Tuesday, November 30, 2010

It’s all in my head…

The pain in my leg.

The cinder block shoes.

The sandpaper socks.

It’s all in my head.

The tightness in my calf.

The tingling in my toes.

The tired legs.

Please tell me it’s all in my head….

The hammering on my heal.

The pulling of my hammy.

The achy knee.

Over and over again…

It’s got to be ALL IN MY HEAD!

3.58 Miles today and it was not fun.

It’s all in my head, right? Taper madness is no joke!  It has me, big time. I need some positive visualization in a serious way. Maybe I can work on some meditation tonight. I’ll let you know how that goes.

I have realized lately that it takes me about 3 miles to warm up. That’s not necessarily bad in a race  that is 13.1 miles or more. But for a 5k, not so good. Guess I need to start warming up before races. Heck, I should even warm up before training runs. What a concept!

I got a sweet new jump/speed rope. It says 12 min a day 5 days a week will burn almost 700 calories. After Vegas I am beginning some wicked cross training. I am pretty excited for the change up.  And in case you need an excuse to change it up a bit you should check out this article by Runner Dude HERE. He spells it out for us in simple terminology and easy to understand verbiage. Essentially, muscle burns fat throughout the day whereas running, well it only burns while you are actually running. So while I’m running  for 4 1/2 hours, like I will be doing next Sunday, I will be burning fat/calories. But once I stop, so does the caloric burn and then I am STARVING and need to refuel with an entire pizza (or the like). Point is muscle burns fat and I am getting soft people. I need to hit the weights and lean up.

Have you all been thinking about what is next for you in 2011? What is your course? Will it include long races? Short races? No races? Weights? Cycling? Swimming? Yoga? Zumba?  What do you want to accomplish in 2011?  I hope to reveal my big plans for 2011 soon!!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly…

So there are good, bad and ugly things I need to get off my chest.

The Good

Today is the Seattle Marathon and Half Marathon! I have a few friends running and I know they will do great!

I have run 835.75 miles in 2010!

Less than one week until I am in Vegas hanging out with Mel-Tall Mom and AN the RB! I can’t wait!

One week until Marathon #3!! 

The Bad

I am not running previously mentioned Seattle Half Marathon. I love, or loved to hate, that race. The first year I ran it (2008) I  thought it was awful. But with a year of half marathon experience behind me, in 2009 I felt confident I could tackle it, again. I did. And now in 2010 I want to tackle it again. But I can’t.

I have run only 835.75 miles in 2010. I know that is a lot of miles but it isn’t 1000. I know I have a lot to look back on and be proud of (like three marathons in one year) but I wanted to run 1000 miles in one year. I had a few set backs throughout the year where my monthly mileage was quite low. And I know that the best thing for me was to hold back and not risk injury, illness or worse.  So, in order to hit my 1000 mark I need to run 164.25 miles in the next 34 days. Can it be done? I don’t know. Maybe. That is 4.83 miles per day.  But, subtract my marathon that leaves me with 4.18 miles per day to hit 1000 miles in 2010. I guess I have a new goal (this should go under Ugly).

In one week I have Marathon #3. I feel slow, out of shape, sore, tired and have a huge lack of confidence. I also got a text from Pam telling me the 10 day forecast calls for rain. In Vegas. What the heck? Why do I have a rain cloud following me? Well, lets hope the weather changes up a bit and we have a dry day to run 26.2 miles!

The Ugly

I have gained some weight since, since I don’t know when exactly. I t just kind of crept up on me, like a bad guy in the dead of night. Ok, that may not be entirely true. I knew it was creeping up on me I could feel it. Kind of like I looked over my shoulder, saw it, mocked it, and dared it to come and try. It did. It won. I lost…so here I am heading into Marathon #3 with about 14 pounds more than I had in OKC marathon and about 4 pounds more than Portland (rough estimate). I need a change and I need to make I quick. It’s an ugly situation to find yourself in. Ugly.

I have to run approximately 4.8 miles every day for the next 34 days if I want to hit 1000. I don’t feel like running today. Ugly.

Yesterday I ran 8 miles. It felt like 20. I was tired.  I was bored. Annoyed. It was rough. It was only 8 miles. Ugly.

Well, I’m off to hang with the Fam. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving….

