The long run for the week was 8 miles... wow only 8 miles, even though I am about to run my 5th marathon in just a little over a year on Saturday it still feels weird when I say only 10 miles or 8 miles.
It also still feels weird to think that sleeping until 5:30 on Saturday and Sunday is sleeping in!! But after starting most of our long runs at 5:00am during the summer a 7:00am start feels so late!
Jane and I decided we would meet the 7am group at the elementary school. Michele and Vicki were also joining us along with Karen. Vicki had mentioned that she wanted to maintain about a 10:15 - 10:30 pace. That was fine with me! We have been doing most of our shorter runs at a 9:30 - 9:40ish pace so it would be good to practice race pace... well actually a little faster than my planned race pace but still it worked.
We also had a couple of new people join us, Angie and her daughter Kelsey. Kelsey is a senior in high school and a dancer very sweet girl, Angie was also very nice and a natural athelete. They ran with us for about the first 4 miles.
It was pretty chilly when we started around 42 degrees but windy. I had on running pants and a short sleeve and long sleeve tech shirt a bondi band and of course gloves. The bondi band maybe lasted 3 miles and the gloves hmmm maybe the same. I did keep the long sleeve shirt on for the entire run.
Joan, Biker Lisa and Karen also ran with us... I had planned the route but couldn't remember some of the street names so we would circle back when we would get to a cross roads to make sure they knew which way to go. As is usual with Jane, Michele and I we adjusted the route occasionally just for a change of scenery. The miles pretty much sped by and I would occasionally look at my Garmin and see that we definately were running faster than a 10:30 pace but it felt good and we all chatted and enjoyed the run. With all the circling back a big chunk of my planned route wasn't necessary so we ended up running up HWY 89 back to the school for the last mile.... I switched the screen on my Garmin to show our avg. pace and I think it was a 9:58. The last mile we all stopped talking and we took the last few inclines and ended our 8 miles with a 9:55 avg :)
After the run we waited for Joan and her gang to make it back and then we all went over to The Diner for breakfast.
Brenda had run out at Bethlehem rd. but she came to breakfast with us... we wanted to go to Daily Grind but they were closed.
Sunday -
Today Jane came over to my house about 8:00am we had 5 miles on our schedule, well actually 5.05... yes that's a weird number but that is what Jane needed to reach 150 miles for the month of November.. her highest mileage month ever!!
It was also my highest mileage month ever too... 182.1
Today's run 5.1 miles 9:41 avg. pace not sure what pace my mouth was moving but I talked the entire run!! I had a few things I needed to get off my chest and Jane understands some of the issues I've been dealing with as she also has to deal with similiar situations and people.
After our run Arland made us some coffee and Jane stayed and chatted. We spent some of that time going over goals and plans for the Marathon on Saturday... wow less than a week away now!!
Brenda started her traditional Marathon weather obsession e-mail's last week.. I think it was when she started sending those that it hit me how close we are to the Marathon.
Not sure what's on tap for the rest of the day.. it's cold with on and off sprinkles so maybe just another day inside.
I don't think I mentioned that on Friday while everyone else was out in the cold fighting the crowds shopping I was hanging out with Arland and Brett in my nice warm fuzzy pajama pants and big old sweat shirt. I never got dressed all day so obviously I never left the house and it was great!!!!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Lot's to blog about.....
As usual I have fallen behind on the blog updates but believe me lot's has been going on. The Memphis St. Jude Marathon is right around the Corner. Actually it is one week from today!!! YIKES!!!
Training has been going really well I won't go into every single run but the colder weather has done wonders for my running. Brenda, Jane and I have been meeting at Michele's house for the majority of our week night runs. Michele and Kelly join us when they can. Arland was also joining us until the Doctor told him to take 10 days off but he will be back next week :)
We have really picked up the pace on all of our runs and have been averaging between 9:30 - 9:40 for almost all of our runs.
I do have a funny story about one of those runs..... It was on a Wednesday night and Lisa F (Tri-Lisa) was coming to run with us at Krooked Kreek. I love Lisa she is a very funny very generous overall nice person and oh yeah she's wicked fast!!
One by one my running partners were dropping like flies. Jane teaches a Latin Dance class on Wednesday nights so I knew she wouldn't be there but I was counting on Kelly and Michele. Kelly called first and said she couldn't come and then when I got to Michele's house James wasn't home yet... as in was still in a meeting in Little Rock. I was SCARED... I was going to have to run by myself with Lisa and Brenda!! Brenda is also very fast but I know she doesn't mind slowing her pace sometimes but I hadn't run with Lisa for more than a few minutes and wasn't sure what to expect.
We started off with a fast pace, not blazing mind you but fast enough, in the first mile we were stopped by a lady and man who had lot's of questions about running.. how often do we run, where etc. I love talking to new people but it was cold and I could feel my self stiffening up and the fear was still in my heart. I swear we talked to them for a least a minute if not longer but it ended up being easer to start back up than I thought it would. Once we started running again I let Brenda and Lisa do all the talking and we had a great run!! We ran in Blooming Ridge and it is pretty hilly/incliny over there so I was even happier with the outcome. 5 Miles with a 9:28 avg. pace and that includes the time we spent talking to those people in the neighborhood and having to wait for traffic crossing HWY 89.
I knew that Michele knew how scared I was about running with Lisa cause i flat out told her... but I didn't realize that Brenda had also seen the fear in my eyes!!
HOT SPRINGS 10K
I had been wanting to run this race for the past two years but something else always came up but this year I was determined to run it even though it was just two weeks before the Marathon. Everyone I know has run it including Cheryl who had told horror stories about "The Mountain" so I was prepared.. sort of.
Bailey and I met at Team 1 Saturday morning and then drove over to Burger King to meet Brenda, Joan, Vicki and Lisa.
It has been ages since I've really been able to spend any quality time with Bailey so I really enjoyed having her with me... even if she did sleep part of the way ;)
The temp reading in my car had been steadily showing 25 degree's until we turned onto HWY 70 and I watched it rapidly decrease to 19 degree's!!! Oh good grief I like running in cooler weather but 19 degrees is a little extreme.
I think it probably warmed up to about 24-25 by the time the race started. In usual Cruiser fashion we were very early but that gave us plenty of time to get our packets use the restroom multiple times and visit with friends and get and give lot's of hugs!
I wasn't "racing" this race I had decided ahead of time that although I wasn't technically racing I still wanted to have a decent time and not lolly gag so I set a goal of finishing in 1:00:00. I started the race off a little slow well I thought it was slow but when I ran by the first mile marker they called out 9:31 (my garmin showed 9:24). For most of the race I could see Cheryl, Bailey, Kim and Tammy. I ran right behind Kim and Tammy for the first couple of miles, until the mountain and then they left me behind.
The mountain was no joke.. It was steep and it was long but the worst part was the slant in the road I kept weaving back and forth trying to find a flat spot to run on.. there were none but I finally settled on running on the yellow line on the side of the road. I don't really know what you would call what I was doing going up that mountain whatever it was I'm sure it didn't look pretty but I was bound and determined not to walk ... and I didn't. After the first big climb we had a bit of flat and then a little bit of a downhill but I knew we had another climb ahead of us and didn't let myself enjoy the downhill as much as I should have. Once we crested the second mountain we had a nice long downhill, but after what happened in the SF Marathon I was afraid to just let loose and fly down so I was a bit of a sissy and didn't take full advantage but with Memphis just two weeks away I didn't want to take any chances with an injury. The rest of the race was a few rolling inclines but mostly either a gradual downhill or flat.
I love going to races with all my friends... it is so nice to have people cheering for you as you come into the final portion of the race. I could hear my name over and over and it was such a rush. Being slower has it's advantages :) I was also happy because I met my goal and finished in 1:00:02 and considering that I was a actually farther back in the pack at the start I actually finished a little bit faster but that is my official time so that's, that.
After the race we headed over to the awards ceremony and the Cruisers took home lot's of awards. Lisa was 3rd female over all and almost everyone else won either in Master's, Grand Master's or age groups. The Awards ceremony was outside and it was freezing but we all huddled/cuddled up and were able to keep reasonably warm. I think this was the first time that Gabby and James experienced the Cruiser Cuddle but they fit right in :)
Finally it was time for the best part of going to races... breakfast. We went to a pancake house and I had Blueberry Buckwheat pancakes that were delicious!!
Gabby and James also came to breakfast but unfortunately they didn't get there until late so we didn't really get to hang out with them. Gabby don't know if I have told you lately but I am so happy that you have become part of our Cruiser craziness.. you and James both!
12-miler
The next day after the race was our last "long" run of the Memphis Marathon training plan. It was around 45 degrees when we started at 7:00 which was 20 degrees warmer than the day before so we were very comfortable. Jackie met Jane, Michele and I at SSE we didn't have a specific route planned but just headed off in our normal direction and let Michele lead us through Cabot. I did have to make one or two pit stops but never had a cross my legs and stop kind of emergency. We did have to yell at a few dogs which is always fun... NOT. It was overall a very nice run, we pretty much all ran together the whole time so that was fun. My goal for the run was to try to avg. 10:30 for the 12 miles and we hit it was a 10:29 avg. pace. After the run we went to Starbucks and had their new Oatmeal and a pumpkin spice latte. As we were getting ready to leave Brenda and I both mentioned that we needed to go to Wal-Mart so we went together and it was great to have company while doing my grocery shopping.
