Soaring Wings 1/2 Marathon Race Report

Great Race and a PR for me :)

It was a beautiful morning, cold and crisp for the start with lot's of bright sunshine. We arrived in Conway way early and had plenty of time to pick up our packets and use the facilities. The race started at the McGee Center which is a very nice community center in Conway. They were open and we were able to stay inside to keep warm and had access to clean bathrooms! I took advantage of the clean bathrooms three times and I guess it did the trick because I didn't have any problems during the race.

Our/my goal for this race was just to use it as my long run for the week and to try and maintain a 10:30 avg. pace. We were all milling about and Tala said come on we need to move up so Jane and I followed her, but then we saw the 2:15 pacer who was wearing a Jesters cap and seemed like a fun guy. So I changed my plan from a 10:30 avg. pace to a 10:16. As we were waiting for the start signal I said to Jane "if you feel good don't hang back for me" she said same for you. Once we started it didnt' take long for her to be off ahead of me. At first it was hard for me to stay with the 2:15 group I kept getting ahead but I made myself slow down so that I could keep an even pace.
About 1.5 miles into the race I see James and Russ a little ahead of me, James hasn't done any runs over 4 miles since his Ironman in June so I figured they were just taking it easy... that was the only reason I was catching up with them!! LOL When I did catch up James asked me what my goal was and I told him I was planning on sticking with the 2:15 pacer. He said they were looking at a 2:20 - 2:25 finish. I said cool I'll just run with you guys, so I slowed down and watched the 2:15 guy get ahead of me but he was always in sight. I had fun with James and Russ we pretty much chatted away and I was feeling good. After a couple of miles I eventually went on ahead, I think it was on one of the bigger hills.
I made catching up with the 2:15 group my goal, but I will be honest I didn't know if I could and decided I would be ok with a 2:20 finish. Somewhere around mile 6 or 7 I started getting that yucky feeling that I got on my long run the weekend before... just kind of drained and I was thinking good grief what is wrong with me?????
I never took a walk break other than at the aid stations and that was just a few steps to take a quick drink of gatorade and then water. The aid stations were great plenty of them and always stocked, there were also people along the course handing out gu's, starbursts and stuff like that. I took a gu and I thought it was vanilla but when I looked it was blueberry pomegranate and I knew better than to eat it!! so I stuck it in my skirt pocket and kept going. I do wish someone would have had pretzels!!!!
Also around 6 or 7 I saw Jackie, as soon as I saw the Cabot shirt I knew it was her and I was worried. She is an awesome runner MUCH faster than me so for me to catch up with her meant she wasnt' feeling well. When I caught up with her just past an aid station we walked for a second and then ran togeteher for a little bit. As soon as I first saw her I thought I am just going to stay with Jackie, but I found myself pulling away a little and she said "Have an awesome finish" so I knew I should keep going, and anytime I started to feel like it was getting hard I just thought about Jackie and would keep pushing through. I wanted to have an awesome finish for her!! and I did :)
I think it was around mile 10.5 when I finally caught back up with the 2:15 group, I thought ok here I am now I can just relax and hang with these guys for the rest of the race. It was getting hard for me to stay with them I kept slowing down and then I thought why am I doing this..just go!! so I did and just prayed that I wouldn't die and have to watch them pass me.
When I finally made the turn for the final stretch I could hear people yelling my name but at first I couldn't see them, but then as I got closer I saw Brenda, Andrea, Lisa, Cindy... they were all yelling for me and as I got close to them Brenda screamed PUSH IT so I found that other gear and I was able to sprint in and that was a great feeling. My finishing time was 2:13:30 a 5 minute PR and on a hilly course, so I am very happy!!

One of the great things about this race was how many people along the course I knew... I think at least 4 or 5 times I would hear someone yell my name :) and then at the finish line the lady who put my mylar blanket around my shoulders was someone I've met at a lot of races and she knew my name and gave me a big hug and congratulated me.
After I got my medal and water I headed over to Brenda and the girls to help cheer on the rest of our Cabot bunch... along the way I got to see Cheryl, Kim and Tammy they all had GREAT races a huge PR for Cheryl and also a PR for Kim. This was Tammy's first 1/2 marathon and I think her first time running over 10 miles she and Cheryl finished in under 2:05.
When I got to Brenda and Andrea I found out they also had great races and PR's!! oh and Jane my running partner she finished in 2:03 I think whatever it was it was awesome and a big PR for her too!!

I really cannot say enough good things about this race it was so well organized and all the proceeds went to a great cause. Next year it will be part of the Grand Prix series and will be even bigger!

Tomorrow is another race.... the Mid South Marathon. We have said all along this is a training run but now that it is tomorrow I am getting nervous!!

