Happy Birthday Jesus!

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

What Wind?

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

The Running gods Are Out To Get Me

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

The Dog Thinks He Is A Contender

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

No Turning Back

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

Great Feeling

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

Running With A New Toy

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