Thursday, November 29, 2007

Test Run

Last night was my last run before the 1/2 marathon in Memphis on Saturday. I needed to test drive my new "Run for Elijah" shirt and I thought the tempature last night was close to what it is supposed to be on Saturday. It was pretty chilly last night so I don't know if it was a good match. I was wearing the Elijah shirt and a black running skirt. It was a bit chilly to start with but when we were running I was fine, actually even got kind of warm. I think I might wear a sleeveless shirt under the Elijah shirt and if I have to I can tie it around my waist. I am hoping I will be able to keep it on for the whole race. The only other problem is a lot of raised stitching on the seams, it was irritating me last night, so I guess I am just going to have to remember to apply lot's of body glide... everywhere!!



It was a good run last night., I was taking it easy both to recover from Tuesday and to save my legs for Saturday. Kelly and Robert came along for the first 3.25 Kelly's knee started giving her problems and she didn't want to take any chances with the race 2 days away.
Thank you Robert for reminding me to pace myself!! LOL

6 miles
1:02:48
Avg. 10:28
1 - 10:35
2 - 10:19
3 - 10:17
4 - 10:37
5 - 10:25
6 - 10:34

This morning was spinning. I literally didnt' feel like I had anything left in my legs, but I made it through class. I didn't give it my normal effort but considering how I felt I thought I did ok. Now it's time to rest and get ready for Saturday.

Tonight Kylie is spending the night with us... we will eat fettucine alfredo, drink chocolate milk and watch Dancing with the Stars :) I can't think of a better way to spend an evening!

Here is a picture from Kylie's visit to Team 1 yesterday




She wasnt' really in the mood to have her picture taken so she was making weird faces. LOL

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Hard Tuesday

Tuesday's are usually one of my harder workout days. I have spinning at 5a.m. and then the Tuesday Night Flyer's running clinic Tuesday night.
Yesterday morning Andrea was our instructor, we did the interval training again where we would spin a couple of songs and then get off the bikes and use the weights, push-up's etc. It's good every now and then to shake things up and I love our regular instructor Stacy, but Andrea's class yesterday morning was really good. I wish I would have worn my heart rate monitor, it sure felt like my heart was about to come out of my chest a few times. I knew after that class the hill repeats scheduled for Tuesday night were going to be a challenge. I just didnt' know at the time how much of a challenge!!!!

My stomach was feeling a little iffy yesterday afternoon and I was hoping and praying that it would calm down before the clinic.
It wasn't as cold yesterday as it has been but once the sun went down it cooled off quite a bit. I wore capri running pants and a long sleeve shirt and was a little cold at the start but during the workout I never got too warm so that was good.

I think Coach Dennis is ready to strangle me. He wasn't a bit happy that we raced the Duck 10K last weekend just a week after the Tulsa 1/2 marathon and he is even less happy that I am running a 1/2 marathon this weekend. Three weeks in a row of races.
He told me last night to take it easy on the workout and to back down on the hill repeats. I love that Dennis really does care about us and is worried about injuries.

As soon as we started running I knew it wasn't going to be a good night. Luckily I had Cheryl by myside. We did our strides... kind of slow and then we had 1x 1000 at lactate pace. I ran just a bit slower than lactate pace but not too slow. Sonia and Jennifer had started off behind us and Sonia yelled at me asking if I was "shaking it" for them. I had on a reflective vest and I guess it was pretty jiggly... I yelled back that I was trying to make them dizzy so they couldn't catch up. I love those girls they always crack me up when I need it.

After the 1000 we headed to Outlook for our hill repeats.... Ummmm is Dennis mad at us????? OMG that was a steep hill, nothing like our normal Lila Loop hill. On our first run up Andrea and Brenda were coming down and Andrea called out that it's "really steep keep your pace." Cheryl - THANK YOU!! for getting me up that hill everytime. On the very first one I started to walk during the steepest part but Cheryl wouldn't let me she said come on you can do it. Seriously if it weren't for her I don't know if I would have done more than 3 repeats. The adavanced group had to do between 12-15 and the intermediate group 7-10... except for anyone racing this weekend. Since Cheryl and I were the only one's racing, (well except for Robert. Hey Robert how many repeats did you do??????)
Anyway we finished before everyone else and headed back to the school. We were just taking it easy, and after those hill repeats it actually felt kind of easy, but then my foot cramped up on top and I had to stop and walk. I know it's the new Sauccony shoes I've been wearing. They are hitting me in a weird place on the top of my foot. It has been bothering me for a little while and when I wore them at the race on Saturday and on my run with Brenda and Michele on Monday I loosened up the laces. Loosening the laces helps the pressure on the top of my foot but then after I finish the run my ankle is kind of sore. I think last night might have been the last time I will be wearing those shoes to run in. So it wasn't the best night of running i've ever had but I made it through thanks to a lot of help and support from Cheryl!!! I had a little pity party for myself last night but I'm all better today. I think getting to sleep in this morning helped. Oh and maybe the double shot of espresso, sugar free white chocolate mocha from Mountain Mudd, yeah I bet that helped too.

Yesterday was Kelly's birthday... she is 27 ;) Arland and I had the pleasure of getting to go to lunch with her and Robert for her birthday meal.
Oh and Kelly I told Robert last night to tell you that you should be glad you had to work instead of coming to the clinic. Not that I really mean it, but at that precise moment.. yes I think I did!!!

Happy belated Birthday to Susan.. I hope you had a wonderful time on your special day.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Blah Monday

Yesterday was a gray chilly day add to that it was the first day back at work after a 4 day weekend. I am really lucky to have the job I have, but honestly I don't care how much you like your job it is hard to go back to work after a few days off. Lucky for me I didn't have anything pressing that had to be done. I had an appointment with Christy for a massage at 11:00 and then went home for lunch. It is nice to be able to go home for lunch, it saves me lot's of money and calories, plus I get to stay caught up with "All My Children". Later in the day we got a little visitor. Livia and Tracy were going shopping and Kylie wanted to go to Team 1 to see NaNa and daddy :)



I just love that little girl so much!!! We worked hard coloring and reading ballerina stories and she recovered by lounging on her fold out "bed" eating Doritos and drinking orange crush.





It was hard for me to leave her when it was time to go home at 5:00. Normally I would have stayed but Michele had called me earlier in the day to arrange a run.
Michele lives in a big neighborhood and has another nice big neighborhood across the street, so plenty of safe, fairly well lit and low traffic streets to run on.
It was pretty chilly last night, I had on a sleeveless dri fit shirt and a long sleeve dri fit shirt/jacket and running pants. I forgot my gloves and ear coverup, but I ended up being ok without them...eventually.
Brenda was already there when I arrived and they were outside waiting for me.. no I was not late, they were early!! LOL
We ran 6 and then walked over a mile back to Michele's house. I am loving all the Christmas lights, it really was a nice diversion. The dark helps too, we run through a lot of cul d' sacs, and through the same streets more than once but since it's dark and we are pretty much talking the whole time you don't even notice. The route has some rolling hills/inclines which will be good for our Nashville training.
It was a tough run, I never got that "good" feeling not even close, my legs felt like lead pipes the whole run,
but I got it done and of course I felt great afterwards.
6.06 miles
1:00:51
Avg pace 10:02
1 - 9:40
2 - 10:00
3 - 9:59
4 - 10:29
5 - 9:57
6 - 10:08
Not bad considering we stopped for just a little bit around mile 4 for a water break, and we would sometimes come to a top when we got to a few stop signs.

When Coach Dennis sent us our workout for tonight he had an add on at the end.
Remember to come rested to these workouts so you can get the most out of them.
Hmmm .... after the run last night and spinning class this morning my legs don't feel very rested today :(
We are doing Hill repeats tonight.. Wish me luck!!!!