Catching up... for real this time

Ok,where did I leave off???

Oh yeah the Cabot Fest 5K. That afternoon we had a birthday celebration for my dad's 70th. The party was at my sister's house in Magness, they bought ton's of great steaks, chicken, bratwurst etc, had lot's of great side dishes and desserts, but I had a long run the next day so I wasn't able to indulge. There was also plenty of wine and beer flowing but I especially did not indulge in either of those! I'm very happy my dad and Step mom are here in Arkansas now. Brazil is a beautiful country and Rio is an exciting city but also very dangerous so it is a relief to have them here. Now I just wish that Livia's mom, dad, sister & family could also move here. Contrary to popular believe not everyone who lives in another country wishes they could live in the U.S. and they are all very happy in Brazil but that doesn't stop me from wishing they were here instead.

The long run on Sunday oct 11th was 14 miles it was a back down week for us. We went back to the scene of my horrible, horrible long run a few weeks prior.

We had quite a large group meeting and we had several different start times, and at different times we had a variety of people running with us. At 5:30 it was Kelly, Jane, me, Pattie, Gabby, Andrea and Jamie. We ran loops that took us back to Andrea's house and the cast of characters would change, at 6:30 Cheryl met us and our group headed across Hwy 5 to Ballard Rd.

It was a nice morning, cooler but not as cool as predicted, still it was a good 15 to 20 degrees cooler than when I had my "melt down" a couple of weeks ago. We only got a few miles into Ballard rd when Jamie's asthma started bothering her so we headed back so she could end her run. It was a decent run, we had to keep running the same loop over and over to get our 14 in but it was ok.

While we were running on Ballard road we saw a toilet on the side of the road... well considering all of my issues I couldnt' resist taking a photo.

After the run we went to Livia's house and Vanda made us coffee...so GOOD!!! ton's better than anything you can get at any coffee shop!

Throughout the day on Sunday I started feeling sick, I had been fighting off a sore throat all week, and on Sunday morning when I woke up for the long run I had so much junk in my head it was making me gag and then that made me throw up.. I know gross :(

So anyway by Sunday night I knew I was sick... I called Kelly and she gave me some recommendations for over the counter med's so I followed her advice took the meds and went to bed early. Monday I woke up achy, sneezy throat hurt etc. I went to work but at lunch I went home and stayed the rest of the day. Needless to say I didnt' run on Monday.

Tuesday was the kid's running clinic and I was feeling better so I went... as usual it was great fun!! Kylie got a big kick when Jackie asked me to "lead" the kindergartners. Its the little things that made kids happy!

I felt better so Wednesday morning I met Jane for our regular 5am run. It would have been a good run but my stomach acted up and I had to make an emergency stop about half way through the run.

I was going to try to run again Wednesday night but by Wednesday afternoon I wasn't feeling good again :(

Thursday I felt better so I made plans to run Thursday afternoon with Brenda, but between my stomach and phone calls from work I wasn't able to get to her house in time.

No problem she had someone to run with and I called Michele and arranged to run with her. She wasnt' starting until late 7:15 or later and really that is too late for me in the winter. When I got to her house at 7:15 no one was home and the other girls hadn't arrived yet. I knew they were going to run 5 or 6 and i wanted a little more so I hopped out of my car and ran two miles by myself. Now to the average runner that doesnt' sound like a big deal, you have probably noticed reading my blog, but I NEVER run alone. Oh sure I might end up running alone during a group run, either left behind or running ahead but I never just go out and run by myself. I was very suprised at how much I enjoyed it!!! I still like running with other people better but it was good and hopefully it will help me get out the door when I don't have someone to run with. I ended up with 7 great miles that night!! That run was great for me mentally and physically. The endorphins really kicked in and helped kind of lift the fog I had been in for almost 2 weeks.

Saturday the 18th of October was our first 20 miler for the St. Jude/Memphis Marathon. The plan was to meet at the River Market and run the "River Trail Loop" it was the same route we had run many times while training for the San Francisco Marathon. Orginally we were all going to meet and do the route together but a few changes were made and it ended up just being Jane, Michele and Me.

It was a very cool morning right around 53 degrees and a little breezy. I wore my normal outfit of running skirt and sleeveless running top but I also added a long sleeve tech shirt. This one is very light and I knew it wouldn't bother me when I had to tie it around my waist. I also brought gloves but I gave them to Michele, it wasn't that cold!

