Running Mom's Motivation

This may be the last year that my girls sleep in on Christmas morning. So I had to take advantage of the opportunity to go for a morning run. I was up at 6:30 this morning and out the door by 7. It was a perfect morning for a run and singing Christmas carols, which I did in my head through the entire run. I was a little nervous that I wouldn't have time to complete a run before the girls got up. Not only did I get my run in, but I got back home and had time to crawl back in bed for a nap and to warm up before the girls got up.



On a side note, Under Armour really knew what they were doing when they named their clothing line. I fell today on my run. It was no big deal, I just wasn't paying attention enough and tripped on a lip in the sidewalk. The great news, is that my Under Armour Cold Gear tights protected me so well that it didn't hurt at all. I didn't even get a scrape. Those things are expensive, but worth every penny, even if being actual body armour is not their intended use.


Total Miles Today = 5 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 733

Posted in: on Tuesday, December 25, 2007 at at 10:31 PM 0 comments  

If I haven't said it before ( I know I have), Maria is an awesome friend. This morning was my long run. I was a little apprehensive about it because I had such an off week last week. But the good news is that the training plan I am using has me doing the same distance for my long run two weeks in a row. So since I missed a nine mile run last week, I did the same distance this week and didn't really get behind.

Maria has had a very hectic schedule this week. She worked three extra days and has multiple Christmas parties in various cities. On top of all that, her oldest son is on a travel basketball team and both of her sons had a birthday party to attend this week. I don't know how she keeps up with it all.

So you can imagine my surprise when my dear, sweet friend offers to come and do my long run with me. Keep in mind that Maria lives about an hour away from me! It almost didn't work out because her husband had plans for the day and their family has another party to go to this afternoon. But Maria's husband said he was willing to hang out with the kids if she could be home by noon (Thanks Ronnie).

So the plan was to start the run at 8am. At 7am Maria called me and asked me what the weather was like here in Lansing. She explained that there was a typhoon in Fowlerville and that she liked me a lot, but that she wouldn't risk her life to run with me. After we determined that the worst part of the storm had already passed Lansing, she continued on towards "the other side of the world."

We started our run just after 8am while David and the girls slept in on the futon in the living room. The miles seemed to pass so fast this morning. There were a few times that the wind picked up bad enough that I seriously felt like I wasn't moving at all. I learned that when the wind is that bad you just need to look at the ground to convince yourself that you are indeed moving forward. As we came into the last 100 yards or so, Maria said she was going to try to convince me to do the run at my half marathon pace, but that with the wind she thought it would be too hard. When we stopped, I quickly pulled up the history on my handy dandy Garmin and found that we had run an average pace of 10:21!!! That is faster than my anticipated pace for the half. Maria told me that she suspected we were running faster than usual, but that she didn't want to jinx me...she is an awesome friend.

Total Miles Today = 9.35 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 728

Posted in: on Sunday, December 23, 2007 at at 11:06 AM 0 comments  

Last week was bad...really bad. I can't quite decide if I should blame it on myself or just chalk it up to really needing some sleep. Monday was a rest day because Phantom and I had run 8 miles the day before. It all started on Tuesday. I was going to get up and go to the track to do intervals. I just couldn't get my butt out of bed. I was exhausted all week and this was one of the worst days. That night I had plans, so it didn't happen then either. Wednesday at work we were too busy in the middle of the day for Maria and I to get out and go for a run. After work, David was late, so I had to pick up the kids. Finally on Thursday I got to the track to do my intervals. But, I just didn't have time to do everything I needed to before David had to go to work. So instead of the scheduled 7 miles, I only got in 3.5. Friday was more of the same at work. Saturday we worked late and we had our work Christmas party, so Maria and I only did 4 miles.

Then comes Sunday. I was scheduled to run 9 miles. I was going to make it 10 since I had such an off week. I got my butt out of bed at 6:30 am. We had gotten about 6 inches of snow over night and it was still snowing. I couldn't convince myself to go outside until 7:30. Phantom and I started running and I quickly realized there would be no way I would be running 10 miles in all that snow. I was okay with that and decided to just take it easy and see what I could do. It was hard, really hard! I got half way down our road and turned around because the wind was so cold and blowing wet snow right in my face. I knew that if I didn't stop, I would get frostbite quickly. I am not that insane. Maria got it on her big toe last year during a race, and I still think she is nuts. Now I have one more thing to add to my list of things to buy... a face mask for running.

After getting back home I quickly change into my shorts and sleeveless top to got to the track. I drove to the track. It took much longer than usual because of all the darn snow! Once I got there I was excited to see other cars there, that meant it was probably open. My excitement quickly turned to frustration when I found they were having a cheerleading meet inside and I wouldn't be able to use the track. Out of options, I gave up on my long run. So last week I had a grand total of 7.5 pitiful miles instead of the planned 22.

This morning I went to the track to do a tempo run. I still didn't have enough time to go as far as I needed to, but at least I did 4.5 out of the planned 6 miles. This training in the winter is harder than I had thought. That's okay, if anything, it will only make me adjust my race pace. I will still run the half. As I said before, I already paid, and I hate losing money.

Total Miles Today = 4.5 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 708

Posted in: on Tuesday, December 18, 2007 at at 10:57 AM 0 comments  

Today was my long run. I spent last night and tonight out on a hill in the woods behind my church singing the same song over and over again about 30 times each night. Here is a link ...
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071209/NEWS01/712090683/1002/CONTACTUS01&GID=+PmoeO08WY11rVHS9R7fVAWEXK9f52fQC0w/jI91TUA%3D

So this morning it was very hard to get out of bed at 6:30am. I turned off the alarm and slept in until 7:30. The weather hasn't been too bad for Michigan in December, but we have had a little snow and ice. It gave me another opportunity to use my YakTracks. The good thing is that they really keep me from falling on my butt. The bad and good news is that it is hard to run with them on. It gives you a good workout, but sometimes I don't want my long run to be that hard. I ended up taking them off about three miles into the run because I was running on mainly clear, dry cement at that point. But there were a few places on the way back home that I should have had them on. I will have to remember next time that I can work harder to wear them and stay upright, or I can work harder to run through the snow and hope I don't fall on my butt when the unexpected ice pops up.

Having my Garmin allowed me to run the river trail this morning. I can run it any time I like, but it can be hard to map out online because the trees over the path kind of block out the view from the satellites. But with my Garmin I was able to tell exactly how far I had gone while I was running. Just in case you can't tell, I really like it.

My dog is so funny. He really loves the snow. Whenever we get to a section of road or trail that has even a little snow covering it, he acts like a kid that has never seen snow before. I don't mind too much as long as he stays on my left side and doesn't pull my shoulder out of joint. I also realized that he is much more competitive than I am today. He will often be a little ahead of me during the early stages of a run, but will fall back right next to me as the run goes on and he gets tired. We were about six miles into an eight mile run this morning when a woman came up on our left to pass. She made a comment about how nice it must be to have a dog that can run with me and how her Beagle is too fat to run (surprise, surprise...just ask your vet about Beagles and food). I quickly assessed that this woman was faster than me. At least today she was faster than me. As soon as she started to pass me, Phantom picked up the pace. He didn't want anyone to be in front of us! For the next half mile or so until she was out of sight it was all I could do to keep Phantom from running too fast and ruining my run. Thank goodness he slowed down when she was out of sight.