Monday, November 26, 2007

Running for Elijah and Brandon




I'm ready for Memphis now that I have my Elijah shirt. I love the shirt but I am a little worried that it might be too warm for the race on Saturday. Last year it was 29 degrees at the start and I think it was still 29 at the finish. It is looking quite a bit warmer for this year. Low in the upper 40's and high of 65. Oh well it doesn't matter I am wearing this for Elijah and if he can go through all the pain he has in his young life I can be a little warm for a couple of hours! Elijah has a friend Brandon Tyler who recently lost his battle with cancer. I knew Brandon when he was much younger before he got sick. I worked with his mom at Little Rock Air Force Base. I had Brandon's caring bridge website saved in my favorites and I would check on him every now and then. I saw his Mom Kathy not too long ago and Brandon was feeling pretty good. I was very sad to click on his website this weekend and see that Brandon had earned his "angel wings." This Saturday I will be running for Elijah and in memory of Brandon.






Duck Pictures


Brenda with her 1st place Female Masters Award





Back Row Left to Right
Kelly,Susan, Raquel, Joan, Robert,Toni
Middle Row
Brenda, Jennifer, Annette (me)
Front Row
Sonja

















Sunday, November 25, 2007

Rainy Sunday

I knew last night I was not going to want to get up in the cold and rain and run this morning. I called Kim to let her know and I sent Brenda an e-mail. It was so nice to sleep in this morning!!!
Brenda called around 7:30 she said she was thinking of going to the Community Center to run on the treadmill. I told her I would meet her there and then I went back to bed for a little while. I never actually fell back asleep but it was nice to just snuggle in the warm bed and listen to the rain knowing I didn't have to run in it.
Brenda called again around 9:00 and we arranged to meet at the Community Center. I called Jane and told her our plan and she said she would meet us there as well.
I have not run on a treadmill in over a year and just the thought of it usually makes me cringe, but knowing I was running with the girls made it much easier. Jane was at the reception desk when I arrived and we went upstairs together. Brenda was already upstairs waiting on us. The CC has three treadmills... very nice one's, much better than what I have here at home. There was a gentleman that we usually see at the pool on one of them, I grabbed the other one and Jane started off on the recumbant bike and the eliptical until he left. I guess all of us running while he was walking got to be too much for him and he told Brenda we were making him feel bad. I think it was all our girl talk! LOL
The worst thing about running on a treadmill or one of the worst is the lack of any kind of breeze, even with a fan on it was pretty miserable. I was able to crank out 4.5 miles the longest I have ever run on a treadmill and then another .25 miles walking on a steep incline. Vicki came just as I was finishing on the treadmill. After the treadmill I got on the recumbent bike for 10 minutes just to stretch out my legs. Brenda finished her run I think she did 6 miles and then we stretched a bit and I got on one of the eliptical machines. I was pretty much just playing on it, I have never really used one of the new ones.

After Jane finished her 5 mile run she said good-bye and Vicki, Brenda and I headed to the pool. We did 100 meters on the kickboard 600 meters freestyle swimming and then another 100 meters on the kickboard. It was a good workout and our reward was about 20 minutes in the arthritis pool. That is always my favorite part of our Sunday morning swim workout. We get out the styrofoam weights and play with those and just chat.
Despite the rainy cold conditions I was able to get in a great workout thanks to Brenda, Jane and Vicki!
Brenda and I had discussed going to Tropical smoothie in Jacksonville but once we changed clothes she had a message from her husband needing her and I had one from mine.
After a quick trip to Kroger to pick up Arland's Pop Tart's and a few other items the rest of the day has been spent relaxing and enjoying the last day of our 4 day weekend.
It has been a great weekend full of time spent with family and friends and I am very thankful for every moment.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

The Great Duck Race 10K

This is a fun little race in Stuttgart Arkansas Duck capitol of the World. Kim and I did this race last year and although I struggled through the whole thing it was a good experience and I was looking forward to running it again this year. Cheryl was going to do it with us as well. Turns out that Kim and Cheryl decided against running in the cold.

We did have a nice little group going.

Rock,Brenda,Kelly,Robert,Joan,Toni,Susan,Sonja,Jennifer, and myself. Susan from Benton and her wonderful husband Chasen also came for the race. It is always a pleasure to see the two of them!!

Rock and I rode to Stuttgart with Kelly and Robert. Arland is still injured so he wasn't able to come to the race.

It was a nice ride and the time passed very quickly and before you know it we were there.
It was SO cold this morning 34degrees and cloudy. I wore capri tights a long sleeve technical shirt and my Cabot Cruiser singlet. I was a bit dissapointed to realize I was the only one wearing the Cruiser singlet!!! Oh well I was very comfortable the entire run.

We sat in the car for as long as we could... but then Joan rounded up the troops and we headed out for our warm up run. It wasn't much of a warm up but it was enough for my stomach to warm up and send me to the port-a-potties. Luckily I had a successful visit and was ready to race.

Dennis our running coach was not very happy with us when he found out we were racing today after our 1/2 marathon last weekend. He told me to just be careful!! I told myself I was just going to take it easy this race.

Kelly and I lined up together... she asked what I was planning on running and I told her 10:00min miles. She said she would hang with me for as long as she could.

After the introduction of the Duck Queen we were off
Kelly and I ran together, we started off a little too fast during that first mile,we were both trying to slow each other down. I remember at one point saying slow down lets enjoy this.
Kelly did a great job and I really tried to keep it at a 10:00 minute mile, but when we reached the one mile mark I heard 9:4???? Ooop's too fast. Soon after the first mile Kelly sent me off she said she needed to find her comfort zone. I understand that very well so off I went. I was still trying to keep it slower but I was feeling good and decided to just relax and enjoy and whatever my pace was I usually only glance at my garmin occasionally so I tried not to look at it. I was starting to pass people and that is always a good feeling.


Last year when we did this race I started off way to fast at the beginning and was falling apart by mile 1... I was determined this year to be smarter. To be fair to myself, last year I was a new runner we had only been running for a couple of months when we did the race, we had a few 5k's under our belt but I had no idea how to race 6.2 miles.. heck I could barely run 6.2 miles at that time.

Today was wonderful, I fell into a groove and just ran. When I got to the first water stop I grabbed a cup of water while still running and tried to take a drink, but it was not working so I slowed down just for a second to take a sip. Just before the water stop I had passed a guy in a gray sweatshirt, as I took that one second walk break to drink he passed me. As I started running again I reeled him in and ended up running either just behind or beside him for the next 2.5 or 3 miles. Just after the 4 mile mark I don't know if he slowed down or I sped up but I soon passed him, I really didn't want to it had been nice having him to pace off of and he was kind of a big guy so he helped block the wind too!! Right around the 5 mile mark we came back onto a main road and a police officer was blocking traffic, as usual I had thanked all the volunteers.. I was just about to thank this guy when he says hurry up.. hurry up. Ugh I didn't want to hear that!!! LOL but hurry up I did :)

Soon I was turning the last corner and it was just a little less than a mile to the finish line. I didn't think that road was ever going to end, you can see the finish line for a long time so it can trick you into starting your final kick too soon. Plus I forgot that a 10K is 6.2 miles not 6.1. By the time I did make it to the finish I was DONE!!!.. but I did manage a nice little sprint at the end. I had been hoping for 1:00 I didn't quite make it but I was VERY happy with my time.

6.2 miles (my garmin said 6.3)
1:01:11
avg pace 9:44

1 - 9:41
2 - 9:58
3 - 9:57
4 - 9:52
5 - 9:38
6 - 9:32
.2 -2:36

I ran with my i-pod today and I really enjoyed it... for once it was playing all the good songs. It was funny because one of my favorite running songs is "Push It" the techo version. It came on during the last .2 and it was helping spur me on, and just before the finish line there were Joan, Brenda and Raquel cheering me on and just as I passed Brenda she yelled PUSH IT...how perfect!!!