I need a Turkey Trot or something. There is so much good food to be eaten and I think I will enjoy it SO much more if I get a workout in before hand. The Hubs is out on one of his mountain biking adventures and when he gets back I’ll head out for a short run. Last night LB actually rode his bike beside me as I ran! He was a little bit slower than  I would have liked but it is a start! I am pretty excited for him to get a little stronger so that he can go faster than a 10 min pace. I will say I was sub 8 at times keeping up with him on long declines! It was a good interval workout: fast, slow, slower, fast, slow, fast, slower……now if only he could ride 10 miles or more!

**Begin Random Thanksgiving Chatter**

Yesterday was spent in the kitchen baking pumpkin pie, pecan pie, cranberry sauce, green beans and wheat berry salad. My house smelled delicious! I love Thanksgiving! I love the smells in the house and the buzz about the room when the turkey is almost done!

Before I grew up and moved away Thanksgiving was always spent with family. My first Thanksgiving away from home I was living in Monterey, CA. My first roommate from college was living in Hollywood so I jumped in my car and drove the nearly 6 hours down Highway 1 to spend the holiday with her. She was the closest thing I had to family within 1500 miles. I was thrilled to spend the day with her. We went to a restaurant and I can’t even tell you what kind it was, other than it was pretty good.  I remember the feeling of missing my family and I know Annie was missing hers too. But we had each other. I have found, over the years since that first Thanksgiving away from home, that Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday to spend with friends who stand in as family when you need them. Being a military family we learn to make nice, I mean make friends and care for them as if they are family. I have come to enjoy the holidays that I get to spend with my friends, those who are usually in the same situation, away from their own families.

Today we are going to Breaking Pace’s house.  I remember the first Thanksgiving we spent here in NC. I believe her husband came to our house for that holiday. This was in 2004 and I had just found out I was expecting LB. We had about 10 people, all family-less, sharing the occasion with us. I think it is pretty cool that now we are going to their house to celebrate.  And lets face it, if you be home then be the next best place: with good friends!

I have a lot to be thankful for over the last year. I also have a lot to try to keep in a positive perspective, the negative things. The things that I don’t understand and ask Why? about. The things that scare me or make me sad.  There are a lot of emotions for me around this time of year…and I have to focus on the good things and be thankful for that.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you have a wonderful day! And take a few minutes to reflect on what you are thankful for! And if you can, hit the road for a pre or post turkey trot or turkey walk or turkey bike ride or turkey snow shoeing (for my friends in the PNW!!)!

 

Gobble gobble gobble!!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Know Your Course….

…literally and philosophically.

When I ran cross country in High School one of the things we always had to do, without fail, was walk the course before the start of the race. Today it hit me, in HS I just thought it was part of our torture, part of the ploy to make teenagers suffer, get up earlier than necessary, and to warm up. But today, I realized the true importance of walking the course before you run it in a race. I have my neighborhood figured out, already. It’s not hard when you can only squeeze 3.64 miles out of it by hitting every cul-de-sac and street. But it has some nice little inclines and declines. When I was running with the Hubs, the time I ran as fast as I could (HERE), I decided to use the hills to my advantage. I new where to turn around and how to use the downhills to bring my pace down, and where the incline was and how long that hill was and just how to run it so that I could use it all to my advantage.

Sure I have driven courses before but really that was just so that I could see it and get a feel for it, but never to study it. To analyze it. To create a plan of attack. To strategize! Now I don’t really think I would truly study 26.2 miles and try to optimize the up and downhills. Lets be honest, I am just trying to survive. But for 13.1 or less I think knowing the course is crucial, critical to doing your best (I am sure it is for a race of any distance but I am just not there yet for longer race strategizing) ! I have never looked at a course map before a race, except to see the over all elevation or over view of the ups and downs, but I have never looked at it and thought about how I would use the downs or prepare for the ups. I never really thought about it. All I knew was that there was a 1 in a jillion chance I would be first and leading the pack, so I didn’t need to know the route. But now, now I know better. It is more that leading the pack, it is about using every inch of a course to your advantage! I am so ready to begin racing shorter races and improve my overall racing strategies, fitness and pace. But for now I will study the 26.2 miles that is the Vegas course. Let’s see if it helps.

As for knowing your course philosophically, what is your course? Where are you headed? Where has your running taken you in 2010? Where will it take you 2011? What has it pulled you out of or gotten you into? For me, when I think of my course I envision a nice sail boat on the open water, going wherever it is the wind takes me. I can put my sails up or take them down…I can drop my anchor or I can follow a set course…

Greeting card: Sailing at sunset

image taken from HERE

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Last double digit run…..

