Quick Update For the Week

There are a couple of additions to the Honor Roll, but I'll honor them in the next post.
Just wanted to give you a quick update, since I've been really busy this week -- I'm working on the Brian Stokes Mitchell concert at Carnegie Hall, it's a benefit for the Actors Fund. Click here for the official info. Let me say that Stokes is one of the most talented singers alive today, so if you've got the $$ and the time, I suggest checking out this one-time-only event. Special guest stars will include Phylicia Rashad and Reba McEntire.

In steno world, I transcribed my first 160 today (this means the teacher dictates to us at 160 words per minute for 5 minutes, and then we take our notes and transcribe them back into English. Harder than it sounds.) We go from 140 to 160 to 180, jumps of 20 words per minute. When I feel I'm really at the speed, it's like time slows down, but you don't. It feels like the teacher's dictation slows down and I'm able to hear not so much the words as the pauses between the words. I doubt I passed this test, but it was a real confidence-booster to feel that I was ready to transcribe.

I guess speed spreads from one part of the body to another, because I'm feeling much more comfortable running faster. Which is funny because in workouts this week we haven't been stressing speed; in fact, we're doing the opposite. On Tuesday we did the "anti-speed" workout at Riverbank, to get us used to starting slow. I'm guilty of starting too fast, even if my too fast is just slightly above a turtle's pace. So after our warm-up, we ran three miles UNDER our race pace. We were supposed to go at least a minute slower, but then I would've been walking. I'm thinking that I can do a 9:30, maybe less. So I was trying to maintain a 10:00, and was moderately successful staying that pace. After three miles, Jeff said "One lap at race pace," and BOY, did it feel good. I ran it in 2:06, which would be an 8:20 mile. Hmmm...a girl can dream, can't she? I did take some pictures, but they came out kind of dark. I'll try to post them next week.

Tonight we did our Riverside Park step workout. We went to the OTHER alternate steps, they're not as steep but they're really wide. We did a lot of drills, including running up the bannister (it's only about a foot off the ground!) I love these steps. It was HUUUUUMID out, though. Jeez! I hear it's going to be 84 and humid in Chicago this weekend for their marathon. Poor guys.

My right leg has been bothering me lately, it started after the race last weekend, when my hip went all kablooey. I went for a massage and chiro on Wednesday because the whole leg was painful and the calf muscles had seized up, and it made the calf feel better but the back of my knee is still annoying me. Next time I am at Longevity I'm going to have someone there check it out. It's not painful and it doesn't hurt to walk, or even run, but it's achy and sore to the touch. It's probably tendonitis or something. Ah, well. I've run through worse.

This weekend, a drop-down week. Running Greta's Gallop Half-Marathon. Instead of extra mileage, we were told to race it. Should be interesting...