And We Run

I love facebook. I try to be smart about my FB usage. I have a rule of thumb that if I don't know the person, actually know them in person I generally don't befriend them. I understand that it is possible for people who are not my friends to see certain posts and whatnot but I have tried to take all the necessary precautions and privacy measures to keep me and my family safe. With that said, I sometimes post about running by myself, although I try to only post it AFTER the fact.
After Monday's long run I updated my status to say:
Amanda thinks running 15 miles by yourself is hard so I only did 14. Oh well.

This isn't exactly putting me at risk, I don't' think...do you? It does say Hey, this nut job runs long distances by herself...so maybe it makes me a target. Where there is a creep-o with a will there is a way. AND this is also after I met the creepster at the track. So when my good friend's mom (who is like a Mom #2 to me) posted this on my wall I took it to heart, she is right:

Friends Mom: OK...the mother in me comes out, my THIRD daughter :).... Do NOT run BY YOURSELF! Please!!! And don't post it on FB.... I have had strangers comment on my wall before. FB isn't STRANGER Proof. I have read PEOPLES FB Wall's that aren't my accepted friends. With the horrible tragic Natl. news today of the found body of the girl jogger in a park... it isn't safe for women to EVER, EVER be alone! AMANDA'S friends, STEP UP and someone ride their bike with her or chase her in your car...Run your dog with her... SOMEONE stick to her like glue... or I will have to (and it won't be pretty to see her dragging me on her jog! :) I want to see some names of who will join Amanda and promise me that she wont jog alone, for Amanda's sake. Love (your 2nd Mom).

Now, it will be hard to NEVER run alone but I think it is important that we are aware of the dangers and not begin to feel invincible, you know that old feeling we had in high school: It wont happen to me. Because unfortunately, it could. The more my distances increase and the longer I am out there running the more aware I am of being vulnerable. Thank goodness my friend RED stepped up to the challenge and volunteered to run with me! She came through today and met me for my 4 miler! Moral of this post is to tell you all to be smart and safe out there. Just because I don't think like a bad guy doesn't mean bad guys don't think...what? I just got confused. You all know what I am trying to say, be aware of your surroundings, carry a whistle or something to make a loud noise, don't run in secluded areas, make sure someone knows where you are, don't post it for the world to see on FB or dailymile, and be safe!

Here is me and Red before heading out...

We took an after shot too but well, my face was fit for radio in that one. I love how my hat bill is all crooked. Grrr....

We had a great run and got to catch up on the latest news and going's on with each other. Oh yea and she will be joining the Seattle Rock n Roll clan!!! Wooo Whooo!! Can't wait!!!

Today's Stats:
4 miles
Mile 1 8:31
Mile 2 8:39
Mile 3 8:41
Mile 4 8:50
Total time: 34.43
Average Pace: 8:40
Calories burned: 473

Today I am grateful for:
A beautiful day of sun shine!
A good run, shopping and lunch with Red!
The Office!!!! My favorite show!!

Wednesday's Wonders Giveaway!

Well I had had enough. My running clothes frankly STINK. It didn't matter what I used I just never could seem to get that icky sweat smell out. So I decided to try out Win High Performance Sport Detergent ! And boy let me tell you, it works! Not only do my workout clothes smell good out of the wash, they smell good when I put them on and start running, which I noticed before as I started running or working out and heating up my clothes would start stinking before I even started to sweat! Gross.

What Win says:
Most liquid detergents do not target embedded odors and even after gym clothes are washed, these odors stay entrenched in the fibers. After a few workouts, even the best high tech fabrics typically develop a musty odor. This is caused by bacteria attracted to sweat soaked fabric.
Using a unique technology, Win Detergent's scientifically designed super oxygenated system directly targets offensive odors and stains. This powerful oxy cleaning technology eliminates the embedded sweat molecules and odors that overwhelm the fabric. Simultaneously, these same ingredients also react with soil and organic materials causing them to either decolorize or disintegrate. Once in a soluble form after oxidization, dirt and odors easily wash away.

Win Detergent is safe for use on all colors and fabrics.
Win Detergent works equally well in all temperatures.
Win Detergent can be used in high efficiency machines and for hand washing.
The super oxygenated formula in Win Detergent is biodegradable based on OECD standards.