The run started off fine, no problems, stomach or otherwise unless you want to count the constantly dripping nose. The first 5 miles ticked off so fast that we were all amazed when we realized we were at mile 5, of course on a 20 mile run that's pretty early to get too excited. I made it all the way to the Dog Park before I needed a port a pottie... I had skipped the one at the Golf course/boat launch I didn't feel the need and I didnt' want to stop at every port a pottie 'just in case". I did have a bit of an emergency and had to do that supid stop cross my legs and pray thing a couple of times. Oh well that was the only time for that problem anyway.

I guess it was about mile 9 when I started feeling kind of draggy, not terrible but I was a little worried that I was already feeling tired. Now I have already been lectured about this but I was stupid when it came to nutrition... because the first miles were so cool and clicked off so fast we didn't end even taking our first drink of water until mile 7.5 at least I didn't. It was also at mile 7.5 that we took our first bit of nutrition 1 honey stinger and 1 pretzel... I know, I know... not enough!!! Believe me I paid for it later. We didn't take our next nutrition until mile 10 and I was feeling it. I started eating 2 honey stingers at a time and I had several more pretzels. I started feeling better and I knew at around 13 miles Karen would be waiting with fresh cold water for us. Not that I really needed it since I hadn't been drinking very much. She was parked at Murray Park and I went to use the bathroom "just in case" when I stopped I felt a little light headed but it passed so I didn't worry about it too much.

Michele had a peanut butter & jelly sandwich (wish I would have asked her to bring me one too) we refilled our bottles and off we went. I was still feeling kind of fatigued but the next 3 miles were pretty uneventful until Michele said she needed to use the restrooms at the ball field next to "Cajun's Wharf". As soon as we stopped running I was light headed and nauseous I've had this happend before, it used to happen at the END of all my long runs when I was training for the Chicago Marathon summer before last. Anyway it scared me a little, I sat down in the stall just to steady myself and I thought maybe the feeling would pass. I had been eating my honey stingers but I guess it was too little too late.... after sitting in the bathroom a couple of minutes I went back outside and I wasn't going to tell the girls I was feeling bad but then another wave hit me and I knew I couldnt' run so I had to tell them. We were at mile 16.5 when we stopped for teh bathroom, I think I probably could have made it the whole 20 miles if we hadn't stopped. It is weird but as long as I'm moving I'm ok it is when I stop everything falls apart.

The girls were great, we were 2.5 miles away from the River Market and our cars and they walked the whole way with me. Honestly I dont' know how I did it!! My vision was kind of blurry and I was very light headed but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and eventually we made it back. We were at 18.69 on my Garmin when we got back to the River Market I was feeling a little better and I just can't stand an odd number so we kept walking until we got to 19. I wanted to keep going for 20 but the girls wouldnt let me. When we got into Boulevard Bread Co. I was able to order my coffee and toast but then I had to sit down. The toast and coffee helped a lot and by the time we left Boulevard I was feeling much better!!

I know that the lack of proper nutrition during the run played a role, but I have run other long runs with a lot less fuel and been fine. I think it was being sick the week before, the fact that I was on my period and it was my "heavy day" and maybe the lact of nutriton all combined that caused me to have such crazy reaction. I do need to start eating something before a long run.... just with this stomach it's so hard :(
We had been doing so well the first part of the run that even with a 2.5 mile walk I still had a 12:40 avg. pace for the 19 miles.
This picture was taken at the Boat Lauch at the end of the "1-430 trail"


Sunday morning after a night out with James and Michele to celebrate her birthday I slept in. It was so nice to just be able to sleep unil I naturally woke up. I slept until 7:30 and wasnt' sure if I was going to run or not, but when I asked Arland if he wanted to run he said yes so I got ready for a run.

We didnt' start until 9:00 and it was still cool out but the sun was beating down... still we had a nice run, other than my stomach problems this time I blame the gigantic margarita I had the night before... and maybe the fish tacos??? LOL

I ended up with 7 miles and Arland added on around the neighborhood and finished with 8. It has been a long time since Arland and I went on a run just the two of us and it was nice. We kept a nice easy pace and it was great running with him.

After our run we had brunch with James and Michele and while the boys went to Home Depot Michele and I went on a short bike ride to Mt. Mudd. When we got to Mt. Mudd as soon as we stopped I felt a little blah not really light headed but just not right. It was very discouraging because I was planning on meeting Vicki and Brenda at 1:30 for a group ride. For a few minutes I considered not going but changed my mind and I ended up having a great ride with Vicki, Brenda and Lisa. We had a nice social ride, we didn't bike hard, but we also didn't just coast either.