One last thing for all you people with dogs. I am talking about the active dogs. You know, the kind that need more attention than you have time for. The one that scares people not because he is mean, but because he is so hyper that no one knows what he will do next...That dog...My dog. He needs to get out and run. The best thing I could have ever done for Phantom's mental state and my own was to start running. He was a puppy (about a year) when we first got him. He calmed down a lot by just being trained and being in one home for a while, but he really became better behaved once I started running. A tired dog is a good dog! And the running will be good for you too. One word of caution...if you have a puppy don't run with her until she is at least a year old (giant breeds more like 18 months) so that you don't do any damage to her maturing joints. Always be careful in the heat and humidity and watch your dog's pads year round to make sure they aren't being damaged by the pavement or ice. Other than that, have a great time. Phantom is the best running partner I could ask for. He is always ready to go, even when I am not. And he knows instantly when I am getting ready for a run and won't let me go out the door without him. So get out there and run with your dog. He will love you for it and you can thank me later!

Total Miles Today = 8 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 696

Posted in: on Sunday, December 9, 2007 at at 11:05 PM 2 comments  

I signed up for the Five Points Of Life Half Marathon in Gainesville, Florida today. I have to follow through now because I hate to lose money and there are no refunds. David hasn't been running much lately, but still says he is going to do the 5k. I signed him up today as well. I guess he will either start training or he is walking.

My mom seems to think that my sister-in-law is faster than me (it wouldn't surprise me). So I may be running the race by myself in February. I have a function on my Garmin called a virtual training partner (VTP). I am shooting for 11 minute miles for the half. I can set my VTP to 11 min miles and it will let me know if I am starting out too fast or if I am falling off pace. Some say this is cheating...I say it is smart!

Total Miles Yesterday = 4 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 688

Posted in: on Saturday, December 8, 2007 at at 1:13 PM 0 comments  

I have been getting ready for my husband's office Christmas Party tonight. I wanted to get dressed up and surprise him. Little did I know that when I tried on all my nice dresses (even the ones that used to be too small), they would all be too big for me. Now that is an awesome feeling.

I have applied for a program that Runner's World is doing to help people lose weight. They want to highlight some people that have different weight loss goals in their magazine sometime next year. I will let you all know if I get picked.

Total Miles Last Night = 3 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 684

Posted in: on Thursday, December 6, 2007 at at 2:01 PM 1 comments  

I haven't blogged in a while. I didn't think there was anything too interesting to share over the last couple of weeks. Last week was a cut back week for me, so I only ran 14 miles total and none of them were quality workouts. This week it is back to the grindstone.

I convinced my darling husband that he should buy me the only thing I really wanted for Christmas and nothing else. Maybe he conceded because I bought him what he really wanted. Or maybe it was because I was nagging a little too much. So last Saturday my Garmin Forerunner 305 came in the mail. We got an awesome price on it with rebates etc so it ended up costing $113. Not bad in comparison to the suggested retail price of over 300 or even the average retail of around 200.

So I was able to go for my first run with my Garmin today ( no wise cracks about it not being Christmas yet- Christmas is about the birth of Christ not gifts, so I am sure that God doesn't care one bit if I opened it early!) I had a tempo run planned for this morning. I was thinking about going to the indoor track at MSU because the weather has been brutal the last couple of days, but I didn't want to get up early enough to do that and David was home this morning, so I slept in until 6:30 and was on the road by 7.

My run was a 6 miler. Four miles in the middle are supposed to be at tempo. My head math screwed everything up. I thought I would run a 2 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down. Now any 1st grader could tell you that adds up to 7 miles, not 6. But I couldn't seem to comprehend that until about 4.5 miles into my run. My bad math put me doing the end of my tempo section UP A VERY LARGE HILL! So here i am trying to maintain my fast pace going up this hill when the wind kicks in. I thought my nose and lips were going to fall off right there. But after that hill it was easy. And it was an awesome run.

The Garmin is awesome too. I set it to alert me at every mile so I wouldn't have to keep track of how far I had gone. When I look at the screen it shows me time, mileage, pace and heartrate all at once. I also set it up with auto pause. That way when I stop at a street light or to let the dog do his business it automatically pauses the time and distance...now that is handy. When I got back home I plugged it into my computer and it uploaded all the information from my run. The next time I run I am going to program it to do automatic splits at every mile. That way I will get average pace for every mile. I love technology!

Total Miles Today = 6 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 681

Posted in: on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at at 4:30 PM 0 comments  

I am still out there doing my thing. I have to train for my half marathon after all. My boss ended up having to have surgery last Tuesday. They were supposed to do it with a scope, but when they got in there, they realized that they would have to open her up. I don't know when she will feel well enough to return to work.

This surgery came up kind of suddenly. Consequently, I have been working a lot more hours than I had expected over the last couple of weeks. I have barely seen my kids. Grace has a killer cold. Rachel has pinkeye. I don't know when the last time that I balanced my checkbook was. But I am still running (at night and during my lunch hour).

Hopefully the craziness will end soon. I have told them at work that I will not work the day after Thanksgiving. I just need a break. And next week is Grace's birthday, so wish me luck in planning for that.

Total Miles Today = 7 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 642

Posted in: on Sunday, November 18, 2007 at at 9:55 PM 0 comments  

I forgot to say what the other reason that so excited is. My buddy Maria is getting me a pair of Yak Tracks or Stabilicers or something else like them for free!!! It pays to know people who know people.

Posted in: on Monday, November 5, 2007 at at 10:21 PM 0 comments  

My half marathon training officially began tonight. I have sixteen weeks to prepare. I want to do the best I am capable of, but other than that and finishing, I don't have any real goals for the race. Today was supposed to be a rest day according to my handy training plan from the Runner's World website. I decided to take some good advice from my friend Maria. She suggested some time ago that I get in my quality workouts whenever I could. That way if I can't run every day I planned to in a week at least I got in two quality runs each week. So tonight, I did my tempo run.

I didn't want to run when I got home tonight. It is getting cold out there and I was tired after a long busy day at work. David had a long day too, so by the time we got the kids from daycare and got home it was about 8pm. After getting the girls in bed, it was hard to get ready to go for a run. I have to remember this every time I don't want to run, because tonight's run was awesome. I am so glad I went.

I can set my pace for my tempo run a couple of different ways. I can use my heartrate monitor or I can time the run with my watch and try to stay at my tempo pace as determined by my training plan. I couldn't see my HR monitor or my watch tonight, so I used neither. A tempo run is supposed to be done at a "comfortably hard" pace. So I decided to set my pace based on effort. The first mile of the run is a warm up and the last mile (or 0.7 in my case) is a cool down. I ran both of those at an easy pace. The middle three miles were supposed to be at tempo. I decided to do my cemetery route again tonight. It is kind of hilly, so I wasn't sure that I would be able to keep my tempo up for the whole three miles. My tempo pace was determined from my first 5k race time and was supposed to be 11:51/mile. This was such an awesome run that even the hard parts felt great, but I had no idea what my pace was until I got back to my house. I ran the entire 4.7 miles in 50:40. That is a 10:43 pace!!! What's even better, is that my 3 miles of tempo were done at 10:04 pace.