THANKSGIVING
Thursday morning was the annual Cruiser Turkey run and we had 26 runners and 1 biker. It was so great to see so many people.. lot's of new faces and some old faces I haven't seen in awhile. It was cold -35 degrees when we started but it was supposed to warm up pretty quick and after the first mile I was very comfortable the rest of the run. It probably helped that we ran a very hilly route and we were keeping a pretty good pace.
Lisa F. started the run with a turkey call and then we were off with Jane and I leading the way down HWY 89 which was kind of comical because we had lot's of fast runners yesterday but they all stayed behind us until we turned onto Bradley and they they cut loose... oh well it was fun being in the lead while it lasted.
Jane, Vicki and I ended up running together for the whole 7 miles well most of it. Just before we got to 3.5 miles Vicki said she was going to take at walk break at 3.5 Jane walked with her but I kept going I did slow down and they did eventually catch up but it gave me a chance to catch my breath in my own way.
7 miles 9:38 avg pace... what a great way to start Thanksgiving day!! Somewhere around mile 6.5 I said to Jane BRING ON THE PUMPKIN PIE!!
This was the first Thansgiving I have spent with my Dad since I was 13 maybe 14 years old.. no I definately think it was 13... kind of sad but I don't dwell on the past and I'm very happy that we are together now.
Liva and Vanda really did a wonderful job the table's were very nicely decorated and the food was excellent.
Afterwards Kylie and I went out for a walk/bike ride and she had quite the crash but once I convinced her that was the coolest crash I had ever seen and repeatedly told her how strong and awesome she was the recovery was quick. I did have to hold an ice pack on her arm for the next 30 minutes. Tracy and little Alex my nephew Ricky's 2 year old stepson came out and joined us and we did a little running and walking and had some fun.
In the past we used to go around the table at Thanksgiving and say one thing that we were thankful for ... I wonder why we don't do that anymore?? Hmmm something to remember for next year.
This year I am thankful for Family and Friends my Dad and Stepmom moved to Arkansas, my son Brett and I have grown closer after a year of some tension. My circle of friends has grown this year and I couldn't be more blessed in that area. I am thankful that I am healthy and can run and bike and enjoy life.
Most important of all I am always thankful for Arland... my wonderful husband who I love so much and who loves me even when I am a little crazy!!!
Speaking of family it's time for us to go to Magness to say bye to the family members who are travelling home to Florida and Texas.
Training has been going really well I won't go into every single run but the colder weather has done wonders for my running. Brenda, Jane and I have been meeting at Michele's house for the majority of our week night runs. Michele and Kelly join us when they can. Arland was also joining us until the Doctor told him to take 10 days off but he will be back next week :)
We have really picked up the pace on all of our runs and have been averaging between 9:30 - 9:40 for almost all of our runs.
I do have a funny story about one of those runs..... It was on a Wednesday night and Lisa F (Tri-Lisa) was coming to run with us at Krooked Kreek. I love Lisa she is a very funny very generous overall nice person and oh yeah she's wicked fast!!
One by one my running partners were dropping like flies. Jane teaches a Latin Dance class on Wednesday nights so I knew she wouldn't be there but I was counting on Kelly and Michele. Kelly called first and said she couldn't come and then when I got to Michele's house James wasn't home yet... as in was still in a meeting in Little Rock. I was SCARED... I was going to have to run by myself with Lisa and Brenda!! Brenda is also very fast but I know she doesn't mind slowing her pace sometimes but I hadn't run with Lisa for more than a few minutes and wasn't sure what to expect.
We started off with a fast pace, not blazing mind you but fast enough, in the first mile we were stopped by a lady and man who had lot's of questions about running.. how often do we run, where etc. I love talking to new people but it was cold and I could feel my self stiffening up and the fear was still in my heart. I swear we talked to them for a least a minute if not longer but it ended up being easer to start back up than I thought it would. Once we started running again I let Brenda and Lisa do all the talking and we had a great run!! We ran in Blooming Ridge and it is pretty hilly/incliny over there so I was even happier with the outcome. 5 Miles with a 9:28 avg. pace and that includes the time we spent talking to those people in the neighborhood and having to wait for traffic crossing HWY 89.
I knew that Michele knew how scared I was about running with Lisa cause i flat out told her... but I didn't realize that Brenda had also seen the fear in my eyes!!
HOT SPRINGS 10K
I had been wanting to run this race for the past two years but something else always came up but this year I was determined to run it even though it was just two weeks before the Marathon. Everyone I know has run it including Cheryl who had told horror stories about "The Mountain" so I was prepared.. sort of.
Bailey and I met at Team 1 Saturday morning and then drove over to Burger King to meet Brenda, Joan, Vicki and Lisa.
It has been ages since I've really been able to spend any quality time with Bailey so I really enjoyed having her with me... even if she did sleep part of the way ;)
The temp reading in my car had been steadily showing 25 degree's until we turned onto HWY 70 and I watched it rapidly decrease to 19 degree's!!! Oh good grief I like running in cooler weather but 19 degrees is a little extreme.
I think it probably warmed up to about 24-25 by the time the race started. In usual Cruiser fashion we were very early but that gave us plenty of time to get our packets use the restroom multiple times and visit with friends and get and give lot's of hugs!
I wasn't "racing" this race I had decided ahead of time that although I wasn't technically racing I still wanted to have a decent time and not lolly gag so I set a goal of finishing in 1:00:00. I started the race off a little slow well I thought it was slow but when I ran by the first mile marker they called out 9:31 (my garmin showed 9:24). For most of the race I could see Cheryl, Bailey, Kim and Tammy. I ran right behind Kim and Tammy for the first couple of miles, until the mountain and then they left me behind.
The mountain was no joke.. It was steep and it was long but the worst part was the slant in the road I kept weaving back and forth trying to find a flat spot to run on.. there were none but I finally settled on running on the yellow line on the side of the road. I don't really know what you would call what I was doing going up that mountain whatever it was I'm sure it didn't look pretty but I was bound and determined not to walk ... and I didn't. After the first big climb we had a bit of flat and then a little bit of a downhill but I knew we had another climb ahead of us and didn't let myself enjoy the downhill as much as I should have. Once we crested the second mountain we had a nice long downhill, but after what happened in the SF Marathon I was afraid to just let loose and fly down so I was a bit of a sissy and didn't take full advantage but with Memphis just two weeks away I didn't want to take any chances with an injury. The rest of the race was a few rolling inclines but mostly either a gradual downhill or flat.
I love going to races with all my friends... it is so nice to have people cheering for you as you come into the final portion of the race. I could hear my name over and over and it was such a rush. Being slower has it's advantages :) I was also happy because I met my goal and finished in 1:00:02 and considering that I was a actually farther back in the pack at the start I actually finished a little bit faster but that is my official time so that's, that.
After the race we headed over to the awards ceremony and the Cruisers took home lot's of awards. Lisa was 3rd female over all and almost everyone else won either in Master's, Grand Master's or age groups. The Awards ceremony was outside and it was freezing but we all huddled/cuddled up and were able to keep reasonably warm. I think this was the first time that Gabby and James experienced the Cruiser Cuddle but they fit right in :)
Finally it was time for the best part of going to races... breakfast. We went to a pancake house and I had Blueberry Buckwheat pancakes that were delicious!!
Gabby and James also came to breakfast but unfortunately they didn't get there until late so we didn't really get to hang out with them. Gabby don't know if I have told you lately but I am so happy that you have become part of our Cruiser craziness.. you and James both!
12-miler
The next day after the race was our last "long" run of the Memphis Marathon training plan. It was around 45 degrees when we started at 7:00 which was 20 degrees warmer than the day before so we were very comfortable. Jackie met Jane, Michele and I at SSE we didn't have a specific route planned but just headed off in our normal direction and let Michele lead us through Cabot. I did have to make one or two pit stops but never had a cross my legs and stop kind of emergency. We did have to yell at a few dogs which is always fun... NOT. It was overall a very nice run, we pretty much all ran together the whole time so that was fun. My goal for the run was to try to avg. 10:30 for the 12 miles and we hit it was a 10:29 avg. pace. After the run we went to Starbucks and had their new Oatmeal and a pumpkin spice latte. As we were getting ready to leave Brenda and I both mentioned that we needed to go to Wal-Mart so we went together and it was great to have company while doing my grocery shopping.
THANKSGIVING
Thursday morning was the annual Cruiser Turkey run and we had 26 runners and 1 biker. It was so great to see so many people.. lot's of new faces and some old faces I haven't seen in awhile. It was cold -35 degrees when we started but it was supposed to warm up pretty quick and after the first mile I was very comfortable the rest of the run. It probably helped that we ran a very hilly route and we were keeping a pretty good pace.
Lisa F. started the run with a turkey call and then we were off with Jane and I leading the way down HWY 89 which was kind of comical because we had lot's of fast runners yesterday but they all stayed behind us until we turned onto Bradley and they they cut loose... oh well it was fun being in the lead while it lasted.
Jane, Vicki and I ended up running together for the whole 7 miles well most of it. Just before we got to 3.5 miles Vicki said she was going to take at walk break at 3.5 Jane walked with her but I kept going I did slow down and they did eventually catch up but it gave me a chance to catch my breath in my own way.