The weirdest thing happened to our friend Gary on this ride... he was bit by a squirrell while riding. Yes bit by a squirrel!!! He was in a pace line and Curtis who was right in front of him hit a squirrel with his back tire causing it to fly up and hit Gary in the chest and arm and it bit him. At first when Gary was telling the story we thought he was telling one of those 'when Curtis and I were kids" stories. Nope he showed us the bite mark, he got on the phone right away and had his wife call their family doctor to find out if he needed a rabies shot!!! How crazy is that?!

By Sunday evening I was starting to feel bad again, and this whole week has been a repeat of last week. Sick Sunday night, feeling yucky Monday no run... Etc.

This Tuesday at the Kid's running club they were doing a timed mile. I knew this wasnt' going to be easy for Kylie so I was prepared. She LOVES Honey Stingers so I brought her a package, I gave her half of it before we went outside and then I told her that I had 4 left, one of each lap. It worked great whenever she would want to quit I would give her another honey stinger and let her know she would get another one at the next lap.

She finished her mile in 14:43 :) We also had a little boy Michael who joined us for the mile. He was so darn cute and sweet and he chatted with me the whole time. Sometimes Kylie would lag behind but he would always wait for us.
One thing Kylie does have going for her is a competitive spirit and a great finishing kick!

After the run club I had dinner at Kylie's house and Vanda, Livia, Jeff, Kylie and I played Volleyball. Now that was fun!!!!! Also a good workout, I can really feel it in my arms and back.

Catching up Part 1 FSM 5K (Cabot Fest)

So much has been going on I dont' even know where to start.
Saturday the 11th was the Race for the Cure in Little Rock. Last year I didn't get to participate because it was the week after the Chicago Marathon and I still had massive blisters on the bottoms of my feet. This year for some reason I never got motivated to sign up and then I found out the local 5K was also a fund raiser for Cancer and all the proceeds went directly to local Arkansas families dealing with all sorts of Cancer not just Breast Cancer.

Several of us opted to stay in Cabot for this 5K but we had a strong showing of Cabot Cruiser women at the Komen 5K and they all did awesome!

Timmy was going to do this race but once they got his special bike unloaded he had a flat tire, they tried to air it up but no luck :(

Jackie C and a friend of her's had come early and parked at my house we all ran a couple of miles to together while Caitlyn hung out at my house.

I didn't get the timing quite right so we didn't get as many miles as I hoped but it was fun anyway.

I had not preregistered for the race so I took care of that and then Jane and I warmed up with Karen. I was feeling pretty good, not fast but ok. When we got back to the starting area Jane and I were running along when all of a sudden we are ambushed from behind... just kidding it was Gabby she came running up to us and gave us a big hug but seriously at first it kind of scared me!! LOL

The whole race was run on First street except for a circle through one neighborhood... a lot of people think that First street is flat but IT IS NOT!! it has lot's of long gradual inclines that can suck the life out of you!! I felt like I was racing but I dont' think I pushed it as hard as I could have. I knew there was a water station in the curve of the neighborhood and I planned on slowing just enough to grab a cup and try to just get my mouth wet but they were handing out whole bottles of water, I cant' run with a water bottle in my hand and I would feel so guilty taking one sip and throwing it down so I ended up not getting any water. After we came out of the neighborhood I could see Jamie up ahead of me walking, she is a fast runner so I knew she wasn't feeling great if I was catching up with her! I kept thinking just catch up with Jamie and then try to stay with her, well I did catch up but she took a walk break so I ended up ahead of her. When we got to the final stretch I wanted to sprint in but I just couldn't find that extra gear but I was able to hold steady and I finished in 28:11 Not a PR and at first I was dissapointed but then after thinking about it I realized that was I think my 2nd fastest 5K, not bad considering I haven't been doing much speed work lately.

Michele finished in 25:42 which was a huge PR for her... but I think this is the first 5K she has actually raced usually she is running with the kid's or like recently with Timmy.

Karen did great I don't remember her time but my goodness you should have seen her sprint in at the end!! very impressive.

Alex also had a PR and finished under 35:00 and that was with falling down in the last bit of the race.

The big story though was Caitlyn she ended up 3rd overall with a time of 22:4? a huge PR for this impressive 10 year old!

Weird Week

I have been feeling out of sorts emotionally and am in kind of a funk but the running is still happening and although most of my runs this week have been interrupted by stomach issues at least I'm getting them done and they have helped with my mental state!