I am so geeked. But as great as this run was, I know that they won't all be like that. I know that there will be days over the next 16 weeks when I won't be able to maintain a 12 minute pace. And I know that I won't always win the battle of the will and get myself out the door when I don't feel like running. But I am very happy with my start and am looking forward to the training that I have ahead.

Total Miles Today = 4.7 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 612

Posted in: on at at 9:59 PM 1 comments  

This morning I was supposed to go running with my neighbor kid. But being the 17 year old punk that he is, he didn't get out of bed so I left him! I took the dog with me and was planning on running through my neighborhood, but since it was six in the morning, I figured I might fair better with the zombies in the cemetery than with the city folk of Lansing. Besides, the cemetery is my normal 5k route.

I love running through the cemetery because it is quiet and pretty hilly. Phantom (my dog) and I had a great time, and he only had to stop about 7 times to relieve himself ;). Just after we entered the cemetery, we had our first encounter. Luckily we didn't see him, but I sure did smell that skunk. As we made our way to the back of the cemetery the hills actually seemed pretty easy. Maybe it was because I couldn't really see them. The last time that I ran through the cemetery when it was dark, I was on edge. I wasn't at all scared today. That is until the two deer ran out in front of us with no warning. I had no idea they were there, and my heart just about came out of my chest.

We finished up the cemetery and headed back through the streets of my neighborhood. My time was 34:05. Slow, but not too bad for me. I have been finding that I have been taking off way to fast on my shorter runs lately. It is like I got a bug up my butt once the cooler weather hit. Each time I would go out for 3 miles it would be a little faster than the last. There have been two problems with that. First of all I think that is how I injured my knees. Secondly here lately I have been taking off fast enough that I can't even run the whole three (sad, sad, sad). So I was happy with today. I started off better and was able to maintain it for the whole run. So hopefully I am getting back on track before starting to train for the half.


Total Miles Today = 3.1 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 581

Posted in: on Friday, October 26, 2007 at at 7:25 AM 1 comments  

If I had the money, I would definitely get LASIK surgery done on my eyes. Why? Well, first of all, when I ran DWD back in August it was a little difficult to keep the glasses clean. Last night I went for a beautiful run. It was a little short of 5 miles. I haven't been able to run more than 3 miles for a while and it was really nice. I forgot how much I like running longer distances. Not that 5 miles is very far, but I realized that I was getting my groove about half way through the run. A little over a mile into my run it started raining. Not a downpour or or anything, but it was steady. The dog was soaked through when we got done. I absolutely loved it. To be out in the dark and rain was exhilarating. The only problem was that my glasses got great big water spots all over them and when the lights would shine on them I could barely see anything. So you see, I NEED to ditch the glasses and I hate contacts because my eyes dry out way too fast with them.

It is amazing to me that you can spend so much money on running. When I started running I really needed to lose some weight and get more active. I didn't have money for a gym membership and figured I wouldn't go anyway. Running appealed to me because it would be cheap. I had some shoes. All I needed to do was strap them on and go. Yeah...Right! The shoes didn't fit right and I knew I was going to get a blister...time for new shoes. I am on my 3rd pair now. Then I was running in the cold so I really needed some clothes to run in that would keep me dry and warm. Then I didn't want to push too hard and injure myself, so I started saving for a heartrate monitor. More summer clothes and bodyglide... Endless bottles of gatorade... Race entry fees... Water resistant shell... As you can see, I am obsessed. Now I really want some YakTracks for winter, a Garmin forerunner 205 so that I can measure my distance and speed better, and LASIK surgery that I so desperately NEED. Yep, running is cheap.

Total Miles Last Night = 4.76 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 575

Posted in: on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 at at 8:42 AM 1 comments  

I don't like this "rest" thing. It makes me edgy. I went running last night for the first time since last Wednesday. I did an easy 3 miles to warm into it. I felt great all the way through, but had some slight pain right at the end. I am trying to work on this mental imagining stuff to prevent me from heel striking. It seems to work if I concentrate. But when I try to pick up the pace or if I am getting tired I seem to loose it. All in all, my run was very nice and I did it in a respectable time.

I hope that I can stick with the running and not injure myself again. My sister-in-law and I have made a commitment to run a half marathon in Florida in the end of February. And David is training to run his first 5k. Hopefully by sticking to my training plan and not overdoing it I will be okay. Today is a rest day so as not to jump back in too fast. I am hoping to start my official training for the half in a couple weeks. In the mean time, I need to make sure I am fully healed and keep at my exercises...wish me luck.

Total Miles Last Night = 2.88 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 567

Posted in: on Thursday, October 18, 2007 at at 2:26 PM 0 comments  

I am taking a week off just so you all know. I have an injured knee (both are actually bothering me). In order for me to continue running I need to take some time off . I think a weeks should do it. In the mean time, I am doing some exercises that I got from a PT to strengthen my hips and legs in order to keep my knee healthy. See you all in a few.

Posted in: on Friday, October 12, 2007 at at 4:57 PM 0 comments  

PR is short for personal record. Last Friday I went for a short run and decided to push myself a little bit. While I was out on that run, I felt like I was flying. I could tell that I was running fast (for me) and there wasn't one part of the run that felt hard. I loved it.

I was so excited to get back and look at my time on my watch. That was until I realized that I had somehow screwed up my watch and it read 24:29. I knew there was no way that I ran that fast. I was so bummed out to not know how I had actually done.

Tonight, I decided to take the same route as last Friday and push myself again. It was a good run again, but It was definitely not easy. The route I ran was 5k. My race time for the 5k ( I have only done one) was 34:25. I have run this route in probably 33 minutes a couple of times. I don't know for sure because I didn't keep strict time. Tonight I ran it in 30:59!!! During the last 1/2 mile I was really dragging the dog behind me, it felt so good. So, slowly but surely I am getting there. I am sure tomorrows run will probably suck now ;).

Total Miles Tonight = 3 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 542

Posted in: on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 at at 9:46 PM 0 comments  

I want to run a half marathon. Now I have said it and can't take it back. So now I have to do it or else everyone will think I am a quitter. I was thinking of running the Bayshore Half. That makes me feel like a real runner since I know what that means ;). It is the half marathon in Traverse City, MI in May.

But there is a part of me that would like to do a half marathon in a warm climate during the winter. It would give me the motivation to keep up the training this winter. And I was thinking with a big race like this it might be nice to do a destination race. Now I would have to do it where I have relatives because I already don't think we can afford the travel. So if we have any chance of doing this, it would have to be in Arizona, Florida, Nevada (probably still too cold in the winter), or Texas. I was looking at the Sedona Marathon, half and 5k because then David could do his first 5k. Alas...how to get the money. Obviously I have to think about this a little harder. What do you all think?