My only gripe is the size of the bottle....No, I do not have a giant hand, I have a tiny bottle of detergent.



And now, the giveaway part of the post, you know this is what you were waiting for! What you will win: One bottle of Win detergent, and I promised you Olympics swag and I will deliver! Below you will see in my hand an awesome cowbell! Now we all have heard "More Cowbell" and I am sure that you, my awesome bloggy runner friends, have races coming up and you want your awesome supportive loved ones, spouse, friends, or dog to ring this not-at-all annoying cowbell for you as you speed by them in a race!! And it is brought to you straight from Vancouver, BC. It has the cool little Vancouver Olympics logo on it!

And here are some sweet Earbags. That's right, earbags. So for those of you who are still braving the cold these could come in handy! I tried mine out and they fit right over the ears (and stay put!) and keep them warm! You can even wear your earbud and certain other headphones under them! And well, they too have the Vancouver Olympic logo on them.

So how do you enter? Leave a separate comment for each:
Become a 5 miles 2 Empty follower and leave me a comment, or let me know you already are!
Tell me who you would want to ring that cow bell for you and in which race!

Remind me that you entered my name my Garmin Contest (yay for an extra giveaway entry!)

Link up this giveaway anyway you can/want, facebook, blog, dailymile, twitter. Leave a comment to let me know for each.

Contest ends Wed 3/10 at 10 PM PST and the winner will be announced 3/11

Good luck!

Today I am grateful....It's a great day to be alive. Live life.

Playing Catch Up!

First of all, sorry ya'll! I kind of went MIA for almost a week! Where did the time go? Where did I go? Sometimes I just find myself in a cave. I have to step back and take a break. Not to mention sometimes I just don't feel positive and I don't want to infect you all, my awesome bloggy buddies, with my negative vibes. But thankfully those negative vibes are making their way out a here as we speak. AND just because I wasn't posting didn't mean I wasn't running! Last Wednesday I hit 7 miles with Mel my Tall Momma friend. I had minimal hip pain and felt good. Thursday I hit my 4 mile run on the treadmill with a time of 36:28 (9.07/mile pace). I opted to skip my short 3 miler Friday because my hip hurt just walking, standing, and breathing. I wanted to rest up too for Saturday's 15 miler. Saturday came and I got out of bed and slowly got motivated to drive to my friends house, lets call her Red. She has two smaller red heads that my Little Buddy plays well with and she has graciously volunteered to help me with my long runs. The sun was shining at 8:30 A.M. but not so lucky by the time I pulled into her driveway around 9. The clouds opened up, the rain fell, the wind blew. I hobbled out of my car and realized that I wanted to run 15 miles about as much as I wanted to smash my own foot with a sledge hammer. I walked in and first mistake I set my stuff down and meandered into the living room. I lallygagged around. I must have looked completely unmotivated and Red picked up on it. We had a play date instead to include lunch out. =) My 15 miler was a no-go and I was completely OK with that. My hip was sore and I was not in the mood to run. I was in the mood to be around another adult, another person who's hubby is deployed, not in the mood to spend 15 miles alone. So it was a combination of pain and the long, stressful, and emotionally draining few days prior that led me to not run Saturday. Sunday runs are pretty much never going to happen, at least until I start doing speed work on the track where I can keep my Little Buddy corralled. So I mentally prepared myself to do my long run on Monday. Monday I had 2 and a half hours to complete my 15 miles. I wasn't sure I would be able to do it but I set out nonetheless. I had a route in mind and hit the pavement heading towards the waterfront. It was great running weather, 48 degrees. Here is my view for 4 miles of the long run...I can live with this.

After running the waterfront the only way to make my way back toward home (even though I had about 8 miles to go before I could actually go home) was to take The Hill of Death. Ugh. This hill is no joke, straight up killer.