Monday night the girls came to my house and we planned to run the route I came up with for Heather and myself a couple of weeks ago. Pretty much from the start I knew this wasn't going to be one of those effortless runs it was warm and Michele was with us. The high mileage from the week before caught up with me a little bit but it was over all a good run, we were running about a 9:40 pace until we hit traffic and had to wait several minutes for traffic to clear so we could cross Hwy 89 it usually doesn't take that long but something must have been going on at the High School because there were a ton of cars! We reached a cross roads and could have turned right and shortened the run to 5ish miles or turn left and get in at least 7... I was not feeling this run at all and kind of wanted to go right but luckily Michele was in the lead and insisted we turn left. Right around the 4 mile mark the stomach thing hit and I knew I had to find a bathroom fast. luckily for us Michele is related to haf the town and we were very close to Aunt Betty & Uncle Jack's house, Michele ran ahead and cleared the way for me to be able to use their bathroom. I was embarassed but they were SO NICE!! and they didn't even look at me like I was crazy or anything. Aunt Betty gave us all a bottle of nice cold water and Uncle Jack said we could come back anytime!! :)

We had to deal with a lot of traffic on this run in one of the neighborhoods we always run in this little white car came careening around a curve and almost hit us. It was dark but we were all lit up like Christmas tree's.. well maybe not that bright but between reflective clothing, lights clipped on our hats and blinky lights we were visible! We all yelled at him and a little later we hear what sounded like that same car coming up behind us, we thought maybe they were coming back to harrass us but thankfullly that wasn't the case.

We dodged cars all along First street and by the time we got back to my house we were all pretty thankful to have escaped unharmed!

During the run we were talking about wine and then Kelly mentioned she wanted to try the new Ultra Michelob light with lime.. wellllll I just happen to have some in my fridge at home so when we finished the run I opened a couple of bottles and poured everyone a sample. It was the perfect way to end

Tuesday my Dad and Stepmom (Vanda) arrived from Brazil. They will be making Arkansas home but plan to travel during the winters. My dad grew up in Ohio but for over 40 years he has lived in warm climates so although Arkansas isn't normally considered cold to those living north of us it will be to them.

Unfortunately their flight was delayed and I didn't get to go to the kids running program at Kylie's school. I was even going to get to pick up my pal Harry.

I ended up staying for dinner and also missed the Tuesday Night Flyer's running clinic.

Wednesday morning Jane and I were the only early birds we had a good run everything was going great until about 2.5 miles and the stomach thing started again. We weren't anywhere near a bathroom or Aunt Betty's house ;) I would have to do the crossing my legs thing wait for it to calm down and then run again, I think I had to stop 3 times which really wasn't that bad definately could have been worse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday evening went to Livia's house for my Dad's birthday dinner. Lot's of good Brazilian food and my stepmom makes the BEST coffee, I think she brought a full suitcase of just coffee with her.

This morning it was just Jane and I again, well you can add the poop monster because she came for another visit... three runs in a row can I get a break please!!!!

It was much worse this morning... maybe the coffee & black beans and rice??? Luckily we weren't too far out maybe a mile when it hit so we turned around and headed back so I could use the facilites at Phillips 66... after the pit stop we got in a couple more miles for a total of 4 miles.

Running all over Cabot

Running has brought me many benefits but one in particular that I have noticed lately is it has taught me more about the town I live in. Before I started running I really only knew a few neighborhoods in Cabot and of course the main drag etc but now I feel like I have really explored every nook an cranny of this little town, either through running or biking. It sure makes planning a long run in Cabot a lot easier.

Thursday morning I met Jane and Michele at the Community Center for a good fast run! We ran our usual route which has a few small hills and a couple long inclines. I don't have my Garmin and I don't remember the splits but our average pace for 5 miles was 9:38.
Thursday afternoon I met Vicki, Gabby and Karen at the Community Center for hill repeats. Vicki has been training for a trip to Lake Tahoe, her hip has really been hurting her for a few months now and she knows she is going to probably have to walk the hills quite a bit so that was her plan for this workout. Gabby joining us was a very pleasant suprise, she called just as I was leaving the house to let me know she was at the Community Center. Jane was also going to join us but work got in the way and she wasn't able to join in the fun. Just as we were headed out for our warm-up Karen found us so we had a nice little group. We had a very easy warm-up and it was great to run with Vicki and have a nice chat. After the warm-up we headed to our hill, it doesn't look like much from a distance but it is long and has a nice steep bit at the end.
Unfortunately after just a few repeats Gabby got to see the dreaded "oop's my stomach" dance in person. I saw some port a potties on the top of the hill but they were behind a fence so I ended up having to run over to the Community Center. Granted it was great to be able to use a real bathroom but for a few minutes I just didn't know if I could make it that far! On my way back to the hill I could see that Gabby was running the hill alone and then I saw Vicki and Karen rounding the tennis courts for there cool down. I ran one or two more repeats and then we all jogged/walked back to the community center together. We said good-bye to Vicki and then Karen, Gabby and I set off to add on a few more miles. We had a nice run it was slow and easy and very chatty!! It was great having Gabby join us a nice change of pace for her and us! I was starting to stress out a little bit the last couple of miles, yeah it was my idea to add on although I had already had an awesome run that morning but once I got past the 5 mile mark I was thinking what am I doing... I have 18 miles on Saturday!! We ended up with 6 miles and I felt like I could have run all night!! In three days I had run 26 miles, not bad considering I skipped Tuesday!