Planning to run today = 3-5 miles Approximate Miles Since Starting = 539

Posted in: on at at 1:09 PM 1 comments  

Maybe we will get there one day. Maybe we will be one of those active families. I don't ever expect to be a thin family, but maybe, just maybe my plan is going to work. David is starting to get out and walk/run more frequently. And Grace is showing quite a bit of interest herself. We have started logging her miles for the Martian Kids Marathon that will finish in April of next year.

Yesterday I went with Grace and bought her some new shoes. Talk about a bad mom, I felt horrible after we got them. I realized that she has been wearing shoes that are too small for her and are falling apart while running. But now armed with her pretty pink running shoes she is all set. So far she has logged 2 miles...only 23 more to go before the big day. She does seem to be having a good time. I don't want to push her. I want her to want to do this on her own. And if she doesn't end up liking it, at least she tried.

Grace was so darn cute running yesterday. And, Rachel was not about to sit in that stroller while her sister ran. Grace would run up ahead of us, wait for us, and then her and Rachel would hug each other when we caught up. At the end I had Grace running short distances like she was sprinting in a race. She really loved it. And I think Rachel did somewhere between 1/2 mile and 3/4.

So I don't want to get my hopes up too much, but maybe we will be a family of runners. I will just be happy if my kids are active and healthy!

Total Miles Yesterday = 3 (one with Grace) Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 523

Posted in: on Friday, September 28, 2007 at at 4:17 PM 1 comments  

Last night's run sucked!!! But I am still glad I went. The dog kept stopping and acting like he had to pee when he didn't and my butt was dragging. Maria is so sweet. She always tries to blame it on the heat instead of my laziness.

So it was three miles of huffing and puffing in the heat. I can't wait for the cool weather to return.

Total Miles Last Night = 3 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 511

Posted in: on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at at 7:50 AM 0 comments  

I am still running. I haven't been as good about blogging. My husband and I are trying to cut back on our Internet time. We are both finding it hard to blog and limit our time online.

I am loving the cooler weather. I can't believe how much easier it makes running. Last week Maria and I went for an easy three mile run. It was so nice. And the effort was nothing compared to usual. I was amazed to find that I had run it in a time similar to my race paces. It felt so good, I just assumed it had to be slow.

I have been experimenting with different was to take in energy while on my longer runs. A couple weeks ago I tried Clif Shots Gel. It is a thick Gel consistency that has 100 calories and some electrolytes in it. I hated the stuff. I barely gagged it down. But it did give me the pick me up I needed in the middle of the 12 mile run I did a few weeks ago. When I talked to Maria about it, she was pretty sure that it was just the brand that I was using that tasted so bad. She assured me that Gu would be better and it was her favorite. She dropped a couple samples in my drawer at work for me to try.

Last Sunday I decided to do a ten mile run. I was having some trouble with it and things just weren't going as smoothly as I would hope. I know that I will have some down days, so I didn't worry about it too much. But since I felt like I was dragging butt, I decided to try the Gu about half way through the run. It tasted slightly better, but I still had a hard time choking it down. I am not really sure if it helped me on my run, but didn't seem to hinder it either. I felt good when I ended the run, but then started getting extremely nauseous. I continued to retch for an hour after the run and had to go lie down at home because I felt sick moving around. When I finally felt better, I was starving and ate a huge dinner. But even though I felt better, I would still gag and feel nauseated every time I thought of the Gu. I am pretty sure that it just doesn't set in my stomach well. So I have concluded I am not a Gu girl.

Total Miles Last Week = 21 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 508

Posted in: on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 at at 5:15 PM 1 comments  

This is my race report that I posted on the Runner's World Website...

What an awesome day for racing yesterday was. It got a little hot in the middle of the day, but since we were in the woods for most of it, it wasn't too bad. For those that don't know what DWD is, there is a 50k ultra, a 50mile ultra, and a 5 man 100k relay. This is all through the trails of Hell and Pinckney, MI.

Most people, including me, think of Southeast MI as being pretty flat. But the hills in Hell are something to talk about. Each leg of the race has a special name. There are 15 legs in the relay. Names include "Where's the F'ing Bridge?", "This Sucks", "Purgatory", and "The Stripper Pole." Each leg is rated on hills, water, and mud factors so that you can decide ahead of time whom should run which legs.

This was my first year doing the race, so I didn't really know what to expect. As we were pulling into town around 7am we started noticing all sorts of people in the road with head lamps on. They kind of came out of nowhere, so I am glad we didn't hit one of them. I had forgotten that the ultras started at 6am. When we pulled into the initial parking area I was in awe with all the people. It looked like one heck of a party going on at 7am.

Soon enough it was time to start and our first man took off with a huge wave of people dressed in everything from normal running clothes to women's underwear. Each leg of the race was unique and I can't tell you about all of them because it would take forever and thank goodness I didn't get to see all of them!

I had the third leg of the race. It about 3.5 miles. It was called the Rave Run. It was a nice run. The runner from the leg right before me got lost for a while, so I was really hyped up and ready to go when she got into the exchange point. I took off like a flash (at least for me) and quickly realized that I was running way too fast for my abilities. I slowed way down for the rest of the run. I had to walk a few hills, but I ran most of this leg. It was a good hard trail run, but not anything too over the top. I think it and one other leg were the only legs that didn't have something really hard. I fell right on my butt coming up to a road crossing as my feet slipped right out from under me on the wet grass. After I landed, I took inventory and noted that nothing felt injured, so I got up and finished shortly there after.

It was awesome coming into the exchanges because there were so many people standing around cheering and waiting for the next runner to come in. On some of the legs you needed to cheat and send out the next runner before the last one came in so that you didn't finish too late in the day. Even at these exchanges people were yelling and cheering. There were many people who passed me on the trails and were very encouraging. The volunteers were also a great help reminding us which markers to follow and giving encouragement along the way. This race was awesome because so many of the people were demonstrating what many of us have come to find in other runners...it is a great bunch of people.

My second leg was called Swoosh. I thought I was going to puke when I started because I had a headache all day and it was at its worse at the beginning of this leg. It was supposed to be any easy 4 miler with a low hill rating. THEY LIED! The hills on this leg were big. There were none like the Stripper Pole, but there were just so many of them and quite a few large ones. It was quite rocky and there were a lot of trees down along the trails. This was the leg where I could have easily gotten lost. We would be running along a perfectly nice, groomed trail heading out straight in front of us and suddenly the markers would just turn off the path and go down into the woods where there was no trail. The people that map out these trails are sadists! This leg had a little poison ivy. There was one small area of black mud that it looked like a lot of people had run through. But after my experience getting stuck up to my hips a couple weeks ago, I decided to go around. As a side note, when people got to the mud on the Where's the F'ing Bridge leg, there were ropes to help people get out and our team mate said there was no way someone as short as me could have made it through there on my own.