Man, these pictures do not do the hill justice. I ran up at a slow pace and you will see just how slow when I post the stats (hint, mile 7). After coming to the top I could have turned left and and headed home and finished up with about 8.5 miles...BUT I went straight. I wanted to be done mostly because I was bored and alone but I could not quit just yet. I knocked off a few more miles and ran by my friend Jessica's house, I knew she was at work but it was worth a try. I was thirsty. Her car was not there so with about 5 miles of my 15 left I headed toward the local university track. This is a good way for me to finish longer runs without getting too far from home, especially when I am on a time schedule. I arrived at the track and began to run circles.

B.O.R.E.D.

Someone. Please. Shoot. Me.

I knocked off one mile, then two, then three and I could not stand another minute. I headed to the gate and grabbed my water belt that I had removed and slung over the fence. That is when it happened. I knew it was going to. A tall, lanky, strange guy had been walking the straightaway, back and forth, the entire time I was running circles. He mouthed something to me. Ugh. Seriously, can't you see I am wearing headphones and sweating profusely. Can't you tell I am not yet done with my 15 miles? I am too nice. I took one headphone out. He started some small talk and I could not get away. The whole time I was thinking about how I just had to finish my run and my tock was clicking, or my clock was ticking...whatever. I had to finish 2 more miles in like 12 minutes. Yeah right. He had marathon advice, told me I looked like his daughter, told me I was too young to have hip pain then immediately asked me how old I was and then he quickly replied, "You are a young 31! I thought you were a university student" Hm, I wasn't sure if this was creepy or a compliment. I wasn't exactly getting that friendly runner feeling. He even asked me if my husband runs with me...uh RED FLAG. I told him, "Oh he does run with me, just not today." As a single-married military wife you learn real quick that it is not exactly safe to announce to the world that your spouse is away for periods of time (kind of like I am doing now....hm...ok creepers, stay away. I have a baseball bat and lots of weapons in my house and I know how to use them. Ok, got that out there). Finally I had had enough and I told him I needed to finish my run and get going and excused myself. Whew, the whole experience left me feeling weird. I am usually a good character judge and this guy just had me baffled. Anyway, I knew I would only have time for one mile and I headed home.

So, stats for Monday's solo long run are:

14 Miles

Mile 1 8:40 Mile 2 8:46 Mile 3 8:45 Mile 4 9:00 mile 5 9:04 mile 6 9:08 Mile 7 11:07 The Hill of Death...I survived. Mile 8 9:48 recuperating mile 9 9:09 That's more like it.... Mile 10 9:16 Mile 11 8:50 Mile 12 8:54 Mile 13 8:59 Mile 14 9:09 After a 15 minute conversation with a guy who had lots to say about running, marathons, training, and pain.

Total time: 2:09

What?!?!? So maybe I have a sub 2 hour half in me after all!? We will see on 3/21! But no pressure people...no pressure. I am in full marathon training after all!

Wow, I had a lot to catch you all up on! This post is pretty long but I figure you didn't have anything to read (at least here on my blog) since last Wednesday! AND to top it off I still have a giveaway to unveil! This is post 105 after all! But, I need a bit more time to get it together so I am going to have it up on later Wednesday afternoon. Hope you all don't mind! Today I am grateful for: Inspiratonal books that help me fall asleep at night. My birth month! It's a month-long party! Awesome friends and family, I am blessed for sure!

Wednesday's Wonders

I have decided to dedicate Wednesday's to reviewing products that I have tested or want to try. The good, the bad, the awesome and the ugly. And I am so excited that I have a couple of things on the way to me in the next couple of weeks to review for you all! YIPEEE!

I finally broke down and ordered some compression socks. I had to see what the hype was about and to test for myself. I ordered mine from RunningSkirts.com.

What Running skirts says about their socks:

Compression = Happy Legs!

The moment you slip into a pair of "swift socks" you'll be saying "AAAAHHH". Treat yourself to the comfort & performance of compression socks.

So here they are! I slipped these puppies on after Monday's 10 miler and wore them from about 4 O'clock until about 9 O'clock. I don't how long is too long to wear them but they felt good! My legs were not sore (other than my hip and frankly recovery socks wont help that, maybe I need a recovery legging?). I don't generally have sore calves after long runs so the true test will be how I feel after a speed workout, that is what gets my calves a burnin'! But in all they were very comfortable and the tightness felt good!





