2010 NYRR Women's Mini

Did I ever mention I slapped a high 5 with Kara Goucher as I crossed the start line in the 2010 NYRR Women's Mini? No? Well I did.

Kara Goucher runs the final few meters of the 2010 NYRR Women's Mini with Paula Radcliffe (Radcliffe's daughter Isla between). Both are sporting baby-bumps and due later this month.

Summer Runnin'

I am adding some photos and videos of a couple of great runs I participated in this summer. Yesterday I finally shaved my 5k time under 30 minutes and average pace was about a 9:23 mile. Not too bad from having just started in January. See captions below each photo for description. I will add them as I can.

NYRR Women's Mini 10k
Central Park
June 12, 2010

My corral for snails pace runners. Next year I will maybe be in the 5,000s!!

A little warm up jog down to the port-a "janes." It was a women's only race don't -cha know.

Central Park West before the rush of womanity.

Here come the racers!

Ravenboy and RGBisMe cheered me on as I ran by. I fit right in!



Juniata River Rampage
Lewistown, PA
July 3, 2010

We decided to go for the patriotic costume prize and vowed to run together. We made a flag when we stood side by side.

The very beginning. 90 runners was the smallest race we had ever been in. You can see Jimmy "the eye" starting his watch as we cross the start line. He is in red and white striped and right of center in this pack.

We had about .25 mile to go when we had to hop up onto the sidewalk for the final push. We were really focused on the footing here.

"Run like a Kenyan" I managed to wheeze out just feet before the finish line. We could see the clock would have us under 30 minutes and I was excited. Grace is in the lower left corner cheering us on!

We did get the trophy for the best costume and I got a bronze medal for having the 3rd fastest time in my age category for women. You gotta love small town races!

Wild Women's 8k

My review for the event organizers (after about 20 other reviews, many complaining about the small sizes of the t-shirts):

Did WW8k deliver what it promised? When I pre-registered up for the race, it promised a technical t-shirt in my size, stated that enrollment was limited to 200, that it was a women's 8k race. It didn't promise that it was a certified course nor that it was chip timed. It was because of all of the above that I chose this for my first race, ever.

Obviously the t-shirt is important enough for many to bring up; I was ~~thrilled~~ to have a women's sized technical shirt that actually fit me, just as promised.

When I overheard that some men were being allowed to run the course, I was upset. It totally changes a group's dynamic. Imagine advertising an Athena only race and allowing tiny, speedy women in also. Not every fellow that ran was there to support someone. Yes, their entrance fee supported the Women's Giving Circle but so would have a flat out donation. The organizers dealt with it in such a friendly way that (in another review) men are recommending the race next year. Be careful and clearly define things next year (one way or another).

It was also intimidating to see that there were more than 200 runners. With all I have said, you might think I didn't have a good experience; I had a great time because of the support and attitude of the volunteers and organizers. I loved the course and the view of 200 some women running ahead of me in the early morning light was exactly why I chose to travel over 150 miles to WW8k for my first run. I hope to return next year.

Indigo 2009

Not only do most people just assume I am a huge Indigo Girls fan but they think my screen/trail/camp/stripper name was inspired by them. I do like them, a lot, but almost chose a different name so that people wouldn't make that assumption about me. Realizing that assumptions would be made no matter what was chosen, "true indigo" was chosen and it stays.

"Indigo Girls, huh? That's a dyke band," will assume many partially informed pseudo-musicophiles. Anyone with a good ear has to admit that they are more than just a couple of gals with ideas and guitars. It's those who can set aside their prejudices that will actually admit it.

Much of the society I am surrounded by is filled with attitudes, images and language that reinforce the opinion that women and all they have to offer is junk. Women have tried to get over, up and around this issue by proving themselves as individuals and as a whole to be not only up to par with the male gender but to exceed them in certain areas. A couple thousand of years of reinforced patriarchal ways are not quickly overcome so it is not infrequent that the girl band, woman's opinion or female created anything is disregarded before given real consideration.

Let it be known that I try to speak my mind when I see people around me being blatantly sexist. Sadly, I have held my tongue too often for the sake of keeping peace in social situations when I hear of mistrust of women in general. With close to 50 years perspective, I am at the point of realizing that it is more uncomfortable for me to stay quiet and be insulted than it is for me to speak up, run the risk of upsetting the group dynamic and call someone to task on their prejudices. The mouthy hag is rising; you have been warned.

