Tweeting Nun

I have been in New Hampshire the past 2 1/2 weeks and am ashamed that I have not written a blog post.  There is so much I have to accomplish in my short weeks here, and so little time . . . Well, since someone else wrote up this nice article I thought I would share it here.  It tells the story of how I got started in Social Media.  Enjoy!
http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=35978

A Roman Catholic Sister on Daily Mile

I kept hearing Dailymile come up in the running blogosphere, and so I finally joined the network.  Dailymile has some similarities to Facebook, but it is geared particularly for active people.  When I first heard about it, I figured that excluded me, since at the time I was still trying to struggle out of the sedentary state.  However, when I got on Dailymile I was pleasantly surprised to find that it is easy to post workouts, no matter how small.  Similar to what our road race tried to be, Dailymile is equally attractive to fast, experienced runners and slow, inexperienced beginners.

For example, my profile from last week above logs the miles even though I am a walker and not a runner.  The green bar on the end without a number is a workout.  You still get the green bar, just no miles recorded.  I like clean, clear visuals, to this does the trick to motivate me to post workouts or walks.

Here are some reasons I like Dailymile:

1. It is fun.  Even if my morning fitness routine is a mere 10 minutes, I can post it, and it appears in the timeline alongside the posts from marathon runners who are sharing their training.  I can also share pictures and videos. 
2. It is easy.  There is even a pedometer powered by Google Maps to trace where you have been.  It calculates the miles you covered and your pace.  The only drawback to the pedometer is that routes are public, either to friends only or to the general public.  I think it would be safer, particularly for women who run alone, to have a private routes option.  One workaround I found is to use the map to calculate, but then don't save it if it is a route I don't want public.
3. It is social.  You can tie in and publish all of your workouts simultaneously to Facebook and Twitter if you want.  I always liked the upbeat attitude of the running community when I was doing races in NH in the late 90s.  That same positive energy is present on Dailymile on a much wider scale.  
4. It is motivating.  I was in a real slump about 3 weeks ago when I started.  Yet there is something really gratifying about posting a workout and having the data show up in an appealing visual format.  Between the encouragement of new friends I have met on Dailymile and the nice interface, I have managed to log 26 miles total in the past 3 weeks!

If you would like to check out my profile on Dailymile, this is the link:  http://www.dailymile.com/people/SisterMaryAgnes#ref=tophd

To check out the site and sign up (yes, it's free) here is the link:

http://www.dailymile.com/

Will the Runningnuns Ever Run Barefoot?

The short answer is, I don't know yet.  Sister Maximilian brought up the topic about a year ago.  At the time I had never heard of barefoot running and thought she was joking.  Never wanting to miss an opportunity, I teased her about the running barefoot idea before I returned to Southern California to continue my studies.  

Now Sister Maximilian can tell me, "I told you so."  I have come across many good articles about running barefoot and now I know the idea is worth further investigation.  What intrigues me is the fact that apparently the human foot was made for running long before all kinds of cushioned running shoes were invented.  If I understand the theory correctly, running shoes with a heel cushion actually cause the foot to strike heel first, and that can cause injuries.  Left to itself, the front of the foot hits the ground first and absorbs the shock of the foot strike.  I have only just begun to learn about this but plan to research more.  One blog post that particularly intrigued me was by Peter Larson when he took videos of a runner on a treadmill with different shoes & barefoot.  It was very interesting: check it out here.

So, back to the original question:  will the sisters ever run barefoot?  We will continue to do the research.  If we are on a beach, you might just catch us running barefoot.  If we adopt the practice at other times, however, you will probably see us in minimalist shoes or Vibram Five Fingers.  One thing I have heard is that the transition is hard for experienced runners:  they need to break into barefoot mode slowly, because all kinds of different muscles are used.  This is where I might just have an edge.  Since I am not able to run yet and will have to start from scratch when I do begin running, I might just be able to escape the re-training woes.  Who knows?  I will probably never beat Sister Maximilian in a race, but I might just be able to beat her to barefoot.

A Father Son Story

After writing on fatherhood last week, I was delighted to come across a blog post by Noah Moore with a wonderful father/ son running story.  They wanted to be the first father & son to run over the newly renovated Ben Sawyer Bridge.  I quote:


"The bridge is not that big, but it is special.  It is an icon of the Low Country (anyone who has seen pictures of Charleston during Hugo will recognize it as the bridge that was turned on its side).