And check out the runner chicks on the side! So cute! My calves are pretty big so the runners are just a little bit distorted but hey, I have powerful and muscular calves. What can I say?


I also broke down and ordered one of their running skirts and one of the athletic skirts. I wore the running skirt today on my 7 Mile run with Mel-Tall Mom on the Run. I figured a 7 mile run was a good distance to test it out, not too short and not too long. I was very pleasantly surprised how well it worked out for me. The size was a little...er, strange. I got a 3 (not my normal jeans size by ANY means!). The gals at running skirts.com have their own way of sizing. So this skirt was about right lengthwise but around the waist I could have stood it to be a little snugger (say what!??!). But if I went down a size I would be wearing an inappropriate booty skirt, I am certain. I have long legs y'all. But in all the size fit fine and I liked the skirt. i felt cute and not too foo foo-ey. I put my car key in the side pocket that only had a small Velcro to keep it shut. I kept reaching down to make sure it was still there, and sure enough the key remained in its little pocket the entire 7 miles.

So, here I am in my skirt and YES I am a dork and no this is not my normal way of running. I was being, well...dorky:

And here is a more normal, or less dorky (which ever you prefer) picture:

Today I looked outside and saw clouds but I also saw SUNSHINE!! It was about 54 degrees so I decided it was a good day for the skirt. I had plans to run with Mel and so I headed out to meet her on her lunch break. I arrived at her place of employment and shortly after she texted me to see about the weather, poor girl had been inside all day. I told her I was wearing a hat because it looked like it could rain but at the same time the sun was shining!!! Shortly after that I saw her prancing across the street and she met me at the car! I put in a weak attempt to stretch and loosen up while she actually stretched. Note to self: I need to work on that stretching thing.

We set out and the conversation flowed, as usual. We had no shortage of topics to talk about. She showed me her usual lunch break stomping grounds. How awesome to have such a great place to run on her lunch break! We saw a lot of other people out taking advantage of the trails. We even saw a woman running in her jeans! Seriously, is that dedication? Weirdness? I have to give her props, you don't have to have the sweetest and newest gear to run or exercise, that lady proved it. I think she may have even had sweet 80's feathered hair not tied back. But I could have totally imagined that. We ran up a big hill that made me tired. I have been slacking on the hills lately since the OKC Marathon will be flat as the plains...but I will be kicking myself for this lack of hill training when I do the Mercer Island half here in less than a month. OOOOooops.

In all it was a great run with a great friend. It is always amazing to me how fast the miles pass when you run with a partner. I may have slowed her pave by, oh ....a minute and some change per mile. But eh, what 'cha gonna do? While we were running it felt hard, not too hard, but not too easy. It wasn't the best and most speedy of my runs but I was coming off of Monday's long run and I lifted weights Tuesday. My hip held up quite well and only kind of hurt beginning around mile 5.5ish. It was nothing I couldn't deal with and I could just feel it. I was happy that it did not make me want to throw myself off a bridge for relief. Joke, joke! That would never relieve the pain! Again...joke!

Today's stats from G. Money:
Mile 1 9:13
Mile 2 9:07
Mile 3 9:17
Mile 4 9:24
Mile 5 9:09
Mile 6 9:05
Mile 7 8:39

Total time: 1:03.58
Average pace: 9:08
Calories burned: 849

And of course the post run picture!

Just as we were finishing our run, with about a quarter of a mile left, it started raining. The rain began to come down harder and harder...we finished just in the nick of time!

After our run I got to head over to Kerrie of Mom vs. Marathon's work to hand deliver her awesome prize for my Name my Garmin contest! Poor Kerrie had to run out in the pouring rain and to top it off I must have been brain dead because I parked as far away from the front door of her work as possible AND I faced my car the wrong way just to ensure that she had to run all the way out into the parking lot to get her prize AND get soaked. Sorry about that Kerrie.


Today I am grateful for:
A good day!
A good run.
I got to talk to The Hubs last night!
Clean sheets on my bed! Mmmm...bed. Maybe I'll go to bed early.