…FOREVER.

 

 

PSYCHE!!!!!

 

NOT!

 

GOTTCHA!

 

Just joshing ya!

Today was my last double digit run before Rock n Roll Las Vegas! Two weeks until I toe the start line of my third marathon! WOW! This time last year I was getting ready for my redemption at the Seattle Half. I had dreams of a full marathon one day, but only dreams…I had no idea that by this time a year later I would be getting ready for my THIRD full marathon! What? That is nuts! I am nuts! And I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Looking back over the last year, running has gotten me through so many hard times, stressful times, emotional times. It feels like this last year has actually been 5 year when I think of all the life-changing events that have happened, no one should ever experience this much in one year, ever. Either way, running has kept me grounded and sane. Having a marathon on the calendar meant that I couldn’t worry about other stuff, there was no time. Nothing like 26.2 miles to keep you going. You cannot procrastinate your way to a 26.2 mile race. Unless you have a death wish. A death wish….yeah, at times I wondered if that very wish was what kept me running. But now I see it is exactly the opposite. Running kept me going, kept a smile on my face, kept me grounded and kept me getting out of bed.   But, all this is for my Year End Review post. I’m jumping ahead of myself…

So, today’s run was, er…interesting to say the least. I met my friend Breaking Pace and she came sans bike! She wanted to run! Wooo who! I ran the first three miles with her and it was nice to have a conversation and a running buddy. We made plans for Thanksgiving and finalized the menu (we will be spending Thanksgiving with her and her hubby and her fur babies this year). She is ready to get into running shape and has signed up for a race in December! I haven’t signed up yet but plan to! The mere thought of a 5k or even 10k gave me butterflies! I am ready to 1) Run my first North Carolina race 2) Run as fast as I can for a short distance and see how I can do!  I am ready for a change up in my training.

After our 3 miles together, Breaking Pace headed home to be with her pup who had a pretty gnarly surgery on her hind leg Friday. I continued on to finish up 10-12 miles. So, this is certainly TMI and if you are easily grossed out then just go ahead and end here. I got about 5 miles out and had to go to the bathroom. Now I’m not talking #1, that is easy. Find a tree. A bush. A deep ditch. Whatever, no biggie. I HAD to go bad, like #2. I could feel that I needed to go, I didn’t go before I left home. I drank coffee, which usually speeds up the process but not today. I woke up too late. So I just couldn’t close the deal before leaving. Great. I was expecting this. I knew the kids would be begging to be dropped off at the pool.

Anyway, I had a my sights set on the restrooms at the park on the Air Force base where I have been doing my long runs. It was a ways away (about 5 miles) but I had no choice. I kept running.

pope air field

I decided to take out my phone and show you all my new running grounds. Plus, I thought that airplane on the tarmac looked like Air Force One. I now it wasn’t’, I saw the commotion Air Force One could make when it came to this post back in 2005. Today was quiet and calm…

So I kept running. I tried to run fast just to get to the facilities faster. But then I saw this:

tree

I just had to to take a picture. The colors are so brilliant, so RED! The trees here this time of year are beautiful!

 

 

 

 

me and tree

 

I tried to take my picture with the tree but as you can see, my   phone distorted it something awful.

 

 

 

 

I ran on, I had about 4 miles to the bathroom…I was in a serious way. I had to begin a walk/jog with about 1 mile to the bathrooms so I could, well control the issue. It was awful. I finally made it and…well, the rest is history. I ran the final 1.3 miles back to my car and finished with 10.53 miles for the day. I had wanted to hit 12 but 10.5 would have to suffice.

So, lesson here is that I need to get up earlier so that my breakfast goes down and my coffee has time to do it job. I woke up late, too late. I have been staying up too late all week and getting up early every day (I know, waaaah wah WAH. Cryin’ you a river here folks).  But that is the case.

Two weeks left. Have I done enough? Has my training been sufficient? I don't know. Call it taper madness but I am worried. But not too worried to back out (Insert evil grin here).

Finally, I have to say THANKS to Jessica for sending this awesome care package! One would think I was deployed to the dessert…but I’m not. I just have awesome friends!!! Which is more than I can say about myself in regards to The Track Coaches Adorable Wife….yes, I still have your shirt! I am SO sorry! And no, I haven’t been wearing it. I will mail it to you, I promise!!!!

care package

   THANKS JESSICA and KATIE!!!   