So the major thing about Swoosh was the hills. The good news was that my headache disappeared about half way through this leg. It took me an hour and 5 minutes to run just over 4 miles. When I got back my team was there again screaming and cheering me on. They are all much better runners than I am, so it was great having their support and them letting me take part in this event with them. When I got back, I yelled "those hills were a B*@ch." My team enjoyed hearing about my pain.

After getting back to the exchange (where my teammate had already left on the next leg) it was off again in the car to the next exchange. So that is pretty much the way the rest of the day went, moving from one exchange to the next. I was continually in awe of the Ultra runners that we saw throughout the day. At the finish, when our last man was coming in, the rest of us met up with him and crossed the finish line together. We all got medals and t-shirts that have the section of the release form where it mentions our possible injury or death printed across the backs. We had beer waiting at the finish and each team got a couple pizzas. There was a band playing as the final teams were coming in and the announcements for different prizes were being made.

It was an incredible day and I still can't believe that I was there to do it. I was filling in for another person on the team, so I don't think I will be able to do it again next year. As a runner that hasn't even been running a year yet, I was so thankful that my team included me and I got a little teary eyed thinking about it as I sat and watched the other teams finish. Our final time was 12hours and 2minutes.


Total Miles Yesterday = 7.5 Approximate Miles Since Starting = 487

Posted in: on Sunday, September 9, 2007 at at 7:39 PM 4 comments  

Check out my husbands blog. It is at davewithbighands.blogspot.com.

Posted in: on Tuesday, September 4, 2007 at at 8:34 AM 1 comments  

If there is anyone out there besides my darling husband keeping track of this blog you'll have noticed that it has been a long time (over a week) since my last post. There is a simple reason for this. I finished the Crim, and I crashed. I felt awesome after I finished that race and for some reason my body or my mind or both didn't want to run again.

Don't get me wrong, I have been running. I just haven't been enjoying it too much. When I started I didn't enjoy it much either. Sometimes you have to do things because you know you need to not because it feels good. There are many examples of this in life, childbirth is one. Even though I continued to run, I couldn't think about much to write. Of course I could have written "this sucks, I hate this, why the h@*# am I doing this, when will this end, " etc. But I don't think those thoughts are really good for anyone, so I will just keep them to myself.

I took two days off after my race. Maria thinks I should have taken more. Of course Hussam (my neighbor) thinks I take too much time off, but he is a teenager and I swear he has ADHD, so he doesn't believe in rest except when he is sleeping in past noon. I ran Monday, partially on Tuesday, and Wednesday last week. Each run was difficult and I walked a lot. Finally on Saturday I wanted to run and I was instructed by Maria that it was the last day before DWD that I could do a hard workout. So Hussam and I went for a long run.

We were planning on running 14-15 miles, but at the last minute decided to run on MSU's campus. We didn't have a route planned, so we decided to run for a certain amount of time. It was a good run, but a little interesting. It would take less time than I expected to run to a specific spot, so then we would have to loop back. That campus seems big until you have to run on it for over two hours. We also had the problem of having to find bathrooms and places to get water multiple time. So, we pretty much ended up running a crazy route with no rhyme or reason to it. I am glad no one needed to follow us. But it was a really nice run and we were able to go through the gardens on campus. It is absolutely beautiful there. It was nice to get back to the point of wanting to run. When we mapped out our run online it ended up being about 11.5 miles.

Yesterday Hussam and I went for a short easy run. I think I have finally convinced him that he needs to run by himself more. He tends to only run when I go. Since I am much slower than him he isn't making the kind of improvement that he should be. His distance has definitely increased, but I don't think his speed has. At the end of the run yesterday He decided to take off and run the rest of the way home to push himself. He told me later that it "started to hurt " in the end. I think he meant that in a good way. Then he said " I guess when I run with you I'm not doing anything......in comparison to what I should." Boy he knows how to make a woman twice his age feel good.

So this is a just a post to remind all of you that there will be good days and there will be bad days. Whatever your form of exercise, you aren't going to always want to do it. Some days you just need rest and some you need to get out there and do it despite how you feel. When you are at the bottom of the barrel, you have nowhere to go but up!

Total Miles Last Night = 3.6 Total Miles Since Beginning = 476

Posted in: on at at 8:02 AM 4 comments  

Yesterday was race day. The 31st annual Crim was held in downtown Flint, MI. When people talk about the Crim they are usually referring to the 10 mile race. There are multiple other smaller races. I ran the 8k (just under 5 miles). There are quite a few elite athletes that run the Crim. The fastest 10 miler did it in 47:11. That is faster than I ran 5 miles!

Despite that, I had a great time. Maria once again helped me keep my pace and kept me company for the race. She a great plan all thought out for me. We were going to run the first half of the race at an easy pace and then slowly increase our pace from there to make sure I didn't take off too fast and end up not being able to run the whole way. The plan was great, although we ran the first mile a little faster than we should have. We decided we should slow down for the second, but actually ended up doing it a bit faster. The third mile was slower...probably because I was getting a little tired. The last two miles were awesome. And my last mile was at about 9:36 pace. That is lightening fast for me! In the last half mile I asked a boyscout to splash water on me. His entire troop took this as an invitation and at least 4 people poured water on me...I came into the finish soaking wet and my underwear didn't dry out for hours!

After the race David and the girls walked the 5k route (girls in the stroller). They started up right when some nasty ran blew in, but David did an excellent job and it sounds like the girls had a good time.

There was free pizza and beverages (pop, water, beer, gatorade, juice) for all the participants after the race. There was a DJ, dancing, lots of food vendors and blow up slides etc for the kids. Flint has deteriorated quite a bit over the last 20 years, but they still know how to throw a party!

My overall time was 54.44. That gave me a pace of 11.01. The pace was 4 seconds faster than my last race which was about 2 miles shorter. I came in 35 out of 56 in my age group. This doesn't seem very good to most, but for a short, fat woman who has always been slow, I feel blessed to be able to move like this. I never could have seen myself running a mile since middle school. Now I can run 5 or 10 and have a respectable pace. I am elated. Thanks to God for helping me turn this part of my life around. It has spilled over into other parts of my life and given me a new confidence. I am looking forward to doing this for many years to come. Faster or slower, God willing, I will keep waddling on.

Total Miles Yesterday = 5 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 449

Posted in: on Sunday, August 26, 2007 at at 2:42 PM 1 comments  

Well, I finally have a slight idea what I am about to get myself into in a few weeks. Last night was the last training run for Dances With Dirt. It was a 5 mile run. They had told us it would be the longest 5miles of our life...they were right! Looking back on it, I am so happy I did it. I made it through just fine, although I don't know how. I should know soon if I am allergic to poison ivy.

