Running — Blog — Carolee Walker

Mission Accomplished: Marine Corps Marathon October 22, 2017

I used the opportunity while I was waiting to see Dr. Andrew Wolff at Washington Orthopedics and Sports Medicine on the Tuesday before the 42nd Marine Corps Marathon (MCM), my second marathon ever, to read the race FAQs.

He squeezed me in after I limped out of my chair late Monday morning. Usually Mondays are my workout day off, but my MCM training schedule included short runs every day except for Friday the week of the race. I felt so good during that early morning 4-mile run that I remember thinking, “This is what it feels like when running feels good.”

Exercise, Fitness, Health, Nutrition, RunningCarolee WalkerNovember 16, 2017Marine Corps Marathon, marathon, Running Comment

"There is no joy without gratitude"

Two Sundays ago I crashed after running 18 miles as part of my Marines Corps Marathon training and was trying to nap.

I limped downstairs into the kitchen and told Bob my legs were twitchy.

"I'm so exhausted but can't fall asleep."

"Have a shot of Old Bushmills," Bob said.

"A real shot."

It was 2 o'clock.

"No sipping."

I poured myself a glass of whiskey and drank it. In one shot.

Exercise, Fitness, Health, RunningCarolee WalkerOctober 3, 2017Marine Corps Marathon, marathon, mindfulness, Running, gratitude, gritComment

Marine Corps Marathon training update

JSYK I'm 6 weeks away from the Marines Corps Marathon (MCM) on October 22. This will be my second marathon ever and my first MCM.

Back at the 24-week mark I shared my proposed 20-week training plan with Kevin and Zach and both expressed the same perspective. Even though I've been running for 3 years, I chose a RunnersConnect training plan for beginners in order to ease in slowly.

Still, Kevin especially was worried about my committing to any training plan while I was still dealing with my typical issues - hamstring strain and glute pain. Both of these are overuse injuries, Kevin pointed out, so diving into even a mildly rigorous running schedule before these are completely healed just didn't make sense to him. Zach, too, worried about this. Remember I have hamstring and glute soreness after simple body-weight squats. Forget about kettle balls.

Exercise, Running, Fitness, HealthCarolee WalkerSeptember 9, 2017marathon, RunnersConnect, Running, Marine Corps MarathonComment

Harder, better, faster, stronger: And now, smarter

I always found it ridiculous that high schoolers who never played sports thought the football team was made up of dumb jocks especially when many players ended up at our best colleges and universities.

Where did the stereotype of the dumb jock come from?

Just watch a professional soccer game or Major League Baseball or any Olympic event and think about how much stuff the players are pouring into their brains before, during, and after the games. Ok some of these athletes might make stupid decisions off the field in their personal lives, but these have nothing to do with smarts.

So I'm not surprised to read about another study showing that exercise is good for your brain.

Exercise, Health, Fitness, RunningCarolee WalkerMay 1, 2017Running, endurance, exerciseComment

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler 2017: Call It Love and Devotion

"We need to head home early so this one can get into bed," Bob gestured at me as he told our friends at a Vassar event at the National Museum of African American History and Culture last Saturday night that we'd need to duck out.

"She's got an early race tomorrow."

It was true, I did need to be up by 4:30 am Sunday morning, but it's not like I'm a professional or even competitive athlete. I've been running and doing these races for 3 years, and this idea always crosses my mind.

But still.

Fitness, Health, Exercise, RunningCarolee WalkerApril 6, 2017Running, Fitness, Cherry Blossom 10 MilerComment

Rock n Roll Half Marathon, Washington, D.C., 2017: The Good Ol' Days

"Girl, go faster. We're late for brunch."

Among the many political signs at last Saturday's half marathon was this one, my favorite, because whenever anybody asks me about my experience as a runner, I always say that I'm a 50-something who wanted to go to lunch but went for a run instead.

We were lined up at the start when a group of three women around my age asked me if I would take their picture. Through the lens of the iPhone camera I could see one of them wanted to be at brunch instead of shivering on 14th Street and about to run 13.1 miles in 26 degree weather.

"Have you done this before?" I asked.

Any minute you will cross that line

There is always something to be positive about.

Always.

Election Day is here and these last few weeks have been like trudging in the mud. Everywhere you go, everyone you talk to, people are uncomfortable with how this election is making them feel. About their country, about the world, about their communities, about themselves.

The New York Times new column Meditation for Real Life could not have appeared in our feeds at a more opportune moment.

Exercise, Fitness, HealthCarolee WalkerNovember 7, 2016Running, volunteer, Marine Corps Marathon Comment

Parks Half Marathon, Sept. 11, 2016 - Open up the champagne, pop!