Susan's husband was taking pictures and he got a couple of shots of me finishing... I like this one of me crossing the finish line and he got my official time in the shot as well. Thank you Chasen!!! :)



After I crossed the finish line I was heading over to the girls when I saw Chasen on the sidewalk, I walked up to him and just kind of grabbed his arm. I was still a little breathless. We talked for a minute and then I kept on walking. Kelly's husband Robert had a great race too and he was with the girls when I got to them, we started walking down the road to cheer in the rest of the girls. Kelly was next looking strong and pretty in pink! Just behind her was Toni. Robert and I kept on walking, and soon we saw Susan.. she was looking very bright and shiny and like she could run forever. She is going to have a great Marathon in Memphis! After Susan was Jennifer and thenSonjaand right behind her was Susan. Everyone did a great job and today was the first 10K for Toni, Susan P., Sonja and Jennifer. It might have been for Kelly too... she went straight from 5k's to 1/2 marathons! lol

After scoring some free coffee drinks we headed back to the car to put on warm clothes and then inside the bank for the award ceremony. There were freshly baked cookies so I snagged a couple and sat down by Brenda. She said you know we are going to breakfast after this. LOL I was just so hungry! I had a 1/2 of a peanut butter sandwich at 5:00am, but just before time for me to leave to meet everyone I got nauseous and threw up a little bit. Gross I know.. sorry. We weren't even to Stuttgart yet and my stomach was growling so after the race I needed something to tide me over until breakfast.
The Cabot group cleaned up at the awards ceremony. Raquel was 3rd female OVER ALL!! Brenda was 1st place female Masters. Robert, Kelly, Joan, Toni, Susan and I all won age group awards. Kelly was FIRST in her age group, I was second in mine and Robert was third in his. Toni was second in our age group and Susan P. was second in her's and of course Joan was first in her age group as well.
Soon it was time to say our good-bye's and head for breakfast. We had seen a little restaurant in Hazen on the way in and apparently that is where the group has stopped during previous races. We walked in the door and the place was wall to wall camo.. it was kind of surreal looking. The whole experience was a big dissapointment, the waitress told us we would not be able to get breakfast and then it took almost an hour for us to get our food. Luckily we were all having so much fun talking it passed pretty quickly. Good thing I had those cookies!!!

Another great race with the Cabot Cruiser's and our honorary Cruiser Susan.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Turkey Spin & Trot

The morning started off with a 5:00am spinning class. Stacy our wonderful instructor had asked us last week if we wanted to have class on Thanksgiving morning and we being the gluttons for punishment that we are said heck yeah!!
Stacy is a really good instructor and very funny!! she helps you forget about the pain with her funny comments.
Stacy had family in town for the Holiday so her mother-in-law and sister-in-law came to class with her. It is usually just me, Kim and Stacy so it was nice to have a couple more people.
Just because it was Thanksgiving don't think she had any mercy on us.. it was business as usual and we had an excellent workout. We always end the class with a great ab workout, sometimes that is my favorite part of the class... I wonder if it's because we are laying down???

After spinning Kim and I rushed to my house to change into our running clothes. We were meeting Cheryl and the Cabot Cruisers for the traditional "Turkey Trot".
It was REALLY cold 38 degrees to be exact and although I know it is going to get colder than this pretty soon, that is still COLD!! Oh and I forgot WINDY!!! I had on my new Asic's running pants and a long sleeve tech shirt, along with my new rebook headband ear warmer thing. It just didn't feel like enough, I had on a fleece jacket while we were waiting in the parking lot but I wasn't planning on wearing it for the run.
Lisa F "tri Lisa" started off our run with what will hopefully be a new tradtion for many years. She told us that it had been tradtion for her to run a 10K Turkey Trot in Florida for the past 15 years. Somewhere along the line she learned that she has a unique talent.. the Turkey Gooble. Good thing there were no Turkey hunters nearby!!! Cheryl you don't know what you missed! LOL

I made the decision to keep my jacket on, I knew I could always take it off and tie it around my waist later. I don't know if it was the cold, or the spinning class but my legs felt like lead pipes the whole run!! Oh I have to say how cool it was once again to see 20+ runners starting off down hwy 89.
Kim, Cheryl and I started off together and Arthur and Sarah were also with us, Arthur was telling us about getting his wife off to the airport yesterday morning. I didn't realize that we had left Cheryl and Kim behind a little bit, it was my intention to run the whole time with them so I turned back to run with them. Most of the time when I run with other people I am so interested in their conversations I kind of turn off my brain and go with the flow. Yesterday was different, I had/have a lot on my mind concerning family matters. I would be running with Kim and Cheryl and the next thing you know I'm by myself just running along and I didn't even realize it.
We also ran with Joan and Toni quite a while yesterday. I just love Joan she is such a generous person... all the Cruisers are. Anyway she was running with Toni, tomorrow will be Toni's first 10K race ever and Joan was giving her encouragment the whole way. Joan has also done this for me on numerous training runs. I wish all new runners could meet and run with Joan!! Heck all old runners too :)

It was a good run, although my legs never loosened up they made it up every hill and it was a hilly route. I felt like I redeemed myself from Tulsa on the hills, especially on the big Mount Carmel hill. The thing about the hill on Mt. Carmel is you can see it for a long time so you have plenty of time to psych yourself out before you even get to it.
There were a couple of long runs this summer that by the time I got to that hill I was already done. I remember one in particular, I had a terrible run and Michele M. was having IT band problems. We were on the last mile of a 17 mile trainng run we had stayed together for the whole run and she was trying so hard to help me get up all the hills. Normally when we got to a hill I would say you get in front of me I don't want to slow you down and then I would walk. When we got to the Mt. C hill she wouldn't let me fall behind, she made me run in front of her and she encouraged me all the way up that hill. We have run together many times since then, but it was those first couple of really hard long runs that cemented our friendship.

After the hill I could see a group of runners headed towards us on the opposite side of the road. First I saw Lisa F and a guy I don't know, believe it or not I don't know all of the Cruisers! LOL a little bit after them I saw Brenda, Jackie & Andrea. I asked if they were adding on and they said they were going back to run in the last runners which was no suprise to me. Brenda, Jackie and Andrea are awesome!!
In the end I ended up with 6.52 miles in 1:11 considering how my legs and lungs felt the whole run I don't think that is too bad. I have to admit though it was giving me doubts about tomorrow's Duck Race :( but I'm sure it will be fine.

6.52
1:11:03
10:54 avg pace
1 - 10:43
2 - 10:25
3 - 11:11
4 - 11:34
5 - 11:00
6 - 10:25
.5 - 5:44

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Race Day - Tulsa Route 66

Saturday before we turned in for the night Kim, Andrea and I went to the hot tub at the hotel and put our legs in for a while. It felt really good and who knows maybe that helped contribute to such a great beginning to my race.

The girls called me Saturday night wanting to know what time we were getting up, they wanted a wake up call. I told them 5:30 but forgot to tell them I usually hit snooze at least once. And then the hotel clock was about 7 minutes slow. Oh well when I did call them the next morning they were already awake.
Arland and I got up and went down to the lobby for breakfast in our pajamas, Vicki & Brenda were already there and they were dressed and ready for the race. Slowly everyone one else drifted down all of them dressed and ready to go. I felt like a huge slacker so I quickly ate my 1/2 of a bagel and headed to the room to get ready. My main concern before any race or any run at all for that matter is the bathroom. If I don't have a successful bathroom visit I am a nervous wreck.
We had all agreed to meet in the lobby at 6:45 to leave for the race. One thing I learned early on about the Cruisers is when they say meet at a certain time they really mean it!!!
Everyone was on time and we were off caravaning once again into downtown Tulsa with the big red truck in the lead.
The plan was to see the marathoners off and then we would head back to our vehicles to keep warm until time for our race.

I wish I could describe what it felt like for me to watch Arland line up for his first Marathon. It was really cool and I felt as emotional as I did when I was waiting for the gun to go off in Chicago. Arland & Jane lined up together and I think Vicki and Paulette were close by. The rest of us headed to the front of the start line so we could cheer them on. I called Arland on his cell to let him know we were standing on the left side of the road.
Soon enough the gun went off and we all yelled like crazy when we saw Jane and Arland come running towards us. It was almost like watching it on t.v. it seemed so unreal.
Once they were on there way we went back to warm up. I had already had a "successful" trip to the port a pottie just before the marathon but I knew I would need to make one more trip before the race. What had been very short lines just after the marathon started had turned into huge lines!! But we all waited our turn and took care of any last minute business.