7 miles 9:38 avg pace... what a great way to start Thanksgiving day!! Somewhere around mile 6.5 I said to Jane BRING ON THE PUMPKIN PIE!!
This was the first Thansgiving I have spent with my Dad since I was 13 maybe 14 years old.. no I definately think it was 13... kind of sad but I don't dwell on the past and I'm very happy that we are together now.
Liva and Vanda really did a wonderful job the table's were very nicely decorated and the food was excellent.
Afterwards Kylie and I went out for a walk/bike ride and she had quite the crash but once I convinced her that was the coolest crash I had ever seen and repeatedly told her how strong and awesome she was the recovery was quick. I did have to hold an ice pack on her arm for the next 30 minutes. Tracy and little Alex my nephew Ricky's 2 year old stepson came out and joined us and we did a little running and walking and had some fun.
In the past we used to go around the table at Thanksgiving and say one thing that we were thankful for ... I wonder why we don't do that anymore?? Hmmm something to remember for next year.
This year I am thankful for Family and Friends my Dad and Stepmom moved to Arkansas, my son Brett and I have grown closer after a year of some tension. My circle of friends has grown this year and I couldn't be more blessed in that area. I am thankful that I am healthy and can run and bike and enjoy life.
Most important of all I am always thankful for Arland... my wonderful husband who I love so much and who loves me even when I am a little crazy!!!
Speaking of family it's time for us to go to Magness to say bye to the family members who are travelling home to Florida and Texas.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The last 20-miler with a few other runs sprinkled in
Saturday was our last 20-miler before Memphis and it was a good one. We went to the River Trail instead of running in Cabot with Brenda and Andrea. They were doing the Ballard Rd. Mountain Springs loop and after the weekend before Jane and I decided we didnt' want to do our 20 out there. The River Trail is great becasue it is familiar and has plenty of bathroom opportunities along the way no traffic and no dogs!!!!
I was dreading the run all week, orginally the weather people had forcasted 30 degrees and windy. We got lucky it was actually about 45 degrees but the wind was pretty killer!! There were times when it was pushing us every which way and on the Big Dam Bridge was the worst I bet we had 50mph wind gusts. I was really glad there weren't many bikes out because we were constantly getting pushed into the other lane.
We planned to start at 5:30 but it was almost 6:00 by the time we made it to the River Market and were able to start. We all had extra ear/head bands around our noses to keep us warm.. we looked pretty funny!! Cheryl it reminded me of our Rahling rd. run last winter!
I was wearing running pants, my favorite black tank with the back pockets a short sleeve tech shirt and a long sleeve tech shirt. I also had a throw away t-shirt which was great!! Right at the 1 mile marker there is a gas station it is at the bottom of the bridge I wasn't really feeling any stomach issues but I did need to pee and so did Kelly so we went ahead and stopped... well it was a darn good thing!! I took care of quite a bit of business that definately would have caused problems before the next bathroom stop.
It was a beautiful morning and the sunrise on the river was spectacular!! We were so happy we chose the River Trail. All summer long when we ran at the River Trail it was always dark until almost the Big Dam Bridge so it was nice that with the time change we actually were running in daylight. It was also great since portions of the trail were littered with tree limbs!! I was thinking of Cheryl when we were dodging all the debris!
Jane and I had decided earlier in the week that we were going to be good about our nutrition and we decided we would take in nutrition every 4 miles. I am proud to say we did a great job and I think it really made a big difference.
The hardest part of the run was the Big Dam Bridge because of the wind but I was really happy that I ran every bit of the way. We did have a weird encounter on the trail leading out to I-430 we were on our way back, Jane and I were running together and just a little behind us Michele and Kelly were running together. Up ahead we saw a man walking .. he would stop and then move from one side of the road to the other. We were a little nervous as we approached him there was just a really weird vibe coming off him but we passed without incident. Later we were kidding about the wind blowing us into the Arkansas River and Kelly said she was more worried about that man throwing us in the River!! That is how weird it was.
Karen met us at Murray Park which was at 14.5 miles for us... it was awesome she brought us PB&J sandwiches cut up into quarters, cheez its and water. AWESOME!!! What a sweetheart she is!! I'm bummed because she had been training so hard for the Memphis 1/2 Marathon but now she can't go because of work (National Guard). I'm glad that she is still running with us.
We had run through the trails around the Socceer Fields at Burn's Park so when we go to the River Market we we had our 20 miles. It was nice not to have to make loops around the President Clinton Library.
I left my Garmin on the whole run I never stopped it for any pit stops and there were a few but Jane would stop her's at most of the pit stops. It was interesting to see that we lost 20 minutes for bathroom stops
This was one of my best 20 mile training runs, I felt good most of the run and I never had any negative thoughts. Not one time did I think I dont' know how I am going to finish this and I felt great when we were done. Most of the time after a long run I start to feel dizzy and really tired after we stop running but not on Saturday. Really paying attention to our nutrtion really paid off and the pb&j at mile 14 really helped!!
I would take 1/2 a gel every 4 miles. Mile 4 and 8 it was a vanilla carb boom and then mile 12 and 18 was a strawberry kiwi Accelgel. I also would have a couple of pretzels when I took the gels to soften the blow on my tummy. Total intake was 2 gels about 6 pretzels and 1/2 pb&j sandwich.
After the run we met Curtis and Gary at Boulevard Bread Co. for coffee and toast and then it was a trip to Target for a few things. It was really fun having Jane with us! She usually drives her own car and has to leave early but she rode with us and was able to hang out :)
The Blackberry is on the fritz again :( now it's the little ball thingy. Arland has ordered me a new one and in the mean time I put my sim card in his Black Jack.. I don't like it I want my Blackberry back!!!
Bailey wasn't able to do her 20-miler on Saturday due to work so the plan was for Brenda to run the first 10 with her and Jane and I would run the second 10. Well it was a good plan and Brenda held up her end of the bargain but me not so much.
Jane and I met Bailey at Lisa's house I got there just a few minutes after 9:00am and it it was just a couple minutes later that Brenda and Bailey ran up.
We said good-bye to the other girls and off we went... from the very beginning Jane didn't feel good, she was really tight and just over all tired. We told Bailey that we didn't want our pace to affect her run and to not slow down for us. We all ran together for a little bit but soon enough Bailey pulled out ahead of us, we turned onto Mt. Carmel and had to run single file because of the traffic, next thing you know I look behind me and Jane has fallen back quite a bit... she had complained about her calf earlier so I turned around and told her I had Ibuprofren. She had already taken some so that wasn't going to help and she made the decison to turn around. I was in a quandry what should I do??? I didn't want Jane going back by herself but Bailey had gotten way ahead and I didn't want to turn around without her knowing what was going on. Jane told me she would be fine and to go on so I headed out to chase Bailey down. At first I was a little panicked because I didn't know if I knew the route, the only thing I knew for sure was we were turning on Lemay but when I rembered I had my phone and if I never caught Bailey I could always call Brenda for directions/help I felt better and relaxed. Luckily Bailey took a couple walk breaks and then stopped in a parking lot just before the turn to wait for me. We ran together for a little bit but mostly I was just just chasing her the whole time!! LOL I had just hit 5 miles when Brenda drove up to check on us.. I don't know what came over me but I decided to end my run and hitched a ride with her. I felt bad leaving Bailey out there along but we weren't really running together and I think she was running slower so I wouldn't get too far behind.
Considering I had run 20 miles the day before I felt pretty good the whole run.. no aches or pains just maybe a little tired. We went to Brenda's to let the puppy she was babysitting out for a bit and then we went back to check on Bailey. I think it was a good run for her... especially the first 1/2. The route she ran was pretty hilly and if she could have a good 20 miler on that route then she will do great in Memphis. Speaking of great 20 milers Brenda, Andrea and Robert had an awesome run on Saturday. They did two loops of Ballard Road and Mt. Springs and that is nothing but hills and they were blazing fast, they are definately ready to take on Memphis!!
So Brenda ran a very tough and fast 20-miler on Saturday and then turned around and ran a pretty hilly 10 miler on Sunday... is she tough or what??? :)
Monday night I met Kelly, Jane and Brenda in Krooked Kreek for an easy 5 miler. From the very beginning it was a tough run we hadn't gotten far at all when I really felt the need to pee but I was doing ok and then about mile 3 the stomach thing hit and it was all downhill after that. The one good thing I can say is that I was able to push through and get the whole 5 miles. It would have been very easy a couple of times to make turn towards Michele's house and put myself out of my misery but I kept going. The last mile was the hardest and I had to stop A LOT!
Tonight is another run in Krooked Kreek.......
I was dreading the run all week, orginally the weather people had forcasted 30 degrees and windy. We got lucky it was actually about 45 degrees but the wind was pretty killer!! There were times when it was pushing us every which way and on the Big Dam Bridge was the worst I bet we had 50mph wind gusts. I was really glad there weren't many bikes out because we were constantly getting pushed into the other lane.
We planned to start at 5:30 but it was almost 6:00 by the time we made it to the River Market and were able to start. We all had extra ear/head bands around our noses to keep us warm.. we looked pretty funny!! Cheryl it reminded me of our Rahling rd. run last winter!