   You guys are totally tubular!!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

And to close: I miss Washington.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

3 Words…

My. Knee. Hurts.

I don’t know why. I don’t know what. I don’t know how. I know nothing aside from it hurts. I feel pain.

I’m not really worried.  More perturbed than anything.

I am RICE-ing….with an added N-SAID.

Of course my knee hurts.

Why wouldn’t it? I’m tapering.

I’m cranky. Maybe I need a snack. Maybe a little chocolate will work wonders on my knee.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

V is for:

VEGAS!

First of all….Tall Mom The Amazing has graciously volunteered to be my chaperone in Vegas come to Vegas and RUN the marathon with me!!!! Can you all say “Super Duper Excited!!!!”? I am beyond pumped! I am also a little in shock, I just can’t believe she is willing to come and meet me and run with me and…on the other hand it IS Vegas and my Race- At-The-Last- Minute style is contagious. Although I never booked a flight and flew to another state to run a race on a whim, she’s got me beat there. Either way, it is going to be off the hook! Off the chain! Totally tubular! Watch out Vegas!!  I have always wanted to be a Show Girl…maybe they will have recruiters at the expo or the even the water stations…You think?

Ok, second.. Chaffing.

I have been suffering from chaffing lately:

   IMG_2034IMG_2040

Do you see it? The pics don’t do it justice. I wore the WRONG bra on my 18 miler and I am paying for it now. And so another one goes in Not-To-Be-Worn-Over-10-Miles pile.

I have heard, you know, from a friend of a friend (not ME of course)  about chaffing…you know…

…down there?

 IMG_2043

Talk about OUCH! Man! How does that even happen? Ok, I know how it happens  technically, but not really and more importantly how do you prevent it and treat it?

Lastly, I had a good three miler today. Last week I ran three with The Hubs and I had to run fast just to stay in his dust cloud. He physically cannot run slow (and he thinks my 8:30 + pace is slow) so I had to work hard to run AFAP (as fast as possible).  Well today, I ran with T-N HizzO….a friend of The Hubs who is staying with us until he can find a house here. It was nice to have a running buddy, even if he did tell me, “You make a lot of noise when you run.” Um, old running buddies, do I? I don’t think so. He said my feet sounded heavy. How can I use that information to improve? Um, is it possible to run lighter?

Stats for today’s run:

3 .09 miles---- 27:26    8:50  min/mile

And lastly, now I am no foodie but I am super stoked to tell you that I made bagels! That’s right, I made home made  bagels! And they were DEEEEEElish! So now I don’t have to search the town over looking good, fresh bagels! I can make my own!

IMG_2022

Now, off to chilax!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

T is for TAPER.

My brain is full and that is what I get for not blogging all week.

This past week was a lousy run week. I had my fast three miler on Tuesday and then on Wednesday I tried to run some trail by The Hub’s work but that was a serious FAIL. The “trail” looked like a creepy abandoned path leading to Chester’s shed. No thanks.  Although it was on Post but still, gave me the heebie jeebies. So I drove to the gym to run on the treadmill. It was a beautiful day and probably 70 degrees outside. A recipe for disaster. Who wants to be on a treadmill when it is so gorgeous outside? Not this girl. But, alas I climbed on the dreadmill and started running. Sweat started running too. It was hot and muggy in the gym. I paused the the mill and went on a towel hunt. This gym doesn’t “provide towels.” WhAT? Really? Really. Whatever. My eyes were stinging from sweat. I hauled myself  back on the mill and started it back up.

I hit the END button and cried defeat. Or MERCY. Or UNCLE. I quit. I was hot, sweaty, annoyed. I ran 2 miles. TWO. Done. 

Thursday we celebrated Veteran’s Day by heading to a nearby lake. We played football and catch and rode bikes. It was a great day and while I didn’t run far I did some sprinting during our touch football game.  Friday I hit the gym and did some weights. It felt good to have a change and work some muscles that have been neglected. Saturday I spent the day in a training for a new job.