We all kind of split up, the fast girls headed towards the front of the pack, and Kelly & Susan headed to the back of the pack. Kim and I positioned ourselves with the 9:00 minute milers. I was glad to have Kim with me although I knew we wouldn't run together. She is pretty speedy, but we usually start together and just before the gun goes off we wish each other well and go at our seperate paces.

I really wanted to be smart and start the race off slow. Coach Dennis had suggested a 10:45 first mile, well I tried I really did. I honestly felt very comfortable at the pace I was running I looked down once to see I was running a 9:?? pace, I told myself to slow down but I ended up with 9:36 for the first mile. Damn, I was mad at myself and tried to slow down for the second mile but again a 9:30ish pace. I kept telling myself Annette you are going to pay for this later. The whole first 7.5 miles I honestly felt like I had wings on my feet, I know that sounds cliche, but I barely felt my feet hit the ground. I always say thank you too all the volunteers and policemen and women who are blocking traffic and protecting us. Sometimes they just nod back but most of them answered back your welcome... or looking good etc. It always gives me a little burst of energy whenever that happens.
I didnt' stop at the first water stop, I had my hydration belt which I LOVE!! It is way better than the old one I trained with all summer!! So I skipped all the water stops until about mile 7.5. I was drinking while running and I had my Luna Moons which I love!! The only problem was I didn't start eating them soon enough. I was thinking of how many I normally would have during a 12 or 13 mile training run and wasn't taking into consideration how much faster I was running than I would have been on a training run.
I was wearing my Elijah bracelet and I would occasionally touch it and hope and pray that Elijah was feeling well.
We were couple of miles into the run, almost to the 10K when the front of the pack runners were heading towards us on the opposite side of the road. The leader was just flying down the road and we were all yelling and clapping for him. A little bit later I realized this was a really long straight stretch and I was probably going to get to see everyone. I kept my eyes peeled and it wasn't too long until I saw Raquel and Lisa F. they were really flying by, I yelled out to them but the didn't see me. A little while later I saw Brenda.. woohoo she looked so good, I yelled out to her and she did see me. Just a few seconds or so after that I heard my name and saw Cindy C. woosh by me. I was on the lookout for Andrea, Rick and Kim. It was a little bit later when I saw Andrea and Rick. I thought they looked good, but I found out later Andrea was not feeling so good. Kim was just a little bit behind them. She looked really good and looked really happy. Looking out for all of them really helped that mile pass by quickly and before you know it I had reached the turn around. Now my eyes were peeled again on the lookout for Susan and Kelly. When I did see them they looked really good. I was happy for them but also jealous, they really looked like they were having a good time and they were together. I suddenly felt a little bit lonely. I pushed that to the back of my mind and just kept going. I had a fantastic 10K I actually PR'd the distance. How crazy is that, I ran 10K faster in a half marathon than I ever had in a 10K race. My 10k split was 1:01:44.
But sadly as they say all good things must come to an end and sadly the ease of the first 7.5 miles turned into pure misery for the next almost 5 miles. I think it was a combination of not enough nutrition and the hills from HELL!!! I mean seriously what the hell. These were not the rolling hills the race director had described to us at the expo on Saturday... no these were devil hills!!! The worst part was that we didn't always get rewarded with a downhill, no that would have been too kind. We would climb a steep hill have a little bit of flat turn a corner just to be faced with another hill. I admit it, I walked most of those hills especially the really steep ones. But I power walked them I used my arms and just dug in.
I had been dreaming of a finishing time of 2:12 to 2:15 and I had been well ahead of the 2:15 pacers until mile 8. It was one of those damn hills when they passed me by. I thought that's ok I'll catch up when we get done with this hill... except I didn't because we were never done with the BIG STUPID HILLS!!! Oh the things that were going through my brain. I kept thinking what an Asshole whoever designed this course was. Somewhere along one of the hills I finally yelled out what is up with all these damn hills!!! It was somewhere in the land of the hills that I spotted the first Starbucks I had seen since hitting Oklahoma. I usually never really look at street signs but i made sure to see exactly where I was.. 36th and Peoria. I guess I thought we would go back after the race was over, but I couldn't have told you how to get there to save my life.
There were several bands along the route which was nice but it's not like you are spending much time with them.
Finally the end was near and the only nice thing I can say about that asshole race course designer was that he did make the last 3/4 of a mile mostly down hill but it was too little too late as far as I was concerned. I had really struggled those last few miles, but as soon as I rounded the last corner and could hear the crowd I was able to find a little bit of speed and ran as fast as I could into the finish.
As soon as i finished there was somone there to give you a mylar blanket, I was too hot at the time but I took it anyway, next stop chip removal and then my medal. No one really directed me where to go so I just headed to our designated meeting spot. I wandered around a bit and then there was Kim, Brenda and Cindy. Kim helped me with my blanket, I had suddenly gotten cold and then she helped me find the food tent. OH MY GOODNESS wow great food!!! Panera Bread had bagels, I had one of those, a chocolate chip cookie and a "naked burrito". We then headed back outside and found a place to sit down and eat. We were close to our meeting spot so I was keeping an eye out for Kelly and Susan. Plopping down on the ground was so much easier than trying to get up about 15 minutes later!! I know better, I had barely stretched after the race and the stiffness was really starting to set in. Kelly and Susan showed up a bit later and I was so excited to see 2:28 on Kelly's Garmin!! They did an excellent job and were in very good spirits. Several of the others had gone back to the hotel to shower and change. Brenda, Kim, Kelly,Susan and I stayed, we didn't want to risk missing the Marathoner's.
After everyone had gotten something to eat we headed back to the vehicles to put on warm clothes. It was pretty chilly out, very cloudy and breezy, although when you were running it felt pretty warm!!! Arland had set me up to receive e-mail updates on everyone so we would know when to expect them in. As were walking to the truck I saw a lady with a Starbucks cup and asked her where she got it. The Doubletree Hotel... this was the second or third person to give me that same answer. We decided we try to find it and set out towards downtown. In the meantime Arland called and said he and Jane were at mile 22 and that his leg had been hurting him since mile 8. I was so bummed to hear he was in pain. We had to give up our mission of find Starbucks once we realized it was just too far away and we were walking way too slow to find it and get back to the start line before Vicki came in. Susan had gone back to the hotel so she missed our futile Starbucks search. It was a good thing we turned back when we did, just as we got back to the finish line we saw Paulette go through the Chutes. She had been sick before the race but she looked good and finished in 4:45.
Shortly after that Cindy found us and let us know the rest of the group was back and they had found the perfect vantage spot to watch for Vicki, Jane & Arland and to cheer on all the runners.
The first one was Vicki... Cindy and Brenda had left a bit earlier to find her and run her in. Vicki looked really good, she had also been sick leading up to the marathon so it was good to see her looking so great at the finish.

A few minutes later I decided to go find Arland and run him in, Kim and Kelly came with me. We saw Jane first and she was running strong and looked great, we cheered for her and told her she just had to make it around two more corners and she would be done. I got to do a lot of training runs with Jane this summer and I was so happy to be able to see her finishing her first marathon. After she was gone I could see Arland in the distance. So we headed for him whooping and hollering. I think it helped get him through that last little bit. Although his leg was hurting he otherwise looked good!!! We ran him to just before the finishing chutes... I headed towards the outside of the finishing line, so I could see him finish and then be there when he got done.
The rest of the story is his to tell... but I am so PROUD of you baby!!! You trained so hard for this race and you didnt' let anything stop you!!! Now if you could just walk everything would be perfect!!