I was wearing running pants, my favorite black tank with the back pockets a short sleeve tech shirt and a long sleeve tech shirt. I also had a throw away t-shirt which was great!! Right at the 1 mile marker there is a gas station it is at the bottom of the bridge I wasn't really feeling any stomach issues but I did need to pee and so did Kelly so we went ahead and stopped... well it was a darn good thing!! I took care of quite a bit of business that definately would have caused problems before the next bathroom stop.
It was a beautiful morning and the sunrise on the river was spectacular!! We were so happy we chose the River Trail. All summer long when we ran at the River Trail it was always dark until almost the Big Dam Bridge so it was nice that with the time change we actually were running in daylight. It was also great since portions of the trail were littered with tree limbs!! I was thinking of Cheryl when we were dodging all the debris!
Jane and I had decided earlier in the week that we were going to be good about our nutrition and we decided we would take in nutrition every 4 miles. I am proud to say we did a great job and I think it really made a big difference.
The hardest part of the run was the Big Dam Bridge because of the wind but I was really happy that I ran every bit of the way. We did have a weird encounter on the trail leading out to I-430 we were on our way back, Jane and I were running together and just a little behind us Michele and Kelly were running together. Up ahead we saw a man walking .. he would stop and then move from one side of the road to the other. We were a little nervous as we approached him there was just a really weird vibe coming off him but we passed without incident. Later we were kidding about the wind blowing us into the Arkansas River and Kelly said she was more worried about that man throwing us in the River!! That is how weird it was.
Karen met us at Murray Park which was at 14.5 miles for us... it was awesome she brought us PB&J sandwiches cut up into quarters, cheez its and water. AWESOME!!! What a sweetheart she is!! I'm bummed because she had been training so hard for the Memphis 1/2 Marathon but now she can't go because of work (National Guard). I'm glad that she is still running with us.
We had run through the trails around the Socceer Fields at Burn's Park so when we go to the River Market we we had our 20 miles. It was nice not to have to make loops around the President Clinton Library.
I left my Garmin on the whole run I never stopped it for any pit stops and there were a few but Jane would stop her's at most of the pit stops. It was interesting to see that we lost 20 minutes for bathroom stops
This was one of my best 20 mile training runs, I felt good most of the run and I never had any negative thoughts. Not one time did I think I dont' know how I am going to finish this and I felt great when we were done. Most of the time after a long run I start to feel dizzy and really tired after we stop running but not on Saturday. Really paying attention to our nutrtion really paid off and the pb&j at mile 14 really helped!!
I would take 1/2 a gel every 4 miles. Mile 4 and 8 it was a vanilla carb boom and then mile 12 and 18 was a strawberry kiwi Accelgel. I also would have a couple of pretzels when I took the gels to soften the blow on my tummy. Total intake was 2 gels about 6 pretzels and 1/2 pb&j sandwich.
After the run we met Curtis and Gary at Boulevard Bread Co. for coffee and toast and then it was a trip to Target for a few things. It was really fun having Jane with us! She usually drives her own car and has to leave early but she rode with us and was able to hang out :)
The Blackberry is on the fritz again :( now it's the little ball thingy. Arland has ordered me a new one and in the mean time I put my sim card in his Black Jack.. I don't like it I want my Blackberry back!!!
Bailey wasn't able to do her 20-miler on Saturday due to work so the plan was for Brenda to run the first 10 with her and Jane and I would run the second 10. Well it was a good plan and Brenda held up her end of the bargain but me not so much.
Jane and I met Bailey at Lisa's house I got there just a few minutes after 9:00am and it it was just a couple minutes later that Brenda and Bailey ran up.
We said good-bye to the other girls and off we went... from the very beginning Jane didn't feel good, she was really tight and just over all tired. We told Bailey that we didn't want our pace to affect her run and to not slow down for us. We all ran together for a little bit but soon enough Bailey pulled out ahead of us, we turned onto Mt. Carmel and had to run single file because of the traffic, next thing you know I look behind me and Jane has fallen back quite a bit... she had complained about her calf earlier so I turned around and told her I had Ibuprofren. She had already taken some so that wasn't going to help and she made the decison to turn around. I was in a quandry what should I do??? I didn't want Jane going back by herself but Bailey had gotten way ahead and I didn't want to turn around without her knowing what was going on. Jane told me she would be fine and to go on so I headed out to chase Bailey down. At first I was a little panicked because I didn't know if I knew the route, the only thing I knew for sure was we were turning on Lemay but when I rembered I had my phone and if I never caught Bailey I could always call Brenda for directions/help I felt better and relaxed. Luckily Bailey took a couple walk breaks and then stopped in a parking lot just before the turn to wait for me. We ran together for a little bit but mostly I was just just chasing her the whole time!! LOL I had just hit 5 miles when Brenda drove up to check on us.. I don't know what came over me but I decided to end my run and hitched a ride with her. I felt bad leaving Bailey out there along but we weren't really running together and I think she was running slower so I wouldn't get too far behind.
Considering I had run 20 miles the day before I felt pretty good the whole run.. no aches or pains just maybe a little tired. We went to Brenda's to let the puppy she was babysitting out for a bit and then we went back to check on Bailey. I think it was a good run for her... especially the first 1/2. The route she ran was pretty hilly and if she could have a good 20 miler on that route then she will do great in Memphis. Speaking of great 20 milers Brenda, Andrea and Robert had an awesome run on Saturday. They did two loops of Ballard Road and Mt. Springs and that is nothing but hills and they were blazing fast, they are definately ready to take on Memphis!!
So Brenda ran a very tough and fast 20-miler on Saturday and then turned around and ran a pretty hilly 10 miler on Sunday... is she tough or what??? :)
Monday night I met Kelly, Jane and Brenda in Krooked Kreek for an easy 5 miler. From the very beginning it was a tough run we hadn't gotten far at all when I really felt the need to pee but I was doing ok and then about mile 3 the stomach thing hit and it was all downhill after that. The one good thing I can say is that I was able to push through and get the whole 5 miles. It would have been very easy a couple of times to make turn towards Michele's house and put myself out of my misery but I kept going. The last mile was the hardest and I had to stop A LOT!
Tonight is another run in Krooked Kreek.......
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Lunch Run
Yesterday Jane and I were able to sneak in a lunch run. The weather people had been predicting rain in the morning and then again later in the afternoon/evening on Tuesday and since Jane had the day off for Vetran's day we decided to try to sneak a run in around the rain.
We got started about 11:15 it was about 53 degree but pretty windy. I wasn't quite sure what to wear but 50's is pretty warm when it comes to running so I wore a short sleeve tech shirt and a skirt. The shirt was the dri fit shirt we got for running the Sara Low 5K back in September. It is kind of big so the sleeves are a little longer on me but it is very comfy, and light weight.
We started running from my driveway and as soon as we turned onto First street the wind hit us and I was freezing!! Mostly it was my hands and I was wishing I had gloves on but I know they wouldn't have lasted so I just sucked it up and tried not to whine too much.
About 1.5 miles into the run it started sprinkling on us and I was worried we might get caught in a downpour. We ran to the end of First street turned around and ran to Team 1. The timing was perfect I needed a bathroom break even more than I realized!! We were right at 2 miles when we stopped.
It was kind of cool to run into work, the guys all kind of looked at me like I was crazy but I'm used to that!
After the pit stop we headed back down First street, since we were running in the opposite direction we had no wind and it didn't take long for us to warm up! We did have light rain and I think that helped cool us off.
We chatted pretty much the whole run but we were pushing the pace a little bit so there were a few long stretches of silence.. well not really silence more like a lot of heavy breathing and sighing. We also talked about you Brenda, we were running up an "incline" and I said I bet Brenda would say this is flat!! LOL
To make sure we got our 5 miles we ran through the newish subdivision close to my house, I don't normally like to run in that neighborhood, it is just one long gradual incline... there wasnt' much talking going on during this section.
Luckily when we turned into my neighborhood we were at 4.75 and we hit 5 miles right at my house. We did another lap around the neighborhood walking as a cooldown lap. It was still sprinkling so we went into the house and did some stretching. I am really trying to be better about stretching after every run!! It's just so hard to do when it is cold!
After Jane left I made myself a turkey sandwich took a quick shower and headed back to work.
I felt so good I definately was feeling a runners high and it lasted pretty much the rest of the day. It felt so good to get the run done, and it was a good run we did 5 miles with a 9:40 avg. pace and we were very happy with those numbers!! Our fastest mile was our last mile in 9:15 and that was the section with the longest incline!
5 miles
48:23
1-9:51
2-9:54
3-9:37
4-9:44
5-9:15
We got started about 11:15 it was about 53 degree but pretty windy. I wasn't quite sure what to wear but 50's is pretty warm when it comes to running so I wore a short sleeve tech shirt and a skirt. The shirt was the dri fit shirt we got for running the Sara Low 5K back in September. It is kind of big so the sleeves are a little longer on me but it is very comfy, and light weight.
We started running from my driveway and as soon as we turned onto First street the wind hit us and I was freezing!! Mostly it was my hands and I was wishing I had gloves on but I know they wouldn't have lasted so I just sucked it up and tried not to whine too much.
About 1.5 miles into the run it started sprinkling on us and I was worried we might get caught in a downpour. We ran to the end of First street turned around and ran to Team 1. The timing was perfect I needed a bathroom break even more than I realized!! We were right at 2 miles when we stopped.