That only left today for my LAST long run! Thank goodness it’s over. Christina met me this  morning so I wouldn’t be all by my lonesome! She rode her bike around the 6.67 mile loop about twice per my one lap. The run was pretty uneventful until about mile 16. I was feeling really good and holding a very, very steady pace.  Around mile 16 I started to feel a twinge in my hip and my knee and my hamstring and calves started to tighten up. I was a mess.  I had planned on 18 miles but overshot my last out and back and ended up with 18.64 miles in 3:06/9:58 pace . I was happy with the time and pace. I’m not sure if I have a faster run in me or not. I may have been holding back too much in the beginning but it’s hard to tell. I think I may have a 4:20 or better in me for Vegas in THREE WEEKS! We will see.

Speaking of Vegas… who is running in Vegas? 

And lastly, yesterday was Lazy Dog’s 7th birthday so we celebrated tonight:

cars bday

Happy Birthday Lazy Dog!!!!!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

How long was Portland Course Anyway?

Well, if you ask ME it was 26.47.

I got an email from the Portland Marathon Association yesterday telling us how successful Portland was this year. WHO are they trying to convince? Me? Because IMO  it was a flop! Ok, that is a little dramatic but I am holding a serious grudge against Mother Nature for that day and am suffering from PTSD as a result of the conditions and the looooooooooooooong course. Ok, anywho…I got this email and at the very end of the long email I found this small blurb and wanted to share it with you all. It is good info to know not only about Portland but about how they actually certify and measure courses. In turn it tells YOU and ME how to run a course so that we only run 26.2, or 13.1 or whatever the actual distance is supposed to be. And I know this to work because in the Mercer Island half back in March I hit 13.13 on my Garmin at the end of that race, pretty darn close to 13.1 don’t you think? And I ran the course just as they suggest in this blurb. So read and learn my fellow runners, read and learn:

Portland Marathon course—trust us, it's certified in every way.

By Les Smith, Event director; Richard Busby, Course Technical Director; Lee Barrett, USATF/RRTC National Certifier for Oregon

We have received inquiries from several participants in the Portland Marathon held on October 10, 2010. To sum them up they all asked: “Why was the distance measured by my GPS watch longer than the official Marathon distance of 26.22 miles?” “Is the course wrong?” Experience has shown that the comparison of a marathon course measured by the approved method with the read-out by on a GPS watch worn by a runner on race day reveals the GPS readings are slightly longer than the certified distance. Because of such long course concerns, we recently measured the marathon course following a route more like that a runner would take, than cutting each corner as required for certification.

We used a Jones counter, the standard instrument used to certify courses, and a Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS watch. The Jones counter had the route we took being 26.27 miles long and the Garmin recorded 26.35 miles. The Portland Marathon was measured using the procedure required by USA Track and Field, (USTF) Road Running Technical Committee, the governing body for US road running. The course was also certified by USTF/RRTC and IAAF/AIMS. USTF and AIMS have strict methodology for measuring courses for certification.

The standard measurement device used is a Jones counter which is attached to the front wheel of a standard bicycle and must be calibrated before and after the measurement ride. A Jones counter typically shows around 15,300 counts per mile, or about one count every three inches. Our course was measured in this fashion by two very experienced and certified course measurers.

The measurement process requires measuring the shortest-possible distance a runner can run on race day. To ensure this, the measuring bicycle is required to ride 30 cm from the curb at each corner. The measurer must also ride the straightest line through curves and turns. The goal of this is to make sure that on race day all participants run at least the full distance of the marathon or other certified distance, as the case may be.

The former Chair of the RRTC has estimated that for the Portland Marathon course, with something like 36 turns, a runner going 1 meter wider than the shortest possible route on each turn would run an extra 53.6 meters. To permit our measurement team to follow this process as closely as possible, the measurement of the Portland Marathon course was done early on a weekend day to minimize traffic allowing us to measure the shortest route possible. On race day with over 10,000 other participants, running that “shortest distance” course would prove to be extremely difficult due to, among other things, runner traffic and the location of water stations.

The course certification process also requires the inclusion of a “short course prevention factor, “The measurer must add 1 meter of additional length to the course for every 1,000 meters of course length. Thus a 10 km certified course is measured to be 10,010 meters long. And, a certified marathon course has an additional 42 meters added to its length.

It is well recognized that GPS devices available to the general public are about 1% percent inaccurate when compared to the mechanical measurement of a known distance using the bicycle counter mentioned above.

Many factors can affect the accuracy of a GPS watch. Tall buildings along the route, rain, trees covering the course, elevation changes and the number of satellite signals received all affect the accuracy of the GPS measurement.