Tulsa might have tried to break my spirit with it's lack of Starbuck's and it's Monster Hills but it did not succeed. I had a great weekend, full of friends and good times and so many good stories that I can't remember them all and if I tried to blog about all of them I would never get to bed!!

I almost forgot my race results.....
13.1 miles
2:18:15
avg pace 10:36

1 - 9:32
2 - 9:39
3- -9:55
4 - 10:02
5 - 10:05
6 - 10:10
7 - 10:05
8 - 10:24
9 - 10:19
10 - 12:14 stupid big ass hill
11 - 11:33 ditto
12 - 11:56 ditto
13 - 10:29

Although I didn't meet my goal this was still a big PR for me so I am very happy!!!

The Tulsa adventure continues

Ok.. where was I??? Before I start back on our Tulsa adventure I just have to say that Spinning kicked my butt this morning!!! The format was changed, and we did spinning and upper body weight lifting intervals. Andrea and Stacy tag teamed us and it was awesome, but I know I am going to be SORE!!

So Saturday evening.... Everyone finally made it to the hotel and Brenda called to tell me that we were to all meet in the lobby. Susan had just called and was almost to the hotel so the timing was perfect.
We all visited for a little while in the lobby. Raquel brought her famous homemade brownies. I just have to say OH MY GOODNESS they were delicious!! so good but soooo bad!! Homemade baked goods are my biggest weakness! Susan had also brought us some goodies, cookies from Ed's Bakery in Conway. Very yummy and very sweet of Susan to bring them!

We had decided on Spaghetti Warehouse for our carbo loading dinner. We all caravaned over with Arland in the lead. Once again he "lucked" out and took us right to the restaurant. We were really lucky, be had 14 people and only had to wait just a few minutes. The hostess told us she had a party of 20 coming in an hour did we think we could be done. Ummm the question is do YOU think you can serve us our dinner within an hour. They gave us the table for the party of 20. Everything went really quick but we were not done within an hour, so I hope they had something else set up for that party! The food was really good, but as usual it was the company that was the best part. Susan has a great picture of our group at dinner. Jane was sitting across from me so I got to talk to her a little bit, this was also her first marathon and she was very nervous. Lucky for her she was surrounded by a lot of experience marathoners to help calm her nerves. This weekend was also Lisa and Bob's 18th wedding anniversary. They just moved to Arkansas this past spring from Florida. They are both just really nice and I am so glad they found the Cruisers. Lisa is quite speedy and is also a tri-athelete so we of course call her tri-Lisa. Bob doesn't love running quite as much as his wife, but he came along and did the quarter marathon in Tulsa. He is a very funny guy and they make a great couple!
After dinner we all hung out in the lobby for a bit before everyone retired to their own rooms to prepare for the next day. Arland didn't really show it, but he was pretty nervous! He had gone over his plan in his head and outloud most of the day.
This was my first 1/2 marathon that I had a goal other than to just finish. Of course finishing is always my number one goal, but this time I also had a goal time. My half PR was 2:24 that was at the Little Rock 1/2 back in March, since then I have trained for and completed a marathon and have been working out with the Tuesday Flyer's so I thought mabye just maybe I could do it a little faster..............

Monday, November 19, 2007

Arland's first marathon

Tulsa... wow what a whirlwind weekend. This weekend for me was all about Arland and all of our running friends who made the trip to Tulsa.
The weekend started on Friday for us. Kelly came over to our house a little after 9:00 and after rearranging his suitcase's yes plural for about the 5th time we were ready to go when she got here. Kelly is really just such a fun person, we laughed and talked all the way to Tulsa, I swear those 5 hours just flew by. We even let Arland get in a few words, although not very many. At one point we were even text messaging each other while we were in the same vehicle. Actually we were just testing out our phones, but it struck me as funny.
We made our first stop fairly early on in the trip, but we just had to stop at Starbuck's in Conway. Good thing we did because we never saw another Starbucks the rest of the weekend. We had decided we would share one of the baked goodies, but once we got inside it was too hard to decide so we each got one and then we shared, and yes we even shared a little bit with Arland. I have to say the Pumpkin scones at Starbuck's were VERY good! I learned that Kelly and I share a love for all things cream cheese!!

If you asked me to describe Tulsa in one word it would be "construction" I swear every where you looked the roads were under construction, and then when we get to the exit for our hotel... no exit! Ummmm ok now what. Luckily we were able to just get off at the next exit and loop back around, this was a reaccuring theme for our drives while in Tulsa. Luckily we had Arland and he is a great driver although a little slow and a great navigator.
After checking in at the Hotel we made our way to the Expo. More confusion and closed exits, but once again Arland got us exactly where we needed to be. The Expo was very dissapointing, I was really looking forward to the girl from "spibelts" to be there but nope she wasn't. I was planning on buying a few as stocking stuffers. Oh well the nice techinical short sleeve running shirt kind of made up for it.
I guess after you go to the big grandaddy expo of them all Chicago the rest are all going to be a dissapointment.
It was still fun and it was Kelly's first expo so it was nice walking around with her. That first day we each got a new Tulsa Fleet Feet long sleeve running shirt and a few other goodies.
After the Expo we went back to the hotel and waited for Brenda, Vicki and Kim to arrive. Paulette was already at the hotel but we didn't see her until the others arrived. We were actually staying in Sand Springs which is a little town just outside of Tulsa, maybe a 10 minute drive. Our hotel was nice but there really was nothing else in town. Brenda made me aware an hour or so before they arrived that it was our job to find somplace for dinner and it needed to be somewhere we had never eaten before. I mentioned that the only restaurant we had seen besides Mexican was Western Sizzlin... well that was met with a lot of groans. So I spent the next hour or so stressing over where to go for dinner. In the meantime Arland,Kelly and I are starving. We never had lunch and at that point we were ready to eat at the biker bar next door to the hotel!! Luckily when they all arrived they were tired and hungry didn't care where we ate, so Western Sizzlin it was. It really ended up being a great choice, Vicki likes their hamburgers, and the rest of us were able to find plenty of good things to eat at the salad bar.
After dinner we headed to the "Big K" for a few supplies, when we got back to the hotel I called Brenda to see what they were up to. They had already put on their P.J's and were down for the night. Kelly and Kim came over to our room and us girls all stretched out on the super comfy king size bed and watched t.v.
Men in Trees, Friday night Lights, and Las Vegas.
Soon after it was lights out... oh I almost forgot, there was a wrestling tournament at the convention center where the Expo was held. I think half of them were staying at our hotel. Between the wrestlers, and the football players our hotel was packed to the gills with rambunctious little boys!! While we were watching t.v. they were pretty rowdy out in the halls, and I just knew it was going to interfere with our sleep, but luckily just before we were ready for bed I noticed it was quiet out in the halls. I guess they needed their rest as much as we did.

Saturday morning we all met in the lobby for breakfast and then Kim, Kelly Brenda, Arland and I headed out for our Ryan Shay memorial run at 9:00am. We did not do 5.5 miles but we we talked about Ryan and I was thinking of him during our run. Arland only wanted 2 miles so he turned around at 1 mile and the rest of us continued on for another 1/2 mile before we turned around. It was an easy pace, but the biscuist and gravy I had for breakfast was talking to me the whole time we were out there, luckily it was all talk and no action!!!
Vicki and Paulette had also joined us but they only wanted to walk. Sand Springs might not have had any Starbucks' or any coffee places, but they have a very nice running/biking trail and it was very close to our hotel so lucked out on having a great place for our Ryan Shay run.

We decided we would go ahead and go to the Expo and not wait for the rest of the Cabot group. We would just meet them there.
Arland, Kelly and I already had our race packets so we just roamed around hoping that maybe some new vendors had shown up for the second day. Still pretty much the same ol, same ol. BUT Kelly and I did find some great Asic's running pants, I thought we were going to have to fight over them. It looked like there was only one pair of medium left. But luckily our friendship was spared when I spotted a second medium pair. Kim also scoped out some socks for us that were 1/2 off so we each got a pair, or I should say I got a pair, Kim might have purchased more than that... she has a sock fetish so who knows.

