall that I shouldn't be running in these leaves because I can't see where I'm stepping, but I thought it would be better on my feet. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I didn't think it was all that big of a deal until Friday afternoon when the pain started to set in. I had been walking on it all day and then sat down around 3 to start writing my stories. I sat for about a half-hour and then tried to stand up. Bad idea. It had stiffened and swelled to the point where I seriously considered taking 6 Advil to knock it out. I settled on 3 and began to ice. And ice. And ice. And ice. Until I could no longer ice anymore.  I brought my bag of frozen peas kayaking the next day. They even came to the tailgate on Saturday afternoon. I thought about bringing them into the movie theater Friday night (btw -- you should all see MJ's "This is it"), but the peas were lukewarm by them.





By Sunday night, the swelling had started to go down.  I was also able to bend my knee again. Good thing, because I'm not a huge fan of doctors.  Or MRIs.

The last time I wrote about falling, some of you were very nice in excusing my clumsiness. Others were not so kind. In fact, I remember one email chastising me for not paying enough attention to what's going on around me. That person's brutal honesty was actually pretty right on, even if I don't like to admit it. This most recent fall really scared me because, for a day or two, I thought this might be the end of running for awhile. I do need to pay more attention because I could really hurt myself.

So, this is a new me.  I'm going to really watch the ground in front of me. I'm not going to run in the leaves. I'm going to think twice about hitting the trails when it's icy. I'm going to embrace my weaknesses and work on them.

While my friends were polite and kind, I got some well-deserved ribbing from my co-workers. "I can't believe you did that AGAIN." Petey, my really fabulous assignment editor, made the statement, "H-Biz, I don't understand this. I have roller-bladed every single day for the past year and I've never fallen. You've fallen down three times this year... and you're not even on wheels. Why?" It's a good question, Petey. If I knew the complete answer, I probably wouldn't trip. Because it really hurts when I do.

There was some good sports watching last weekend -- Quarters 1, 2, and 4 of the Vikes-Packers, Innings 4, 7, and 8 of the Phils-Yankees, and the entire Eagles-Giants match-up. But it wasn’t those games that had me glued to my TV. I became mildly obsessed with watching the New York City Marathon. Honestly, I could watch marathons all day. Aren’t I fun?

My friend, Chris, ran the NYC Marathon this year. He was gunning for my time so I tracked him on the computer along the way to see if he could beat me. He pulled out a 3:33:55. Phew! I’m still 19 seconds faster.



Chris starting struggling around mile 22, but said he kicked it back into high gear with a sprint at the finish. He wanted to join the 3:33 Gang. Congrats, my friend. You rocked it. You’re in the Club. And, if I’m really going to be honest, Chris is probably faster than the 3:33 Gang. With all of those bridges, NYC is arguably tougher than Twin Cities and he’d likely beat me in a fair fight. I’m just going to go ahead and call this one a draw. Woo-hoo!

Mom... don’t read this next part... but Chris inspired me to starting thinking about running NYC next year. Then, the thought of Joy Johnson made me sign up for the lottery this morning.

I met Joy two years ago when I did a story about Dick Beardsley’s Marathon Camp up in Northern Minnesota. She was 80 years old at the time and training for her 20th NYC marathon. No offense to the other campers, but Joy was my favorite. She was full of spunk, quick with the one-liners and could run a mean 26 miles. She’s what I aspire to be to 40, much less 80.


Well, on Monday morning, I saw Joy in the crowd at the Today Show. She told Al Roker that she had run her 22nd marathon at age 82. She was the same Joy I remember from two years ago -- those same legs, that wide smile, the contagious laugh. I thought, heck, if Joy can run 22 marathons at 82, I can certainly run another one at 33. So, watch out, Big Apple, here I come! I hope.

Yes, Karen, I did just write this blog. Are you with me?

I try not to mix work and play (ok, that’s kind of a lie) when it comes to serious things.  But, when I met my friend, Lindsay, for coffee on Monday, I knew we had to tell her story.  It was quite clear my normally calm, cool and collected friend was struggling.  She’s nine months pregnant and her 5-year-old came down with H1N1 on Saturday night.

Ugh.

Now, I’ve never had a baby.  But I know enough moms to know it’s one thing to want to burst.  It’s another to do it with two kids running around.  It’s a third when one of those kids could give you a virus that could really hurt you.  I felt badly talking with Lindsay because there really wasn’t anything I could do.  Except offer my errand-running and baby-sitting services -- for the daughter without the flu, of course.

Lindsay and her husband are quite smart, so they’d already consulted tons of doctors and friends.   They decided to follow her OB’s advice and take Tamiflu, even though she wasn’t totally comfortable with taking medication while she’s pregnant.  She actually wasn’t even comfortable with taking the vaccine, but went ahead and did it anyway.  Everyone she’d turned to told her the risk of complications from the flu is much worse than any complications from the medications or vaccine.