It was kind of cool to run into work, the guys all kind of looked at me like I was crazy but I'm used to that!
After the pit stop we headed back down First street, since we were running in the opposite direction we had no wind and it didn't take long for us to warm up! We did have light rain and I think that helped cool us off.
We chatted pretty much the whole run but we were pushing the pace a little bit so there were a few long stretches of silence.. well not really silence more like a lot of heavy breathing and sighing. We also talked about you Brenda, we were running up an "incline" and I said I bet Brenda would say this is flat!! LOL
To make sure we got our 5 miles we ran through the newish subdivision close to my house, I don't normally like to run in that neighborhood, it is just one long gradual incline... there wasnt' much talking going on during this section.
Luckily when we turned into my neighborhood we were at 4.75 and we hit 5 miles right at my house. We did another lap around the neighborhood walking as a cooldown lap. It was still sprinkling so we went into the house and did some stretching. I am really trying to be better about stretching after every run!! It's just so hard to do when it is cold!
After Jane left I made myself a turkey sandwich took a quick shower and headed back to work.
I felt so good I definately was feeling a runners high and it lasted pretty much the rest of the day. It felt so good to get the run done, and it was a good run we did 5 miles with a 9:40 avg. pace and we were very happy with those numbers!! Our fastest mile was our last mile in 9:15 and that was the section with the longest incline!
5 miles
48:23
1-9:51
2-9:54
3-9:37
4-9:44
5-9:15
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Hill's are alive with the sound of gunshot's
Disaster struck Friday morning... I fried my Blackberry!! I woke up still feeling good from a great run on Thursday night with Jane and Brenda but that went away as soon as Brett's sweet tea spilled onto the counter and onto my phone.
I immediately was sick to my stomach... Blackberry's are expensive and I knew that Team 1 was not going to pay for a replacement.
I took it apart and used a rubbing alchohol pad to clean it out, I waited a little while and then I put it back together... NOTHING but black screen. I repeated the process of taking it apart several times but in the meantime I'm panicking because I'm worried that the shops won't be able to get ahold of me and then I'll be in trouble.
Finally I decided I would just take it to the AT&T store and buy a new one if I had to although $300+ for a phone is not in my budget! I decided to stop at home first and I called Arland he suggested I put my sim card into his old blackjack and use it until he got home and could look at my phone and our contract. I am so glad I called him because of course once I switched out the sim cards my phone came back to life... not quite that quickly but I am happy to say that my Blackberry is fine and Arland didn't kill me!
So now onto fun stuff!!
Saturday morning Jane and I met Brenda, Andrea, Robert and Ginny at Magness Creek for our 13 mile HILLY long run. I am happy to say that I think I have conquered the Lila Loop curse and we had a good run. It was VERY hilly and there were times that Jane and I were really trash talking Brenda... I think her ears must have been burning a lot during that run.
Not only did we have the wonderful HILLs... but we also saw 3 foxes and several packs of dogs, luckily none of them decided to have us for breakfast. Saturday morning was also the official opening of Deer hunting season and we heard lot's of gunshots out in the woods.
My stomach held out for the most part until mile 10.85... I did have to slow down and walk around mile 7.5 because I thought I was going to have a problem but luckily it passed and we were able to keep running. Our goal for this run was to start off slow and then level out and hopefully maintain a 10:30 avg. pace. Mission accomplished although we didnt' really do it the way we planned. We started out with a 10:00 avg pace for the first 5 miles and then with the stomach issues and some a couple of killer hills we dropped back and ended up with the 10:30 avg.
It was pretty cold Saturday 39 degrees at 6:00am I don't know what the temp was when we ended but I never did take off my long sleeve tech shirt. I thought about it a couple of times but I had on a sleeveless shirt underneath and that just wasn't enough. I did have to take my gloves off within the first couple of miles and the bondi band came down about 1/2 way through.
I was wearing one of my running skirts and overall I was pretty comfortable. Jane on the other hand still had her gloves on at the end of the run and her bondi band.
When we got back to Magness creek and were passing by Livia's house I decided to take off my fuel belt and leave it on her mailbox... as soon as we started running again my stomach said excuse me there is a warm bathroom in that house and you better take me there right now!!!!
The wind never really was a factor for us during the run until the last 2 miles when we turned around and it was brutal!!!
After the run we all gathered in Andrea's home gym and stretched really good and then headed to Daily Grind for breakfast.
Cindy and Lisa weren't able to run for various reasons but they did join us for breakfast and as usual Donna and everyone at Daily Grind took really good care of us.
After breakfast I went back to Livia's house to pick up my fuel belt, I ended up staying for a few hours just kind of chilling with my dad and Vanda and then eventually Kylie and Livia. They all stayed up really late on Friday night so they were sleeping in on Saturday.
I took Kylie home with me to shower and change and then head back to Magness for a "Goal setting Seminar" with Dennis.
I think I finally got home around 5:30 made myself some dinner (lean cuisine) and relaxed until time to go to the airport to pick up Arland.
Sunday morning we had 10 on the schedule. Several people were supposed to meet us but it ended up just being me, Jane and Kelly. It was MUCH colder Sunday morning 31 degrees at the start and I was actually wearing pants!! I also had on a short sleeve tech shirt, a long sleeve tech shirt and a jacket along with gloves and a bondi band of course.
When we got to Michele's neighborhood I left my jacket and gloves on her mailbox, I was fine without the jacket but here were times later in the run that I really could have used the gloves!!
Our route took us past the Phillip's 66 at mile 4 which was perfect timing, Kelly and I both needed to stop. It was after that I really wished I had my gloves! This run was not easy I was feeling the hills from the day before and the last couple of miles I really had to push myself to keep running. I had 1/2 of a vanilla carb boom gel around 7 or 8 miles and it was pretty gross :( but I think it helped I think those last miles would have been even harder without it.
When we hit 10 miles we called the "Scarlata rule" and we stopped our Garmins and walked the rest of the way in. It wasn't far maybe a 1/4 of a mile or a little over. I was so happy to stop running but almost immediately after we started walking my stomach and lower back started cramping big time oh my gosh it hurt so bad!! and it was so cold. We all just walked to our cars and jumped in no chit chat and no stretching. I ran across the street to the gas station to get a chocolate milk, I was dissapointed they didn't have fat free or even 2% but I went ahead and bought one and only drank a little bit of it.
I had the seat warmers and heat on full blast but I could feel the chill setting in. As soon as I walked in the house I changed into warm clothes and crawled into the bed. I propped my feet up on the wall and pulled the covers over my head, eventually I started to warm up and soon fell asleep. I woke up an hour later with my feet still in the air and I felt so much better!!
The rest of the morning was spent in the office with Arland shredding several months worth of junk mail etc. I hate that job and we always put it off until it's a big ordeal :(
Sunday afternoon Vanda, Livia, Kylie and I participated in the Central Arkansas Just Communities Unity Walk but I will have to wait till later to post about it... work is calling.
I immediately was sick to my stomach... Blackberry's are expensive and I knew that Team 1 was not going to pay for a replacement.
I took it apart and used a rubbing alchohol pad to clean it out, I waited a little while and then I put it back together... NOTHING but black screen. I repeated the process of taking it apart several times but in the meantime I'm panicking because I'm worried that the shops won't be able to get ahold of me and then I'll be in trouble.
Finally I decided I would just take it to the AT&T store and buy a new one if I had to although $300+ for a phone is not in my budget! I decided to stop at home first and I called Arland he suggested I put my sim card into his old blackjack and use it until he got home and could look at my phone and our contract. I am so glad I called him because of course once I switched out the sim cards my phone came back to life... not quite that quickly but I am happy to say that my Blackberry is fine and Arland didn't kill me!
So now onto fun stuff!!
Saturday morning Jane and I met Brenda, Andrea, Robert and Ginny at Magness Creek for our 13 mile HILLY long run. I am happy to say that I think I have conquered the Lila Loop curse and we had a good run. It was VERY hilly and there were times that Jane and I were really trash talking Brenda... I think her ears must have been burning a lot during that run.
Not only did we have the wonderful HILLs... but we also saw 3 foxes and several packs of dogs, luckily none of them decided to have us for breakfast. Saturday morning was also the official opening of Deer hunting season and we heard lot's of gunshots out in the woods.
My stomach held out for the most part until mile 10.85... I did have to slow down and walk around mile 7.5 because I thought I was going to have a problem but luckily it passed and we were able to keep running. Our goal for this run was to start off slow and then level out and hopefully maintain a 10:30 avg. pace. Mission accomplished although we didnt' really do it the way we planned. We started out with a 10:00 avg pace for the first 5 miles and then with the stomach issues and some a couple of killer hills we dropped back and ended up with the 10:30 avg.
It was pretty cold Saturday 39 degrees at 6:00am I don't know what the temp was when we ended but I never did take off my long sleeve tech shirt. I thought about it a couple of times but I had on a sleeveless shirt underneath and that just wasn't enough. I did have to take my gloves off within the first couple of miles and the bondi band came down about 1/2 way through.
I was wearing one of my running skirts and overall I was pretty comfortable. Jane on the other hand still had her gloves on at the end of the run and her bondi band.
When we got back to Magness creek and were passing by Livia's house I decided to take off my fuel belt and leave it on her mailbox... as soon as we started running again my stomach said excuse me there is a warm bathroom in that house and you better take me there right now!!!!