There are those runs you know are gonna be hard, and you head into them as if you're about to do battle.

But when you finish you feel all the more celebratory.

That's where I am with this morning's Parks Half Marathon, which meanders through Montgomery County's gorgeous parks.

At packet pick up yesterday at RnJ Sports in Rockville I overheard a woman tell her friend that although there were 2,500 people registered for the race, 20 percent probably won't show up.

"Because of the weather?" I jumped in.

"For whatever," she said. "Just because."

Health, Half marathon, Exercise, Fitness, NutritionCarolee WalkerSeptember 11, 2016Running, Parks Half Marathon, Fitness Comments

Coastal Delaware Running Festival Half Marathon: Give into Low Tide

Here’s the thing about doing races.

Running is hard. "Easy runs" always appear on my training calendar, but they’re never easy.

Whether I’m sprinting and doing intervals or going easy or going long, running is always hard.

So signing up for races keeps me motivated. It’s just that simple.

Because although running only gets easier but never easy, like anything else, the more you expose yourself to difficult or uncomfortable things, the less difficult or uncomfortable they become.

Take it all in your stride

I’m in the habit of checking myself out, body part by body part, when I wake up in the morning.

Ok I’m checking out the status of the ring of fat around my abdomen I’m working hard to crush but mostly I do this so I can decide how much time I’ll need to warm up before running. If it’s a swim day, I just make a mental note of what’s achy or crunchy and figure I’ll sort it out in the pool.

If I don’t self-assess in the morning I usually regret it.

Running, Fitness, HealthCarolee WalkerApril 14, 2016Sexual health, exercise, endurance, Running Comments

A whole lot of history

I hesitated for a moment but decided I needed to do this. Before my swim on Saturday, I stepped on the scale at Equinox Bethesda.

Down 6 pounds.

I was having lunch with my colleague Sarah Budds the Tuesday after D.C. Rock n Roll when Sarah told me about an article she had just read in the New York Times about a guy who starts every day with a cold shower.

If you're waiting for the moment, here it is

“Just go do something else.”

I was 1 mile into my long run last Sunday when it occurred to me I’m still having the same conversation in my head a year after running the D.C. Rock n Roll Half Marathon, my first half marathon. It was a miserable day that day in Washington in March 2015. There was a steady downpour and the air was cold and raw. I was soaked, my phone was soaked. My gloves were soaked. Yeah I was exuberant at the finish but I couldn’t move my fingers they were so cold.

Switch up the batteries

I was half watching the Redskins – Giants game in my kitchen when I happened to turn my full attention to the TV screen just as the Giants’ Odell Beckham made that catch. My house was quiet after the long Thanksgiving weekend. It had been wonderful having everyone home, and cooking for 24 was therapy for the stress I was feeling as I continue to rehab my hamstring.

I’m a Ravens fan but since I’m originally from New York I’m also a Giants fan. I had my laptop open, and I was thinking about my plan to get ready for my run in Jamaica on Saturday.

But that catch?...

Fitness, Health, RunningCarolee WalkerNovember 30, 2015Hamstring injury, Reggae Marathon, Running Comments

Woke up an optimist

My race in Jamaica on December 5 is one of the 100s of marathons happening every year all over the world for regular-people runners like me. So if I skip it there will be another one around the corner. Maybe not in Negril but probably in some other beautiful place.

But when I heard, and then felt, my left hamstring snap on Friday morning during my run with the Nike Run Club in London, I wanted to know right away whether I could heal in 3 weeks...

All in our storyline

Even if you run, or exercise, on your own, as I typically do, you have numerous opportunities to engage in breezy conversations one-on-one with people who want to talk about YOU.

Ok so they’re professional people and you pay them but still. For me, that would include my trainer, my running coach, my physical therapist, my nutritionist, my doc(s).

Fitness, Health, RunningCarolee WalkerNovember 5, 2015Woolly Mammoth, Running, TrainingComment

Looking for yourself

“Happy with your performance?”

It was a simple, yes-or-no, question, from Kevin McGuinness, my physical therapist, in a text message after the Brooklyn Half, but it caught me off guard.

I’m used to people asking me how I feel after a race or how I felt during a race. These are the questions I ask myself...

How we do

I was having a conversation with a friend who asked me how I’m able to keep up an exercise regimen 6 days a week.

I exercise before work, setting my alarm for 4:30 and getting to the gym by 5:15 or the track by 6:00 am. So her question is a good one. At least half of the time I am fighting the alarm and trying to talk myself into the benefits of sleeping in just this once.

But I don’t.