Whipping My Hip into Shape

Today I decided to rest, kind of. I took the day off from running, which was called for with my plan since yesterday was my long run. I am just replacing this weeks short run (which should be tomorrow) with my mid week long run so that I can meet Mel-Tall Mom for a lunch 7 miler! Yay!! I figured it best to have a rest day in here, especially considering my throat hurts and I have an annoying cough AND oh yeah, my leg just might fall off. Maybe I am falling apart. Or maybe I am just in the throes of training. My smart sister sent me some exercises to initiate to strengthen my hips, core, and back. I agree that I just need to strengthen those muscles and hold that darned hip in place. So I am going to give the exercises a try and take the wait and see approach when it comes to seeing the doctor. Thanks to all of you for your input. I must admit, if I wasn't enjoying my training so much and didn't have a marathon on the books I would probably take myself to the doc. BUT I will see how this goes and I will listen to my body, it hasn't told me to lay off just yet.

Here is my first video on the blog...no laughing!




Today I did 10 min on the elliptical to warm up before hitting the weights. And that about does it for my workout today.

Today I am grateful for:
Babysitters.
Flip Flops. That's right, I have been wearing them...out of the house.
Clean, fresh laundry. Even though I have to fold it!

Post 103! Remember...105 is my giveaway post!

I look forward to running!

Today I had to get my 10 miles in. I should have done it on Friday but time just did not allow. I knew if I didn't get it in on Friday then Saturday was out of the question because we had a big day in Vancouver, BC planned. I toyed with the idea of attempting a treadmill 10 miler on Sunday afternoon but I knew that would not work either. My YMCA stopped their Sunday nursery SO I would have had to try to run 10 miles with my Little Buddy in a small fenced in area in the Family Room watching me run. The most I can ever get is 4 miles without him needing a drink, needing to go potty, getting bored, or just "Mom." "Mom." "Mom."-ing me to DEATH. So that was a no-go.

On Friday all I could think about was wanting to get my run in. All I needed was about an hour and a half but it just wasn't there. It is amazing how things have changed for me. Used to I would just shrug it off and promise myself to make it up later or whatever. Not now. Something has switched on in my noggin and I actually look forward to running, look forward to counting my miles, look forward to the time spent out there reflecting and just having me time. I look forward to running. How did that happen? And more importantly WHEN did that happen? Saturday I was pretty distracted but still running crossed my mind and I knew it wasn't going to happen until Monday. Sunday came and went and then...then Monday came! 10 Mile Day!

I waited for it to warm up from 38 to 50 and at 1 O'clock I hit the road with G.Money Nimrag. It was an uneventful run which is good. I headed out and the sun was shining, I was feeling good and my music was loud. I made it about 9 miles before my hip started hurting. I tried to leg kick hoping to get it back in place but that did not work. I was determined to run the entire 10 miles so I kept going. It got worse and worse and I started feeling a numbness in my bum that radiated down to my ankle. It was very strange because while it was numb it was not I have an epidural numb, I could feel pain and it was bad. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst pain in my life, ever, I would have put it at a 7. This is not good.

I spent my last mile thinking about making a doctor appointment. I know it could be a stress fracture, but I think it would hurt all the time and not just after 4 miles, or today 9 miles. Going to the doctor is kind of like when I was in high school and I wanted to do something that I knew my parents would say no about. Do you ask them, "Mom, dad. Can I go to so and so the most popular boy in school's party?" When you KNOW they are going to say "No."? No, you ask them if you can go to your BFF's house to watch movies. Going to the doctor right now would not be good. He would tell me to rest (not an option, I have a marathon to run people). Then he will tell me to come back after 3, or 4, or 5 or 6 (GASP!) weeks off if it still hurts after running again.

So how do you know when you should go to the doctor? How do you know when you are doing more harm to your body than good? How do you know when you could be causing serious damage? When you can no longer walk? When tears stream down your face? When you can't help that you are making crazy sounds like a dying elk while finishing the last mile of your run (not that I was doing that or anything). I think I will give it a few more weeks, a few more runs, a couple more tries. I will see if tomorrow is better...there is always tomorrow. Maybe I will just wait until it is no longer bearable. I know. That is not smart. But I want to run, I want to train for my marathon.

