HRG Runner Profile: Nancy Holland

Well, it would appear that I'm not quite ready to start running again. I sneezed this week while walking and ended up hurting my stomach so bad that I couldn't walk or stand for several hours...Bummer, because it's a beautiful sunny and breezy day out here in Halifax today, and it would have been nice to be able to slip on my shoes and head out for a Sunday run. But that will have to wait a few more weeks.

So while I give my body more time to heal, I'll take this opportunity to introduce to you Nancy Holland. I first met Nancy through the Editors' Association of Canada, and she and I quickly discovered a mutual love for running, in addition to an editor's love for language and grammar.

Nancy also happens to be the president of Run Nova Scotia, as well as a member of the Halifax Running Club, and she is pretty connected to the road running culture in the province, and committed to promoting healthy lifestyles and active living. If I ever want to know what races are coming up and whether I should consider participating in one of them, I know to ask Nancy!

Without further ado, I give you Nancy Holland, today's HRG Runner Profile!

HRG: How long have you been running?

NH: An eternity. Or since 1994, whichever comes first.

HRG: How and why did you start running?

NH: I couldn’t take being a couch potato any more. I was athletic in high school but, like most young women, I stopped doing anything once I graduated. I ran off and on (in pre-minimalist minimalist shoes no less) through the 80s. When I moved back to Halifax, I had an apartment on the Common and there was the perfect running track right outside my door. The first lap nearly did me in, but I kept going and haven’t stopped since.

HRG: Favourite part of running?

NH: It’s a tie between finishing a run and hitting that magical runner’s high when you feel like you can run forever. That doesn’t happen very often. Oh! And the people I meet. I tap into local running groups when I travel and have made some great friends along the way. But the running community in Nova Scotia is tops!

HRG: Least favourite part of running?

NH: The runs that suck. You know the ones: your leg feel like stumps and/or you can’t breathe. Every step is a struggle and you start to doubt that you’re a runner at all.

HRG: Favourite time of year/weather to run in?

NH: Early mornings when the sun’s out. Fog’s nice, too, but I’ve had enough running in fog this year. Gentle snow’s good.

HRG: Favourite route (training or race) to run?

NH: So many to choose from! I like doing long runs on the Halifax peninsula. Running in Shubie Park is always awesome and challenging. Favourite races include the Liverpool 5-miler, the Berwick 5-miler, the Louisbourg 8-miler, the Enfield 10-miler, and the Nova Scotia Half Marathon.

HRG: Favourite distance to run?

NH: 5 miles or 10K

HRG: How do you keep motivated?

NH: I love food so if I want to fit into my clothes, I have to run!

HRG: Best pre-race meal?

NH: For long races (10 miles and further), some kind of pasta thing. I don’t eat anything special the night before shorter races.

HRG: Best post-race meal?

NH: Chicken wings and champagne after the PEI marathon. Best. Meal. Ever. But the hamburger at the Union St. Café in Berwick is awfully good, too.

HRG: Upcoming race goal?

NH: Decide which fall marathon I’m going to run.

HRG: Tips or words of wisdom for new runners?

NH: There will be good runs and bad runs; be thankful you can run at all. Run in any weather. Keep a running log. Leave your watch/Garmin at home now and then. Always thank race volunteers. Look both ways before crossing the street. Be fitted by a professional to get the right running shoes for YOU. Don’t put your running bra in the dryer. In a race, always move to the side of the road before stopping or taking a walk break. Smile.

HRG: Anything else you want to add?

NH: Running may seem like it should be innate, but it isn’t. We can all benefit from some coaching now and then.

HRG: Thanks, Nancy!

HRG

Learning to be a snail...for a while...

So I was going to call this post "Learning to be a couch potatoe." But then I thought, well hang on -- I don't plan on being a couch potatoe for ever. Sure, much of my time lately has been spent on the couch or in bed, watching TV or reading a book. But I don't plan on making a permanent groove in this chair and growing sprouts.

Instead, I'll learn to be a snail. If only for a while. Because you know that old joke:

What did the snail say to the other snail as it drove by?

Look at that S-car go!


The thing about snails is, as opposed to potatoes, they may be slow but eventually they get to where they want to go, with dogged determination.

As a fairly active person, working out and running up to five or six times a week (if not more), it's been frustrating having to slow down since my operation. The doctor had recommended that I take it easy for six weeks, but being the active type-A woman that I am, I told myself that wouldn't apply to me.

Only days after my surgery, I took to going out one or two times a day, taking my mom (who's been here on a visit to help me with my recovery) around Halifax to make sure she wasn't bored. We went to Chez Tess for brunch one day (I could only eat half of my crepes Benny...I seem to have a teeny appetite these days), and walked up and down Spring Garden Road browsing through stores. Another day we bought geraniums for the front porch, and bird seed for the feeder on the back porch.

Sure, my stomach usually felt like it had been split open after only an hour of being out and about, and I couldn't walk further than a block, but I told myself that it was important to keep active if I ever want to run another race.

Until two days ago, when I started feeling absolutely drained with only the slightest effort.

"You've been doing too much," my mom and hubby admonished. "You have to slow down and let your body start to heal."

Resistance was futile, in any case, because by that time I felt like a big cotton-headed sloth and couldn't do much to rouse myself from my torpor.

I've been taking it a lot slower since then, but even today, after folding laundry (which hubby had washed for me, thankfully) and then putting it away, I was finished for the day. In fact I've only just now woken from an afternoon nap. I've been napping lots lately.

I don't mean this to be a woe-is-me post, by any means. Instead, I hope it's a reminder to cherish your health and active lifestyle. Because although being a couch potatoe (sorry, snail) is a great way to catch up on reality TV and morning talk shows, it doesn't give you an iota of the sense of accomplishment and pride you get when you just came back from that amazing run or finished a really tough Body Pump class, let alone crossing the finish line after months of training. And there's definitely no rush of adrenaline surging through your body, even if you are surfing the TV waves.

Then again, there is something to be said for balance. I have caught up on a lot of my reading, which I hope I can maintain once I'm back on the road again.

I may feel tired now, but I know that's just my body healing. With every day, I'll start getting stronger and stronger. Pretty soon I'll be calling out to my hubby that I'm lacing on my shoes and heading out for a run.

I can't wait!

~ HRG