So thank you Amy & Emily for singing your magic last evening. Surrounded by people who appreciate and support your work, most of them women, was empowering. Your music is so well crafted and your performance was beautiful. Thank you for reminding me of your aspects of Indigo.

Sinnemahoning WITO - Day 3

The night after star gazing was cloudy but cooler than the evening before. Somewhere between 11 and 2, I heard raccoons making their stupid fighting noise and zipped my fly so if they walked by I wouldn't have to look them in the eye. I have no idea why that made things better for me. I found out later that DaBraLady overheard one mother/ daughter couple heard them so close to their tent that, they could, "... hear them panting." They chose to go and sleep in their car for part of the night. Her comment about hearing them panting cracked me up.

Our morning started with tearing down the campsite. It was quite chilly and moving around really helped. I knew I had to eventually pack my bike but my first class in the morning was on biking rail trails and we would be on a stretch of the Low Lands Trail. There weren't too many parts of any of the park trails I hadn't already been on. I had even come back via the rugged and poorly blazed Red Spruce Trail the day before.

That morning I just took to the road. When I had woken, my arms were really stiff and sore from paddling the kayak and half of me thought that I might decide not to go to my canoeing class later in the morning. It was cold and I was sore. Over breakfast at the pavilion in the Forty Maples area my attitude changed. The sun came out, I had some food, the Prothonotary Warble was singing and it was our last day. I really didn't want to miss anything.

Jackie started our class with some rail trail history and gave many resources for finding trails in our own areas. She had a book on Pennsylvania Rail Trails which I was less familiar with and intend to check out when I have the chance. By this point, it was pretty clear to everyone that I like biking so when Jackie asked if we wanted to bike straight through her planned route or stop along the way for points of interest I know that some people re reticent to speak up and choose as to not disappoint the avid bikers. After what I felt was an appropriate amount of silence to let other people chime in I said, "Points of interest please." Many others agreed and I don't think anyone was sorry for it.

Jackie Flynn has an obvious love for Sinnemahoning State Park. Everything she says reflects that. Each stop we made on our bikes allowed her to share personal experiences mixed with history of the area. We learned of the town of First Fork that used to be in the area and she showed us the trees and Foxglove that the townsfolk had planted there. She showed us the way the CCC had planted trees and now they were slowly clearing them out because they allowed no sun to the ground. She pointed out the common May Apples and made them interesting all over with the history of the American Mandrake Root.

Jackie shared her favorite birding spot, noted out some bird song and passed on some sage advice from her expert birding friends. When she was frustrated with her level of proficiency her Audubon certified friend encouraged her, "Jackie, you are at the fun point in birding. You know enough to identify enough to keep your interest but have so many to yet learn and explore that you are still discovering. After you are an expert it becomes boring." Her friend went on to tell her that many birding experts go on to watch dragonflies and follow some of their migrations. It was a great perspective to share with so many of us who are feeling frustrated by not knowing as much as we might hope to.

We returned in time to meet up with the folks who had chosen to go bird banding, DaBraLady was among them. She was on a real high having correctly IDed some of the birds that had been caught in the mist nets. When she shared how she was allowed to set free a Common Yellow Throat after it had been weighed and banded I could tell another life long memory had been made. This program was full of them.

I had donned my water shoes that were still damp from kayaking. The sun was out but the shoes were chilly. I had already decided that I was not into water travel so it was a push for me to get excited about the canoe class. Park Manager Lisa Bainey's enthusiasm made it worthwhile. With the help of Environmental Education Specialist Aaron, she gave us so many pointers on proper paddling technique that I was afraid to tip my head for it running out of my ears. We buddied up and safely set out on to the lake. One thing that was different in this water sport class was that Aaron and Lisa made sure we were wearing properly sized and adjusted PFDs.

Liz and I paddled out onto the lake toward the middle and we all got some on water instruction. I was in the front and I tried to utilize my core strength rather than being an "arm paddler." We really just enjoyed the lake and chatted with one another from that point on. Every woman on the lake was so down to earth and interesting. We were all different in where we came from but similar in that we could all share the exhilaration of a bald eagle as it glided over our heads in the noon day sun. I obviously left my camera behind for this class too.

