by Theresa Garee | Jan 23, 2019 | Blog
A reporter for Healthline.com quoted me as saying “I love it when the sweat freezes into icicles on my eyebrows.”
It’s true. I normally do. Morgan was always up for a cold-weather workout as well.
The right gear makes all the difference. The article explains my usual winter running attire:
Sweeney will put on two pairs of long johns under her tights, a “sparkle skirt” to shield her from the wind, a few long-sleeved breathable shirts under a warm hooded jacket, a balaclava over her mouth and head, a pair of sports socks with some bamboo knee-highs, and a hand warmer in each mitten and she’s good to go.
But now, fifteen days into an upper respiratory infection (aka the common cold), I’ve taken my workouts indoors. Let’s be honest. My current workouts look more like naps between guzzling hot tea than marathon training.
But I’ll be back, and when I am, let that sweat freeze!
by Theresa Garee | Jan 5, 2019 | Blog
That’s what it feels like every June and January when our running group, Marathoner in Training, begins the new season. This morning, when I walked into the Fleet Feet in Lewis Center, here’s what I saw:
You can’t imagine how loud 1,000 runners excited to start the next adventure can be. It was deafening!
Eventually, Jeff Henderson, “the tall guy” sent us outdoors where he gave us our instructions. We were running a new trail and he did his best to tell us the turns. Luckily, our pace coaches knew the way.
I’m the one in the Sparkle Skirt on the right side with the pink jacket.
I joined this group years ago because I wanted to run a half marathon. I didn’t know I also wanted another fellowship, but that’s what I found. I love these people.
by Theresa Garee | Sep 7, 2018 | Blog
I entered a contest. I didn’t mean to win. I thought the picture of the prize was ugly. We had to name three ingredients to include in a sushi roll. I listed the three most disgusting things I could think of. I can’t even remember them now. But, the joke was on me.
I won!
She arrived today. Yes, we “sparkle sisters” (the wearers of Sparkle Skirts brand athletic skirts) refer to each skirt as “she.” And each skirt has a name. I’m calling this one, “On a Roll.”
Get it?
Imagine my surprise when I opened her and loved the colors. She’s so bright and cheery. Perfect for the rainy weather we’ve been having.
Sparkle Skirts didn’t intended for it to be a writing contest, but I’m counting it as a writing success!
by Theresa Garee | Aug 19, 2018 | Blog
In a previous post, I explained how agents and editors expect authors to have a social media presence before pitching a book. I did not mention how daunting I found this fact. It’s similar to how naked I felt when I first began pitching a book to agents and how it has continued to feel pitching the book to publishers and submitting to contests as well.
You see, I’m an “off-the-scale” introvert. It’s no surprise that every time I take the Myers-Briggs personality inventory whether it is a short version on the internet or the very very long version administered by a psychology professional, my “introversion” score is nearly as high as the scale goes. Putting myself out there is truly a stretch.
Add to that recurrent chronic depression and you have a roadblock many might not overcome. I can only do this social media stuff if I find a method that works with my natural talents.
My Facebook author page hadn’t seemed that much of a stretch from my personal Facebook page so I linked it to Twitter. When I posted to Facebook, it automatically tweeted the same thing.
But the books I read about Twitter explained that this wasn’t enough. I needed to interact. To my introverted self, this sounded as terrifying as walking into a cocktail party and shouting, “Look at me!” That was not going to happen.
On a four-mile run, I began to think about how I best communicate: one on one. I wondered what would happen if I just began talking to individuals the way I might in the rest of my world.
So I started responding any time someone tweeted something that resonated with me. For a few days, my tweets went unanswered. A few days later, one or two people replied.
Then, something remarkable happened. One of my running heroes, Hal Higdon, retweeted one of my replies to his tweet!
A few days later, it happened again!
My one-one-one approach not only allowed me to play along with the extroverts who love Twitter, but also effectively increased my social media exposure. I learned that even off-the-scale introverts can Tweet!
by Theresa Garee | Apr 3, 2015 | Blog
“Success rests in having the courage and endurance and, above all, the will to become the person you are, however peculiar that may be.” – George Sheehan
I recently discovered sparkle running skirts. Today as the dog and I ran through our neighborhood I wore a multi-colored skirt with attached shorts and a matching tech shirt. I felt like a middle-aged woman parading as a little girl, but I’m practicing being the person I am. I need to practice this with writing as well.
Deep into the revision process of Twenty-Six Point Freaking Two, my memoir about running, I realized I’d need to show more of myself than I’m comfortable with. The book is subtitled, “The Memoirs of an Emotionally Unstable, Middle-aged Marathoner.” The current draft has plenty of middle-age stuff and the beginning shows my mental health challenges, but a beta reader confirmed my fear that I’d lost the mental health thread halfway through. It was there in the first draft. I found it embarrassing and took it out. Now I need the courage to put some of it back.
The “emotionally unstable” part makes the book special. The mental health angle, I hope, will catch the eye of an agent and editor and differentiate my book from the other health and fitness memoirs on the bookstore shelves. For the book to do this, I’ll need to show how peculiar I am and reveal some secrets I’ve kept hidden. It’s terrifying and necessary. I’m afraid people will turn away. But I owe it to the book and to myself. And I owe it to the reader. The subtitle makes a promise. And nothing pisses off a reader more than a promise unfulfilled.
How do you keep your promises to your readers even when it’s terrifying? I’d love to hear about it.