The wind never really was a factor for us during the run until the last 2 miles when we turned around and it was brutal!!!
After the run we all gathered in Andrea's home gym and stretched really good and then headed to Daily Grind for breakfast.
Cindy and Lisa weren't able to run for various reasons but they did join us for breakfast and as usual Donna and everyone at Daily Grind took really good care of us.
After breakfast I went back to Livia's house to pick up my fuel belt, I ended up staying for a few hours just kind of chilling with my dad and Vanda and then eventually Kylie and Livia. They all stayed up really late on Friday night so they were sleeping in on Saturday.
I took Kylie home with me to shower and change and then head back to Magness for a "Goal setting Seminar" with Dennis.
I think I finally got home around 5:30 made myself some dinner (lean cuisine) and relaxed until time to go to the airport to pick up Arland.
Sunday morning we had 10 on the schedule. Several people were supposed to meet us but it ended up just being me, Jane and Kelly. It was MUCH colder Sunday morning 31 degrees at the start and I was actually wearing pants!! I also had on a short sleeve tech shirt, a long sleeve tech shirt and a jacket along with gloves and a bondi band of course.
When we got to Michele's neighborhood I left my jacket and gloves on her mailbox, I was fine without the jacket but here were times later in the run that I really could have used the gloves!!
Our route took us past the Phillip's 66 at mile 4 which was perfect timing, Kelly and I both needed to stop. It was after that I really wished I had my gloves! This run was not easy I was feeling the hills from the day before and the last couple of miles I really had to push myself to keep running. I had 1/2 of a vanilla carb boom gel around 7 or 8 miles and it was pretty gross :( but I think it helped I think those last miles would have been even harder without it.
When we hit 10 miles we called the "Scarlata rule" and we stopped our Garmins and walked the rest of the way in. It wasn't far maybe a 1/4 of a mile or a little over. I was so happy to stop running but almost immediately after we started walking my stomach and lower back started cramping big time oh my gosh it hurt so bad!! and it was so cold. We all just walked to our cars and jumped in no chit chat and no stretching. I ran across the street to the gas station to get a chocolate milk, I was dissapointed they didn't have fat free or even 2% but I went ahead and bought one and only drank a little bit of it.
I had the seat warmers and heat on full blast but I could feel the chill setting in. As soon as I walked in the house I changed into warm clothes and crawled into the bed. I propped my feet up on the wall and pulled the covers over my head, eventually I started to warm up and soon fell asleep. I woke up an hour later with my feet still in the air and I felt so much better!!
The rest of the morning was spent in the office with Arland shredding several months worth of junk mail etc. I hate that job and we always put it off until it's a big ordeal :(
Sunday afternoon Vanda, Livia, Kylie and I participated in the Central Arkansas Just Communities Unity Walk but I will have to wait till later to post about it... work is calling.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Recovery
It's funny and I don't want to jinx myself but I really haven't had much recovering to do. I felt great the day after the marathon and I have had some great runs since then.
I think this is the first time I have felt this good after a marathon except maybe after San Francisco, although I do remember a lot of moaning and groaning about sore hips, butt, quads and feet the two days we were exploring SF.
Sunday I took a rest day, well a rest from running anyway. It felt good to sleep in and then I spent the rest of the day hanging out first with Brenda and then later having a family get together at Magness and then a party in Greystone.
Monday night Arland and I met Jane and Brenda at the community center for a run. I was nervous because although I was feeling really good I wasn't sure how running was going to feel.
Right away Jane and Brenda were setting a pretty good pace and my goal was just to try to hang on for dear life. The first mile of our route has a series of hills not monsters but challenging enough especially that early in the run. Jane and I had discovered a new route last week and we introduced it to Brenda and Arland. It is great because it does have the hills and then a few more inclines but it also has a couple of gradual downhills that feel nice.
It took a couple of miles for me to warm up, nothing was hurting but I was struggling to keep up, my chest was tight etc.... but then about 2.5 to 3 miles into the run I started feeling really good and running with Brenda we were pushing the pace a little bit. Arland was steadily going on and on about how I just ran a marathon and this was supposed to be a recovery run and I should slow down.. LOL It was kind of funny but I just was feeling so good and just went with that feeling. We talked the whole time and they made me do most of the talking because they wanted to hear about the marathon.
Around 4 mile Brenda made the comment that I hadn't had any trouble with my stomach.. I wisely said "not yet"!! and of course wouldn't you know it right at 4.75 boom it hit, I had to slow down to a jog and then stop completely and cross my legs. Luckily it didn't last too long and I was able to pick the pace back up for a strong finish.
We ended up with according to my Garmin a 9:51 avg. pace... now that isn't blazing fast but it was pretty darn fast for my first run 2 days after a marathon! It was great to have Brenda with us and now that it is getting dark so early we are hoping to have her as a regular running partner more often.
1-10:19
2- 9:52
3- 9:55 had to stop for a second to cross hwy 89
4- 9:30
5-9:34
Tuesday was Run club at Kylie's school. I know I say this every week but I truly get such a kick out of being involved! I think I might have mentioned the little boy who ran with us a couple of weeks ago when the kids did their timed mile... well he is so cute and sweet and he has attached himself to me and Kylie. He is taller than Brett was at that age but there is just something about him that makes me think of Brett when he was a little boy... I think it's a combination of his brown eyes and his sweet little face along with his personality. So when he said he wanted to "stay with us" again on Tuesday I was happy :) Kylie wasn't really in the mood for running so M. and I had to do a lot of circling back for her and I had to do a lot of prodding and bribing to get her to run.
Arland you need to order another box of Honey Stingers ASAP!! Kylie is going through them like crazy.
I hung around at Kylie's house until time to go for my run with Karen and Michele. We had limited time so we only got in 3 miles but they were good miles!
The first mile was slow we were warming up but the next 2 were much faster. This was Michele's first run after the Marathon and after being sick over the weekend she had some steam to blow off. The kids were with us on their bikes, Alex stuck with "miss Karen" and Abby came along for the ride with her mom and I. We had picked up the pace some and then Michele say's "come on" and waves her hand indicating that I needed to pick up the pace... so I did. Karen asked later if we were trying to set some kind of new record. We weren't that fast but it was fun.
We ended up with a 10:16 avg pace and that was with a slow beginning and then a slow ending. Our fastest mile was between 2.5 and 3.5 so I don't really know how fast it was. Michele turned back for the kids and then I slowed down as well because I needed to wait for Karen so I would know where to turn. I've been running in that neighborhood for almost a year now and I still get turned around sometimes.... just don't tell Michele! she thinks it is hysterical that Brenda, Jane and I are so geographically challenged.
This morning Jane and I met at the community center for a true recovery run. We once again started with the hills but this morning I knew right before we got to a crossroads that we should turn right and head to the Phillip's 66, good thing too! I did have to walk for a little bit about a quarter of a mile before we got to it but it wasn't too bad and after a fairly quick stop the rest of the run was fine.
We ran a very comfortable pace and talked the whole run... there was one bit of time when we were on South Jackson that we got kind of quiet and my breathing got harder and I realized we had picked up the pace a bit.. I said wow we must really be ready for this run to be over with! But I think it is just that section it is kind of long and dark and it is towards the end so I think it's just natural to pick it up in that spot.
When we got back to the community center we had 4.77 and of course that is just too close to five to stop so we ran loops in the parking lot.
5 miles
10:21 avg. pace
1-10:15
2-10:46
3-10:22
4-9:53
510:33
I was going to run again tonight but decided not to push my luck!!!! I don't want any injuries this close to the Memphis Marathon!
They are forecasting rain and possible thundershowers over night and into the morning so Jane and I have decided to move our run to tomorrow night. It will be nice to sleep in and that just give my body that much more recovery time.
The plan for the weekend is 13 on Saturday at Lila Loop and then 10 Sunday morning.
Next week is our last 20 miler and then it will be taper time :)
I think this is the first time I have felt this good after a marathon except maybe after San Francisco, although I do remember a lot of moaning and groaning about sore hips, butt, quads and feet the two days we were exploring SF.
Sunday I took a rest day, well a rest from running anyway. It felt good to sleep in and then I spent the rest of the day hanging out first with Brenda and then later having a family get together at Magness and then a party in Greystone.
Monday night Arland and I met Jane and Brenda at the community center for a run. I was nervous because although I was feeling really good I wasn't sure how running was going to feel.
Right away Jane and Brenda were setting a pretty good pace and my goal was just to try to hang on for dear life. The first mile of our route has a series of hills not monsters but challenging enough especially that early in the run. Jane and I had discovered a new route last week and we introduced it to Brenda and Arland. It is great because it does have the hills and then a few more inclines but it also has a couple of gradual downhills that feel nice.
It took a couple of miles for me to warm up, nothing was hurting but I was struggling to keep up, my chest was tight etc.... but then about 2.5 to 3 miles into the run I started feeling really good and running with Brenda we were pushing the pace a little bit. Arland was steadily going on and on about how I just ran a marathon and this was supposed to be a recovery run and I should slow down.. LOL It was kind of funny but I just was feeling so good and just went with that feeling. We talked the whole time and they made me do most of the talking because they wanted to hear about the marathon.