The first section of the trail was tight and a little new for me to get used to...there really wasn't a trail. But it was also flat, so it wasn't too bad. I got one thorn from a raspberry bush stuck in my arm on this section. Next, the mud started coming up. We have had some good rain lately, so it was nice and muddy. This was the thickest, blackest mud I have ever seen. At first we tried to run or walk around it, but soon it became obvious that this tactic wasn't going to work. We started running straight through it. At least that kept us out of the poison ivy and thorns. Our first water/mud crossing was a bit deceptive. It looked a little like a deepish puddle. Since there wasn't really any trail people would just get across these obstacles any way they could instead of following the runner in front of them. I made the mistake of going off to the left instead of following Maria. When I stepped in I quickly sunk up to my NECK! I thought I was going to go under, but got my footing quickly. This side was mainly water, but as we crossed it transitioned to being mainly mud. As I was trying to climb out, my foot got stuck in the mud above my knee. I couldn't move it at all. A nice mud covered gentleman helped pull me out only for my other foot to get stuck! After being pulled out ( I still had both shoes...bonus) we had another fairly easy, flat stretch. The only problem was that my feet now felt like they had cement blocks on them. I found myself praying for more water.

Next was the hills. I kind of lost count of how many. It could be that I was slightly delirious at this point. These were HILLS!!! There were many that no one ran up. And you just hoped to keeping your footing enough so that you didn't topple off a cliff on the way down. Then came the dirt ladder (that is what the people that were running near me called it...my team said they thought it was the stripper pole)...I am guessing it was about 75 yards long at about an 80 degree angle. I think we all took a rest at the top of that one. The rest of the run was mainly crappy hills instead of insane hills. Then we would have some areas where you couldn't run because the mud was too slippery. I actually was thankful for these areas because my heart was about to pound out of my chest. There was one man that I thought was going to clock his head on a down tree when he tried running this part.

Once I got past the point of thinking "boy, this sucks" or "am I going to make it out of this alive?" I started noticing that we were in some of the most beautiful land I have ever seen. Then I really started enjoying the run and taking it less seriously. I relaxed just in time for us to get towards the end of the run. We finished it going up a river with a pretty good current. For the most part, it was up to my waist. But there was that one hole...and it was up to my neck again. I didn't see anyone running this. There were times when my legs were moving but my body wasn't. It was cold and beautiful. At the end we all attempted to wash off some of the mud...it was futile.

Then it was time for dinner and margaritas...what a good way to end the day. I hope we didn't stink out the people in the restaurant too badly. Today I have washed my clothes twice and am soaking them for a second time because I just can't get the black out of them. The great news is that I have found a way to keep my mind off the heat and humidity...the mud weighting my legs down and worrying that I am going to die does a great job of that!

Just 2 1/2 weeks until DWD. I will only be running about 7 miles that day. It is probably a very good thing based on last night. Either way, I can't wait!

Total Miles Last Night = 5 Total Miles Since Beginning = 444

Posted in: on Thursday, August 23, 2007 at at 5:51 PM 1 comments  

Yesterday was my long run. I was planning on jogging over to the county park near our home, doing 8 laps (12 miles) around the park and jogging home. I headed out really slowly. So slowly I wondered why I wasn't walking. When I got to the park, I started running. I didn't have anyone with me. I felt an odd combination of confidence and discouragement. I wasn't sure I wanted to be there. The first lap took me 18:30...not too far off my usual pace of around 12 minutes per mile. But, I felt like I was dragging. After the first 1.5 miles, I started to feel a little better.

A couple of laps into my run a middle-aged man began running in the opposite direction with his kids. One of the boys was on rollerblades, the other ran on and off with his dad. I said hello the first time we passed and they kind of ignored me and looked like I was nuts. It was cold and rainy, so there weren't really any other people out on the path. I thought, "well this will be fun running past this stick in the mud over and over and over again." The next time I passed him I tried to make it look like I didn't notice him and he asked how far I was going..."10 miles?" I said "no, 12." He yelled out something that was meant to show his approval and his son said " 12...she is going farther than you!" That was all I needed. The next time I passed him I said "thanks for asking, now I am committed." He said he was running 10 miles. Now, you can't tell another runner you are going to run 12 miles and not follow through. So I kept at it. And I started noticing that we passed each other at about the same spots every half a lap. I was keeping track of my pace for each lap and realized this guy was helping me to keep my pace nice and even. I was going to have a good time.

Then, I hit the wall. I was on lap 5 (7th mile) and I just wasn't sure why I was doing this...only three laps to go...but could I do it? 6th lap...still hurting...literally...my knee was starting to hurt. And I noticed that I wasn't the only one having a hard time...my friend was looking a little taxed and we barely grunted at each other now. During the 7th lap I started thinking that I could finish even if I had to slow way down.

But before I knew it, my friend was telling me he was on his last lap, and I was coming up on mine. I still had a little reserve, so I pushed it a little at the beginning of my 8th lap. Then, when I approached the last 1/4 of my last lap, I sprinted as fast as I could. Keep in mind, this is still just a jog for many. But I was breathing hard and moving my legs as quickly as I could. I finished the last lap in 16:41...Almost 2 minutes faster than my first lap!!! I was so geeked, I started throwing my hands up in the air and jumping up and down. It is a good thing it was cold and rainy. Otherwise there would have been a lot of people on that path and they all would have thought I was nuts. I finished 12 miles in 2:19:38. That was only about 9 minutes longer than it took me to run 10 miles a week ago. As I told Maria a week or two ago..." I certainly can't impress anyone with my speed, so I am going to have to do it with my endurance." She assures me the speed will come later, but I am happy with where I am for now.

I was really happy that man and his kids showed up when they did. You just never know from whom you might find encouragement. I couldn't have asked for a better running partner...but before I knew it, he was gone.

Total Miles Yesteray = 12 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 439

Posted in: on Monday, August 20, 2007 at at 9:57 PM 1 comments  

I am getting excited...I can tell I am improving, and so can others. We had a slow day at work yesterday so instead of eating lunch Maria and I went for a run. We went on our usual three mile loop, dropped the dog off at the clinic and went backwards on the loop. We were going to cut out a section because we didn't have enough time before my next appointment to do the whole three miles. We were about to head back towards the clinic when Maria said we had enough time to go down the hill into the city park and then turn around and climb back up the hill. She loves to make me run hills! After we were done with the hill, she made a comment about that hill being easier for me. Easier, but not easy. And even better, we ran 5 miles in under an hour (just barely). So it seems I may be getting a little faster too.

The other reason I am excited is because I finally signed up for my race next weekend. August 25th brings the Crim to Flint, MI. It will only be my second race, and I am upping the mileage. Maria and I are doing the 8k (just under 5 miles) and David is walking the 5k (I am so proud of him). I am starting to assimilate to the heat and I am feeling more comfortable running. I think I will be ready for this race and be able to do my best. It should be fun.

So, next weekend is the Crim and then I need to keep working my butt off, because Dances With Dirt is coming up real soon. Maria was showing me pictures of last years DWD. The people were so dirty and absolutely crazy... I can't wait!

Total Miles Today = 0, rest day and cleaning house Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 424

Posted in: on Thursday, August 16, 2007 at at 8:23 AM 1 comments  

Feeling great, but pretty tired right now. If it weren't for two little girls that need some mommy time I might be in bed. But it is a good kind of tired. Today was my long run and I ran 10 miles!!!