It’s a tough time to be pregnant.  You not only have to think of you and your baby, now you have to be concerned for your husband, your caregivers and your other kids.  In fact, one of my friends has already told me she’s putting off trying for her second child until the threat of the H1N1 flu is over.  I didn’t know this, but Dr. Jan Strathy over at Park Nicollet told me pregnant women are more likely to get the flu because their immune systems are down.  She also said if pregnant women get the virus, it has the potential to be pretty bad because the growing baby inside of them makes it harder to clear out their lungs.  According to one study, Dr. Strathy said pregnant women who end up in the ICU with H1N1 are four times more likely to die.



I know it’s easy to get tired of H1N1 stories.  I do.  My managers do.  Even the experts we interview wish it would go away.  But I still think they are important to tell.  I really hate to ask my friends to do interviews because I’m afraid they’ll never tell me anything out of fear I can’t keep it to myself.  But this one was too important to pass up.  And Lindsay is very cool.  I knew she’d understand.  Thanks my friend!  Good luck over these next few days.  Call me anytime... even if it’s in the middle of the night.  I’ll pick up hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes for you guys anytime.

I think we all know I LOVE the Minneapolis Parks -- the lakes, the running paths, the cross-country trails -- I could go on and on and on.

But what a lot of us probably don't know is anything about the people who run the parks -- the nine members of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. They are an independently elected, relatively independent group that has pretty much flown under the radar for the past few years.

This year, though, all nine seats are up for grabs and it's going to be a tight race. Not only because there are plenty of competitive candidates and talk of a new superintendent, but under the new Minneapolis voting system, voters will get to rank the candidates.

Check out the story I did two weeks ago about the new ranked choice voting system. Either it will help or confuse you more. Sorry if it's the latter.

So, I'm writing today with the hope that you will make it to the voting booth tomorrow. (YES, TOMORROW IS ELECTION DAY!!) Obviously, I'm not going to endorse anyone. In fact, I'm still trying to decide who I want to vote for in all the races.

I'll admit, it's a lot to digest, but I've found the candidate's questionnaires and voter's guides from the Star Tribune and Downtown Journal to be quite helpful in helping me sort it out.

Bottom line -- if you care about the parks and their future, vote tomorrow. This is a big race. There won't be long lines. And, if you don't vote, it makes it a whole heck of a lot harder to complain about your path not being paved, the location of any new Tin Fish Grill or a park-user tax you never saw coming.

Happy Election Day!

Hey Gang! Sorry I’ve been out of action for a bit. I just returned from a glorious trip back east. I got to spend a little QT with my wonderful grandma, my beautiful sisters and all my old cronies from college and beyond. I don’t want to bore you with too many pics, but I can’t resist these two:





Given my gluttony over the past week, it was imperative I ran this morning... even if it was dark. I strapped on the old sneaks around 6:30 a.m. and headed out the door. I was totally unprepared for what I could encounter. It was pitch black outside! 6:30 a.m.!!!!!!

Now, it was my first run in the dark this season, so I didn’t have the right reflective/light gear. I noticed a lot of people around me didn’t either. (I came this close to taking out a lady all dressed in black.) I also forgot how few and far between those street lights can seem when you get to the trails. And without that white snow to brighten things up, it it’s hard to see where the paths begin and end.

So, I thought it would be appropriate to use this blog to discuss ways to run in the dark. Fortunately for you guys, Kaity over at the GEAR Running Store in Edina thought so too. As a habitual early morning runner, she had lots of good ideas.

• A head lamp. I know, I know. Annoying, right? No! Kaity says if you wear it over ear warmers or a ball cap, you hardly notice it’s there. I can’t do anything about the dorky part except to say, "Embrace it!" GEAR sells a good lamp with a rechargeable battery for about 80 bucks. You can get cheaper ones closer to $20, but they’ll eat right through the batteries.

• Blinking lights. These guys will run you about $6. You can put them on your front, back and arms. Kaity says she sees lots of people attach them to their dog leashes.

• Light clothes. Kaity and I were surprised at the how ineffective those bright yellow stripes can be when it’s really dark outside. How about a bright yellow vest or a white shirt or reflective arms bands? Trust me people, all-black doesn’t fly in the dark. Please refer to my earlier story about the woman who’s lucky she was spared my elbows.

• Pepper Spray. Ok, I don’t know how I feel about this one because I’m a firm believer our parks and trails are quite safe. But, if it’s dark, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

And, that’s just it. Use common sense. Be smart. If you run the streets, please do it on the correct side of the road. Wear bright colors. Consider investing in some lights. The run just isn’t worth it if you don’t come out OK on the other side.

It appears drinking fountains have been bursting all over our parks. Don’t get too excited. Nobody was hurt, but I imagine a few plumbers probably got sprayed. According to eyewitnesses, it looks like a bottle of champagne being uncorked.