Saturday morning after our long run several of us had volunteered to work the finish line at a Cross Country meet. Brenda was planning on starting at 5:30 but I know my stomach and how it can really slow me down, plus Brenda is just a much faster runner so my plan was to start at 5:00. Jane, Kelly and I met at the Elementary school where the Cross Country Meet was being held. Michele was also starting at 5:00am from her house and we were hopefully going to meet in the middle. Well you know how it goes sometimes things just don't go as planned. I was running a little late so we got a late start and had just started when Michele caught up with us she was just planning on running for about an hour and then she was going to pick up Timmy and they were running the Wing Ding 5K. As we were running along I mentioned to Michele that Rock texted me that the race started at 7:00... well Michele thought it was supposed to be 8:00 and after some texting and internet surfing on my cell phone she got confirmation about the 7:00am start. She had to go and fast!! so we just let her go on ahead of us. It was getting late so we just ran around the school neighborhood a little while until 5:30, I didn't think anyone was meeting Brenda and I didn't want her to start alone. Just as we got back to the parking lot Cindy C. drove up so Brenda had someone to run with after all. We went off on our first big loop which would take us by the high school etc. We were about 4 miles in when my stomach started it's thing, luckily we were also very close to the track adn the port a potties. We made a big loop back to the elementary school and then made our way over to Michele's house where I had stashed an ice chest (one of the reasons I was late) with water and pretzels. We were at 7.19 miles and that was our first nutrition stop... not good!! It was really chilly so we didnt' get as thirsty but we still needed to be drinking!!!
We continuted on back by the high school, community center and Phillip's 66 gas station where I had another pit stop, this time nothing happened but I just felt like I couldn't pass up a real bathroom.. just in case! Now we were headed down first street towards my neighborhood.
Kelly has had a lot going on lately and hasn't really been able to get very many long runs in, add to that a sore throat,chest cold this week welll... you can just imagine this wasn't an easy run for her, but it wasn't until around 9 miles that I realized she was struggling. We started taking walk breaks and then it was decided that when we got to my house we would have Arland give her a ride back to her car at the school. Speaking of Arland there he was running in our direction it was great to see him running and looking so happy, he actually looked like he was floating on air!
By the time we got to my house we were at 11.5 miles, we made a pit stop had some more water and pretzels, along with honey stinger chews and Jane and I said good-bye to Arland and Kelly. I had been hoping we could turn around at my house but we were a little short on mleage so we had to continue on down first street for a little while. Finally we turned around and once again here comes Arland running towards us. He made the comment that we were slow!!! HMPH listen mister it's not nice to tell two girls at 13.5 miles into their 18 mile long run that they are slow!! He ended up running all the way to the end of first street with us and it was nice to have his company even if he was mostly running ahead of us! LOL
Oh a crazy thing was happening to my right leg on this run.. it started fairly early on and it is hard to describe but it was an odd sensation where I would suddenly feel like my leg wasn't there... ok that's no really it but it would kind of buckle under me and it hurt but not a sharp pain more of an annoyance than anything and kind of scary because a coupel of times I thought I was going to fall. It kind of was just an on and off thing and just when I would think oh I havn't had that sensation lately it would happen again.... weird!
I guess we should have run down first street a little farther because we ended up with17.5 miles and we had to run past our cars and back to get that and we decided we were good with 17.5. This run wasn't as great as the 17 miler at the River Trail a couple of weeks ago but it was ok! the last 6 were hard mentally and my legs were feeling like lead but hey we got it done so another long one in the books! Looking back I really did a terrible job with nutriton!! I think for the whole 17.5 miles I had maybe 4 honey stiner chews and a handful of pretzels with very little water... no wonder my legs felt like lead!

Working the finish line at the Cross Country meet was pretty interesting... those kids really put everything into their race and several of them were gagging and collapsing at the finish line. Our job was to keep them in order and then we/I gave them a card to fill out and turn in. I don't know what their times were, I would give them a car with the number/place they finished in and the coach had some kind of handheld timing device. He was at the front of the finishing line and I was in the back so I couldn't see the times.