We wandered around waiting and waiting for the rest of the group. We thought maybe we would all have lunch together somewhere. We started getting worried that maybe they had gotten lost, so someone called, they weren't far away, but they had stopped at Subway. We had all had one of those big pretzels earlier to tide us over till lunch... turns out they had to last us until dinner! I was having dejavu from the day before. We decided to go back to the hotel, we all went to our own rooms, and I took a little snooze while Arland got online.
OK... well I guess I'll have to continue this tomorrow, it is already 10:00 and I planned on going to bed early tonight!!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Just What I Needed

I had plans to meet Brenda, Cheryl and Kim at the community center for a run before our swim lessons. I almost didn't make it, I really needed to go to the bank and deposit my paycheck. After talking to Brenda I decided I needed to run more than I needed money! LOL I am really glad I did too it turned out to be a really good run, one that I needed to give me some confidence going into the Tulsa Route 66 1/2 marathon on Sunday.
We started off easy our first mile was a 10:13 and then we just progressively got a little faster. I had a lot to get off my chest and I was just blabbing away the whole time we were running and didn't even realize our pace until around the 4th mile.
I really don't understand Garmin's... I mean I do, but what I don't understand is how two people can run the exact same route together but one end up with more mileage than the other. A little bit yes, especially since we were running around a circle so one person is going a little bit wider than the other. The weird thing is that at mile 4 mine and Brenda's Garmin's went off at the exact same time, but then at mile 5 her's went off almost a full .7 before mine. When her's went off we slowed for a second but then decided to keep going until mind beeped, it was dark and I couldn't see it so we thought it would only be just a tiny bit.
We are going by Brenda's split's since mine ran long, although we were fairly close.
I don't have the exact splits but maybe Brenda will read this and leave them in the comment section.
5 miles
9:24 avg pace :)
I am beyond thrilled with that!!!!!
I know I can't hold that pace for 13.1 miles but it give me confidence that maybe just maybe I can hold a 10:00 for 13.1 miles.

We will be leaving in a couple of hours... I guess I should get back to the packing, yes I am still packing.

Oh one more thing... several of us went to Tropical Smoothie in Jacksonville after swimming and YUMMY!! I had the Health Nut smoothie and it was delicious! After the great run and then a full hour of swimming drills I was starving and that smoothie was perfect!

Tulsa Bound... Have a great weekend everyone and Good luck and have fun to all of our friends running the Spa 10K this weekend in Hot Springs.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Massage

My friend Brenda has been telling me about her massage therapist for as long as I have been running with her. I have always wanted to get a massage but was also nervous about it. Why? I'm not sure, I am kind of self concious... this coming from a girl who sun bathed topless in Spain. Whatever the reasons I finally overcame them and went to Christy yesterday. OH.MY.WOW. it was wonderful! We talked a bit on the phone when I made the appointment and a bit before the massage so she knew my concerns and was really sweet and pretty much any reservations I had just went out the door.
It was a "deep tissue" massage but she told me afterwards she did not go as deep because it was my first time.

She spent a lot of time on my lower back, butt, and hamstrings. I have been having a lot of butt pain lately, it is very random I can go for days and not feel anything and then boom I turn the wrong way and I have pain.
Tuesday night at the clinic that is exactly what happened, I didn't have any problems all day and then on teh way out the door I must have turned wrong or stepped down wrong because by the time we got to Magness Creek my butt/hip was killing me. I thought I might not be able to do our planned workout and was just going to do an easy run, but decided to just tough it out. I'm glad I did because I had a great workout, Cheryl, Kelly and I did it together and it was great.

Wednesday morning when I was running with Kim my ankle did something crazy. We had taken a walk break and right when we started running again my ankle kind of seized up, I really don't know exactly how to describe it but it hurt and it was kind of like I couldn't bend my foot. We ended up having to walk the 1.5 miles back to my house. While we were walking it would sometimes kind of relax and feel better and then a few steps later it would really hurt again. The pain wasn't unbearable but it scared the crap out of me!! I have a 1/2 marathon on Sunday that I have set some goals for and I was just so worried I was hurt. Once we got back my house I immediately sat down and took my shoe off to try to work out the cramp or whatever it was that was causing the problem. After Kim left I went inside and made pancakes for Arland and myself, I sat on the couch and ate mine with a bag of frozen corn on my ankle. My ankle never did swell up but I thought ice couldn't hurt it.
I also took a couple of motrin and by the time I was ready for work I couldn't even feel my ankle anymore. Throughout the morning it would twinge every now and then but nothing serious. I e-mailed Brenda about it and she said to be sure to mention it to Christy when I went for my massage.

Christy told me after the massage that my left lower back/hip/glute is really tight and still needs a lot of work. She also told me that the problems in my hip area were probably the cause of my ankle pain.
I have to say I feel like a million bucks today and my ankle doesn't hurt at all. Hopefully I can say the same thing after my run tonight.

I plan to make Theraputic massage as much a part of my training as speed work. I am going to go every two weeks for the next month and then after that probably every three weeks. Anything that will help me keep running injury free is worth it!!!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Saturday

Saturday morning we met the Cabot Cruisers for a group run of 8 miles. With the cooler tempatures we are able to start at 7:00am a much more civilized hour than say 5:30am!! It was also nice to be running while light outside. Even when Kim and I run in the mornings during the week we start in the dark and all of our afternoon runs are in the dark now.
We had quite a large group Saturday morning, Robert counted 22 of us, but he missed Ginny and David who although meeting up with us had chosen a different route. They are quite fast and had a different workout planned. So 24 runners started off together, I'm sure the drivers along hwy 89 were trying to figure out what was going on. Jane told us this morning that another one of our running friends who couldn't make it yesterday morning saw us when we first started out and she said it looked GREAT!!

Soon enough though the group had split up into smaller groups with Brenda, Cindy and some of the others surging ahead. Jane, and I were running together in the beginning when my phone rang, my first thought was good grief who could be calling me so early on a Saturday morning so I just igonred it and kept talking to Jane. A few seconds later it started ringing again, I thought someone must really need to talk to me so I went ahead and answered it and I am SO GLAD I did, it was Michele. I had called her the day before to see if she was running with us but she said no, they were on their way to Fayetville to watch the Cabot Panthers in the "play off's", so you can imagine my suprise and happiness when it was her and she said she was going to meet us. She told me if I got to a certain intersection before she did to wait for her. By this time I had fallen behind Jane and ran for a little while with a new lady Marlene. She has just started running again after being away from it for a while. She was a little dismayed when she found out we were planning a 6.5 mile route with an add on at the end. She said she didn't think she could do the whole things, but I'm happy to say she did!
At some point during the run before we met up with Michele Jane and I were running with Debbie B. she is just just a really nice lady. I met her during the Women Can Run Clinic last spring.
Just before we got to the spot where Michele said she would meet us I saw her running towards us. Michele helpled me get through some tough long runs this past summer and we helped each other get through the last 7 or so miles of the Chicago Marathon. She definately holds a special place in my heart!!!

The whole run we all kind of traded off running partners, although Jane and I stayed together pretty much the whole run with Arland usually close by, also Kelly's husband Robert stayed close to us as well. Poor Robert, he doesn't have his own identity yet, everytime he is introduced it is oh this is Kelly's
husband Robert, I should have a shirt made for him that say's "Kelly's husband". He is a really nice guy and doesnt' seem to mind, and since his wife Kelly is so great he should be proud to be known as her husband.

Bailey, Joan, Kim and Cheryl kind of all ran fairly close to each other. Joan was battling a cold and Cheryl was battling stomach issues. I knew that Kim and Cheryl didn't know the route so once Jane and I circled back to them and another time Michele and I circled back. Also at most of the intersections I would run back and jump up and down and yell and wave to show them which way to turn. It was funny because they never saw me but Bailey and Joan would wave back at me. LOL
Once I realized how close they were staying to Joan I knew they would be ok, and especially after we got on hwy 321, Kim has run this route before. One great thing about the run Saturday was how great I felt, I never once felt tired and we stayed at a nice steady pace the whole time. My splits don't really show it but it felt like we were running pretty fast. I think all my stops at the intersections etc. made me look slower than I was. This run definately gave me a big boost of self confidence for the Tulsa Route 66 1/2 marathon! :)

8.17 miles
1:29
10:54 avg.