My neighbor Hussam went with me again this morning after he finally peeled his butt out of bed...7am is not that early. The first couple laps around Hawk Island were a breeze. It probably helps that Hussam is a teenager and has all those issues that we can discuss while on our runs. And for once, he didn't try to run too fast so that I was pushing too hard. Thanks Hussam.

When we got to the six mile mark (4 laps), I was feeling great...just two more laps and the run home to do. The fifth lap was a little harder, but I was still doing okay and knew I could do the sixth. The last lap and the run home (about 2 miles) were a killer. We had been talking about how good we felt through the whole run, now we were talking about beginning to feel it. All I could think about was getting home to some ice cold water. Hussam gets a little goofy towards the end of runs. He starts singing and jumping around. I on the other hand get annoyed. It is a good thing that we love each other, or else we wouldn't be able to run with each other. The rest of the time we get to spend together makes up for the last mile of me telling him to shut up.

Now a couple hours later after cooling of with a walk, drinking lots of water (probably too much), stretching, taking an ice bath and a hot shower I feel great again. Tomorrow is a well deserved rest day with the family. I am looking forward to it.

Bonus...I just learned that I burned about 800 calories today!


Total Miles Today = 10.2 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 415

Posted in: on Saturday, August 11, 2007 at at 11:33 AM 2 comments  

What an awesome run today. It was my first real trail run, and I loved it!!! One of the county parks near my home has some awesome trails that I didn't even know about. I am so glad that we checked them out. My neighbor Hussam went with me today. It is a good thing, because at one point we had to pick up the stroller with the girls in it (think 94lbs) and lift it over a tree. And Hussam pushed the stroller most of the way. It slows him down a bit, so we at least have a semblance of actually running together.

I am so excited about today's run. Maria asked if I wanted to run Dances With Dirt in Hell, MI with her relay team (www.danceswithdirt.com). It is a relay for teams of 5 people. Each runner does three different legs of about 4 miles each. Think dirty, hilly (some that you have to slide down on your butt), and wet. It sounds like such a blast, but I have to up my long runs fast and get used to doing trails.

So in a little under a month, I will have completed my third race. It will be the longest yet. I also think it is going to be the most fun. I was already hooked, but after DWD there will be no turning back I am sure. So everyone pray that I don't injure myself before then.

Total Miles Today = 3.2 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 405

Posted in: on Friday, August 10, 2007 at at 6:06 PM 0 comments  

Just a short post today. It was raining this AM, so I didn't know if I would get out for my run. I run in the rain, but I didn't think the kids would tolerate it so well. But God must know I need to run and that if I miss one run, I might just stop all together. It stopped raining long enough for me and the girls and the dog to go out together. Pushing that stroller with two good sized children can be quite the workout. It was humid, but the heat wasn't too bad, so it made for a pretty nice run. We did a little over five miles all together. Before we finished the last mile I stopped at the park near our zoo and let the girls play for a while.

Starting back up after that break was harder than I had anticipated. And to make it worse, the sun was starting to come out. I was just annoyed enough when a biker went by and gave me a dirty look because I didn't pull the dog in quickly enough and he had to go off the path by maybe a foot. It was ridiculous. I try to be considerate of others. I was in a tight spot and the bushes were growing over the path on my side. I guess that since I am a mom and a dog owner I don't have the same rights to be out on the river trail with everyone else. Sorry buddy, your dirty looks only make me want to be out there even more!

When we got back to the house I was getting lunch for the girls when I realized just how rank I was. I said "I stink." My sweet Grace responded with "I KNOW!!!" You gotta love kids. At least I don't have to huff and puff when I go up the stairs to my bedroom now.

Total Miles Today = 5.36 Approximate miles since beginning = 398

Posted in: on Tuesday, August 7, 2007 at at 4:54 PM 0 comments  

This was a crazy week for me. I worked all week long to cover for my boss while she was on vacation. It isn't just the working. I live 35 miles from the office and my kids go to daycare in the town where I work. In order to get the kids to daycare and myself to work, I have to leave about an hour and a half before I need to be to work. Then I work about a ten hour day and the whole thing goes in reverse. So on the days that I work, our whole family has a very long day. Thank goodness our wonderful child care worker took the girls for a couple nights this week to help out. She is a God send and I don't know what we would do without her. As it was, I worked late into the evening both Monday and Tuesday. I was exhausted already by Wednesday. And, I was worried that my training was going to be put on the back burner for the week. For the most part, we just live in survival mode when my boss goes on vacation. I had to alter my training schedule to get in all my runs. I just couldn't run on Wednesday like I normally do. The combination of my exhaustion and the heat and humidity would have made for a dangerous experiment. But I have been very happy that I did get in all my runs this week. I didn't know if I would be able to do it, but luckily things slowed down a bit towards the end of the week and I was able to play catch up. And, my lovely friend Maria encouraged me to get out on Thursday despite the fact that the heat was unbearable.

So, I was supposed to run 6 miles today. It was a distance that I haven't run before. But, planning for it was easy. The loop around the lake near my house is 1.5 miles. I was going to walk over there, do four laps and walk back home. But, I just couldn't do it. I wanted to run as soon as I got out my door. I just didn't feel right walking over to the park. So, I ran. I decided to go 7 today (7.24 to be precise.) I wanted to make up for the crappy long run that I had last week and to prove to myself that I could run 7 miles. The first two laps around the lake were a little hard, but once I completed them, I knew I could finish. I did the entire route in 1:28:01. Not fast by any means, but a definite record for me. It tells me if I keep training and working hard I should be able to finish in a respectable time when I run the Crim 8k on the 25th of this month. And then, I will have my eyes set on a 10k a few weeks after that.

I feel great tonight. I am looking forward to next weeks long run. I am supposed to do 6.5 miles...maybe I will do 8.

Total Miles today = 7.24 Approximate Miles Since Beginning = 393

Posted in: on Sunday, August 5, 2007 at at 10:57 PM 2 comments  

My husband is the best. This week I am covering for my boss while she is on vacation. That means I am working full time plus some. It can make it very difficult to get my runs in . Our girls are with their daycare provider tonight and tomorrow. David and I had a very unhealthy dinner before coming home. I was tired (as I am sure he was too) when we got home, but asked him if he would take the dog for a walk while I went for my run so that I would have someone kind of watching over me since it was getting dark. Thanks to him, I was able to get in my tempo run tonight. That means that even if I have trouble at work the rest of the week and am unable to run at least I got in one quality workout.

I felt like I was working hard, but my pace ended up leaving a little to be desired. I guess when you look just at the tempo portion ( there was a slow warm up and cool down) the pace was close to my 5k pace.

I fell while on my run tonight. It was the second time in the last month. While it wasn't as bad of a fall this time as last, I still scrapped up the same knee, which means I am starting over with the healing process. Note to self... the road is smoother than the sidewalk...maybe you should run there at night when you can't see the ground!