We returned for lunch and the final class of the day, geocaching. DaBraLady had taken the geocaching class while I was on the lake for my canoe class. Over sandwiches and fruit cups I asked her how it went. She thought I might not like it because the guy gave too many hints. She also told me that it wasn't Olf D'Cores as I had thought it was supposed to be. This brought me down a bit but I was all ready to debut the tracking coin I had activated just for the day. I had called it Sinnemahoning Smiley.

By now I think you may have caught on that I don't like to mention the names of anyone I have anything negative to say about. This geocacher may have been a late substitute so perhaps some of the things that fell through the cracks were out of his control. I personally think I cut him a lot of slack. He was pleasant, shared a lot of good information and none of it was incorrect. My problem was with the actual hands on geocaching. As with DaBraLady's group in the morning, after a quick demo of finding a nearby waypoint (it lead to a post) we were sent off to find a nearby cache. He had given a few hints and pointed us down the trail. It was not the approach I would have chosen because the tree he made reference too was on the main road and Diane was not
able to do any bushwhacking because of a severe poison ivy allergy. She was already on steroids for a bee sting. We walked an .6 mile by having to back track to a main trail and ran out of time before finding the cache. The morning group actually bushwhacked .3 mile and also did not find it. I was really disappointed to find that the instructor hadn't even checked on the cache before sending us out. Why he didn't do that, accompany us or set up a "day of" cache that was stocked and easier to find just perplexes me. Let me at it next year, I will lead this class.

I will be honest in saying that is where our weekend ended. We were both quite tired and wanted to be awake for our drive home. We decided at the last second (literally) to pass on the pontoon tour. We hugged everyone goodbye and swapped information with those we could. We really want to sign up for next year and take along as many friends and family who are interested. There is something for every woman, young and old. Attending the Sinnemahoning Women in the Outdoors program is probably one of the best decisions I have made in a long time.

Sinnemahoning WITO - Day 2 - PM

The afternoon started off with the Wildlife Conservation Officer Wayne Hunt driving up with the trapped bear. This was also as lunch was being delivered and our photography session wrapping up with a group shot. As we returned to the pavilion Jackie asked the photographer if she could move his matted prints out of the way so that she could set up the lunch for everyone. His reply was, "No, you better let me do that." Jackie had to set up lunch bunched up on another table, his prints were there until well after lunch.

Before and after we ate our lunch, Wayne gave us information about bear trapping and documenting them after their release. This was not a nuisance bear but a random sample he trapped not too far up the mountain. He shot it with a tranquilizer and we ate our lunch. After about 15 minutes, he told us that sometimes one shot is not enough and when he goes to check on the bear they are not totally out and will get up and get out. He told us to stay back as he opened the trap and if the bear came out not to worry it was drugged and just let it walk away. He asked for another larger fellow to come in case he needed help (lifting it I assumed) and opened the trap. It was Mark who had gone to assist and he stood nearby as Wayne tugged the bear's ear. I saw him quickly step back and close the trap as fast as he could. The bear needed another shot. We all went back to eating and I went to ask Mark what he saw that made him decide to close the trap. Mark said, "The bear raised it's head, looked up and and was getting ready to come out."

The second shot was all it took and Wayne went about tagging both ears and extracting one of the bear's teeth. The tooth would be sent off and cut to determine how old the bear is. It then took three people, Wayne, Mark and Janet, to lift what turned out to be a 350 lb mature black bear. He was a good size but not a huge fellow. They rolled him onto his brisket and monitored his respiration. By this point about 60 people total had gathered to hear what Wayne had to share and he graciously answered ever question. He then said people could come up and have their photos taken one at a time. I took DaBraLady's and balked at going myself. The tooth extraction had gotten to me and when Jackie prompted me to go up I told her so. She assured me it was a minor tooth and she really wanted to take a photo of each of her women with the bear. I went up and touched a live warm black bear. As Wayne and Jackie said to everyone, it was a usually once in a lifetime opportunity. This was only the first of many unique and special moments WITO at Sinnemahoning provided.