It felt awesome being there with my son, knowing that we were the first father and son to ever cross that span.  As we turned to go back over the bridge, my son looked at me and said, "You are the best dad in the whole world!".  It was one of those moments that can not be scripted, can not be artificially constructed, there was pure joy and excitement in his voice.  This was an adventure."


Mind you, their first attempt to cross that bridge was after 10 PM the night before, when the bridge was supposed to open.  When it got too late and the bridge did not open, they came back the next morning.  I love this story not only because it involves running, but because a dad and his son are on a mission together.  It reminds me of adventures I had with my Dad when I was a little girl, such as skiing down a new, untried trail or hiking in the woods to see a beaver dam.  


Parents, don't worry if you can't afford to take your kids to Disney World (or Disney Land ... I am living on both coasts right now).  It is the little adventures that are important.

The Blessing of a Father

Last week at John Paul the Great Catholic University where I am studying full time, I witnessed a most beautiful thing.  One of my professors, Michael Barber, was erasing the board when his wife and two children arrived.  The oldest, Michael Jr., is about one and a half.  As soon as he saw his dad from across the room, he ran and jumped into his arms, and there were squeals of laughter as his dad tossed him around a bit.  It was a scene very familiar to families with young children.  To me, it was poignant for another reason.

At St. Charles Children's Home, many of the children do not have dads in the picture.  If there is a father in their lives, he may be a frightening figure. However, in many cases, he is just not there.  I have parented so many children at the Home who have no idea what it is like to have a loving father!  I have heard a phrase used to describe this phenomenon:  the "fatherless generation."  Actually we seem to be on our second fatherless generation now... At the Children's Home we have many male volunteers who serve as role models and father figures to our kids.  This helps, because the Sisters can do many things for these children, but we can't be fathers!

For any Dad who may be reading, please know how important you are!  Even when times are difficult and you may get discouraged, you are an anchor to your children.  Without you, there would be a void in your children's lives that is difficult to repair.

A relevant conversation

I have just included a widget on the sidebar of this blog that points to an important conversation.  I remember almost 20 years ago, our sisters brought the children on a field trip to Boston to the World Trade Center.  A smartly dressed woman in high heels came up to us and asked who we were.  When we told her we were a children's home, she replied that our children's home should not exist, and that the "problem" of these children could have been solved if they had been aborted.

We have had a lot of children with a lot of problems in our home, but I can't think of one child that I wish had not been born.  This woman felt differently.  The widget on the side is about a conversation surrounding a new web series about three fictional women in crisis pregnancies.  The web series hopes to provoke thoughtful conversation and real listening, regardless of which side of the debate people are on.  Abortion may not have much to do with the running theme of this blog, but it has everything to do with the theme of our children's home and the children my community of sisters is trying to help.  So check out the comments . . . check out the site . . . pass it around if you think the conversation is relevant and interesting.

http://bumptheshow.com/

Evolving Vision

Evolving vision for this blog, that is.  My last post was almost exactly a month ago . . . I am sorry it has been so long.  My hope when I returned to New Hampshire from San Diego over Christmas was that I would be able to get some additional contributers for this blog.  The original vision for this blog was to share our experiences and insights about running with the kids from our Children's Home.  However, I was the one with the bright idea, and I am 3,000 miles away from the daily St. Charles runs!  The sisters and volunteers who actually pound the pavement with the kids every day like the idea, but they are all busy people.  It is going to be harder to get posts out of them than I thought.

Next I thought about sharing my own journey of returning to running on this blog.  Lots of people start running and share their experiences with the community.  My story has a unique twist because it is about a return to running after fighting a major illness.  Right now, that journey is on temporary hold.  I am close to being ready to start training again, but my doctor does not agree that I am completely ready yet.  I need to make more progress in other parts of my recovery first (sigh).

Then it occurred to me that I should really write what is dear to my heart, which is our annual 5k race.  I am the coordinator of our race.  The first year I took over organizing the race was also the year I became sick.  The race has kept me going through many years of illness.  I could not participate in local road races any more with the other sisters & the kids, but I could put together an event for them & the whole local running community to enjoy.  Now that I am in school in California, coordinating the race from 3,000 miles away presents new challenges that keep me going.  It is exciting, though.  Our race has grown to 1,000 runners and I hope it grows more.  If any readers have thoughts about our 5k road race, please share them with me!