Today's stats:
10 Miles 1/2 mile cool down

Mile 1 8:17
Mile 2 8:41
Mile 3 8:45
Mile 4 9:00
Mile 5 8:44
Mile 6 8:38
Mile 7 8:42
Mile 8 8:44
Mile 9 8:59
Mile 10 9:09
Total time: 1:27.48
1/2 Mile cool down: 9:36
Calories burned: 1,218

Overall I had a good run and am thrilled with my times. I will get in my 3 miler tomorrow and a plan is in motion to meet up with Mel-Tall Mom Wednesday for my mid-week long run of 7 miles.

Today I am grateful for:
My couch.
Ice cold water!
Dinner with friends!

Post 102!!!

Meet G. Money Nimrag!

My Garmin has a name!!! Yay!!! There were so many excellent entries that I had a hard time picking one! So to be honest, I chose two...So two people win!

May I introduce to you G. Money Nimrag!!!! I bet he will most often be called G. Money but his full name is officially G.Money Nimrag (Garmin backwards! I know! We got a thinker out there!).

So Kerrie from Mom vs. Marathon and Stephanie from Girls Just Wanna Go Run I will be in touch for an address!! Be on the lookout for a fun surprise!! Thanks so much to all of you for your suggestions! Like I said there were so many!


My Little Buddy and a couple friends and I headed up to Vancouver B.C. to the Olympics to watch the preliminary round of women's Curling this weekend. It was such a blast!

Here we are in front of the torch. It was dark but still very beautiful and impressive! Too bad you can't see my Little Buddy's face but he was all about seeing the fire.

Here we are posing with the sign.

And here we are celebrating the big W! USA beat Great Britain, just barely! It was such a cool experience and I am so glad we got to go. My Little Buddy did say as soon as we went in and sat down, "where is the guy skiing down the mountain?" Poor kid thought we were going to watch skiing or snow boarding. But he was only disappointed for a minute then he settled in for the nearly 4 hour game!

On the agenda for tomorrow: 10 miles. I wasn't able to get it in Friday between work and travel then Saturday was out of the question. Today was out because I don't run with a stroller. So tomorrow it is. I must say I felt pretty guilty all weekend having not completed my long run yet. I also wanted to run. Weird. More on that tomorrow!

For those of you who are anxiously awaiting post 105 this is 101! I have some cool things lined up for one of you (trust me, it is cool. I may comment just so I can win! ha!)!!! Stay tuned for my 105th post giveaway!!!

Today I am grateful for:
An awesome weekend and trip to the Olympics!
Sunny weather and a chance to hang out with my Little Buddy as he rode his bike around the block. Over. And over. And over....
My glasses because my contacts hurt half the time.
Unlimited texting! I finally broke down, bit the bullet, gave in, got sick of overages and purchased the unlimited plan. Now I am a texting fool! =)

100th POST!

Say WHAT!!!

I am so unprepared! I just realized today that this post will be my 100th! So man oh man I feel so unprepared! I have my Name My Garmin Contest going but I feel like I need more!!! So here is the deal...be on the lookout for my 105th post celebration giveaway!! Let me give you a little heads up though, if you have participated in my Name My Garmin Contest you will receive an extra entry in the giveaway coming up...so click HERE to suggest a name for my Garmin! Did I mention I am heading up to the Olympics this weekend? Well I have a feeling my giveaway could include something OLYMPICS related!

Today my Marathon Training plan (yeah, I like to say Marathon Plan...can you blame me?) called for 4 miles. I hit the treadmill this morning after teaching my water aerobics class and I felt pretty tired and sore in my hip and bum. I knew I should take it easy with this run because I am hoping to get in 10 miles tomorrow before we head up to Vancouver. My body was certainly aware of my fast run yesterday and I felt fatigued.

Today's stats:
4 Miles
9:07/mi pace
36:28 total
1/2 Mile cool down

I am not sure if I will get my 10 miles in tomorrow. We will see what the day has in store with my strange work hours and preparing for our trip to watch Women's Curling!! YipEEE!

Today I am grateful for:
Warm towels fresh from the dryer.
My Little Buddy's awesome sense of humor and personality. He keeps me smiling!
People who show the world what it means to be an athlete and a role model.