Around 4 mile Brenda made the comment that I hadn't had any trouble with my stomach.. I wisely said "not yet"!! and of course wouldn't you know it right at 4.75 boom it hit, I had to slow down to a jog and then stop completely and cross my legs. Luckily it didn't last too long and I was able to pick the pace back up for a strong finish.
We ended up with according to my Garmin a 9:51 avg. pace... now that isn't blazing fast but it was pretty darn fast for my first run 2 days after a marathon! It was great to have Brenda with us and now that it is getting dark so early we are hoping to have her as a regular running partner more often.
1-10:19
2- 9:52
3- 9:55 had to stop for a second to cross hwy 89
4- 9:30
5-9:34
Tuesday was Run club at Kylie's school. I know I say this every week but I truly get such a kick out of being involved! I think I might have mentioned the little boy who ran with us a couple of weeks ago when the kids did their timed mile... well he is so cute and sweet and he has attached himself to me and Kylie. He is taller than Brett was at that age but there is just something about him that makes me think of Brett when he was a little boy... I think it's a combination of his brown eyes and his sweet little face along with his personality. So when he said he wanted to "stay with us" again on Tuesday I was happy :) Kylie wasn't really in the mood for running so M. and I had to do a lot of circling back for her and I had to do a lot of prodding and bribing to get her to run.
Arland you need to order another box of Honey Stingers ASAP!! Kylie is going through them like crazy.
I hung around at Kylie's house until time to go for my run with Karen and Michele. We had limited time so we only got in 3 miles but they were good miles!
The first mile was slow we were warming up but the next 2 were much faster. This was Michele's first run after the Marathon and after being sick over the weekend she had some steam to blow off. The kids were with us on their bikes, Alex stuck with "miss Karen" and Abby came along for the ride with her mom and I. We had picked up the pace some and then Michele say's "come on" and waves her hand indicating that I needed to pick up the pace... so I did. Karen asked later if we were trying to set some kind of new record. We weren't that fast but it was fun.
We ended up with a 10:16 avg pace and that was with a slow beginning and then a slow ending. Our fastest mile was between 2.5 and 3.5 so I don't really know how fast it was. Michele turned back for the kids and then I slowed down as well because I needed to wait for Karen so I would know where to turn. I've been running in that neighborhood for almost a year now and I still get turned around sometimes.... just don't tell Michele! she thinks it is hysterical that Brenda, Jane and I are so geographically challenged.
This morning Jane and I met at the community center for a true recovery run. We once again started with the hills but this morning I knew right before we got to a crossroads that we should turn right and head to the Phillip's 66, good thing too! I did have to walk for a little bit about a quarter of a mile before we got to it but it wasn't too bad and after a fairly quick stop the rest of the run was fine.
We ran a very comfortable pace and talked the whole run... there was one bit of time when we were on South Jackson that we got kind of quiet and my breathing got harder and I realized we had picked up the pace a bit.. I said wow we must really be ready for this run to be over with! But I think it is just that section it is kind of long and dark and it is towards the end so I think it's just natural to pick it up in that spot.
When we got back to the community center we had 4.77 and of course that is just too close to five to stop so we ran loops in the parking lot.
5 miles
10:21 avg. pace
1-10:15
2-10:46
3-10:22
4-9:53
510:33
I was going to run again tonight but decided not to push my luck!!!! I don't want any injuries this close to the Memphis Marathon!
They are forecasting rain and possible thundershowers over night and into the morning so Jane and I have decided to move our run to tomorrow night. It will be nice to sleep in and that just give my body that much more recovery time.
The plan for the weekend is 13 on Saturday at Lila Loop and then 10 Sunday morning.
Next week is our last 20 miler and then it will be taper time :)
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
A few pictures
Michele leading the way at the finish with Kelly and I following along behind.
Annette, Gary & Kelly after
Kelly approaching the finish... doesnt' she look great!!!
Me approaching the finish. I look pretty happy. Kylie doesn't like this picture because my bangs are swept back! LOL I really wish I would have carried my phone with me during the race. It would have been great to get pictures of the front runners and of the beautiful scenery.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Mid-South Marathon
Saturday Nov. 1st was the Mid South Marathon in Wynne AR. Several of my Memphis marathon training partners and I decided that we would use this marathon as a "training run", sounds good... right??? We had a 20 miler on the schedule so why not just run a marathon instead! As Saturday rapidly approached I started rethinking the wisdom of our plan!! LOL but we were commited and the fact that they were going to have a port a pottie every mile really sealed the deal!
Saturday morning I met Kelly at the elementary school I arrived promptly at 4:32am she was across the street getting her caffeine fix. It is an hour and a half drive to Wynn and we needed to get there early so I could register, yes I am a procrastinator! We were also planning on doing the early start at 7:00am. This race had a 6 hour cutoff and our orginal plan was to run 20-22 miles and walk the last 6 so we thought we might be squeaking by... well I felt confident we would finish in at least 5:30 but you just never know what can happen out on the road. An even bigger reason to do the early start was the weather, it was about 52 degrees at the start and was predicted to warm up to 76 degrees by noon with completely sunny skies and I think I have already let it be known in the past I prefer cooler weather for long runs!
Bailey, Curtis, James, Michele, Patti, Brice and Tami F. also did the early start along with about 10 others. We had been warned there would be no course support so I was happy to have a nice size group to start with. It was still kind of dark when we started and cool. I had a short sleeve throw away t-shirt on and I ditched it within a mile of the start.
Curtis led the group and luckily we were able to keep in sight for the first part so we would know where to turn. The one thing we didn't think about was that no course support meant NO aid stations for the first few miles!!
I really wanted our first couple of miles to be 11:00 miles and then after that try to maintain a 10:30 -10:45 avg. I was feeling really good and I thought I think my stomach is going to be ok.... well you know what happened next. Luckily it was not too far from the port a potty just past mile 2. I was able to duck in and take care of business. Kelly stopped with me and we lost the rest of the group, I was bummed but at least I was able to take care of business.
At the next aid station mile 3 they were setting up so we stopped and had to wait for them to open up but it didnt' take too long.
I think it was mile 4 when we saw Bailey coming out of a port a potty ahead of us she ran towards us and stuck with us the rest of the race until the last 2 or 3 miles.
It was a beautiful course, the fall foliage was beautiful!!! It was still cool and just a slight breeze the perfect running weather.
James was running the 1/2 marathon but started early with us so he could get back to Jonsboro and the kids. Michele ran with him for the first 6 miles and after the turn around when we saw James he said Michele would be waiting for us at the 7 mile aid station.
She was getting bored and just before we got there she was running towards us :)
Once the aid stations were set up they were GREAT!!!! They had pretzels, chips, cookies, fruit, all kinds of goodies at EVERY mile.
I had brought pretzles with me but I would grab a handful at every aid station and eat them instead of breaking into my stash. I also stashed a couple of cookies and pulled them out when I needed some extra help in the later miles. I also ate my honey stingers.
We stopped at a port a potty probably 8 times or more during the race and no they weren't all for me!! But there were a few where we all needed it and 4 girls and one port a potty definately slowed us down!
At the beginning of the race we were discussing the fact that the fast people would at some point pass us during the marathon and we were trying to figure out what mile that would be. It was mile 12 or actually just shy of 12 miles. It was really pretty cool and they guys were great!!! Obviously they knew we had started early but they were complimenting us telling us great job etc. The turn around (this was an out and back course) was at mile 13 and since they were so speedy and we were not we got to see them again when they were headed back. Again they were super nice!!
Maybe if I were more competetive the constant passing would have sucked but instead it was kind of fun. What was really funny was after we had turned around and were on the way back some of the runners who were on the other side of the road were giving us crazy looks, like how did those girls get so far ahead of me!!! Most of them eventually passed us but it was still fun! We were very considerate of the faster runners and stayed out of there way for the most part.. we even would run on the grass so they could pass us. A couple of guys were coming up behind us and I heard one of them say "hey were are skirt chasers" I loved it!
Not sure exactly what mile it was but sometime around 16 or so Kelly's calves really started hurting and she was having to do a lot of walking. We had been seeing a guy on a bike for miles and he would always tell us how great we were whenever he passed... we had no idea who he was but assumed he was part of the official race team. Turns out he was out there as support for another runner, after a couple of miles of mostly walking because of Kelly's calves we saw this guy off of his bike and asked if he had any ibuprofren... he didn't but he said he would find us some. A mile or two later he came back and as promised he had ibuprofen for Kelly :) too bad I didn't ask for some too. Because of the extented walk breaks my hips, piriformis etc all tightned up and I was starting to hurt. I had also done something weird when I put my chip on and the top of my foot was starting to throb from the pressure, I tried loosening my laces but it didn't help.
After the ibuprofen kicked in for Kelly we were able to run for longer stretches and I just kept thinking ok get to mile 20... and then 23 etc. Once we were past mile 22 we gave ourselves permission to walk as much as we wanted but really we wanted it to be over so we tried to do more running than walking.
Finally we made the second to last turn and we were on the final stretch... and it was a slight downhill which was awesome.
We all just kicked it in and ran as hard at we could to the finish.
Our final time was 5:23:xx Michele was first then Kelly and then me. It was really cool to see 4:23 on the clock but our time was adjusted for the final results.
The High school Gym was open and we were able to take showers which was heaven!! I had brought a change of clothes but it was so nice to be able to shower.