The activity that followed lunch was the first one where DaBraLady and I parted ways. She went fly fishing I went on a 6 mile mountain bike ride led by Liz Fronheiser. The ride was pure joy for me. We rode along at a pace that was a bit slow because of the tow other riders but we still had a lot of fun. It was just right in length and the slower pace allowed for chatting and getting to know one another. We were on a gravel trail, did some paved road to get to a grass track. It was a figure 8 that was well paced. Liz coached us on how to navigate short "water bars" as well as best body placement of long and rough descents.

Kayaking was next and DaBraLady and I both were going. Neither of us took cameras so I will not have photos to add until someone else shares some with me. We got into a shuttle that drove us the the boat launch at the lake. The instructor, Rich Henrich, was kind and made sure we were all outfitted with PFDs and then taught us the proper way to get in and out of a kayak. We dabbled with just a little technique and then we enjoyed ourselves on the lake. We looked for the eagle's nest and eventually Rich showed us where one of the eagles was perched in the distance. I have little upper body strength so this was a bit of work for me. I also came to a clear conclusion that, although I was enjoying myself, I really preferred land activities. I was getting quite tired and a little hungry by the time we returned.

The next class was taught to everyone together instead of us breaking into groups. It was focused on cordage and primitive fire making. The instructor was just a little quirky and someone I would call a fire making geek. He was just too enthusiastic about the hundreds of different fire making techniques he had tried. I don't think he was a pyromaniac really just way too crazy about everything you could use to make cords to make bows to make a fire.

With the warm sun on my back combined with fatigue and hunger I just could not focus and the guy's enthusiasm struck me as hilarious. The knife he had around his neck in the black duct tape sheath was odd but his demeanor of giving a nervous little laugh of victory after he proved a point started to distract me into finding humor in everything he did. I was exhausted and wrongly snorted in laughter at some random thing he said but I held my composure when no one else laughed or even looked at me. Missy though I had started to snore. Liz was falling asleep in the sun because her group had just had a huge snack at the outdoor cooking class. The class was running long and the pizza guys showed up just as the instructor's pile of tinder burst into flames. We all applauded with enthusiasm. Personally, I was applauding the arrival of the pizza.

After the meal I biked back to camp for a break but found myself wanting to try to find a letterbox. It had been one that RGBisMe and I had not been able to determine it's starting location for sure. On the bird walk, someone mentioned that the one structure was a huge bat enclosure so I knew that was the starting point. I biked the 1 1/2 miles to it and started to try to make the clue come together. I had just as much luck as the first time we tried and came up empty. The trip wasn't a total waste because I checked on another local letterbox that was still in great shape. Crayola Posse are still the only finders and it has been out for almost 3 years.

As I biked back, I realized I probably had biked a total of 15 miles that day over many areas and terrains in the park. I made it back in time to shower before the final astronomy program that evening. The sky was patchy with clouds and we were not sure if we would be able to see anything but Pat Garrigan's talk was enthusiastic. He had many nice handouts and interesting information. As we waited for skies to clear, DaBraLady pointed out the amazing display the fire flies were giving over the edge of the dam. Soon the telescope was trained on a star and finally on Saturn. We all stood single file to quickly get a glimpse of this unique planet. DaBraLady was in front of me and I was last in line I think. I heard her say, "Oh my god! That is amazing!" As she stepped back to give me a turn I remembered what it was like the first time I saw Saturn through a scope, about 15 years before. It was something that really stayed with me. I said to her, "Look again, this is a moment you won't forget." It was a peak moment for everyone there a a stellar way to end the day.

Sinnemahoning WITO - Day 2 - AM

I was up really early the next morning so I wouldn't have to wait for the one shower. I think I was the first to use it because it took a long time to warm up. DaBraLady had brought a coffee maker but forgot filters so she offered some powdered cappuccino mix and made hot water. I knew there would be fresh coffee offered before our first class so I only had about a half a cup. I mounted up and headed off for the Forty Maples area where we would all have breakfast.