Michele and Timmy had an awesome time at the Wing Ding 5K...they both won their age group's and Timmy was interviewed by a local t.v. station. Michele stopped at Mountain Mudd on her way to meet us at the school, and she brought coffee back for Jane and I... just what I needed!!
Jane had to leave the Meet early to go teach a Latin dance class at the community center... she is just a ball of energy!!
When we finished our duties at the finish line several of us... Rock, Cindy, Lisa F, Brenda and i went to Emily's for breakfast... for Brenda's birthday breakfast. It was great to get to sit down and relax and hang out with them. They are all very fast runners and I don't get to run with them so I have to hang out with them when they are sitting still so I can join in on the conversations!! Cindy's daughter works at Emily's and she cooked our omelets.. it took a long time to get them but they were delicious!!

When I got home I took a shower called Livia and arranged to meet her and Kylie at Target. It was fun but after about an hour I was really starting to get tired and my feet were hurting! Next we went to "Starbooks" and Kylie and I hung out in the kids section for about an hour while Livia went on for more shopping without us. I took Kylie home and we had dinner and played and overall had a nice evening... but I was starting to fade and she was getting annoyed by my lack of energy. She said all you ever want to do is rest!! It didn't matter how many times I reminded her of all that we had done that afternoon and that NaNa had run 17.5 miles that morning in her head all we had done was rest!! LOL Livia picked her up about 9:45 and soon after I fell into bed!

I had told myself during Saturday's run that I could take Sunday off... afterall I had 43.5 miles for the week but I also told myself that if I felt good when I woke up, no pain etc. that I would go to the elementary school for the 7:00am run. Jane and i had discussed that we would just run with Joan and have a slow easy run......
Instead we started off with Gabby who had come down from Searcy and Brenda and Cindy. Brenda and Cindy pulled out ahead but never too far and Gabby was kind of inbetween for a little bit and then she slowed down and ran with Jane and I. We were running a good pace not blazing but definately not slow and chatting with Gabby. When we finished the long incline at the end of Woody Lane Jane and I slowed down a bit to catch our breath, we didnt' walk just a slow jog, this was where we lost Gabby. She is really a fast runner and should have been with Brenda and Cindy from the beginning but I'm glad we got to have her for a little while.
We did the Cherry route and it has some pretty good hills and long inclines but I felt great the whole time!! I wish I knew what our pace was for the run but my Garmin decided at mile 2 to start beeping at me. It was full and I needed to delete some old laps.. :( The funny thing is we had a discussion about this very thing at breakfast on Saturday and I had mentioned that my new Garmin hadn't given me any problems! OOp's spoke too soon!
Oh well it was a great run and it felt good to be able to run kind of fast the day after 17.5 miles... and even better yet I had a runners high that lasted for HOURS afterwards. I was so energized I went home and starting putting together some storage thingy's I had bought at Target and started reorganizing my closet!

I ended the week with 49.1 miles all of which were run in Cabot... I am looking forward to our next River Trail long run!!

The Big Dam Bridge and more....

I've been a lazy blogger, well maybe more busy than lazy but either way I can't believe I haven't written about the BDB yet.
It was awesome... The weather was perfect for a bike ride, maybe a little cold at the beginning but once the sun came out it warmed up nicely. I was riding with Brenda, Vicki, Bruce, Linda and Charlotte. Pretty much Brenda, Vic, Bruce and I stayed together for the whole ride and Linda and Charlotte would ride ahead and wait for us at the aid stations.
Ahhh the aid stations now those were great!! I wish I could go on 50 mile bike rides like that more often! The first aid station in Cooks landing we stopped but I only had time to use the port a pottie and skipped the food drink, it was early and I didn't really need anything yet. Maumelle aid station had the BEST EVER pickles, seriously I love pickles and these were the best I have ever had... Brenda agreed with me and we told everyone who would listen how great they were!!
Mayflower also had a great aid station,while we were there we had homemade cookies some of them fresh out of the oven/ The aid station was set up in a Church parking lot and they went all out for us. I made sure to drink gatorade at each aid station but I didn't really drink enough water although I didn't have any ill effects from lack of water, nor did I have any ill effects from mixing pickles cookies and gatorade believe me that is a bit of a minor miracle!!! Brenda counted how many cookies she ate and I think I had about the same amount if not one or two more but I'm not going to tell how many it was ;) I will tell you I had 6 or 7 pickle spears.. the big one's!
This ride was a lot of fun but it wasn't all fun and games and eating! There were plenty of hills, lot's of rough roads etc. but we had a blast and I was surrounded by great people. Vicki made the hill's easier, about half way up she would yell out HILL, for some reason that always made me laugh and that would help me breath better.
After our ride was over we headed to the Wyndham to change clothes and then over to Creegan's Irish pub for some lunch. With all the pickles and cookies I wasn't really that hungry just wanted some real food so I had a tuna salad croissant and some fruit, the sandwich was great, the fruit not so much.
We ran into Jame's (Gabby's husband) he was relaxing at the bar and I forced him to come sit with us he is a super nice guy and boy is he proud of all of Gabby's accomplishments!
We headed out to the finish line and waited.. and waited... and waited some more for all of our 100 milers to finish. We didn't mind and it was great to watch people finish knowing what they had just accomplished!!
I was especially happy to see Arland, Rock, Gary and Curtis all ride in together and of course Gabby her face was just priceless as she approached the finish line and what a great hug I got afterwards!!