This doesn’t usually happen because it’s not usually this cold this early in the year. According to my friends at the Minneapolis Parks, the pipes can’t handle anything below 25 degrees for more than 10 hours. So far, at least eight pipes have burst in Minneapolis and four in St. Paul.  It’s not a huge deal, except that it does cost money and time to fix those pipes.

This is the “most time consuming part of the year,” according to the two Park plumbers in St. Paul.  At the beginning of October, they started winterizing the irrigation systems, fountains and bathrooms. Essentially, that means they turn off the water and shut them down. The seasonal restrooms closed on Oct. 3 in the small parks, Oct. 10 in the large ones.  They want to have everything shut down by the beginning of November.

In Minneapolis, this process takes a little longer simply because they have more parks. The five plumbers there start there right after Labor Day. They shut down the least used spots first, leaving the Chain of Lakes for last. Everything should be winterized in Minneapolis by Nov. 15.  A few Port-O-Potties will stay open for the diehards.

I do wonder why we can’t leave some of the most popular water fountains and bathrooms open during the winter.  I mean, the coolest thing about the parks in the winter is the huge number of people who use them.  According to Dawn Sommers, PR Extraordinaire for Minneapolis Parks, you can’t just heat the pipes. You have to heat the whole place. She says lots of these bathroom buildings and fountains were built in the early 1900s and don’t have the infrastructure to support a heating system. She also wonders, in this day of shrinking city budgets, should we install heaters in the bathrooms and fountains?

So, for all of you runners, walkers and bikers, get your drink on now. Or just go buy a water bottle.

Earlier this afternoon, I heard a few cheers go up the newsroom when the Colorado balloon landed. People were yelling at their TV screens, as if their shouts would help to bring the boy in safely.  After a couple of minutes, I started to hear, “Where is he? Is he in there?”  A few minutes after that my colleagues would periodically ask, “Did they find him yet?  I’ll bet he’s hiding out in a closet.” 

It was almost like I didn’t have to watch CNN. I got the story from the gasps of fellow co-workers. A few minutes ago, I heard, “Oh my god, he was in a box in the attic.”

I can’t remember the last time we had a story like this … a story that captured our attention on the cable networks for most of the afternoon. Sure, we were all glued to the Twins division title game or President Obama’s inaugural address, but this was different.  This had more of a strange, car chase feel. It just made you sick to think what could have happened.

First, I have to say thank goodness he’s alive. This is great news. This could have had a terrible ending. I know every single parent in this newsroom was thinking about their own kids as they watched that balloon fly through the air.

But, now that’s he’s found, there are important questions to be asked and I have no doubt they will come fast and furious from the reporters out in Denver.  How did this happen?  How much money did taxpayers spend on the search? Why did it take so long to find the boy?  Was this homemade aircraft a good idea?  Most of questions will be good, important and justified. Some of them will not. My guess is this family will be picked apart, hounded and criticized for days, even weeks.

We’ll give the update at 10pm, but it won’t be the top story. There are many more important things for us to report. That said, we’ll probably still be talking about the balloon kid tomorrow morning. Jason and I are filling in on the anchor desk for Mike and Angela.  If you’re up from 5 to 7 am, check us out.  It should be informational and slightly humorous. The last time we appeared together on Jasoncam, I choked him by mistake.

I figure if I blog about a goal then I have to do it.  That’s why I haven’t told you about my New Year’s resolution to do 50 push-ups in one sitting.   We’ll save that one for another time.  Today is Tracy Perlman’s day.

Tracy is my 10 p.m. rockstar producer.  She’s also a big Twins fan, former cheerleader and all-around cheery person. 

I’m blogging about Tracy because I want her to accomplish her goals.  After watching our friend Angela crush the TC marathon with a smile on her face, Tracy decided to run her own half-marathon next year.  I consider that a pretty big deal considering she’s admittedly never run before.  (Don’t let this scare you, girl, you’re going to be just fine.)

She’s going to do the new Twin Cities July 4th Marathon and I’m going to be her coach.  I cannot even begin to tell you how pumped I am about this development!!  We’re going to start out easy with a walk/run three times a week.  She has an 8-week schedule that now hangs over my desk.  I have my pink highlighter ready to go to cross off the days.  I will be strict, but gentle.  I will be firm, but caring.  You won’t get the pink x unless you do the run.  This is tough love, my friend.

You can follow Tracy’s progress on her blog, but I’ll be sure to update you too. Her blog is funny. You’ll like it.

Now I just have to get on my buddy, Reg Chapman, to join in on the half-marathon fun.

One more thing before we head into a big Twins weekend…

My nails are finally starting to grow back. I had bitten them all off between the 8th and 12th innings. I’ve also read everything I can about the best baseball game I’ve ever seen.

So, I wanted to share with you one of the coolest things I’ve read so far. Besides hitting sweet triples, Cuddy is a pretty good writer. (I hope he writes this thing.) Check out his post-season blog.  Apparently, the guys didn’t get to sleep until 5 a.m. Wednesday morning. Ugh.

Good luck tonight, my friends.