When the inability of the runner to run the shortest course on race day and the small inaccuracy of the GPS watch are combined, GPS readings of 26.50 miles for a certified 26.22-mile marathon are not unusual. These factors do not mean that the course is not accurate. All it means is that the GPS actually measured the distance that you, the runner, covered on race day. You did a great job because you can know for sure that you ran the full marathon distance! We know that this year was particularly challenging due to the weather, so your challenge was even more difficult to accomplish, but you completed it. Congratulations!

Ok, now that THAT has been cleared up I am off to run 5 miles of trails, well firmly packed dirt, around The Hubs new work place. Should be fun. Hopefully.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Eat my dust….

…yeah! That is what I said to The Hubs as he ran out of sight ahead of me and I turned about three blocks early so I could be in front of him on the way back home during our race run together tonight. Ok, so he said he could out run me, that I couldn’t keep up with him. He was right. Oh it pains me to say so. Anyway, we set out for three miles and I hung close for the first .8 of a mile. Then he pulled away.

Grrr….I was running really fast. At least for me. But not fast enough. Speed vs. Endurance: Which would you prefer? I know it is possible to have both but those people that do, the ones who run a marathon in 3 hours or less, they don’t seem like mere muggles to me (Harry Potter term if you aren’t privy to the term Muggle). Anyway, I have been completely slacking in the speed department and wasn’t sure what I could pull off during tonight's challenge-to keep up with The Hubs for 3 miles. I thought I was going to throw up in the first mile.

I’m not gonna lie, I cut the cul-de-sacs short to cut his lead and it still wasn’t enough…he pulled ahead and finally with .8 left I decided that at the top of the hill I was going to head home to give me exactly  3 miles. Plus I wanted to use the downhill to my advantage time and pace wise. I arrived at the summit and turned to run down, as The Hubs ran on toward the end of the street in the opposite direction. I was going to beat him home but that wasn’t the challenge. I was supposed to keep up with him. But I ran a speedy run and didn’t throw up.

3 miler stats:  24:05  8:01 min/mile pace

Mile 1—7:43     Mile 2—8:24     Mile 3---7:57

I think I’ll mark today’s run as Speedwork.

I may not have kept up with The Hubs but I certainly had a good run and that, ladies and gentlemen, is all that matters.

Monday, November 8, 2010

No running for YOU!

Ok, not really for you…No running for ME. Today at least.

Today was The Hubs and my 7th anniversary. I think this is the third one we have spent together. So here is a beautiful little song to whisk you back to 1998….Enjoy.

Today I was pretty busy and didn’t really have a chance to run. I had a job interview that resulted in a job offer: YEAH! So looks like I will begin working soon! I had some grocery shopping to do, important paperwork to deliver to post, a ridiculous amount of homework to help LB with (seriously, it’s kindergarten people! What in the world?) and finally dinner out to celebrate our milestone of 7 years.  I have a nice, easy three miler on the agenda for tomorrow.  The Hubs has mentioned that I cannot keep up with him for 3 miles, and he may be right-ok, probably is right but I know for a fact he couldn’t keep up with me for 10+ miles. What now buddy? Huh? Anyway, we will be running 3 miles tomorrow and I will try to keep up with him. So if you don’t hear from me for a few days I am probably dead, or worse….

On another note, Jessica (my former Official Race Crew—sad face, but reigning TFF-total friend forever) completed her first 10k in Phoenix yesterday. Silly Kristal (HERE) has been making her way around the blogosphere lately. She is wicked FAST and just so happens to be MY Jessica’s cousin. So check out her blog to read about their awesome race on Sunday. Kristal did a 10K and a 5K as part of their double-header. AWESOME race idea!? I have never heard of that before! Have you? Anyway I am super proud of Jess! Maybe she will head to NC for a race one of these days!

Peace out…off to milk this anniversary for all it’s worth (chocolate ice cream).

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Long Run Saturday…

Is it nap time yet?

I finished my 15 miler just in the nick of time!  Christina and I met at the air field at 8 AM and it was 43 degrees. Not quite the 20's we were expecting but still cold and windy. I had my red, pink and white striped gloves that Mel-Tall Mom gave me last Feb for our Million Inch Run.

  

 

 

 

 

 

Million Inch the girls

It was a nice reminder of my pals up in the PNW who have so much going on right now, other than running. Zoe is a ticking time bomb (her own admission) Kerrie T is writing a novel! Mel. Mel is getting her life to a new normal…I miss my friends. A lot. But such is the life of a military wife.