1 - 10:27
2 - 10:32
3 - 11:01
4 - 11:18
5 - 11:16
6 - 10 :07
7 - 11:11
8 - 11:13
.17
These splits all look so slow to me considering how fast it felt like we were running.

After the run several of us went to "A Daily Grind" our friend's Donna & Bobby's coffee shop.
They have really great breakfast and great coffee. Kim and Cheryl decided they needed to get headed home so they decided not to come with us Starbuck's new flavor was calling their names.
So Joan, Ginny, Raquel,Vicki, Brenda, Arland and myself all headed to Daily Grind and had a great time. Arland wouldn't share his breakfast burrito so Raquel offered to share her's with me. They are really yummy!! Thank you Raquel I owe you!
It was a lot of fun, everyone was sharing stories and we got to hear some of Joan's funny NYC marathon stories.
I always get a double shot grande sugar free white chocolate with fat free milk. I had two of those yesterday morning so between the endorphins of the run and 4 shots of espresso running through my veins I was wired for sound!!! After we said our good-byes I knew when I got home I was either going to crash or I could get a lot done. The past week I have been very lazy at home so the clutter was really starting to build up. As soon as I got home I changed clothes and started at the back door and didn't stop until I had almost finished our bedroom. It felt so great to get it done!!
Kylie was going to a birthday party at the new bowling alley so I took a quick trip over there watched her and Tracy bowl for a little while and then I had to go to Kroger for a little shopping.
I felt very accomplished yesterday I had a great run, spent some fun time with my running friends, made huge progress in my housework and I got to see Kylie for a little while.
I'm just dissaponted I didn't get any pictures!

Saturday, November 10, 2007

A Homecoming


My girls Livia and Kylie came home on Friday. I went to the airport to meet them and give them a ride home. I have a nice big truck so plenty of room for all of their luggage.

Tracy and Jeff were ahead of me and when I got to the security area they were all hugging.

The last time Kylie came home from Brasil she was very shy and she was speaking Portugeese.
I headed straight for Livia and was giving her the biggest hug I could when I feel these little arms wrap around my leg and I hear the sweetest voice saying NaNa. I reached down for Kylie and she jumped in my arms. I can't tell you how great that felt.
We were all just chatting away so excited to all be together. After we picked up their luggage Tracy had to leave for a Doctor's appointment. She really did NOT want to leave the girls and I sure didn't blame her. Jeff was very sweet and offered to drive so I could sit in back with Kylie.
Kylie was very talkative was telling all kinds of stories from her time in Brasil.

When we got back to their house we made "egg's for nina" and spent some time together. Livia looked like she could pass out at any moment, but Kylie was wired for sound!!!
Sadly I had to leave after a little while to get back to work, but Arland and I went back over Friday evening and spent some time with them.
Kylie LOVES her "Chio" but is usually a little shy with him in the beginning.. not last night as soon as she saw him she went running to him with her arms wide open.

It is so good to have them home!! ! Now, like Tracy suggested someone needs to hide their passport's !!!!




Spinning Running & Swimming

Thursday evening Kim, Cheryl, Brenda and I met at the Jax community center to go for a run before our swimming lessons.
We had run to a local park the week before and were hoping that it would be well lit now that the time had changed. No such luck, it wasn't so bad running over but once we got there darkness had settled in and there was very little light. Now normally I would have had my cap light but for some reason I didn't wear it, I guess I thought the park would have lot's of lights.
On the run over Kim and Brenda soon took the lead and Cheryl and I lagged a little behind. Once we got to the park Cheryl and I needed to make a pit stop, we were talking about being worried about Cheryl's ankle and how we were just going to go at an easy pace. We started around the lake and it was VERY dark! We would call out poles, and other obstructions to each other and we were trying to be careful. We had made it to just the other side of the lake when Cheryl yelled out, she had twisted her ankle. Our worst fear had come true and Cheryl didn't take it very well, she has had a lot going on and I think this was just the last straw. I felt so helpless! She was able to walk so physically she seemed ok, it was the other I was worried about. We made it back to the restrooms and she took off her ace bandage to see the damage. Luckily it didnt' look too bad, maybe a tiny bit swollen but nothing compared to the way it looked last time she sprained it.
I was keeping an ear out for Kim and Brenda and as soon as I heard them approach I let them know we were going to head back to the CC. They came with us and I was very glad! It was soooo dark and just as we were leaving the park some guys called out to us, believe me we walked away as quickly as we could!!
Once back at the CC Kim and Cheryl walked and Brenda and I decided to get in a couple miles running around the track that cirlcles the CC. We were running along when Brenda said do you realize how fast we are running. Honestly I was so worried about Cheryl's ankle I didn't even realize I was running fast. She said at one time we were just under and 8:00 minute mile. Sweet!!!
It was an awesome run, we just kept running around and around and I was able to keep the pace up for almost 3 miles.
From Brenda's Garmin
mile 1 - 10:05 - warmup over to the lake
mile 2 - 9:34 -
mile 3 - 15:05 - walk back to community center
mile 4 - 9:29 - laps around comm center
mile 5 - 9:07
mile 6 - 9:20
The really exciting part... mile 6 was our cool down lap!!
The first 2 miles were different on my Garmin
Mile 1 10:14
Mile 2 11:01 this was where Cheryl twisted her ankle.

After our run we went in to the Community Center to change for swimming. I was really dreading class and when we first got in the water our instructor took my two partners Maddy & Brenda away from me and I was BUMMED!! I seriously thought I am not coming back after tonight!! But then I had a good swim and I will finish out the month. No lessons in December but I'm hoping to keep going to the pool in Cabot. The swimming really seems to help my body feel better.

By the time I got home Thursday night I was exhausted... I started the day off at 5:00am with spinning class then a full day of work and then running & swimming. I think I might be getting too old for this!! LOL

Thursday, November 8, 2007

The Aftermath
















The excitment builds














Chicago Pre Race







Chicago Pictures.... The expo












Catching UP

It's been a busy week, I didn't realize until just now I haven't blogged since Sunday. Lot's of great workout's since then.

Tomorrow my girls Livia and Kylie come home after a visit to Brasil, gosh I have missed them so much!! It is a good thing I have running and so many friends to help keep me busy while they are gone! Although I miss them terribly while they are gone I am always so happy that they get to go. Livia misses her family so much and I think it is wonderful she does get to go back to Brasil as often as she does. Arland and I went to Brasil almost three years ago and we LOVED it!! Everyone was so nice to us and the country is just beautiful, of course there is a lot of poverty and violence so I think it would have been a different experience if we hadn't had family with us all the time. We stayed with my Dad & stepmom Vanda and they were awesome!! Someday I should devote a whole post to them and Brasil, but this post is supposed to be about my workouts this week.

Sunday - I met Kim, and Cheryl in Lakewood, we were planning a three mile recovery run. The run actually turned into about 2.5 miles and a trip to Starbucks. All of our runs usually end at Starbucks but this time we just couldn't wait!! LOL

Monday - Kim came to Cabot and we ran 4 miles it was a good run, I didn't have my garmin (battery died) but Kim said we finished it in 41 minutes so not bad.