Total Miles Today = 4.26 Approximate Miles Since Starting = 379

Posted in: on Monday, July 30, 2007 at at 11:08 PM 0 comments  

Yesterday was hot and humid when I ran. I was supposed to do 3 slow, easy miles. In the heat and humidity there are no easy miles. My dog and I got back to my office and he literally collapsed on the floor. Usually he is ready to play after 3 miles. But it was a good workout and I felt good about it. Today was a different story...

Today was my long run. Since I am new to running, my long runs are pretty short. I was supposed to do 5.5 miles. I try to do my long run at a slow even pace so that I can run the whole thing. I decided to run on the river trail near my home. As you guessed, it winds along the river. It is nice because there are markers every 1/4 mile...Or there were!!! I started running and the first mile was hard. I have found that it takes me about 1.5 miles to really get my stride going and to feel comfortable. I wasn't really gung ho about today's run, but I decided to give it a mile and a half. Most of the time by then I am feeling good and even if I am not, I at least have to run 3 miles because I have to get back from where I started.

So I pass the one mile mark and am starting to feel a little more comfortable when the markers on the trail seem to be spacing out a little more than they seemed like they were in the beginning. If I would have known I was going to have trouble, I could have read the numbers telling me which marker I was at, but I didn't do that in the beginning. So now I was trying to figure out how far I had gone. It was a pretty hot day. A lot of the trail is wooded, but when it isn't, it is right in the middle of the city and it is HOT! I started feeling like I missed out on one or two markers. I was keeping track of my pace, so it helped a little. Then it just all seemed to fall apart. I couldn't tell where I was or how far I had gone. I thought I had gone two miles so I figured three more markers and I could turn around. But some of those markers seemed off too. I was so frustrated by now I went up another marker and stopped at the fish ladder. I had never really seen it before so I figured I would take a break. By now I was really POed. Not only did I not know how far I had gone, but I was also appearing to have horrible pace. I ended up walking quite a few times. I think my frustration got to me just as much as the heat.

So I started back. The return trip wasn't as frustrating because I knew where I was going and had a general idea of how much further I needed to go. On the way back, some of those markers that I couldn't find started showing up... Maybe I had gone a little two far? Maybe I went out 3 miles instead of 2.75. Oh well, that would only add an extra half mile...no problem. But by now, I was so psyched out and mad that I was doing so poorly, that I ended up walking quite a bit. The heat seemed unbearable. I have the horrible psychological problem that I think I can't run in the heat, and today it caught up with me. I finally get back to my car and I am spent. It was one of the most miserable runs I have had since I started. I am glad that I know that there are good runs and bad runs and this one bad run doesn't mean I should quit.

Now I am back at my house and I need to map my run online so that I can see how far I ran and jot it down in my log. I ran a little over 7 miles! No wonder it was taking me longer than I expected and the markers seemed further apart...THEY WERE! This is only the second time I have run 7 miles. I did it last Saturday for my long run. I was supposed to do 5. But at 4.5 miles I felt so good, that I kept going around the park near my house. I loved last weeks run...the difference was that I wanted to do it last week and I knew what I was getting myself into. So that is why the lesson of the day is KNOW YOUR ROUTE!

Total Miles Today = 7 Approximate Miles Since Starting = 375

Posted in: on Saturday, July 28, 2007 at at 6:48 PM 0 comments  

I did my first official "speed work" last night. Most of my runs throughout the week are kept at a slow, easy pace. I have one run a week that is a little faster and one that is longer. Last night was intervals, which means I got to run around a track multiple times. I was dreading it! I don't like running in circles. That is why I was outside with a scarf around my face and my glasses freezing over when I ran on the coldest day of the year last winter.

I was supposed to run a lap at 5k pace...slow for the rest of the world, but close to as fast as I can go. Then I was supposed to slow way down and jog or walk half a lap to recover. As soon as I was done with the half lap recovery I started over. I did eight intervals. I haven't run around a track more than about 4 times before and that was many years ago. They actually weren't very bad. It may be that my heart pounding out of my chest and the buckets of sweat pouring down my face distracted me from the fact that I was running in circles!

There was a five or six year old little boy with his mom at the track. He was riding his bike that had training wheels on it. This track is old and very messed up. There are quite a few "pot holes" in it. He would get stuck in a hole every now and then, or just have a hard time keep the bike going on the poor surface. Every once in a while I would pass him and he would say something about having a hard time going. I could tell that him and his mom were talking about me. It entertained me as I was running. When I stopped to stretch, he rode past me and he was so excited to pass me. To think that he thought I was fast enough that he wanted to try to pass me... for a penguin like me, that made my day! Thanks Alex for boosting my ego just a bit.

Total miles last night = 4.5 Approximate miles since starting to run = 365

Posted in: on Thursday, July 26, 2007 at at 8:39 AM 0 comments  

So this is my first blog...I guess it should be inspirational in some way. I started this to help keep me accountable with my running. So, why do I run anyway?

My uncle died at the age of 55 last December. My family (especially my dad) have taken the shock pretty hard. My mom has many medical problems related to arthritis, osteoporosis and years of smoking. She stopped smoking, I am so proud of her! My dad had a kidney transplant 15 years ago. Since then he has developed diabetes. His kidney is failing again...I am guessing from the diabetes and high blood pressure. Most of my family (including me) struggle with keeping their weight under control. I guess what I am saying is that I don't have good genes medically speaking. I need to do all I can to help fight off the illnesses that are going to try to ruin my life as I age.

I don't want to end up like my uncle. I love my family enough to try to change the bad luck. I want what they have had to go through to make an impact. And hopefully if it makes an impact on me, it will also impact the life of those around me. I want my husband and girls (what better reason can there be) to have a good example. And I want my girls to think of exercise as fun and a natural part of life. So I run...to lose weight; to fight stress; to keep my joints working properly; to lower my blood pressure; to reduce my risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer, osteoporosis; to feel better about myself; to show others if I can do it then so can they; to not go down without a fight; and to show my girls that they can be strong, beautiful, and healthy.

So on December 31st of 2006 I took my first very slow steps (literally) towards being a runner after at least a decade of only moving when I had to. I am SLOW. I am not a natural born runner. It has taken time to even get to the point where I was really running instead of just walking. But now, I have found, that I love running. I love the way it makes me feel. I love that I am doing something hard that I never thought I would. I love taking my dog for runs and wearing him out. I love running with my girls in their stroller. I love the other runners I have met. I love that I have run in my first 5k race (3.1miles) and was able to run the whole way faster than I ever had before. I love that 3 miles now seems like a easy run and the miles seem shorter now. I love that I have run enough miles to need a new pair of shoes. Have I motivated anyone yet? I hope so. Like I said if I can , so can you!

And finally, I wouldn't be running if it weren't for my very good friend, Maria. She can kick my ass any day and yet she still chooses to run with me and have an easy day while I am having a hard one. She has kept me motivated and encouraged me when I didn't want to get out the door. She has also kept me from doing too much at once so that I don't injure myself and I can keep running. Most of all she has shown me that a 30 something woman can challenge herself and be a real athlete. Thanks Maria!

Posted in: on Tuesday, July 24, 2007 at at 4:28 PM 2 comments