Anyway, I warmed up about 4.5 miles in and shed my jacket and gloves. I met up with Christina (she was riding the loop on her bike) at around 7.5 miles for some Gu then we were off again. I finished my 15 miles with one mile on the track.

15 miles---2:26.48 (moving time) 9:45 pace.

About one minute after I got in my car it started to rain. Yuck. Thank goodness I finished in the nick of time!

I’m quite sore. But I was sore to begin with from our cross training workout. I hope I feel up to even a short run tomorrow since it is World Run Day! Are you going to run?

Only one more long run then taper for Vegas!! Woo whoo! I am ready for a change, seriously.

And finally, since it is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month I wanted to share a link with you about the symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer: HERE. Unfortunately there really isn't much of a screening process for this type of cancer yet, other than genetic screening. They say it can be genetic so if it runs in your family you may want to talk to your doctor. They also say that usually by the time you present with these symptoms it is often in the advanced stages. Not good my friends. Cancer sucks.

Here is a pic of  my dad, LB and my nephew fishing during our recent trip through OK. 

And here is my dad, Lazy Dog, The Hubs, my nephew and LB chillin’ in the pick up truck.

Happy weekend everyone! Hope you all get out there for World Run Day tomorrow!

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Friday, November 5, 2010

Hello Legs….

…nice of you to wake up.

Ok, all systems are up and running…including the System that is ME.

Seriously.  I have been hitting some good runs and paces here lately. I think some well-placed rest days work wonders and I also think it is the weather. It has cooled down significantly (just as all you natives told me it would).  Last weekend when I ran my 12 miler it started out in the 30’s. Then I had a chilly 3 miler and a soppy, cold 5 miler. Speaking of the soppy 5 miler…I did NOT want to do it. I did not want to get wet but once I got out the door and off the porch there was no turning back. I proceeded to run as fast as I could just to get out of it, to get the run over with. It is funny how running 26.2 (or 26.42 as my Garmin put it) in the POURNING RAIN will change your perspective: 5 miles in the rain aint so bad. I mean it’s not good, I did not enjoy it, I didn’t like it but I was SO GRATEFUL it was only 5 miles.  I did my 5 in 42:11/8:25 min/mile pace.  My best pace was a 6:56 min/mile. I’m pretty sure that was when I thought I should cross the main street and ended up playing frogger with some jerk going 90 mph around a bend…yeah, I picked up the pace to get across the street so I wouldn’t end up being the equivalent of a squished salamander.

Anyway, I think I’ve got my pace back, for the most part.  We will see how tomorrow goes: 15 miles with Breaking Pace keeping me company. Speaking of Breaking Pace, somehow she managed to convince me to do a cross-fit workout in her garage. I am in pain. My body is so sore! We did 3 sets of stair master/kettle bell squats/push ups/ leg lifts. Today  I can feel it all over especially when I try to sit down. Ouch. Pretty sure we will do it again.

Ok, finally, I was tagged by a couple of people (Blonde Ponytail and Adorable Wife and Track Coach) with the Food Tag. So here it is:

1. If you could eat anything without any health repercussions or guilt, what would your meal be? Chocolate. doesn’t matter, chocolate cake, candy, icing, milk…just straight up chocolate.

  2. If you could meet anyone living or dead who would it be and why?  I really don’t care about movie stars and the like.  I guess I would really like to meet Grandma’s parents because she is just the nicest, most considerate and genuine person I have ever met in my entire life. I will never meet anyone like her. She sat on the floor for hours playing with her grandkids and now with her great grandkids. She is made of patience. She is like Mother Teresa. I have never heard her angry, frustrated or raise her voice other than to exclaim, “Oh my stars!” when something is shocking. I want lessons from her parents. Or actually lessons from her would be great too…

3. Why did you start blogging and what did you expect when you started? I started blogging in part because I was bored, partly because I wanted to be held accountable for my running, partially because I was inspired by Tall Mom, and partly because I wanted to get free stuff too (not gonna lie).

4. What is the one book you could read over and over again? Um, yeah. I don’t read books twice. Period. Just like I don’t generally watch movies twice. Seems like a waste of time.