Tuesday - 5:00am Spinning class. It was a shorter class timewise but very intense.
Tuesday night was the Tuesday Night Flyer's clinic. Cheryl and I with a few others had a one mile time trial. Most of the others had done this the week after we came back from Chicago, but of course I couldnt' with the blisters and Cheryl was out of town. We did our warm up run .65 miles, a quick trip to the potty and then our strides. It was really cold Tuesday night, in the mid 40's but felt even colder. I had on a sleeveless running shirt and a long sleeve running shirt and capri tights. For some foolish reason I decided to tak off the long sleeve shirt and run my time trial just in the sleeveless... big mistake! So we are off, and immediately my pants start falling down.. sheesh this sucks!! LOL Of course I had to announce to everyone that my pants were falling off.
One mile time trials are hard! You just have to run hard as you can for a whole mile and it sucks!! I was VERY disapointed in my time, I really thought I would have improved over my first one we did in May. I was actually 2 seconds slower. Cheryl on the other hand did AWESOME she shaved off a full minute from our first time trial.
Final results -
Annette 8:39
Cheryl 8:48
After the time trial we cooled down chatted with everyone, did 3 more strides and then ran .65 miles back to our cars. Overall it was a great night and I have stopped beating myself up.

Wednesday - I actually slept in and it felt great!! Wednesday night I met Cheryl and Brenda in Lakewood for a 6 mile run. It was pretty cool about 50 degrees but it didn't take long at all for us to warm up. This route is pretty hilly, we start off with a pretty good incline and then it levels off for a while and then a little after 2 miles we have a huge hill to climb in front of the Old Mill. As we were running up Brenda said dont' stop at the top just slow it down, I was thinking no way!! but she was right and we just kept on going. Cheryl and I had to take a potty brake after the first loop. It was a quick one and then we were on our way again. We run 2 2.5 mile loops so we had the same hills for a second time. After the second loop Cheryl was done so Brenda and I said a quick good-bye and we continued on to get in our last mile.
6 miles - 10:30 avg.
1:02:59
1 - 10:54 Cheryl had some shoe issues
2 - 10:24
3 - 10:45
4 - 10:12
5 - 10:58 saying good-bye to Cheryl
6 - 9:40
Not very consistent splits but I can definately tell where the hills were! LOL
It really was a great run... it was a beautiful night the lake was so still and sparkly and I was running with two of my favorite running partners!

Thursday so far... 5:00am spinning, I didn't think I was going to make it through the whole class, but somehow I did.
Two more workout's to go today a run and swimming lessons.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Ozark/Greenway 5K/10K

Friday morning Cheryl and I took off early to head to Missouri. We have been talking about going to Branson MO. to do some shopping at the Outlet Mall for quite a while. Earlier this week I was surfing the internet and I found the Ozark/Greenway 5K/10K in Springfield Missiouri, I sent the link the Cheryl and we decided to have a shopping/running weekend.

Cheryl picked me up at my house at 6:15 on Friday morning and we got to Branson about 10:00. First stop the Coach store. The Tanger Outlet Mall in Branson is nice, but it just didn't compare to The Cabazon Outlet Mall outside of Palm Springs Ca. Four hours and quite a few dollars later we headed to Springfield Mo. to the Bass Pro Shop to resgister for our race and to visit the Expo.
One of Cheryl's oldest friends lives right outside of Springfield and she met us at the Expo. We registered and picked up our packet and race shirt. We were so thrilled with the shirt, it is a long sleeve dri fit running shirt. We had seen people with the shirt but thought they were for the people who were running the 1/2 and full marathon on Sunday.
After we walked around the expo, we had our feet scanned and picked up a few freebies we headed to Hemingway's a restaurant inside the Bass Pro Shop. I had Salmon and steak tenderloins with sweet potatoes... YUMMY!!!

After dinner Cheryl and I said goodbye to Diane and headed to our hotel. We checked in and started getting everything laid out for the race. It was after I changed into my p.j's that I realized I had forgotten my toothbrush. I called down to the desk and luckily they had extras.
After we got everything ready for the next day we relaxed and watched the t.v. show Las Vegas, after it was over it was lights out. About an hour later I woke up from a dream that I was running the race with Josh Duhmal, it was one of those dreams that was very detailed but now all I really remember is him and running.

The next morning Cheryl and I were both nervous, it was cold, about 38 degrees and I was worried about my stomach, neither one of us ate anything. I cannot say enough good things about this race. It started right outside the front doors fo the Bass Pro Shop so we were able to stay inside where it was nice and warm until almost time to run.
Cheryl and I had decided on the 10k, and this was the first time since before Cheryl sprained her ankle that she had run that far, so we weren't really racing so much as we just wanted to get in a good quality training run. We started off with the 5Kers but it didn't take long until they turned off and it really thinned out. I guess it was about 2 miles into the race when Cheryl said we are at the back of the race. I looked behind us and saw a few people and thought oh crap we are almost last. A little bit later Cheryl had to stop to take off her jacket and tie it around her waist, well in that short amount of time several people passed us and when I looked back I didn't see another soul. I told Cheryl I guess the slow people in the area don't run 10K's. I was a little bummed, it was a weird feeling being the last person. Several times Cheryl told me to go on without her, but I didn't until just before our turn around. I really didn't mean to leave her but I just kind of got in a zone and the next thing I knew she was behind me. It was after the turn around when I realized we were NOT last!! There were still a few people behind us. The last three miles of the race I was able to pass all the people who had passed us earlier and I think maybe even a couple more who had started out ahead of us. It was really a great feeling!!!
My final time was 1:05:?? I was happy, I hadn't set out to race so I thought it was very respectable.
After I went through the finish line which was actually in the Bass Pro shop I went back outside to cheer Cheryl in. I was so happy to see that she had also passed a couple of the people who had passed us earlier. Just before the turn into the finish I yelled to her to give it all you've got..... she just gave me a look and said I don't have anything left to give. I know that feeling, I've had it many times!!
After the race they had a huge breakfast buffet set up with biscuits & Gravy, eggs, bagles, muffins, coffee, milk, juice.. it was just awesome.
I love biscuits & gravy but never ever eat them, just too many empty calories, but I couldn't pass them up this time.
After we filled our plates we found a place to sit and a girl approached us and asked if she could interview us for the local paper. Well of course we said YES!! She asked our names, where we were from, how long had we been running, what brought us to Springfield etc. She was really friendly and told us we were so easy to interview and had made her job easy. A little later while we were in line for the free massages she approached us again with a photographer and asked if they could take our picture to go with the article. After they finished I told her thanks for making us feel like rock stars! Check out the link above, she quoted us several times in the article and our pictures are included. The pictures aren't great, we were facing the bright sun so we are both kind of squinty, but how cool we were in the paper!!!

While in line for the massage we struck up a conversation with a really nice guy, we were just chit chatting about running stuff. He was from the St. Louis area, he told us he had run the 5K I asked him what his time was... 15:17. WOW I was so impressed I kind of waved the air around him towards me and said maybe some of his speed would rub off on me. He was just really a nice guy and helped pass the time while we waited. Soon enough it was my turn for a massage, I told the girl that I sometimes have pain in my hips and butt. She started working on my lower back and then worked her way down. She said I was very tight and should think about getting regular massages. She did a great job and I felt great when she was done.
After the massages we went to find a seat to wait for the awards. We didn't expect to win anything but they were also giving away door prizes.
Dick Beardsley was handing out the awards, I told Cheryl I want to win something just so I can go up and shake his hand.
They did the 5K awards first and it took forever! but talk about some speedy people, the overall winner finished in 14:15. In between the 5K and 10K awards they handed out door prizes and Cheryl actually won one, a set of wind chimes.

There was some kind of snafu with the overall winners of the 10K so they decided to do the age groups first starting with the oldest and going down which was nice for us.
Cheryl and I actually won first and second place for our age group. Poor Dick I just about shook his hand off.. I didn't want to let go! You could have knocked both of us over with a feather when they called our names!! LOL
I got a $25.00 gift card to Bass Pro shop and Cheryl got $15.00. We immediately went upstairs to shop!

On the way home we stopped to visit Diane and her husband Jimmy for a little while. They have a beautiful home out in the country, it just felt so calm and peaceful there we almost didn't want to leave.

I had a great time hanging out with Cheryl, meeting her old friends, shopping and running. What a perfect weekend!!!