Sadly, there was a little glitch in the coffee making that morning and it wasn't quite ready by the time we had to leave to start our morning bird watching walk at the northern end of the park. Mark Johnson lead the walk as he shared his knowledge of bird watching. He gave great tips about how to listen for the birds first then look for them. I have always felt like the odd one out when birding by ear and he assured me that he counts birds that he has clearly identified by ear without ever seeing them. I do so much of my birding by ear because I have a rough time finding them in the field. He took time to give advice on binoculars and field guides and encouraged everyone to take time to really read about a bird immediately after you have made a positive ID on it in the wild. He was giving us the tools and enthusiasm to bird on our own. I do not know one person in our group who would have had an objection to birding with Mark all morning but the time limited us and we had to return to the Forty Maples area for our next class. Birds we saw and heard that morning included Field Sparrow, Bluebird, Northern Oriole, Pine Siskins (late for the area), Alder Flycatcher (positive ID because of it's song - looks exactly like Willow Flycatcher), Cedar Waxwings, Yellow Warbler, Yellow Billed Cuckoo, Chipping Sparrow, Cardinal, Blue Jay, and American Crow.

The next class was photography. I knew that the instructor would probably focus on digital photography but the theme was Outdoor Photography. I can always use some tips and get inspired for more creative shots and better composition. The talk started in the pavilion and I was pretty bored, I wanted to be out in the field and enjoying the beautiful park. I understood that things would need to be covered before heading out but a few things got to me. The photographer had a lot of matted prints on the table not as examples but for sale. I thought that was tacky. Mark Johnson was standing out in the clearing and while I was trying to listen to the photographer and looked at him while he gave his talk, my eyes kept noticing Mark the background and wishing I was still birding. So, I left.


I am sure this was rude but I was going to take charge of my weekend so I walked off as discretely as I could and joined Mark. He was looking for a Prothonotary Warbler that he could hear in the trees. He pointed out it's song for me as we stood and chatted while we watched the little bird skip from tree to tree in the distance. Jackie joined us and they started a great conversation about Woodcocks. I just loved the stories and experiences they were sharing.

As we stood there, Jackie got a call from a forestry official that he had caught a bear and was willing to bring it to demonstrate it being sedated and tagged for ID. She set up a time right around our lunch break so that we would all be gathered to watch. She was pretty excited to be able to offer such an unplanned and unique presentation to our program. It was soon after this the photography class got up to shoot in the field so I decided to rejoin them.

I know I hadn't ingratiated myself with the instructor by walking out on a portion of his class but the guy continued to get under my skin. As we walked on he was instructing everyone how not to just delete shots from your memory card but to reformat it every time or it would become quickly corrupt and he proceeded to tell a story of how when he was flying over a beautiful volcano with snow on it's crown and his memory card went corrupt. His warning to us all sounded less like a lesson than bragging and I thought it was stupid and blurted out, "Didn't you have a back up card?" I mean come ON! Equipment fails and if you are going for a shot like that you should be prepared. He snapped back, "No! I didn't! Yes, I did." I thought he was a jerk for sure.


We took a walk along the First Fork Sinnemahoning Creek and it was just lovely. He was pointing out some lighting options and occasionally would take time to go one on one to help some of the women understand their camera menus. It was during one of those times he was navigating someone through their camera that I was sharing some composition tips with Kate, a woman who had also been on the birding walk. I told her how in some open field areas how it's nice to frame a shot by adding a little over-hanging interest in the foreground. I gave the tip my father liked to share that if there isn't anything overhanging, you can break off a small branch or some thing and just dangle it out in front of you to frame the upper corner. I know the photographer overheard me but what was that hurting?

We walked on and he set up his camera on a tripod to share what I had been describing composition wise. I was excited he was covering that topic. He was using a tree on the right to frame the creek to the left and encouraged everyone to look through the view finder so that we could see for ourselves. Unfortunately, the way he had it composed (maybe someone bumped the camera?) was that the tree was too far in and the negative space to the right of the tree drew my eyes away from the creek too often. It was poor composition and I totally lost respect for him at that point.

As the women took turns looking through the camera, he continued to say how "some people" will force framing by breaking off a plant and adding it to the shot. He very pointedly added, "Not that I would ever do that." He had obviously directed that at me. I guess I should have made sure to add to Kate that it would be prudent not to do any harm to the plant life and frequently there are branches and plants already down. My omitting that may have made me a target because over the next half hour during our walk he made reference to it twice. I don't know exactly why he wouldn't do it, he never said but I was ready to ask if he did it a third time.