They had set up the food in the cafeteria and had BBQ sandwiches and Pizza neither really appealed to me that much but I had a sandwich. I knew the protein and carbs would be good for my poor muscles.
One of the only bad things I can really say about this race was the roads were slanted most of the way, and becuase they didnt' shut down all of the roads you were dodging huge 18 wheelers, dump trucks etc. We never had a problem but it was hard to be able to find a flat spot for very long and my feel could really feel it, along with my glutes!
We had also been told by everyone that this course is FLAT, FLAT, FLAT except for one good size hill at mile 24... well they were WRONG!! It wasn't a killer course but it definately had rolling terrain throughout the whole course. On the way out it felt like we were climbing the whole time so we thought when we turned around we would have more downhill... well you can imagine our suprise when it felt like we were climbing the entire way back! LOL
Still it was GREAT and I am really really glad we did it!! We also managed to have a women's team for the Grand Prix and Bailey, Kelly and I earned individual points as well.
Oh I mentioned the weather at the beginning of this post... it did warm up quite a bit but I never really got hot so that was another thing to be grateful for.
I know I'm leaving good stuff out but that's what happens when you get old and wait 3 days to write the race report.
By the time Kelly and I got home on Saturday it was 4:00 in the afternoon and I was starting to get sleepy. Brenda came over to visit for a little while though and that got me all wound up again just talking about the race. After she left Arland, Brett and I went out for Mexican food which was really yummy! We got home about 6:30 and by 7:30 I was passed out on the couch, about 9:30 Arland made me go to bed and I slept until 6:30 Sunday morning. When I woke up I felt great!! I had a little bit of soreness in my calves and quads oh and yeah the top of my right foot but otherwise I definately did not feel like I had run a marathon the day before.
Sunday was a jam packed day... I met Brenda at Starbuck's for a fun girl talk session and right after that we went to Magness Creek to have lunch with my Dad, Stepmom, Kylie, Livia, Jeff and Brett... right after that we headed to Greystone for some more fun. We finally dropped Kylie off about 7:30 and once again I was asleep on the couch about an hour later.
This morning I woke up and nothing hurt not even the top of my foot :)
Tonight I am meeting the girls for a run.... this will be the true test!
I will post the pictures that Gary took later this evening....
Saturday morning I met Kelly at the elementary school I arrived promptly at 4:32am she was across the street getting her caffeine fix. It is an hour and a half drive to Wynn and we needed to get there early so I could register, yes I am a procrastinator! We were also planning on doing the early start at 7:00am. This race had a 6 hour cutoff and our orginal plan was to run 20-22 miles and walk the last 6 so we thought we might be squeaking by... well I felt confident we would finish in at least 5:30 but you just never know what can happen out on the road. An even bigger reason to do the early start was the weather, it was about 52 degrees at the start and was predicted to warm up to 76 degrees by noon with completely sunny skies and I think I have already let it be known in the past I prefer cooler weather for long runs!
Bailey, Curtis, James, Michele, Patti, Brice and Tami F. also did the early start along with about 10 others. We had been warned there would be no course support so I was happy to have a nice size group to start with. It was still kind of dark when we started and cool. I had a short sleeve throw away t-shirt on and I ditched it within a mile of the start.
Curtis led the group and luckily we were able to keep in sight for the first part so we would know where to turn. The one thing we didn't think about was that no course support meant NO aid stations for the first few miles!!
I really wanted our first couple of miles to be 11:00 miles and then after that try to maintain a 10:30 -10:45 avg. I was feeling really good and I thought I think my stomach is going to be ok.... well you know what happened next. Luckily it was not too far from the port a potty just past mile 2. I was able to duck in and take care of business. Kelly stopped with me and we lost the rest of the group, I was bummed but at least I was able to take care of business.
At the next aid station mile 3 they were setting up so we stopped and had to wait for them to open up but it didnt' take too long.
I think it was mile 4 when we saw Bailey coming out of a port a potty ahead of us she ran towards us and stuck with us the rest of the race until the last 2 or 3 miles.
It was a beautiful course, the fall foliage was beautiful!!! It was still cool and just a slight breeze the perfect running weather.
James was running the 1/2 marathon but started early with us so he could get back to Jonsboro and the kids. Michele ran with him for the first 6 miles and after the turn around when we saw James he said Michele would be waiting for us at the 7 mile aid station.
She was getting bored and just before we got there she was running towards us :)
Once the aid stations were set up they were GREAT!!!! They had pretzels, chips, cookies, fruit, all kinds of goodies at EVERY mile.
I had brought pretzles with me but I would grab a handful at every aid station and eat them instead of breaking into my stash. I also stashed a couple of cookies and pulled them out when I needed some extra help in the later miles. I also ate my honey stingers.
We stopped at a port a potty probably 8 times or more during the race and no they weren't all for me!! But there were a few where we all needed it and 4 girls and one port a potty definately slowed us down!
At the beginning of the race we were discussing the fact that the fast people would at some point pass us during the marathon and we were trying to figure out what mile that would be. It was mile 12 or actually just shy of 12 miles. It was really pretty cool and they guys were great!!! Obviously they knew we had started early but they were complimenting us telling us great job etc. The turn around (this was an out and back course) was at mile 13 and since they were so speedy and we were not we got to see them again when they were headed back. Again they were super nice!!
Maybe if I were more competetive the constant passing would have sucked but instead it was kind of fun. What was really funny was after we had turned around and were on the way back some of the runners who were on the other side of the road were giving us crazy looks, like how did those girls get so far ahead of me!!! Most of them eventually passed us but it was still fun! We were very considerate of the faster runners and stayed out of there way for the most part.. we even would run on the grass so they could pass us. A couple of guys were coming up behind us and I heard one of them say "hey were are skirt chasers" I loved it!
Not sure exactly what mile it was but sometime around 16 or so Kelly's calves really started hurting and she was having to do a lot of walking. We had been seeing a guy on a bike for miles and he would always tell us how great we were whenever he passed... we had no idea who he was but assumed he was part of the official race team. Turns out he was out there as support for another runner, after a couple of miles of mostly walking because of Kelly's calves we saw this guy off of his bike and asked if he had any ibuprofren... he didn't but he said he would find us some. A mile or two later he came back and as promised he had ibuprofen for Kelly :) too bad I didn't ask for some too. Because of the extented walk breaks my hips, piriformis etc all tightned up and I was starting to hurt. I had also done something weird when I put my chip on and the top of my foot was starting to throb from the pressure, I tried loosening my laces but it didn't help.
After the ibuprofen kicked in for Kelly we were able to run for longer stretches and I just kept thinking ok get to mile 20... and then 23 etc. Once we were past mile 22 we gave ourselves permission to walk as much as we wanted but really we wanted it to be over so we tried to do more running than walking.
Finally we made the second to last turn and we were on the final stretch... and it was a slight downhill which was awesome.
We all just kicked it in and ran as hard at we could to the finish.
Our final time was 5:23:xx Michele was first then Kelly and then me. It was really cool to see 4:23 on the clock but our time was adjusted for the final results.
The High school Gym was open and we were able to take showers which was heaven!! I had brought a change of clothes but it was so nice to be able to shower.
They had set up the food in the cafeteria and had BBQ sandwiches and Pizza neither really appealed to me that much but I had a sandwich. I knew the protein and carbs would be good for my poor muscles.
One of the only bad things I can really say about this race was the roads were slanted most of the way, and becuase they didnt' shut down all of the roads you were dodging huge 18 wheelers, dump trucks etc. We never had a problem but it was hard to be able to find a flat spot for very long and my feel could really feel it, along with my glutes!
We had also been told by everyone that this course is FLAT, FLAT, FLAT except for one good size hill at mile 24... well they were WRONG!! It wasn't a killer course but it definately had rolling terrain throughout the whole course. On the way out it felt like we were climbing the whole time so we thought when we turned around we would have more downhill... well you can imagine our suprise when it felt like we were climbing the entire way back! LOL
Still it was GREAT and I am really really glad we did it!! We also managed to have a women's team for the Grand Prix and Bailey, Kelly and I earned individual points as well.
Oh I mentioned the weather at the beginning of this post... it did warm up quite a bit but I never really got hot so that was another thing to be grateful for.
I know I'm leaving good stuff out but that's what happens when you get old and wait 3 days to write the race report.
By the time Kelly and I got home on Saturday it was 4:00 in the afternoon and I was starting to get sleepy. Brenda came over to visit for a little while though and that got me all wound up again just talking about the race. After she left Arland, Brett and I went out for Mexican food which was really yummy! We got home about 6:30 and by 7:30 I was passed out on the couch, about 9:30 Arland made me go to bed and I slept until 6:30 Sunday morning. When I woke up I felt great!! I had a little bit of soreness in my calves and quads oh and yeah the top of my right foot but otherwise I definately did not feel like I had run a marathon the day before.
Sunday was a jam packed day... I met Brenda at Starbuck's for a fun girl talk session and right after that we went to Magness Creek to have lunch with my Dad, Stepmom, Kylie, Livia, Jeff and Brett... right after that we headed to Greystone for some more fun. We finally dropped Kylie off about 7:30 and once again I was asleep on the couch about an hour later.
This morning I woke up and nothing hurt not even the top of my foot :)
Tonight I am meeting the girls for a run.... this will be the true test!
I will post the pictures that Gary took later this evening....
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