5. If you could travel anywhere, where would it be? Greece by way of a yacht setting sail from south eastern Italy.

6. If you could have a TV show on the Food Network, what would it be?  Well, sheesh! Hopefully it is fully scripted and edited because I don’t really cook. I guess it would be a baking show. Maybe Naked Running Chef and I would do pre race meals?  Yeah! Now there is an idea! Quick! Someone pitch it!

7. What was the best meal you ever had? When LB and I spent a few weeks in Italy we went with my friend to a pot luck (she and her husband are Italian) and we had all the most amazing, delicious authentic Italian food….my mouth is now salivating.

8. Who has been the greatest influence on your love for food and learning to cook? Hm, don’t' really love to cook but I love me some chocolate cake…..mmmm, chocolate cake……

I think I am supposed to tag 5 others but since I haven’t been able to get around bloggy world this week due to my computer being dead I am not sure who has been tagged. So if you want to participate just feel free to do so! Leave me a comment so I can check out your answers!

Ok, well That is all for now! Off to rest up for tomorrow 15 miles!!!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Just a small glitch...

Ugh. My computer power cord is fried. It has been for a while but it completely quit yesterday and subsequently my laptop battery is DEAD. Sure I could use The Hubs' computer but it's not the same. It's not mine. So here I am, iPhoning it, which is pretty cool actually.



Oh wait! That's not ME!?

Oh well, off for a 5 miler! Wait it is RAINING. Strangly I am in a cold sweat and having trouble breathing. I must be suffering from Portland PTSD. I'm not ready to run in the rain again!

Monday, November 1, 2010

Oh Halloween….

And your tiny, tasty, sugary, chocolaty goodness that is awful and I can’t avoid. I think the candy bowl has a magnet in it and it draws me in….This holiday I think is the worst as far my intake of terrible, awful junk.  Not to mention Halloween is also The Hubs’ birthday so we had cake and cupcakes too. Ugh. And right now, as I type this, I am hearing my name…I am being beckoned to the candy bowl, “Amanda…..Aaaaaa man…duhhhhhh…..eat me! I’m delicious! So. Good. You’ll go for a run tomorrow! Don’t worry! One wont add 5 pounds!” Ha, no. One wont add 5 pounds but ONE 50 times a day sure will!

Anyway, I’ve been a slacker. At least in the bloggy department and only slightly in the running department.  With Harvest Festivals, house warming parties, Trick-or-Treating, Halloween, and the Hubs’ birthday all going on at once I have been super busy! Oh yeah and the GIANTS in the World Series doesn’t help either.

I did get out on Saturday for my long run! After consulting with RED I decided that 18 miles was too much for me physically right now. She suggested a long run schedule of 12, 15, 18 then taper.  My plan had some longer mid week runs of 9 and 10 miles which we agreed was too much. So I plan to run 3 or 4 days during the week, not counting my long run, and keeping the runs to 5 miles or less. I think this will be much more manageable and keep me alive for the next 5 weeks. I have to honestly say that I am ready to get Vegas over with so I can move on to bigger shorter and better things less painful training….

So you all should meet Breaking Pace! HERE

Chrissy and bike

 

 

 

 

 

She agreed to meet me at 8 AM Saturday morning and ride with me while I ran! She showed me the air field loop on base during our first bike ride and suggested this as a good place to get my miles in. It is a loop about 6.7 miles around.  She rode with me at first but it was really cold, 34 degrees, so she rode ahead to warm up. She planned to ride a loop and then check in with me and go from there. It was a really good place to run. I felt safe for one, and there was no riff raff roaming around or blowing by me on the streets. Plus I used to be stationed at this Air Force base when I was a cop in the military, so I knew that there were cops sitting around waiting for time to pass. I even knew some of the spots where they would park to just be out of sight for a while and sure enough, I ran by and cranked my neck to look down a small path and saw the bumper of a cop car. HA! Some things never change. But nonetheless, I felt safe and I am certain I will be running there again, a lot.

In the time that I ran one full lap and a 2.5 mile out and back Christina  rode THREE loops! This was her longest ride ever and she did awesome!

Here we are after the run and her ride:

me and Chrissy

 

 

I cut my face off, stupid   iPhone…(too bad I don’t have a super cool phone like Jill’s).

 

 

 

Next weekend I have 15 miles. I might meet Christina on base again but I also found a running group in Fayetteville and they ware meeting for World Run Day!

And lastly, November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month! I’ll try to find info and stuff to share with you all throughout the month.

purple ribbon campaign

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