So, the guy had really gotten under my skin and I am pretty sure I had gotten under his by the time we made our way back to the pavilion. We stopped for one last composition lesson where a wonderful old apple tree well in the foreground arched over a picnic table that was just close enough to allow for a really nice group shot. He instructed us to take turns standing just where he was and check out how nice the shot would look. I took my turn and saw the lovely old branch in the foreground, the table situated beautifully under it but in the background was a big sign for the Low Lands Trail. It was in a place where no one sitting at the picnic table would be blocking it and if you moved for anything to hide it the tree wouldn't be framing the table anymore. As I stood there you bet I said, "It's really nice except for the sign in the background." He ignored my jab by commenting and instructing on something totally different. What a waste of time except for the nice shots I got along the creek.

Sinnemahoning WITO - Day 1

DaBraLady and I went for a Women in the Outdoors weekend in Sinnemahoning State Park. I cannot say enough good about the staff of that park. They share what they know, make you aware of things you may want know to or need to know in the park and really care about the park and it's visitors.

Even before setting up camp, DaBraLday and I stopped off for the view from the breast of the dam. The day was beautiful and we got the the park in great time. This allowed us to stop and enjoy every aspect of the beginning to the weekend. The mountains were so green and the sky was very beautiful. As we drove on, I noticed just where the trail crossed over the road and looked forward to exploring them on foot or bike later in the weekend. I intended to bike whenever possible.

The park office allowed us to check into our camp site early and this allowed us plenty of time to set everything in in daylight before the first WITO event that evening. We were close to the showers, firewood and playground so it was an area of activity. It was also a huge space and seemed larger than any of the other tenting spots in the campground.

We found level places for our tents that wouldn't be in the way of water run off if there was an afternoon thunderstorm while we were there. I even had time to set up my LED purple lights to locate the campsite after dark and some banners that visually reminded me of what a special time and space I was visiting.

We sat a bit, met the local chipmunks, ate some supper and checked our schedule. We were supposed to get together at 7PM for the history of the area and getting to know each other. This was about a mile from the campground at the Forty Maples day use area. The main park road led to it and I noticed some trails on the map that cut through that area too. I chose to plan to bike to and from the get together. Not knowing how late it would end, I packed my headlamp and put the front and rear lights on my bike.

Other than a small group of woman who had participated the year before, everyone of the 21 women were pleasant and down to earth. There were 4 mother/daughter couples and the rest were groups or couples of friends. There was only one woman who seemed to have come by herself and she was teaching one of the workshops. She had come the year before and seemed very comfortable being on her own.

We went around and introduced ourselves. We came with a broad range of interests and from very different locations. I think the farthest traveled from Philly area and there were a few local women too. About four or so were of retirement age or older. I think I pretty much fell right in the middle of them all when it came to interests, expertise, age and location. I felt pretty comfortable.

What really made me sure of the fact that I knew it was going to be a great weekend was the way each of the staff members handled themselves and how they presented the information. The one ranger, Brian, was very straightforward in sharing information of the threat of so many of the local state parks potentially closing. He let us know that that the issue had been tabled just two days before but still encouraged us to write to our legislators.

The coordinator of the WITO program at Sinnemahoning, Jackie Flynn, had been a pleasure to work with even in the weeks prior to my attending the program. She made sure that my veggie diet needs were met. I was not let down the whole weekend, there was plenty for me to eat and I gained two pounds to prove it! She gave us a wonderful history of the park and her role there.

Toward the end of the question and answer portion a young male deer emerged from the woods and started to tentatively approach our group. He was licking his lips and looking for a handout. We hadn't even started to make our s'mores so he was just a general mooch. The snacks were great and we chatting with each other a while longer before I biked back via the magical Low Lands Trail to our camp site. It was after 9PM when I got back but it was still light enough that DaBraLady was reading her novel in her camp chair.

I think we both slept pretty well. The stars were out and we hoped that they might be as brilliant the next night because that is when they were setting up telescopes on the breast of the dam for an astronomy program. I fell asleep listening to campground noises and watching the stars through the hemlock canopy.