I think the waiting out in the hot sun took more out of me than the ride did or maybe it was the combination, all I know is when I got home I was beat and promptly feel asleep on the couch until time to shower and get ready to go out to dinner. which wasn't really very long considering it was almost 4:00 by the time we got home and we were going to dinner at 6:30.

Sunday morning we had 16 miles on the schedule, Brenda and I were the only one's who made it for the 6:00am start when I got out of my car she looked at me and said I am exhausted!! I was so relieved to hear her say that because I was feeling beat myself and just didnt' know how I was going to do 16 miles. We decided that we would make it a back down week, no set mileage was discussed but we did say around 11 or 12. We ran the first 5 together and I had to make an emergency bathroom trip in the first 2 miles but after that we were just cruising along. We ran back to the elementary school at 7:00 and Cindy C, Lisa F, and Jane were waiting for us along with Bill and Aracelly.
Jane had run the Arkansas 20K the day before and had gotten sick during the race... she had a similar experience to my Lila loop/Ballard rd. long run from a couple weeks ago. Her stomach was bothering her and she was having breating problems..... so when we started up I said let's just take this easy! When Brenda and I ran the first 5 miles we didnt' take our fuel belts because it was cool and we knew we would be back at the school in a couple of miles, when we got back I strapped mine on but I soon realized no way was I going to be able to wear the darn thing. I swear it felt like it weighed 20 pounds, so I ran back to the church across from the school and stashed it under a bush... what a relief. We kept a nice steady pace nothing fast but no lollygagging around either and no walk breaks, we ended up with 5 miles and I decided 10 miles was good enough for the day and at a 10:07 avg pace. I finished feeling really good and knowing that I could have run more. The run really energized me and i did feel bad later that I didn't push it and run further like Brenda she ended up with 14.
After having some breakfast and laying around on the couch for a little while watching Biggest Loser (I love wattching that show after a good run) I showered changed and went to Magness to pick up Kylie and Livia. We went to Target and to "Star-Books" Kylie's name for the starbuck's inside Barnes and Noble. We headed over to the kids section and let her play and read for an hour or so. It was hard to say good-bye to them when it was time to take them home.

Monday night Jane and I met at Michele's house and ran 6 miles together, we started off with a walk to help Jane's shin's warm up adn then a slow jog... it didn't take too long for her to warm up and we ran a good pace again not fast but not too slow either.. no walk breaks, towards the end Jane's leg started bothering her a little again :( all those darn hills on Saturday and Sunday!
The timing was perfect for me to end my run with Jane and start running with Michele and her gang (Timmy & Karen) my goal for the night was 10 miles, I guess I was trying to compensate for having shortened my long run on Sunday. The last 4 was a slower pace until the last .75 and then Michele joined me and we pushed the pace until I hit 10 miles. The awesome thing was that I felt like I could keep running all night!

Tuesday ended up being another "Tuesday with Kylie" we had fun at the "kid's running clinic" and then we headed over to the Martin house to have some fun. Poor Kylie was so tired by the time I got her home at 7:35! She did not want me to leave and ended up having a bit of a meltdown, but I blame that on being overtired.

This morning Kelly and I met Jamie (coach O) and her friend Erin at the Community center. Jamie is a fast runner she is just a natural and I was a little worried about being able to keep up with her, but we ended up having a great run, we all stayed together and finsihed 4 miles in 39:30. Our first mile was a 10:25 and then 2 and 3 were in the 9:38 range with mile 4 being our fastest at a 9:24. Kelly and I added on another mile after that but it was not a great mile, I ended up having stomach issues probably because of that big drink of water that I took after we got back to the CC parking lot, it hit my empty stomach like a ton of bricks and there was a lot of leg crossing and cussing going on!

I miss Arland he is in St. Louis for business meetings all week, but my friends have been great about making sure I'm not lonely or hungry! LOL

Tomorrow will be a double.. I am meeting the girls to run in the morning and then I am going to meet Vic and Jane for Hill repeats in the evening. Double the pleasure Double the fun!